Archives: Previews

Each playing their third game in four days, the Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers meet in Cleveland on Tuesday in the final East Group A game for both teams in the NBA in-season tournament. The Cavaliers (2-1) have a narrow chance to advance while the Hawks (1-2) have been eliminated. In an up-and-down week for Atlanta, point guard Trae Young averaged 35 points per game and shot 50 percent — 46-for-92 from the field and 24-for-48

The Boston Celtics can advance to the knockout stage of the NBA’s in-season tournament, but they’ll need a dominating performance against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night – plus some help from the Brooklyn Nets to do it. The Celtics could win East Group C if several outcomes go Boston’s way – including a Celtics win over the Bulls and a Brooklyn victory over Toronto on Tuesday. That would leave Boston, Brooklyn and Orlando

A pair of teams mired in inconsistency despite significant expectations will get a chance to compare notes Monday when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers have lost seven of their last 11 games and are just 4-6 since James Harden joined the group after a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. But things are much improved with Los Angeles winning four of its last five after a 107-88 victory over

The Indiana Pacers boast the league’s top offense, but coach Rick Carlisle knows his squad needs to improve on the defensive end in order to make a lengthy postseason run. The Pacers’ ongoing journey to become a complete squad continues on Monday when they face the visiting Portland Trail Blazers in Indianapolis. All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton averages 25.4 points and 12.1 assists to lead Indiana, which is scoring a league-high 128.8 points per game.

While the New York Rangers enjoyed the sight of seven goals going into the net Saturday, the Buffalo Sabres had the exact opposite reaction while fishing seven pucks out of their own net on the same day. Two teams involved in separate seven-goal games get together Monday night when the Rangers host the Sabres. At 15-3-1, New York is on its third winning streak of at least three games and has 15 wins in 19

Wisconsin will be looking to extend its three-game winning streak when it hosts Western Illinois on Monday in Madison before the Badgers enter a gauntlet against ranked opponents. Wisconsin (4-2) overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to rally past SMU 69-61 on Wednesday in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Western Illinois (2-4) lost at Illinois 84-52 on Friday. After Western Illinois, Wisconsin faces No. 4 Marquette, No. 21 Michigan State and No. 3

Rutgers is among the few major-conference teams who did not travel for a multi-team event. As a result, the Scarlet Knights will play their first game in nine days and hope not to show any rust when they host Saint Peter’s Monday night in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers (4-1) is taking the floor for the first time since Nov. 18 and is seeking a fifth straight win before hosting Illinois ahead of visits to Wake Forest

Inspired and back on track, Xavier is out to build off its recent burst of success when it plays host to Oakland on Monday night. The Musketeers (4-2) have answered two straight losses to Purdue and Washington with wins over Saint Mary’s and Bryant. Xavier opened a two-game visit to Las Vegas with a 74-71 defeat to Washington before it rebounded to defeat Saint Mary’s 66-49. In Friday’s home-court 100-75 win over Bryant, Xavier led

Michigan State did not expect to be a .500 team heading into its final game of the month. The No. 21 Spartans are 3-3 after losing to No. 3 Arizona 74-68 on Thanksgiving Day. With the team’s Big 10 opener fast approaching, Michigan State plays host to winless Georgia Southern on Tuesday at East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans face Big Ten opponents Wisconsin and Nebraska during their first two games of December. Michigan State trailed

Hunter Dickinson plans to resume his torrid start to the season — and perhaps quiet one very famous critic — when Kansas hosts Eastern Illinois on Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan. Dickinson collected 17 points and 20 rebounds in the Jayhawks’ 69-60 victory over No. 7 Tennessee on Wednesday in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational in Honolulu. The 7-foot-2, 260-pound transfer from Michigan leads the nation with 12.7 rebounds per game. He leads the