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NBA Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (24-25) at New Orleans Pelicans (26-22)

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NBA Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves (24-25) at New Orleans Pelicans (26-22)

The last time they took the floor, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost to the Houston Rockets, a team riding a 13-game losing streak.

The New Orleans Pelicans will try to end their season-worst five-game losing streak when they host the Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

The Pelicans’ streak seemed all but certain to reach five games when visiting Denver took a 19-point lead in the first half Tuesday night, but the home team fought back and took a one-point lead with less than a minute remaining.

Then Nikola Jokic put the finishing touch on his triple-double with a jump hook from the lane to give Denver a 99-98 lead with 16.9 seconds left. The precarious lead held up when New Orleans missed three shots in the final seconds.

Denver led 63-47 at halftime, but New Orleans had its best defensive half of the season when it held the Nuggets to 36 points in the second half.

CJ McCollum scored 20 points to lead six Pelicans scorers in double figures — three of them reserves off the bench.

The tone for the Timberwolves’ loss was set when the host Rockets scored the first nine points on their way to a 119-114 victory Monday.

Finch bemoaned the Wolves’ lack of “focus,” though Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and D’Angelo Russell matched his season high with 30.

The Wolves did welcome back center Rudy Gobert, who had missed the previous three games because of groin soreness. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and added 16 rebounds and four blocks.

Edwards said he and his teammates have shown “a bad tendency” to not be focused early against teams with poor records, such as the Rockets, who have the worst record in the NBA after Tuesday.

The Pelicans defeated the Wolves 119-118 on Dec. 28 in New Orleans.

The season series will conclude in the regular-season finale for both teams April 9 in Minneapolis.

NBA Preview: Denver Nuggets (34-14) at Milwaukee Bucks (30-17)

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NBA Preview: Denver Nuggets (34-14) at Milwaukee Bucks (30-17)

MVP battle: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Bucks face Nikola Jokic’s Nuggets

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic own the last four MVP trophies, with both winning in consecutive years while bolstering the reputation of foreign-born players in the NBA.

Both are having MVP-worthy seasons this year, and they will have a chance to state their cases when Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks host Jokic’s Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Not only is the game a clash of MVPs, but it also is a matchup of two of the best teams in the NBA. Milwaukee is third in the Eastern Conference, four games behind the Boston Celtics for the top spot, while Jokic has led Denver to the best record in the Western Conference.

The Bucks are coming off a 150-point performance in a win at Detroit on Monday night. Milwaukee got Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton back in the lineup, and the duo supercharged the offense.

Antetokounmpo had missed five games with a lingering knee issue, and Middleton had not played since Dec. 15.

Middleton missed the first 20 games of the season after undergoing wrist surgery in the offseason, then was shut down after seven games in December due to knee soreness. He played 15 minutes in the win over the Pistons, amassing eight points and four assists.

Jokic missed two games because of left hamstring tightness before returning Tuesday in a 99-98 win at New Orleans on Tuesday night. Jokic had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth straight triple-double and his 15th this season.

He also saved the Nuggets from losing a game they led by 19 in the third quarter, hitting a jumper in the lane with 16.9 seconds to go.

Denver was still without Michael Porter Jr., who missed his second game in a row due to personal reasons, and Bones Hyland, sidelined due to a finger sprain.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone rejoined the team after missing four games while in health and safety protocol. Denver went 3-1 under acting coach David Adelman, but its nine-game winning streak and run of 16 straight home victories came to an end against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

The Nuggets have been playing the best basketball in the NBA since early December. They lost at home to Dallas on Dec. 6 to fall to 14-10 but since then have won 20 of 24 to move within a half-game of Boston for the best record in the NBA.

NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (21-26) at Houston Rockets (11-36)

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NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (21-26) at Houston Rockets (11-36)

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green enjoyed a second consecutive home game of rampaging an opposing defense, torching the Minnesota Timberwolves for a career-high 42 points on Monday.

