The Charlotte Hornets worked their way out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference with a 91-84 home loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday and are suddenly no longer a lock to win on their own floor. The Hornets will try to snap a five-game home slide when they host the Washington Wizards on Friday.

The Orlando Magic were surging up the standings in the Eastern Conference before falling on the final two stops of a three-game road trip and will try to get back on track at home when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The Magic sit one game behind the eighth-place Miami Heat and 3 1/2 in back of seventh-place Brooklyn.

The Miami Heat are getting hot at the right time and can now look forward to a long homestand, beginning Friday night against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat, who have won three in a row at home after opening the season 11-18 there, are coming off a 91-84 win at Charlotte, one of their chief competitors in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Detroit Pistons worked themselves into the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference with wins in 10 of the last 12 games and are running up the score of late with an average of 124 points in the last three games. The Pistons will try to push their latest winning streak to four in a row when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Friday in the first of a home-and-home set.

The Houston Rockets attempt to extend the NBA's longest active winning streak to seven games when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Houston defeated Eastern Conference contenders Boston and Toronto in back-to-back games and looks to take down another in the meeting with the 76ers.

The Utah Jazz look to register their sixth victory in the past seven games when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. The Jazz are in sixth place in the Western Conference but the hot stretch leaves them hopeful of challenging for the third seed over the season's final weeks.

The Toronto Raptors are experiencing a mini-funk as they open a three-game road trip by visiting the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. Toronto has lost back-to-back games to the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets while dropping three of its last five contests.

The Golden State Warriors suffered the worst home loss of the Steve Kerr era with a 128-95 setback to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday and are going through a bit of a lull as they try to find the form they'll need to chase a third straight championship. The Warriors will try to find some extra motivation when they host the team directly behind them in the Western Conference standings on Friday, the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Clippers are acting like a team intent on making the playoffs as they search for their fourth straight win and seventh in nine games when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. Outsiders pegged the Clippers as giving up on this season when they dealt leading scorer Tobias Harris at the trading deadline, but the team has responded with the strong run.