#season-series

#season-series

It took Jakob Poeltl three games to find his role in the Toronto Raptors' offence.When he did, the results were impressive.Poeltl's 30 points were one shy of a career high as he led the Raptors past the Orlando Magic 123-113 on Tuesday.He also had nine rebounds and six blocked shots in his best performance since being traded to Toronto from San Antonio last Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Rays (23-5) finish their 4-game series with the Chicago White Sox (7-21) on Sunday.First pitch from Guaranteed Rate Field is at 2:10 p.m. ET.Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Rays vs. White Soxodds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.Season series: Tampa Bay leads 6-0
On Saturday, Chicago entered the 7th inning up 3-0 and no-hitting the Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays (23-5) finish their 4-game series with the Chicago White Sox (7-21) on Sunday.First pitch from Guaranteed Rate Field is at 2:10 p.m. ET.Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Rays vs. White Soxodds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.Season series: Tampa Bay leads 6-0
On Saturday, Chicago entered the 7th inning up 3-0 and no-hitting the Rays.

The Nets' five game road trip ended with a 121-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.They now travel back to Brooklyn for a four-game home stand that will define the rest of season.Thunder All-Star star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - with help from budding star Josh Giddey and Net killer Lugentz Dort - ended Brooklyn's impressive streak, which included convincing come-from-behind victories over two NBA championship contenders: the Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets.

Despite coming back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3-3, the Maple Leafs weren't able to complete the comeback and dropped another game to a team at the bottom of the standings.We've been through this song and dance with the Leafs several times this season against bottom-feeding teams (and the schedule situation - tired vs. rested - certainly didn't help): They possessed the puck a lot, but they were guilty of some sloppy turnovers and decision-making that kept them behind the eight-ball and had them chasing the game for most of the night.

To view the live updates on your mobile device click here.GAME 6: Kings at Warriors at Chase Center, at 5 p.m. TV: ESPN.Announcers: Mike Breen (play-by-play), Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy (color commentary), Lisa Salters (sideline reporting).ODDS: Warriors -7.5.OVER/UNDER: 236.5.(Both from Caesar's Sportsbook.)

Every game counts, and the Nets just chalked one.On the second leg of a back-to-back, in a game with explicit playoff implications, the Nets ran out of gas at Orlando's Amway Center and lost to the Magic, 119-106.It marked Brooklyn's sixth loss in their last seven games following Saturday's convincing victory over the Miami Heat.

For perhaps the first time all season, the Chicago Bulls are finally establishing an identity and consistently winning games.Since the addition of Patrick Beverley, this team's will to win has increased exponentially and a trip to the postseason is slowly but surely becoming a realistic expectation for the Bulls.

Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images Thursday night was a scary sight for the rest of the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics laid an absolute smackdown on the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum, coming away with a 140-99 win.It couldn't have come at a better time either as both teams are down to their last handful of games of the regular season.

It took over three months and five previous failed tries but the Raptors are back at .500.Miami was missing Jimmy Butler in this game, after being ruled out with a neck injury.The Heat were already a small team and losing one of their big wings didn't help.Toronto crushed Miami with a 62-36 points in the paint advantage.

With one final home game against the Wizards to close out February, the Chicago Bulls will be looking to win their second consecutive game since the addition of polarizing free agent Patrick Beverley.More importantly, they'll be looking to prove they're not the same team that stumbled into the All-Star Break on a six-game losing streak and appeared on the verge of total collapse.

As the Chicago Bulls march toward the end of February with a 27-33 record in tow, it would be no understatement to say this year's team has massively disappointed when compared to last season's rendition.Still, as long as there are games to be played, there's hope the Bulls' big three of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic can drag this franchise to the promised land of the NBA Playoffs.

