Rev up those engines – the Playoff push hits full throttle tonight.
NBA action returns with 10 games, headlined by a Prime doubleheader that begins with a top-3 East duel.
- Pistons at Knicks (7:30 ET | Tap to Watch)
- Celtics at Warriors (10 ET | Tap to Watch)
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Feb. 19, 2026
What’s Trending – The Stretch Run: What you need to know before the final postseason push begins
What’s Trending – Power Rankings: Schuhmann’s top teams entering the season’s 2nd half
Tonight On Prime: East beasts clash in Playoff rematch, surging C’s visit Dubs
League Pass Spotlight: Wemby’s influence takes hold as streaking Spurs host Suns
More On League Pass: Clippers, Hornets & Cavs look to resume red-hot play
BUT FIRST … ⏰
We’re back…
The second half of the season opens with 10 games, including a Prime doubleheader as the East-leading Pistons visit the Knicks (7:30 ET), before the Warriors host the Celtics (10 ET).
ICYMI: 12-time All-Star Chris Paul, who ranks 2nd in both all-time assists and steals, announced his retirement last Friday after 21 NBA seasons. Tap for some of the best work from the Point God.
Mark Your Calendar: See more key dates below as teams gear up for the final postseason push.
- April 12: Regular season ends (All 30 teams play)
- April 14-17: SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament
- April 18: NBA Playoffs begin
1. WHAT’S TRENDING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THE STRETCH RUN
Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Fifty-two days.
That is all that remains of the 2025-26 regular season – a little more than a month and a half for teams to secure their postseason plans.
- A guaranteed Playoff berth: Top six in each conference
- A chance to reach the Playoffs through the SoFi Play-In Tournament: Seeds 7-10 in each conference
Meanwhile, NBA All-Star 2026 in Los Angeles is officially in the books, punctuated by an electric 75th All-Star Game at Intuit Dome, featuring a new U.S. vs. World format.
- The Result? Three game-winners in four games, a Kawhi Leonard eruption in his home arena, a USA Stripes vs. World classic and an Ant Edwards MVP performance for the All-Star champion USA Stars
Now, the focus shifts to the final regular-season sprint.
Before tonight’s games tip off, let’s take a look at where things stand after the season’s first 120 days – along with Shaun Powell’s 10 storylines to watch down the stretch.
As the Playoff picture comes into focus, so do the league’s Kia MVP and Rookie of the Year races, with little separating the frontrunners on Powell and Steve Aschburner’s lists.
Kia MVP Race: The award’s reigning winner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has held the top spot on Powell’s Kia MVP Ladder for five straight weeks.
But Nikola Jokić is in hot pursuit, back from a 16-game absence and entering tonight’s game against the Clippers (10:30, League Pass) with four straight triple-doubles.
- Crowded Top 5: Right behind Jokić? The league’s leading scorer, Luka Dončić (32.8 ppg), a red-hot Victor Wembanyama and the East-leading Pistons’ engine, Cade Cunningham
Garrett Ellwood + Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images
Kia ROY Race: An ultra-talented rookie class has seen three names rise to the top of Aschburner’s Kia Rookie Ladder: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and VJ Edgecombe, respectively.
- Flagg Flying: Fresh off a historic heater, Flagg is on pace to be the first rookie since Michael Jordan (1984-85) to lead his team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals
- Kon Cooking: Pushing Flagg for the top spot is Knueppel – his former Duke teammate – who ranks 2nd in the NBA in made 3s (183) while shooting 43.1% from deep
- Philly’s Edge: Just behind the former Blue Devils, Edgecombe has flashed his two-way athleticism and is coming off an MVP performance in the Castrol Rising Stars showcase
Milestones To Watch: Beyond the award races, key benchmarks and historical numbers remain in play as the regular season winds down, headlined by Kevin Durant’s climb up the all-time scoring list.
- Durant needs 431 points to pass Michael Jordan (31,562) for No. 5 all-time
- LeBron James needs 15 games played to pass Robert Parish (1,611) for No. 1 all-time
- James needs 55 field goals to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15,837) for No. 1 all-time
- Steph Curry needs 50 points to pass Tim Duncan (26,496) for No. 18 all-time
2. WHAT’S TRENDING: SCHUHMANN’S TOP TEAMS ENTERING THE FINAL STRETCH
You’ve seen the standings, but how do the league’s elite stack up entering the season’s second half?
John Schuhmann’s latest Power Rankings offer a snapshot of the current landscape.
See one defining trend for each of his top five squads below:
Pistons: Detroit went into the All-Star break with a three-game winning streak, the league’s best record, and the best record (17-6) in games played between the 16 teams that are currently over .500.
Spurs: San Antonio has the league’s longest active winning streak (six games) and is just two games in the loss column behind OKC, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Thunder: The defending champs are the only team that ranks in the top five on both ends of the floor. They’ve outscored their opponents by 11.7 ppg, which would be the fifth-best mark in NBA history.
Knicks: New York has the league’s biggest home-road differentials in regard to winning percentage (21-7 vs. 13-13) and point differential per 100 possessions (plus-10.1 vs. plus-1.6).
Nuggets: Denver is the only team that ranks in the top 10 in field goal percentage in the paint (59.2%, 7th), mid-range field goal percentage (44.5%, 5th) and 3-point percentage (39.5%, 1st).
Rounding Out The Top 10: Celtics (6), Cavaliers (7), Rockets (8), Wolves (9), Suns (10).
For Schuhmann’s full Power Rankings and analysis, click here.
3. TONIGHT ON PRIME: PISTONS-KNICKS, CELTICS-WARRIORS
The Pistons were in a much different place at this time two seasons ago. Coming out of the All-Star break, they sat dead-last in the East with an 8-46 record.
