POD: New Orleans @ Golden State-3.0 (5K units)

Preview: Very little has gone right for the New Orleans Hornets since Chris Paul was injured seven weeks ago. At least they can still beat the lowly Golden State Warriors.

One week after defeating the Warriors at home, the Hornets look to sweep the season series for the first time in eight years Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

New Orleans’ playoff hopes seemed certain to dissolve when the team announced Feb. 1 that Paul would need left knee surgery. The star point guard helped the Hornets (33-35) reach the playoffs the last two seasons and had his club tied for eighth place in the Western Conference at the time of his injury.

That has proved to be the case, as New Orleans has been unable to stay in the playoff picture. The Hornets have dropped 14 of 21 to fall 7 1/2 games behind Portland for the final postseason spot.

The Hornets are coming off a rare win without Paul, 108-100 over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday that snapped a three-game skid. David West(notes) scored 24 points and Darren Collison(notes) had 18 points and 14 assists.

POD: Charlotte @ Indiana+2.5 (3K units) W

Preview: The Charlotte Bobcats are brimming with confidence after extending their winning streak on the road against one of the league’s best teams. With more tough opponents on the way, Stephen Jackson(notes) insists the Bobcats won’t overlook one of the league’s worst teams, especially after losing the last meeting.

Jackson looks to help Charlotte win seven straight games for the first time in franchise history and avenge a loss to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Bobcats (34-31) matched the team record for consecutive victories with an impressive 96-89 win in Orlando on Sunday. Charlotte, which also won six straight Jan. 9-20, was playing without All-Star Gerald Wallace(notes) (left ankle), yet still managed to end a seven-game losing streak to the Magic.

“It was a big win. To win without Gerald against a team like Orlando - one of the best in the East is big for us,” Jackson told the Bobcats’ official Web site. “This really boosts our confidence. We can’t get too high, but this is a big win for us.”

With Wallace out, Jackson stepped up, finishing with 28 points, six assists and six rebounds.

POD: Denver-2.5 @ Houston (5K units) L

Preview: The Denver Nuggets last swept a road trip of at least four games five seasons ago.

The Nuggets can accomplish that feat again and extend their win streak to seven Monday night as they go for their first season sweep of the Houston Rockets in 32 years.

Denver (45-21) owns the longest current win streak in the Western Conference and is one-half game ahead of Dallas in the race for the No. 2 seed. The Nuggets are three games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Adrian Dantley filling in as coach while George Karl undergoes cancer treatments, Denver has trailed at halftime in every game of this trip. The Nuggets’ latest rally featured one of their best fourth quarters of the season.

Denver was down six at the half and tied after three periods Saturday, but scored 40 points in the fourth and won 125-108 at Memphis. Reserve J.R. Smith(notes) had 16 of his 30 in the final period, which the Nuggets opened on a 12-0 run.

“It was unbelievable,” Smith said. “It was a great beginning to the fourth quarter. I think it was the best we’ve had all year by far.”

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POD: Indiana+10.0 @ Milwaukee (3K units) W

Preview: With three impressive wins during this homestand, the Milwaukee Bucks have showed that their run over the last two months isn’t a fluke.

The surging Bucks try for their sixth straight win as they look to sweep the regular-season series against the Indiana Pacers for the first time in 28 years Sunday afternoon.

Milwaukee (35-29) has won 11 of 12 and is 17-4 since late January, but after primarily defeating sub-.500 teams early during that stretch, it’s beaten Cleveland, Boston and Utah in its last three games.

The Bucks haven’t reached the playoffs since 2006, but they sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and seem to be gaining momentum.

“We’re having a great stretch,” coach Scott Skiles said following the 95-87 win over the Jazz on Friday. “I don’t mean to be underplaying it at all, but at the same time we’re 35-29. We’re not 55 and something. We’re battling for a spot. The guys were talking about it now, that we’ve got a game on Sunday and we need to get that one as well. It’s not something I need to bring up that much.”

While the Bucks, who have won six in a row at home, have been especially helped by the their trade with Chicago for John Salmons(notes)—averaging 19.3 points since arriving in Milwaukee—what has been most notable about their current streak is their defense.

