Jayson Tatum’s return to the lineup continues in Week 21 with a key showdown against the Spurs.
The stretch run continues in Week 21 with a total of 53 games around the league, including these must-see matchups for all 30 teams.
All games on NBA League Pass unless otherwise noted.
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Hawks
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Mavericks, Thursday vs. Nets, Saturday vs. Bucks
- Game To Watch: Tuesday vs. Mavericks: The Hawks enter Week 21 as the hottest team in the East, having won six straight games. A win over Dallas on Tuesday would give Atlanta its first seven-game win streak since the 2021-22 season.
Boston Celtics
- Schedule: Tuesday at Spurs (NBC/Peacock), Thursday at Thunder (Prime Video), Saturday vs. Wizards (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Tuesday at Spurs (NBC/Peacock): The Celtics are 2-0 since Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup on Friday after missing 10 months while recovering from a torn Achilles. Can they keep that momentum going when they visit a Spurs team that has won 15 of its last 16 games?
Brooklyn Nets
- Schedule: Monday vs. Grizzlies, Tuesday vs. Pistons, Thursday at Hawks, Saturday at 76ers
- Game To Watch: Tuesday vs. Pistons: On Saturday night in Detroit, the Nets stunned the East-leading Pistons by rallying from 23 points down to earn a 107-105 win. Can the Nets repeat that feat when they host the Pistons on Tuesday in Brooklyn?
Charlotte Hornets
- Schedule: Tuesday at Trail Blazers, Wednesday at Kings, Saturday at Spurs (Prime Video)
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Spurs (Prime Video): Two of the league’s best teams since the calendar flipped to 2026 — the Spurs own the best record (23-8), while the Hornets have the best point differential (+10.1) — meet for the final time this regular season. One of San Antonio’s eight losses since Jan. 1 came against the Hornets; can Charlotte sweep the season series?
Chicago Bulls
- Schedule: Tuesday at Warriors, Thursday at Lakers, Friday at Clippers
- Game To Watch: Friday at Clippers: The Bulls have appeared in the last three SoFi NBA Play-In Tournaments. If they hope to do so again, the No. 12 seed in the East will need to start stacking wins. Chicago concludes a five-game West Coast road trip in L.A. to face the Clippers – the team that Chicago owns its largest win of the season against (+28 on Jan. 20).
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Schedule: Monday vs. 76ers, Wednesday at Magic (ESPN), Friday at Mavericks (Prime Video), Sunday vs. Mavericks (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Wednesday at Magic (ESPN): A clash between two teams battling for playoff position in the East — Cleveland enters Week 21 at No. 4, Orlando at No. 6 — the Cavs can clinch the season series (and the head-to-head tiebreaker) over the Magic with a win on Wednesday.
Detroit Pistons
- Schedule: Tuesday at Nets, Thursday vs. 76ers (Prime Video), Friday vs. Grizzlies, Sunday at Raptors
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. 76ers (Prime Video): The Pistons have held the No. 1 seed in the East since Nov. 7, but they enter Week 21 on a four-game skid that has trimmed their lead to 2.5 games. As the Pistons look to get back on track, they’ll host a Sixers squad on Thursday. Detroit leads the season series 2-0, but single digits decided both games.
Indiana Pacers
- Schedule: Tuesday at Kings, Thursday vs. Suns, Friday vs. Knicks, Sunday at Bucks
- Game To Watch: Friday vs. Knicks: While Indiana is likely headed to the lottery rather than the playoffs, this rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals gives the Pacers a chance to play spoiler to their longtime rivals’ playoff positioning battle. The teams split their first two matchups this season, with both decided by three points or less.
Miami Heat
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Wizards, Thursday vs. Bucks, Saturday vs. Magic
- Game To Watch: Saturday vs. Magic: Entering Week 21, only .002 in win percentage separates No. 6 Orlando (35-28) and No. 7 Miami (36-29) as the two Florida squads sit on the playoff/Play-In line. While the Magic have already locked up the season series (4-0), the Heat can use this fifth and final regular-season meeting to gain ground in the standings.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Suns, Thursday at Heat, Saturday at Hawks, Sunday vs. Pacers
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Hawks: Milwaukee opens Week 21 as the first team out of the East Play-In field. Sitting at No. 11, the Bucks will visit both the No. 7 Heat and the No. 9 Hawks this week – two of the teams they are chasing in the Play-In race – with a chance to clinch both season series with a win (each series is tied 1-1 entering the final regular-season meeting).
