NBA schedule: Nuggets put streak on line vs. Thunder in high-powered offensive showdown

There are only four games in the NBA Tuesday night, and although three of them are decidedly mediocre matchups and two likely blowouts, there’s one game that should be one of the best matchups in the NBA right now.

Here’s the rundown on Tuesday night’s slate:

The team with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference takes on the team with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, so, yeah. There’s some reason to believe in an upset, since David West is out and Orlando won back in January behind 16 points and 15 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic, but this should be as ugly as the league’s best defense takes on a team that has enough trouble scoring as is. It’s an important game for Indiana, as it looks to maintain a one-game lead on New York for the second seed.

TV: Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Indiana

Oh, this one should be pretty. The fast-paced, havoc-based Nuggets take on last year’s Western Conference champions, riding a 12-game win streak that’s tied for the best in franchise history. Oklahoma City doesn’t have a streak like Denver’s, but it has won three straight and eight out of 10, and will be up for this one after losing a game to the West’s top team, San Antonio, last week. Denver will hope Andre Iguodala, arguably the best perimeter defender in the league, can put the clamps on Kevin Durant, although the league’s most efficient offense can always turn to Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin. The last two games between these two have been thrillers: In January, the Nuggets got 15 fourth-quarter points from Corey Brewer and won, 121-118, in overtime despite 37 from Durant and 36 from Westbrook, and on March 2, a Ty Lawson game-winner gave the Nuggets a 105-103 victory thanks to 35 points from Wilson Chandler.

TV: NBATV, Fox Sports Oklahoma, Altitude Sports 2

The Bucks are pretty safe in the eighth spot in the East, while the Blazers would really need to go on a tear to make up 3.5 games to catch the Lakers in the West. Instead, their fans will likely have to be satisfied with a great rookie season by Damian Lillard and continued strong play by LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 32 points and 14 boards in a loss Monday night. Brandon Jennings had 30 points and eight assists in a 110-104 win the first time these two teams met.

TV: Fox Sports Wisconsin, Comcast SportsNet Northwest

The Clips have won five straight against Sacramento, and shouldn’t be troubled by one of the worst teams in the Western Conference Tuesday night as they try to make a run at the top seed.

TV: Prime Sports, Comcast SportsNet California

• The NBA’s best contracts

• How MJ helped Gerald Henderson

• The brilliance of Marc Gasol

• Printable bracket for March Madness

• Kentucky’s NBA draft bubble