The 76ers head to MSG Friday to face the Knicks.
Week 9 features 40 regular-season games and one Emirates NBA Cup Championship Game. We’ve got one key game to lock in on for all 30 NBA teams.
Eastern Conference
Atlanta Hawks
- Schedule: Thursday at Hornets, Friday vs. Spurs, Sunday vs. Bulls
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Hornets – Jalen Johnson looks to extend his triple-double streak to five consecutive games as the Hawks go for a sixth straight win against Charlotte.
Boston Celtics
- Schedule: Monday vs. Pistons (Peacock), Friday vs. Heat, Saturday at Raptors
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Pistons (Peacock) – This matchup between the first- and third-place teams in the East has added intrigue after Boston won the last meeting on Nov. 26, snapping Detroit’s 13-game win streak.
Brooklyn Nets
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Heat, Sunday vs. Raptors
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Heat – After opening the season 3-16, the Nets have won four of their last six games – including a franchise-tying 45-point margin of victory over Milwaukee on Sunday – and will look to keep this momentum going when they host Miami.
Charlotte Hornets
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Hawks, Saturday at Pistons (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Hawks – Coming off a clutch overtime win over Cleveland on Sunday, the Hornets face a Hawks team that held off Charlotte in the clutch for a 3-point win in their first meeting on Nov. 23 in Atlanta. In that game, Kon Knueppel hit a career-high – and Hornets rookie record – seven 3-pointers.
Chicago Bulls
- Schedule: Wednesday vs. Cavs, Friday at Cavs, Sunday at Hawks
- Game To Watch: Wednesday vs. Cavs – The Bulls open the week with a home-and-home set against Cleveland, a team that has beaten Chicago five straight and 12 of their last 13 meetings. Can the Bulls end that run of Cavs dominance, and help spark a return to their early-season form after starting 6–1 and going 4–14 since?
Cleveland Cavaliers
- Schedule: Wednesday at Bulls, Friday vs. Bulls
- Game To Watch: Wednesday at Bulls – The other side of that home-and-home set is the Cavs, who are coming off an overtime loss to Charlotte that saw Cleveland become the first team in a decade to go scoreless in an overtime session. Can a win over the Bulls – a team the Cavs have dominated over the past three seasons – get them back on track?
Detroit Pistons
- Schedule: Monday at Celtics (Peacock), Thursday at Mavs, Saturday vs. Hornets (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Monday at Celtics (Peacock) – The motivation is simple: the Celtics are the team that ended Detroit’s franchise-record-tying 13-game win streak. The Pistons are 5-2 since that loss and enter Week 9 riding a new three-game win streak that they’ll try to extend against Boston.
Indiana Pacers
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Knicks, Saturday at Pelicans
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Knicks – We’ll have to wait until Tuesday to see whether this matchup features the reigning Emirates NBA Cup champion Knicks. Either way, this rivalry always delivers. This is their first meeting since Indy ended New York’s season in Game 6 of the 2025 East Finals back in May. It’s Indy’s third chance to get coach Rick Carlisle his 1,000th career win – a milestone reached by only 10 head coaches in NBA history.
Miami Heat
- Schedule: Monday vs. Raptors, Thursday at Nets, Friday at Celtics, Sunday at Knicks
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Raptors – Both teams enter Week 9 riding four-game losing streaks, and one will snap that skid in Miami. A key factor will be pace: the Heat lead the NBA at 105.3 possessions per 48 minutes, while Toronto ranks 21st and sits seventh in fewest points allowed.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Raptors, Sunday at Wolves
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Raptors – In Sunday’s loss in Brooklyn, the Bucks were held to 82 points, their lowest scoring output in more than seven years. Can they bounce back against a Raptors team that won their first meeting of the season 128-100 on Nov. 4?
New York Knicks
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Spurs (Cup Final, Prime), Thursday at Pacers, Friday vs. Sixers, Sunday vs. Heat
- Game To Watch: Tuesday vs. Spurs (Cup Final, Prime) – The Knicks have reached the Knockout Round all three years of the NBA’s in-season competition. After falling in the quarterfinals in 2023 and 2024, they’ve broken through to the championship game in 2025, entering Tuesday’s matchup on a five-game winning streak and having won nine of their last 10.
