Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs live stream: Watch NBA live on TV, preview, start time
The San Antonio Spurs (30-8), fresh off a surprising defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks, will host the young Los Angeles Lakers (15-27) at the AT&T Center on Thursday evening.
The Spurs, a perennial top-3 defensive unit in the league, played lacklustre defence against the Bucks during the 109-107 loss to the Bucks on Tuesday. The defeat also ended a nine-game winning streak at home. With All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge out with a stomach illness, the Spurs failed to get defensive stops despite playing against a Bucks steam sans superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Despite playing uncharacteristic defence, the Spurs were within striking distance of putting away the Bucks but aging guard Manu Ginobili bricked a corner 3-pointer which clipped the side of the backboard and landed out of bounds before the final buzzer. After the game, centre Pau Gasol cited the lack of defence for the team's loss.
"We're supposed to be a pretty good defensive team, and that doesn't come from just one player, and not two players, but the entire team working together and being in sync on the floor. A guy can score one time, maybe twice, on a certain play, but that's it. We just let it keep rolling and paid the price (against the Bucks)," Gasol said, via ESPN.
Los Angeles Lakers lose to Portland once again
Meanwhile, the Lakers are coming off a heart-breaking defeat to the Portland Trail Blazers, in a game with significant playoff implications. Luke Walton's team tallied a season-low 30 points in the second half after leading the Blazers 57-55 at the halftime break. The Lakers went into a funk in the third quarter, scoring just 12 points as Damian Lillard & Co. asserted their will over the game and shut down L.A. in the final period.
The Lakers, who average a healthy 104.9 points per game, struggled to sustain any offensive rhythm in the second half as veteran forward Luol Deng was the only starter to finish the game in double digits. "We aren't winning games when one guy scores 40. We had nights like that, too, and we lose. I thought we played a good first half, so what happened after that was very unexpected. We've made some great progress the past few weeks, so we can't let the way we played (Tuesday) affect us. We just have to move on," said coach Walton.
Thursday's game will be the second of four regular season clashes between the western conference rivals. In Game 1, San Antonio topped Los Angeles 116-107 at the Staples Center on Nov. 18. The Lakers have failed to beat the Spurs for eight consecutive games and haven't won a season series against San Antonio since 2008-09.
Los Angeles Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs live stream: How to watch
Start time: 8:30 PM (ET), 5:30 PM (PT), 11:30 AM on Friday (AEST), 12:30 PM (AEDT)
On TV: Time Warner Sports Net, KENS (USA)
Live Stream: NBA League Pass (Global)
