No. 14 Murray State insists revenge won’t be on its mind Thursday night when it visits the Tigers, who are seeking a 10th straight win.

The Racers are coming off a big week in which they clinched the Ohio Valley Conference title outright, then posted a 65-51 win over then-No. 21 Saint Mary’s on Saturday in a nationally televised BracketBusters matchup.

Isaiah Canaan scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Murray State (26-1, 13-1) never trailed, building a double-digit lead soon after halftime.

“This is definitely a confidence-builder for sure,” senior Jewuan Long said. “It’s a ranked team, so it lets you know that you are as good as the rankings say you are. It gives us a lot of confidence to know that we can play with other teams in bigger conferences.”

While the victory over the Gaels provides additional legitimacy to Murray State’s stellar season, which began with 23 straight wins, the Racers aren’t ready to ease up – especially against Tennessee State.

Coach Steve Prohm said his team isn’t concerned about revenge in a rematch with the only opponent to beat Murray State this season. The Racers committed 18 turnovers – three in the closing seconds – in a 72-68 home loss to the Tigers on Feb. 9.

“We didn’t do a good job of finishing the game and they beat us,” Prohm said. “There’s no revenge. It’s the next game on our schedule and we just want to play well and carry on over to the OVC tournament and on into the postseason.”

The Racers lost to Tennessee State despite Canaan scoring 31 points on 10-of-13 shooting. The junior also matched a season high with six turnovers, including one of the crucial miscues late.

Coming off another big performance over the weekend, Canaan hopes to carry his momentum over to the road. He’s totaled just 20 points in his last two away from home, shooting 26.1 percent.

He and his teammates will face a challenge at Tennessee State, which has won 10 straight at home and nine in a row overall.

After losing three of their first four conference games, the Tigers (19-10, 11-4) have won 10 of 11 and eight straight in OVC play.

They also had a BracketBusters game over the weekend, defeating Miami (Ohio) 68-61 on Sunday. Robert Covington had 14 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Tennessee State went on a 15-7 run in the final four minutes to finish a comeback from a nine-point halftime deficit.

Covington, who is fourth in the Ohio Valley with 17.9 points per game, had two steals and four points during the Tigers’ final surge.

“They’ve got good players,” Prohm said. “Coach (John) Cooper has done a tremendous job. … Robert Covington is one of the top two or three players in the league.”

The Tigers, who have lost three straight and nine of 11 at home against the Racers, are looking to win 20 games for the first time since 1978-79. They haven’t won 10 in a row since a 12-game streak that same season.

This is the final regular-season game for Tennessee State. Murray State closes at Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

The date was May 8, 2011, and it was Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers entered the playoffs as the huge favorites in the West to reach their fourth straight NBA Finals, but they were pushed by the New Orleans Hornets and Chris Paul in the first round. Still, not many gave the Mavericks much of a chance in the semis.

By now we all know what happened, as the Mavs finished their stunning sweep on that May 8 afternoon, a 122-86 embarrassment, sending Lakers coach Phil Jackson off to Montana (or wherever the Zen Master is nowadays). It was the largest margin of victory in a game that ended a four-game playoff sweep in NBA history. Dallas would go on to upset the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, while the Lakers started asking questions that still haven’t been answered this season.

L.A. knew it needed to get some offseason help to get through the West and figured it had the answer in landing Chris Paul – for about 30 minutes until NBA Commissioner David Stern put the kibosh on the deal. Then the Lakers shockingly traded star sixth man Lamar Odom to these Mavericks for essentially a trade exception, something the team still hasn’t used. Clearly the Lakers (19-13) remain flawed, and this week Kobe Bryant vented about whether the team would trade Pau Gasol or not (he was in the Paul three-way trade). Kobe’s point: either do something now or say Gasol is staying put.

This is the start of an incredibly tough back-to-back as L.A. visits Oklahoma City on Thursday night in the teams’ last game before the all-star break. Think there will be any Dwight Howard- to-L.A. rumors at All-Star Weekend in Orlando? This is the Mavs’ final game before the break.

