The Charlotte Hornets face an uphill struggle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. That task gets even tougher Saturday when the Atlanta Hawks visit. The Hornets, who sit 1 1/2 games out of the eighth spot after a 110-107 double-overtime loss to Washington on Friday, have lost eight of their last 10 games and still have two games left with Toronto and one apiece with Atlanta and Houston.

The Chicago Bulls look to further their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference when they host the New York Knicks on Saturday. All-Star guard Jimmy Butler starred in his second game back from an elbow injury with 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting in a 116-103 victory Wednesday at Toronto, and the Bulls hope that is a sign of things to come from the standout. The Knicks matched the franchise record for losses at 59 when they fell 96-92 to the Boston Celtics on Friday.

The Golden State Warriors are just checking off franchise records as they go along and are showing no signs of slowing down. The Warriors will try to set a franchise record for wins when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on the second night of a back-to-back Saturday. Golden State picked up its eighth straight triumph and matched the 1975-76 club for the franchise record of 59 wins by blasting the Memphis Grizzlies 107-84 on Friday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder added injury to insult Friday but are still looking good in their quest for a postseason spot. The Thunder will try to move on without the prospect of a return from Kevin Durant when they visit the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Oklahoma City learned that Durant would need additional surgery on his ailing foot and will miss the rest of the season on Friday, two days after an embarrassing 130-91 loss at San Antonio.

The Portland Trail Blazers appear to have righted themselves after a slump and look for their third straight victory when they host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Portland endured a five-game losing streak before bouncing back with road wins at Utah and Phoenix, and the contest against Denver is the first of a three-game homestand. The Nuggets have showed life of late by going 8-6 since Melvin Hunt became interim coach after Brian Shaw was fired.