Trae Young and the Hawks enter Week 14 riding an eight-game win streak.
Note: All stats and records through games played on Sunday, March 21.
Monday, March 22
Charlotte (20-21) at San Antonio (22-17)
8:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
Gregg Popovich can join Don Nelson (1,335) and Lenny Wilkens (1,332) as the only coaches in NBA history to reach 1,300 career wins. Popovich enters Monday with a career record of 1,299-631 and his 67.3 win percentage ranks second to Phil Jackson among the 32 coaches in league history with at least 1,000 games coached. This is the first game of a nine-game homestand for the Spurs, who defeated the Hornets 122-110 on Feb. 14 behind a combined 51 points from Dejounte Murray and Derrick White. Unfortunately, Kia Rookie of the Year favorite and Hornets phenom LaMelo Ball will not be in action as he is out indefinitely with fractured wrist.
Atlanta (22-20) at LA Clippers (27-16)
10 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Hawks enter Week 14 riding the longest win streak in the league with eight wins in a row – all coming since Nate McMillan took over the coaching reigns. This is Atlanta’s longest win streak since the 2014-15 season when won a franchise-record 19 straight games from Dec. 27, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015. The Hawks have been better on both sides of the ball during the win streak – their offensive rating of 116.4 ranks sixth in the league in March, while their defensive rating of 105.0 ranks second. Prior to the streak, the Hawks ranked 11th in offense (112.7) and 23rd in defense (112.9). The Hawks won the first meeting with the Clippers, 108-99 on Jan. 26, behind 38 points from Trae Young, but LA did not have either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George in the lineup.
Tuesday, March 23
Phoenix (28-13) at Miami (22-21)
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Suns and Heat are two teams that have experienced massive turnarounds this season. After starting the season 8-8, the Suns are an NBA-best 20-5 since Jan. 28 as they have climbed to second place in the West, just two games back of Utah. The Heat opened the season 7-14 through Feb. 3. Since then, they have gone 15-7 to climb to fifth in the East despite dropping their last three games. Chris Paul just became the sixth player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career assists and is in pursuit of Magic Johnson for fifth place. He needs 138 assists to reach the top five all-time, which would take him 16 games based on his current average (8.8 apg).
Wednesday, March 24
Memphis (19-20) at Oklahoma City (18-24)
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Grizzlies and Thunder have split their first two meetings of the season. In their last game on March 14, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 30 points to lead OKC to a 128-122 win. But as always, you never know when Memphis’ Ja Morant will strike with a ridiculous highlight like the one below. These two young stars are worthy of League Pass Alert status just about every time they step on the court. SGA leads the NBA in drives per game (25.2), while Morant ranks third (19.4) and both players rank in the top five points points and assists off drives this season.
Friday, March 26
Denver (25-17) at New Orleans (18-24)
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
Zion Williamson enters Week 14 riding an incredible streak as he has scored at least 20 points on at least 50% shooting in 20 consecutive games. Since the 1983-84 season, only two other players have put together such a streak – Karl Malone with 20 games spanning two seasons (April 4-Dec. 1, 1989) and Shaquille O’Neal with 25 games two decades ago (Jan. 7-March 15, 2001). Can Zion surpass Shaq’s mark? If he can keep it going against the Lakers on Tuesday, Zion will face a Nuggets team that he scored 30 points on 69.2% shooting in the first meeting on March 21.
Saturday, March 27
New York (21-22) at Milwaukee (27-14)
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Bucks enter Week 14 riding a six-game win streak – the second-longest active streak in the league – as Milwaukee climbed within two games of top-seeded Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Knicks are in a race of their own as they currently occupy the No. 7 seed, which would put them in the Play-In Tournament, and are trying to climb into the top six for a guaranteed playoff berth, which would snap a seven-year postseason drought. The Bucks and Knicks have split their first two meetings – each winning by 20 points or more. Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists on 63% shooting against the Knicks, while fellow All-Star Julius Randle is averaging 18 points, 11 rebounds and 6.5 assists against the Bucks. Giannis is set to miss Monday’s game with a sprained knee, but hopefully he is back in the lineup by Saturday.
