The Los Angeles Lakers looked impressive in three straight wins against teams at the bottom of the standings in their respective conferences. They will try to make it four straight wins when the level of competition goes up in a visit to the playoff-hopeful Miami Heat on Thursday.

The Philadelphia 76ers were talking homecourt advantage in the playoffs during a seven-game winning streak, but back-to-back losses to fellow Eastern Conference postseason contenders let them know that there is still work to be done. The 76ers will try to avoid a third consecutive setback when they visit another East power at the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.

The race to the bottom in the NBA includes a list of eight teams -- four from each conference -- and the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets are both part of the pack. One team will earn a rare win when the Kings host the Nets on Thursday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are sitting in the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference but are only 3 1/2 games clear of the ninth-place Denver Nuggets. The Portland Trail Blazers, who host the Timberwolves on Thursday, are in that pack of teams stuck between three and nine but are moving up with wins in four straight.