NBA Previews

The season is only three games old for the Dallas Mavericks, but Luka Doncic is already in midseason form. Doncic is averaging a league-best 39.0 points per game and has posted two triple-doubles as he looks to lead Dallas to its fourth consecutive victory when it hosts the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. The Mavericks are 3-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 campaign when they won their first four games. Dallas is one

Monty Williams didn’t see his team play up to its new standards in its most recent game. The Detroit coach will expect a better showing when the Pistons host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Following a one-point, season-opening loss to Miami, the Pistons secured double-digit wins over Charlotte and Chicago. Their trip to Oklahoma City on Monday didn’t go as smoothly, though, as they were thumped by the Thunder, 124-112. Oklahoma City jumped

The Boston Celtics will attempt to extend their winning streak to four games when they face the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. The Celtics haven’t started a season with more than three straight victories since the 2009-10 season, when they won six a row. Boston is coming off Monday’s 126-107 road victory against the Washington Wizards. Jaylen Brown scored 27 of his game-high 36 points in the first half. He tied a franchise record

The Toronto Raptors will face a former assistant coach Wednesday night when they try to end a three-game losing streak in their meeting with the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. New Bucks coach Adrian Griffin was an assistant to Nick Nurse with Toronto for five years through the end of last season. Nurse is the new coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, who posted a 114-107 win over the Raptors on Saturday night in Toronto. The Raptors have

The Los Angeles Clippers will be the center of NBA attention Tuesday night, and it all will be about a player who might not participate in their home game against the Orlando Magic. Multiple media outlets reported Monday night that the Clippers acquired James Harden in a multiplayer deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden hadn’t played all season after falling out with 76ers general manager Daryl Morey and demanding a deal to the Clippers. P.J.

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