NBA Previews

After just falling short against one Western Conference power, the Los Angeles Lakers will get a shot at another when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. The Lakers showed early energy Saturday, leading by as many as 11 points in the first half before ultimately falling 124-114 at home to the Denver Nuggets. The opening half was highlighted by LeBron James’ 40,000th career point on a layup in the second quarter. Los Angeles

The Minnesota Timberwolves will try to bounce back on short rest when they tip off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves are coming off an 89-88 loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. The score was tied with a little over two minutes remaining before the Clippers took the lead. The narrow loss left the Timberwolves wondering about what might have been different if they had executed a

Heading into last month’s All-Star break, the Milwaukee Bucks were lost. They had dropped seven of 10 games under recently hired coach Doc Rivers, who was already questioning his new team’s mental toughness. “We had some guys here, we had some guys in Cabo,” Rivers said after a loss to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 15. Nearly three weeks later, and the Bucks have strung together five straight wins heading into Monday’s meeting with

Though Utah’s record has plummeted recently, rookie Keyonte George continues to develop at a fast rate. In his most recent performance, George scored 31 points and nearly led the Jazz to an upset win Saturday in Miami. That offensive output, coming on 12-of-23 shooting, put his name alongside a couple of former Jazz greats who went on to excel in the NBA. It was the third time this season that George reached the 30-point mark,

In their past two games, the Brooklyn Nets displayed everything interim coach Kevin Ollie wanted to see by defending well and producing enough offense, resulting in their first winning streak in over a month. Coming off two pivotal wins over the Atlanta Hawks, the Nets will go for their first three-game winning streak in nearly three months when they face the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night in New York. The Nets have recorded back-to-back wins

The Phoenix Suns may not have Devin Booker on the floor when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. Booker sprained his right ankle with 1:15 left in Saturday night’s 118-109 loss to the Houston Rockets. Suns coach Frank Vogel didn’t rule one way or the other on whether his star guard would play in the contest against Oklahoma City. “We’ll see how he responds overnight,” Vogel said while sharing that X-rays on

The Toronto Raptors will begin life without All-Star Scottie Barnes on Sunday when they host the Charlotte Hornets. Barnes suffered a fractured middle finger on his left hand with 1:56 left in the first half of Toronto’s 120-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday and will be out indefinitely. “Obviously when you lose an All-Star player in the game, that definitely changes a lot of things,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We tried

Two lengthy winning streaks will be on the line when the Golden State Warriors visit the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated the Dallas Mavericks 138-110 on Friday night to record the team’s 10th consecutive win. Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 32 points in the victory. It was the 22nd time Tatum has scored at least 30 points in a game this season. Tatum had plenty of help, however, as six other Celtics players

Luka Doncic’s latest hot streak hasn’t translated to winning basketball for the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic has averaged 36.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists over his past four games. Dallas, however, is just 1-3 during that stretch as it braces for Sunday’s meeting with the visiting Philadelphia 76ers. The Mavericks had rattled off seven straight wins before losing to the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers. After snapping its modest skid with a victory over the