NBA Previews

The New Orleans Pelicans are getting a brief break in the middle of their most road-heavy stretch of games this season. The Toronto Raptors are winding down their six-game road trip, tied for their longest stretch away from home this season. Two road-weary teams will meet Monday night in New Orleans. The Pelicans went 2-2 on a road trip that ended with a 114-113 victory at San Antonio on Friday. After they face the Raptors,

The Atlanta Hawks will be shooting for a season-high five-game winning streak on Monday when they wrap up a six-game homestand by hosting the Los Angeles Clippers. Atlanta beat the Golden State Warriors 141-134 in overtime on Saturday, overcoming Steph Curry’s 60-point performance, and moved to within a half-game of Chicago for the No. 9 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Clippers have won three in a row after defeating the Miami Heat 103-95 on

The Los Angeles Lakers could have a winning record on their six-game road trip, but that will be determined by how they end it. The Lakers travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Monday night, looking to win their third straight and finish the trip at 4-2. “We’re playing some good ball, we got to keep it going on this trip,” Lakers star Lebron James said. James had 24 points and Austin Reaves added

The Philadelphia 76ers realized how difficult a task it can be to play without the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. Joel Embiid sat out again Saturday with a lateral meniscus injury in his left knee, and the Sixers were blitzed 136-121 by the Brooklyn Nets. While the Sixers haven’t made a formal announcement, it’s likely that Embiid will be sidelined for a long stretch, including Monday’s home matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Embiid sustained the

Stephen Curry scored 60 points on Saturday night but the Golden State Warriors wound up with a frustrating overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Earlier in the evening, Cam Thomas scored 40 to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a double-digit win at the Philadelphia 76ers in one of their best showings of the season. On Monday, Curry and the Warriors head to Brooklyn to visit Thomas and the Nets with both teams looking to move

Two of the NBA’s hottest teams collide Monday night when the visiting Sacramento Kings attempt to complete a highly successful road trip at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The matchup will have a hard time approaching the entertainment value of the clubs’ earlier meeting in Sacramento on Nov. 13. In that game, four Kings scored 20 or more points to trump seven Cavaliers in double figures in the home team’s 132-120 victory. The Kings

Doc Rivers didn’t just pick up his first win as Milwaukee’s new head coach on Saturday night in Dallas. The Bucks’ 129-117 come-from-behind win over the Mavericks also resulted in him being dubbed as the coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team despite being on the job for less than a week. The Bucks have the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, but Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was ineligible to coach the All-Stars again

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the best offensive tear of his six-year NBA career. Entering Sunday’s game against the Toronto Raptors in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma City Thunder star has scored 30 or more points in nine consecutive games. But it’s been Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense that has stood out to those around him lately. “The steals has been an ongoing thing, the blocks has been an ongoing thing, but his defense has improved every single year

While the Indiana Pacers are trying to prevent a slump from getting out of hand, the Charlotte Hornets are once again trying to snap out of their own doldrums. The teams meet for the third time Sunday night at Charlotte after each team has won once in the season series. Indiana dropped its third game in a row with Friday night’s 133-122 loss to the Sacramento Kings. The Pacers simply weren’t up to the task