NBA Previews

The Phoenix Suns hope to have two of their star players back when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in the first of back-to-back meetings in Phoenix. The Suns have not had their power trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal on the court together through the first three games. Beal has not played in the regular season as he deals with a back injury and Booker has missed the past

Few NBA teams this season are better suited for a home-and-home series than the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been intricately linked for the past 16 months. The familiar foes will renew acquaintances Tuesday night when the Cavaliers host the Knicks in the first of consecutive meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals. New York will host the rematch on Wednesday. Both teams have been off since losing the second game of a

The task only gets harder for the undefeated Orlando Magic, who are set for a back-to-back at Los Angeles this week with the first game of the pair on Monday against the Lakers. The Magic have two victories in two games, and while the wins did not exactly come against a pair of NBA powers, Orlando has been able to do what has been asked of it so far. After winning their season opener on

On the second night of their first back-to-back of the season, the host Milwaukee Bucks will be out for revenge on Monday when they face the Miami Heat, who, as the No. 8 seed, ended their title hopes in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this past spring. The Bucks are hoping for a better outcome in the Heat rematch and also look to bounce back from Sunday’s 127-110 loss to the visiting

The Toronto Raptors know that they must begin to find better scoring chances for Pascal Siakam starting Monday night against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. Siakam scored only 11 points Saturday night in a 114-107 home loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the return of former Toronto coach Nick Nurse. “We need to definitely find more opportunities for him,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Some of those are really coming from us. … We did

The visiting Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks will both be seeking their first back-to-back wins of the young season when they meet on Monday night. The Hawks hammered the Milwaukee Bucks 127-110 on Sunday night and will be playing their first back-to-back. Minnesota, which won all five of its preseason games only to lose the regular-season opener, defeated the Miami Heat 106-90 on Saturday. This will be the first of two meetings between the teams

The winless Portland Trail Blazers will continue their search for scoring in the absence of Anfernee Simons as they open a three-game trip, starting Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Trail Blazers made the cross-country flight Saturday shackled with an 0-2 record, the first loss having been more painful than the second by virtue of Simons breaking his right thumb during a 123-111 setback against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Portland then

Devin Booker’s importance to the Phoenix Suns is being tested early in the season. The three-time All-Star guard could miss his second straight game due to left foot soreness when the Suns host the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. He is listed as doubtful. Booker sat out Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers, and Phoenix faded late in a 100-95 loss. That continued a trend from last season when the Suns were 34-19 in the

The Miami Heat will try to bounce back from a tough loss on short rest when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night in Minneapolis. Miami is coming off a 119-111 road defeat against the Boston Celtics on Friday night. The Heat led 88-87 entering the fourth quarter but could not prevent the Celtics from pulling away late in the game. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the loss stung, particularly because of a late