Dana Lane Sports Picks

The Chicago Bulls are showing signs of making a late-season dash as they look for their sixth victory in eight games when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Chicago (34-38) is in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, possessing the final play-in berth by 1 1/2 games over the Indiana Pacers. But the Bulls are also just a half-game behind the ninth-place Toronto Raptors and 1 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Atlanta Hawks.

Chicago is coming off a two-game split with the third-place Philadelphia 76ers. The Bulls recorded a 109-105 double-overtime road win on Monday before being pummeled 116-91 at home on Wednesday.

The Bulls dug themselves early deficits of 17-0 and 23-1 in the rematch.

The Toronto Raptors will try to put the advantage back into home court when they play the struggling Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

The Raptors (35-38) had won seven in a row at home before losing 118-114 to the visiting Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

Meanwhile the Pistons (16-57) lost their fourth straight Tuesday 129-107 to the host Atlanta Hawks.

The Raptors were without Scottie Barnes (wrist), Gary Trent Jr. (elbow) and Precious Achiuwa (hamstring) when they played the Pacers in the opener of a four-game homestand.

None took part in practice on Thursday and all three are listed as questionable for Friday. Barnes took shots with a brace on his injured left wrist after practice.

The Raptors, who are 23-14 at home, fell behind the Pacers 36-26 in the first quarter after a sluggish start.

The New York Islanders will try to continue their playoff push and maintain their solid wild-card position in the Eastern Conference when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday night.

The Islanders (37-27-8, 82 points) are riding a three-game winning streak into Columbus, a stretch that includes a 7-2 home win over Toronto. In that game, the Islanders broke open a close game with four goals in the third period.

The Islanders are comfortably in playoff position, holding onto the top wild-card spot while battling through late-season injuries.

Brock Nelson was a full participant in Thursday's practice before the team left for Columbus.

The Islanders forward left Tuesday's game against Toronto in the first period after a hit against the boards and did not return. The team picked up the slack in his absence, scoring all seven goals over the final 40 minutes.

Islanders head coach Lane Lambert indicated Nelson did not return for precautionary reasons but was relieved to see him on the ice Thursday, a good sign for Friday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers hope to have Joel Embiid and James Harden back in the lineup when they take on a resurgent Golden State Warriors club Friday night in San Francisco.

The 76ers blitzed the host Chicago Bulls 116-91 on Wednesday night despite Harden sitting out with left Achilles soreness and giving Embiid the second half off due to tightness in his right calf.

With Embiid's benching coming after the 76ers had built a 28-point halftime lead, Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers found himself spending more time explaining Harden's status moving forward than his star center's availability for Friday's second stop on a four-game trip.

"We don't want him playing if it's sore," Rivers said of Harden, who also missed last Saturday's game against Indiana before returning to play 47 minutes Monday in a double-overtime home loss to the Bulls.

"If it's sore enough, we still won't play him on Friday," said Rivers. "We've gone into the playoffs two years in a row with injuries. We all learned, we all know that you don't win in the playoffs if your key guys aren't healthy. Period. So we're going to do whatever we can to be healthy."

Harden had 27 points and Embiid a game-high 34 when the 76ers beat a short-handed Warriors team 118-106 at home on Dec. 16. Golden State was missing Stephen Curry (dislocated left shoulder), Draymond Green (bruised right quad) and Andrew Wiggins (strained right adductor) that night.

Golden State remains without Wiggins (personal matters) but managed to string together consecutive road wins for just the second time this season when it defeated the Houston Rockets 121-108 and Dallas Mavericks 127-125 on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, to cap a 2-3 trip.

The Indiana Pacers are hoping to have All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton in the lineup when they face the Boston Celtics on the road Friday night.

Haliburton was originally listed as questionable for Wednesday's 118-114 victory at Toronto but was ruled out just before tipoff and missed his sixth consecutive game with a right ankle injury. The Pacers have a 3-3 record during that stretch.

Indiana (33-40) lost nine of 10 games during a three-week stretch in January, when Haliburton was out with a sprained left elbow.

"With him out, (rookie guard Andrew Nembhard) is getting a great chance to play a lot of minutes at point, which is good for him," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said earlier this week. "It's been much more challenging when Tyrese has been out of the lineup. I don't think that's any news flash. But we are where we are."

Haliburton, 23, is averaging 20.8 points, 10.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in 54 starts this season. He had 22 points and 14 assists when the Celtics beat the Pacers 142-138 in overtime on Feb. 23.

Nembhard scored 25 points and had 10 assists in Indiana's victory over Toronto.

For the third straight year, a No. 15 reached the Sweet 16. For the second straight season, a private school from New Jersey is the noisemaker in the NCAA Tournament.

Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said the Tigers received celebrity treatment since returning home from consecutive bracket-busting upsets of South No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 7 Missouri. Henderson and Princeton wade deeper into uncharted territory in a South Region semifinal game against sixth-seeded Creighton on Friday in Louisville.

"I was on a show today with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski), and he asked me the same thing," Henderson said. "I was like, 'Well, you tell me. What do we do here?'"

It's not a mystery for the Ivy League champions. Henderson intends for everyone to remember what got them to this point, to stay themselves while enjoying the moment.

The Tigers (23-8) haven't played like a No. 15 seed in their two tournament wins. They never trailed after the opening minutes against Missouri, made twice as many 3-pointers (12 to six) as their opponent and dominated the boards 44-30, all while handling the Tigers' pressure defense.

Win or lose in the Sweet 16 matchup with No. 1 overall seed Alabama, San Diego State strives to control the pace.

For the Aztecs to defeat the Crimson Tide in the South Region semifinal on Friday in Louisville, Ky., the No. 5 seed has to live up to its reputation.

"San Diego State's defense is elite," Alabama coach Nate Oats said.

The Aztecs (29-6) led the nation in transition defense, and with a rotation that touches 10 players and beyond, San Diego State follows an old-school philosophy: Defend and offense will follow. The Mountain West champions expected to be in Louisville with this opportunity, even if others didn't