NBA: In the East, the playoff matchups are all set, but there's still plenty to play for in the wild, wild West where only the San Antonio Spurs (No. 1) and the Denver Nuggets (No. 5) are locked into position. There are only three games tonight and all of them have playoff implications. The Trail Blazers can clinch the No. 6 seed in the West with a win over the visiting Grizzlies at 10 p.m. ET. With a rare road win, Memphis would hold the tiebreaker over Portland, but not the New Orleans Hornets. ... The Los Angeles Lakers, losers of five straight (their worst losing streak since March 2007), host the Spurs at 10:30 p.m. The Spurs lead the Chicago Bulls by one game for best record in the NBA. The Lakers trail the Dallas Mavericks by a half game for the second seed in the West (the Lakers hold the tiebreaker). ... Speaking of Chicago, the Bulls visit the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. looking to gain ground on the Spurs for overall home- court advantage. Both teams have won seven straight games. The Bulls have not defeated the Knicks this season (0-2), and the Knicks might be without Amare Stoudemire for a third straight game (sprained ankle).
MLB: Here are a few of the games we're checking out on a busy baseball day. At 1:05 p.m., the red-hot Texas Rangers (9-1) visit the Detroit Tigers. The Rangers have two straight shutouts and have allowed one total run in their last three games. ... The first-place Baltimore Orioles visit the second-place New York Yankees in the first of a three-game AL East battle (7:05 p.m.). ... Joe Blanton and the Philadelphia Phillies visit Livan Hernandez and the Washington Nationals (7:05 p.m.). ...The Red Sox (2-8) continue their series against the Rays (2-8) at Fenway with a pair of aces on the mound -- David Price for Tampa Bay and Jon Lester for Boston (7:10 p.m.). ... Break up the Indians! Cleveland seeks its ninth straight win, but Angels ace Dan Haren might make it difficult in Anaheim (10:05 p.m.). ... Chad Billingsley and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to knock off Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants, losers of two straight (10:15 p.m.).
Information from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.
