What to watch this week in the NBA: Pacers, Kings rising, Cavs-Thunder get a rematch

Even in the middle of January, it’s never a dull week in this league — the Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers put together season-salvaging hot streaks, the Cleveland Cavaliers continued to look the part of a 70-win team and Ja Morant absolutely transcended in the clutch.

Russell Westbrook starts games now; Bradley Beal does not. Zion Williamson vows to be on time; Jimmy Butler has Pat Riley evoking Julius Caesar.

Far more saliently, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers had games rescheduled in the wake of deadly, unprecedented wildfires across the Los Angeles region.

“I was not prepared for what I saw. It’s complete devastation and destruction,” J.J. Redick said. “I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that. Our home is gone.”

The Lakers are set to host the San Antonio Spurs Monday night, after home games were rescheduled last Thursday and Saturday. The team announced Sunday that its arena will serve as a donation center for relief efforts in conjunction with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

You can stream the NBA on Fubo (try for free).

NBA national TV schedule

For games Jan. 13-17. All times Eastern.

San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers

10:30 p.m. ET Monday on NBA TV

Both sides will take the floor cloaked in perspective and gratefulness. The Lakers have been subjected to a harrowing natural disaster. Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke in November, and the Spurs’ most prominent super-fan died over the weekend.

The matchup itself compels — it’s LeBron James vs. Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul’s return to the building he once chartered as Lob City. The Lakers are fun if maddeningly inconsistent. Since December, they’ve incurred a three-game losing streak, then a three-game winning-streak, then a 4-4 stretch across the last eight.

Los Angeles is 21st in pace and 20th in net rating. It has been winning games off the strength of a sizable free-throw disparity (fourth in the NBA in attempts, fourth-fewest for opponents) and a low turnover rate (sixth in giveaways per game). In his last 10 outings, Austin Reaves is averaging more than 21 points and eight assists in 37.8 minutes. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still titans, but Reaves’ emergence as a primary facilitator and clutch-time bucket-getter will determine how far these Lakers can go.

The Spurs have lost four in a row and are under .500 for the first time since Dec. 6. Victor Wembanyama is now averaging a full four blocks per game — if he keeps pace, he’ll be the first player to do that since the late legend Dikembe Mutombo in 1995-96.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers

7 p.m. ET Tuesday on TNT

After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, this Pacers team opened at 10-15 and looked deeply out-of-sorts. They’ve since unplugged the controller and dusted the cartridge, resetting to five wins in a row after that and now have a six-game streak that includes a road upset over these Cavaliers. Indiana is 22-18, 12-3 since that rocky start.

The Pacers won the Cleveland run of this home-and-home, 108-93. And they did it mostly without Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the second half with hamstring tightness. Indy held the NBA’s top-rated offense to 39.8 percent shooting, and held Donovan Mitchell to 19 points on 17 shots.

Better still, every win during this six-game run has been by double-digits. The offense is clicking, better than 50 percent from the field in the New Year and with four players scoring at least 15 per game.

Even with Sunday’s loss, the Cavaliers are on a 71-win pace, comfortably atop the Eastern Conference at 33-5. The offense is first in points, 2-point shooting, 3-point shooting and clutch shooting.

New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers

7 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN

The Knicks and Sixers will beef in perpetuity given their respective homesteads, but these particular iterations really don’t like each other. Last season’s playoff series was fraught with close endings, some instant iconography and an orange current that nullified Philly’s home court.

After a nice run that was headlined by its Christmas Day win in Boston, Philadelphia has now dropped five of its last seven games. It desperately needs to reroute as the season crosses the midway mark. Joel Embiid’s foot troubles have kept him out since Jan. 4. Tyrese Maxey is doing all he can on career-high usage and volume. Paul George is starting to come around, shooting 46/44/100 in his last seven, but the 76ers rank 27th in scoring and struggle to put numbers on the board. Here’s to Daryl Morey getting Pusha T on a 10-day contract.

