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NHL Preview: Colorado Avalanche (38-22-6) at Ottawa Senators (33-30-4)

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NHL Preview: Colorado Avalanche (38-22-6) at Ottawa Senators (33-30-4)

COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES

Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Thu, Mar. 16 at Ottawa 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5 FM
Sat, Mar. 18 at Detroit 11 a.m. Altitude, NHLN 92.5 FM
Mon, Mar. 20 CHICAGO 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5 FM
Wed, Mar. 22 PITTSBURGH 6 p.m. TNT 92.5 FM
Fri, Mar. 25 ARIZONA 7 p.m. Altitude 92.5 FM

TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO AVALANCHE (38-22-6, 82 PTS) at OTTAWA SENATORS (33-30-4, 70 PTS)
5:08 p.m. MT / 7:08 p.m. ET – Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
Altitude / Altitude Radio (92.5 FM)
The Colorado Avalanche continues their four-game road trip tonight in Ottawa against the Senators … This evening’s contest is the second half of a back-to-back for the Avs, who beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in a shootout last night in Toronto …. The Avs are 2-0-0 so far on this road swing, which ends with a Saturday afternoon matinee in Detroit … Colorado is 10-3-1 in its last 14 games and 18-5-3 (.750) in its last 26 contests … Only Carolina (18-5-1, .771) has a better record since Jan. 14 … The Avs are 9-2-1 in their last 12 road games … Colorado is in a busy stretch of 15 contests in 26 days from March 4-29.

ON THE CALL
Altitude: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Katie Gaus (reporter)
Altitude Radio: Conor McGahey

LAST GAME
March 15 – Colorado 2, Toronto 1 in a shootout
Alexandar Georgiev stopped all three shootout attempts and Nathan MacKinnon scored the only goal of the tiebreaker as the Avalanche beat the Maple Leafs, 2-1, at the Scotiabank Arena … Mikko Rantanen scored a power-play goal for his team-leading 44th tally of the season, assisted by MacKinnon and Cale Makar to both extend their point streaks to six games.
SF: 29 SA: 18 PP: 1-5 PK: 3-3

Samuel Girard appeared in his 400th career NHL game Georgiev posted his 30th win of the season, tied for second in the NHL … He reached the 30-win mark in his 49th game of the season, becoming the fifth different goaltender (sixth time) in franchise history to reach 30 victories in less than 50 contests … He joined Philip Grubauer (40 GP) in 2020-21, Darcy Kuemper (44 GP) in 2021-22, Patrick Roy (47 GP) in 2000-01, Semyon Varlamov (48 GP) in 2013-14 and Roy (48 GP) in 1996-97 MacKinnon and Makar each extended their respective point streaks to six games The Avalanche’s power-play unit has converted in five straight games, going 7-for-19 (36.8%) The Avalanche killed off all three Maple Leafs power plays … The PK unit has allowed only one power- play goal in the last seven games, killing 20-of-21 shorthanded situations (95.2%) The Avalanche improved to 12-6 in games decided past regulation, 7-3 in overtime and 5-3 in shootouts Colorado held the Maple Leafs to 18 shots after holding Montreal to 19 and Arizona to 20 in its previous two games… The Avs allowed a combined two shots in a stretch lasting 42:57 during this span and have allowed 37 shots on goal in the last 148 minutes of game time

CURRENT INJURIES
Pavel Francouz – lower body (Feb. 14 – present)
Darren Helm – lower body (Jan. 14 – present)
Erik Johnson – ankle (Feb. 14 – present)
Gabriel Landeskog – knee (Oct. 12 – present)
Artturi Lehkonen – finger (March 15 – present)
Kurtis MacDermid – lower body (March 9 – present)
Josh Manson – lower body (March 4 – present)
Total Man-Game Lost: 374

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Mar. 14 – Alex Galchenyk recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Mar. 6 – Jonas Johansson recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Mar. 5 – Keith Kinkaid reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – OTTAWA SENATORS
The Avalanche and Senators wrap up the season series with the second and final meeting of 2022-23 … Colorado won the first matchup 7-0 on Jan. 14 at Ball Arena … The Avs are 5-0-1 in their last six games versus Ottawa.