Green will look to build on that effort when the Rockets play host to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

Against Minnesota, Green shot 15 of 25 and made six of his 2 3-point attempts. That followed a 16-for-24 shooting display against the Charlotte Hornets on Jan. 18 when Green matched his previous career high of 41 points. Fits and spurts have defined this season for Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. But when he excels, the potential is blinding.

The Rockets snapped a 13-game losing skid on Monday behind Green, who added four rebounds and four assists to his ledger. As noteworthy as his individual brilliance was the cohesion he shared with second-year center Alperen Sengun, who continued his recent uptick with 21 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), seven rebounds and seven assists.

Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. missed his sixth consecutive game with a foot injury on Monday. During that stretch, Sengun is averaging 21 points (on 69.3 percent shooting), 10.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists with increased offensive orchestration duties.

Without Porter, who averages 19.2 points and 5.6 assists, siphoning shots, Green is averaging 28.6 points (on 49.5 percent shooting) and 3.6 assists.

As Houston continues to trudge along in its protracted rebuild, questions continue to arise over which players should set the foundation for the future. While the sample size is small, the simultaneous growth Green and Sengun is creating optimism.

The Wizards opened a five-game road trip with a 127-126 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, doing so without Kristaps Porzingis, who is week-to-week because of a sprained left ankle.

Washington won a third consecutive game despite missing its second-leading scorer, Porzingis, and trading its fourth-leading scorer, Rui Hachimura, to the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Without Porzingis and Hachimura, the Wizards had to dig a bit deeper into their bench.

Reserve forward Deni Avdija, who stands to benefit the most with Hachimura in Los Angeles, posted a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) while adding three assists and three steals in 32 minutes on Tuesday. The Wizards went small on occasion with Porzingis unavailable, and they were able to generate timely defensive pressure down the stretch against the Mavericks.

For one night, the Wizards unlocked a winning formula, with Delon Wright’s steal in the final second sealing the victory over Dallas. The goal is to do so again in Houston.

NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (24-25) at Orlando Magic (18-29)

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NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (24-25) at Orlando Magic (18-29)

Fresh off snapping a seven-game losing streak, the Indiana Pacers hit the road on Wednesday to face the Orlando Magic in the second leg of a back-to-back set.

Indiana rallied from a 21-point deficit and outscored the visiting Chicago Bulls 36-23 in the fourth quarter en route to a 116-110 win on Tuesday.

The victory was the Pacers’ first since Jan. 8, as well as their first since point guard Tyrese Haliburton sustained elbow and knee injuries on Jan. 11 in the first game of their skid.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle made recent tweaks to the lineup, including moving McConnell into the starting lineup to fill Haliburton’s spot at point guard. McConnell recorded a triple-double of 18 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in his first start on Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.

After three games scoring below his season average of 17.5 points while in the starting lineup, rookie Bennedict Mathurin has come off the bench in each of the past three games. He matched Myles Turner with a team-high 26 points on Tuesday, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.

Just as Indiana aims to flip from a losing skid to a winning streak, the Magic are seeking their first back-to-back wins in over a month.

Orlando dominated the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on Monday, 113-98, behind a balanced offensive effort and stifling defensive performance.

The Magic held Boston to 36-of-83 shooting from the floor (43.4 percent) and forced 18 turnovers. Gary Harris, Cole Anthony and Jonathan Isaac were responsible for six of those turnovers with two steals each.

Isaac — playing in his first game since sustaining his second serious knee injury in seven months at the NBA bubble in August 2020 — also scored 10 points in less than 10 minutes off the bench.

Anthony scored 18 points in a reserve role, and Orlando improved to 10-4 this season when he has scored 13 or more points.

Franz Wagner was among the Orlando players distributing the ball against the Celtics, doling out six assists to go with seven rebounds and 15 points.

Rookie Paolo Banchero is the Magic’s leading scorer at 20.7 points per game, while Franz Wagner — who is averaging 20.4 points per game — has scored 20-plus points in seven of his past 10 appearances.

