The Miami Heat will look to score their sixth straight victory when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their 2013 Christmas Day showdown at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

When the NBA scheduled Christmas Day 2013, they were expecting an anticipated showdown between Heat superstar LeBron James and his Lakers counterpart Kobe Bryant, but it didn't play out as expected since the Lakers will play without the 15-time All-Star.

Bryant who has only played six games this season is on the injured list once again after sustaining a fractured knee that will cause him to miss games for the next six weeks. The 35-year-old superstar also missed the first six weeks of the 2013-14 NBA season due to his Achilles injury.

Without Bryant, Thursday's showdown is expected to be a one-sided affair in favor of the Heat, who is expected to lean on James once again.

The reigning Most Valuable Player is coming off an excellent performance in their 121-119 overtime victory against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday in which he finished with 38 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

James has played well against the Lakers over the past few years averaging 29.8 points in his last 13 games against them. Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni knows that they will have their hands full against James, but he vowed to force his players to give their best shot in containing the four-time MVP.

"He's playing at a very, very high level, gets better every year, which is scary," D'Antoni said in a statement via NBA.com. "You try to just contain him as well as you can."

The Lakers, who have been slowed down by injury this season is coming off a humiliating 117-90 loss against the Phoenix Suns on Monday which was their sixth loss in their last nine games.

Good news for the Lakers is the availability of one additional healthy player against the Heat as Jordan Farmar is expected to make his return from a hamstring injury.

Farmar, who missed the team's last 10 games is expected to play heavy minutes at the point guard position with Steve Nash and Steve Blake still recovering from back and elbow injury, respectively.

Online Stream and TV Schedule

The Christmas 2013 showdown between the Heat and the Lakers will tipoff at 5:00 p.m EST and will be nationally broadcasted by ABC. Live stream is available through NBA League Pass, while game information such as game box scores and play-by-play info will be available at NBA.com.