New York Knicks
- Schedule: Monday at Clippers (Peacock), Wednesday at Jazz, Friday at Pacers, Sunday vs. Warriors (NBC/Peacock)
- Game To Watch: Sunday vs. Warriors (NBC/Peacock): After playing nine of 11 games on the road, the Knicks will return home to host the Warriors at Madison Square Garden. Whether that means facing Stephen Curry (knee) remains unknown, as the legendary shooter is set to be reevaluated on March 11.
Orlando Magic
- Schedule: Wednesday vs. Cavaliers (ESPN), Thursday vs. Wizards, Saturday at Heat
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Heat: After splitting their season series a season ago (2-2), the Magic have a chance to sweep the Heat with a win in Miami (5-0). Both teams enter Week 21 on a hot streak – four straight wins for Orlando, five straight for Miami – as they battle for a top-six finish in the East.
Philadelphia 76ers
- Schedule: Monday at Cavaliers, Tuesday vs. Grizzlies, Thursday at Pistons (Prime Video), Saturday vs. Nets, Sunday vs. Trail Blazers
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Pistons (Prime Video): No team is busier than the Sixers this week as they have a massive five-game slate on tap. That includes a visit to Detroit, where the Sixers seek their first win against the East-leading Pistons.
Toronto Raptors
- Schedule: Tuesday at Rockets, Wednesday at Pelicans, Friday vs. Suns, Sunday vs. Pistons
- Game To Watch: Sunday vs. Pistons: A season ago, it was Detroit that snapped a playoff drought that dated back to 2018-19. This season, Toronto looks to snap a three-year playoff drought of its own. A matchup with the conference-leading Pistons will act as a barometer of Toronto’s playoff readiness.
Washington Wizards
- Schedule: Tuesday at Heat, Thursday at Magic, Saturday at Celtics (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Celtics (NBA TV): After opening the week in Florida with matchups against the Heat and Magic, the Wizards head to Boston to take on Jayson Tatum and the new-look Celtics.
Western Conference
A win against the Knicks on Monday would allow Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers to get back to .500.
Dallas Mavericks
- Schedule: Tuesday at Hawks, Thursday at Grizzlies, Friday vs. Cavaliers (Prime Video), Sunday at Cavaliers (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Friday vs. Cavaliers (Prime Video): This week, the Mavs have two chances to do something they have not done since March 30, 2022: beat the Cavs. Cleveland has swept each of the past three season series with Dallas. Can the Mavs return the favor with this week’s home-and-home set?
Denver Nuggets
- Schedule: Monday at Thunder (Peacock), Wednesday vs. Rockets (ESPN), Thursday at Spurs, Saturday at Lakers (ABC)
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Lakers (ABC): The No. 6 Nuggets have an important week ahead of them, facing four of the five teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. It concludes with a rubber match against the Lakers in L.A. that will determine the head-to-head tiebreaker between the two teams entering Week 21 with matching 35-29 records.
Golden State Warriors
- Schedule: Monday at Jazz, Tuesday vs. Bulls, Friday vs. Timberwolves (Prime Video), Sunday at Knicks (NBC/Peacock)
- Game To Watch: Sunday at Knicks (NBC/Peacock): On March 1, the Warriors announced that Stephen Curry would be reevaluated in 10 days as he continues to be sidelined by a knee injury. Come Wednesday, will Curry be cleared to return to the court in time for Golden State’s annual trip to Madison Square Garden?
Houston Rockets
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Raptors, Wednesday at Nuggets (ESPN), Friday vs. Pelicans
- Game To Watch: Wednesday at Nuggets (ESPN): The Rockets enter Week 21 with a half-game lead on the Nuggets in the West playoff race, which makes their final regular-season meeting on Wednesday that much more important. A Houston win would even the season series 2-2, while a loss would give the head-to-head tiebreaker to Denver.
