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NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (40-26) at Dallas Mavericks (34-34)

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NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (40-26) at Dallas Mavericks (34-34)

The Memphis Grizzlies will play Dallas on Monday night to begin a three-game road trip without Ja Morant, hoping to win for the third time in a row.

Due to an off-court incident that occurred on March 3 at a Colorado strip club, Morant is likely to miss his fifth consecutive game. After it appeared that the star point guard flashed a handgun during an Instagram live video, authorities announced five days later that Morant would not face criminal charges. His return to action is still unknown.

Desmond Bane scored 25 points and rookie David Roddy scored 24 points off the bench, both career highs, in Memphis’ hard-fought 112-108 home victory over the Mavericks on Saturday.

Roddy scored 17 focuses in the final quarter and assisted the Grizzlies with beating a 83-77 Dissidents lead entering the game’s last edge. He made seven of eight shots, including three of four attempts from the three-point arc, as Memphis overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to claim its 40th victory of the season.

The Grizzlies and Mavericks, who were without Luka Doncic in Saturday’s defeat due to a left thigh strain, played their first game in three days. Due to pain in his right foot, newly acquired Kyrie Irving also did not participate.

Doncic scored 15 points and provided eight assists in the team’s 113-106 road loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. He left the game in the third quarter. Doncic’s left thigh was not damaged by an MRI, so he is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against Memphis.

Irving played 41 minutes against the Pelicans before being scratched 90 minutes before the Grizzlies’ game. He is expected to play in the rematch against Memphis and scored a team-high 27 points against New Orleans.

In the absence of Morant, Memphis’ starting point guard is Tyus Jones. He’s averaging 10.1 focuses and 4.8 helps per game. In the absence of Morant, Bane (21.3 points per game, 4.2 assists per game) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (17.0 points per game, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks per game) are being used more frequently on the offensive end.

Dillon Brooks has played 34 minutes per game for the Grizzlies over the last two games, but his offensive production needs to improve after scoring eight points in Saturday’s victory over Dallas.

In Saturday’s defeat to Memphis, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. Christian Wood scored 14 points off the bench, and Josh Green had a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks will once again need Hardy, Hardaway, and Green to take over on the offensive end if Doncic and Irving are unable to play.

NBA Preview: Utah Jazz (33-35) at Miami Heat (36-33)

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NBA Preview: Utah Jazz (33-35) at Miami Heat (36-33)

In preparation for their game on Monday against the Utah Jazz, the Miami Heat now have point guard Kyle Lowry back from the injured list.

Lowry, who hadn’t played since Feb. 2 because of a problem with his left knee, played 36 minutes on Saturday when Miami lost to the Orlando Magic 126-114 in overtime. Lowry hit 4 of 8 shots, including 3 of 6 3-pointers, and had 12 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Lowry had not played as a reserve in ten years.

Despite Jimmy Butler’s strong performance on Saturday, when he scored 38 points, the Heat have lost four of their last seven games. He hit 14 of his 25 shots from the floor and 8 of his 8 shots from behind the arc.

Miami will play Utah for the first time on Monday, after defeating Utah 126-123 on New Year’s Eve.

Due to a knee injury, Butler was unable to play in that game; however, Heat starters Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, in addition to backup Victor Oladipo, took his place.

Oladipo finished with 23 points, Adebayo had a game-high 32 points, Herro had 29 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Adebayo had a game-high 32 points. Herro hit a one-leg three-pointer at the buzzer that won the game.

However, the Jazz are rebuilding in the West while the Heat are 22-13 at home and seventh in the Eastern Conference race for a playoff spot.

Nonetheless, Utah entered Sunday’s game in 10th place in the Western Conference, which would place the Jazz in the play-in round. This season, the Jazz are 13-22 on the road.

The Jazz, who have a new coach in 35-year-old Will Hardy and a rebuilt roster, put together an impressive performance. Hardy took over for Quin Snyder, who left after eight seasons.

Danny Ainge, a former executive with the Boston Celtics who was hired by Utah in December 2021, started a huge rebuilding project this offseason by trading Royce O’Neal. Since then, Ainge has traded Rudy Gobert, a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Donovan Mitchell, a four-time All-Star, Mike Conley, and other players for eight first-round draft picks, three pick swaps, and 13 players.

Talen Horton-Tucker, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard who scored 37 points in Utah’s 119-111 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, now leads the roster. Horton Exhaust made 14 of 24 shots from the floor, remembering 2 of 5 for 3-pointers.

Lauri Markkanen, 25, who leads the Jazz in scoring (25.4 points) and rebounds (8.5), is one of several young players with notable experience. and 7-1 center Walker Kessler, 21, who averages 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds and leads the team in blocks (2.3).

These three players were acquired by Utah in recent Ainge trades.

NBA Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (34-34) at Atlanta Hawks (34-34)

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NBA Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (34-34) at Atlanta Hawks (34-34)

When the Atlanta Hawks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, they will attempt to boost their fleeting hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament.

The Hawks are coming off a 134-125 defeat to the Boston Celtics on Saturday. They are four and a half games behind the New York Knicks in the race for the No. 6 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 14 games remaining. The top six teams will not participate in the play-in tournament, so Atlanta is in seventh place, 1/2 game behind Miami.

Minnesota is in a better playoff position than Brooklyn, which it lost to 124-123 in overtime. Dallas and the Timberwolves are tied for the No. Seventh in the Western Conference They trail No only one game. 6 Golden State, despite the fact that four of their next five games are away.

The two teams meet for the first time this season, in this one. The teams’ last five encounters have been won by Atlanta.

After the All-Star break, the players of Atlanta and their new coach, Quin Snyder, continue to get used to one another. He took over three games. After the Hawks allowed the Celtics to make 20 3-pointers, Snyder wants to see more emphasis placed on defense, particularly on 3-pointers.

Trae Young of Atlanta and Marcus Smart of Boston got into a fight, which resulted in both players getting tangled up on the court and Smart being kicked out. Snyder stated that there were other issues that were of greater concern to him, while Young stated that he had “nothing much to say” regarding the incident.

Young, who scored 35 points and had 13 assists in the game against Boston, now has the most Eastern Conference games with at least 30 points and 10 assists.

The Hawks will need to find a way to slow down Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, who was the No. 1 pick out of Georgia after one season. 1st overall pick in the 2020 draft. Edwards is currently averaging 24.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. He’s likewise hitting 2.7 3-pointers per game and making 36.8 percent of his endeavors from the bend.

Brooklyn was defeated by 32 points from Edwards. After scoring the same number of points in a defeat to Philadelphia, it was his 20th game with 30 points and his second 32-point game in a row. In his past four games against Atlanta, he has scored 14.3 points on average.

Karl-Anthony Towns continues to play for Minnesota despite missing 47 games due to a severe calf sprain. The previous week, he participated in some on-court drills, but he is still unable to practice. Austin Rivers missed Friday’s game with back spasms, and Jaylen Nowell has missed six games in a row with a left knee injury.

With tightness in his back, Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the previous game.

NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (31-37) at Detroit Pistons (15-53)

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NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (31-37) at Detroit Pistons (15-53)

The Indiana Pacers now have something to aim for in the final month of the season thanks to the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

If they can beat the weakened and depleted Detroit Pistons on Monday night, they can keep their postseason push going.

Indiana is within striking distance of the conference’s ninth and tenth spots. On Saturday, the Pacers defeated the Pistons 121-115, their 11th consecutive defeat.

Due to a bruised left knee, the Pacers played without All-Star and leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton. Bennedict Mathurin (ankle), T.J. McConnell (back), and center Myles Turner (back) all left the game.

Jalen Smith exploded for 20 points and nine rebounds in their absence. Isaiah Jackson had 19 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive) for the Pacers, as did Andrew Nembhard, who had 19 points and eight assists.

For Jackson, who grew up in Detroit and was surrounded by 60 family and friends, the game was very special. He helped Indiana defeat Detroit 58-42 in rebounding.

At 90 each, the game was tied going into the final quarter. The Pacers were able to pull away halfway through the fourth thanks to an 11-2 run.

In order to win the rematch, they will likely need to rely on the same group. Carlisle said that none of the players who were injured in Saturday’s game would play on Monday.

Detroit is also playing with a short roster. Isaiah Stewart, Hamidou Diallo, and Cade Cunningham are all out for the season. Alec Burks (foot) and leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic (Achilles) both missed Saturday’s game.

Even after the first half, Coach Dwane Casey was still dissatisfied with how poorly his remaining players performed.

Casey stated that Jackson’s absence from the boards will be crucial to ending the losing streak.

NHL: Maple Leafs’ Tavares Fined for Slashing

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NHL: Maple Leafs’ Tavares Fined for Slashing

NEW YORK – Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for slashing Edmonton Oilers defenseman Vincent Desharnais during NHL Game No. 1043 in Toronto on Saturday, March 11, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 3:41 of the third period.Tavares was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.