NBA Preview: Toronto Raptors (21-27) at Sacramento Kings (27-19)

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NBA Preview: Toronto Raptors (21-27) at Sacramento Kings (27-19)

The Sacramento Kings boast a pair of All-Star candidates in De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but reserve forward Trey Lyles might hold the key to their future success.

The surging Kings have won seven of eight heading into Wednesday’s matchup against the visiting Toronto Raptors. Following a breakout game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Lyles will likely figure prominently in the Raptors’ scouting report.

The eight-year pro was 6 of 8 from 3-point range and finished with a season-high 24 points in the Kings’ 133-100 victory over Memphis on Monday.

Sacramento’s reserve lineups have struggled at times on the defensive end, but Lyles has made a positive impact since moving into the rotation last month. He had six rebounds and a season-high three blocked shots against the Grizzlies.

Sacramento will need that intensity against Toronto, which is beginning a season-high seven-game trip against Western Conference opponents.

The Raptors had two days off after splitting back-to-back games against the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks over the weekend.

Fred VanVleet scored 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 24 to help Toronto snap a three-game losing streak with a 125-116 win over the Knicks on Sunday.

VanVleet returned after sitting out one game because of soreness in his right ribs. Toronto played without forward O.G. Anunoby (sore right ankle), who is listed as day-to-day.

Trent is averaging 22.3 points and shooting 40.8 percent from 3-point range over his last 15 games for the Raptors, who are 6-15 on the road this season.

Coach Nick Nurse is hoping to see improvement across the board during his team’s lengthy road trip.

Toronto is looking to avenge a 124-123 loss to Sacramento on Dec. 14, when Fox finished with 27 points and 10 assists. The Kings attempted 46 3-pointers in the win, and the team has continued to rely on its perimeter game throughout the season.

Guard Kevin Huerter has made an immediate impact in his first season with Sacramento, averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc.

After winning just 30 games last year, the Kings are in third place in the Western Conference and appear primed to make their first playoff appearance since 2006.

NBA Preview: Utah Jazz (25-25) at Portland Trail Blazers (22-25)

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NBA Preview: Utah Jazz (25-25) at Portland Trail Blazers (22-25)

Damian Lillard continues to build his reputation as one of the top long-range shooters in NBA history.

Lillard has moved into seventh place on the all-time 3-pointers list and is taking aim at sixth-place Vince Carter when the Portland Trail Blazers host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

Lillard made seven 3-pointers in Portland’s 147-127 rout of the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Monday to raise his career total to 2,283, one more than Jason Terry.

Another game with seven would allow Lillard to tie Carter.

Lillard has made 140 3-pointers while averaging 29.3 points in 35 games this season.

And while he moves up the bombers’ list, Lillard would like to see the Trail Blazers move up in the standings. The victory over the Spurs was just the fifth in the last 17 games for Portland.

The Trail Blazers entered Tuesday’s play in a tie for 12th in the Western Conference. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs and Nos. 7-10 make the play-in round.

Portland certainly has firepower but doesn’t always seal the deal. On Sunday night, the Trail Blazers led the Los Angeles Lakers by 25 points at halftime and lost the game 121-112.

Against the Spurs, the contest was tied at 74 at the half before Portland tacked on 45 points to set a franchise record (119) for most points through three quarters.

“Our offense was good,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “The defense wasn’t as good. I thought, obviously, in the first half you’re giving up 74 points but I knew what we did is really, really hard to do. In my experience … losing a game like we lost (to the Lakers), it usually has a lasting impact on you.

Utah has won five of its past seven games and is tied for seventh in the West entering Tuesday’s play.

The Jazz rolled to a 120-102 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. Utah held the Hornets to two 3-pointers (in 16 attempts) — the fewest made in an NBA game this season.

Markkanen fueled the Jazz victory with 25 points and 11 rebounds. He made four 3-pointers as Utah was 16 of 40 from behind the arc.

