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The Los Angeles Lakers don't want to enter the NBA All-Star break on a sour note. They have the perfect opponent lined up to prevent such an occurrence.

Los Angeles (32-21) looks to avoid a third consecutive defeat when it hosts the struggling Dallas Mavericks (19-34) at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers won the first two contests of their eight-game homestand but lost the next two and hope to avert their third three-game losing streak of the season in their final outing before the league pauses for a week.

They'll have good chance to do that against the Mavericks, who are in the midst of an eight-game slide that began on Jan. 24 with a 116-110 home setback against Los Angeles. It was Dallas' fourth consecutive loss to the Lakers and second this season, as it also was beaten 129-119 at Crypto.com Arena in late November.

Two other games are on Thursday's NBA schedule, including a matchup that has the Portland Trail Blazers (26-29) visiting the Delta Center in Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz (18-37) at 9 p.m. ET. The Trail Blazers attempt to bounce back from a 133-109 loss to the Timberwolves in Minnesota on Wednesday that halted their three-game winning streak, while the Jazz seek their season-high third straight victory a day after routing the Sacramento Kings 121-93 at home. Portland won the first two meetings between the teams this season.

There is an abundance of games on the college basketball slate, one of which is a Missouri Valley Conference clash between Northern Iowa (16-9) and host Belmont (22-4) at 9 p.m. ET at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The Panthers are seeking their fourth consecutive triumph while the Bruins hope to rebound from an overtime loss at Bradley on Monday that ended a nine-game winning streak that began on Jan. 7 with a 78-65 victory at Northern Iowa. 

Another compelling contest is a MAAC showdown that has Marist (16-8) visiting Lawler Arena in North Andover, Mass. to square off against Merrimack (16-9) at 7 p.m. ET. The Warriors, who posted a 68-55 win at Marist last month, are pursuing their fifth straight victory and the Red Foxes aim for their fifth in six contests.

The Lakers are 7.5-point favorites against the Mavericks in the latest consensus NBA odds, while the Trail Blazers are 8.5-point favorites over the Jazz. Belmont is a 4.5-point favorite against Northern Iowa and Merrimack is a 3.5-point favorite against Marist.

Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Thursday, Feb. 12. All times Eastern

NBA best bets, where to watch

Trail Blazers at Jazz

Time: 9 p.m. | Location: Salt Lake City | TV: NBA League Pass | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: Jazz +8.5 (-109) | Expert: Under 239.5 (-110, Matt Severance)

The Jazz have split their last six games, and they were competitive in the losses over that stretch as each setback was by seven points or fewer. They'll likely put up another good fight against the Trail Blazers, who posted a two-point victory when they visited the Delta Center earlier this season. The SportsLine Projection Model thinks so, as the Jazz cover the spread in 64% of its simulations. SportsLine expert Matt Severance (14-7, +616.5 on his last 21 NBA picks) likes the Under to hit, even though Utah is the worst defensive team in the league.

Mavericks at Lakers

Time: 10 p.m. | Location: Los Angeles | TV: Prime Video | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine pick -- Model: Lakers -7.5 (-109)

While Luka Doncic (hamstring) remains sidelined, LeBron James is expected to be back in the lineup after sitting out Los Angeles' 136-108 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Mavericks have lost eight straight and likely will have their minds on how they'll spend their week off during the All-Star break. Each of Dallas' last four defeats were by nine or more points, and the SportsLine Projection Model doesn't see the Mavs keeping this contest very close as its simulations say the Lakers cover the spread 67% of the time.

CBB best bets, where to watch

Marist at Merrimack

Time: 7 p.m. | Location: North Andover, Mass. | TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: Marist +3.5 (-110) | Expert: Merrimack -3.5 (-108, Chip Patterson)

The Red Foxes have gone 4-1 since suffering back-to-back double-digit losses three weeks ago, with the lone setback during the stretch was by three points. One of those double-figure losses was a 68-55 defeat against the Warriors, so don't think that revenge won't be on the Red Foxes' minds. The SportsLine Projection Model believes they'll definitely put up a good fight as the Red Foxes cover the spread in 65% of simulations. SportsLine expert Chip Patterson is leaning the other way, however, as he feels Merrimack will take care of business and cover as it improves to 9-0 straight up and 8-1 against the spread at home.

Northern Iowa at Belmont

Time: 9 p.m. | Location: Nashville | TV: ESPN+ | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks -- Model: Over 138.5 (-113) | Expert: Northern Iowa +5.5 (-114, Larry Hartstein)

The Panthers are the top defensive team in the nation as they are allowing an average of 60 points per game. That's exactly how many they gave up last Monday in a victory against Murray State, which leads the MVC with an 85.3 points per game average. But can they come up with another strong effort versus the Bruins, who scored 78 points in the first meeting between the schools and are second in the conference at 83.4 points per game after recently posting back-to-back 103-point performances? The SportsLine Projection Model doesn't see Belmont reaching triple digits on Thursday, but it simulations say the Over hits more than 74% of the time. SportsLine expert Larry Hartstein (6-2, +385 on his last eight spread picks involving Northern Iowa) feels the Panthers will cover in this matchup, something they did five of the previous six times they've been underdogs this season.