NBA Previews

The Oklahoma City Thunder will carry a five-game winning streak and the best record in the Western Conference into a Sunday matinee against the team with the NBA’s worst record, the host Detroit Pistons. Oklahoma City continued its winning streak on Friday with a 107-83 win in New Orleans and one of its best defensive performances of the season, holding the Pelicans to 32-of-82 shooting (39 percent) from the floor while forcing 20 turnovers. The

The Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors try to end four-game losing streaks Sunday when they meet in Atlanta. Atlanta, playing the second game of a six-game homestand, is coming off a 148-143 loss to the Dallas Mavericks and is 10th in the Eastern Conference. Toronto, beginning a six-game road trip, was beaten 127-107 by the LA Clippers on Friday. The Raptors have lost eight of their past nine and are 12th in the Eastern Conference.

Two teams showcasing potential top available talent at the Feb. 8 trade deadline meet Sunday night when the Chicago Bulls visit the Portland Trail Blazers. The meeting is the first of the season between the teams, and the rosters might look quite a bit different by the time they see each other again in Chicago in March. The Bulls are more likely to make the playoffs, but at 21-25, they currently find themselves in what

After weathering nine of the past 10 games without Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers hope to have the All-Star guard back in the lineup on Sunday afternoon when they face the Memphis Grizzlies in Indianapolis. Haliburton has been hampered by a hamstring injury that he initially sustained in a victory over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 8. Following a five-game absence, Haliburton returned to rack up 21 points and 17 assists in 35 minutes against

Devin Booker did all he could to extend the Phoenix Suns’ winning streak to a season-high eight games. Alas, Booker’s season-high 62-point performance came in a loss on Friday. The three-time All-Star will look to shake off his team’s setback on Sunday when the Suns continue a seven-game road trip against the Orlando Magic. Booker didn’t miss a beat following his 46-point effort in Phoenix’s 132-109 win at Dallas on Wednesday. He erupted for a

The Minnesota Timberwolves will look to expand on a two-game winning streak and stay atop the Western Conference standings when they travel to San Antonio to play the reeling Spurs on Saturday. Minnesota heads to Texas for the third of a four-game road trip and on the heels of a 96-94 victory in Brooklyn on Thursday. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 27 points and dished out an assist to Rudy Gobert for the tiebreaking

The Milwaukee Bucks are 1-1 since firing head coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday. Their transition continues with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night as both teams complete a back-to-back set. The Bucks have had three head coaches in less than week. Assistant coach Joe Prunty replaced Griffin as Milwaukee beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday and lost a rematch Friday. He reportedly will coach the team against New Orleans

The Charlotte Hornets will try to make things right after one of their worst outings of a challenging season when the Utah Jazz visit Saturday night. It will take a significant turnaround after the Hornets tumbled to a 138-104 home loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night. “We’ve had good spirit all year,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “You have to have the right attitude.” That might have been missing at times in the

For rebuilding teams, progress can be measured in various increments, such as matching and eventually surpassing a win total from the previous season with a little more than two months remaining in the regular season. It is a scenario the Houston Rockets will face Saturday night when they attempt to match last season’s win total in a game against the skidding Brooklyn Nets in New York. The Rockets own a 21-23 record under first-year coach