LOS ANGELES – Two of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) hottest teams entering the All-Star break hope the week off has not stalled their momentum, as they go head-to-head on Feb 22 (Feb 23 Singapore time) when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers, though, will be missing LeBron James due to an ankle injury.

The California rivals begin the second half clinging to the ninth and 10th positions in the NBA play-off race, spots that would grant entry into the play-in event.

The Lakers solidified their status by winning their past three games following a loss to the Nuggets. They also had won three straight before the Denver game.

Los Angeles announced on Feb 21 that James would sit out the Golden State game. His status for the Feb 23 home game against the San Antonio Spurs and the road game against the Phoenix Suns on Feb 25 was uncertain.

“The most important thing for me is definitely my health, where I’m at right now, where our team is leaning,” James said over the break. “We’re trending in the right direction. Obviously, with our Laker team, it’s been about health all year. Trying to do what’s best for me for the betterment of the team.”

The 39-year-old appeared healthy when the Lakers pulled out a 145-144 double-overtime road win against the Warriors on Jan 27. He complemented 12 assists with 36 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.

The Warriors rebounded well from the defeat, winning eight of 10 before the break. Their only losses during the run were another overtime affair at Atlanta and a home defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers.

All-Star Weekend viewers saw Golden State star Stephen Curry put on a dazzling three-point shooting display in his showdown with WNBA standout Sabrina Ionescu. But that was nothing new to Warriors fans, who saw him make seven or more treys in seven of his last 11 games before heading to Indianapolis.

He bombed in nine three-pointers to account for a majority of his game-high 46 points in the loss to the Lakers to begin his recent flurry.

Curry got plenty of help when the Warriors won their final pre-break game at Utah on Feb 15. Coming off the bench for the first time since 2012, Klay Thompson burned the Jazz for 35 points.

“The way that he responded is the Klay Thompson that I know – the true competitor, the true dawg,” he said of Thompson, who was seemingly benched because of his poor display against the Clippers.

“He got (angry) and said, ‘Watch this’. I think a lot of it is just knowing who he is.” REUTERS