SCHEDULE vs. SENATORS
Jan. 14 vs. OTTAWA (W, 7-0)
Mar. 16 @ OTTAWA

RECORD vs. SENATORS
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME SINCE 1995-96 ALL-TIME PLAYOFFS
Overall: 1-0-0 Overall: 1-0-1 Overall: 33-17-6 Overall: 20-14-4 No meetings
Home: 1-0-0 Home: 1-0-0 Home: 20-5-2 Home: 12-5-2
Road: — Road: 0-0-1 Road: 13-12-4 Road: 8-9-2

OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:

LAST GAME: March 14, 6-3 loss at Edmonton: Draisaitl scored twice to record his fourth career 100-point season in Edmonton’s 6-3 defeat of Ottawa at Rogers Place. The markers were his 14th and 15th career goals against Ottawa, his most against any one Eastern Conference opponent. Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid added one goal and one assist evenings while Ryan and Bjugstad also tallied for the Oilers. Stützle provided two of Ottawa’s three markers in the game to establish the new franchise record for goals within a skater’s first three NHL seasons (68). Tkachuk equaled his career high in points with his 27th goal and 67th point in also finding the back of the net for the visitors. Skinner earned the win for Edmonton in making 29 saves while Sogaard took the loss for Ottawa with 27 saves.
Scratches: None; Injuries: Chabot, Forsberg, Joseph, Kelly, Norris, Talbot; Shots: OTT – 32, EDM – 33; PP: OTT – 1-5, EDM – 1-3.

BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Colorado will be broadcast regionally on TSN5 and RDS2. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).

WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa concludes a two-game homestand against Toronto on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the third of four regular-season meetings and the first of two matchups at Canadian Tire Centre.

INJURY REPORT: G Forsberg, C Norris and G Talbot are on IR and will not oppose the Avalanche this evening. D Chabot, F Joseph and F Kelly missed Thursday evening’s game with lower-body injuries. Total man-games lost: 233.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled C Greig from Belleville (AHL) on March 15.

OTTAWA vs. COLORADO – History:
2022-23 (0-1-0): Jan. 14 @ Colorado (7-0 loss), March 16 @ Ottawa
2021-22 (1-1-0): 11/22/21 @ Colorado (7-5 loss), 12/4/21 @ Ottawa (6-5 OT win)
Series record (includes Quebec): Overall: 19-30-4-3; Home: 13-13-3-0; Away: 6-17-1-3
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: 12/14/21 (6-5 OT); @ Colorado: 11/10/17 (4-3 OT)
Last Colorado win: @ Ottawa: 2/6/20 (4-1); @ Colorado: Jan. 14 (7-0)
Last OT result: 12/4/21 (6-5 OT win) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: None
Most goals, game: Scored: 6, (4x, Last: 12/4/21, 6-5 OT win); Allowed: 11, (3/26/95, 11-4 loss); Both teams: 15, (3/26/95, 11-4 loss)
Last Game: Jan. 14, 7-0 loss @ Colorado; OTT Goals: None; COL Goals: Rantanen (x2), Newhook (x2), Lehkonen (x2), Hunt; OTT
Scratches: None; OTT Injuries: Chartier, Joseph, Motte, Norris, Zaitsev; OTT Goalie: Forsberg; COL Goalie: Francouz; OTT PP: 0-3; COL PP: 1-2; Shots: 29-33.
Career vs. Colorado: Brassard leads all players in career games played (39), in assists (13) and in points (20); Giroux leads in goals (11); Watson leads in penalty minutes (54) against Colorado.

HOME ON THE RANGE: Ottawa has a record of 19-12-2 at home this season … Tim Stützle is the Senators leader with 19 goals at home while also maintaining the club lead with 24 assists at Canadian Tire Centre … Through 32 home games, Stützle leads the team with 43 points on home ice … The Senators earned a record of 15-22-4 at home through 41 home contests in 2021-22.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will open their 11th set of the season on Monday when the team visits Pittsburgh ahead of a game at Boston the following night … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (6-4-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (6-4-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 59 for 253 (23.3%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 12 powerplay goals while Alex DeBrincat maintains the club lead with 26 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 15 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.

ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 202 of the 244 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 82.8% through 67 regular-season games … The team has registered seven (Watson x3, Joseph x2, Motte, Stützle) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.

NBA Preview: Sacramento Kings (41-27) at Brooklyn Nets (39-30)

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NBA Preview: Sacramento Kings (41-27) at Brooklyn Nets (39-30)

The Sacramento Kings are going to end a 16-year season finisher dry spell, the longest such stretch in NBA history. Additionally, the Kings are nearing the end of a slightly longer stretch without a winning road record.

De’Aaron Fox’s last-second 3-pointer on Wednesday gave the Kings their 20th road victory of the season against the Chicago Bulls. When the Sacramento Kings play the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night in New York, they will have their first chance at establishing their first winning road record since 2003-2004.

In Chicago’s fourth quarter, Fox scored 15 of his 32 points, giving Sacramento its eighth road victory by five points or less. After the Kings were 10 down at the half, they won.

Also, the Kings are close to winning their first game since 2005-06, when they went 44-38 but were 17-24 on the road.

During a run of five consecutive seasons with at least 50 wins, Sacramento’s last road winning record was 21-20 in 2003-2004.

The Kings are 9-2 overall and 11-4 on the road in their last 11 games, including a wild 176-175 double overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on February 24.

In addition, Fox has scored 30 points in 10 of his last 13 games, and he has scored 30 points in five of his last six away games. On Wednesday, he scored the game-winning basket to conclude that run.

After a 3-6 start, the Kings won seven straight games to begin their rise to second place in the West. One of those wins was a 153-121 home defeat of Brooklyn when Sacramento shot 59.6 percent from the floor on Nov. 15.

As they begin a four-game homestand, the Nets are sixth in the East and one game behind the New York Knicks.

Since losing six of its first seven games with Mikal Bridges in the lineup, Brooklyn has won five of its last seven games after a 3-2 road trip.

In a 121-107 street misfortune to the Oklahoma City Roar on Tuesday, Extensions scored 34 focuses for his seventh 30-point game since being procured from the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant bargain.

The Nets led 62-52 at halftime, but Bridges scored 30 points on a night when they only scored 45 points in the second half and were outscored 38-20 in the third.

The blown lead happened after the Nets acquired rebound wins in Minnesota and Denver in the wake of following by eight at halftime in each game. On March 3, the Nets overcame a 28-point deficit to win by 10 points in Boston.

All Brooklyn starters played at least 34 minutes on Tuesday. Coach Jacque Vaughn will likely give his starters the same amount of playing time on Thursday in an effort to keep the Nets out of the play-in round.

NHL Morning Skate – March 16, 2023

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NHL Morning Skate – March 16, 2023

* Alex Ovechkin made his way up another NHL all-time list by scoring his 402nd goal on home ice as the Capitals completed a multi-goal, third-period comeback.

* A wild night by Minnesota featured the club overcome a multi-goal deficit, match the franchise record for most goals in a game and establish a new franchise record as the Wild extended the NHL’s longest active point streak to 14 contests.

* Wednesday saw a combined 34 goals (including shootout-deciding goals) – only one other four-game night in the past 25 years has featured more: 36 on Dec. 20, 2019.

* The Predators will look to extend the NHL’s longest active point streak versus a single opponent to 17 games when they host the Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena on HULU and ESPN+.

OVECHKIN CLIMBS ANOTHER ALL-TIME LIST

Alex Ovechkin scored one of Washington’s three goals in the third period to help the Capitals (33-29-7, 73 points) earn a multi-goal, third-period comeback win and remain within five points of the Islanders (35-27-8, 78 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. It marked Washington’s sixth multi-goal comeback victory this season – only three teams have more: Chicago (8), Vancouver (7) and New Jersey (7).