The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

MLS Preview: New England Revolution (2-0-0) at Los Angeles Football Club (1-0-0)

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MLS Preview: New England Revolution (2-0-0) at Los Angeles Football Club (1-0-0)

Los Angeles Football Club defeated New England 2-0 on the road in the most recent encounter in August 2019. In September 2018, the two teams drew 1-1 in their previous Southern California encounter.

On Saturday, Los Angeles Football Club defeated Portland 3-2 and scored the first three goals of the game. When it comes to scoring the opening goal of a match, Los Angeles Football Club has the best record in MLS (W17 D0 L1).

The New England Revolution have scored 4-0 in their first two games of the season. New England had never won its first two games of a season before this one, and the Revolutions had only once allowed no goals in those first two games.

In the 24th minute of Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Portland, Los Angeles Football Club’s Giorgio Chiellini scored the team’s first goal of the season. It was Chiellini’s first goal in a competitive game since August 2019, when he scored for Juventus against Parma in the Italian Serie A. On Saturday, Bobby Wood scored against Houston and assisted on the opening goal. Wood scored eight goals (six goals, two assists) in Real Salt Lake’s 34 games in 2021 and 2022, including playoff games. However, he never scored more than one goal in a single game.

NBA Preview: New York Knicks (39-30) at Los Angeles Lakers (33-34)

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NBA Preview: New York Knicks (39-30) at Los Angeles Lakers (33-34)

When Julius Randle can’t get anything going, the New York Knicks are having trouble without Jalen Brunson, who is injured.

If Brunson, who has a sore left foot, does not play against the Lakers on Sunday night in Los Angeles, the Knicks will need Randle to get back on track if they want to end their three-game losing streak.

Since losing four straight games from January 16-22, the Knicks are now on their first three-game skid. This skid follows their nine-game winning streak, which culminated in their 131-129 double-overtime victory over Boston on Sunday. Due to the injury he suffered in Miami’s 122-120 victory two nights prior, Brunson did not play.

During New York’s previous three games, Brunson has played 19 minutes. He missed Tuesday’s seven-point home loss to the Charlotte Hornets and then played through the pain in the first half of Thursday’s 122-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings, which started the Knicks’ four-game western trip.

As Randle shot 5 of 24 from the field and scored 19 points in a 106-95 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, the Knicks fell to 3-4 without Brunson. The Knicks shot 35.6% from the field.

In the first game without Brunson, Randle scored 31, but he hasn’t scored more than 25 points in three straight games. He has shot 28.5 percent (18 of 63) in those games, including 7 of 31 attempts from three-point range.

When Randle is held under 25 points, New York is 18-17, and Saturday’s performance may have been his most frustrating of the season. He also received a technical foul for elbowing Mason Plumlee and yelled at teammate Evan Fournier and a team security guard while he was being restrained from going after the officials, in addition to the poor shooting performance.

The Lakers are ninth in the Western Conference, half a game behind the two teams directly in front of them, Minnesota and Dallas, while the Knicks remain in the top six of the Eastern Conference and are percentage points behind the Brooklyn Nets, who are fifth.

Los Angeles is looking for its first four-game winning streak since winning five straight games from December 30 to January 7 after losing LeBron James for multiple weeks to right foot soreness.

In a 122-112 home victory over the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Lakers shot 56.3% from the floor to secure their third consecutive victory. After missing four games with a sprained right ankle, D’Angelo Russell returned and scored 28 points.

Anthony Davis, who had scored 107 points in his previous three games, was held to eight points despite Russell’s performance.

NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (32-35) at San Antonio Spurs (17-49)

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NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (32-35) at San Antonio Spurs (17-49)

When the Oklahoma City Thunder travel to San Antonio on Sunday to play the Spurs, who have suddenly become more competitive, the Thunder will want to keep working toward the postseason.

After defeating the Spurs 110-96 in New Orleans on Saturday, the Thunder will travel to San Antonio for the second game of a road back-to-back. With a position of 12th in the Western Conference, Oklahoma City is still trying to get into the playoffs.

The Thunder are just 2 1/2 games out of sixth place, which guarantees them a spot in the postseason, and half a game out of 10th place, which guarantees them a spot in the play-in tournament.

In Oklahoma City’s victory over New Orleans, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Josh Giddey added 19 points, and Jalen Williams scored 17.

