March 19th NBA Game Previews

The Brooklyn Nets will host the Denver Nuggets at Barclays Center on Sunday.

The Nets (39-31) are coming off a 101-96 home loss to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. Mikal Bridges paced the Nets with 23 points, complementing them with four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Spencer Dinwiddie registered 18 points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block. Nic Claxton and Seth Curry contributed matching 14-point efforts, with Claxton adding 14 boards. Cameron Johnson offered 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Brooklyn has gone 19-13 at home and enters this game on a two-game losing streak while losing three of its last five.

Ben Simmons (knee) remains out for Sunday for the Nets.

The Nuggets (47-24) are coming off a 116-110 road loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday. Nikola Jokic sniffed a triple-double and delivered 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray was Denver’s leading scorer and finished with 25 points, six assists and four rebounds. Aaron Gordon posted 14 points, seven assists and five boards. Michael Porter Jr. had 11 points and added five boards. Denver has gone 17-18 on the road this season. The Nuggets have also lost five of their last six games.

Collin Gillespie (lower leg) is out for the Nuggets on Sunday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center on Sunday.

The Thunder (34-36) are coming off a 128-111 loss over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 29 points, adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jalen Williams furnished 15 points, seven boards, three assists and one steal. Josh Giddey supplied 13 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal. Tre Mann and Isaiah Joe managed 12 points apiece, while Luguentz Dort provided 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. The Thunder saw the end of a three-game winning run following the loss against Phoenix. The Thunder has gone 21-15 at home.

Kenrich Williams (wrist) and Chet Holmgren (foot) are out for the season.

The Suns (38-32) are coming off a 116-113 win over the Orlando Magic on Thursday. They were led by Cameron Payne, providing 21 points, two rebounds and five assists off the bench. Devin Booker led the starters with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists. Chris Paul accrued 16 points, two rebounds and seven assists, while Deandre Ayton amassed 16 points and seven rebounds. Okogie finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks. The Suns have gone 15-20 on the road and enter this game with a 2-3 record in their last five.

Deandre Ayton (groin) is a game-time call decision for Sunday. Landry Shamet (foot) and Kevin Durant (ankle) are out.

The Atlanta Hawks take on the San Antonio Spurs at AT and T Center on Sunday afternoon.

The Hawks (35-35) come into Sunday trying to hold onto the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference, and they'll check in having prevailed in three of the last five games. Their most recent time on the floor resulted in one of those successes, as they toppled the Golden State Warriors by a 127-119 score Friday night. Trae Young led the way with a 25-point, 12-assist double-double that included six rebounds and one steal. John Collins delivered 22 points, five boards, one steal and one block. Onyeka Okongwu totaled 19 points, seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal. De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic posted matching 14-point tallies. A.J. Griffin netted 12 points, three boards and one steal, while Dejounte Murray supplied 10 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and one steal.

The Hawks will list Young (knee) and Jalen Johnson (hamstring) as questionable for Sunday's game.

The Spurs (18-52) are playing out the string on a disappointing season, but they're still playing hard the majority of nights and are coming off consecutive overtime losses. The more recent defeat came Friday night, when San Antonio blew a 29-point lead to drop a 126-120 overtime decision to the Memphis Grizzlies. Devin Vassell paced the Spurs with 25 points, supplementing them with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Zach Collins delivered 24 points, eight boards, four assists and one block. Keldon Johnson posted 21 points, five rebounds and three steals. Malaki Branham supplied 18 points, six boards, two assists and one steal. Keita Bates-Diop managed 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.

The Spurs will list Doug McDermott (hip) and Collins (biceps) will carry questionable tags, while Bates-Diop (Achilles) will be listed as doubtful. Jeremy Sochan (knee), Devonte' Graham (quadriceps) and Khem Birch (knee) will remain out.

Sunday's game marks the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Hawks hold a 1-0 series lead.

The Miami Heat take on the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday evening.

The Heat (38-34) continues to try and solidify its postseason positioning, and they enter Sunday's game having won three of the last five contests. However, their most recent time on the floor resulted in a loss, as they fell to the Chicago Bulls by a 113-99 score Saturday night. Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami with 24 points, adding seven assists and one assist. Bam Adebayo furnished 23 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals. Max Strus registered 20 points, four assists and three rebounds. Tyler Herro delivered 15 points, seven boards, two assists and one steal.

The Heat will likely list Kyle Lowry (knee) and Cody Zeller (nose) as questionable for Sunday's game.

The Pistons (16-55) are putting the finishing touches on another disappointing campaign, and they'll enter Sunday's game having lost 12 of the last 13 games. Their most recent stumble came Thursday night, when they fell to the Denver Nuggets by a 119-100 score. Rodney McGruder led the way for Detroit with 20 points, adding eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Jalen Duren generated a 15-point, 13-rebound double-double that included four assists and three steals. James Wiseman and Jaden Ivey posted matching 14-point contributions while recording nine rebounds and six assists, respectively. Cory Joseph poured in 13 points, while Eugene Omoruyi posted 11. Killian Hayes offered 10 points, seven assists, one rebound, two blocks and one steal.

The Pistons will remain without Bojan Bogdanovic (Achilles), Isaiah Stewart (shoulder/(hip), Alec Burks (foot) and Hamidou Diallo (ankle) for Sunday's game. Isaiah Livers (hip) will carry a questionable tag.

Sunday's game marks the second of three meetings between the teams this season. The Pistons hold a 1-0 series lead.

The Houston Rockets play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at Toyota Center on Sunday evening.

This marks the second of back-to-back meetings between the Rockets (18-52) and Pelicans (33-37) in Houston, after the Rockets earned an impressive two-point win on Friday. The game got out to a competitive start as the Pelicans led early, but the Rockets rallied to grab a five-point lead after one quarter. The Pelicans came out stronger in the second and outscored the hosts by 10, to take a five-point edge by halftime. The visitors stayed in control through the third to push it to a 10-point game heading into the final frame. The Rockets did not back down and rallied through the fourth to cut it to a one-point game with 35 seconds left. The hosts then came up with a key defensive stop, which allowed the opportunity for Jabari Smith to knock down the game-winner with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

Smith finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal, in 29 minutes. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a steal, while Alperen Sengun totaled 17 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. The Rockets shot 48.9 percent from the field, including 11-of-32 from long range. On the other side, Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points, four rebounds, six assists and a block. Jonas Valanciunas totaled 22 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks, while CJ McCollum added 14 points, five rebounds, six assists and a steal.

Rockets face the fifth game of a six-game home stand look to add to their, 12-24, home record. Meanwhile, the Pelicans hope to bounce back with a chance to build on their, 11-24, road record.

The Milwaukee Bucks play host to the Toronto Raptors at Fiserv Forum on Sunday evening.

The Bucks (50-20) are coming off their second loss in the last seven games but will look to bounce back on the second game of a three-game home stand with the hopes of adding to their, 28-7, home record. Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the team, averaging 31.4 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Jrue Holiday averages 19.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.2 steals, while Khris Middleton is averaging 14.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. The Bucks average 116.2 points per game, and they hold opponents to an average of 112.4 points per game, which is ninth fewest in the league. Grayson Allen (foot) and Brook Lopez (ankle) are listed as probable for action on Sunday.

Meanwhile, this marks the second game of a back-to-back for the Raptors (35-36), after an impressive, 15-point home win over the Timberwolves on Saturday evening. They jumped out to a good start and led by six, after one quarter. They kept the pressure on through the second and pushed it to an eight-point deficit at halftime. The visitors grabbed a brief lead in the third, but the Raptors reclaimed a nine-point advantage heading into the final frame. They stayed strong in the fourth and confidently closed out their third straight win. Fred VanVleet led the way with 28 points, three rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Pascal Siakam followed up with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Gary Trent chipped in 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and five steals. The Raptors will look to keep it rolling as they head out on the road for a chance to improve on their, 12-23, road record.

The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Los Angeles Clippers at Moda Center on Sunday.

The Clippers (37-34) are playing some of their best basketball right now, winning four of their last five games coming into this matchup. This is the club everyone's been waiting to see, moving Los Angeles to the five-seed in the Western Conference. This team's main goal is to avoid the play-in tournament because the Golden State Warriors are just 1.5 games behind in seventh. There's also a chance LA could climb to fourth, sitting 0,5 games behind the Phoenix Suns. That's ironic because LA and Phoenix are two of the most touted teams in the west, and it would be a battle to see them go at it in the first round of the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers (31-39) suffered another defeat on Friday against the Boston Celtics, and their playoff hopes are slowly vanishing in a convoluted Western Conference. Portland now sits 13th in the conference but are just 2.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers in 10th. That means Portland has a lot of work to do to catch those clubs, and it's looking like this is the worst team of the play-in contenders. That defeat on Friday marked the Trail Blazers fifth straight defeat, giving them eight losses in their last 10 games in total. What makes that even more bizarre is the fact that Damian Lillard is the leading scorer in the NBA in that span, scoring nearly 40 points per game. There's some thought he'll be rested when this team is eliminated but look for him to keep going nuts as long as they stay alive.

These teams played on November 29, with Los Angeles prevailing, 118-112. That gives the Clippers 10 wins in their last 11 meetings with the Trail Blazers in total.

The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

The Magic (29-43) come into this matchup losing five of their last seven games. That has ended any playoff hopes this young group may have had, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference. It's hard to believe that this talented group has such a poor record because they've looked great at times this year. The development of Markelle Fultz has been the biggest asset because the former number-one pick has had a revival season in Orlando. That pairs beautifully with youngsters like Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter Jr and Franz Wagner, making this team a threat in years to come. Adding one more talented youngster to the mix could be the thing to throw them into playoff contention next year because the pieces are in play for them to compete.

The Lakers (34-37) suffered a really tough loss on Friday. They trailed for most of their game against the Dallas Mavericks but made a fourth quarter push to grab what looked like a win. They led by four points with less than 10 seconds remaining, but a silly foul and then a game-winning three handed them an ugly defeat. It's a loss this team couldn't afford either because Los Angeles is battling numerous other teams for the final play-in spots in the Western Conference. That defeat moved the Lakers to 10th in the west, only 0.5 games up on the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans behind them. That's frustrating because LeBron James continues to miss games, and this club is running out of time to solidify its spot in the postseason.

These teams played back on December 27, with Los Angeles prevailing, 129-110. That gives the Lakers five straight wins in this series.