The San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets are both said to be interested in acquiring Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher ahead of the trade deadline

And on this roadtrip, where the Jazz will face the Pelicans once more on Monday night, it was really, really important for the Jazz decision makers to find a way to finagle a loss against the Pelicans.

The Utah Jazz have hit the cellar of the Western Conference. Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set.

Early returns: Utah made a high-risk trade for Sergachev — in terms of acquisition cost and with the seven seasons left on his contract at an $8.5 million cap hit, especially coming off an injury-plagued year. It’s too early to make a long-term read on the trade, but the early dividends have been promising.

BOTTOM LINE: Detroit takes on Houston for a non-conference matchup. The Rockets are 14-6 on their home court. Houston is the Western Conference leader with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Alperen Sengun averaging 3.4.

BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland takes on Houston for a non-conference matchup. The Rockets are 14-7 in home games. Houston leads the Western Conference in rebounding, averaging 48.4 boards. Alperen Sengun leads the Rockets with 10.5 rebounds.

The Cavaliers are 20-2 on their home court. Cleveland ranks third in the Eastern Conference with 29.1 assists per game led by Darius Garland averaging 6.8. The Suns are 8-12 on the road. Phoenix allows 114.3 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.1 points per game.

But Sunday, Jan. 12 NHL action has two of the Western Conference leaders looking to skate, shoot and score in their push to the top of the conference. The Vegas Golden Knights (28 wins ...

LeBron James aired out his frustrations over the weekend about the Lakers' roster construction. Could the trade deadline give them clarity?

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points — 23 in the second half — and Darius Garland added 16 as the Cleveland Cavaliers began the season’s unofficial second half by dominating the Phoenix Suns 118-92 in a Martin Luther King Jr.

On Monday evening, the Golden State Warriors are playing the Boston Celtics (at home) in San Francisco. At halftime, NBA legend Charles Barkley made a bold sta