With nonconference play winding down, Michigan had one last chance to bolster its resume with a marquee win in a top-25 matchup.

The No. 24 Wolverines couldn’t seize the opportunity and fell to No. 14 Oklahoma on a late four-point play in the Jumpman Invitational, 87-86, on Wednesday at the Spectrum Center.

Vlad Goldin scored 26 and Danny ...Read more

HARTFORD – Anything can happen in a conference opener for the UConn men’s basketball program.

It took an extra five minutes on Wednesday night, but the 11th-ranked Huskies were able to put away Xavier, 94-89, for their first win in a home conference opener since 2011.

Tarris Reed Jr. made his first UConn start in place of Samson Johnson, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard participated in the "contact" part of practice for the first time this season on Wednesday, but coach Tyronn Lue said there still isn't a timetable for the return of the team's best player, who has been out all season as he manages a right knee injury.

Leonard will travel with the Clippers for ...Read more

NEW YORK — The day has arrived.

Karl-Anthony Towns is set to return to the place he once called home — to the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2015 and molded him into a perennial All-Star center.

On Thursday, Towns will step onto the Target Center floor as a member of the Knicks, facing the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first ...Read more

NEW YORK — Brooklyn acquired a pair of point guards in the Dennis Schröder deal, the first being De’Anthony Melton, who in all likelihood, will never suit up for the team given the season-ending ACL tear he suffered with the Golden State Warriors, and of course his expiring contract.

It appears the other, two-way rookie Reece Beekman, will...Read more

ATLANTA — The Hawks shut down guard Kobe Bufkin for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.

The team announced Wednesday that it reached the decision after further evaluation and additional medical opinions. Bufkin will have surgery Jan. 7 to address instability in his right shoulder.

As a result of the surgery and recovery time, Bufkin will ...Read more

BOSTON — Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey appears to have avoided a serious injury after exiting Monday’s win over the Toronto Raptors with an ankle sprain.

In the third quarter of the 122-121 victory, Giddey launched himself at Raptors wing Gradey Dick in an attempt to block a 3-pointer and landed awkwardly on his right foot. Giddey was ...Read more

ATLANTA — Hawks guard Trae Young knows he hasn’t had the best shooting percentages this season. But that’s not where his priorities are focused now.

This season, he’s made 38.9% of his overall field goals and 31.5% of his 3-point shots. But the 26-year-old guard is more focused on his overall impact on the game than on a high shooting ...Read more

DETROIT — Yes, of course, he’s a better player now.

Cade Cunningham won’t be the first person to tell you that. That’s not really his nature. But he won’t deny it, either.

What he will tell you next, though, says a bit more about this star turn — an All-Star turn, perhaps — that we’re seeing from the Pistons’ floor leader in ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls fans can look forward to seeing a lot more of Lonzo Ball in the coming weeks.

After a years-long recovery process and countless setbacks, Ball is back in the closing rotation for the Bulls. He played at least 19 minutes in four of the last seven games. And Ball’s impact as a creative playmaker has returned to full ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The bet the Lakers made on Bronny James always carried a tremendous amount of baggage, their second-round draft pick impossible to separate from the team's star who made no secret about wanting to play with his son.

Bronny James' first NBA appearance happened on opening night, long before he was ready. His first points, in ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte loves its Tar Heels.

But No. 7 Florida came to spoil the party.

North Carolina, the home team in the first game of the third-annual Jumpman Invitational, muscled back from a 17-point first-half deficit only to fall just short to the visiting Florida Gators, 90-84 — the team’s 9-0 run to start the second half ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Soon to be 6 years old, Dennis Schroder Jr. is old enough now to understand what it meant when his dad got a phone call this week informing him that he had been traded to the Golden State Warriors. In his young life it will be the seventh different jersey his dad has worn.

“We’re lucky, now it’s a good team, at least,”...Read more

DETROIT — As Oakland’s Greg Kampe and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo rocked Grinch-themed ugly sweaters to Tuesday’s neutral site men’s basketball game at Little Caesars Arena, the wardrobe choice was a foreshadow to what the game would become.

Shaking off a sloppy start with turnovers, No. 20 Michigan State (9-2) finished with a 77-58 ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Max Christie reclined in his locker while a recent Memphis Grizzlies game played on the Lakers' locker-room television. He looked relaxed and ready to go.

However, he was, in fact, sick.

"I sound kinda crazy," he said with his sinuses turning him into an extended relative of Kermit the Frog.

Hours later, he'd walk back into ...Read more

In a season that has already been overstuffed with theatrics, the Nuggets saved perhaps their most dramatic finish yet for the most dedicated viewers, escaping Sacramento after dark with a 130-129 win.

Denver blew a 23-point lead and then overcame a 10-point deficit in the last 4:10. There were seven lead changes in the last 75 seconds, ...Read more

NEW YORK — Life is unfair for most in the NBA. It is tough to get a gig, and even tougher to stick around.

The Nets completed their trade with the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, a deal that sent Dennis Schröder and a 2025 second-round pick to the Bay Area in exchange for De’Anthony Melton and two-way guard Reece Beekman, along with three...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nick Nurse had a concerned look on his face, and with just cause.

But he was able to exhale in large part due to the Philadelphia 76ers All-Star duo of Tyrese Maxey and Paul George along with Kelly Oubre Jr.’s contributions. They combined to score 92 points to lead the Sixers to a 121-108 victory over the Charlotte Hornets...Read more