The Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers renew acquaintances for the first time in more than a year when they meet Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Both teams are deep in the playoff hunt. The Nets (30-29) come out of the All-Star break in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of the seventh-place Charlotte Hornets and 2½ games clear of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons.
The Miami Heat are tied with Detroit, but currently don’t own the tiebreaker, and are ninth, with the Orlando Magic looming a half-game out of the eighth spot. The Washington Wizards are three games out of eighth.