Mike Conley also made four treys while remaining mindful that the NBA trade deadline is coming up.

The Los Angeles Clippers are rumored to be preparing to make a run at the 35-year-old Conley’s services.

Utah won the first meeting between the teams this season — making it five straight wins over Portland — before the Trail Blazers posted a 116-111 victory on Dec. 3. Anfernee Simons scored a career-high 45 points in that game while Lillard was sidelined with a calf injury.

NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (31-16) at Golden State Warriors (23-24)

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NBA Preview: Memphis Grizzlies (31-16) at Golden State Warriors (23-24)

One of the NBA’s best budding rivalries will be renewed Wednesday night when the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors duke it out again in San Francisco.

The Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in last year’s Western Conference playoffs will be meeting for the second time this season, with Golden State using a 40-point, third-quarter explosion to run off to a 123-109 home win on Christmas.

That head-to-head was the first since a heated Western semifinal series last May in which the Warriors’ Gary Payton II suffered a broken elbow on a hard foul by the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks, who was suspended for one game.

Golden State won the series 4-2 en route to a fourth NBA title in the last eight years.

Memphis appears to be well-situated for another run at Western Conference — and perhaps NBA — honors this season despite having lost three in a row. The Grizzlies’ stumble has come after they won 11 straight while vaulting into second place in the conference behind the Denver Nuggets.

The Grizzlies have used a 20-3 home record to build their lofty perch in the standings, and they will look to find their winning touch again in Wednesday’s rematch.

The first two of Memphis’ three consecutive defeats were heartbreakers, with the Grizzlies coming up one point short against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday and two points shy of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Exhausted from those efforts, and playing for the third time in four nights on the road, Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins chose to rest Ja Morant and Steven Adams on Monday in Sacramento. The result was a 133-100 drubbing by the Kings.

The Grizzlies will end their five-game trip Friday at Minnesota.

The Warriors were without Stephen Curry for the Christmas win over the Grizzlies, but used 32 points from Jordan Poole to nearly offset Morant’s 36.

That left the supporting casts to decide the outcome, with Golden State getting 24 points from Klay Thompson and double-figure scoring from four others, while Draymond Green provided his usual dirty work in the form of 13 rebounds and 13 assists.

Like the Grizzlies, the Warriors have been far better at home than on the road this season, although that wasn’t the case Sunday, when Golden State opened a three-game homestand with a 120-116 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Curry had 26 points in the defeat, but Thompson and Andrew Wiggins combined for just 14 on 6-of-26 shooting overall and 0 of 10 on 3-pointers.

The Grizzlies can expect to see something different than last year’s playoffs as Warriors coach Steve Kerr has inserted Poole into the starting lineup in recent games, going with a smaller lineup while shifting center Kevon Looney to the bench.

Poole, who never started in the Memphis series last year, has averaged 26.3 points in his last four starts.

NBA Preview: Atlanta Hawks (24-24) at Oklahoma City Thunder (23-24)

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NBA Preview: Atlanta Hawks (24-24) at Oklahoma City Thunder (23-24)

The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks squared off, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey led the way in a Thunder win.

Heading into Wednesday’s second and final meeting between the teams, this time in Oklahoma City, Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey enter on a hot streak and could be poised to do more damage. The duo is a big reason why the Thunder have won seven of their last nine games.

Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a 34-point effort in Sunday’s 101-99 win over the host Denver Nuggets that included the deciding bucket with 9.2 seconds remaining.

Gilgeous-Alexander is tied for third in the league with 99 clutch points – points scored in the game’s final five minutes with the scoring margin within five points.

While most of Gilgeous-Alexander’s statistics haven’t varied much throughout the season, his turnovers have dropped during Oklahoma City’s recent hot streak.

In his first 34 games of the season, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 3.3 turnovers per game. Over the last nine, he has averaged just 1.8.

Part of that can be attributed to Giddey’s emergence as another option to bring the ball up the floor.

