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Something will have to change Friday night when the Chicago Bulls, coming off two overtime wins, host the Golden State Warriors, who have been blown out in each of their last two outings. The Bulls have won three in a row by a total of 25 points, the most recent two coming in extra time — 119-112 on the road over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday and 124-119 at home Wednesday night against the Houston

Injuries continue to pile up for the Memphis Grizzlies. One day after it was announced that star guard Ja Morant was set to undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, Memphis put together one of its most complete performances of the season during Tuesday’s 120-103 rout of the Mavericks. But that renewed sense of optimism was quickly nixed on Thursday, when it was revealed that guard Marcus Smart would miss about six weeks due to

The NBA’s two Florida teams — the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic — have identical 21-16 records. The Heat, who will host the Magic on Friday night, are coming off a 128-120 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Heat allowed the Thunder to shoot 59.3 percent from the floor on Wednesday, and that surely disappointed everyone on Miami’s squad. “When we’re missing shots,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said, “we can’t let that effect

The Houston Rockets lamented a missed opportunity on Wednesday night. They can’t ask for a better chance to collect their first win during their current six-game road trip when they visit Detroit on Friday. The Pistons have dropped to 3-35 while losing six straight. Detroit has lost 34 of its last 35 games. The Rockets dropped back to .500 with a 124-119 overtime loss to the Bulls. Houston outscored Chicago 29-18 in the fourth quarter

Two of the top offensive teams in the NBA will meet again Friday when the red-hot Indiana Pacers begin a six-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks. Indiana ranks No. 1 in the league with 126.6 points per game and has scored 130-plus points in 15 games. The Pacers have scored at least 150 points in three games, two of them against the Hawks. Atlanta ranks No. 3 in the league with 122.7 points. This

The Philadelphia 76ers clearly are not the same team without Joel Embiid. The Sixers fell to the Atlanta Hawks 139-132 in overtime Wednesday and dropped to 2-7 without the reigning Most Valuable Player this season. They are 21-6 with him. As he continues to deal with left knee swelling, Embiid was ruled out for a third straight game when the Sixers host the Sacramento Kings on Friday. “We’re still kind of going day to day,”

The Milwaukee Bucks will try to avoid a third straight loss when they face the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday night. The Bucks are coming off a 132-116 home defeat to Utah on Monday. It was Milwaukee’s fourth loss in five games. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks against Utah, but the Jazz made 20 of 44 3-point attempts (45.5 percent). “That’s a lot 3s, man, I’m not

The most recent time the Oklahoma City Thunder played the Portland Trail Blazers, the Thunder did something no other NBA team had done in at least 25 years with their hot shooting. In Oklahoma City’s 134-91 win in Portland on Nov. 19, the Thunder shot 60.5 percent from the floor, 61.1 percent from beyond the 3-point line and 100 percent from the free-throw line to reach the rare single-game 60/60/100 mark. The Thunder’s 77 percent

With their first run of consecutive victories in a month, the Los Angeles Lakers are feeling better about the road ahead, with talk of a disconnect between players and head coach Darvin Ham suddenly quelled. The Lakers will test that new-found unity in a home matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. In the midst of losing nine of 11 games, and falling to 3-10 since winning the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament in early December,

OG Anunoby arrived at just the right time for the surging New York Knicks, who bring a five-game winning streak into a matchup against the host Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The Knicks are unbeaten since acquiring Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors in a five-player trade on Dec. 30. The latest victory came on Tuesday, when Anunoby scored 23 points in a 112-84 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Anunoby is averaging 14.2 points while shooting