Things are tightening up in the West, yet being shaken up in the East.
There’s a slate of games today on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday to kick off the second half of the season.
Many teams have a dream, but do they have the drive, grit, and determination it takes to see that dream through to reality?
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| WESTERN CONFERENCE | EASTERN CONFERENCE |
| Los Angeles Lakers (34-8) .810 | Milwaukee Bucks (38-6) .864 |
| Los Angeles Clippers (30-13) .698 | Miami Heat (29-13) .690 |
| Denver Nuggets (29-13) .690 | Toronto Raptors (28-14) .667 |
| Utah Jazz (29-13) .690 | Boston Celtics (27-14) .659 |
| Dallas Mavericks (27-15) .643 | Indiana Pacers (28-15) .651 |
| Houston Rockets (26-15) .634 | Philadelphia 76ers (28-16) .636 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder (24-19) .558 | Orlando Magic (20-23) .465 |
| Memphis Grizzlies (20-22) .476 | Brooklyn Nets (18-23) .439 |
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Indiana Pacers 115
Denver Nuggets 107
A 41-26 fourth quarter slammed the door on the Denver Nuggets last night in Denver. Domantas Sabonis registered his first ever career triple double in the Mile High City last night as the Indiana Pacers knocked the Nuggets to third in the West with their eight point win, putting the Nuggets a half game behind the Los Angeles Clippers in a tightening race for post-season positioning. Four Pacers scored 22+ points in the win.
| PACERS (28-15) 5th in the East | NUGGETS (29-13) 3rd in the West |
| Doug McDermott 24 points – two rebounds – two assists | Nikola Jokic 30 points – 10 rebounds – four assists – three steals |
| Domantas Sabonis 22 points – 15 rebounds – 10 assists | Will Barton 16 points – seven rebounds – five assists – one steal |
| Malcolm Brogdon 22 points – three rebounds – eight assists | Jerami Grant 16 points – five rebounds – one steal – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Pacers at Jazz – Tonight
Nuggets at Timberwolves – Tonight
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Miami Heat 102
San Antonio Spurs 107
The San Antonio Spurs blew a double digit lead (14) in Atlanta and lost the game by a point to the worst team in the Eastern Conference on Friday night. Last night, at home, they righted the ship and used a 32-23 second quarter burst to keep the pressure on the Miami Heat all game long. This time it was the Heat that blew a double digit lead (11) and lost the game on the road. The Heat were without rookie sensation Tyler Herro.
| HEAT (29-13) 2nd in the East | SPURS (18-23) 9th in the West |
| Bam Adebayo 21 points – 16 rebounds – six assists – two steals | LaMarcus Aldridge 21 points – four rebounds – three assists – one steal – two blocks |
| Goran Dragic 19 points – five rebounds – two assists | DeMar DeRozan 20 points – nine rebounds – nine assists – one steal |
| Kendrick Nunn 18 points – three rebounds – four assists – two steals | Patty Mills 18 points – five rebounds – three assists |
NEXT GAMES
Kings at Heat – Tonight
Spurs at Suns – Tonight
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MONDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern)
| 2 p.m. Detroit Pistons Washington Wizards Fox Sports Detroit | 2:30 p.m. Toronto Raptors Atlanta Hawks NBATV | 3 p.m. Philadelphia 76ers Brooklyn Nets YES |
| 5 p.m. New York Knicks Cleveland Cavaliers Fox Sports Ohio | 5 p.m. Oklahoma City Thunder Houston Rockets AT&T SportsNet Southwest | 5 p.m. Sacramento Kings Miami Heat NBC Sports California |
| 5 p.m. Chicago Bulls Milwaukee Bucks NBC Sports Chicago | 5 p.m. New Orleans Pelicans Memphis Grizzlies TNT | 5 p.m. Orlando Magic Charlotte Hornets Fox Sports Southeast |
| 7:30 p.m. Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics TNT | 8 p.m. Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Altitude | 9 p.m. San Antonio Spurs Phoenix Suns Fox Sports Arizona |
| 9 p.m. Indiana Pacers Utah Jazz AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain | 10 p.m. Golden State Warriors Portland Trailblazers TNT |
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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in Orlando, Boise (G League), San Antonio, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City.
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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