Best moments, highlights from 9-game Friday

Donovan Mitchell and James Harden look to secure a seventh straight victory for Cleveland when they visit Charlotte on League Pass. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Enjoy the best of Friday’s 9-game schedule with the NBA.com live blog, featuring all of the meaningful moments, performances, observations, news, notes and highlights.

6:15 p.m. ET / Feb. 20

Welcome to a 9-game Friday night of NBA hoops!

Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves host the Dallas Mavericks to tip off ESPN’s primetime doubleheader (7:30 ET). (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

The Dallas Mavericks, who will be without Cooper Flagg (foot), hope to avoid a tenth consecutive loss when they visit the Timberwolves to jump start ESPN’s primetime doubleheader (7:30 ET). Anthony Edwards, fresh off his 2026 NBA All-Star MVP award, will look to continue that momentum for Minnesota as they aim to secure a third straight win.

We’ll follow that up with the fourth and final battle for Los Angeles this season, as a healthy Lakers squad getting Luka Dončić (hamstring) back from a four-game absence will host a resurgent Clippers squad fueled by Kawhi Leonard (10 ET). The Clips are 2-1 versus the purple and gold in 2025-26 after taking the last two matchups at home.

Here’s tonight’s complete schedule: