The high that the Cleveland Cavaliers experienced right after the trade deadline has disappeared with losses in four of the last six games, tightening the race for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers will try to put some space between themselves and the rest of the pack when they host the stumbling Detroit Pistons on Monday.

The Indiana Pacers will try to take out the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in four days when the Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls meet Monday in Indianapolis. The Pacers' 6-2 surge includes Friday's 103-96 victory at Milwaukee, which has moved them into fourth place in the East - just one-half game behind Cleveland for third and two ahead of the seventh-place Bucks.

The Miami Heat are making the most of a five-game homestand and will try to end it on a good note when they host the Phoenix Suns on Monday. The Heat dropped eight of nine games prior to the stretch at American Airlines Arena,  but they've captured three of the first four contests during the string - including Saturday's 105-96 victory over Detroit that helped their cause in the playoff chase.

The Boston Celtics won four straight against sub-.500 teams before falling short against the NBA-best Houston Rockets. The Celtics will try to break back into the win column against another losing squad when they continue their road trip at the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

The San Antonio Spurs' struggles have seen them drop out of the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference and into a precarious position where a losing streak of any length could see them slip out of the top eight entirely. Lucky for the Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies don’t seem to have any interest in winning games at all and they visit San Antonio on Monday.

The Utah Jazz are sitting two games out of the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference with 19 games left in the regular season and are trying to make their way up with wins in back-to-back games and 14 of the last 16. The Jazz knocked off one team toward the bottom of its conference at Sacramento on Saturday and will get a chance to do the same when the lowly Orlando Magic visit on Monday.

The Los Angeles Lakers aren't in playoff contention, but they're still becoming a dangerous team. The Lakers will try to throw some chaos into the Western Conference postseason race and pick up their sixth consecutive victory when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.