The Philadelphia 76ers are starting to turn things around, though it may be too late. The Portland Trail Blazers, who visit the 76ers on Monday, are in a similar spot. Philadelphia had dropped 12 of 13 to fall well out of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, but a stretch of two wins in three games against quality competition has shown that it is not willing to pack it in. The Blazers are trying to win their third straight.

The Washington Wizards will try to take their recent success at home with them on the road when they travel to Charlotte to face the struggling Bobcats on Monday. The Wizards have won three straight as part of a five-game home winning streak, but they've lost their last three road games. The remedy could come in a trip to Charlotte, where the Bobcats have a league-worst 8-24 home record in addition to the league's worst overall record.

There was a time not long ago when the Indiana Pacers were the hard-charging team in the Eastern Conference, and some even entertained thoughts that they would challenge the Miami Heat for the top spot. While the Heat have become unbeatable, the Pacers have begun to struggle and they enter Monday's visit to Cleveland as part of a logjam of teams fighting for playoff positioning in the East standings.

The Atlanta Hawks seek their fourth consecutive victory when they host the Dallas Mavericks in Monday’s opener of a three-game homestand. Atlanta recorded an impressive 105-93 road win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday to move one game behind the fourth-place Nets in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Dallas lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday for its second loss in seven games. The Mavericks are four games behind the eighth-place Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference.

Recent whispers out of Boston Celtics camp suggested that they were not very impressed with the Miami Heat's lengthy winning streak. The Celtics now have a chance to end it when the Heat carry a 22-gamer -- tied for the second longest in NBA history -- into Monday's matchup at TD Garden. Miami rolled to a 108-91 win at Toronto on Sunday, matching the 2007-08 Houston Rockets on the all-time list. Amazingly, Boston ended Houston's streak five years ago to the day.

The Denver Nuggets look to match the longest winning streak in franchise history Monday when they visit the Chicago Bulls, who sit 2 1/2 games behind third-place New York in the Eastern Conference. Denver is one game behind the third-place Los Angeles Clippers after extending its winning streak to 11 games on Friday with an 87-80 win over Memphis.

Having lost back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month, the Memphis Grizzlies will try to get back on track when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. The Timberwolves are coming off a 97-95 home win over New Orleans and are in search of their first back-to-back victories since winning four straight from Dec. 7-15. Memphis had won 14 of 15 before the two-game slide.

The Warriors have been curiously inconsistent of late. They will try to post back-to-back road wins for the first time since January when they visit the New Orleans Hornets on Monday. The Warriors looked like they were about to make a strong run before getting blown out at home by the Chicago Bulls on Friday. A date with the Houston Rockets, who have had their way with Golden State, on Sunday produced the opposite result.

Kobe Bryant is expected to again rest his injured ankle when the torrid Los Angeles Lakers visit the struggling Phoenix Suns on Monday. Bryant missed Los Angeles’ victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday but the offense clicked well without him as the Lakers won for the 19th time in 26 games. Los Angeles is one game ahead of the Utah Jazz in the battle for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot. Phoenix has lost four straight games.

The New York Knicks are just trying to get through their road trip without losing another key player. The Knicks will try to avoid being swept on the five-game trip when they finish up at the Utah Jazz on Monday. New York lost both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler in a loss at Denver last week and has dropped each of the first four games on the trip by double figures. The Jazz are fighting for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.