Charlotte Hornets (23-22) vs Washington Wizards (16-28)
When: 3/30/2021 7:00 PM
Where: Capital One Area

TV: Fox Sports Southeast, FOX Sports GO App and WFNZ 610 AM or 102.5 FM
LINE: -140
PREDICTION: Hornets, Wizards

Oddsmakers currently have Hornets listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the Wizards while the game’s total is sitting at 231.5.

The Charlotte Hornets are identifying different answers to compensate for the loss of their rookie standout.

The Washington Wizards keep going to Russell Westbrook when they need something big to happen, particularly without their top scorer.

The Hornets and Wizards match up Tuesday night in Washington.

Westbrook is coming off a historic triple-double on Monday night – 35 points, 21 assists, and 14 rebounds — as the Wizards knocked off the Indiana Pacers 132-124 for their second win in a row. It was the first triple-double in league history to include at least 35 points and 20 assists.

“Consistency definitely has been big for us. That’s accountability,” Wizards forward Robin Lopez said.

The Hornets, meanwhile, had a three-game winning streak snapped with Sunday’s 101-97 overtime loss to visiting Phoenix.

Without guard LaMelo Ball, the Hornets are turning to various potential options. Their style looks a bit different.

“We knew the pace would slow down,” guard Devonte’ Graham said.

For Washington, Jerome Robinson started in place of guard Bradley Beal, who was out with a hip injury. Beal averages a league-best 31.3 points per game.

The Wizards have received a boost with the addition of Daniel Gafford to the roster. His defense provides Washington with a rim protector.

“It might change the rhythm of this team right now,” Washington’s Rui Hachimura said, referring to Chandler Hutchison as well as Gafford. “It’s going to be fun to play with them.”

Hutchison made his Wizards debut Monday night, providing 18 points off the bench.

The Hornets held Phoenix to 14 points in the fourth quarter in making a comeback that erased a 16-point hole.

“I think our defense is getting better,” Charlotte coach James Borrego said. “I like where our defense is. It has got to carry us every night.”

Roster adjustments continue to be an issue for the Hornets. Guard Malik Monk sat out Sunday’s game with a foot injury two nights after a 32-point outing against the Miami Heat.

Graham hit seven 3-point shots on his way to a season-high 30 points to help pick up the slack. However, PJ. Washington didn’t score while logging more than 44 minutes. There was also the Hornets’ debut for guard Brad Wanamaker, who didn’t attempt a shot during a brief stint.

“We’re saying we’ve been here before. Keep fighting, keep getting stops,” Graham said. “Offensively, just believing in our shot and taking it with confidence.”

A key factor for the Hornets tends to be forward Miles Bridges, who provided 18 points and 12 rebounds in the matchup with Phoenix. His intangibles tend to be a boost for Charlotte.

“He brings us an edge, a spirit more than anything,” Borrego said.

The Wizards, who have won only four of their past 14 games, are going for a sweep of a three-game homestand after topping Detroit and Indiana. They’ve won consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 25 and 27.

Washington’s last three-game win streak ended Feb. 22, when a string of five straight games was halted.

Charlotte heads on a six-game road trip as it tries to maintain the top spot in the Southeast Division.

“Right back on the road again,” Graham said. “We’ve been in these close games, beat some good teams.”

The Hornets won 119-97 on Feb. 7 at home in the only previous meeting with Washington this season.

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TORONTO vs WASHINGTON
When: 2/10/2021 7:00 PM
Where: Washington

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: WASHINGTON , TORONTO

Oddsmakers currently have the Toronto listed as 5.5 point favorites versus the TORONTO, while the game’s total is sitting at 229.5.

The Wizards have gone 4-11 against Eastern Conference teams. Washington has a 6-15 record when allowing over 100 points.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a stretch like this where, great win — two- or three-point win, last seconds of the game — tough loss, great win, same thing,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “Three-and-three in the last six. What we’ve gone through, I’m not usually fired up about 3-3, but we’ve gone through a lot, and our guys battled back.”

The Raptors are 8-6 against Eastern Conference opponents. Toronto averages 14 turnovers per game and is 4-1 when turning the ball over more than opponents.