How the Teams Enter

L.A. enters off one of its most impressive games of the season, beating Portland, 103-92, at Staples Center on Monday. The game wasn’t remotely that close. The Blazers took a 3-0 lead and then all the Lakers did was go on a 37-4 run. One night after giving up a season-high 63 points in the first half of a loss at Phoenix, the Lakers yielded a season-low 30 to Portland. Bryant had 28 points to lead the Lakers. It was only the fifth time this season the Lakers reached triple digits in points.

Dallas (21-12), which had a six-game winning streak stopped Sunday in New York, had little trouble with visiting Boston on Monday night, winning 89-73 to improve to 13-5 at home. Dirk Nowitzki, as usual, led Dallas with 26 points and a season-high 16 boards, while Boston was playing without suspended point guard Rajon Rondo and injured Kevin Garnett. Since getting a four-game break to strengthen his sore right knee and improve his game conditioning, Nowitzki is averaging 21.7 points the last 13 games. The Mavs are 9-4 in that stretch.

Betting Story Lines

Kobe says he thinks the trade rumors are affecting Gasol’s game, but the Spaniard has 10 straight double-doubles – his longest streak as a Laker — after putting up 16 points and 12 boards against the Blazers. GM Mitch Kupchak wouldn’t commit to talking Gasol’s name out of trade talks with the standard “I will do whatever makes the team better” cliché. The Lakers held a players-only meeting after Monday’s win to stress togetherness in the wake of Bryant’s public outburst and some complaining about Coach Mike Brown’s practice schedule — the players were not happy that after beating Phoenix at home Friday night and flying to Phoenix on Saturday afternoon, they had to get up for a 10 a.m. shootaround Sunday morning (and went on to lose that night’s game handily).

Dallas has found some guard help off the bench in Dominque Jones. He had seven points, five assists and one turnover in 25 minutes against Boston. And perhaps more importantly he played well enough that starter Jason Kidd spent the last 15 minutes on the bench.

The Mavs are carefully monitoring Kidd’s minutes, which has become especially vital with backup point guard Delonte West out 3-5 weeks with a fractured ring finger and fellow guard Rodrigue Beaubois having missed the last three games because of his father’s death. He won’t play tonight and reportedly is on the trade market. The 38-year-old Kidd already has missed 10 games this year. The Mavs’ bench has been a problem otherwise of late. In the past two games, Vince Carter has averaged 6.5 points on 31.2 percent shooting and grabbed only four rebounds in 53 minutes. And Odom, a huge disappointment, is 3-for-14 from the field (0-for-9 from long

range) in the past two games for six points.

The Lakers and Mavs played one of the season’s ugliest games in L.A. back on Jan. 16, a Lakers 73-70 victory with L.A. a 3.5-point favorite. Derek Fisher hit a tiebreaking three-pointer with 3.1 seconds to play, while the Mavs’ Carter missed a tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Kobe entered that game having scored at least 40 points in four in a row but was held to 14. Bryant was 0-for-10 from the field when guarded by Shawn Marion. Dirk had 21 but a crucial turnover late. The Mavs shot 35 percent from the field and the Lakers 38.2. They were a combined 5-for-36 from three-point range, with the Lakers’ lone three-point of the night being Fisher’s.

The Lakers were 1-1 in Big D during last regular season before losing both playoff games.

Betting Odds and Key Trends

The Mavericks opened as 4.5-point favorites with the total at 179.5 on NBA odds. L.A. is 15-17 ATS overall and 4-12 ATS on road. Dallas is 20-13 ATS overall and 11-7 at home. ‘Over/under’ records: LAL 14-17-1, DAL 13-20.

The Lakers are 1-6 ATS in past seven on the road. The Mavs are 12-3 ATS in their past 15 at home vs. teams with losing road record. The over is 4-1 in Lakers’ past five. The under is 4-1 in Mavs’ past five. The Lakers are 0-5 ATS in past five meetings and 1-4 ATS in past five in Big D.

