After an excellent victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers (40-25) look to make it four wins in a row as they host the Chicago Bulls (27-38) on Thursday.

L.A. is looking to sweep the season series.

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Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Chicago Bulls

When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Mar 12

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

With exactly a month to go until the playoffs, the Lakers are catching their stride at the right time. Not only are they on a much-needed three-game winning streak, but they’ve done it by beating two very good teams in a row. It’s also happening at the right time because the Western Conference seeding is tighter than ever.

Thankfully, the Lakers have this upcoming game against the Bulls to capitalize on before they face the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets. This season, the Bulls have won only 27 games and are entering this one losers of seven of their last 10. They know their playoff hopes are bleak because it’s also not like there’s a good chance that they make the play-in either. Their current injury report perfectly depicts that.

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That said, this doesn’t mean it’ll be a giveaway game for the purple and gold. Over the years, Chicago has found a way to upset Los Angeles now and then. But given the state of these two teams right now, there’s really no excuse for the Lakers to lose this one.

The Bulls are one of those handful of teams that are weaker than the Lakers on both offense and defense. The easiest way the Lakers can beat them is to once again overwhelm them with their offense, as they did to the Bulls in January.

LeBron James remains questionable, but the luxury in this scenario is that he can take his time to recover because Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves have held things down. That should be the case again on Thursday and likely without Marcus Smart — who has been playing a ton of minutes as of late — expect Luka Kennard and Jake LaRavia to get more burn. It’ll be a great opportunity for the Lakers to continue building on their momentum and rhythm.

For as long as the Lakers play their usual game and approach this one with the same mindset as their last few, this should be another dub for them.

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Let’s see if the Lakers can remain perfect in their current five-game home stand on Thursday.

Notes and Updates

For the Lakers’ injury report, LeBron (right hip contusion and left foot arthritis) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) are questionable.

Smart (right hip contusion) is doubtful while Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) is probable.

As for the Bulls, Zach Collins (right toe surgery), Noa Essengue (left shoulder surgery), Jaden Ivey (left patellofemoral pain syndrome) and Anferenee Simons (ulnar styloid francture) are out.

Guerschon Yabusele (left foot soreness), Patrick Williams (left ankle sprain), Colin Sexton (left fibular head contusion), Issac Okoro (patellofemoral pain syndrome) are questionable.

Matas Buzelis (right ankle sprain), Josh Giddey (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Smith (left calf strain) are probable.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.