While Memphis closed strong to pick up a win at home Friday night, New Orleans finished with a whimper. The Grizzlies will try to ride the momentum into the Big Easy when the Southeast Division foes meet Saturday in the third of four encounters this season. Memphis trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter and was down three with under three minutes to go before ending on a 13-3 run to steal a 97-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

If the Phoenix Suns are going to chase down the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, they'll likely need to continue their impressive play against the East. The Suns aim for a third straight victory when they wrap up a four-game road trip Saturday at Cleveland. The Cavaliers have won 20 of their last 25 but suffered a 106-97 loss at Atlanta on Friday.

Locked in a tight race for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, a banged-up Miami squad begins a home-heavy portion of its schedule Saturday against Sacramento. The Heat, who are 12-17 at home and 3-8 against teams from the West, play six of their next seven games at AmericanAirlines Arena, including four against losing teams. Miami enters the stretch on a negative note after dropping a 99-97 decision at Washington on Friday with starters Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng on the sidelines.

The Indiana Pacers have spent the last four months working to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race and finally are making their way up the standings. The Pacers will try to win their fifth straight and hang onto the No. 8 spot in the East when they visit the lowly New York Knicks on Saturday. The Knicks are in a race against the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves for the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery.

After a big win reinforcing their dominance in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks will look to avoid a letdown Saturday when they visit the lowly Philadelphia 76ers. The Hawks tamed the surging Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday to extend their lead in the East to 11 games over the Chicago Bulls with 21 games remaining. On any other night, the 76ers, losers of four straight and nine of 10, wouldn't be much of a deterrent for Atlanta, which has also won seven straight in the series.

The Portland Trail Blazers will begin life without Wesley Matthews when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Matthews suffered a torn left Achilles tendon in a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday and soon will have surgery before beginning a lengthy rehab process. Portland is battling for third place in the Western Conference and will need to find a way to replace one of the premier 3-point shooters in the league.

The Washington Wizards seem to be suffering from an identity crisis in that they can play like a championship contender at one moment and look like a team unworthy of playing in the postseason the next. They hope the former shows up Saturday in Milwaukee to face the struggling Bucks. Milwaukee has lost a season-high four straight and six of its last seven overall, and the Bucks have dropped four straight to Washington.

The Houston Rockets have a good chance to take over third place in the Western Conference standings, but they’ll need to take care of business against struggling teams like the Denver Nuggets, whom they visit Saturday night. Houston is tied for third with the Portland Trail Blazers, who suffered a significant injury when Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles tendon Thursday night. Denver has lost seven of nine and fired coach Brian Shaw this week.