Tuesday’s NBA schedule features a TNT double-header and a bunch of games with a playoff team meeting a lottery-bound one. Here’s the menu:
NBA schedule 2014: Nets visit Heat, Mavs’ must-win
The Miami Heat will meet the only team they haven’t beaten this season.
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Main course: Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets
8 p.m. ET, TNT
Did you realize the Nets have beaten the Heat three times this season? Brooklyn has a pair of one-point victories and a nine-point, double-overtime win over Miami. If the Heat want to avoid a season sweep against a possible second-round playoff opponent, they’ll need to take care of business at home on Tuesday.
Miami has won five of its last six games, but so has Brooklyn. Even if Kevin Garnett (sitting out to rest his back) and Dwyane Wade (missed six straight due to hamstring issue) are both sidelined, this should be an intense one. Remember when Mirza Teletovic tackled LeBron James?
Appetizer: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs
8 p.m. ET
No one will try to tell you that this Timberwolves team has been successful. This was the year they were supposed to make the playoffs, but heartbreaking close loss after heartbreaking close loss made that an impossibility. They've been fun to watch, though, at least when Kevin Love is on the floor and before the fourth quarter begins. With only a handful of games on Minnesota's schedule following this one, it's worth checking in on them against the league's best team.
Dessert: Utah Jazz vs. Dallas Mavericks
9 p.m. ET
The degree to which the Mavericks need to win cannot be overstated. Dallas is in seventh place in the West, but a playoff spot is not assured. After this game against the conference's worst team, the Mavs will host San Antonio. Then they'll end their season with games against the Suns and Grizzlies, the two teams directly behind them in the standings. The Jazz aren't playing for anything, but neither were the Kings on Sunday, and they came within two points of beating Dallas.
Other games (all times ET):
Atlanta Hawks vs. Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sacramento Kings vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 10 p.m.
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets. 10:30 p.m., TNT
See More:
