The Indiana Pacers are sinking at the wrong time and Brooklyn figures to be a tired squad when the Nets visit Indiana on Saturday. The Pacers have lost four consecutive games and are tied for eighth place with the Boston Celtics in the fight for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn won a triple-overtime tussle from the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and is 1 1/2 games off the pace for that coveted postseason berth.

Coming off a big win Friday, the Chicago Bulls will try to avoid a letdown Saturday when they visit the stumbling Detroit Pistons. The Bulls won their second straight after losing five of six and took over third place in the Eastern Conference from Toronto with Friday’s 108-92 triumph over the Raptors. Detroit has dropped 11 of its last 12 games and is coming off a 94-83 loss at Philadelphia on Wednesday.

James Harden is used to piling up the points and he will attempt to follow up the highest-scoring effort of his career when the Houston Rockets host the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. Harden poured in a career-high 50 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Houston’s 118-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. “It just looked so easy,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza told reporters. “It was like he just woke up and walked out there and had 50. That’s how easily he scored the basketball.”

The Portland Trail Blazers’ inability to win on the road is dropping them out of contention for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers will try to snap a three-game skid and end their five-game trip on a high note when they visit the second-place Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Portland began its trip with a win at Toronto but has since dropped three straight – the last two to sub-.500 teams – while allowing an average of 108 points.

The Utah Jazz are turning heads and laying the foundation for the future on the defensive end of the floor. The Jazz will put that defense to the test when they visit the highest-scoring team in the NBA on Saturday, the Golden State Warriors. Utah has held each of its last 12 opponents under 92 points and limited the last four to 88 or fewer behind the young frontline of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors.