NBA Previews

Just over a week after the Los Angeles Clippers were sent reeling by a pair of old friends, they will square off again against the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. It was also in Los Angeles on Nov. 27 when the Nuggets took the floor without Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray on the second night of a back-to-back and still were able to rally past the Clippers for a 113-104 victory. The Nuggets

The Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors have an opportunity to get well acquainted when they meet for the first of three times in 18 days Wednesday night in San Francisco. The West Coast rivals were scheduled to duel just three times this season, including just once in San Francisco. But the inaugural NBA in-season tournament caused regular-season schedule changes this week, with each of the teams eliminated in the group phase required to

The Dallas Mavericks unleashed a record 30-0 run in their last contest and didn’t even win the game. The Mavericks will aim to take a more consistent approach on Wednesday night when they host the Utah Jazz. Dallas has lost two straight games and five of its past seven, but the most bewildering setback during the stretch is Saturday’s 126-120 home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavericks were trailing 111-87 with less than

By almost every measure, the Oklahoma City Thunder are well ahead of the curve for a team with relative inexperience, with their place in the Western Conference standings confirming that irrefutable truth. The Thunder entered the season with the second-youngest roster in the NBA, with only the San Antonio Spurs taking the court with a younger group on a given night. Yet, entering Wednesday’s road game against the Houston Rockets, the Thunder are second in

The Chicago Bulls will try to extend their first winning streak of the 2023-24 season Wednesday when the Charlotte Hornets visit for an Eastern Conference matchup. Chicago put together consecutive wins for the first time of the campaign, following up a 120-113 overtime defeat of Milwaukee last Thursday with a 124-118 victory against New Orleans on Saturday. The first of those back-to-back wins snapped a five-game losing skid for the Bulls. Coby White scored a

The last time the Brooklyn Nets visited the Atlanta Hawks, Mikal Bridges matched his career high with 45 points but the result was an overtime loss. This time, Bridges is coming off his fastest start to a game in his career, and the Nets hope to pair another productive night from him with another win Wednesday night when they visit the Hawks. This game was scheduled last week when both teams were eliminated from the

The Minnesota Timberwolves will go for their fifth win in a row when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. Minnesota owns the NBA’s best record at 15-4 and is looking to improve to 10-1 on its home court. The Timberwolves have had three days off after failing to advance in the league’s in-season tournament. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch learned this week that he was named Western Conference Coach of the

Two teams striving to improve on their early-season mediocrity clash Wednesday night when the Miami Heat visit the Toronto Raptors. Miami stands seventh in the Eastern Conference after 20 games. “We stand right where we don’t want to be, which is very mediocre, not good, not bad, not great, not any of those things,” Miami forward Jimmy Butler said after a 144-129 home loss to the Indiana Pacers Saturday. “Just mediocre. You talk about our

A five-day break came at just the right time for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers haven’t played since last Friday when they dropped their second straight, 125-119 to the Boston Celtics. All-Star center Joel Embiid missed the past two games with an illness. Tyrese Maxey was also out against the Celtics. Philadelphia is expected to have Embiid and Maxey back when it visits the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. “I think that they’re pretty much fine,”