Predictions

The Mavericks know they have nearly a week off after this one so they can go all out, while the Lakers have to travel to Oklahoma City right after this one. I have no reason to trust the Lakers when they are 5-12 on the road. Take the Mavs and lay the 4 1/2 points.

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UK is going to win the SEC regular-season title and it would clinch at least a share of that with a win here – the Cats lead the second-place Florida Gators by three games with each still having four to go. UF and Kentucky finish the regular season in Gainesville, but there’s no way UK loses twice more before then. MSU, meanwhile, was considered a dark horse SEC title team before the season but has been rather inconsistent and is now on or at least near the NCAA Tournament bubble – a win here would almost assure the Bulldogs of an at-large berth. And MSU tends to give Kentucky fits.

Betting Story lines

The Cats (26-1, 12-0) are No. 1 in the polls for the fifth straight week and they really show no signs of losing. UK won its 18th straight game Saturday by dispatching Ole Miss, 77-62, for Kentucky’s 50th straight win at home, by far the most in the nation.

What should be frightening for future opponents is that UK rolled by the Rebs with a fairly quiet game from National Player of the Year candidate Anthony Davis. He did add four blocks to his national-leading total. The Wildcats lead the nation in blocked shots with 9.3 per game and have 250 on the year, which is 15th all-time on the NCAA single-season list.

Mississippi State (19-8, 6-6) has fallen to near-bubble status thanks to a three-game losing streak. They lost those first two each by exactly two points in overtime but then fell, 65-55, at Auburn on Saturday. The Bulldogs played without starting big man Renardo Sidney and it showed. MSU hit just 19-of-54 shots from the field (35.2 percent) and was outrebounded, 36-31.

And that’s the big injury for this one: Sidney. The guy is a knucklehead as his numerous off- court issues have been documented, but when he wants to play Sidney can be a major force. He sat due to back spasms and is being called a game-time decision. Sidney averages 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. Wendell Lewis replaced him in the starting lineup against Auburn. He scored three points, grabbed five rebounds and had two blocks.

Sidney is a big body who might have some success bullying UK’s rail-thin Davis. MSU is actually 3-1 in the four games Sidney has missed this season (all three wins nonconference), but it’s hard to see Mississippi State having much luck against Kentucky without Sidney coming up big (pun intended).

“It’s very obvious we need his big body out there, especially with our lack of depth,” MSU Coach Rick Stansbury said of Sidney. “That’s the thing. We missed him over there Saturday with just giving us another guy you can throw in the block who can score. We need that depth defensively in there, body-wise. It’s very obvious — against a Kentucky team, as talented as they are — you need everybody you can possibly get. We don’t just need his body, we need his body to play well for us to have any chance at all.”

How crucial is this one for the Bulldogs? MSU has lost four games or more in a row in the SEC only twice under Stansbury. Neither team — in 2000 and 2006 — reached the NCAA Tournament. Mississippi State is just 1-5 in SEC road games and still has to visit Alabama and South Carolina up next, so this skid could grow to six without an upset Tuesday.

However, MSU usually plays Kentucky close. UK has won the past three, but two of those came in overtime (and MSU won the previous three before that). The last seven games between the two have been decided by nine points or less, with the average margin of victory being 4.9 points.

MSU is 14-2 at home this year and 2-1 overall against ranked teams – the loss came at Florida. Stansbury is 0-2 all-time vs. No. 1 teams in his coaching career and 1-8 against ranked Kentucky teams. Kentucky is the highest-ranked team MSU has played since losing in overtime to the No. 2-ranked Wildcats in the finals of the 2010 SEC Tournament

Betting Odds and Trends

Kentucky opened as a 9.5-point favorite with the total at 138 on NCAA basketball odds. UK is 10-15-1 ATS overall and 4-3 on road. MSU is 11-15 ATS overall and 6-10 at home. ‘Over/under’ records: UK 9-16-1, MSU 14-12.

