The Detroit Pistons are watching their window to make a run at a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference close rapidly as they struggle to find the win column. The Pistons will try to snap a four-game slide and earn just their third win in the last 13 games when they host the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

The Indiana Pacers find themselves in the midst of a key stretch as they battle for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference, hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Friday before four consecutive games against playoff contenders. The Pacers’ three-game winning streak ended with Wednesday’s 104-84 home loss to Utah, moving Indiana into a fourth-place tie with Washington – 1 ½ games out of third place but just three games ahead of the conference’s final playoff spot.

If there is a team that can stop the Houston Rockets from winning an 18th consecutive game, it is the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors. The Raptors will try to slow the freight train that is the Rockets when they host the battle of conference leaders on Friday.

One of the NBA's hottest teams visits the league's worst when the Utah Jazz put a four-game winning streak on the line against the Memphis Grizzlies, losers of 15 straight, on Friday. A 104-84 victory at Indiana on Wednesday to open a three-game road trip gave the Jazz a 16-2 mark since late January, a remarkable run that includes nine straight wins on the road, its longest such streak since an identical run in 1998.

The Milwaukee Bucks have some margin for error as they hold onto the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they must take advantage of a soft portion of the schedule to solidify that position. The Bucks begin a run of lesser opponents when they host the New York Knicks on Friday.

The New Orleans Pelicans have won 10 straight games and play eight of their next nine at home, but not all is well ahead of Friday night's matchup with the visiting Washington Wizards. MVP candidate Anthony Davis, who scored at least 41 points five times during the winning streak, is doubtful for this one after spraining his left ankle in a 114-101 win at Sacramento on Wednesday.

The Denver Nuggets are in a race so tightly packed in the Western Conference that a losing streak of any length could see them in 10th place by the weekend. The Nuggets will try to avoid a third consecutive setback and jump higher up in the standings when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Golden State Warriors star point guard Stephen Curry won't be in uniform Friday when two of the hottest teams in the NBA clash in Portland. Curry injured his right ankle during Thursday's 110-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs and will sit out a contest in which the Warriors seek their eighth straight win while facing a Trail Blazers' squad searching for its ninth consecutive victory.

The Sacramento Kings are mired among a quartet of teams at the bottom of the Western Conference, but they have a chance for a winning five-game homestand when they take on the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Kings alternated wins and losses through the first four games of the homestand, dropping a 114-101 decision to the red-hot New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Clippers are battling with a host of teams for playoff spots in the Western Conference and could not contain one NBA MVP candidate in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday. The Clippers will try to figure out how to defend another MVP candidate when they host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.