Getty
The NBA has another full slate of basketball games on the schedule for Friday, February 20th, highlighted by Lakers vs. Clippers on ESPN.
Following the 2026 NBA All-Star Break, basketball is back in action as the league enters the final stretch of the regular season, and on Friday, February 20th, the NBA has another full slate of games on the schedule.
Yesterday, Thursday Feb. 19th, featured ten total games in the first night of action after the All-Star break, and that will continue, as the NBA has nine games on the schedule for Friday.
Most notable are the two games on ESPN to be televised nationally, with the Dallas Mavericks playing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early window, and the Los Angeles Clippers playing their cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, in the late window.
Here is the full schedule of NBA games on TV tonight, the tipoff times, and where to watch for Friday, Feb. 20th.
NBA Games Today, Schedule, Tipoff Times, And Where To Watch
Cleveland Cavaliers at Charlotte Hornets, 7 pm EST, on FanDuel Sports Ohio and FanDuel Sports Charlotte
Indiana Pacers at Washington Wizards, at 7 pm EST, on Monumental Sports Network and FanDuel Sports Indiana
Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies, at 7 pm EST, on FanDuel Sports Memphis and KJZZ 14
Miami Heat at Atlanta Hawks, at 7:30 pm EST, on FanDuel Sports Sun, FanDuel Sports Southeast, WANF – Atlanta News First, and Peachtree Sports Network
Dallas Mavericks at Minnesota Timberwolves, at 7:30 pm EST, on ESPN, KFAA 29, FanDuel Sports North, and WFAA 8
Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans, at 8 pm EST, on Gulf Coast Sports and FanDuel Sports Wisconsin
Brooklyn Nets at Oklahoma City Thunder, at 8 pm EST, on FanDuel Sports Oklahoma, KWTV – News 9, and YES Network
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers, at 10 pm EST, on KUNP – Rip City TV Network and Altitude Sports
Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, at 10 pm EST, on ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet, and FanDuel Sports SoCal
All of the NBA games on the schedule for Friday, Feb. 20th, can also be found on NBA League Pass.
More Information And Injury News For The ESPN National TV Games: Mavericks vs. Timberwolves, Clippers vs. Lakers
Starting with the first nationally televised game on ESPN, the Mavericks vs. Timberwolves carries a few interesting storylines as both teams are at vastly different points in each team’s season and history as a whole.
For the Mavericks, they traded Anthony Davis and shut down Kyrie Irving for the rest of the year. Dallas is expected to tank the rest of the season for a lottery pick to put more young talent around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg, who is slated to miss the game with a foot injury. The Mavericks also have Caleb Martin, Dereck Lively, and Daniel Gafford listed on the injury report, while Max Christie is questionable.
For the Timberwolves, they are making a push to a top-four seed in the Western Conference standings to clinch home-court advantage in the playoffs. Anthony Edwards continues to play at an All-NBA level and is an MVP award candidate. Minnesota does not have any players listed on its injury report, and is considered a heavy favorite to win the Friday night contest.
The highlight game of the night is another chapter in the cross-town rivalry between the Clippers and Lakers. The former traded away James Harden for Darius Garland, while also adding Benedict Mathurin at the trade deadline in hopes of getting younger and having a better shot at the loaded 2027 free agent class.
Mathurin is coming off a 38-point game against the Nuggets, while franchise star Kawhi Leonard is also playing the best basketball of his career since he moved to Los Angeles. The Clippers were on a hot streak before trading Harden, but are now expected to miss the playoffs and draft in the lottery. Garland is still out with a toe injury, while Bradley Beal will miss the rest of the season after having hip surgery earlier in the year.
This current Lakers team is also at an interesting point in the season. After dealing with injuries throughout the year to the star trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, head coach JJ Redick is expected to have his full lineup available to play against the Clippers.
Doncic is playing at an MVP-level in his first full season with the Lakers, and while defensive issues across the roster remain a top concern, the offensive firepower has consistently kept the team above water this year.
Matchups to watch for the Clippers vs. Lakers game are Leonard guarding Doncic, as well as whoever on the Lakers will guard Mathurin, as he hopes to continue his hot streak for his new team. The Lakers are slight favorites for the highlight game of the night.
After the All-Star Break, the NBA is back in full swing. Now entering the most important part of the season, teams will either be fighting for a spot in the playoffs or a top pick in the lottery. The basketball schedule for Friday, Feb. 20th, features teams on both sides of that coin, but will likely deliver some interesting matchups and results.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski