Two of the NBA’s top teams clash on Monday when the Sacramento Kings host the Milwaukee Bucks, who are on the second leg of a three-game West Coast road swing.

The Eastern Conference-leading Bucks went into their trip winners in 19 of their last 20 games. However, with former two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, it was another two-time MVP that was the difference. Golden State’s Steph Curry erupted late and scored 36 points as Milwaukee lost 125-116 in overtime.

The defeat was the Bucks’ third since Jan. 16. They head into Sacramento for Monday’s game having last dropped back-to-back contests on Jan. 12 and 14.

Milwaukee rallied from down 13 points in the second half to get to overtime at Golden State, thanks in part to 15 points and 13 rebounds from Bobby Portis in his 33rd double-double of the season. Khris Middleton added 19 points, five assists and four steals.

Middleton played 34 minutes while shooting 3 of 4 from 3-point range, but after missing 43 games due to injuries, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has remained cautious with the three-time All-Star’s usage.

“We’re trying to be very diligent in how we bring back Khris and keep him healthy. He wasn’t going to play all five minutes of overtime,” Budenholzer said. “Overall, I think his body’s in a good place. We’re trying to take the long road with him.”

As for Antetokounmpo, who is one of the league’s top scorers at 31.2 points per game and second in rebounds at 11.9, he might be ready to return Monday from right hand soreness after a three-game absence.

The Kings come into Monday’s matchup winners in eight of their last nine games, including two straight against playoff-eligible teams. Sacramento beat the New York Knicks 122-117 on Thursday behind a triple-double of 24 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists from Domantas Sabonis.

Thursday’s triple-double was the ninth of the season for Sabonis, the NBA’s leader in rebounding at 12.3 per game. It was his third triple-double since the All-Star break.

Sabonis followed up by scoring 17 points with eight rebounds on Saturday. He was one of four Kings players to score at least 17 as Sacramento outpaced the Phoenix Suns 128-119.

Harrison Barnes scored 19 points in Sacramento’s road win, while De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk each added 18.

“Winning helps a lot. This team is probably the closest team since I’ve been here, since I’ve been in the NBA, really,” the Kings’ Chimezie Metu said.

Metu scored nine points and made three steals off the bench.

“Nights like this when we win big games, everybody feels great,” Metu added. “A lot of people were able to contribute tonight.”

Sacramento has surged into a tie with Memphis for the Western Conference’s second-best record and reached 40 wins for the first time since 2006.

Monday’s meeting is the first between the red-hot teams since a 126-113 Bucks win at Milwaukee on Dec. 7.

Antetokounmpo scored 35 points in that matchup, while Jrue Holiday added 31. Holiday has scored 30-plus points six times on the season; four of those have been since the calendar turned to 2023.

-Field Level Media

The Miami Heat finally have point guard Kyle Lowry back from the injured list, giving them an added boost for Monday’s game against the visiting Utah Jazz.

Lowry, who had not played since Feb. 2 due to a left knee injury, logged 36 minutes off the bench on Saturday as Miami lost in overtime to the Orlando Magic 126-114. Lowry had 12 points, four assists and two steals, making 4 of 8 shots (3 of 6 on 3-pointers).

It was Lowry’s first game as a reserve in 10 years.

“He does not have a minutes restriction, but we will be mindful,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s worked diligently behind the scenes to prepare for this.

“I’m excited to have him in the mix. We can use another spark for the stretch run.”

Indeed, the Heat have lost four of their past seven games despite a great effort on Saturday from Jimmy Butler, who scored a season-high 38 points. He made 14 of 25 shots from the floor and 8 of 8 from the foul line.

Monday will be Miami’s first game against Utah since the Heat beat the host Jazz 126-123 on New Year’s Eve.

Butler missed that game due to a knee injury, but Heat starters Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, as well as backup Victor Oladipo, stepped up in his absence.

Adebayo had a game-high 32 points, Herro added 29 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Oladipo came through with 23 points. Herro made a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, taking his shot off of one leg.

“The ball was flying around,” Herro said after that game. “We were making plays for each other.”

But while the Heat are 22-13 at home and are in seventh place in the battle for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Jazz are rebuilding out West.

Even so, Utah, just 13-22 on the road this season, entered Sunday in 10th place in the Western Conference, which would put the Jazz in the play-in round.

It is an impressive showing for the Jazz, who have a rookie coach in 35-year-old Will Hardy and a rebuilt roster. Hardy replaced Quin Snyder, who stepped down after eight seasons.

Former Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge, hired by Utah in December of 2021, started a massive rebuild this past offseason by trading Royce O’Neal. Ainge has since traded three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and four-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell, 2021 All-Star Mike Conley and others, netting eight first-round draft picks, three pick swaps and 13 players in a flurry of moves.

What was left is a roster led by 6-foot-4 shooting guard Talen Horton-Tucker, who scored 37 points in Utah’s 119-111 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. Horton Tucker made 14 of 24 shots from the floor, including 2 of 5 on 3-pointers.

“I’m not trying to be cocky, but I felt like I could do it,” said the 22-year-old Horton-Tucker, who has averaged 8.5 points per game. “It’s not the only time.”

The Jazz also have some other young players with notable experience such as Lauri Markkanen, 25, who leads the team in scoring (25.4 points) and rebounds (8.5); and 7-1 center Walker Kessler, 21, who tops the squad in blocks (2.3) while averaging 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.

All three of those players arrived in Utah via recent Ainge trades.

–Field Level Media

The Golden State Warriors will sidestep an opponent’s superstar for the third consecutive game when they host the Kevin Durant-less Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

The Warriors have won seven in a row at home, including a 125-116 overtime thriller over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, when the visitors were without star Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a sore right hand.

Stephen Curry played the role of the difference-maker in the win. He exploded for 11 points in the final 1:51 of regulation to force extra time, then nine more in the five-minute overtime to help the Warriors overtake the Eastern Conference’s top team.

The Warriors had lost their previous game, 131-110 at Memphis on Thursday, despite the Grizzlies missing Ja Morant, who was sidelined while the NBA investigates a gun incident.

Durant sprained his left ankle during warmups for what was supposed to be his Suns home opener last Wednesday after having been acquired from the Brooklyn Nets at the February trade deadline.

He missed his first six Suns games due to a pre-existing knee injury, then helped Phoenix win three straight on the road earlier this month, averaging 26.7 points in those games.

A two-time champion in three years with Golden State, Durant also missed an earlier scheduled visit to San Francisco with the Nets in January because of the knee issue.

Despite seeing Durant limp off the court before the game, the Suns won a fourth straight over Oklahoma City before falling 128-119 to the visiting Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

They now will face the Warriors and Bucks in consecutive games, with Milwaukee visiting Phoenix on Tuesday.

Suns coach Monty Williams walked away from the high-scoring loss to the Kings sounding much like Golden State counterpart Steve Kerr has following his veteran team’s run of poor efforts on the road of late.

“We had so many ‘my bads’ and blown coverages tonight,” Williams said. “I didn’t think we played with the sharpness and gameplan discipline that it takes to play against a team that’s hungry.”

Both teams should be hungry for a win Monday. The Suns enter the game in the fourth spot in the West — which carries with it a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs — but the Warriors are just 2 1/2 games behind.

Phoenix already has clinched the season series, crushing the Warriors by 29 and 11 points in earlier home games, and 125-113 in its previous trip to San Francisco.

But that was in the pre-Durant era, when defensive stopper Mikal Bridges was around to harass Curry, who has been held to 24 or fewer points in eight of his last 11 meetings with Phoenix.

Bridges won’t be around to make things tough on Curry this time around, as he was part of the package required to pry Durant from the Nets.

Curry, who turns 35 on Tuesday, might need the break. He went a season-high-tying 43 minutes in the overtime win, then was asked by ESPN in a postgame interview, “You look tired. Are you OK?”

“Oh, I’m great,” he responded. “I’m just getting old.”

Curry finished with 36 points, helping Golden State stop a three-game losing skid.

–Field Level Media

Mikal Bridges scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points and 16 assists and the visiting Brooklyn Nets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-120 on Sunday.

Nic Claxton had 20 points, Dorian Finney-Smith scored 15, Cameron Johnson added 14, Seth Curry had 12 points and Royce O’Neal finished with 11 for Brooklyn. The Nets have won five of their last six.

Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists for his 27th triple-double of the season, Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points, Jamal Murray had 16 before sitting out the fourth quarter with a sore knee and Aaron Gordon finished with 13 for the Nuggets. Denver has lost three straight overall and two straight at home.

Brooklyn led by 10 early in the second quarter but a 15-2 run later gave Denver a 60-55 lead. Murray’s 34-footer at the horn gave the Nuggets a 69-61 halftime lead.

The Nets dominated the third quarter. A 21-6 run gave them a 92-83 lead before Murray soon hit a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to five, but O’Neale and Joe Harris hit 3-pointers that gave Brooklyn a 98-87 lead heading into the fourth.

It was 109-94 early in the fourth before Denver started to chip away. Christian Braun hit a 3-pointer and Jokic converted a three-point play to make it 109-100.

A Finney-Smith 3-pointer made it 116-105, but Brooklyn went cold from the field, allowing the Nuggets to rally.

A three-point play by Braun and a floater by Jokic got the Nuggets within 116-110. The Nets missed again and Jokic fed Bruce Brown for a 3-pointer, Bridges missed from 27 feet and Jokic’s turnaround made it 116-115.

Finney-Smith fed Dinwiddie for a baseline jumper and hit a 3-pointer to make it 121-117. Jokic hit two free throws, Braun blocked Dinwiddie and Jokic split a pair of foul shots to make it 121-120 with 41.6 seconds left.

After a successful challenge on a foul call on Jokic, Denver had two chances to take the lead but Brown and Jokic missed short jumpers. Bridges split a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left and Jokic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Hawks will try to improve their fleeting hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament on Monday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Hawks are coming off Saturday’s 134-125 loss to the Boston Celtics. They trail the New York Knicks by 4 1/2 games in the chase for the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs with only 14 games left. Atlanta is 1 1/2 games behind Miami for seventh place, with the top six teams avoiding the play-in tournament.

Minnesota, which lost 124-123 to Brooklyn in overtime on Friday, has a more enviable playoff situation. The Timberwolves are tied with Dallas for No. 7 in the Western Conference. They are only one game behind No. 6 Golden State, although four of their next five games are on the road.

This is the first of two meetings between the two clubs this season. Atlanta has won the last five meetings between the teams.

The Atlanta players and new coach Quin Snyder, who took over three games after the All-Star break, continue to get accustomed to one another. Snyder wants to see more focus on defense, particularly on 3-pointers after the Hawks gave up 20 makes from distance to the Celtics.

“When a team makes 20 3s, it’s hard to beat them,” Snyder said. “No excuses. That’s part of the mental toughness. We’re learning certain things as we go. That’s the way it’s got to be. There’s a lot we can take from this game and there’s going to be a process of thinking and thinking correctly.”

Atlanta’s Trae Young got into a scuffle with Boston’s Marcus Smart, an altercation that wound up with both players tangled up on the court and Smart getting ejected. Young said he had “nothing much to say” about the incident and Snyder said there were other issues that were of more concern to him.

“There’s going to be a lot of games that provide us with the opportunity to get better and this was a big one,” Snyder said.

Young had 35 points and 13 assists against Boston and now has 10 games with at least 30 points and 10 assists, the most in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks will need to find a way to slow Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, who played at Georgia for one season before being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2020. Edwards is averaging 24.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He’s also hitting 2.7 3-pointers per game and making 36.8 percent of his attempts from the arc.

Edwards scored 32 points against Brooklyn. It was his 20th 30-point game and his second straight 32-point outing after scoring the same total in a loss to Philadelphia. He is averaging 14.3 points in four career games against Atlanta.

“We’re at our best when he’s drawing attention, scoring and finding easy shots for his teammates,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch. “But two assists is not enough.”

Minnesota continues to play without Karl-Anthony Towns, who has missed 47 games with a severe calf sprain. He took part in some on-court drills last week but is still unable to practice. Jaylen Nowell has missed six straight games with a left knee injury and Austin Rivers missed Friday’s game with back spasms.

Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic missed the last game with back tightness.

–Field Level Media