Eastern Conference big dogs New York and Boston complete their regular season series at Madison Square Garden.
Boston have won seven of their last eight against New York, including all three encounters this season by at least 13 points. Jayson Tatum has averaged 34 points against New York in this campaign.
Third-placed New York (50-28) have a three-game lead on the chasing pack with four games remaining. They have won five of their last six, bouncing back from a 19-point loss in Cleveland with a 121-105 victory in Atlanta and a 112-98 home defeat of Phoenix.
OG Anunoby scored 32 points against Phoenix, while Karl-Anthony Towns (19 pts, 13 reb) was a threat at both ends.
Locked in for the second seed, Boston (58-20) have lost just one of their last 12 games – to Miami by 21 points a week ago. Since then, they’ve carved out big wins at home over Phoenix (123-103) and Washington (124-90) – the latter without Jayson Tatum or Kristaps Porzingis.
Both are listed as questionable for this clash, as is Jaylen Brown. In light of those concerns, New York are narrow favourites. It’s only the fourth time the defending champs have been underdogs all season and they still shape as the more appealing option in this potential Conference Semifinals prelude.
Milwaukee and Minnesota are both scrambling for a higher seed in their respective conferences as the playoffs draw near.
Milwaukee, fifth in the East with a 44-34 record, are an outside chance of climbing a spot, while Detroit are lurking just one win behind. But they have emerged from a concerning 4-9 run to finish March with a four-game winning streak.
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded consecutive triple-doubles (with 35-plus points in each) in wins at Philadelphia (126-113) and Miami (121-115 in OT), why Gary Trent Jr’s 29 points led Milwaukee to a 111-107 win at New Orleans with their main man in the stands.
Minnesota (46-32) are seventh in the West; they could drop a spot, while they are only two games behind third place. They are also riding a five-game winning run, backing up a double OT win in Denver with 15-point road victories over Brookyln and Philadelphia.
Anthony Edwards (37 pts) and Rudy Gobert (19 reb) were again Minnesota’s fulcrum in Philadelphia.
Milwaukee have won four of their last five against Minnesota, including a 103-101 victory in Minneapolis in February with Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard sidelined and Edwards enduring a dreadful shooting night.
Giannis is listed as probable here with Lillard currently out, but Milwaukee are $2.75 outsiders. Minnesota’s defence has been elite and they are a top-10 offensive outfit. The visitors for a narrow win or the under shape as the best options here.
Western Conference heavyweights Oklahoma City and Los Angeles Lakers lock horns at Paycom Center for the second time in three days.
LA Lakers have won 14 of their last 20 against Oklahoma City, including four of the last five. The ledger is square one-all this season: OKC won 101-93 at Crypto.com Arena in November and LAL powered to a 126-99 victory on the road two days ago.
Luka Doncic (30 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast) led the way for LA Lakers in the latter clash, outshining OKC star and MVP favourite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (26 pts, 9 ast).
It was runaway conference-leaders Oklahoma City’s second straight loss for the first time since November, going down to another West heavyweight in Houston (125-111).
Third-placed LA Lakers (48-30) are at the front of a six-team logjam separated by just two wins – every result is crucial from here on out. But they are in good touch, winning four of their last five. Doncic scored 35 points in a 16-point defeat of New Orleans prior to the win in OKC.
But the doubts over Doncic and LeBron James with groin problems (both are listed as questionable), along with Austin Reaves, sees OKC’s price as favourites slashed to $1.07.
With LA Lakers’ line-up variables potentially creating a big swing, consider Gilgeous-Alexander to respond to a couple of quiet-ish outings with a big performance.
Phoenix are clinging to a sliver of play-in tournament hope, while Golden State are desperate for wins amid the tangle in the top half of the Western Conference standings.
Sitting 11th, Phoenix (35-43) are two and a half games behind Dallas after seeing their hopes fade with a six-game losing run – all by margins of 10-plus. Devin Booker’s 40 points wasn’t enough to prevent a 112-98 loss in New York two days ago with Kevin Durant missing a third straight game.
Golden State (46-32) are sixth but have the same record as eighth-placed Memphis, while they are only two wins behind third-placed LA Lakers. They claimed the scalps of rivals Memphis, LA Lakers and Denver to extend their winning run to five games but lost to Houston (106-96) two days ago.
Steph Curry had a rough night against Houston and Jimmy Butler has cooled off in recent outings.
Phoenix have won nine of their last 12 against Golden State – including two of the three encounters so far this season. The teams most recently met in late-January, with Phoenix getting the win on the road 130-105 with Devin Booker (31 pts, 11 ast) starring.
Golden State will be looking to Curry and Butler to help them improve on a 11-10-2 ATS record as an away favourite, but they should be able to consign Phoenix to a seventh straight double-digit defeat for a crucial W.