“We all challenged each other to play harder and be more into it, and that didn’t just include the five guys that were on the floor,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, who scored 32 points. “That was also the guys on the bench. We definitely went out there and earned it after giving up 70 (points) in the first half.

“A 27-point third and a 16-point fourth. You can live with that. You can survive that way. So, hopefully, we’ll build on that moving forward.”

The matchup Wednesday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Davis Bertans leads the Wizards averaging 2.6 made 3-pointers, and is scoring 10.3 points per game while shooting 33.1% from beyond the arc. Russell Westbrook is averaging 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists over the last 10 games for Washington.

Fred VanVleet is averaging 20.7 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Raptors. Norman Powell is averaging 18.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 40.4% over the last 10 games for Toronto.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Wizards: 3-7, averaging 106.5 points, 44.7 rebounds, 22.4 assists, 6.8 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.8 points on 47.0% shooting.

Raptors: 6-4, averaging 116.4 points, 41.4 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 10.6 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.5 points on 46.7% shooting.

INJURIES:

Wizards: Thomas Bryant: out for season (left knee).

Raptors: Patrick McCaw: out (knee), Kyle Lowry: day to day (back), OG Anunoby: out (calf).

BOTTOM LINE: Bradley Beal leads Washington into a matchup against Toronto. He leads the league scoring 33.3 points per game.

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WASHINGTON vs CHICAGO
When: 2/8/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: CHICAGO , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the CHICAGO listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 238.5.

Zach LaVine helped the Chicago Bulls quickly flip the script against the Orlando Magic.

A day after LaVine — despite finishing with 26 points — scored only two points over the first three quarters during a 123-119 loss to the Magic, he finished with 39 points on 16-for-25 shooting in a 118-92 win on Saturday.

“(Coach Billy Donovan) wanted us to go out there and try to blow these guys out. Message received,” LaVine said. “I think the way that we played definitely represented what he wanted us to do.”

LaVine, who is averaging 27.0 points, will clash with the NBA’s top scorer in Bradley Beal when the Bulls host the Washington Wizards on Monday night.

Beal is averaging 33.3 points per game and scored 31 points on Sunday in a 119-97 loss to the Hornets in Charlotte.

But the Wizards dropped their second game in a row after falling behind by 21 in the first half as six Hornets scored in double figures led by Terry Rozier (26 points) and Gordon Hayward (25 points).

“Teams are attacking players and we have to step up and take the challenge and make them miss shots and not get beat by one or two-dribble drives and those are the things that are bothering us right now,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said.

Beal rebounded from a 1-for-14 shooting performance on Friday against the Miami Heat by going 11-for-22 from the field and 3-for-9 from 3-point range against the Hornets.

Robin Lopez had 14 points off the bench as Washington’s reserves outscored Charlotte’s bench 43-30. Russell Westbrook just barely missed his sixth triple-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

The Wizards shot a dismal 9-for-40 (22.5 percent) from the 3-point line.

“We have to have some pride, some dog (in us),” Beal said. “We kind of let teams walk over us. We got our butts kicked twice in a row and that is never appealing to anybody…It’s tough because I can’t do it for guys, I can only do it for myself.”

The Bulls beat Orlando despite missing Lauri Markkanen (19.1 points, 6.1 rebounds per game), who sat out with a right shoulder injury. Chicago was already missing Otto Porter (back) and Wendell Carter Jr. (quad contusion).

Denzel Valentine got the start and finished with 20 points — his most since March 2018.

“(Coach Donovan) just said if we want to be ‘a playoff team’ and take our team to the next level, which we have the ability to do, then we needed to come out and show it,” Valentine said. “Nobody is going to just give it to us because we’ve had the same team.”

Coby White had 13 points — all in the third quarter when he shot 5-for-5 from the field — and rookie Patrick Williams finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Thad Young was 5-for-10 shooting and finished with 11 points.

“When the game started tonight, we maintained a pretty high level of focus and concentration,” Donovan said. “Doesn’t mean we’re going to be perfect, we can’t do everything right, but I really thought the attention to detail and their focus and the way they worked on the things that we talked about trying to do better in this game, they really did a great job.”