After losing five games, Oklahoma City has won four of its last five games.

After a rousing 128-120 victory over Denver, which leads the West, on Friday, the Spurs, who are out of the playoff picture, will play the second game in a six-game homestand. Keldon Johnson scored 23 points for San Antonio, along with 20 points from Doug McDermott, 19 from Jeremy Sochan, and 14 each from Devin Vassell and Tre Jones.

Zach Collins scored 10 points for the Spurs before being kicked out in the middle of the third quarter, and Sandro Mamukelashvili, a new acquisition, scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including a devastating 3-pointer with 2:33 to play.

Although San Antonio has won three of its last five games, the team is still last in the Western Conference and could receive an early NBA draft pick.

The Spurs, who always fight to the end, looked like they wanted the game more than their opponents did for a night.

The Thunder won the first two games of the season series against San Antonio, both of which were played in Oklahoma City; however, they haven’t played the Spurs since beating them 130-114 two days after Christmas.

NBA Preview: Portland Trail Blazers (31-36) at New Orleans Pelicans (32-25)

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NBA Preview: Portland Trail Blazers (31-36) at New Orleans Pelicans (32-25)

The Portland Pioneers will visit the New Orleans Pelicans in Sunday night with the two groups expecting to get up to speed assuming that they will fit the bill for the Western Meeting play-in round.

The Blazers are 13th, one game behind Oklahoma City and New Orleans, which are 11th and 11th, respectively. In the four-team play-in, those teams are one half-game behind the Utah Jazz for the final spot.

After failing to secure a victory on Friday night, Portland is attempting to finish the six-game road trip.500. In Philadelphia, the Blazers were defeated 120-119 despite having a 21-point lead over the 76ers.

With 1.1 seconds remaining, Joel Embiid hit a jumper from the foul line, and Portland couldn’t make a final shot after falling behind for the first time all night.

With 34 points, Portland was led by Anfernee Simons. Damian Lillard had 22, and Jerami Grant had 24.

The Pelicans’ most recent game was a loss, but they can’t say it happened by accident. On Saturday night in New Orleans, Oklahoma City held a 21-point lead and won 110-96. The team led nearly the entire game.

The Pelicans, playing without driving scorer Zion Williamson since early January, likewise played without second-driving scorer Brandon Ingram, who has a hyper-extended right lower leg. It is unclear whether Ingram will be available for Sunday’s game.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 14 points in the first quarter to give the Thunder a 10-point lead at halftime, was unstoppable for New Orleans. He scored 35 points, and Oklahoma City was more aggressive when it came to going to the basket, scoring 11 more points at the foul line.

Oklahoma City had 12 turnovers, while New Orleans had 22. When the Pelicans committed a turnover, the Thunder outscored them 23-8.

The Pelicans and Blazers split their first two games this season, with the home team taking both contests by a score of 11 points. On March 27 in Portland, the season series will come to an end.

NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (31-36) at Philadelphia Sixers (44-22)

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NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (31-36) at Philadelphia Sixers (44-22)

When the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Washington Wizards on Sunday, they will be looking to win for the fifth time in a row.

On Friday, the Philadelphia 76ers prevailed 120-119 over the Portland Trail Blazers thanks to Joel Embiid’s difficult fadeaway jump shot from 15 feet out.

The Sixers, who had a lead of as much as 21 points, had no other advantage throughout the game.

Embiid led the Sixers once more with 39 points, his fifth game in a row with at least 30 points.

Embiid is super certain about scoring, however he’s completely mindful that the Sixers are a long way from a completed item.

James Harden scored 19 points, pulled down nine rebounds, and provided eight assists after missing just one game due to soreness in his left foot.

The Sixers were able to extend their streak of victories, despite the fact that it was not a typical victory.

After suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, the Wizards will attempt to rebound.

On Wednesday, Washington lost 122-120 and on Friday, 114-107. In the most recent defeat, Bradley Beal scored 27 points, while Kristaps Porzingis added 22.

With 1:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Wizards reduced a 13-point deficit to two, but they were unable to complete the comeback.

For a spot in the play-in tournament and 10th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Washington Wizards are one half-game ahead of the Chicago Bulls. The Hawks are ranked eighth.

Washington and Philadelphia may meet again in the postseason as the regular season winds down.

The Wizards will need to shoot better from 3-point range if they want to improve their playoff seeding. In its second consecutive defeat to the Hawks, Washington made just 7 of 27 (34.9 percent) 3-point attempts.

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