* Ovechkin scored his 402nd home goal to overtake former Capitals forward Mike Gartner for sole possession of fourth place on the NHL’s all-time list. He required the second-fewest home contests (664 GP) to reach the mark, following Wayne Gretzky (481 GP).



* Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of 2022-23 and moved within three of surpassing Gretzky (12) for the most 40-goal seasons in NHL history.

MINNESOTA SCORES EIGHT IN A WILD NIGHT FOR THE WILD

A total of 13 different Wild players found the score sheet as Minnesota overcame a multi-goal deficit spurred by John Klingberg, Oskar Sundqvist and Mason Shaw scoring 118 seconds apart – marking the fastest three goals by the club in over a year (last 95 seconds on Jan. 14, 2022). The Wild (39-21-8, 86 points), who established a franchise record for longest point streak as they extended their run to 14 games (11-0-3), moved within one point of the idle Stars (37-18-13, 87 points) for top spot in the Central Division.

* An offensive outburst in the second period marked the fifth time in franchise history that the Wild have scored five or more goals in a single period. The only time they recorded more was on Feb. 22, 2015 (6 in P3 vs. DAL).

* Minnesota matched a franchise record for most goals in a game by scoring eight – a feat they last achieved on Jan. 24, 2022 (vs. MTL) – and became the 10th club this season to do so.

RANTANEN SCORES GOAL NO. 44 ON #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Mikko Rantanen (1-0—1), Nathan MacKinnon (0-1—1) and Cale Makar (0-1—1) combined on the Avalanche’s only goal in regulation as Colorado improved to 60-14-3 when the trio all find the score sheet in the same contest. This note and more can be found in Wednesday’s #NHLStats: Live Updates.
 


QUICK CLICK

* 2023 NHL Draft Lottery to be held May 8
* Hurricanes Announce NHL Stadium Series Economic Impact
* NHL salary cap could increase by more than $1 million next season
* GMs decide no major changes needed with NHL in ‘really good place’
* ESPN NHL viewership on ABC experienced growth



PREDATORS CONTINUE TO CHASE FINAL WILD CARD SPOT THURSDAY
A national broadcast on HULU and ESPN+ will feature the Predators (34-24-7, 75 points) aim to gain ground on the Jets (38-27-3, 79 points) in the Western Conference Wild Card race when they host the Blackhawks (23-38-6, 52 points) at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville enters Thursday four points back of Winnipeg – which is also in action – with three games in hand.



* The Predators have earned at least a point in each of their past 16 contests against the Blackhawks dating to Jan. 9, 2020 (13-0-3) – the longest active point streak by a franchise versus a single opponent. Roman Josi leads all current Nashville skaters in goals and points against Chicago over their run with 5-5—10.

FAMILIAR FOES MEET FOR SECOND INSTALMENTS OF THEIR THREE-GAME SERIES
An 11-game Thursday will feature the Rangers (38-19-10, 86 points) and Devils (44-17-6, 94 points) hosting the Penguins (34-23-10, 78 points) and Lightning (40-22-6, 86 points), respectively. New York and Pittsburgh meet for the second of three contests in the span of a week, while New Jersey and Tampa Bay, who last met March 14, will face off in the middle contest of three head-to-head games over six days.

* While the Penguins and Lightning have never faced the same opponent three times over a span of seven or fewer days in the regular season (excluding 2020-21), the Rangers have previously competed in five such stretches and the Devils have done so once prior (NJD vs. NYI: 3 GP over 7 days from March 4-10, 2012).

Red Sox reassign left-handed pitcher Matt Dermody to Minor League camp

MLB Editor
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Red Sox reassign left-handed pitcher Matt Dermody to Minor League camp

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Red Sox today reassigned left-handed pitcher Matt Dermody to minor league camp.

Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.

With today’s roster move, the Red Sox have 46 players remaining in Major League Spring Training camp, including 12 non-roster invitees.

