A TNT lineup on Thursday night features a head-to-head bout of superstars and a battle for pride. But the best game of the evening might be between two of the more competent Eastern Conference playoff teams.
NBA schedule 2014: Knicks face Heat; Wizards and Raptors clash
The struggling Knicks visit Miami, and the Wizards and Raptors face off in an intriguing Eastern Conference matchup.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The main course: Knicks vs. Heat
8 p.m. ET, TNT
Maybe it's not the game of the century with New York struggling this year, but any meeting between two of the NBA's stars is sure to get the atmosphere amped up. Miami Heat forward LeBron James will likely make his return from a nose injury that's kept him out the last week, and it's certain that he'll be donning a mask if he's on the court.
Fashion aside, the Heat look good. They're seemingly clicking heading into a matchup with the Knicks and have won five straight, all against current playoff teams. New York's defense is slipping having given up no less than 107 points in the last three games, but Carmelo Anthony has been nothing short of deadly. He's scored at least 35 points in the last four games, and perhaps the best help to give the Knicks a chance would be a semblance of three-point defense.
The problem, though, is that the Heat's Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have been dealing in the last three games. Wade's assists have been up and his slashing more aggressive since the All-Star break, while Bosh has scored 20 or more in each of the last three games.
7 p.m.
A battle between Washington and Toronto won’t amount to much publicity, but it’s a fun battle between two second-tier Eastern Conference teams. The Raptors, winners in six of their last seven, sit in third place in the conference and just three games ahead of the fifth-place Wizards. Randy Wittman’s team lost big man Nene two games ago, but it put up 115 points in a win against Orlando last time out.
DeMar DeRozan is coming off a 33-point outburst as Toronto dropped Cleveland, and the point guard matchup between John Wall and a man considered an All-Star snub, Kyle Lowry, is something to watch as well.
10:30 p.m, TNT
Welp, the Nets couldn't do much worst in this one coming off a 124-80 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd didn't help matters by playing it off with a, "This is the NBA, games like this happen," proclamation after the game, but it's likely his team comes out firing despite a roster of creaky legs. Then again, the Nets enter their fifth road game in eight nights, and playing at altitude might not help matters. If the Nuggets can push the tempo behind still-adjusting starting point guard Aaron Brooks, perhaps last night's rest of the Brooklyn starters still won't be enough.
Denver has won one game in its last nine tries. However, the Nuggets are also coming off a loss to Portland, and it was a five-point spread rather than a 44-point one.
The rest of the schedule
Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m.
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