NBA Previews

Winners in seven of their last nine, the Los Angeles Lakers look to keep rolling Sunday when they visit the Phoenix Suns in a matchup with Western Conference playoff implications. Phoenix sits in eighth place in the West, 2.5 games ahead of Los Angeles, after both sides returned from the All-Star break with back-to-backs on Thursday and Friday. The Lakers split theirs, rebounding from a 128-110 loss on Thursday at Golden State with a 123-118

The Philadelphia 76ers will look for their second consecutive victory when they host former coach Doc Rivers and the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday afternoon. Tyrese Maxey scored 24 points to lift the short-handed Sixers to a 104-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Without Joel Embiid, Robert Covington and Kyle Lowry, Maxey responded with 15 points in the fourth quarter. Former Buck Cameron Payne scored 16 points off the bench, Tobias Harris added 15

The Minnesota Timberwolves will try to bounce back on short rest when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night in Minneapolis. Minnesota is coming off a 112-107 home loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points and big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert each registered double-doubles, but Milwaukee outscored Minnesota 36-13 in the third quarter to storm to the win. The result snapped the Timberwolves’

The Orlando Magic are not only threatening to make the postseason for the first time in four seasons, they may not even require the play-in tournament to reach that goal. The Magic have won seven of their last nine games, including a 116-109 road victory over Cleveland on Thursday in their return from the All-Star break. Orlando’s 31-25 record puts it in the mix for a top-six finish in the conference. The Magic are on

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on track Friday night when they play the rubber match of their three-game season series against the visiting San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers, minus LeBron James (sore ankle), will head home after a 128-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in San Francisco. Los Angeles played its second consecutive contest without James and had a three-game winning streak snapped. Los Angeles has won six

The Denver Nuggets struggled prior to the All-Star break by finishing play with their second three-game skid of the season. The Nuggets got back on track in their return to action and will look to make it two straight wins when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Denver turned the page on its troubles with an impressive 130-110 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards on Thursday. The Nuggets never trailed and led

The Charlotte Hornets will have the capability of using an unusual means of slowing down Stephen Curry — shadowing him with his brother, Seth — when they duel the Golden State Warriors on Friday in San Francisco. Both teams will be seeking a second win in as many nights. After going into the All-Star break with three consecutive home victories, the Hornets opened a four-game trip with a 115-107 win over the Utah Jazz on

The Miami Heat are eager to return to action after entering the All-Star break on a run of six wins in eight games. Miami will restart with a road game against the surging New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. Jimmy Butler, Miami’s leading scorer, will be back following a three-game absence prompted by a death in his family. Point guard Delon Wright will make his Heat debut after signing last weekend, days after he reached

Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault isn’t one to be predictable. As the Thunder have surged near the top of the Western Conference, Daigneault has continued to tinker with his rotations. He did it Thursday night in a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, starting Isaiah Joe in the second half in place of Josh Giddey. Daigneault figures to continue his tinkering — especially as he works newcomers Gordon Hayward and Bismack Biyombo into the