LA Clippers
- Schedule: Monday vs. Knicks (Peacock), Wednesday vs. Timberwolves, Friday vs. Bulls, Saturday vs. Kings (ESPN)
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Knicks (Peacock): After opening the season 6-21, the Clippers began one of the biggest in-season turnarounds in league history. They have gone 25-11 since, and a win over the Knicks on Monday would bring LA back to .500 (32-32) for the first time since Nov. 3 when the team was 3-3.
Los Angeles Lakers
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Timberwolves (NBC/Peacock), Thursday vs. Bulls, Saturday vs. Nuggets (ABC)
- Game To Watch: Saturday vs. Nuggets (ABC): The Lakers already own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Minnesota (leading 2-0 entering Tuesday’s final regular-season matchup), and they can clinch the tiebreaker with Denver with a win on Saturday when Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets visit L.A.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Schedule: Monday at Nets, Tuesday at 76ers, Thursday vs. Mavericks, Friday at Pistons
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Mavericks: It is a matchup between two of the top four rookie scorers in the league – Dallas’ Cooper Flagg (20.2) and Memphis’ Cedric Coward (13.4) – as both look to lock up a spot on this year’s All-Rookie Team.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Schedule: Tuesday at Lakers (NBC/Peacock), Wednesday at Clippers, Friday at Warriors (Prime Video), Sunday at Thunder (ABC)
- Game To Watch: Sunday at Thunder (ABC): This rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals gets the Sunday afternoon spotlight on ABC as Anthony Edwards and the No. 3 Wolves head to OKC to face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the top-seeded Thunder for the fourth and final time this regular season. Minnesota leads the season series 2-1 and can clinch it with a win on Sunday.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Schedule: Wednesday vs. Raptors, Friday at Rockets
- Game To Watch: Friday at Rockets: While these teams may be separated by 18 wins and nine spots in the West standings, their first two matchups have each been decided by single digits, including a New Orleans overtime win. Is another close finish in store on Friday in Houston?
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Schedule: Monday vs. Nuggets (Peacock), Thursday vs. Celtics (Prime Video), Sunday vs. Timberwolves (ABC)
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Celtics (Prime Video): Two more 20-point games. That is all that separates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from history, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain’s record streak of 126 consecutive games with 20 points or more. Gilgeous-Alexander enters Week 21 with 125 in a row. He can tie Chamberlain on Monday against Denver and potentially break the record on Thursday at home against Boston.
Phoenix Suns
- Schedule: Tuesday at Bucks, Thursday at Pacers, Friday at Raptors
- Game To Watch: Tuesday at Bucks: The Suns open Week 21 sitting just two games back of both the Nuggets and Lakers for a top-six spot (which comes with a guaranteed playoff berth) in the Western Conference. Having won two in a row at home, the Suns now embark on a six-game road trip, beginning in Milwaukee on Tuesday, looking to build on that momentum.
Portland Trail Blazers
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Hornets, Friday vs. Jazz, Sunday at 76ers
- Game To Watch: Tuesday vs. Hornets: The Blazers and Hornets enter Week 21 holding the No. 10 spot in the SoFi Play-In field in their respective conferences. As No. 10 seeds, they would need to win two road games to secure a playoff berth through the Play-In. That’s why both are looking to climb for at least a top-eight finish, where only one win is needed to reach the playoffs.
Sacramento Kings
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Pacers, Wednesday vs. Hornets, Saturday at Clippers (ESPN), Sunday vs. Jazz
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Clippers (ESPN): Going back to their 176-175 double-overtime classic in 2023, five of the last 12 meetings between the Kings and Clippers have been decided by three points or less – including four by a single point. Will this game also go down to the wire? A Kings win would snap a six-game skid to the Clippers.
San Antonio Spurs
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Celtics (NBC/Peacock), Thursday vs. Nuggets, Saturday vs. Hornets (Prime Video)
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Nuggets: Fire up League Pass for this must-see matchup between two of the most unique centers in the game – San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Denver’s Nikola Jokić. Enough said.
Utah Jazz
- Schedule: Monday vs. Warriors, Wednesday vs. Knicks, Friday at Trail Blazers, Sunday at Kings
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Warriors: While Utah’s chances of breaking into the postseason picture are slim, this week they face three teams desperately looking to improve their standing. Can the Jazz play spoiler when they take on the Warriors, Knicks and Blazers this week?
