Space in the NBA's cellar will be on the line when the New York Knicks host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. The Knicks and Timberwolves are tied for the league's worst record as they slog through dreadful seasons marked by injuries to star players. New York is coming off a stunning victory over San Antonio, but Minnesota has lost six straight overall and seven in a row on the road.

The Denver Nuggets are putting a scare into some playoff contenders with their play of late despite the questionable availability of some of their best players. The Nuggets figure to have all of their usual starters on the floor when they visit the Houston Rockets on Thursday. Denver’s decision to rest three starters at Memphis on Monday did no favors for the Rockets, who are 1 1/2 games behind the Grizzlies in the race for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference.

The battle for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference is rapidly becoming a two-team race, though the Phoenix Suns are still hanging around the fringes. The Suns will take one more stab at staying in the battle when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday. The Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been trading off the No. 8 spot for the past week while the Suns, who sit three behind Oklahoma City, hang in the distance.

Not much separated the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers at the start of 2015, but a wide chasm has since developed heading into their final meeting of the season Thursday night in Los Angeles. The Jazz were 11-21 on Jan. 1, but have since gone 19-16, including 13-4 since Feb. 7, as their rebuilding plan seems to be kicking in a little sooner than the one in Los Angeles. The Lakers were 10-22 on New Year’s Day and have continued to drop off, winning seven of 34 since.