The Los Angeles Lakers (4-5) and Oklahoma City Thunder (6-0) will continue their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series on Friday night at the Staples Center, with the opening tip scheduled for 10:30 ET on ESPN.
Las Vegas oddsmakers have opened up the Lakers as 2.5-point home favorites in Game 3 despite losing the first two games of the series in Oklahoma City, while the total stands at 194.
Los Angeles was handed a 77-75 setback in Game 2 as eight-point road underdogs on Wednesday night, as it was unable to close the deal after leading by seven points with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers now have a tall mountain to climb in order to reach the conference finals in the 2012 NBA playoffs, considering the franchise is just 2-17 all-time in series play when dropping the first two games of a best-of-seven series.
A return to Southern California may lift the team's spirits after suc...
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