Preview Roundups
December 09, 2014
Toronto at Cleveland 7:00 PM ET
Toronto was unable to end Cleveland's losing streak at home Friday but gets another crack at the surging Cavaliers on the road Wednesday night. Behind Kevin Love's fifth straight double-double and a season-high 26 points off the bench from Dion Waiters, Cleveland rolled to a 110-88 win at Brooklyn on Monday, stretching its winning streak to seven. The Cavaliers have won by an average of 16 points during the run, their longest since an eight-game stretch near the end of the 2009-10 season.
Portland at Detroit 7:30 PM ET
The Portland Trail Blazers look to win their fifth game in a row when they continue their Eastern road swing against the Detroit Pistons. The Trail Blazers have won 13 of their last 14 games - including a 103-99 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday - to open up a seven-game lead at the top of the Northwest Division. Portland dropped its first two road games before reeling off six straight wins as it hopes to heap more misery on the Pistons by beating them for the fourth consecutive time.
Dallas at Memphis 8:00 PM ET
The best offense and the best defense in the NBA tangle for the first time this season when high-scoring Dallas visits a physical Memphis squad on Tuesday in a matchup of Southwest Division heavyweights. Both teams overcame rare home losses their last time out, the Mavericks posting a 125-102 win over Milwaukee on Sunday to improve to 10-2 against the Eastern Conference. Chandler Parsons shot 11-of-14 in a 28-point effort as the highest-scoring team in the league shot 58.3 percent.
New York at New Orleans 8:00 PM ET
The New York Knicks hope a trip to a city where they've enjoyed success in recent years will help them end their eight-game skid. The Knicks shoot for their sixth straight win in New Orleans when they take on the Pelicans on Tuesday, but they'll have to snap a nine-game road losing streak. New Orleans is aiming for its first back-to-back wins in nearly a month after routing the Los Angeles Lakers 104-87 on Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip.
Milwaukee at Oklahoma City 8:00 PM ET
The Oklahoma City Thunder will get their first solid test since Kevin Durant made his season debut, hosting the Milwaukee Bucks. Durant has played the last three games since missing the first 17 with a fractured right foot, but the last five opponents for Oklahoma City had losing records entering Monday. The Bucks have lost four of five and are on verge of dropping below .500 for the first time since the third game of season.
Miami at Phoenix 9:00 PM ET
The Phoenix Suns have lost four out of five this season when playing the second of back-to-back games and they’ll face an exceptionally tough challenge Tuesday night against the visiting Miami Heat. The Suns lost Monday night at the Los Angeles Clippers on a rim-rattling 3-pointer by Blake Griffin at the overtime buzzer. They had led by four with 34 seconds left in overtime when the game unraveled.
San Antonio at Utah 9:00 PM ET
The Utah Jazz have dropped nine straight games and will try to stop that slide Tuesday when they host the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. The Jazz briefly held a fourth-quarter lead in a 101-92 loss at the Sacramento Kings on Monday, and three of the last four setbacks have come by single digits. Utah could catch a small break against the Spurs, who do not plan to have Tony Parker available due to a hamstring strain.
Sacramento at L.A. Lakers 10:30 PM ET
Kobe Bryant doesn’t look like he’ll spend much time chasing Michael Jordan’s six championships this season, but he is staring down the Hall of Famer on the all-time scoring list. Bryant will try to draw closer to the legend when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Bryant, who has five NBA Championship rings to Jordan’s six, is 63 points from passing Jordan for third place on the scoring list.