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WASHINGTON vs MIAMI
When: 2/5/2021 8:05 PM
Where:

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: -6.5
PREDICTION: MIAMI , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the MIAMI listed as -6.5 point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 230.

The Washington Wizards go for a two-game sweep of the host Miami Heat when the Southeast rivals meet in a rematch Friday night.

Superior 3-point shooting and a 48-35 run in the second half proved to be the difference Wednesday night as Washington rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to hand Miami the seventh defeat in its last eight games.

Bradley Beal extended his run of 25-point games to 17 with a game-high 32 points to fuel the win. He had four 3-pointers and teamed with Deni Avdija (three) and Davis Bertans (three) for 10 treys, helping the Wizards outshoot the Heat 40.5 percent to 34.3 percent from beyond the arc and outscore them 45-36 on 3-pointers.

The Wizards won despite resting Russell Westbrook on the second night of a back-to-back. He is expected to return for the rematch.

Washington’s win allowed it to offset an earlier 128-124 home loss to Miami. Neither Beal nor Westbrook played in that game, which was dominated offensively by the Heat’s Tyler Herro with 31 points and Jimmy Butler with 26.

Herro had 20 and Butler 19 on Wednesday.

One of the difference-makers in the rematch was Avdija, who had a season-best 20 points in the first meeting with the Heat.

He began a four-game stint on the sidelines for COVID-related reasons two games later, then had only two points against Brooklyn in his return to action on Sunday.

He has followed that up with a pair of 13-point games, making 10 of his 15 shots and five of his eight 3-pointers.

“We’ve gone through a lot,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said after the win. “We fought and we kept fighting, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re not happy with our win total. We’re going to keep competing.”

No team has been through more than the Heat this season. They fielded their most complete roster of the season Wednesday, then saw Avery Bradley have to leave the game with a strained calf.

He is not expected to play Friday night.

Meanwhile, several others who have been out of the lineup are still attempting to find their form. The big games Wednesday by Herro, who was playing for the fourth time since a seven-game layoff, and Butler, back for a third straight after a 10-game absence, were encouraging, even in defeat.

“You just have to continue to forge ahead,” Erik Spoelstra said. “Some of us have had experience being able to turn seasons around.”

The defeat gave the defending Eastern Conference champs (7-14) more losses than the Wizards (5-13), who have resided near the bottom of the Eastern standings all season.

The game ends a six-game homestand for the Heat, who have lost four of the first five games. They are completing their fifth NBA style doubleheader of the season, having twice earlier rebounded from a first-game loss with a second-game win over Milwaukee and Detroit.

Wednesday’s win was the Wizards’ first in either game of a same-opponent, same-site sequence this year. They’d been swept by Orlando and Chicago in earlier twin bills.

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WASHINGTON vs MIAMI
When: 2/3/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -8
PREDICTION: MIAMI , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the MIAMI listed as -8 point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 229.5.

The last time Miami played the Washington Wizards, the Heat’s Tyler Herro began a two-game burst in which he averaged 32.5 points and eight rebounds.

The teams will meet again, this time in Miami, on Wednesday night.

Much has changed since that game in Washington on Jan. 9, which Miami won 128-124.

A week later, Herro went down with a neck injury that cost him seven games.

In the three games since he returned, Herro hasn’t been quite the same, averaging 15 points and 5.7 rebounds.

“Our team has a deep roster,” Herro said. “I’m not really worried about the numbers.”

Meanwhile, the Wizards — who own the worst winning percentage in the NBA — are no longer short-handed. Stars Bradley Beal (COVID-19 protocol) and Russell Westbrook (quad injury) didn’t play in the Jan. 9 matchup.

On Tuesday night, Beal scored a game-high 37 points and sank six 3-pointers in Washington’s 132-121 loss to the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.

“Bradley Beal is a hell of a scorer,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.

Westbrook also had a big game, putting up a triple-double: 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Wizards fell behind by 21 points in the first quarter and never caught up, though they got within four points in the final minutes. The result was Washington’s fifth loss in six games.

“You can’t get down 20 points and expect a comeback,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “We almost did it (Tuesday) … but we can’t get down by 20 points to start games. It just takes a lot out of you. It takes a lot out of you when you’re trying to get back into game shape. We were just slow (Tuesday), just sluggish for whatever reason.”

