Top NBA Betting Picks for Saturday: Lakers vs. Warriors and More

The Charlotte Hornets continued their franchise-record streak of nine straight wins with a walk-off victory over Indiana on Thursday. The Hornets then went home with a 12-16 record on the season.

On Saturday, Charlotte was given a chance to improve on its performance against Portland in a match between play-in tournament hopefuls.

Today’s NBA Best Bets begins with a matchup.

Portland Trail Blazers at Charlotte Hornets, 1 p.m. ET

Hornets sharpshooter Kon Knueppel leads the NBA with 209 3-pointers and on Thursday set a league record for most treys by a rookie in a season.

Now, with three 3-pointers under Keegan Murray’s previous standard from three seasons ago, Knueppel is middling in defending the arc this season, but he’s got his sights set on it against a Portland defense that has struggled recently.

Portland allowed Denver to be lopsided from long range 21 times on Feb. 20, and Minnesota hit 17 3-pointers four days later. The Trail Blazers played better perimeter defense in road wins at Phoenix and Chicago on Sunday and Thursday, but they should have, considering how short the Suns and Bulls are.

Charlotte has won 13 of 16 and is hoping to climb the standings in a tight race for the final six spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Kneuppel continues to fire at them in that direction.

Kon Knueppel makes over 3.5 3-pointers (-150 at Bet365)

Houston Rockets at Miami Heat, 3:30 p.m.

Miami has lost two straight games, as well as All-Star Norman Powell (week, groin strain), and is looking for an identity that bears no resemblance to recent seasons.

“We’re better than being in the play-in,” Heat star Bam Adebayo said.

The Rockets compete in a different conference, but they already know that statement applies to them. Houston moved into the No. 3 seed in the West following a three-game winning streak Friday. In Houston’s most recent appearance, Kevin Durant gave his best effort in his debut season with the Rockets.

Durant scored 26 of his season-high 40 points in the second half on Thursday to lead Houston to a comeback win at Orlando. He is shooting 53% of his attempts over his last five games after shooting just 43.8% of his attempts in his previous six games. The Rockets are moving forward with their prized offseason acquisition, and now KD is cooking. The same goes for reserve guard Reed Shepherd, who has averaged 16.9 points on 51.6% shooting over the past eight games.

Rocket -3.5 (-112 with FanDuel)

Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m.

It might be a stretch to label them a true “big three,” but the Lakers’ trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves are healthy and playing well despite the team’s struggles.

Los Angeles has lost three straight, and even Doncic’s Herculean 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists weren’t enough to save the Lakers from a 113-110 loss to Phoenix on Thursday. Reeves’ tying corner 3 attempt as the buzzer sounded was no good.

I expect the Lakers to get a good win against the Warriors, who aren’t as depleted as the Suns but are still far from intact. Every fan at the Chase Center will receive a Stephen Curry flip book, which should be plenty since Curry is sidelined with a right knee injury. Kristaps Porzingis is questionable due to illness and Draymond Green (back) is a possibility, but Golden State, which is coming off a comfortable win at Memphis on Wednesday, has not had a winning streak in over a month.

Lakers -3.5 (-106 on FanDuel)