NBA Previews

When the Indiana Pacers welcome the Sacramento Kings to Indianapolis on Friday, it will be almost two years since the organizations executed a trade that reshaped both sides. The Feb. 9, 2022, deal sent Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2023 second-round draft pick. Haliburton is headed to his second consecutive All-Star Game later this month. On Tuesday and Thursday, Haliburton played consecutive

Five years ago, Portland and Denver played an epic seven-game series in the Western Conference semifinals. Since then, the teams have gone in different directions. The Trail Blazers won the 2019 postseason matchup with an impressive Game 7 win on the road and went on to the conference finals. That marked the high point. In the years that followed, Portland has gone from contender to rebuilding, trading away Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic

After scoring 130-plus points in three of the previous four games, the Houston Rockets appeared to have resolved at least one of their lingering issues while trudging through an extended rut. But on Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Rockets were disjointed on offense en route to a 110-99 loss that dropped them back to a season-worst three games under .500. Houston, which missed 31 of 44 3-pointers, will complete a brief three-game homestand

The New Orleans Pelicans look to build momentum off a key win when they travel to San Antonio to battle the slumping Spurs on Friday. The Pelicans wrap up a four-game road trip that began with losses in Milwaukee and Boston and turned around with a rousing 110-99 win in Houston on Wednesday. Jonas Valanciunas collected team highs with 25 points and 14 rebounds, producing his 25th double-double of the season, and Brandon Ingram added

The Miami Heat aim to take another step forward after snapping their longest losing skid in nearly 16 years when they visit the reeling Washington Wizards on Friday night. The Heat halted a seven-game slide with their first win since Jan. 15, courtesy of a 115-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. “It sure feels a lot better than where we were,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said after his club stopped its longest

The Atlanta Hawks find themselves as healthy as they’ve been all season heading into Friday’s game against the visiting Phoenix Suns. It is the first meeting between the clubs this season. The Hawks won both games during the 2022-23 campaign and have claimed the last nine straight decisions against the Suns in Atlanta. Atlanta got De’Andre Hunter back on Tuesday, the first time he’d played since Dec. 20 because of knee inflammation. His presence was

The Cleveland Cavaliers are finally back to full strength, which is something the Memphis Grizzlies can only dream about. Few teams have been as injury-plagued this season as the Grizzlies, who continue their three-game homestand with a matchup against the Cavaliers on Thursday. Cleveland improved to 11-1 over its last 12 games with a 128-121 home win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Donovan Mitchell matched his season high with 45 points for the surging

It has been a disjointed season for the Charlotte Hornets, and there are few signs of it getting better. The failures have turned to frustrations, but there’s a chance for a small accomplishment Wednesday night when the Hornets host the Chicago Bulls. The Hornets will be aiming for their fourth victory of January. That doesn’t seem like much; but, after a one-win December, perhaps it would be a source of progress. The Bulls lost 118-107

For 129 regular-season games and 16 more in the postseason, Kevin Durant provided the Brooklyn Nets with some memorable performances on the floor. Durant also asked for a trade, and for the first time since getting his wish granted, the superstar visits New York on Wednesday night when the Phoenix Suns face the Nets. Besides the intrigue of how fans react to Durant is whether the Nets will play a video tribute to a player