The Charlotte Hornets own the longest current losing streak in the Eastern Conference at six straight and will play six of the next eight on the road, where they own a 6-12 record. The Hornets will try to put the messy end to 2019 behind them when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

The Denver Nuggets will try to wipe a very bad taste out of their mouths from the final game of 2019 when they open 2020 by visiting the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. The Nuggets were cruising along with wins in nine of 10 games before opening the five-game trip at Houston on Tuesday and falling flat in a 130-104 setback.

The Miami Heat were starting to look like one of the best teams in the league during a five-game winning streak that included victories over Philadelphia, Utah and Indiana but crashed right back down to earth on Monday with a 123-105 setback at the depleted Washington Wizards. The Heat will try to make sure that performance was the outlier when they host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday.

The Utah Jazz are winners of eight of their last nine games and are embarking on a three-game road trip after dominating the Detroit Pistons 104-81 at home on Monday to close out 2019. The Jazz begin the trip on Thursday by visiting the improving Chicago Bulls.

The Golden State Warriors will be without shooting guard D'Angelo Russell for the second straight game when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. That's a bad break for Golden State as Russell (shoulder) averaged 41 points in the first two meetings against Minnesota this season, including a career-high 52 on Nov. 8 when the Timberwolves prevailed in overtime.

After ending 2019 with a pair of road losses, the Dallas Mavericks start 2020 with their longest homestand of the season, a six-gamer that starts Thursday against the Brooklyn Nets. One of the top road teams in the league at 12-5, the Mavericks suffered setbacks at the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder to end the year.

The streaking Oklahoma City Thunder look for their fourth straight victory and eighth in the past nine games when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. But Oklahoma City could find it tough sledding in the opener of a four-game road trip as it has dropped nine straight games in San Antonio.

The Sacramento Kings aim to halt a season-worst eight-game losing streak when they host the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. Sacramento was blown out by the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 105-87 on Tuesday after losing its previous three games by a combined eight points.

The Los Angeles Clippers have split their eight past games and hope to begin a run of victories when they host the lowly Detroit Pistons on Thursday in the opener of a four-game homestand. Los Angeles has three convincing wins during the up-and-down stretch, including Tuesday's 105-87 triumph over the host Sacramento Kings.