Paul George will again receive a harsh greeting as he returns to Indiana for the second time when the Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Pacers on Thursday. George was a four-time All-Star in seven seasons with Indiana before being traded in July 2017 in a deal that brought guard Victor Oladipo to the Pacers.

The Orlando Magic need a quick turnaround if they want to end a six-season playoff drought. The Magic have dropped four of their last five games as they enter Thursday's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first contest of a five-game homestand.

The chance to end a promising road trip with a four-game sweep ended with a thud on Monday, but the Boston Celtics return home feeling good about themselves as they get set for the final homestand of the regular season. The Celtics will open that three-game set by hosting the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

The Toronto Raptors dominated the first two games of their road trip but closed the three-game set out in an ugly loss at Cleveland marred by a fighting incident involving forward Serge Ibaka. Ibaka will not be available when the Raptors attempt to bounce back against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

The Utah Jazz look to take another step toward securing a postseason berth when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. The Jazz are in a virtual tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers by posting a 114-97 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The Denver Nuggets are trying to take advantage of every home game on the schedule as they hunt the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets will try to improve the best home record in the West to 29-6 when they host the stumbling Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.