POD: Toronto-1.5 @ Golden State (3K units) L

Preview: The Toronto Raptors’ offense is slumping and the losses are mounting.

Although Golden State is in the midst of an awful season, the Raptors need to regain their offensive swagger or they could have trouble keeping up with the high-scoring Warriors in their first meeting of the season.

The struggling Raptors look to avoid losing for the eighth time in nine games and earn their first win at Golden State in six years Saturday night.

Just three weeks ago, Toronto (32-31) was one of the hottest teams in the NBA. With a victory over Washington on Feb. 20, the Raptors won for the 10th time in 12 games and were closing in on fourth-place Atlanta in the Eastern Conference.

Hopes of home-court advantage for a first-round playoff series are now an afterthought, as Toronto is simply trying to make the postseason.

The Raptors have lost seven of eight and are now in the mix with Charlotte, Miami and Chicago for the final three playoffs spots. Toronto’s coming off Wednesday’s 113-90 loss at Sacramento, as Chris Bosh(notes) had 14 points and five rebounds in his third game after sitting out the previous seven because of a sprained left knee.

Manny Pacquiao vs Joshua Clottey: Round by Round Results

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Manny Pacquiao	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10
Joshua Clottey	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9

Round 1

Round 2

POD: Denver-5.0 @ New Orleans (5K units) W

Preview: The Denver Nuggets have scored at an even higher rate than usual recently. Most impressive about the stretch is how much depth they are showing.

The Nuggets look to win their fifth straight when they visit the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Denver (43-21), among the league leaders with 107.7 points per game, has averaged 117.3 during its winning streak after being held to fewer than 90 in back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix.

The Nuggets opened a four-game road trip with a 110-102 win over Minnesota on Wednesday, with six players finishing in double figures.

Carmelo Anthony(notes), who scored 30 or more in the previous three games, shot 6 of 16 from the field for 19 points, but he was helped by his teammates as Chauncey Billups(notes) scored 25, Nene had 17 and J.R. Smith(notes) added 15.

Smith, averaging 15.2 points, is scoring 18.8 per game during the winning streak. He hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Denver outscored the Timberwolves 31-19.

POD: Atlanta-7.0 @ Washington (3K units) L

Preview: Last month, the Atlanta Hawks were unable to make it into Washington D.C. due to a winter storm.

They are facing a different kind of challenge heading into the rescheduled matchup.

The Hawks will try to avoid losing three straight for the first time in more than two months when they visit the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Atlanta (40-23) is making its first trip to the nation’s capital this season after the originally scheduled matchup Feb. 6 was postponed because of a blizzard which left two feet of snow in the area.

Atlanta would have gone into that meeting on a two-game winning streak, but heads into Thursday’s contest having dropped two in a row. The Hawks have been held to fewer than 100 points in both of the road losses after averaging 115.3 points during a four-game winning streak. They are coming off a 99-98 loss at New York on Monday.

After rallying from 10 down, Josh Smith(notes) had a chance to put Atlanta ahead, but his shot was blocked with 1.7 seconds left and officials ruled upon review that Al Horford’s(notes) short jumper came after the buzzer.

POD: Utah-5.5 @ Detroit (3K units) W

Preview: After settling their thoughts following Rodney Stuckey’s(notes) scary collapse, the Detroit Pistons managed to snap a lengthy losing streak.

With Stuckey expected to miss a second straight game Wednesday night, the Pistons will try to end another skid by knocking off the surging Utah Jazz for the first time in nearly five years.

While on the bench, Detroit’s third-year guard fell into the arms of strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander during the third quarter of Friday’s 99-92 loss to Cleveland. An oxygen mask was put on his face and the team’s second-leading scorer with a career-best 17.1 points per game was wheeled to a waiting ambulance.

Stuckey was released from the renowned Cleveland Clinic the following afternoon.

On Sunday, the Pistons (22-41) ended a six-game slide by rallying for a 110-107 overtime victory over Houston in the opener of a four-game homestand.

“The most important thing tonight is that Rodney is back home, and it looks like he’s healthy,” said Will Bynum(notes), who started in Stuckey’s absence. “Once we learned that, we could start worrying about trying to get a win tonight. I haven’t had many chances lately, and we haven’t won many games. Tonight, both happened, and it feels good.”