Basketball

New Orleans Pelicans (27-21, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (10-38, 15th in the Western Conference) San Antonio; Friday, 8 p.m.

Miami Heat (25-23, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Washington Wizards (9-38, 14th in the Eastern Conference) Washington; Friday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Washington aims to break its nine-game home slide with a win against Miami.

Orlando Magic (25-23, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (34-14, first in the Western Conference) Minneapolis; Friday, 8 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando Magic visit the Minnesota Timberwolves in non-conference play.

Portland Trail Blazers (15-33, 14th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (33-16, fourth in the Western Conference) Denver; Friday, 9 p.m.

Charlotte Hornets (10-36, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-15, second in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Friday, 8 p.m.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Anfernee Simons scored 24 points, including making a floater with 17.1 seconds left, and the Trail Blazers spoiled Damian Lillard’s return to Portland with a 119-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant was cheered before the game, then booed when it started. His return to Brooklyn was on track be a noisy one, until he and the Phoenix Suns took the crowd out of the game with some relentless offense.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets 105-100 on Wednesday night in a matchup of teams near the top of the Western Conference standings.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and nine rebounds for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 121-87 victory over the depleted Dallas Mavericks , who played Wednesday night without stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 25 points, Franz Wagner added 20 and the Orlando Magic held on to beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-98 on Wednesday night.