Los Angeles @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2018 ) L.A. Clippers 118, L.A. Lakers 107

LeBron James missed the last 17 games, during which the Los Angeles Lakers went 6-11 and tumbled out of the top eight in the Western Conference. James is back at practice and is questionable to return from a groin injury when the Lakers serve as the visiting team in a date with the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.

James returned to practice on Sunday and the team is waiting to see how his body responds the rest of the week before deciding on a return. "We did three-minute scrimmages so, again, we'll see how his body responds to that and then from there we'll take it, as far as making those scrimmages longer or if he says, 'Hey I feel great, see if I can play,'" Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters of James. "Then we'll make those adjustments. ... He's not driving the lane and tomahawk dunking on people right now. But he's moving well and he's getting to the paint and shooting jumpers and all those types of things." The Clippers are one of the teams sitting above the Lakers in the West and had a three-game winning streak come to an end with a 123-118 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. "I'm not going to overreact," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "I didn't think we were ready to play. Didn't matter what defense or offense we were in."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers), Prime Ticket (Clippers)

ABOUT THE LAKERS (26-25): Los Angeles' young stars keep hearing their names being tossed out in trade rumors for New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, and small forward Brandon Ingram took the opportunity to raise his stock on Tuesday. The 21-year-old exploded for a career-high 36 points on 16-of-20 shooting in a 121-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. "That's just part of the business," Ingram told ESPN of the trade speculation. "I realized that. There's different odds (of where Davis could end up) looking at everything. I can only control what I can control and just be the best that I can be every single day that I'm out on the floor."

ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (28-23): Los Angeles held five straight opponents to 106 points or fewer before letting the Hawks shoot 50.6 percent from the floor and score at least 29 points in each quarter on Monday. Point guard Patrick Beverley tried to do his part on that end with 10 rebounds and three steals but didn't get enough help in the setback. The Clippers are missing their own key piece due to injury with small forward Danilo Gallinari (back) on the shelf, and he is questionable for Thursday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Clippers SF Tobias Harris is averaging 27 points over the last four games.

2. Lakers PF Kyle Kuzma (hip) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. The Clippers took seven of the last eight meetings.

PREDICTION: Clippers 111, Lakers 104