Wizards center Thomas Bryant underwent knee surgery on Tuesday due to an injury sustained in that earlier game against Miami. But Washington is getting solid frontcourt productivity from players such as Rui Hachimura, who scored 24 points against the Blazers, and rookie first-round pick Deni Avdija, who had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists Tuesday.

The Heat, meanwhile, are reeling from a 129-121 overtime loss to the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. The Miami defense allowed reserve Malik Monk to score a career-high 36 points while shooting 9-for-13 from 3-point range.

One of those 3-pointers came with 16.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

“We have to find a way to get stops and finish it off,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We weren’t able to do that.

“There have been a lot of crippling errors, including live-ball turnovers. We’re last in the league in those. That’s probably our No. 1 priority. If we take care of those, a lot of other things will fall in line.”

There are positives for the Heat, however, and that includes the return of Jimmy Butler from a 10-game absence caused by pandemic protocols. In the two games since Butler returned, he is averaging 27.5 points, eight rebounds, 6.5 assists and two steals.

For the season, Bam Adebayo leads Miami in scoring (20.1) and rebounds (9.3). Adebayo, though, is not impressed with those gaudy numbers.

“You can play as much offense as you want,” he said, “but you have to play defense to win.”

The Wizards can relate to that sentiment after allowing Portland to shoot 21-for-46 (45.7 percent) from beyond the arc on Tuesday.

“We were late to everything,” Beal said of Washington’s inability to get out to challenge shooters. “We were late on our defensive rotations. Offensively, we didn’t play hard enough or fast enough.”

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PORTLAND vs WASHINGTON
When: 2/2/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -2
PREDICTION: WASHINGTON , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the WASHINGTON listed as -2 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 240.5.

The Washington Wizards are fresh off their most electric performance of the season.

However, the Wizards still possess one of the worst records in the NBA as they look to build on some rare momentum when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Washington recovered from an 18-point deficit and scored 48 fourth-quarter points while ambushing the visiting Brooklyn Nets 149-146 on Sunday.

The Wizards were staring at another setback when they trailed by five with under 10 seconds left. However, Bradley Beal nailed a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left and Russell Westbrook hit the go-ahead trey with 4.3 seconds to go as the beleaguered team notched an improbable victory.

“This was the craziest game — one of the craziest, if not the craziest — that I’ve ever been around,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said after his team improved to 4-12. “We fought, we battled, we clawed and we gave ourselves a chance. Hopefully, this is the start of something that we’re going to be pretty proud of.”

The contest also shows the magic that the backcourt combo of Beal and Westbrook is capable of producing.

Westbrook, who recently recovered from a quadriceps injury, scored a season-high 41 points and also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. He shot 16 of 28, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Westbrook, who was acquired from the Houston Rockets prior to the season, said he feels refreshed after his injury absence.

“I was able to take those two weeks off — obviously our team wasn’t back yet either (from a COVID-19 pause) so that definitely allowed me a little more time to be able to get healthy and be able to move and attack and have my legs underneath me and be able to play,” Westbrook said. “Now we just have to make sure we use this momentum going into the next game.”

Beal scored 37 points against the Nets — including 22 in the fourth quarter — and has scored at least 26 points in all 15 games in which he has played. He leads the NBA with a 34.9 scoring average.

Portland features the NBA’s third-leading scorer in Damian Lillard, whose average dropped to 28.9 when he scored 17 points while playing just 27 minutes Monday in the Trail Blazers’ 134-106 loss to the host Milwaukee Bucks. Lillard averaged 34 points over the previous eight contests.

Veteran Carmelo Anthony had just six points in his third straight poor outing. He averaged 5.3 points while making just 6 of 30 shots during that stretch.

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts took exception in the postgame press conference when a reporter referred to Anthony’s troubles as a “massive slump.”

“I wouldn’t call it a massive shooting slump,” Stotts said. “He’s had a couple of poor shooting games. Melo has earned the right to play through a shooting slump.”

While the 36-year-old Anthony is struggling, 20-year-old Nassir Little had the best game of his two-year career against Milwaukee.