UK has covered just two of its past 13 after an ATS loss. The Cats are 4-0 ATS in past four road games. MSU is just 1-6 ATS in past seven overall. The under is 10-1 in UK’s past 11 road games. The over is 4-1 in MSU’s past five at home vs. teams with a winning record. The underdog is 6-1 ATS in the past seven meetings.

Predictions

This is the defining game of the season, hands down, for MSU and Humphrey Coliseum will be nuts. I think at worst with Sidney the Bulldogs keep it close — MSU’s tends to do that regardless as its margin of defeat or victory in its 12 SEC games has been 5.8 points. The magic number for the upset will be to score 68 points. UK is 71-1 under Coach John Calipari when holding the opponent to 67 points or fewer.

I expect Sidney to play and am taking MSU if he does. Like the under as well.

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Virginia (20-6 SU/13-8 ATS) coasted in its win on Saturday as they routed Maryland 71-44 as 9½ point home favorites. Mike Scott scored a game-high 25 points and also grabbed seven rebounds and Virginia turned a close game at the half into a blowout in the second half to dispose of Maryland in an ACC tilt. Malcolm Brogdon shot 5-of-6 from the floor and finished with 14 points and Sammy Zeglinski added 11 points for the Cavaliers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

The game was tied 31-31 at the break, but the Cavs opened up the second half on a 16-2 run to gain control of the game. Virginia outscored the Terps 40-13 in the second half and finished the game shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (26-of-54) and 6-of-10 from long range. The Cavaliers also converted 15 Maryland turnovers into 22 points and Virginia’s bench outscored Maryland’s bench 22-11.

Virginia only averages 63.2 PPG, ranking No. 277 in the land; but on the other hand, the Cavaliers allow just 51.9 PPG on defense, good enough for 2nd in the nation in scoring defense. Virginia finished 16-15 last season and the return of four starters from that unit has paid dividends this year.

Scott is one of the ACC’s top players, averaging 17.2 PPG and 8.2 boards per game, while connecting on an impressive 58.9 percent from the field. Also in double-figures is Joe Harris with 11.8 PPG, while Zeglinski (8.1 ppg), Brogdon (7.0 PPG) and Jontel Evans (6.8 PPG, 3.7 APG) give the Cavs a steady mix of balance.

Virginia Tech (15-12 SU/7-15-1 ATS) comes off a thrilling 74-73 OT win over Georgia Tech on Saturday as 8-point home favorites. Dorenzo Hudson nailed a three pointer as time expired in overtime to lift Virginia Tech over the Yellow Jackets in an ACC barnburner. Erick Green scored 14 points to lead the Hokies, while Cadarian Raines added 13 points and Jarell Eddie chipped in with 12 points. Robert Brown also ended in double figures with 10 points for the Hokies, who had lost two of three coming into the game, including a last second 48-47 loss at Florida State on Thursday as 10-point road underdogs.

Virginia Tech trailed 31-28 at the half after shooting 46 percent in the first 20 minutes. The Hokies tied the game at 65-65 with about two minutes remaining in the second half and neither team scored in the remainder of regulation. Virginia Tech trailed 73-71 with five seconds left in the extra session, setting the stage for Hudson’s late-game heroics.

Virginia Tech is averaging 66.1 PPG on offense (# 211), while the defense gives up a mere 62 PPG (# 55). Green leads the team in scoring with 15.5PPG and has posted double-figures in 28 straight conference games, which currently leads the ACC. Hudson is also in double-digits with 10.9 PPG, while Eddie averages 9.7 PPG and 5.2 RPG. Dorian Finney-Smith (6.0 PPG) leads the Hokies on the boards with 6.8 RPG, while Victor Davila (7.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and Brown (7.0 PPG) make solid contributions. However, it appears Davila will miss his third straight game with a groin injury.