Orlando Magic
- Schedule: Thursday at Nuggets, Saturday at Jazz
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Nuggets – After a tough draw in the NBA Cup semifinals, the Magic now head to Denver to face Nikola Jokić and company. The Nuggets swept last season’s series, with Jokić averaging 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists while shooting 72% from the field.
Philadelphia 76ers
- Schedule: Friday at Knicks (Prime), Saturday vs. Mavs
- Game To Watch: Friday at Knicks (Prime) – The Sixers are off until Friday, when they visit the NBA Cup finalist Knicks. Will that be enough time for Tyrese Maxey (illness) to recover and join Paul George (coming off his highest-scoring game as a Sixers with 35 points), Joel Embiid (who’s played 30+ minutes in three straight games), and rookie VJ Edgecombe (who’s coming off a 26-point game) in the lineup? That foursome has played only 11 minutes together all season.
Toronto Raptors
- Schedule: Monday at Heat, Thursday at Bucks, Saturday vs. Celtics, Sunday at Nets
- Game To Watch: Saturday vs. Celtics – In the Raptors’ only home game remaining before Christmas, can they give their fans a holiday win against Boston? Boston held off Toronto in their first meeting on Dec. 7, a game in which Brandon Ingram and Jaylen Brown delivered dueling 30-point performances.
Washington Wizards
- Schedule: Thursday at Spurs, Saturday at Grizzlies, Sunday vs. Spurs
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Spurs – After a 1-15 start to the season, the Wizards have gone 3-5 in their last eight games. That momentum will face a tall task this week with two games against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.
Western Conference
The Warriors will Visit the Suns Thursday at look to protect home with the Suns visiting Saturday.
Dallas Mavericks
- Schedule: Monday at Jazz, Thursday vs. Pistons, Saturday at Sixers
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Sixers – No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and No. 3 pick VJ Edgecombe meet for the first time as pros when the Mavs visit Philadelphia to close out Week 9. Who will win this rookie showdown?
Denver Nuggets
- Schedule: Monday vs. Rockets (Peacock), Thursday vs. Magic, Saturday vs. Rockets (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Rockets (Peacock) – It’s a clash of No. 2 vs. No. 3 in the West when the Nuggets (18-6) host the Rockets (16-6) to open Week 9. Denver enters this matchup seeking its fifth straight win overall and fourth straight against Houston. That includes their first matchup this season on Nov. 21 in Houston, when Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray combined for 60 points to hold off the Rockets.
Golden State Warriors
- Schedule: Thursday at Suns, Saturday vs. Suns
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Suns – It was either the Suns or … the Suns for this week’s spotlight game for the Warriors. Let’s go with Thursday, which will serve as the follow-up game for Steph Curry after his 48-point game with a season-high 12 3-pointers on Sunday in Portland. After missing five games, Curry has scored 39 and 48 points in his first two games back, but both have come in losses. Will the third time be the charm?
Houston Rockets
- Schedule: Monday at Nuggets (Peacock), Thursday at Pelicans, Saturday at Nuggets (NBA TV), Sunday at Kings
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Nuggets (NBA TV) – The Rockets and Nuggets face off twice this week, which could decide the season series as Denver enters with a 1-0 lead. It feels early to discuss potential tiebreakers before Christmas, but remember that last season featured a three-way tie for the Nos. 3-5 seeds in the Western Conference. Head-to-head games carry added importance for playoff-bound teams – even those played in December.
LA Clippers
- Schedule: Monday vs. Grizzlies, Thursday at Thunder (NBA TV), Saturday vs. Lakers (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Thursday at Thunder (NBA TV) – As the Clippers look to turn their season around – they have dropped three straight and eight of their last 10 – the schedule does not get any easier. Case in point: Thursday’s game at OKC. The Thunder have won six straight against the Clippers overall and eight straight at home, a run that dates back to 2020. Can a strong showing against the defending champs be the spark the Clippers need?