Little received 30 minutes of playing time in the blowout and scored a career-high 30 points. He knocked down 11 of 18 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.

“He was a bright spot for sure,” Stotts said of Little. “It was good to see him go out there and put the ball in the basket and get some extended run.”

Portland experienced repeated issues on defense as Milwaukee shot 55.2 percent from the field and canned 21 of 42 3-point attempts.

It marked the fourth time in the past six games that Portland allowed more than 120 points. Stotts said the loss of big man Jusuf Nurkic (fractured wrist) has been a major factor.

The Trail Blazers have won their past three meetings with the Wizards.

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BROOKLYN vs WASHINGTON
When: 1/31/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: 7.5
PREDICTION: WASHINGTON , BROOKLYN

Oddsmakers currently have the WASHINGTON listed as 7.5 point favorites versus the BROOKLYN, while the game’s total is sitting at 244.

The Brooklyn Nets rested Kevin Durant Friday and were still good enough to match a franchise record for points scored in a regulation game.

Brooklyn hopes to keep the productive offense going and extend its winning streak to a season-high five games Sunday night when it visits the Washington Wizards.

The Nets are on their second four-game winning streak of the season after getting a 147-125 win at Oklahoma City when Durant was rested. Brooklyn also won four straight Jan. 12-18 before dropping consecutive games in Cleveland. They are averaging 126.2 points during this streak.

Friday’s win matched the record for most points in a regulation game that was set in a 147-132 win at Detroit on April 17, 1982, and the offensive output was achieved without anyone scoring more than 25 points. Kyrie Irving totaled 25 points and seven assists while James Harden had 25 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third triple-double since joining Brooklyn in a blockbuster trade from Houston on Jan. 14.

“They were both incredible,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “James manages the game so well, spreads the floor, scores, assists, rebounds, gets his hands on balls defensively. Kyrie was just incredible shotmaking. He’s able to make amazing plays with the basketball and it’s such a threat out there.”

Durant is returning after scoring 32 points in 42 minutes in Wednesday’s 132-128 overtime win in Atlanta. He is averaging 30.5 points and has scored at least 30 points in seven of his past nine games since missing a potential game-winning shot in Brooklyn’s 123-122 home loss to Washington on Jan. 3.

“He’s played a lot of minutes, played an overtime game and it was a decision to protect him tonight,” Nash said.

Washington has dropped seven of eight since Thomas Bryant’s game-winning dunk beat Brooklyn in the first meeting. Bryant was lost for the season with a torn ACL a week after his dunk. and the Wizards had six games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

Since returning from a nearly two-week absence, the Wizards have dropped four straight, losing those games by an average of 18.25 points. The Wizards returned home from a three-game road trip Friday and shot a season-low 36.5 percent in a 116-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in a game that saw the Wizards pile up six technical fouls and the ejections of Russell Westbrook in the fourth quarter and Robin Lopez in the third.

“We’re not going to give up,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “We’re going to keep fighting and we will turn it around. And when we do turn it around, it’s going to be a great feeling to say that we turned around a very unique, a first time (situation) that hopefully never happens again.”

Bradley Beal scored a season-low 26 points Friday after getting 47 Wednesday in New Orleans. He is averaging 36.7 points in his past nine games, a stretch that includes a 60-point game in Philadelphia on Jan. 6. Beal has scored at least 26 points in each of his 14 games this season and scored at least 20 in his past 37 games dating to last season.

“We understand that nobody’s going to feel sorry for us,” Beal said. “We don’t want that. We’ve gotta dig ourselves out of this hole.”

The Wizards are gradually getting players back from health and safety protocols. Rui Hachimura, Davis Bertans and Moritz Wagner were a combined 3-of-16 from the field in their returns on Friday, and Brooks said rookie Deni Avdija, Troy Brown Jr. and Ish Smith are expected to play Sunday.

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WASHINGTON vs SAN ANTONIO
When: 1/24/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -7
PREDICTION: SAN ANTONIO , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the SAN ANTONIO listed as -7 point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 231.

The short-handed Washington Wizards return to the court for the first time in nearly two weeks when they travel to San Antonio for a contest against the enigmatic Spurs on Sunday.