Now, they not only enter the stretch run with the East’s top record, but also the best winning percentage in the NBA.
Tonight (7:30 ET, Prime), the Pistons take on the Knicks in a matchup with heavy Playoff implications, featuring the East’s 1st- and 3rd-place squads.
- Favorable History: In their two previous matchups this season, Detroit won, including a 38-point victory Feb. 6 that snapped an eight-game winning streak for New York
- Winning Formula: While Cade Cunningham fuels the offense, Detroit’s defense has forced 17.2 turnovers per 100 possessions – the highest rate for any team in the last six seasons
The Knicks have been on a roll of their own. They’ve claimed 10 of their last 12 contests, outscoring opponents by an average of 17.5 ppg.
- Secret Sauce: Defense has made the difference. From Jan. 21 through Feb. 11, New York’s 101.4 DefRtg ranked 1st in the Association
- Midseason Boost: The team also acquired Jose Alvarado before the trade deadline. In his first three outings, he’s averaged 14.0 ppg with 45.5% shooting from deep
- “There’s so many things you could say about him,” said Jalen Brunson on Alvarado. “But he works hard and wants to help the team win. That’s all he wants to do.”
Jaylen Brown returns to action following his fifth All-Star appearance and first as a starter. The rest of the Celtics will join him out West to face the Warriors tonight (10 ET, Prime).
- Feeling Lucky: Boston has produced the league’s No. 2 offense, and Brown has been at the forefront with career-high marks of 29.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game
- Recovery Road: Jayson Tatum has stressed he’s not sure if he’s coming back this season, though his rehab from last season’s Achilles injury hit a big milestone last week, when he practiced with the Maine Red Claws
- Potential Porziņģis Boost? On the other side, former Celtic Kristaps Porziņģis (questionable) could make his Warriors debut tonight following a trade from the Hawks
- “He’s a legitimate 3-pointer shooter and rim-protector. It’s tough to find that combination in one player,” said coach Steve Kerr. “We’ve never really had a player quite like him.”
4. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: WEMBY’S STREAKING SPURS HOST SUNS
“I’m excited to go back with my team.”
Victor Wembanyama had just paced the World Team on Sunday with a team-high 33 total points.
Yet the excitement surrounding San Antonio’s turnaround was top of mind post-game.
Having already won four more games than they did all of last season, the young Spurs sit just 3 games behind their rival Thunder atop the West.
Wemby’s shown time and time again — including during the All-Star Game — that he can bring the best out of everyone on the floor.
Now, he’ll look to bring his team to another level, as the Spurs look for their first postseason berth since 2019 and first Conference semifinals since 2017.
- “It’s a game I personally cherish, so being competitive is the least I can do,” Wemby said after his Team World performance
- “Wemby set the tone,” All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards said. “He came out playing hard, so it’s hard not to match that.”
- “The way he carries himself is fantastic for this game,” Jalen Brunson said of Wemby’s performance
As The Athletic’s Jared Weiss writes, Wemby’s influential All-Star Weekend ended up being about more than just in-game results:
“In the end, he played just as he promised, but didn’t win once Sunday … But he may have won something grander in scale.
… Wembanyama’s emergence as one of the faces of the league has come as much off the floor as on the hardwood. | Read More
Tonight on League Pass (8:30 ET), Wemby looks to lead the 2nd-place Spurs to their seventh straight win, hosting a Suns team rising into the Playoff picture.
5. MORE ON LEAGUE PASS: CLIPS, HORNETS & CAVS AIM TO STAY HOT
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
After successfully hosting the basketball world for All-Star Weekend, the Clippers look to continue their comeback story when play resumes tonight.
With the NBA’s best record dating back to Dec. 20 (20-7), LA returns home to Intuit Dome for the first time since Feb. 4.
Kawhi was there on Sunday though, showing the league’s best exactly how he’s helped bring the Clips back from the bottom of the standings, with an All-Star-high 37 total points.
Nuggets at Clippers (10:30 ET): Surging superstars Leonard and Nikola Jokić collide as the Clippers look to continue basketball excellence in LA.
- The Climb: In the Playoff picture as the No. 10 seed (26-28), LA looks to become the first-ever team to finish over .500 after a 6-21 start or worse
- Posting Up: Elevated offense and another 20+ triple-double season from Joker have the Nuggets in 3rd place in the crowded West, with just 1.5 games separating them from 6th place
Cooper Neill + Nick Cammett/NBAE via Getty Images
While LA has the NBA’s best record since Dec. 20, nobody’s currently hotter than the Hornets and Cavs, both winners of nine of their last ten games.
Rockets at Hornets (7 ET): Charlotte is 15-7 in 2026, tied for the most wins in the NBA since Jan. 1.
- Backcourt Buzz: The Hornets’ strong stretch has been fueled by offensive chemistry from LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and rookie total points leader Kon Knueppel (1,021 pts)
- Top-5 Test: Charlotte’s 2nd-ranked offense (119.5 OffRtg) in the New Year takes on a Houston defense that’s ranked top-5 for the season (112.0 DefRtg)
Nets at Cavaliers (7 ET): Amid a 10-1 overall run, the Cavs are winners of five straight, with a 3-0 mark since adding James Harden at the trade deadline.
- Double Clutch: Harden (19.3 ppg, 8.7 ast) has added the league’s most clutch points (13) in those three games, with Donovan Mitchell tied for the 3rd-most (10)
Four more games tip off on League Pass, including All-Star teammates Tyrese Maxey and Jalen Johnson facing off as the Sixers host the Hawks (7 ET).
- Pacers at Wizards (7 ET)
- Raptors at Bulls (8 ET)
- Magic at Kings (10 ET)
