Pacers, Rockets Lock Horns In Orlando
The Indiana Pacers play the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Orlando.
The Pacers (43-28) are in a tight race for the fourth seed of the Eastern Conference but took a step in the wrong direction the last time out, falling 114-92 against the Miami Heat on Monday. The Pacers have now gone 1-2 in their last three games, but they're still 4-2 in the Orlando bubble and will be a team to watch come playoff time. Most of the eyes will be on T.J. Warren, as the small forward has been one of the biggest surprises in The Association since the restart, although he was able to muster only 12 points Monday against the Heat. He is expected to be the focal point of the offense for Indiana in this one, although the return of Victor Oladipo might force him to take a backseat in his scoring exploits.
Indiana lists Domantas Sabonis as out due to a foot injury, and it remains to be seen if the talented big man will be available come playoff time. Jeremy Lamb (knee) has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Rockets (44-26) are coming off a 123-105 loss against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, but that shouldn't take anything away from what Houston is doing since the league restarted July 30. The Rockets have gone 5-2 in their last seven games and remain a team to watch come playoff time despite dropping Tuesday's matchup to their state rivals. Houston is still alive in the race to finish as one of the top four teams in the Western Conference and this game is a must-win contest for them, especially with the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder not playing until Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Houston didn't have James Harden available Tuesday due to rest, but the shooting guard should return to the starting unit Wednesday. Danuel House and Eric Gordon are both questionable, but neither is expected to see action considering the Rockets have already clinched a playoff berth.
The Pacers (43-28) are in a tight race for the fourth seed of the Eastern Conference but took a step in the wrong direction the last time out, falling 114-92 against the Miami Heat on Monday. The Pacers have now gone 1-2 in their last three games, but they're still 4-2 in the Orlando bubble and will be a team to watch come playoff time. Most of the eyes will be on T.J. Warren, as the small forward has been one of the biggest surprises in The Association since the restart, although he was able to muster only 12 points Monday against the Heat. He is expected to be the focal point of the offense for Indiana in this one, although the return of Victor Oladipo might force him to take a backseat in his scoring exploits.
Indiana lists Domantas Sabonis as out due to a foot injury, and it remains to be seen if the talented big man will be available come playoff time. Jeremy Lamb (knee) has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The Rockets (44-26) are coming off a 123-105 loss against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, but that shouldn't take anything away from what Houston is doing since the league restarted July 30. The Rockets have gone 5-2 in their last seven games and remain a team to watch come playoff time despite dropping Tuesday's matchup to their state rivals. Houston is still alive in the race to finish as one of the top four teams in the Western Conference and this game is a must-win contest for them, especially with the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder not playing until Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Houston didn't have James Harden available Tuesday due to rest, but the shooting guard should return to the starting unit Wednesday. Danuel House and Eric Gordon are both questionable, but neither is expected to see action considering the Rockets have already clinched a playoff berth.
Raptors and 76ers Tangle In Evening Battle
The Toronto Raptors take on the Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA seeding game in Orlando on Wednesday evening.
The Raptors (51-19) come into Wednesday's divisional contest already locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning a solid allotment of minutes for Toronto's second-unit players is likely in what will be each squad's penultimate regular-season game. The Raptors earned the security they now enjoy by winning five of their first six games in the restarted season. Their most recent success came Monday when they upended the Milwaukee Bucks by a 114-106 score. Chris Boucher paced the Raptors with 25 points off the bench, adding 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Matt Thomas supplied 22 points, four boards and one assist. Norman Powell registered 21 points, eight boards, one assist, three blocks and two steals. Pascal Siakam furnished 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hollis-Jefferson contributed 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Terence Davis managed 10 points, three rebounds and one steal.
The Raptors will list Serge Ibaka (knee) as questionable for Wednesday's game, while Patrick McCaw (knee) remains away from Orlando for treatment.
The 76ers (42-29) are one game behind the No. 5-seeded Indiana Pacers with two games to play, but they're now assured of not having star Ben Simmons (knee) available the rest of the way. Philadelphia comes into the contest with a 3-3 mark in seeding games thus far, with their most recent time on the floor resulting in a 130-117 loss to the red-hot Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Alec Burks led the way for the 76ers with 23 points, adding four assists, two rebounds and one steal. Raul Neto furnished 22 points, four assists and two rebounds. Mike Scott compiled 17 points, four boards, one assist and one steal. Glenn Robinson III managed 15 points and seven rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz finished with 12 points.
In addition to Simmons, the 76ers will likely list Joel Embiid (ankle), Al Horford (knee) and Tobias Harris (ankle) as questionable at best for Wednesday's contest. All three players were held out against Phoenix.
Wednesday's game marks the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. The Raptors hold a 2-1 series lead, having notched 101-96 and 107-95 wins on Nov. 25 and Jan. 22, respectively.
The Raptors (51-19) come into Wednesday's divisional contest already locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning a solid allotment of minutes for Toronto's second-unit players is likely in what will be each squad's penultimate regular-season game. The Raptors earned the security they now enjoy by winning five of their first six games in the restarted season. Their most recent success came Monday when they upended the Milwaukee Bucks by a 114-106 score. Chris Boucher paced the Raptors with 25 points off the bench, adding 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Matt Thomas supplied 22 points, four boards and one assist. Norman Powell registered 21 points, eight boards, one assist, three blocks and two steals. Pascal Siakam furnished 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hollis-Jefferson contributed 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Terence Davis managed 10 points, three rebounds and one steal.
