Basketball

Minnesota Timberwolves (31-25, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (34-21, fourth in the Western Conference) Houston; Friday, 9:30 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Houston hosts Minnesota in a matchup of Western Conference teams.

Charlotte Hornets (14-39, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (36-19, third in the Western Conference) Denver; Thursday, 9 p.m.

New Orleans Pelicans (13-42, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Dallas Mavericks (30-26, eighth in the Western Conference) Dallas; Friday, 8:30 p.m.

Oklahoma City Thunder (44-10, first in the Western Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (13-41, 14th in the Western Conference) Salt Lake City; Friday, 9:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers (32-21, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (23-32, 13th in the Western Conference) Portland, Oregon; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Lakers -3.5; over/under is 226.

Golden State Warriors (28-27, 10th in the Western Conference) vs. Sacramento Kings (28-27, ninth in the Western Conference) Sacramento, California; Friday, 10 p.m.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic couldn't find his shot in his third game with the Los Angeles Lakers, and LeBron James couldn't make up for it.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 29 points, LaMelo Ball added 27 and the Charlotte Hornets stunned LeBron James and Luka Doncic with a 100-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets gathered around Nikola Jokic near the 3-point line Wednesday and belted out a rather off-key version of “ happy birthday ” in honor of him turning 30.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo is excited about playing with his new Milwaukee Bucks teammates but isn't quite sure how soon that time will come.