The Wizards have not played a game since beating Phoenix on Jan. 11 because six players tested positive for COVID-19 and faced quarantine for 10 to 14 days depending on when they first tested positive, in adherence to league health and safety protocols.

Washington held practice for the first time since Jan. 11 on Wednesday but had only eight players available, many of whom have not seen significant time this season. Deni Avdija and Rui Hachimura, both starters, as well as Moe Wagner, Ish Smith, Davis Bertans, and Troy Brown, are still in quarantine for Washington.

After the workout, the team complained to league officials about a heightened risk of injury should they continue with their schedule, which was set to resume with a game Friday in Milwaukee. That prompted the NBA to postpone the team’s sixth straight game.

The Wizards’ Bradley Beal said in a virtual news conference after Wednesday’s practice — which was little more than a shootaround because of the limited number of players — that playing on Friday had the “recipe for injury.”

On Saturday, Washington signed frontcourt players Alex Len and Jordan Bell and figures to have enough players to compete.

It remains to be seen how the extended layoff will affect the Wizards on Sunday against the Spurs.

“We don’t have a blueprint for this,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said. “The last thing I want to do is put our players in a position where they’re going to be susceptible for injury. I definitely worry going forward because these are our healthy guys, and the conditioning is definitely behind the teams that we’re going to be play.”

All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who missed the Wizards’ two most recent games with a left quadriceps injury, will travel with the team to San Antonio (and then on to Houston and New Orleans), but there is no timetable for when he will return to play.

San Antonio returns to the court after a 122-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday in the Alamo City. The Spurs cut an 18-point deficit to just one point in the final minutes but could not get over the top, falling for the second straight game.

DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 29 points while LaMarcus Aldridge hit for 26. Keldon Johnson poured in 17 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 16 points and Patty Mills had 13 for San Antonio in the setback.

“We dug a hole for ourselves, like we often have starting games,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “But as the game went along we got more and more aggressive, more and more physical, communicated better, and they didn’t give in after going down 18. Down the stretch we missed a couple shots, Dallas made a couple shots — game time.”

The Spurs played all but the first 1:02 of the game without Dejounte Murray after he rolled his left ankle. Popovich said after Friday’s game that he expected Murray to “be fine.”

After going just 4 of 33 from beyond the arc in its previous game, a 121-99 loss at Golden State on Wednesday, San Antonio hit seven 3-pointers in the first quarter on Friday, one shy of its franchise record for a single quarter. The Spurs ended up hitting 12 of 28 shot from long distance.

Sunday’s game, the Spurs’ 17th of the season, will be just their second against a team from the Eastern Conference this year — and the first since a win versus Toronto on Dec. 26.

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WASHINGTON vs BROOKLYN
When: 1/3/2021 6:05 PM
Where:

TV: 6:05 PM
LINE: -8.5
PREDICTION: BROOKLYN , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the BROOKLYN listed as -8.5 point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 242.5.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant spent nearly a decade as teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder and now they are playing prominent roles in relatively new situations on two teams coming off starkly different results.

While Westbrook’s Washington Wizards are coming off their finest outing of the young season, Durant’s Brooklyn Nets are coming off their worst game of the season heading into Sunday’s meeting in Brooklyn.

Westbrook and Durant teamed up from 2008-16, a stretch in which the Thunder lost the NBA Finals in five games to Miami in 2012 and reached the Western Conference finals three other times. The pairing ended in 2016 when Durant signed with Golden State and won two championships before signing with the Nets in 2019.

Westbrook remained in Oklahoma City for three more seasons but the Thunder could not get out of the first round and he was traded to Houston for Chris Paul. After one season in Houston, he joined Washington in a trade for John Wall.

So far the individual numbers are strong for both heading into the ninth head-to-head meeting between the former teammates.

Westbrook is averaging a triple-double with 19.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 12.3 rebounds in four games while Durant is averaging 28.2 points and shooting 51 percent in his first five games with the Nets.

Westbrook was rested for the second time this season Friday when the Wizards ended a five-game losing streak and cruised to their first win. In Friday’s 130-109 rout at Minnesota, Bradley Beal scored 31 points to lead eight players in double figures as the Wizards shot 55 percent and hit 16 3-pointers.

