Lakers look to halt woes in matchup with soaring Pacers

The visiting Los Angeles Lakers will look to rely on their superstars to pull them out of a slump on Wednesday, when they face the surging Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.

Los Angeles (43-28) has dropped three in a row and seven of 10 entering play, as it desperately tries to hold on to a top-four seed in the tightly-packed Western Conference standings. Only three games separate the Lakers from the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves, teams currently in the first play-in round.

On the first night of a four-game road trip, Los Angeles fell 118-106 to the Orlando Magic, despite receiving a combined 56 points from Luka Doncic and LeBron James. Doncic, who scored 32 points Monday and has posted more than 30 points in five of six games, knows the Lakers can't afford to fall out of a top-six guaranteed playoff spot.

"We've just got to get into the playoffs first. There's nothing guaranteed in this league," Doncic said. "I think we've got to talk more as a team. I've got to talk more. I need to get everybody in position and be a good leader. I'm still new to the team, but I'm getting comfortable talking more and more."

In 18 games since being traded to Los Angeles, Doncic is averaging 27.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. James adds 24.9 ppg, 8.4 apg and 8.1 rpg.

James (left groin strain) is listed as probable.

Indiana (42-29), winners in five straight, can match its longest winning streak of the season with a home victory Wednesday. After their previous four wins came down to the wire, the Pacers earned a stress-free 119-103 win Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

A reliable source of offense for Indiana has come from Obi Toppin, who's averaging 16.8 points in the Pacers' five-game winning streak and is shooting 46 percent on 3-pointers in March.

"He's a winner," Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said of Toppin, who had 20 points on six made triples Monday. "He's a team guy; he's all about trying to help the guys next to him. He's also really worked hard on his defense and rebounding."

On the other end of the court, the Pacers have made a concerted effort since last season to improve defensively, seeing their points allowed per game drop to 115.2 -- down from 120.2 a year ago. One of the leaders on that front is guard Andrew Nembhard, who is continuously asked to guard the opponents' best scorer. That was no different Monday, as Nembhard held Minnesota star Anthony Edwards to a hard-earned 17 points on 1-for-11 3-point shooting.

"He's an All-NBA defense guy," Teammate Tyrese Haliburton said of Nembhard. "I think everybody understands that he spearheads our defense, and the big jump we've had over the last 12 months has been because of him."

Haliburton leads the team with 1.5 steals per game, just ahead of Nembhard's 1.3. Pascal Siakam paces Indiana with 20.8 points and seven rebounds per contest, while Haliburton chips in 18.5 ppg.

--Field Level Media