With the long shadow of Willis Reed looming large over the proceedings, the New York Knicks (42-32) lost to the Miami Heat (40-34) on Wednesday, 127-120.Tonight's game in the Miami-Dade Arena had playoff implications, with the Knicks, Nets, and Heat all jockeying for fifth, sixth, and seventh seeds of the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks head back to Miami looking to clinch the season series against the Heat.New York is coming off of a difficult loss against the Timberwolves on Monday night despite 57 points from Julius Randle.New York returns to South Beach after the epic 122-120 win back on Mar. 3 when Randle hit the game winning shot in the final seconds.

For the third time in the last four games and the fourth and final time this season, the Rangers and Penguins are set to clash in a Metropolitan Division showdown.After dropping the first two games of the season series, Gerard Gallant's squad picked up a nice 4-2 victory on Thursday to push Pittsburgh to ten points back in the standings for third place in the division.

It was a game the Nets had to have.And they flew down to South Beach and took it.The stakes were greater Saturday night at FTX Arena than they've been at any point this season: Win and leapfrog the Miami Heat in the standings for sole ownership of the Eastern Conference's final guaranteed playoff seed.

The Washington Wizards just hosted the Hawks and lost 122-120.They host them again before the week ends and before the Hawks can escape the cold weather in D.C. and go back to the warmth of Atlanta.When: : Friday, March 10, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
How to watch: NBC Sports Washington LeaguePass
How to listen: The Team 980 AM, 106.7-2

Oh (sigh) Canada!How fitting that on Canadian Basketball Night, it was a rookie from a small town in Ontario who waved the proverbial flag with pride and conviction.Aurora native Andrew Nembhard, playing his first game in Toronto, led the Pacers with 25 points and 10 assists as Indiana would collect a crucial 118-114 victory over the Raptors.

Now that the Toronto Raptors have won the season series in an ugly affair against former coach Dwane Casey and the Detroit Pistons, it's time for them to turn their attention toward the Cleveland Cavaliers.The Cavaliers are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 38-25 record, but the Raptors have had their number so far this season, with the Raptors looking to sweep the hosts tonight.

There is no better look at how compacted the Western Conference playoff race is than Sunday night's game between the Knicks and Lakers.Had the Lakers won the contest, they would have moved into a 3-way tie for the seventh seed with the Mavericks and Timberwolves with matching .500records at 34-34.Instead, the Lakers lost, dropped to 33-35 and into a four-way tie for the ninth seed.

The Boston Bruins' biggest potential threat in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs just took a major hit.Andrei Svechnikov, the Carolina Hurricanes' second-leading points scorer, will have season-ending knee surgery Thursday, according to Chris Johnston of TSN.The 22-year-old injured his right knee in Carolina's loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

The Bruins can make history by becoming the fastest team to 50 wins with a victory over the visiting Edmonton Oilers Thursday night at TD Garden.Boston has the opportunity to sweep the season series against Edmonton, but it will need to stop Connor McDavid and the Oilers' high-powered offense.McDavid leads the league in scoring with 124 points, 54 goals and 70 assists, while David Pastrnak looks to move closer to his first 50-goal season.

The St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Central last season with a 93-69 record in 2022.They got absurd, MVP-level production from Paul Goldschmidt (who won the award) and Nolan Arenado (who finished third in the voting), and a 5.6 fWAR season from Tommy Edman.The pitching was shakier, but Miles Mikolas, the evergreen Adam Wainwright, and midseason acquisition Jordan Montgomery did just fine.

Time for some Hump Day hockey, Caps fans!The Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres faced off tonight for the third and final time this season.The Caps are 0-1-1 against the Sabres this season, so they were looking to get one win on the season series.If the Capitals want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, tonight is pretty much a must-win scenario.

The Florida Panthers (32-27-6) will be shooting for its second three-game winning streak of the season when they face the lowly Chicago Blackhawks (22-37-5) tonight at FLA Live Arena.Florida has four games left on its current homestand and collecting two points against one of the league bottom-feeders will help them remain within striking distance of the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins.