San Antonio @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 5, 2017 ) L.A. Lakers 102, San Antonio 95

The Los Angeles Lakers knew the Ball family drama would follow them when they drafted Lonzo Ball No. 2 overall last summer, and they've become adept at brushing away some of the things Lonzo's father, LaVar, has to say about the state of the team. The Lakers will try to move to 3-0 since LaVar Ball said the team didn't want to play for coach Luke Walton when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

Lonzo Ball and Walton both brushed off LaVar Ball's comments at the time, but other players were quick to stand up for the coach, including rookie forward Kyle Kuzma, who voiced his support before a 99-86 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. "Luke is my guy," Kuzma said, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. "I love playing for him. I'm sure most of us love playing for him, too. ... A lot of times you have losing streaks, you can go home and listen to people and let them be in your ears, but the people who really matter are the people in the Lakers organization. We stand by Luke. I know the front office does." The Spurs don't have anyone calling for the ouster of their coach, Gregg Popovich, who continues to guide the team to wins despite being without star forward Kawhi Leonard. The former Defensive Player of the Year is expected to sit out again with a shoulder strain on Thursday and played in just eight of the team's first 42 games.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE SPURS (28-14): San Antonio earned a 107-100 win at Sacramento on Monday without Leonard by using the same formula that has carried the team without its star all season -- leaning on LaMarcus Aldridge. The veteran power forward scored 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting and added 12 rebounds in his second straight 30-point double-double. Aldridge got some help on Monday from an unlikely source in small forward Davis Bertans, who is trying to earn some extra playing time in the absence of Leonard and exploded for a career-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in 31 minutes off the bench.

ABOUT THE LAKERS (13-27): Ball continues to struggle with his shooting stroke and went 2-of-10, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range, in the win over Sacramento on Tuesday, but he also collected 11 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals to draw praise from Walton after the contest. "He impacted (the game) on both ends," Walton told reporters of Ball. "He creates our pace for us, he makes winning plays for us, he gets other people easy shots ... and was a big part of why we won tonight." The Lakers are getting an uptick in production from another young player in power forward Julius Randle, who recorded his fourth double-double in six games with 22 points and 14 rebounds on Tuesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Spurs PG Tony Parker (ankle) left Monday's game and is questionable for Thursday.

2. Kuzma is 1-of-13 from 3-point range over the last three games.

3. Los Angeles snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with a 102-95 win at San Antonio on April 5.

PREDICTION: Spurs 109, Lakers 99