Los Angeles Lakers vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction & Preview - 1/24/2026
Updated July 9, 2026
Luka Dončić’s returns to Dallas as the centerpiece of the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. He brings a 26-17 Lakers group into American Airlines Center against a Mavericks side fighting to keep pace in the West. Dallas has surged with a recent 4-game winning streak, but their injury list is long, and the Lakers arrive healthier, rested, and 14-9 away from home. Here, I break down this Western Conference matchup and you can find my Lakers vs Mavericks prediction below.
Pick: Mavericks +3.5 ATS PRO
Confidence: 4/5
Score Projection: Los Angeles 117 – Dallas 116
Win Probability: Los Angeles 54%, Dallas 46%
This should be a tight game and I recommend taking the points with the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers have the best player on the floor in Luka Doncic, but the Warriors had the best player on the floor against the Mavs earlier this week and Dallas found a way to win that game. I expect the Mavs to treat this game like it's their Super Bowl and for Dallas to either steal this one outright or cover the spread in a closely contested loss.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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