Monday, February 8

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NBA

San Antonio (29-20, 24-24-1 ATS) at L.A. Lakers (39-13, 23-27-2 ATS)

The Spurs continue their season-long eight-game road trip with a key matchup against the Lakers inside the Staples Center.

San Antonio is 2-1 on the trip so far (1-2 ATS) after beating the Clippers inside Staples Center on Saturday, winning 98-81 as a 3-point favorite. George Hill, a second-year pro, led the way with 22 points and Tony Parker added 14 points and 14 assists. The Spurs have won four of six overall (3-3 ATS), but they are just a mediocre 10-10 SU (9-11 ATS) on the highway this season.

The Kobe Bryant-less Lakers went to Portland on Saturday and blew out the Blazers 99-82 as 3-point favorites. Bryant missed Saturday's contest with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable for tonight's contest. Ron Artest picked up the slack with a 21-point performance and Lamar Odom had 10 points, six assists and 22 rebounds. The Lakers had an eight-game home winning streak in Friday's 126-113 loss to the Nuggets and are now 24-4 SU at Staples Center this season, but just 13-14-1 ATS.

In their lone meeting this season, San Antonio scored a 105-85 rout of the Lakers back on Jan. 12, easily cashing as a 3-point home chalk. Los Angeles had won seven of nine (SU and ATS) prior to that game, including spread-covers in all three matchups last season. The Lakers are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings with the Spurs inside Staples Center.

The Spurs are on ATS surges of 12-4-1 on Monday and 18-7-2 against Pacific Division teams, but they're also on pointspread slides of 2-5 after a spread-cover, 1-4 after a straight-up win and 2-5 against Western Conference teams. The Lakers are 3-1-2 ATS in their last six after a spread-cover, but just 1-3-1 ATS in their last five overall and 0-6-1 ATS in their last seven Monday games.

San Antonio is on several "under" streaks, including 12-5 on Monday, 5-1 on the road, 4-1 in Pacific Division teams and 7-2 against teams with a winning record. Los Angeles is on "under" runs of 19-9 on Monday, 17-8-1 after a spread-cover, 7-2 against winning teams and 4-0 against Southwest Division squads. In this rivalry, the "under" has been the play in seven of the past nine meetings overall, with the last four in a row in Hollywood staying low.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER

Al DeMarco, General Manager of ATS Edge.com, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry who is also the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in Chicago and a regular contributor on Fox Sports and MSNBC. Read his Daily Blog for his gambling insight, tips and observations at ATSedge.com