Cardinals reduce spring roster to 50

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Cardinals reduce spring roster to 50

Non-roster pitcher Tink Hence assigned to Minor League camp

JUPITER, Fla., – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that the team has assigned non-roster pitcher Tink Hence to minor league camp, reducing its Spring Training roster to 50 players.

Hence, 20, appeared in four games this spring, striking out five in 3.1 innings of work and allowing one earned run.  The 2022 Florida State League Pitcher of the Year was appearing in his first Major League camp this spring.

The Cardinals have 36 Major League roster players and 14 non-roster invitees remaining in camp.

Boxing Preview: Jean Pascal (36-6-1, 20 KO’s) vs Michael Eifert (11-1-0, 4 KO’s)

Fight Editor
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Boxing Preview: Jean Pascal (36-6-1, 20 KO’s) vs Michael Eifert (11-1-0, 4 KO’s)

This Thursday, March 16, at Place Bell in Laval, Canada, former light heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal will fight German contender Michael Eifert in a 12-round IBF light heavyweight world title eliminator.

Starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, undercard and Pascal-Eifert fights will be exclusively streamed live on ESPN+ in the United States. This occasion is advanced by DiBella Amusement, in relationship with Groupe Yvon Michel and Jean Pascal Advancements, and in a joint effort with Blanko Sports and SES Games GmbH.

WHAT TIME IS PASCAL VS. EIFERT?
Date: Thursday 16, March
Start time: 6:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 p.m. GMT
Main event ringwalks (approx): 9:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 a.m. GMT
Viewers in the US can watch the event live on ESPN+
The fight will take place at the Place Bell, Laval, Quebec, Canada.
The main card is set to get underway at 6:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 p.m. GMT with the main event ringwalks scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 a.m. GMT.

Pascal (36-6-1, 20 KOs) caught his most memorable world title in 2009 when he crushed Adrian Diaconu for the WBC title. He participated in three defenses, including a 2010 stoppage victory over Chad Dawson. The following year, Pascal lost to Bernard Hopkins for the title, but he continued to be a force in the division by winning matches against Lucian Bute, Yunieski Gonzalez, Marcus Browne, Badou Jack, and Sergey Kovalev, Eleider Alvarez, and Dmitry Bivol. The 40-year-old is coming off a decision win over Fanlong Meng, who had never lost a fight before. Eifert made his debut in 2018 and went 11-1 with 4 knockouts. In 2020, he lost by majority decision to Tom Dzemski. Since that one defeat, he has gone 5-0, including a decision victory over Dzemski in their rematch in July 2021.

In other streaming action from Canada:
Junior welterweight Mathieu Germain (21-2-1, 9 KOs) looks to build off a three-fight win streak in a 10-rounder against fellow Canadian Steven Wilcox (24-3-1, 7 KOs). Last June, the 33-year-old shut out then-unbeaten prospect Misael Cabrera Urias.

Italian welterweight standout Yoel Angeloni (1-0) looks to make it 2-0 against Alexander Calixto (1-1, 1 KO) in a four-rounder.

Irish light heavyweight Joseph Ward (8-1, 4 KOs) returns in an eight-round bout against undefeated Mexican prospect Mario Andrade Rodriguez (7-0, 4 KOs). Ward is coming off a decision win against Fred Julan last December.

Former world title challenger Jessica Camara (10-3, 2 KOs) faces Karla Ramos Zamora (9-9-1, 2 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the IBF International junior welterweight title. Camara lost in a bid for the unified junior welterweight crown in November 2021, but the 34-year-old is coming off two stoppage wins last year.

Caroline Veyre (2-0) and Anaelle Angerville (5-1-1) will collide in a featherweight clash scheduled for six rounds.

Undefeated bantamweight Amanda Galle (7-0-1, 1 KO) will take on Mexico’s Lorena Cruz Aispuro (4-2) in an eight-round clash.