As Giddey’s scoring numbers have started to trend upward, defenses have been forced to pay more attention.

In Oklahoma City’s 121-114 road win over the Hawks on Dec. 5, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points while Giddey scored 12 of his 17 in the fourth quarter.

The Thunder would equal last season’s win total with a victory Wednesday, and lift Oklahoma City to .500 for the first time since early November.

While the Thunder are trying to keep up their hot streak, the Hawks are trying to find their form again after dropping back-to-back games. The two-game skid followed a five-game winning streak.

Atlanta has a combined 34 turnovers in its last two games, much higher than the team average of 12.5 per game, which was fourth best in the NBA heading into Tuesday’s play.

The Hawks had 18 turnovers – one off their season high – in the first game against Oklahoma City.

The Hawks were without a pair of regulars in Monday’s 111-100 loss to the Chicago Bulls. De’Andre Hunter sat out with acute asthma symptoms, while Onyeka Okongwu missed the game with left hamstring tightness.

Oklahoma City’s Ousmane Dieng, who hasn’t played since Dec. 5 against the Hawks, first after being sent to the G-League and then after fracturing in his right wrist, was available in Sunday’s win but did not play. Dieng played in a G-League game Saturday before being recalled by the Thunder.

NBA Preview: Brooklyn Nets (29-17) Philadelphia Sixers (30-16)

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NBA Preview: Brooklyn Nets (29-17) Philadelphia Sixers (30-16)

The red-hot Philadelphia 76ers will look for their sixth consecutive victory when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

The Sixers just completed a five-game sweep on their road trip with wins over the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings.

Philadelphia capped the sweep with a 129-127 come-from-behind win Saturday at Sacramento while playing without Joel Embiid and James Harden.

Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points while Montrezl Harrell, Tobias Harris and Georges Niang each added 17. Shake Milton scored 15 and De’Anthony Melton had 14 in the balanced effort.

Embiid and Harden sat out for rest and recovery due to foot injuries and both are expected to play in this highly anticipated matchup with Brooklyn, which features former Sixers Ben Simmons and Seth Curry.

The Nets will be looking for their third straight win.

In their most recent game, the Nets won a difficult road game, 120-116 over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.

Kyrie Irving had 38 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Nets, who continue to play without an injured Kevin Durant.

Durant has been out since Jan. 8 with a sprained MCL. The team said Tuesday that his recovery is progressing well, but he will be out for at least two more weeks.

Nic Claxton added career-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots.

The Nets rallied from 17 down to post the impressive victory.

Royce O’Neale knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer to complete the comeback. He’s now shooting a career-best 40.5 percent from 3-point territory.

Brooklyn will arrive in Philadelphia with 16 road wins, the second most in the league.

The 76ers defeated the visiting Nets 115-106 on Nov. 22 when Embiid, Harden and Maxey were all out with foot injuries.

The contest also marked Ben Simmons’ return to Philadelphia after falling out of favor and being shipped to the Nets. Simmons was heartily booed while recording 11 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

NFL Transactions 1-24-23

NFL Editor
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NFL Transactions 1-24-23

The following are the NFL transactions for Tuesday, January 24. Transactions will be published each day after they are circulated to NFL clubs. This public version will include waiver requests, assignments via waivers, terminations, free agent signings, reserve list and practice squad additions and deletions, and trades.

RESERVE LIST ADDITIONS
 
CAROLINA
    Eason, JacobQBWashington   
         Free Agent Signing
         Reserve/Future

DALLAS
    Coyle, TylerDBPurdue   
         Free Agent Signing
         Reserve/Future

NEW ENGLAND
    Murray, BillGWilliam & Mary   
         Free Agent Signing
         Reserve/Future

PHILADELPHIA
    Williams, JarridTMiami   
         Free Agent Signing
         Reserve/Future

PITTSBURGH
    Roche, QuincyLBMiami   
         Free Agent Signing
         Reserve/Future
1...3,0923,0933,094...4,115Page 3,093 of 4,115

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