Howard hopes to rebound after resting
Lines of the weekend
Phoenix Suns C Marcin Gortat: 20 points (10-for-15 shooting), 15 rebounds and two blocked shots in a 112-105 win Friday vs. the Houston Rockets.
Indiana Pacers C Roy Hibbert: 23 points (7-for-14 shooting), 14 rebounds and two assists in a 105-99 win Saturday vs. the Milwaukee Bucks.
Oklahoma City Thunder F Kevin Durant: 43 points (15-for-23 shooting), seven rebounds and a blocked shot in a 115-110 win Saturday vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. Best games this week
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, TNT): The Knicks have a shot at jumping the slumping Orlando Magic and taking sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks then could avoid a first-round matchup vs. the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls and instead get the No. 3 Pacers, who have lost two of three to New York.
Bulls at Heat, Thursday (8 p.m. ET, TNT): The Bulls lead the season series 2-1 in a possible Eastern Conference finals preview. The Heat had lost their last three games vs. teams with winning records before beating the Knicks on Sunday.
Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers, Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC): The Thunder have won both meetings easily and will need this to help stay ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers, who have been missing Kobe Bryant because of a shin injury, are in danger of losing ground to the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division race.
Big-time injuries
Magic C Dwight Howard: The NBA’S rebounding leader likely will rest his herniated disk for the remainder of the regular season, and his availability for the playoffs is no certainty.
Timberwolves F Kevin Love: The league’s double-double leader was still showing symptoms from the concussion suffered in Wednesday’s loss at the Den- ver Nuggets. “We’d like to see him come back for whatever he can play,” coach Rick Adelman said Saturday. “But the doctors, the trainers and Kevin himself will be the ones who finally make that decision.”
Toronto Raptors C Andrea Bargnani: The team’s leading scorer at 19.5 points a game will miss the rest of the season because of a left calf injury suffered in a loss April 8 at the Thunder. Bargnani has been bothered for much of the regular season by a left calf strain and left calf tightness.
Back from injured list
New Orleans Hornets G Eric Gordon: In the five games since he has returned from a right knee injury he suffered Jan. 4, Gordon has averaged 19.8 points and 3.4 assists as the Hornets have gone 4-1 with victories against the Utah Jazz, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies.
Grizzlies G Tony Allen: Returning from a mouth laceration that had kept him out since April 4, Allen had six points in 24 minutes Saturday in a win vs. the Jazz and followed that with four in 26 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Hornets.
Suns F Grant Hill: Phoenix is 1-1 since Hill returned after having right knee surgery at the end of March.
Under-the-radar rookies
Detroit Pistons G Brandon Knight: Knight is averaging 12.8 points, second best among first-year players, to go along with 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds. He had 20-plus points in his previous two games before scoring 13 Sunday against the Bulls.
Golden State Warriors G Klay Thompson: When the Warriors traded guard Monta Ellis last month, it opened up time for Thompson, who has started 22 games. He is averaging 11.5 points and 2.2 rebounds and has reached double figures in scoring in his last seven games. His season high is 31 points.
Spurs F Kawhi Leonard: Leonard is averaging 7.9 points, but coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t start just any rookie. An underrated three-point shooter (38%), Leonard is the Spurs’ best perimeter defender on a team that could win the Western Conference.