NBA Previews

Nearly three years ago, Jarrett Allen was traded by the Brooklyn Nets as part of a four-team deal that landed James Harden from the Houston Rockets. While Harden has since moved on from the Nets, Allen has emerged as a consistent double-double threat with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The center will look for his eighth consecutive double-double on Thursday when his Cavaliers face the Nets as part of the NBA’s Global Games in Paris. Cleveland fell

The Los Angeles Clippers rebounded from a rare defeat in resounding fashion this week and will take aim at another winning streak when they host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The Clippers stormed their way to a 138-111 victory at home over the Phoenix Suns on Monday, one day after they lost 106-103 to the Los Angeles Lakers for just their third defeat since the start of December. “This team is full of vets,

Losses have piled up at an alarming rate for the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons this season, but one of those downtrodden teams will get a much-needed victory when they face each other in Detroit on Wednesday night. The Pistons have the worst record in the league at 3-34, and the Spurs are second-worst at 5-30. Both teams carry five-game slides into the matchup, but a closer look reveals the depth of their despair.

The Sacramento Kings defeated the team with the worst record in the NBA on Tuesday night. They’ll get a chance against another struggling team on Wednesday when they take on the Charlotte Hornets. The Kings began a five-game road trip with Tuesday night’s 131-110 victory at Detroit. That came despite trailing by 20 points in the first quarter. Sacramento outscored the Pistons 39-18 in the second quarter to take a three-point lead at halftime. “We

The teams with the best records in the NBA will meet Wednesday night when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Boston Celtics. Boston, which has the best record in the league at 28-8, is coming off a controversial 133-131 loss to Indiana on Monday. Boston’s Jaylen Brown appeared to be hit on the head during a shot that could have broken a 131-131 tie with 3.2 seconds to play. A foul was called on Buddy Hield,

The Utah Jazz have won eight of their past 10 games and are suddenly ferocious against top-flight competition. The Jazz look to make it three consecutive victories against elite teams when they face the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City. Utah is fresh off road wins over two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 120-109 on Saturday and the Milwaukee Bucks 132-116 on

Two teams that have had two days to respond to shockingly one-sided outcomes meet Wednesday night when the Golden State Warriors host the New Orleans Pelicans in San Francisco. The Pelicans have been rewarded with two days off in California after opening a five-game trip by blowing out the host Sacramento Kings 133-100 on Sunday behind 30 points from CJ McCollum and 61.0-percent shooting. Shortly after New Orleans was running up as much as a

The Houston Rockets’ road woes continued Monday as the team lost 120-113 at Miami in the opener of a six-game trip. The Rockets fell to 3-11 away from home this season but they still are off to an improved start. A victory against the host Chicago Bulls on Wednesday would put Houston three wins shy of matching last season’s total of 22. “For me, not surprised or happy,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said. “They bought

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the NBA’s best-shooting teams this season. Since Christmas, the Thunder have been even better from the field, shooting better than 50 percent every game and leading the league, shooting 54.9 percent over their last eight games. Heading into Wednesday’s game at the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City’s offense has been fueled of late by its distributors. The Thunder are also among the league’s leaders during the stretch in