FRIDAY’S GAMES HOME team in caps.

Georgia Tech Arts brings live performance back to campus.

Pacers at CELTICS (late): Boston will try to end its three-game losing streak when the Celtics take on Indiana. The Celtics defeated the Pacers 116-111 in their last matchup on Dec. 29. Jayson Tatum led Boston with 27 points, and Victor Oladipo paced Indiana scoring 24 points.

Rockets at RAPTORS (late): Houston heads into the matchup against Toronto as losers of nine straight games. The Raptors are 7-7 in home games. The Rockets are 6-12 on the road. The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

Kings at PISTONS (late): Sacramento enters the matchup with Detroit after losing nine in a row. The Pistons are 6-8 in home games. The Kings are 5-9 in road games. The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

Jazz at HEAT (late): Miami will look to keep its four-game win streak alive when the Heat take on Utah. The Jazz won 112-94 in the last matchup on Feb. 13. Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 26 points, and Kendrick Nunn led Miami with 23.

Suns at BULLS (late): Chicago comes into a matchup with Phoenix as winners of three straight games. The Bulls have gone 7-9 at home. The Suns are 9-5 on

the road. The Bulls and Suns match up Friday for the first time this season.

Clippers at GRIZZLIES (late): Memphis faces Los Angeles in a matchup of Western Conference teams. The Grizzlies are 7-9 in Western Conference games. The Clippers are 13-7 in conference matchups. The teams square off for the second game in a row.

Hawks at THUNDER (late): Oklahoma City hosts the Atlanta Hawks after Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 42 points in the Thunder’s 102-99 win over the Spurs on Wednesday. The matchup Friday is the first meeting this season between the two teams.

Hornets at WARRIORS (late): Stephen Curry and Golden State face Charlotte. The Hornets won 102-100 in the last matchup on Feb. 20. Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 36 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. led Golden State with 25 points.

Trail Blazers at LAKERS (late): Portland visits Los Angeles in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers defeated the Lakers 115-107 in their last meeting on Dec. 28. Damian Lillard led Portland with 31 points, and James paced Los Angeles scoring 29 points.

The return of Georgia Tech's live performance series this spring will look and feel entirely different from its pre-pandemic shows at the Ferst Center for the Arts. We won't see the advanced stage technology of the 2019 “Dökk” by Fuse*” — a mind-altering fantasia blending aerial dancing with multidimensional video projections and a mesmerizing score echoing emotions pulsating across the internet.

The setup for Georgia Tech Arts' new Skyline Series will be low-tech by comparison — folding chairs, sports turf and a metal truss stage backed by the college's vibrant Midtown cityscape. But audiences can expect a breath of fresh air.

Tech Arts' first outdoor series represents a different kind of innovation, and a mission reset to meet more fundamental human needs: Artists have made compelling work during the pandemic and need a venue. Audiences need a safe space where they can gather to enjoy the art.

Beginning March 26 and running through May 18, the series

will offer works that range from live music to contemporary dance, featuring Georgia Tech groups, some of Atlanta's most prominent dance troupes and internationally noted artists from outside of Georgia.

Highlights include guitarist Kaki King, Chanel Howard of Bill T. Jones/arnie Zane Company,

Atlanta Ballet, Dance Canvas and Immerseatl. Atlanta-based Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre will show part of a work in progress by New York-based choreographer Troy Schumacher as part of Terminus' newly formed partnership with Georgia Tech Arts.

The idea for the series sprang largely from students, said Aaron

Shackelford, director of Georgia Tech Arts, the office that handles arts integration on campus and programming at the Ferst Center for the Arts.

While Shackelford was dealing with pandemic-related postponements at the Ferst Center,

students continued to find ways to produce artwork despite being in a figurative campus lockdown. They often asked to use the theater for performances, but Shackelford had to turn them away. He knew the situation wasn’t unique to Georgia Tech — artists everywhere were creating compelling work in response to the turbulent times, but they had no venue in which to present them.

The turning point came late last summer after a university-wide COVID-19 surveillance program made inperson meetings possible. From the moment students emerged from their dorm rooms and lined up to see a Harry Potter movie at the Ferst Center, Shackelford recognized their hunger for shared artistic experiences.

Shackelford also took cues from The Atlanta Opera’s Molly Blank Big Tent Series, launched last fall. In early November, the idea for the Skyline Series landed while Shackelford was on a conference call with venue directors from across the University System of Georgia, discussing the dire need for safe gathering spaces. “I’m looking out my office window,” he said, “and it’s the parking deck.”

Hence, an outdoor stage will be built atop the Student Center parking garage, with 106 socially distanced pods designed to hold up to four individuals. A basic sound and lighting system won’t furnish the high-tech projections seen in “Dökk.” But audiences can still get their Fuse* fix with “AMYGDALA,” a multimedia installation on view April 5-30 on the Ferst Center’s Arts Plaza.

A driving goal, Shackelford said, is to “show what this post-pandemic world looks and feels like.” It’s about valuing passion, trust and human connections over perfectionism, said Shackelford, about cultivating wellness and wellbeing, and “being leaders in the recovery and the support that I think everyone needs.”

Tech Arts is still ironing out programming details, and a few dates are still open to interested performing groups. “It’s definitely a work in progress,” Shackelford said. “This really is innovation in action, and that’s terrifying and exciting and thrilling,” he said. “We’re problem-solving in real time.”

Performances will take place at the Student Center Parking Deck at 349 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta. Tickets go on sale March 8 at noon. For more information, call the Ferst Center Box Office at 404-894-9600 noon-5 p.m. Monday-friday. Also, you can email tickets@arts.gatech. edu, or visit arts.gatech.edu.

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JACK DEMPSEY/AP Wizards guard Bradley Beal, center, goes up for a shot against Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and forward Will Barton on Thursday in Denver. Beal finished with 33 points in the Wizards’ 112-110 victory.

COURTESY OF MARIA BARANOVA Georgia Tech Arts’ Skyline Series will feature portions of “What Problem?” -- choreographer Bill T. Jones’ exploration of belonging and isolation performed by Immerseatl artists in advance of the full work’s 2022 Atlanta premiere.

RICHARD CALMES/COURTESY OF DANCE CANVAS Longtime Georgia Tech Arts partner Dance Canvas will bring its choreographic showcase to the outdoor Skyline Series.

COURTESY OF KIM KENNEY Georgia Tech Arts’ Skyline Series will include Emma Guertin of Atlanta Ballet, one of several local dance companies offering their first live performances since the COVID-19 pandemic began last spring.