The Boston Celtics' best hope of remaining in the running for homecourt advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs is by earning a win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Friday. The Pacers currently occupy the No. 4 spot in the East and would host the fifth-place Celtics in a first-round series if the season ended Friday.

The Portland Trail Blazers are moving on after the loss of center Jusuf Nurkic and are trying to fight off the Houston Rockets for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers will try to push their winning streak to six straight when they visit the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Kevin Durant is tuning up for the postseason by making some personal history as the Golden State Warriors try to lock up the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference. Durant will try to follow up a career-best 12-of-13 shooting performance when the Warriors visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

The Denver Nuggets look to complete a four-game sweep of the season series when they visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Nuggets have won the first three meetings by an average of nine points and prevailed 105-98 on Nov. 24 in their first visit to Oklahoma City this season.

The Washington Wizards are on the brink of elimination and look to stay alive when they visit the Utah Jazz on Friday. Washington persevered against Devin Booker's 50-point outing on Wednesday when it held off the host Phoenix Suns 124-121.

The Charlotte Hornets have won a season-best four straight games and they continue their run at a playoff spot when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. The Hornets are one of five teams in the mix for the final three Eastern Conference playoff berths but they enter a treacherous stretch of four straight and six of their next seven on the road.