NBA Previews

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

The Toronto Raptors will face former coach Nick Nurse for the first time when the Philadelphia 76ers visit on Saturday night. The Raptors have split their first two games under new coach Darko Rajakovic. They lost 104-103 in overtime to the host Chicago Bulls on Friday despite a triple-double from Scottie Barnes, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Chicago’s Alex Caruso sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in OT. Toronto

The Indiana Pacers will have the advantage of being both well rested and riding the momentum of a brilliant start to the season when they resurface Saturday night in Cleveland to duel a potentially tired Cavaliers squad. Getting double-doubles from Tyrese Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard plus double-figure scoring from six other players, the Pacers dazzled their home crowd with a 143-120 romp over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. Indiana hasn’t played since. On a

The Washington Wizards might have caught a break in their home opener when they take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Memphis, which is coming off the second game of a back-to-back, trailed most of the game during its 108-104 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Six Grizzlies scored in double figures in the loss. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 21 points and Derrick Rose scored 16 points off the bench, including