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It’s a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals on Thursday night from south Florida when the Lakers visit the Heat, although the Lakers will look nothing like last season’s champions without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Miami is favored on the NBA odds.

How to Bet Lakers at Heat NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: AmericanAirlines Arena
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT App
Radio:com
NBA Odds: Heat -8 (total 204)

Last Meeting

On Feb. 20, the Heat won 96-94 in Los Angeles. Nunn scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat in the teams’ first meeting since the Lakers won their 17th championship with a six-game victory over Miami in the Florida bubble last summer. Alex Caruso missed a long jumper at the buzzer in this one to win it. LeBron James had 19 points, nine assists and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who were without starters Anthony Davis and Dennis Schröder.

Why Bet on LA Lakers? | 2021 NBA Expert Analysis

Yet again without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, neither of whom will play here, the Lakers easily beat the Toronto Raptors 110-101 on Tuesday. The Lakers built a 34-point lead in the first 20 minutes and were never threatened in the second half. L.A. made 18 3-pointers, including seven of their first eight attempts.

Marc Gasol got some extended run against his former team, scoring 13 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in 28 minutes. Montrezl Harrel was ejected in the first quarter, and Andre Drummond (toe) still hasn’t been cleared to play, so Gasol played heavy minutes after barely being in the rotation just a couple games ago. Drummond is questionable for this one.

Markieff Morris played well in Tuesday’s win, scoring 15 points with nine boards. Alex Caruso had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Dennis Schroder posted 12 points, nine assists, two rebounds and two steals. It was Schroder’s fourth straight game with at least seven assists. Seven Lakers players scored in double figures, tying a season-high for most double-digit scorers in a single game.

Los Angeles defeated Toronto for the first time since Nov. 30, 2014, snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Raptors. The Lakers improved to 21-3 this season when tallying more assists than their opponent, as they held Toronto to an opponent season-low 17 assists. Los Angeles held their opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field for the 10th time this season, improving to a perfect 10-0 in those scenarios.

This will be the 66th regular-season meeting between the Lakers and Heat, with the Lakers holding a 37-28 all-time lead. The Lakers are 7-3 in the past 10 meetings. Miami leads all-time 18-14 at home in the regular season.

Why Bet on Miami? | 2021 NBA Expert Analysis

Miami was a 5.5-point home favorite on Tuesday but saw a four-game winning streak end in a 124-112 loss to Memphis. The Heat couldn’t stop Dillon Brooks, who scored a season-high 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting. Brooks converted 5 of 9 3-pointers and scored 23 points in the third period to help thwart a Miami comeback bid.

The Grizzlies, which have averaged an NBA-high 55.5 paint points per game this season, scored 50 paint points and shot 16 of 20 at the rim. That was surprising, considering the Heat has allowed an NBA-low 40.3 paint points per game this season.

“Bad rotations, lack of communication. That was about it,” center Bam Adebayo said of the Heat’s defensive struggles.

Adebayo had his second double-double of the season on Tuesday with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists to go with three steals. Adebayo has also scored at least 15 points in 11 straight games, a span in which he has recorded four double-doubles.

Jimmy Butler had 28 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Butler had one of his best shooting performances of the season in hitting 11-for-16 to extend his streak of games with at least 15 points to six outings — he has surpassed the 20-point mark in four of those contests.

Trade acquisition Victor Oladipo had 16 points but was just 6-for-14. Duncan Robinson had 14 points and over his past seven games, Robinson has averaged 17.0 points (119) while shooting 58.6 percent (41-of-70) from the field, 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from three-point range and a perfect 3-of-3 from the foul line.

Miami is ranked second in opponent field goals made per game (38.7), third in opponent field goal percentage (.447), third in opponent fast break points (10.7), third in charges drawn (47), fourth in points allowed (107.4), seventh in defensive rating (109.4) and seventh in total deflections (792).