These two in-state ACC rivals met in Charlottesville on January 22 and Virginia Tech pulled the upset in a 47-45 road win as 7½-point underdogs. Virginia shot just 32.6 percent from the floor in that one and went a dismal 1-of-14 from three-point range. Virginia is 19-7 ATS on the road and 17-4 ATS on the road against teams with a winning home record, as well as 23-10 ATS overall against winning teams. As for the Hokies, they’ve been a team to avoid at home (0-7 ATS) and they come in on a current 7-18-1 ATS run in ACC games. However, the underdog is 7-0 ATS the last seven meetings and Tech has been installed as a home ‘dog here. They need a win here to maintain any chance of getting to the NCAA Tournament, as remote as that may be at this point.

The former Massachusetts is also given the best odds among GOP hopefuls to beat President Barack Obama in race for the White House.

However, with signs that the struggling U.S. economy is starting to turn around, President Obama’s approval ratings have been improving of late as have his odds for reelection.

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The Artist is heavily favored in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius) and Best Leading Actor (Jean Dujardin).

Although the odds are long, Moneyball has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Leading Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill). This is the third time Pitt has been nominated for an Academy Award. So far, he is 0-for-2 at the Oscar plate.

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The Clippers visit the Golden State Warriors on Monday looking to avoid their first consecutive losses since late December.

Los Angeles (19-10) has the West’s third-best record, but came up short against two fellow contenders last week while going 2-2 overall. After falling 96-92 at Dallas last Monday, the Clippers were lamenting a missed opportunity in a 103-100 overtime loss to San Antonio on Saturday.

Chris Paul scored 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter but threw a pass right to the Spurs’ Gary Neal with 6.9 seconds in regulation that led to the tying 3-pointer.

“Man, that was probably the worst play I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in the NBA,” Paul said. “We obviously gave that game away right there … We’ve got to win games like that.”

The loss took the luster off Blake Griffin’s 22 points and 20 rebounds, his first career 20-20-game. Griffin, however, only had two points in the fourth quarter, and he’s totaled four in the final period of his last three contests.

After taking the blame for Saturday’s loss, Paul – whose 23.0-point average at Golden State is his highest in any visiting arena – will try to help the Clippers avoid their first back-to-back losses since Dec. 28-30.

Despite his critical turnover, he’s come up big in the fourth quarter of the team’s last two games, scoring all 13 of his points in the final period of a 74-71 win at Portland on Thursday. However, Paul is 1 for 14 in the first three quarters of those two contests.

The Warriors (11-17) know a lot about close losses. They have dropped three straight, including a 104-103 defeat at Memphis on Saturday.

Golden State allowed a go-ahead putback with 5.6 seconds left and David Lee was called for an offensive foul with less than a second left, wasting a combined 69 points from Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis.

“It’s the little things that either win or lose ball games as we continue to find out,” coach Mark Jackson said. “Once again we were in a position to win the ball game and we didn’t because of a defensive rebound. That’s the disappointing part about it.”

Of their last eight losses, five have been decided by three points or fewer and another in overtime.

The Warriors were outrebounded 45-31 Saturday and outscored 44-22 in the paint – not good signs as they prepare to face Griffin and the Clippers’ frontcourt. Golden State’s minus-4.46 rebounding differential is among the league’s worst, while the Clippers’ plus-3.14 margin is one of the NBA’s best.

Griffin has averaged 25.8 points and 12.5 boards his last four games against the Warriors. He had 22 and seven in Los Angeles’ 105-86 win in Oakland during Paul’s Clipper debut Dec. 25.

Curry and Ellis were held to 19 points on 8 of 31 shooting – also turning it over nine times – in that loss.

Despite their 3-8 road record and general issues closing out games, the Warriors have won four of their last six at Oracle Arena.

“Certainly our record is not as good as we want it to be,” Lee said. “The positive is we are not far off.”

Bryant doesn’t think it makes any difference who guards him.