Los Angeles Lakers
- Schedule: Thursday at Jazz, Saturday at Clippers (NBA TV)
- Game To Watch: Saturday at Clippers (NBA TV) – This will be the sixth and final Battle of Los Angeles in the 2025 calendar year. It’s been a year the Lakers have dominated in the intra-city matchup, holding a 4-1 record with the last four head-to-head wins. Can the Lakers make it five straight against their fellow L.A. hoopers?
Memphis Grizzlies
- Schedule: Monday at Clippers, Wednesday at Wolves (NBA TV), Saturday vs. Wizards
- Game To Watch: Wednesday at Wolves (NBA TV) –
- After a 1-9 stretch had the Grizzlies just 4-11 in mid-November, Memphis has flipped the script, going 7-3 in its last 10 games to climb into the top 10 in the West. Can the Grizzlies carry that momentum into their first matchup of the season with the Timberwolves – another team they are chasing in the standings?
Minnesota Timberwolves
- Schedule: Wednesday vs. Grizzlies (NBA TV), Friday vs. Thunder (Prime), Sunday vs. Bucks
- Game To Watch: Friday vs. Thunder (Prime) –
- It’s a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Finals, which OKC won in five games and followed up by winning the first regular-season meeting of 2025-26 on Nov. 26. That game featured a duel between All-Star guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (40 pts) and Anthony Edwards (31 pts), but the reigning MVP prevailed.
New Orleans Pelicans
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Rockets, Saturday vs. Pacers
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Rockets – The Pelicans are coming off double-digit wins over the Blazers and Bulls and are seeking their first three-game win streak of the season when they host Houston. However, the Rockets swept last season’s series and enter this matchup seeking a fifth straight win against New Orleans.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Clippers (NBA TV), Friday at Wolves (Prime)
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Clippers (NBA TV) – The first time the Thunder lost this season (Nov. 5 at Portland), they responded with a franchise-record 16-game win streak, which was just snapped in the NBA Cup Semifinals. How will the defending champs respond to their latest taste of adversity? We’ll get our first answer Thursday night when they host the Clippers.
Phoenix Suns
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Warriors, Saturday at Warriors
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Warriors – The Suns host the Warriors in the opening game of a home-and-home set between the division rivals. In their first meeting of the season (Nov. 4 in the Bay Area), Devin Booker (38 pts) won the head-to-head duel with Steph Curry (28 pts), but it was Golden State that earned the 118-107 win behind a 63-19 advantage in bench scoring.
Portland Trail Blazers
- Schedule: Thursday vs. Kings, Saturday at Kings
- Game To Watch: Thursday vs. Kings – It’s fitting that this home-and-home set comes around the holidays, as it brings together twin brothers Keegan (Kings) and Kris (Blazers) Murray. So far, Keegan holds a 4-3 edge over his “older” brother Kris (by a few minutes). Who will be ahead by week’s end?
Sacramento Kings
- Schedule: Thursday at Blazers, Saturday vs. Blazers, Sunday vs. Rockets
- Game To Watch: Sunday vs. Rockets – Between the regular season and playoffs combined, former teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are 11-11 against one another. Westbrook holds a 10-7 edge in regular season matchups, while Durant is up 4-1 in the postseason. Who will lead their personal series after this matchup in Sacramento?
San Antonio Spurs
- Schedule: Tuesday vs. Knicks (Cup Final, Prime), Thursday vs. Wizards, Friday at Hawks, Sunday at Wizards
- Game To Watch: Tuesday vs. Knicks (Cup Final, Prime) – The Spurs made a loud statement Saturday, knocking off the 24-1 Thunder to eliminate the defending champions in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals. Now they get a chance to make another statement, when they clash with the Knicks to decide who takes home the NBA Cup. While this game won’t count toward the standings, it could carry significant weight for a young team looking to break through this season.
Utah Jazz
- Schedule: Monday vs. Mavs, Thursday vs. Lakers, Saturday vs. Magic
- Game To Watch: Monday vs. Mavs – It’s another clash between top-five 2025 Draft picks, as No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and the Mavs when they visit No. 5 pick Ace Bailey and the Jazz for their first meeting of the season.
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Brian Martin has covered the NBA and WNBA for more than 15 years. You can e-mail him here and follow him on X.
