There's no doubt that the Mavericks are proving to be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference, when their superstar trio is healthy.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will have Isaiah Hartenstein back in the lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers but the Thunder will be without defensive ace Lu Dort.

Harrison is pleased with what Thompson has provided so far, but says Dallas will truly benefit from having the veteran in the playoffs.

The Thunder (36-8) hope to bounce back from a bad loss to the depleted Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams combined for 64 points in the tough defeat against Kyrie Irving and PJ Washington.

The rebuilding Blazers lost five straight before going on their four-game winning streak. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The Chicago Bulls head to Moda Center to face the Portland Trail Blazers in a non-conference matchup. The Bulls are 18-23, which puts them in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The Trail Blazers are 13-27, which puts them in 13th place in the Western Conference.

The Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League announced Thursday that former NBA bench boss Kaleb Canales has been named the team’s head coach for the 2025 season.

Canales began his professional coaching career as an assistant with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, eventually serving as the team’s interim head coach for 23 games during the 2011-12 season. The promotion made him the youngest active head coach in the NBA and the first Mexican-American coach in league history.

Canales has previously been an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic

CJ McCollum would much rather have written this chapter of the New Orleans Pelicans' record book in a victory.

During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Pavlovic wore only jersey Nos. 77 and 11 and put up 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.