The Raptors will list Serge Ibaka (knee) as questionable for Wednesday's game, while Patrick McCaw (knee) remains away from Orlando for treatment.
The 76ers (42-29) are one game behind the No. 5-seeded Indiana Pacers with two games to play, but they're now assured of not having star Ben Simmons (knee) available the rest of the way. Philadelphia comes into the contest with a 3-3 mark in seeding games thus far, with their most recent time on the floor resulting in a 130-117 loss to the red-hot Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. Alec Burks led the way for the 76ers with 23 points, adding four assists, two rebounds and one steal. Raul Neto furnished 22 points, four assists and two rebounds. Mike Scott compiled 17 points, four boards, one assist and one steal. Glenn Robinson III managed 15 points and seven rebounds. Furkan Korkmaz finished with 12 points.
In addition to Simmons, the 76ers will likely list Joel Embiid (ankle), Al Horford (knee) and Tobias Harris (ankle) as questionable at best for Wednesday's contest. All three players were held out against Phoenix.
Wednesday's game marks the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season. The Raptors hold a 2-1 series lead, having notched 101-96 and 107-95 wins on Nov. 25 and Jan. 22, respectively.
Heat, Thunder Looking To Build Momentum
By Dan Bruno
The Miami Heat play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday at Orlando.
The Heat are coming off an impressive win over the Pacers on Monday, where they led by 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter and stayed in control the rest of the way. Seven players scored in double digits for Miami, led by Jimmy Butler, who finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block. Derrick Jones followed up with 18 points, five rebounds, one steal and one block, while Tyler Herro added 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo each also scored in double digits. With the win, the Heat moved one step closer to locking up the fourth spot in the East, as they now sit 1.0 games ahead of fifth and 2.0 games ahead of sixth. However, they have yet to build any consistency in the bubble restart, as they have not recorded consecutive wins over their six games.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are coming off a loss in their most recent contest and have also been unable to gather any momentum so far during the restart, with a 3-3 record over six games, and no consecutive wins. On the plus side, rookie Darius Bazley led the Thunder with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in the most recent contest, where he got the start for the sidelined Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari (ankle), Steven Adams (leg) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (calf) all missed the Thunder's most recent contest and remain questionable for action on Wednesday. Dennis Schroder (personal) has missed the last five games and has no set date to return. The Thunder sit fifth place in the West, just 1.0 game behind fourth place, but also only 0.5 games ahead of sixth and 2.0 games ahead of seventh.
The Heat are coming off an impressive win over the Pacers on Monday, where they led by 14 points at the start of the fourth quarter and stayed in control the rest of the way. Seven players scored in double digits for Miami, led by Jimmy Butler, who finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block. Derrick Jones followed up with 18 points, five rebounds, one steal and one block, while Tyler Herro added 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block. Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo each also scored in double digits. With the win, the Heat moved one step closer to locking up the fourth spot in the East, as they now sit 1.0 games ahead of fifth and 2.0 games ahead of sixth. However, they have yet to build any consistency in the bubble restart, as they have not recorded consecutive wins over their six games.
Meanwhile, the Thunder are coming off a loss in their most recent contest and have also been unable to gather any momentum so far during the restart, with a 3-3 record over six games, and no consecutive wins. On the plus side, rookie Darius Bazley led the Thunder with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in the most recent contest, where he got the start for the sidelined Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari (ankle), Steven Adams (leg) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (calf) all missed the Thunder's most recent contest and remain questionable for action on Wednesday. Dennis Schroder (personal) has missed the last five games and has no set date to return. The Thunder sit fifth place in the West, just 1.0 game behind fourth place, but also only 0.5 games ahead of sixth and 2.0 games ahead of seventh.
Clippers and Nuggets Square Off Wednesday
The Denver Nuggets play the Los Angeles Clippers in Orlando on Wednesday.
The Clippers (47-23) took a loss at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Paul George sat out each of their last two games and it wouldn't be surprising to see Kawhi Leonard sit this game out too. The good news is that they still own the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but this game could change all of that. It appears that many teams aren't putting top priority on seeding though, with homecourt advantage being a non-factor. As long as Kawhi and PG-13 are healthy and ready to go in the postseason, that's what matters the most for LA.
The Nuggets (46-25) played the Los Angeles Lakers and lost on a game-winning shot by Kyle Kuzma. No Nuggets starter stepped on the floor in the fourth quarter. Guys like Bol Bol, Mason Plumlee and P.J. Dozier were competing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, showing how deep the Nuggets can be. That said, Denver has just eight wins over their last 17 games in total. Finding cohesion will be important heading into the postseason.
These teams have split their two meetings this season, with both outings being decided by double-digit margins. The home team won both of those meetings as well.
The Clippers (47-23) took a loss at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Paul George sat out each of their last two games and it wouldn't be surprising to see Kawhi Leonard sit this game out too. The good news is that they still own the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but this game could change all of that. It appears that many teams aren't putting top priority on seeding though, with homecourt advantage being a non-factor. As long as Kawhi and PG-13 are healthy and ready to go in the postseason, that's what matters the most for LA.
The Nuggets (46-25) played the Los Angeles Lakers and lost on a game-winning shot by Kyle Kuzma. No Nuggets starter stepped on the floor in the fourth quarter. Guys like Bol Bol, Mason Plumlee and P.J. Dozier were competing with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, showing how deep the Nuggets can be. That said, Denver has just eight wins over their last 17 games in total. Finding cohesion will be important heading into the postseason.
These teams have split their two meetings this season, with both outings being decided by double-digit margins. The home team won both of those meetings as well.