5 NBA games to watch this week
The last week of the regular season brings many important games with playoff implications to keep viewers tuned in.
And some of the others are just entertaining to watch.
Here are the five NBA games to watch this week:
Monday: Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Chicago Bulls are thirsty for a Monday night victory over the Brooklyn Nets, as they find themselves neck-and-neck with the Toronto Raptors for the Eastern Conference's third seed. Toronto, however, holds the tiebreaker as the Atlantic Division champion, and will face the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets to close the season.
All eyes are on Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, who's slowly starting to find his groove upon returning from a 20-game absence due to a torn meniscus. Rose is particularly deadly against the Nets (aside from Chicago's Dec. 30 loss to Brooklyn, where he was held to four points). In Chicago's first two victories against the Nets, Rose averaged 18.5 points and five rebounds, lifting the Bulls to both wins.
The Nets will look to recover from a horrible loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, which saw Brooklyn shooting 32.5 percent from the field. Brooklyn is currently in a precarious position, tied with the Indiana Pacers for eighth in the Eastern Conference and one game behind the No. 7 Celtics. To keep the seventh seed in sight, the Nets must escape Monday night, and finish the rest of the season unscathed, while hoping the Celtics lose.
Monday: Portland Trail Blazers at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Oklahoma City Thunder go into Monday night's matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers tied at No. 8 in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Pelicans, who own the tiebreaker. New Orleans plays Minnesota this week, then hosts the Spurs.
If Oklahoma City has any chance, it will depend on Russell Westbrook. Westbrook had a monster game in the Thunder's Sunday night loss, posting 54 points on 43 shots, and OKC will rely on his firepower to get them the two victories it needs for a shot at the final playoff spot.
Portland already sits comfortably at No. 4 after winning the Northwest Division. However, the Trail Blazers are hoping to complete their first season sweep of Oklahoma City since 2002-03.
Wednesday: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Spurs head into this matchup one win and a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Houston Rockets.
Anthony Davis racked up 27 points in the Pelicans' loss to the Rockets, missing a chance to pull away from their current battle for the No. 8 spot. New Orleans could use a little help securing a playoff berth, and San Antonio could facilitate this by choosing to rest its starters for Wednesday's game. If the Pelicans escape Monday night with a victory over the Timberwolves and then beat the Spurs' backup squad, New Orleans will earn the eight seed.
Wednesday: Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Bulls have a tough match to finish their schedule against the Atlanta Hawks, who are No. 1 in the Eastern Conference. Chicago hasn't beaten them this season.
The Hawks have authored a storybook campaign, closing out their best regular season in franchise history by clinching the top seed. Atlanta's expected to continue resting key players in preparation for the postseason, which could allow the Bulls to sneak to a victory.
Wednesday: Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Someone has to be at the bottom, and in this case, it's two in-state rivals.
The Los Angeles Lakers know last place all too well. The injury-riddled team clinched the fourth-worst record in the league with their 59th loss of the season against the Dallas Mavericks, and the Lakers are leaning heavily on their healthy rookies to avoid the worst record. Point guard Jordan Clarkson racked up 26 points in Sunday's late-night loss, while center Tarik Black added 10 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
The Sacramento Kings have a slightly better record than the Lakers, 27-53, but have lost eight of their last nine.