Boxing: Undefeated Julian Gonzalez Headlines on against Clay Burns on Friday, April 7th

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Boxing: Undefeated Julian Gonzalez Headlines on against Clay Burns on Friday, April 7th

Plus Undefeated Tahmir Smalls, Ibrahim Robinson, Jalique Holden, Ali Ellis and Dwyke Flemmings Jr.; Undefeated Kamil Bednarek Battles Mike Guy; Plus Philly Favorites Quadir Albright and James Martin

PHILADELPHIA – On Friday, April 7 at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, unbeaten junior lightweight prospect Julian “Gifted” Gonzalez will take on tough Clay Burns in the main event.

King’s Promotions promotes the card.

Gonzalez, from Reading, Pennsylvania, has a 9-0-1 record, with all of his victories coming via stoppage. The 21-year-old impressed a national television audience by defeating Rosalindo Morales (9-0) in the fourth round as part of a SHOBOX: The New Generation concert in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on January 20.

Burns of Fort Worth, Texas, has four knockouts and a record of 10-17-2. The tough Burns has defeated Yovani Rodarte (10-1-1) and Dartell Smith (4-1) and has only been stopped once. On February 23, Burns lost by decision to Terrell Bostic in New York City. Gonzalez will be the thirteenth undefeated rival for Consumes.

Tahmir Smalls (9-0, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia will face an unnamed opponent in an eight-round welterweight fight.

Six-Round Battles:

In a super middleweight fight, experienced Mike Guy (12-7-1, 5 KOs) of Sacramento, California takes on Poland’s Kamil Bednarek (11-0, 6 KOs).

In a welterweight fight, Quaidir Albright of Chester, Pennsylvania (6-1, 6 KOs) takes on David Thomas of Orange, Texas (6-5-1, 2 KOs).

In a fight at super welterweight, Philadelphia’s James Martin (9-3-1) takes on Camp Hill, Pennsylvania’s Roudly Lolo (5-0-2, 3 KOs).

In a welterweight fight, Ibrahim Robinson of Baltimore, Maryland (4-0-1, 4 KOs) takes on Jahqwon Humbert of Raleigh, North Carolina (2-0, 1 KO).

Jalique Holden, a Wilmington, Delaware, featherweight, will fight for four rounds; Dwyke Flemmings Jr., a super welterweight from Paterson, New Jersey, defeated heavyweight Ali Ellis of Philadelphia (1-0, 1 KO) in the first round.

Holden, Ellis, and Flemmings’ opponents will soon be named.

Tickets are $150, $100 and $75 and can be Purchased at The Following Link:

https://2300arena.showare.com/orderticketsvenue.asp?p=447

NBA Preview: Orlando Magic (28-41) at Phoenix Suns (37-32)

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NBA Preview: Orlando Magic (28-41) at Phoenix Suns (37-32)

Few contending teams are as uneasy as the Phoenix Suns with just a few weeks left in the NBA regular season.

The Phoenix Suns’ journey continues on Thursday when they take on the visiting Orlando Magic, who have lost two of their last three games.

Phoenix has dropped three straight following a four-game series of wins. The Suns are 1-3 since star Kevin Durant hyper-extended his left lower leg during pregame warmups on Walk 8. The 13-time Top pick will be rethought in around fourteen days.

Phoenix has struggled to consistently score outside of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton since Durant has been sidelined. In Tuesday’s 116-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the pair scored 46 points together.

Phoenix is fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 37-32, but without Kevin Durant, the team’s identity is still a mystery.

Phoenix has attempted to safeguard the 3-point shot in its last three games, and furthermore needs additional creation from job players Josh Okogie, Torrey Craig, Ish Wainright and Terrence Ross. In the defeat against Milwaukee, the group put up a total of 22 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks’ 24-9 run to win the game. With 36 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists, the two-time MVP finished.

Phoenix is attempting to avenge Orlando’s 114-97 defeat on November 11, when the Suns shot just 13 of 42 attempts (31% from three-point range).

The San Antonio Spurs, who made a franchise-high 22 3-pointers and had a season-high 39 assists, started Orlando’s four-game road trip on Tuesday with a 132-114 defeat.