“The energy’s totally different; it’s just positive,” Beal said. “It’s uplifting. It’s like a weight off your shoulders in a way, but it’s even better to know we played the right way and played the way we know we’re capable of playing.”

Beal enters Sunday averaging a career-best 31.2 points on 48 percent shooting and has three 30-point games so far. He has topped at least 25 points in 28 of his last 29 games going back to last season and his six straight games with at least 25 to start this season are a team record.

Durant scored 28 points but the Nets turned in their worst showing of the season with Friday’s 114-96 loss to Atlanta. Durant has scored at least 25 points in four straight games and the latest one occurred two nights after Brooklyn scored 145 points on Atlanta on 54 percent shooting

This time, the Nets missed their first 11 3-pointers, 30 of 37 3-point tries overall, shot a season-worst 40.7 percent and saw Kyrie Irving hit just 6 of 21 shots. It marked their third loss in four games since cruising to blowout wins over Golden State and Boston and each loss has seen them shoot 42 percent or less.

“We just got away from our principles,” Brooklyn’s Jeff Green said. “We allowed them to space us out a little bit more, which allowed them to get in the lane a lot. We got away from helping each other from being in the paint and being aware of the personnel. It got away from us tonight. It’s one out of many. We just got to find a way to get better from this.”

Washington won the first two meetings last season before Brooklyn posted a 118-110 victory in the Orlando bubble on Aug. 2 when Caris LeVert scored 34 points in a game Beal did not play in.

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WASHINGTON vs MINNESOTA
When: 1/1/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: MINNESOTA , WASHINGTON

Oddsmakers currently have the MINNESOTA listed as point favorites versus the WASHINGTON, while the game’s total is sitting at .

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t fared well as they adjust to life without Karl-Anthony Towns.

The Wolves hope the new calendar year brings about better fortune on Friday as they host the winless Washington Wizards in Minneapolis.

Towns averaged 19 points, 11.5 rebounds and five assists to help Minnesota win its opening two games of the season. A dislocated left wrist has kept Towns off the floor for the past two games, which quickly became ugly, decisive road losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers.

While guard Ricky Rubio said Minnesota played “selfish” basketball during a 124-101 defeat to the Clippers on Tuesday, coach Ryan Saunders shared a slightly different view two days later.

“I do think it’s natural when you lose a player who is a star-caliber player like Karl, … the intentions are usually right where guys just want to help the team and feel like they need to pick up the slack,” Saunders said. “Sometimes if you don’t fully understand the system yet or you’re still getting to know your teammates, sometimes that can look like it’s selfish basketball.”

D’Angelo Russell rebounded from a four-point performance in a 127-91 setback to the Lakers on Sunday by connecting four times from beyond the arc and finishing with 22 points against the Clippers.

“We talk more about ‘us’ and ‘we’ and less ‘I and ‘me.’ It’s not just on DLo, it’s on all of us,” Saunders said of Russell. “He’s an unbelievable talent and he wants what’s best for this group.”

Minnesota’s Jarrett Culver missed all 10 of his shots from the floor on Tuesday. He is 4-for-21 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the past two games.

While the Timberwolves are struggling, the Wizards are in even worse shape. They own an NBA-worst 0-5 record heading into a four-game road trip.

“I’m still confident in our group. We’ve got a lot of season left,” Washington coach Scott Brooks said following the Wizards’ 133-130 setback to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday.

The Wizards likely will be without Russell Westbrook on Friday in the second half of a back-to-back set. The team rested the star point guard in such a sequence earlier this season and has indicated that this would be the plan going forward for the 32-year-old veteran as a means to keep him healthy.

Westbrook, however, has thrived when he has been in the lineup. He had 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on Thursday to join Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to open a season with triple-doubles in each of their first four games.

Bradley Beal, who matched Thomas Bryant with a game-high 28 points against the Bulls, performed even better in a pair of meetings with Minnesota last season. Beal scored 30 points in a 131-109 loss to the Timberwolves on Nov. 2, 2019, then had 44 points to go along with 10 assists in a 137-116 victory at Minneapolis two weeks later.

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