NBA Previews

Domantas Sabonis and Nikola Jokic go head-to-head with leadership of the NBA’s triple-double race at stake when the Sacramento Kings host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Jokic had a triple-double with 36 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists when the Nuggets lost 123-117 at Sacramento on Dec. 2 in the clubs’ only previous meeting this season. Sabonis countered with 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the win. The Kings prevailed mostly thanks

The rejuvenated New Orleans Pelicans are on a four-game winning streak entering a Friday road clash against the Los Angeles Lakers, after neither team made a move at the Thursday trade deadline. Five of the Pelicans’ seven highest-scoring games this season have come since Jan. 7, but it was defense that carried them past the Los Angeles Clippers in a 117-106 road victory on Wednesday. The Pelicans harassed Clippers All-Star Paul George into a seven-point

The Milwaukee Bucks, who are trying to reverse a rough trend, will host a team in a worst stretch on Friday. After losing five of their last six games, the Bucks will oppose the Charlotte Hornets, who have lost nine in a row. “You go through this,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said. “Hopefully, we’ll be better (Friday) and hopefully we get guys back.” The Bucks lost 129-105 to the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night

The Portland Trail Blazers were showing signs of improvement until running into the defending champion Denver Nuggets for back-to-back games. The Trail Blazers will aim to bounce back from those games — road setbacks — when they open a seven-game homestand Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons. Portland went 5-4 during the final nine games of January, a stretch that included consecutive victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks. The new month began in

The Orlando Magic will look to sweep the two-game season series from the reeling San Antonio Spurs when the teams square off on Thursday in Central Florida. The Magic rolled to a 108-98 road win over the Spurs on Jan. 31. Orlando heads into the Thursday game after a 121-95 loss at Miami on Tuesday that snapped the Magic’s three-game winning streak and finished off a 3-2 road trip. Paolo Banchero scored 23 points to

The Golden State Warriors hope to turn a good trip into a great one Thursday night when they face the rested Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis. The Warriors improved to 3-1 on their five-game trek on Wednesday, spreading the scoring wealth among all 13 players in uniform in a 127-104 shellacking of the host Philadelphia 76ers. Taking advantage of the absence of 76ers star Joel Embiid, the Warriors outscored the hosts 76-46 in the middle two

On Jan. 11 in Paris, Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the Brooklyn Nets 111-102. Lately, Mitchell and the Cavs are excelling regardless of the location, resulting in a rapid climb in the Eastern Conference standings. The Cavaliers will attempt to push the NBA’s longest active winning streak to eight games Thursday night when they face the Nets in New York in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Cleveland is 2-0 against Brooklyn so

South Florida fans will finally get an in-person look at 7-foot-4 San Antonio rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama when the Spurs visit the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Spurs enter with a four-game losing streak, having just concluded a 2-5 homestand. The Wednesday contest will be the start of a nine-game road trip for San Antonio, which owns the worst record in the Western Conference. The Spurs have been just about equally bad at home (5-21)

The Sacramento Kings will see a different version of rookie Ausar Thompson when the former San Francisco Bay Area youth standout returns to Northern California to begin a six-game trip with his Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Thompson, the fifth overall pick of the 2023 draft despite never having played college ball, wound up scoreless with two rebounds and no assists when the Pistons were drubbed 131-110 at home by the Kings on Jan. 9.