Who’s Playing
Atlanta Hawks @ Los Angeles Lakers
Current Records: Atlanta 18-16, Los Angeles 19-14
How To Watch
- When: Friday, January 3, 2025 at 10:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Crypto.com Arena — Los Angeles, California
- TV: NBATV
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $74.00
What to Know
The Atlanta Hawks’ road trip will continue as they head out to face the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday at Crypto.com Arena. The Hawks are expected to lose this one by 3.5 points, so we’ll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.
The Hawks managed to keep up with the Nuggets until halftime on Wednesday, but things quickly went downhill from there. The Hawks fell victim to a bruising 139-120 defeat at the hands of the Nuggets. Atlanta has struggled against Denver recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive lost matchup.
Trae Young put forth a good effort for the losing side as he almost dropped a double-double on 30 points and nine assists.
Even though they lost, the Hawks were working as a unit and finished the game with 34 assists (they’re ranked third in assists per game overall). That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now racked up at least 27 assists in seven consecutive games.
Meanwhile, the Lakers rang in the new year with a 114-106 win over the Trail Blazers on Thursday.
The Lakers relied on the efforts of LeBron James, who went 7 for 10 from beyond the arc en route to 38 points plus eight assists, and Max Christie, who went 9 for 16 en route to 28 points plus two steals. The dominant performance also gave Christie a new career-high in threes (five).
Atlanta moved to 18-16 with that loss, which also ended their four-game winning streak. As for Los Angeles, they have been performing well recently as they’ve won six of their last eight matches, which provided a nice bump to their 19-14 record this season.
Friday’s contest is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: The Hawks have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 45.9 rebounds per game (they’re ranked fourth in rebounds per game overall). It’s a different story for the Lakers, though, as they’ve been averaging only 41.3. Given the Hawks’ sizable advantage in that area, the Lakers will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Hawks skirted past the Lakers 134-132 when the teams last played back in December of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Hawks since the squad won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Odds
Los Angeles is a 3.5-point favorite against Atlanta, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Lakers as a 4-point favorite.
The over/under is 232 points.
See NBA picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Los Angeles has won 6 out of their last 10 games against Atlanta.
- Dec 06, 2024 – Atlanta 134 vs. Los Angeles 132
- Mar 18, 2024 – Los Angeles 136 vs. Atlanta 105
- Jan 30, 2024 – Atlanta 138 vs. Los Angeles 122
- Jan 06, 2023 – Los Angeles 130 vs. Atlanta 114
- Dec 30, 2022 – Los Angeles 130 vs. Atlanta 121
- Jan 30, 2022 – Atlanta 129 vs. Los Angeles 121
- Jan 07, 2022 – Los Angeles 134 vs. Atlanta 118
- Mar 20, 2021 – Atlanta 99 vs. Los Angeles 94
- Feb 01, 2021 – Los Angeles 107 vs. Atlanta 99
- Dec 15, 2019 – Los Angeles 101 vs. Atlanta 96