The Magic, who have lost five of their last seven games, were led by 27 points from Paolo Banchero and 16 from Wendell Carter Jr. for the Magic. For a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament and 10th place, Orlando is four games behind the Washington Wizards.

San Antonio, which shot 56.5 percent from the field and 22 of 41 (53.7 percent) from beyond the arc, has defeated the Magic in 21 of their last 27 meetings.

Orlando, which is 12-22 on the road, has seen Cole Anthony score 15.4 points per game in seven games this month.

NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (31-38) at Milwaukee Bucks (50-19)

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NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (31-38) at Milwaukee Bucks (50-19)

With their victory on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks became the first NBA team to secure a playoff spot. On Thursday, they play host to the Indiana Pacers, who are attempting to earn a play-in spot, at home.

The Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 116-104 on the second night of a road doubleheader, largely due to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s close to triple-double: Eight rebounds, 36 points, and 11 rebounds.

When Antetokounmpo plays in both games, the Bucks are now 9-1 when they play in consecutive games. Jrue Holiday had 12 points and five assists, and Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder each scored 11 off the bench. Brook Lopez had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 12 points and 5 assists.

After defeating the Pistons 121-115 on Saturday, Indiana is coming off a road loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday night by a score of 117-97. In his 11th game with Indiana, Jordan Nwora scored 20 points to lead the Pacers.

In the massive four-team trade on February 9 that brought Crowder to Milwaukee from the Phoenix Suns, Nwora was traded from the Bucks to the Pacers.

In a game in which the Pacers were without numerous key players, including Tyrese Haliburton (knee), Benedict Mathurin (ankle), and Myles Turner (back), Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard each scored 15 points in front of Nwora.

With 31.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game this season, Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks. Occasion leads with 7.2 helps and 1.2 takes while Creek Lopez is among the association chiefs in blocks with 2.5.

Haliburton has the most assists in the NBA and leads Indiana in points (20.8), assists (10.4), and steals (1.6). With 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks, Myles Turner causes trouble for Pacers opponents in the low post.

On Tuesday, the Bucks were without Grayson Allen (plantar fasciitis) and Khris Middleton (knee management). After being signed as a free agent on March 4, Goran Dragic has not yet made his team debut due to a knee injury.

Five Pacers players are listed as day-to-day, including Mathurin, who Carlisle said is “making real positive strides with his rehab” on Monday. However, Carlisle declined to provide a return date. Turner, Haliburton, T.J. McConnell (back), Chris Duarte (ankle), and Haliburton are all listed as day-to-day.

This is the third of four games this season between these division rivals, and Milwaukee wants to beat Indiana for the 11th time in a row. Milwaukee also holds the all-time series lead, 113-91, over the Pacers, who last won the series in 2017-18.

NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (34-35) at Toronto Raptors (33-36)

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NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (34-35) at Toronto Raptors (33-36)

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be on a mission to stretch out their series of wins to four games Thursday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to lead the Thunder, who won 121-107 at home against the Brooklyn Nets to win for the sixth time in seven games.

With a 125-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, the Raptors ended a three-game losing streak and began a three-game homestand. Fred VanVleet had 36 focuses, remembering 14 for a 49-point first quarter that was an establishment best for any quarter.

On November 11, the teams met for the first time this season, and the Thunder won 132-113 at home.

Josh Giddey had a triple-double for the Thunder in their victory over the Nets, scoring 15 points while also grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists.

The Thunder were led by Luguentz Dort, who was 6-for-11 from three-point range and scored 24 points.

Dort scored 15 points in 10 minutes as the Thunder outscored the Nets 38-20 in the third quarter.

A 16-point deficit was overcome by the Thunder.

The Raptors drove by upwards of 24 focuses against the Chunks, who slice the edge to three in the final quarter.

However, with 3:04 remaining, VanVleet hit his eighth 3-pointer in 12 attempts to give Toronto a 15-point lead and avenge its previous loss to Denver.

O.G. Anunoby stopped Nikola Jokic, who had 28 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, and scored 24 points.

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