NBA

UTA 122 WAS 112
DAL 114 ORL 115
BK 110 MIA 126
GS 115 HOU 113
CHI 105 PHO 103
LAL 113 DEN 120

NHL

TOR 2 NYR 6
UTA 3 PHI 0
BUF 5 PIT 1
FLA 2 CLB 4
TB 1  WIN 4
OTT 4 CGY 1
NYI 3 LA 5

MLB

MIN 15 NYY 0
BOS 2 PHI 6
HOU 0 MIA 2
LAD 13 CIN 14
OAK 16 LAA 11
CLE 12 CHW 3
TEX 15 KC 9

Soccer

Moscow 2 VS Tula 1
Plzen 0 VS Karvina 3
Igdir 0 VS Bodrumspor 0
Zurich 0 VS Basel 1
St Gallen 2 VS Thun 2
Crystal 3 VS Hotspur 1

The NBA All-Star break is behind us, and teams are back to work with a little under two months left in the regular season.

The race for the postseason is heating up in the East and the West, as the battle for the No. 1 seed remains highly contentious between the league's top teams.

In the East, the Detroit Pistons have reclaimed their "Bad Boys" reputation especially after their recent run-in with the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.

Could this be a preview of the NBA Finals?

The Spurs will first have to make it through the Western Conference gauntlet, as they are neck and neck with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who have held the No. 1 spot for a majority of the season.

However, things could catch up to the Thunder, who are without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and other stars from their championship roster because of injuries.

Check out where our NBA insiders ranked all 30 teams as they zero in on the end of the regular season.

Sunday afternoon was arguably the most impressive of the Thunder's 45 wins this season. They handled a hot Cleveland Cavaliers team despite missing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Ajay Mitchell. Their playoff ceiling is reliant on SGA returning from an oblique injury to MVP form and Williams finding his health, but those types of role player-led wins boost confidence. Isaiah Joe hit six 3s and had five steals while Cason Wallace had 20 points and 10 assists. Chet Holmgren put up 17 points, 15 rebounds and walled off the paint.

According to veteran Harrison Barnes, the Spurs entered the season with the goal of winning 40 games before 20 losses. Mission accomplished. San Antonio currently rides its longest winning streak of the season (nine games), coming off a victory Monday in Detroit against a physical Pistons squad. Opponents learned earlier in the season that they could use physicality to throw off star center Victor Wembanyama, but the 22-year-old has figured out workarounds for those tactics. The Spurs have won five games against teams with the NBA's best record (four against the Thunder and one against the Pistons).

Is there a difference in weight classes between the East and West, or was it a bad night for the Pistons on Monday when they lost to Wembanyama and the Spurs? The doubts about the Pistons' playoff ceiling came floating to the surface, as they shot just 19% from 3 in their second loss this month. Big man Isaiah Stewart has three more games remaining on a seven-game suspension, meaning he will miss showdowns with other potential postseason opponents: Oklahoma City and Cleveland.

Will shooter Kevin Huerter find some playing time? He hasn't played since the All-Star break, and if he can contribute, the Pistons certainly need more from beyond the arc as they are 22nd in the league in 3-point percentage.

Jaylen Brown might believe he deserves more recognition in the NBA's MVP race, but the facts say otherwise. In the history of my MVP straw poll, which dates to 2017, Brown had received only three fifth-place votes in his career before this season. Last week, he was unveiled in sixth place, with five third-place votes. However, he's not in bad company, sitting behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama and Luka Doncic, but ahead of Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell.

If it wasn't clear before, it's clear now. Mike Brown made the obvious declaration Saturday night before their comeback victory over Houston that Jalen Brunson eats first, then Karl-Anthony Towns. Perhaps it was to alleviate the criticism Towns gets for not producing enough. Towns told ESPN later that evening, "It's something different in my career."

In their two win's after a loss to Detroit last Thursday, Towns shot 8-for-12 from 3-point range, a great sign from his career-low 3-point shooting. That type of production will be needed as the Knicks play four games in the next six days starting Friday, including home games against San Antonio and Oklahoma City.