Coming off another big performance against the Suns, Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers look to win a fourth straight game and sweep this home-and-home series Sunday night at the US Airways Center.

After finishing with a season-low 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting in Tuesday’s 86-78 win over Atlanta – the sixth time in seven games Bryant shot less than 40.0 percent – the 14-time All-Star busted out of his shooting slump Friday against the Suns. He finished with 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting to lead the Lakers (18-12) to a 111-99 victory, their third in a row following a 1-3 stretch.

“Obviously, Kobe went off,” said center Andrew Bynum, who finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds. “He had (36) points, and the rest of us were just kind of filling in the gaps.”

This wasn’t the first time Bryant, who averages 28.9 points, overwhelmed the Suns (12-19). He had a season-best 48 points and went 18 for 31 in a 99-83 victory Jan. 10.

In Friday’s matchup, Bryant scored 18 in the third quarter, with most of the damage coming after Hill went to the bench with his fourth foul.

“It’s the same thing that happened here last time,” Gentry said. “I had to take Grant out of the game and (Kobe) seems to explode every time I do that. I think he had 16 (points) when we took him out then he had 32 when he got back in. Somebody else is going to have to step up to slow him down at least.”

Despite Gentry’s high praise for the 39-year-old Hill, Bryant thinks Phoenix could have better luck slowing him with double teams.

“Doesn’t matter if Grant’s in the game or not,” Bryant said. “If they’re not going to double and I have room to go to work, I’m going to go to work.”

Bryant routinely has made things difficult for Hill and the Suns, averaging 31.3 points in the last 24 meetings including the 2010 Western Conference finals. Los Angeles has won 18 of those games.

While Bryant has led the way against Phoenix, the work of Bynum and Pau Gasol on the boards has also been key. Los Angeles, which averages a league-high 45.6 boards per game, outrebounded the Suns 52-36 on Friday and had a 49-35 advantage in the first meeting.

Bynum and Gasol have totaled 55 points and 47 boards in those victories.

The Lakers improved to 13-2 at home Friday, but are just 5-10 on the road – tied for the second-worst road mark of the 17 teams at or above .500.

The Suns, meanwhile, have lost four in a row and have been awful at the US Airways Center. Phoenix’s 5-8 home record is the worst among the 25 teams with at least 10 victories.

Marcin Gortat, the only player to start all 31 games for the Suns, is averaging 13.7 points and 8.6 rebounds at home compared with 16.7 points and 11.4 boards on the road. He’s averaged 20.3 points and 14.7 rebounds in his last three games against the Lakers, all at Staples Center.

Steve Nash matched a season high with 17 assists Friday but also had a season-worst seven turnovers. The two-time league MVP leads the league in assists at 10.9 per game, but Phoenix is just 3-9 when he gets 12 or more.

Atlanta seeks its seventh consecutive win over Portland, which may be without LaMarcus Aldridge again Saturday night when the teams meet at the Rose Garden.

The Hawks (19-11) have only three victories during an inconsistent eight-game stretch overall, but they won for the fifth time in six road games Wednesday with a 101-99 come-from-behind victory over Phoenix.

Atlanta trailed by as many as 15, but Josh Smith matched his season high with 30 points and added 17 rebounds to aid the comeback.

Willie Green scored a season-high 20 off the bench, helping the Hawks overcome an off night from Joe Johnson, who finished 2 for 10 from the field for six points.

“I just wanted to be a little aggressive,” Smith said. “I know they were keying on Joe and we needed offense somewhere else and me and Willie picked up the slack tonight.”

Coach Larry Drew lauded Smith, who played nearly 45 minutes.

“(Johnson) said, ‘Leave him out there. He’s young,’” Drew said. “I thought he was tired and he played (nearly 33 minutes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers). I wanted to give him a quick blow. He wanted to stay in and I am glad he did because he played a phenomenal game. Inside and out and defensively he was all over the place.”

