NBA Previews

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to build on their NBA in-season tournament title when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. The Lakers captured the inaugural event in impressive fashion, winning seven straight games by a total of 135 points, capped by a 123-109 triumph over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, its regular-season form hasn’t been nearly as good. The Lakers have won just five

The Cleveland Cavaliers will attempt to hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season when the teams meet Tuesday night. Boston improved to 10-0 at home by beating the New York Knicks 133-123 on Friday. Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis returned to the court after missing four games with a calf strain and scored 21 points in 29 minutes during the win. He made his first seven field-goal attempts and said he felt

The Cleveland Cavaliers, winners in five of their last six including the past three straight, look to keep rolling on Monday when they visit the Orlando Magic for the second matchup between the two teams in five days. Orlando’s run of nine consecutive wins ended on Dec. 2 when it visited Brooklyn, dropping a 129-101 decision. The Magic followed that with a 121-111 loss in Cleveland when Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and Darius Garland

Indiana came up short in its quest to win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament. The Pacers will have an entirely different challenge on Monday in Detroit when they try to avoid being the opponent the Pistons defeat to end their franchise-record losing streak. The Los Angeles Lakers downed the Pacers in Las Vegas on Saturday, 123-109, in the tournament final. Indiana was unable to stop Los Angeles superstars Anthony Davis and LeBron James and guard

The Charlotte Hornets offense came in different doses in their most recent game, and it could be a good thing for a team searching for a formula that breeds consistency. The Miami Heat need to find some order as well, hoping to get back on track Monday night against the host Hornets at Charlotte, N.C. The Heat have lost five of their last seven games, including Friday night’s 111-99 loss to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James has been a superstar for two decades while Tyrese Haliburton is a newbie to star status. Haliburton certainly looks comfortable in the role and will lead the Indiana Pacers against the James and the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game of the NBA’s in-season tournament on Saturday night at Las Vegas. Both clubs are 6-0 in the in-season tournament, each going 4-0 in group play before posting two knockout-round wins. Each player

The Philadelphia 76ers will hope to ride the momentum of Joel Embiid’s 50-point performance into their game against the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Embiid, who missed the previous two games due to illness, racked up the sixth 50-point game of his career despite not feeling 100 percent in a 131-126 road win against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. “Man, my chest was hurting,” said Embiid, who added 13 rebounds and seven assists. “I was

The Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets have a lot in common. And that isn’t necessarily good. At least one of the struggling teams will come away with a victory when they meet Friday night in Charlotte, N.C. Both teams lost Wednesday night, each for the fourth time in five games. The Raptors dropped a 112-103 decision to the visiting Miami Heat. Charlotte went on the road and endured a 111-100 setback to the Chicago Bulls.

The Indiana Pacers’ improbable run through the inaugural NBA in-season tournament continues Thursday night when they attempt to take down the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Milwaukee Bucks, in the semifinals at Las Vegas. The New Orleans Pelicans will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the West semifinal later Thursday, with the two winners advancing to the tournament final on Saturday night. The Pacers, who are the NBA’s highest scoring team at 128.4 points per