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The Nuggets and Lakers have taken turns winning ball games in this series, with L.A. coming out on top in the pivotal Game 5. Kobe Bryant and his teammates would love to end this series on Friday, but that will be difficult considering how well Denver has played at home.

AccuScore projects Denver as 57% favorites. The average margin of victory however is just 1.5 with the Lakers winning 43% of simulations. Current odds for the Lakers are at 2.96 (+196) which translates to a winning percentage of just 33%. The value in the money line market is with the Lakers. The point spread tool also shows the Lakers as 56% likely to cover +5.

The biggest factor in L.A.'s Game 5 win was the play of Lamar Odom inside. Pau Gasol also played very good defense, challenging the Nuggets at the rim and altering shots.

The Lakers will need them to step up their play once again to pull out another victory on the road. Conversely, the Nuggets need their bench to feed off the energy of the home crowd as they did in Game 4 and translate it into transition points and offensive rebounds.