Six of the last seven games between the Nets and Blazers have been decided by four points or less.
Blazers (34-28) at Nets (42-20)
8 p.m. ET, NBA TV
• Brooklyn won the first meeting of the season against Portland, 116-112 on March 23, in a game that featured James Harden and no Kevin Durant nor Kyrie Irving. Friday’s game will be the opposite as Harden remains out (hamstring), but Irving and Durant are healthy. In 571 minutes with both Durant and Irving on the court together this season, the Nets have outscored their opponents by 137 points with an offensive rating of 121.4 points per 100 possessions.
• Both teams enter Friday looking to extend win streaks. The Nets have won four straight games with Durant (30.7 ppg on 63.5% shooting) and Irving (19.3 ppg, 9.0 apg) both appearing in three of those four games. The Blazers have won two in a row to bounce back after dropping five straight and seven of their previous eight games. Portland got 23 ppg apiece from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in road wins over Indiana and Memphis to help the Blazers stay in contention for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the West.
• Damian Lillard leads the NBA in clutch scoring (148 points) by a 30-point margin over second-ranked DeMar DeRozan of San Antonio. The Blazers have outscored their opponents by 84 points in Lillard’s 116 clutch minutes with Portland going 20-11 in those clutch games. With James Harden (98 points) out, Kyrie Irving is Brooklyn’s top clutch scorer with 89 points this season (14th in NBA). The Nets are 18-7 in Irving’s clutch games, outscoring opponents by 58 points in Irving’s 90 minutes.
• Damian Lillard and Kyrie Irving have faced one another 10 times in the regular season with Lillard holding a 6-4 edge over Irving. Lillard has averaged 28.4 points on 46.4%-44%-92.5% shooting splits, while Irving has averaged 25.7 on 42.7%-42.5%-97.1% in their head-to-head matchups.
• The Nets enter Friday with the second-best home record in the NBA (25-7) and have won three straight and 12 of their last 13 games at Barclays Center. The Blazers have the fourth-best road record in the league (18-12) and have won three of their last four games away from home.
Kyle Kuzma has posted his top two scoring games of the season (30 points and 25 points) against Sacramento.
Kings (25-37) at Lakers (36-26)
10:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
• Kyle Kuzma has averaged a team-high 27.5 points on 55.3% shooting in two games against the Kings this season. It is Kuzma’s highest scoring average against any opponent this season.
• Anthony Davis continues to return to form after missing over two months of action. In his first two games back, he averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks while shooting 24.1% (7-29) from the field in 22.5 minutes per game. In his last two games, he averaged 22 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks while shooting 51.4% (18-35) from the field in 31.2 minutes per game.
• After missing the past six weeks with a broken hand, Marvin Bagley is set to make his return for the Kings tonight. Bagley is averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game while appearing in 37 of Sacramento’s 62 games. In Sacramento’s 123-120 win over the Lakers on March 3, Bagley had 14 points (7-10 FG) and five rebounds in 29 minutes.
• De’Aaron Fox — Sacramento’s leading scorer (25.2 ppg, 15th in NBA) and playmaker (7.2 apg, 12th in NBA) — will miss his fourth straight game due to health and safety protocols. The Kings are 1-2 since he last played on April 21, with Harrison Barnes leading the team in scoring (21 ppg) and rookie Tyrese Haliburton leading the way in assists (8.7 apg).
• This game features two of the most efficient big men as Sacramento’s Richaun Holmes (14.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg) ranks second in the NBA in field goal percentage (64.3%) and Los Angeles’ Montrezl Harrell (14.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg) ranks fifth at 62.5%.
