Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 3/5/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Prime Video

The Los Angeles Lakers (37-24) are en route to Ball Arena on Thursday where they will go up against the Denver Nuggets (38-24).

The Lakers stepped onto the hardwood against the Pelicans and notched a win by a score of 110-101 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Lakers ended up finishing with 17 while the Pelicans totaled 24 fouls. They made 8 of 29 attempts from 3-point range. New Orleans finished 89.5% at the charity stripe by knocking down 17 of their 19 tries. On top of that, New Orleans pulled down 41 rebounds (10 offensive, 31 defensive) and added 12 blocks. New Orleans totaled 29 assists and had 12 steals for this contest. Regarding defense, Los Angeles allowed the other team to go 42.2% from the floor on 38 of 90 shooting. They also dished out 29 dimes in this contest while forcing 19 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In terms of rebounding, they compiled a total of 48 with 11 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Lakers made 21 of 26 tries for a percentage of 80.8%. Los Angeles finished having earned a 47.0% field goal percentage (39 of 83) and converted 11 out of their 37 three-point attempts.

Luka Doncic is one player who played a role in this game. He ended up with 27 points on 10 out of 22 shooting. He saw the court for 38 minutes and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Doncic walked away from this one shooting 45.5% from the field and also dished out 7 assists.

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Los Angeles heads into this game with a mark of 37-24 this year. They average 115.8 points per outing (13th in the league) while going 49.8% from the floor. The Lakers are connecting on 35.6% on three-point shots (727 of 2,045) and 76.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Los Angeles is pulling down 41.0 boards per contest and has totaled 1,552 dimes so far this year, which is 21st in the league in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 14.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 18.6 fouls every game.

On defense, the Lakers are forcing 14.6 turnovers per game while drawing 21.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 20th in basketball in giving up assists with 1,678 surrendered so far this season. The Lakers defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 48.4% (2,600 of 5,368) and they surrender 41.0 boards per contest as a team. They relinquish 36.1% on 3-pointers and they are 15th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (115.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Nuggets got the victory with a final of 128-125 when they faced the Jazz. The Nuggets were able to pull down 30 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for the contest. They also turned it over 15 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Jazz committed 28 fouls in this matchup which took the Nuggets to the charity stripe for 35 attempts. They were able to make 32 of them for a clip of 91.4%. Pertaining to shots from downtown, Denver converted 16 out of their 39 tries (41.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Nuggets went 40 out of 74 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.1%. The Nuggets permitted the Jazz to convert 44 of their 86 tries from the floor which had them at 51.2% in the matchup. They shot 38.5% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 15 out of 39 and finished the contest at 22 out of 26 from the free throw line (84.6%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Denver permitted Utah to grab 33 in all (8 offensive).

Jamal Murray ended up having an impact for the Nuggets in the matchup. He converted 13 out of 19 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 68.4%, and had 2 rebounds. Murray scored 45 points in his 38 mins of playing time and tallied 8 dimes for the matchup.

Denver has a record of 38-24 for the campaign. The Nuggets commit 19.0 personal fouls per game and they go 80.8% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 28.0 times per game (9th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 13.0 times per game. Denver has tallied 7,468 points this year (120.5 per game) and they collect 43.3 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Nuggets are shooting 49.3% from the floor, which has them ranked 2nd in the NBA.

The Nuggets on the defensive end are ranked 18th in the NBA in points allowed per game with 116.1. They are forcing 12.2 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 46.7% from the field (13th in the league). The Denver defense gives up 35.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (831 of 2,371) and opponents are converting on 77.6% of their free throw attempts. They give up 26.8 dimes and 42.7 boards on a nightly basis, which is 16th and 8th in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Denver

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