Preview Roundups
January 30, 2015
Minnesota at Philadelphia 7:00 PM ET
Minnesota and Philadelphia have been at or near the bottom of the NBA standings all season, but both enter a Friday matchup in the City of Brotherly Love on a rare winning note. The 76ers snapped a six-game slide with an 89-69 rout of Detroit on Wednesday, riding a balanced attack and solid defense to their fourth home win of the season. Robert Covington had 19 points and Michael Carter-Williams added 14, 10 assists and nine rebounds in his return from a one-game layoff for Philadelphia.
Portland at Atlanta 7:30 PM ET
The Atlanta Hawks have won a franchise-record 17 straight games and are showing no signs of slowing down, taking the first five games of their homestand by an average of 12.6 points. The Hawks will try to make it 18 straight when they host the slumping Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. The Trail Blazers have lost six of their last eight with Damian Lillard fighting through a shooting slump and LaMarcus Aldridge dealing with a thumb injury.
Houston at Boston 7:30 PM ET
Houston center Dwight Howard will miss his third consecutive contest due to a troublesome right knee when the Rockets visit the Boston Celtics on Friday. Howard underwent an MRI exam Wednesday, and the team said he is suffering from edema, an ailment in which fluid builds in body tissues. Houston has won three consecutive games while Boston has lost 10 of its last 15 games after falling 110-98 at Minnesota on Wednesday.
Toronto at Brooklyn 7:30 PM ET
The Toronto Raptors look for their fifth consecutive win when they hit the road to face the Brooklyn Nets. The Raptors have opened up a 12 1/2-game lead at the top of the Atlantic Division and hope to pull away even further by beating the second-place Nets for the fourth time in their last five regular-season meetings. Toronto has built its commanding advantage by winning all eight of its games against teams within the division thus far and aims to improve to 22-8 against Eastern Conference foes
Sacramento at Cleveland 7:30 PM ET
While LeBron James is ailing, teammate Kyrie Irving is on a tear as he leads Cleveland into Friday's home game against slumping Sacramento. With James sidelined Wednesday with a sprained wrist, Irving did plenty to fill the void by collecting a career-high 55 points in a 99-94 win over Portland, making a franchise-record 11 3-pointers in the process. Irving has 93 points in his last two games while making 17-of-29 triples, elevating himself to a level alongside James on the Cavaliers' hierarchy.
L.A. Clippers at New Orleans 8:00 PM ET
The New Orleans Pelicans may not have leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis when they host the streaking Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Davis came down awkwardly on one leg while going up for an offensive rebound with about two minutes left in the third quarter Wednesday at the Denver Nuggets and left the game with 8:44 remaining. He’s underwent an MRI exam on Thursday and was diagnosed with a strained abductor muscle and is listed as day-to-day.
Dallas at Miami 8:00 PM ET
The Dallas Mavericks are in free fall and look to avoid their first five-game losing streak since 2008 when they visit the Miami Heat on Friday in the second of three straight road games. The Mavericks have lost four straight for the first time since 2013 and are 2-10 against the other seven current playoff teams in the West. The Heat have their own problems, as star guard Dwyane Wade left Tuesday's loss to Milwaukee with a hamstring injury and is expected to miss extended time.
Golden State at Utah 9:00 PM ET
The Golden State Warriors watched a franchise-record 19-game home winning streak come to an end in overtime on Tuesday and will try to lick their wounds when they hit the road to visit the Utah Jazz on Friday. The Warriors struggled to deal with the Chicago Bulls on the interior on Tuesday without Andrew Bogut (illness) in the lineup and hope to have him back for the big front line of the Jazz. Utah dropped to 1-2 on its four-game homestand with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Chicago at Phoenix 10:30 PM ET
The Phoenix Suns look to punctuate a franchise-record eight-game homestand with one final victory when they host the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Phoenix is 5-2 during the long stay at home after posting a 106-98 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and has won 15 of its last 21 games. Chicago will be playing the second night of a back-to-back after succumbing 123-118 in double-overtime against the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.