New York has no issue in that regard — second in offensive rating, third in shooting percentage and a binary star averaging more than 50 points per game. Jalen Brunson is questionable for Monday’s action with a shoulder stinger, after his inspired 44-point outburst against the Bucks. Karl-Anthony Towns is balling to start the month at 57/52/86 shooting splits.

But the Knicks are 2-4 since their 10-game winning streak. They’re third in the conference at 26-14, but the tenacious Magic and the surging Pacers don’t leave much room for sustained lulls.

Golden State Warriors at Minnesota Timberwolves

9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN

Both teams could really use a nationally-televised win right now. The Warriors were 12-3 through the first four weeks of the season, but have since tumbled down to 19-19. The defense has remained solid, 10th in points allowed and ninth in takeaways. But the offense has precipitously dipped, with Golden State failing to crack 100 points in its last five losses.

The Timberwolves looked to be rounding a corner after Anthony Edwards’ ice-cold game-winner in Houston. But it’s been on the wrong end of a few heart-racers, with one-possession losses to the Grizzlies and Celtics sandwiching a blowout in Detroit. Minnesota’s fourth-ranked defense has been affirming, though opponents are getting treys off. But it’s down to 20th in total rebounding, 22nd in scoring and 24th in pace.

Edwards seems to enjoy going against Draymond Green. Dennis Schröder has unmentionable shooting percentages in his 13 games with the Warriors, and he needs a get-right outing as soon as possible. Julius Randle has his lowest usage rate since he was a sixth-man for the Los Angeles Lakers. Stephen Curry went 8-for-8 behind the arc against Philadelphia, but just 2-for-14 in Detroit.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Oklahoma City Thunder

7:30 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT

It’s a shame these teams only play twice this year…unless…

From Jason Lloyd:

“The Cavs and Thunder are perhaps providing the path forward for future teams to model in this new NBA: deep rosters, versatile lineups and a relentless style of play. As an old era of superstars begins to fade, the league is retiring the player empowerment era with them. No longer can max contract stars team up in desirable markets.”

Houston Rockets at Sacramento Kings

10 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT

The Kings were a traveling band of bad vibes and brazenly dismissed its award-winning coach, only to reel off seven consecutive victories under Doug Christie in the interim. Basketball laughs at logic and points a purple beam in the eye of reason. From Zach Harper:

“Winning two of those games, even against struggling opponents like the Warriors and Heat, without your best player is significant. And from the eye test alone, the Kings look like they’re playing harder. Maybe that would’ve happened under Brown anyway. But it is happening under Christie. Sometimes a change in coaching voice does the trick for a team stuck in a rut, which the Kings were during that five-game losing streak of home games. Whatever sparks a change in execution doesn’t matter, as long as the progress is sustainable. We know this Kings team is better than what it was showing, regardless of injuries to the rotation at times.”

The Rockets, meanwhile, have furtively crept up to second in the West and sixth in net rating. It may feel like an undercard after the Cavs-Thunder headliner, but this matchup should be a very fun watch.

Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics

7 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Despite a comparatively funky 7-5 stretch in their last 12 games, defending champion Boston is still top-10 in points for, points against, offensive and defensive ratings. It’s not quite looking as effortless as it did in the fall — Sunday’s 1-point win over the Pelicans saw the Celtics shoot an uncharacteristic 29.5 percent on 3-pointers — but this is still one of the toughest outs in the league on any given night.

So are the Magic, who survived absences from their two best players to float near the top of the conference. Orlando has Paolo Banchero booted up and back on the floor, and he had 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting in Sunday’s win over the Sixers.

Memphis Grizzlies at San Antonio Spurs

9:30 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Like Houston, Memphis has been unassumingly awesome this season. The Grizz are 25-14, good for third in the West. They lead the league in scoring, pace, and free-throw shooting, while sitting second in total rebounding and fourth in defensive rating. One more time for Ja Morant purifying his team in the waters of Lake Minnetonka:

Call 12 📞 for the Game Winner.

Vote @JaMorant 🌟🗳️ https://t.co/bE1mneV5uh pic.twitter.com/XOud8B3ydg

— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 12, 2025

(Photo of Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam: Melissa Tamez / Getty Images)