Suddenly, the Charlotte Hornets are jumping back into contention for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference behind a defense that is shutting down some of the top teams in the league. The Hornets will try to bring that defense on the road and run their winning streak to three straight when they visit the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

The Boston Celtics made a big move toward solidifying the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference when they knocked off the third-place Washington Wizards on Monday. The Celtics will turn their sights toward chasing down the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers when they host the road-challenged Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls are both on the wrong side of the playoff ledger as they meet Wednesday for a pivotal game in Chicago. The Pistons are in ninth place and the Bulls reside in 10th as the two teams try to catch Miami and Milwaukee, who hold the final two Eastern Conference postseason spots.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to climb the standings in the Western Conference but once again got a good look at how far away they are from the top team in the league when they were beat 111-95 at home by the Golden State Warriors on Monday. The Thunder will try to bounce back and earn their sixth win in seven games when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

The Washington Wizards missed out on their best opportunity to jump back into the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference and now have to watch their backs with the fourth-place Toronto Raptors creeping up from behind. The Wizards will try to bounce back when they host the stumbling Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Kyrie Irving looks for his 20th consecutive 20-point outing when the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Irving poured in 46 points during Sunday's 125-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for his third 40-point effort of the campaign.

The Milwaukee Bucks are making a superb sprint in search of a playoff spot and look to record their 10th victory in the past 12 games when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Milwaukee is 3-2 on a six-game Western Conference swing and resides in seventh place in the East, 1 1/2 games clear of the ninth-place Detroit Pistons.

The Utah Jazz are struggling at a bad time and aim to halt a three-game losing streak when they host the woeful New York Knicks on Wednesday. Even a career-best 38-point effort from All-Star small forward Gordon Hayward couldn't prevent Utah from suffering a 107-100 setback to the Indiana Pacers on Monday.