Smith scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Johnson scored a game-high 24 in a 92-89 home win over Portland on Jan. 18 – the Hawks’ sixth straight win in the series after dropping 13 of the previous 14 meetings.

Jamal Crawford scored a team-high 22 points off the bench in that contest for the Blazers (16-15), who blew an 18-point third-quarter lead Thursday in a 74-71 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“It was a collapse. A total collapse,” said Crawford, who along with Nicolas Batum scored a team-high 19 points. “In the fourth quarter, it felt like we started playing like we were playing from behind, and we were up. They became the aggressors. We were the aggressors the first three quarters.”

Aldridge sat out his second straight game after spraining his left ankle in Tuesday’s loss to visiting Washington. Portland’s top scorer is questionable for Saturday’s contest as the Blazers hope to avoid losing five consecutive home games for the first time since March 20-April 1, 2006.

Without Aldridge on Thursday – and with the team playing its third game in as many nights – Portland was outrebounded 47-35 while scoring its fewest points since a 72-65 loss to San Antonio on April 6, 2008.

The Blazers may look to Crawford – who spent the last two seasons with Atlanta before signing with Portland as a free agent – to pick up the scoring slack if Aldridge is sidelined again. Crawford has averaged 23.2 points in his last five games against the Hawks, hitting 16 of 30 3-point attempts in that stretch.

Johnson has averaged 25.6 points in his last 10 against the Blazers, while Smith has four straight double-doubles versus Portland.

The Hawks’ recent victories in the series haven’t been blowouts – the last five meetings were each decided by nine points or fewer.

The veteran team is far less flashy than Griffin’s Clippers, but Los Angeles is right behind the Spurs in the race for first place in the Western Conference.

In a matchup of division leaders, San Antonio looks to extend its winning streak to 10 games and continue its dominance of the Clippers on Saturday night at Staples Center.

After being in eighth place in the West following a 101-100 overtime defeat at Dallas on Jan. 29, the Southwest Division-leading Spurs (21-9) have reeled off nine straight victories to vault into second, one game ahead of Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles (19-9).

“We’ve been on fire lately,” Tony Parker said after Wednesday’s 113-106 victory over Toronto. “We’ve been playing very good basketball, moving the ball great.”

Parker scored 34 points, handed out 14 assists and made all 12 of his free throws against the Raptors. In his last eight games, Parker is averaging 25.3 points – 6.3 better than his season average.

He’s led the way during the Spurs’ longest winning streak since a 10-game run Dec. 3-22, 2010.

“No one is walking around here talking about (the streak), no one is sitting here focused on it,” forward Richard Jefferson said. “It’s more about how can we get better.”

There are few areas where San Antonio seems like it needs to improve, although its defense appeared to take a step back Wednesday. After allowing an average of 87.4 points in the first eight games of their win streak, the Spurs let the Raptors shoot 54.7 percent and become the first team to reach triple digits against them since the Mavericks.

San Antonio had little trouble slowing down the Clippers in the first meeting, a 115-90 home win Dec. 28, but Griffin and Chris Paul have since had seven weeks to further develop their chemistry.

Griffin ranks in the top 10 in the league in scoring at 21.2 points per game, while Paul averages 18.2 and ranks in the top five in assists at 8.8 per game. The Clippers, 11-3 at home, are averaging 98.5 points in their last 12 games.

Even when the offense struggled like it did Thursday in Portland, Los Angeles still found a way to win. Paul was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting with one assist before scoring 13 in the fourth quarter in a 74-71 comeback victory.

“This says that we’ve matured as a team,” said Griffin, who had 21 points and 14 rebounds for his seventh double-double in eight games. “I think we’ve answered the question that we can win on the road.”

Now Griffin and Paul need to prove they can beat San Antonio.

The Spurs have won 27 of the last 29 meetings, although they suffered a 90-85 loss in their last trip to Staples Center on Dec. 1, 2010, snapping an 18-game winning streak in the series.

