The Los Angeles Lakers host the LA Clippers tonight in a Pacific Division battle of cross-town rivals. Luka Doncic and the Lakers (33-21) look to solidify their position atop the division and inch closer to Denver and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers (27-28) arrive at crypto.com Arena having won four of their last five despite having traded starters Ivica Zubac and James Harden the week before the All-Star Break.

After a dreadful start to the season that saw them lose 14 of their first 20 games, the Clippers have turned things around going 14-6 in their last 20 including four of their last five. Last night, LA rallied in the second half to win at home against Denver, 115-114. Bennedict Mathurin, acquired in the deadline deal with Indiana for Zubac, scored 38 off the bench in his home debut for the Clippers. With the win, the Clippers pulled to within 1.5 games of eighth place Golden State.

The Lakers defeated Dallas, 124-104, at home last night. Playing with Doncic, the Lakers needed a big night from LeBron James and he delivered a triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Austin Reaves added 18 off the bench. The win pulled LA within one game of the three seed in the Western Conference.

This is the fourth and final regular season meeting between these teams. The Lakers won the season opener in the series, but the Clippers have won and covered the spread in the last two.

Lets take a closer look at the matchup and take into consideration lineups, injuries, and other factors affecting the line and total.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds courtesy of DraftKings recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game Details and How to Watch Live: Clippers at Lakers

• Date: Friday, February 20, 2026
• Time: 10PM EST
• Site: crypto.com Arena
• City: Los Angeles, CA
• Network/Streaming: ESPN

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Game Odds: Clippers at Lakers

The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of DraftKings:

• Moneyline: Los Angeles Clippers (+220), Los Angeles Lakers (-270)
• Spread: Lakers -6.5
• Total: 223.5 points

This game opened Lakers -6.5 with the Total set at 224.5.

Be sure to check out DraftKings for all the latest game odds & player props for every matchup this week on the NBA schedule! 

Expected Starting Lineups: Clippers at Lakers

Los Angeles Clippers

• PG Kris Dunn
• SG Kawhi Leonard
• SF Derrick Jones
• PF John Collins
• C Brook Lopez

Los Angeles Lakers

• PG Luka Doncic
• SG Austin Reaves
• SF Marcus Smart
• PF LeBron James
• C Deandre Ayton

Injury Report: Clippers at LakersLA Clippers

• Darius Garland (toe) has been declared OUT for tonight’s game

LA Lakers

• Luka Doncic (hamstring) is listed as probable for tonight’s game

Important stats, trends and insights: Clippers at Lakers

• The Lakers are 15-10 at home this season
• The Clippers are 13-17 on the road this season
• The Lakers are 29-24-1 ATS this season / 13-11-1 at home
• The Clippers are 28-27 ATS this season / 16-14 on the road
• The OVER has cashed in 29 of the Clippers’ 55 games this season (29-26)
• The OVER has cashed in 30 of the Lakers’ 54 games this season (30-24)
• The UNDER has cashed in 7 of the last 10 games between these teams
• LeBron James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double last night
• Luke Kennard has buried 1, 3-pointer in each of his last 3 games with the Lakers
• Kris Dunn has picked up 6 or more assists in 6 of his last 7 games for the Clippers

Rotoworld Best Bet

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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
 
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for tonight’s Clippers and Lakers’ game:

• Moneyline: Rotoworld Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline
• Spread: Assuming Doncic plays, Rotoworld Bet is recommending a play on the Lakers -6.5 ATS
• Total: Rotoworld Bet is leaning slightly towards a play on the Game Total OVER 224.5

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions page from NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar! 

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

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• Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
• Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) 
• Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) 
• Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)