MINNEAPOLIS — Julius Randle played point forward, grabbing rebounds and speed-dribbling up court.

Donte DiVincenzo came off the bench oozing energy and launching three-pointers, instantly becoming a crowd favorite.

Joe Ingles came off the bench to throw passes and take charges anywhere between the basket and the arena entrance.

Coming off a...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Chase Center crowd was ready to explode all night, with its team riding a hot start to the season to create an anticipated home opener.

Then it held its breath. Twice.

Late in the third quarter, star Steph Curry twisted his left ankle trying to maneuver his way through a screen. He limped to the bench, where he stretched ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 115-102 in Sunday’s home opener at Barclays Center, earning their first win of the 2024-25 season and Jordi Fernandez‘s first win as an NBA head coach.

Fernandez, now three games into his new job, has been hellbent on trying to establish a winning culture in Brooklyn. He wants the ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — The Philadelphia 76ers had another game, and, surprisingly, avoided another loss.

Sunday’s contest against the Indiana Pacers was destined to be a tough challenge when word broke last week that Joel Embiid would be sidelined. And after the Sixers lost to the rebuilding Toronto Raptors on Friday, their game against the Indiana...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — As soon as it became clear that Mark Pope was going to be Kentucky’s new basketball coach, Cody Fueger — his longtime assistant — received a call.

It wasn’t from Pope, asking if Fueger would like to follow him from BYU to UK.

It wasn’t from a family member, inquiring about his future job status.

The face on the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After the Los Angeles Lakers began their season with two straight wins for the first time since 2010, LeBron James stood in front of his locker and said the key to the Lakers season would be looking, more often than not, for Anthony Davis to lead the way.

“It’s very important that he’s the main focal point for us every ...Read more

It would have been easy to make the excuse for the Orlando Magic on Saturday at Memphis that Jamahl Mosley’s squad was playing in its third game in four days to open the season and the second of a back-to-back after traveling the night before.

Except the Memphis Grizzlies were in the same boat.

Less than 24 hours after Memphis fell by 20 ...Read more

The Boston Celtics won 16 playoff games during their championship run this summer. The Pistons won 14 games during the entire 2023-24 NBA season.

On Saturday night, that didn’t matter.

Detroit, of all teams, gave Boston the first true test of its nascent title defense, pushing the reigning champs to the brink at Little Caesars Arena. The ...Read more

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 114-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets (1-2) on Saturday night at Spectrum Center. The Heat (1-1) now returns home to begin a quick two-game homestand Monday against the Detroit Pistons on Dwyane Wade Statue Night at Kaseya Center:

— After turning in one of his worst performances in a Heat uniform to ...Read more

After the Golden State Warriors’ season-opening blowout win over Portland, Buddy Hield took a moment to reflect on what it’s like to be a Warrior. To play alongside Steph Curry, who he has studied closely since he was a kid. To play within the system he’s admired from afar for years.

“I don’t want to bring it up,” Hield said, “But...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — After splitting their two-game West Coast trip to begin the season, the Timberwolves improved to 2-1 with a 112-101 win over Toronto in their home opener. It was a wire-to-wire win that featured some strong bursts of play from the Wolves and other times when their decision-making was suspect. But those moments when they were on, ...Read more

DENVER — Two days after Nikola Jokic bluntly said the Nuggets are “not a good shooting team,” he tried to take matters into his own hands.

His 41 points and career-high seven 3-pointers still weren’t enough in a 109-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in Saturday afternoon’s home opener at Ball Arena. Down three with 14 seconds left,...Read more

DENVER — The Los Angeles Clippers' hold on the game began to slip away in the second quarter, eventually forcing them to play catchup to the Denver Nuggets.

The Clippers did behind a career night from Norman Powell and some clutch free throws from James Harden to pull out a 109-104 win over Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on Saturday afternoon ...Read more

ATLANTA — With two games played, Hawks guard Trae Young seemingly has avoided those slow-start woes that have plagued him in the previous two seasons.

The Hawks guard has begun this season as aggressively as he did in years before. But this time, things have clicked, with the Hawks needing all of his offense as the team adjusts to the new ...Read more

CHICAGO — From the moment he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June, Alex Caruso was always eager to make a return to Chicago. He just wasn’t expecting it to come this soon.

Caruso will reintroduce himself to Bulls fans in the team’s home opener Saturday night as the latest piece of a powerhouse Thunder squad prepared to dominate...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The contract of Aces general manager Natalie Williams is not being renewed, the team announced Saturday morning, describing the move as part of a “restructuring of the front office.”

The Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer was named to her position in April 2022, three months after coach Becky Hammon’s hiring.

“We are ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — The rims at the Delta Center are regulation sized, just like they are at all 30 NBA arenas.

But any rim looks enormous for Buddy Hield right now.

Hield, who led the Golden State Warriors in scoring in their season-opening win against Portland, couldn’t miss against the Utah Jazz. Through two games, he looks like the best ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Hornets repeatedly threatened the Hawks on Friday night at State Farm Arena. But the Hawks advanced to 2-0 with a 125-120 victory.

Here are five observations:

— 1. Hawks guard Trae Young followed up his 30-point, 12-assist opening night performance with another big game. Young, who had seven consecutive games with 30-plus ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Fans stood and roared with excitement during the third quarter Friday like they just saw LeBron James jam the ball through the basket with rim-shaking force, or Anthony Davis reject a Phoenix Suns dunk attempt.

Neither actually happened.

The multitaskers in the building just watched Freddie Freeman’s perfect left-handed swing...Read more