The San Antonio Spurs are quietly one of the hottest teams in the NBA with wins in four straight and 12 of their last 15 games as they begin to sneak up the Western Conference standings. The Spurs will try to stay sharp when they begin a stretch with seven of 10 on the road by visiting the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

The Boston Celtics will try to extend a series of streaks when they continue a four-game homestand against the surging Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The Celtics have won the first two games of the homestand to extend their winning streak at TD Garden to four in a row, and they own nine consecutive victories over the Nets, a run that extends over three years.

The Houston Rockets finally fell flat on Saturday with a 110-101 loss at the Portland Trail Blazers, but the chance to prove themselves against top teams in both conferences looms during a three-game homestand. The host Rockets will start by trying to pick off the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets on Monday.

The Milwaukee Bucks missed a chance to establish themselves as the top team in the Eastern Conference and had a five-game winning streak come to an end with a 123-116 home loss to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. The Bucks will try to finish off a six-game homestand strong when they host the Utah Jazz on Monday.

The New Orleans Pelicans are not where they want to be in the standings, but at least they are starting to win some games. The Pelicans will try to earn back-to-back wins for the first time since a three-game streak from Nov. 16-19 when they host the struggling Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Like other teams before them, the Los Angeles Lakers are finding it hard to handle the loss of LeBron James, and they carry a season high-tying three-game losing streak into Monday's visit to the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers are 1-5 since James was lost to a groin strain and they offered little resistance in a 108-86 loss at Minnesota on Sunday.

After cooling off one of the hottest teams in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers take on one of the league's lesser squads when they host the New York Knicks on Monday. Behind 25 points and 15 rebounds from Jusuf Nurkic and a solid defensive job on Houston superstar James Harden, the Blazers snapped the Rockets' six-game winning streak with a 110-101 triumph Saturday.

The Sacramento Kings still are confident they are on the rise despite losing a season-high four straight games and get a chance to start proving their case when they host the road-weary Orlando Magic on Monday. Sacramento lost the four contests - all against teams in playoff position entering Sunday - by a total of 20 points after coughing up a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 127-123 setback against Golden State.