Watch Atlanta Thrashers vs Buffalo Sabres Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NHL

Atlanta Thrashers vs Buffalo Sabres
7:00 PM ET, March 19, 2011
HSBC Arena, BUFFALO, New York

The Atlanta Thrashers continue to claw their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They'll look to extend their push for a postseason spot when they close out their season series with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.

Atlanta (30-29-12) has gone 4-1-1 in six games since a 7-17-6 slide that seriously damaged its playoff hopes. The Thrashers are four points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference -- a spot occupied by Buffalo (34-28-8).

"I always tell you I don't look that far ahead, but you can't help but not know where we are," coach Craig Ramsay said. "Our feeling of course is we want to win, we need to win every game. So we're going into that with that mindset, we need to win every game."

The Thrashers and Sabres are among six teams vying for the last two spots in the East.

Buffalo (34-28-8) has gone 2-3-0 since a seven-game point streak. The Sabres have totaled four goals in those losses and fell 1-0 on Tuesday to Carolina -- one of the teams pushing them for the eighth spot.

Watch Atlanta Thrashers vs Buffalo Sabres Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NHL

Watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Minnesota Wild Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NHL

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Minnesota Wild
2:00 PM ET, March 19, 2011
Xcel Energy Center, SAINT PAUL, Minnesota

Poor recent stretches have essentially ended the playoff hopes for the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Wild will be seeking to end a four-game slide Saturday when they host the struggling Blue Jackets.

Minnesota (35-29-7) is in 11th place in the Western Conference with 77 points while Columbus (32-28-10) is 12th with 74. The Wild are mired in a 2-6-1 slump while the Blue Jackets are 1-5-4 in their last 10.

Scoring has been a major problem for both. The Wild have produced four goals over the last four games, and were shut out twice. The Blue Jackets have totaled 22 goals in their last 10.

Minnesota will be happy to be home for four games after losing all four games on a road trip that ended with Thursday's 3-2 loss to San Jose. The Wild went 0 for 11 on the power play on the trip.

"Eleven (games) left, gotta win as many of those 11 as we can," coach Todd Richards said. "We've got a big four-game homestand going home."

Top scorer Martin Havlat managed one assist on the trip for Minnesota, which was outshot 50-30 in Thursday's defeat.

Watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Minnesota Wild Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NHL

Watch Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA

Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers
10:00 PM ET, March 19, 2011
Rose Garden, Portland, OR

The Portland Trail Blazers' road to a playoff berth is about to get a lot tougher. The Philadelphia 76ers have their own playoff race to worry about.

The Trail Blazers and 76ers are both looking to improve their playoff positioning in their respective races when they meet at the Rose Garden on Saturday night.

Portland (39-29) is sixth in the Western Conference standings, 1 1/2 games behind Denver for fifth place and 3 1/2 ahead of ninth-place Utah.

The Trail Blazers have improved their postseason cause by winning six of eight, with three of the victories coming against teams with records under .500.

They capitalized on another struggling opponent, routing Cleveland 111-70 on Thursday. The victory was the most one-sided for Portland in over three years, and afforded the club a chance to rest its starters for much of the second half.

"That was a really, really good game for us," guard Brandon Roy said. "We've got a lot of battles coming up and we needed a good game like that to come out and dominate early, and not have to fight so hard in the fourth quarter of the game."

Watch Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA

Watch Charlotte Bobcats vs San Antonio Spurs Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA

Charlotte Bobcats vs San Antonio Spurs
8:30 PM ET, March 19, 2011
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

The San Antonio Spurs bounced back from their most lopsided loss of the season with one of their most impressive wins. Less than 24 hours later, they'll have to guard against a letdown.

The Spurs have lost just once at home since December and twice in their history against the Charlotte Bobcats, dominant stints they'll look to continue Saturday night at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio (55-13) has a record that's six games ahead of their next-closest pursuer, but the past two weeks have raised major questions regarding its claim as the NBA's best team. The Spurs trailed by as many as 32 in a 99-83 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6 -- their first at home since Nov. 26 -- and were embarrassed 110-80 on Monday in Miami.

That left plenty of time for coach Gregg Popovich to fire up his team prior to Friday's visit to Dallas, and San Antonio played like an inspired group. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan combined for 80 points and the Spurs won 97-91, taking a big step toward clinching the Southwest Division by pulling 7 1/2 games ahead of the Mavericks.

"When you have Pop in your ear for three days, it can be a long three days," said Parker, who had 33 points. "In the film sessions we talked about not playing physical, not playing with intensity or playing good defense. Tonight we wanted to make sure we stayed in front of people and made sure their shots were hard."

Watch Charlotte Bobcats vs San Antonio Spurs Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA

Watch Indiana Pacers vs Memphis Grizzlies Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA

Indiana Pacers vs Memphis Grizzlies
8:00 PM ET, March 19, 2011
FedExForum, Memphis, TN

The Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies hold the final playoff position in their respective conferences, but only one team seems poised to retain that spot.

The Pacers will try for their fourth win in five games Saturday night while looking to snap a three-game slide to the host Grizzlies.

Eighth-place Indiana extended its lead over Charlotte to 1 1/2 games Friday after a 115-108 overtime victory over Chicago combined with the Bobcats' loss at Oklahoma City.

The Pacers (30-39) nearly missed that opportunity as they blew a 20-point lead to the Central Division leaders. Darren Collison fouled Derrick Rose on a 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds left, and the Bulls' All-Star guard sent it past regulation.

Collison helped Indiana outscore the visitors 13-6 in the extra session, and Tyler Hansbrough finished with 29 points and a career high-tying 12 rebounds.

"I've seen a lot of teams that would have sort of come out in that overtime in a fog after that type of comeback by Chicago," coach Frank Vogel said. "Our guys didn't do that. They kept their composure, their poise and handled their business in overtime."

Watch Indiana Pacers vs Memphis Grizzlies Live Streaming Free March 19, 2011 NBA