In the first meeting this season, Manu Ginobili made five 3-pointers and finished with 24 points to lead six Spurs in double figures. Ginobili had 11 points Wednesday after combining for nine in his first two games back after missing 5 1/2 weeks with a broken left hand.

Griffin, who has decided not to defend his All-Star slam dunk title, had 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting in San Antonio in December, but the rest of the team combined to shoot 32.7 percent. Paul had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in his second game in a Clippers uniform.

The defending champion Cardinals, who no longer have superstar Albert Pujols or manager Tony La Russa, are not being given much of a chance to repeat, whereas the Los Angeles Angles, Pujols’ new club, are among the favorites.

The Marlins, who have a gaudy new uniform and now call Miami home, could be an intriguing pick to win the Fall Classic.

The Marlins made a big splash in the offseason hiring Ozzie Guillen to be their new manager. They also signed left-handed starter Mark Buehrle and right-handed closer Heath Bell, and locked up reigning NL batting champion Jose Reyes to a six-year deal.

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In the opener of a home-and-home series Friday night, Bryant again tries to bounce back from a dismal performance when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Suns, whom he torched for nearly 50 points five weeks ago.

Most sports books monitored by the SportsOptions odds product have opened the Lakers as 8 1/2-point home favorites, with the total set at 186 1/2.

Bryant is averaging a league-best 28.7 points, but nothing has come easy lately for the two-time scoring champ. He finished with a season-low 10 points on 5-of-18 shooting against Atlanta on Tuesday, but the Lakers (17-12) held on for an 86-78 victory as they improved to 12-2 at home.

The 14-time All-Star has shot below 40.0 percent in six of seven games this month after failing to reach that mark in four of his first 22 contests. Brutal starts have been the biggest reason for his struggles.

Bryant went 1 for 10 before halftime Wednesday and has shot 21.7 percent (5 of 23) in the first half of the last three games.

Although he’s been misfiring lately, Bryant had a season-best 48 points and went 18 for 31 in a 99-83 victory over the Suns on Jan. 10. He has routinely frustrated Phoenix, averaging 31.0 points in the last 23 meetings including the 2010 Western Conference finals. Los Angeles has won 17 of those games.

While the Lakers and Suns were known for their high-scoring ways over the past few seasons, neither has been as prolific in 2011-12.

Los Angeles is putting more of an emphasis on defense under new coach Mike Brown, allowing an average of 90.4 points – 5.0 fewer than last season. The Lakers held the Hawks to 34.4 percent shooting and improved to 13-1 when limiting opponents to 91 or fewer points.

“On the defense end of the floor I thought that our guys were very active,” Brown said. “On the days when we don’t shoot well, that’s what’s going to help us win ball games, especially come playoff time in a seven-game series.”

The Lakers completely frustrated Grant Hill in the first meeting, limiting him to five points and 1-of-12 shooting. He posted his lowest field-goal percentage when attempting at least seven shots in his 17-year career.

Controlling the boards has also been a big key for the Lakers, who are averaging 45.3 rebounds per game.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Atlanta, while Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 15 boards as Los Angeles finished with 52 rebounds.

The Lakers dominated the glass in the first meeting of the season with the Suns, outrebounding them 49-35 with five players grabbing at least seven boards.

Phoenix (12-18) fell 101-99 to Atlanta on Wednesday, completing a stretch of three games in as many nights with three losses. Steve Nash (22 points, 16 assists) and Hill (18 points) returned and played well after getting the night off Tuesday in a 109-92 loss to Denver, but the Suns had no answer for Josh Smith.

Phoenix, which led by as many as 15 in the third quarter, allowed Smith to score 20 of his 30 points after halftime.

“It’s one of those deals where we played good basketball for 35-38 minutes but it’s a 48-minute game,” coach Alvin Gentry said.

The Suns, losers of nine of 10 at Staples Center against the Lakers, host Los Angeles on Sunday.