MINNEAPOLIS — Before this WNBA semifinal playoff series began, given the way both teams play defense, people said it would be a slugfest.

There were moments Tuesday at Target Center where it seemed that might actually happen. There was pushing and shoving. A good bit of jawing, a technical ...

… and a Lynx win.

Playing shut-down defense ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Liberty are close to getting revenge.

They’ve put the Aces in the same position they were in during last year’s WNBA Finals: an 0-2 hole.

A deficit that’s nearly impossible to come out of.

A deficit that could require a miracle to come out of to continue the chase for an Aces three-peat.

And with the way the Liberty ...Read more

ATHENS, Ga. — The Hawks took a step away from the familiar Tuesday when they opened their training camp on the campus of the University of Georgia instead of their practice facility in Brookhaven. For the first time since 2017, the Hawks made the approximately 70-minute trek to Georgia’s campus for their first three days of training camp.

�...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry’s summer included an iconic performance at the Paris Olympics and a one-year contract extension that keeps him with the Warriors through the 2026-27 season.

His summer also featured his first scripted television show (and acting performance), his annual Curry Cup tour for equity in golf, an endorsement of Vice ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — JJ Redick was given advice on how to deal with his first day of practice as a new coach with the Lakers.

So on Tuesday, when Redick held his first day of training camp after leaving the television and podcast space to become the leading man of the historic franchise, he knew just what to do.

“When I first took the Lakers job,...Read more

NEW YORK — The first name that comes to mind for Mikal Bridges is Aron Baynes. The next are Frank Kaminsky, Jock Landale and Dario Saric.

Then, Bridges draws a blank.

The Nets didn’t have a floor-spacing center after his arrival in Brooklyn as part of the Kevin Durant trade.

Neither did the Knicks, at least not until late Friday night, ...Read more

CHICAGO — Before the first whistle blew at training camp, the Chicago Bulls already had a serious concern: defense.

The Bulls made a calculated decision that downgraded their defense by trading Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey in June. But the cracks go deeper — and coach Billy Donovan made it clear this ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The place where JJ Redick wants to be, the basketball court, offers structure. The lines that mark the perimeter of the court differentiate between in bounds and out of bounds. The rules of the game make sure that craft is rewarded.

That place, the court, made Redick a star — the all-time leading scorer in Duke basketball ...Read more

MIAMI — The first game on the Miami Heat schedule was a long-awaited one Monday involving team president Pat Riley’s fired shots and veteran Jimmy Butler’s considered reaction.

Butler, just as he should, took it all off the schedule.

“Normal hair, no shenanigans,’’ he said at the team’s media day, meaning there was no wig, ...Read more

DENVER — For Cory Slater, it was love at first swipe. As Dikembe Mutombo stuck his left hand on Shawn Kemp’s hip and his right hand on history, blocking his eighth Seattle shot in the Nuggets’ iconic Game 5 win over the top-seeded SuperSonics, a kid in New Jersey knew he’d found his team and his player. His moment and his muse.

“I’m...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Who knew D'Angelo Russell would deliver the best moment from Lakers media day?

The smart money Monday probably would've been bet on LeBron James talking about playing with his son, Bronny. Maybe you'd have splashed some down on Anthony Davis talking about trying to win his first defensive player of the year or Austin Reaves ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — He was the missing piece. The best defender. The Hall of Fame glass-master.

There’s no way the 76ers reach the NBA Finals in 2001 without the deadline addition of Dikembe Mutombo. He was the centerpiece of a trade that sent principals Toni Kukoc and Theo Ratliff to Atlanta, but it’s astonishing how little credit Mount ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls guards lined up for a photo shoot Monday at the Advocate Center, but one was missing.

“Where’s Ayo?” someone yelled.

Ayo Dosunmu quickly emerged from a small, enclosed photo booth, joined his teammates and bent to tie his shoes before the group shot.

It was a perfect reminder of what could be in store for ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The goal, Kawhi Leonard said Monday at the Clippers’ media day at Intuit Dome, is to play in the team’s regular-season opener against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 23 in Inglewood.

Leonard continues to deal with inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee, leading some uncertainty about when he’ll be healthy enough to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James was staring his basketball mortality in the face.

His team had been swept in the Western Conference finals the previous spring and his body was showing undeniable signs of age, the mileage mounting while James’ willingness to keep fighting seemed to lessen.

“I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest,” he ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — So here are your 2024-25 Philadelphia 76ers:

Joel Embiid is 30. His backup, Andre Drummond, is 31.

Paul George is 34. So is his friend Reggie Jackson, one of the team’s backup point guards.

Eric Gordon is 35. Kyle Lowry is 38.

“We’re old,” George said Monday. “I get it.”

It was a bone-dry one-liner in response ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In case Glen Taylor didn’t see my Slack message at the Minnesota Star Tribune, here it is:

Glen: I get it.

I understand why you don’t want to sell your hoops organization.

No one has any idea whether you — owner of the Lynx, Timberwolves and a certain local newspaper — will win your dispute against prospective buyers ...Read more

NEW YORK — Tom Thibodeau can’t comment directly on players involved in incomplete trades.

So when a reporter asked the Knicks head coach about Donte DiVincenzo, the franchise’s all-time single-season 3-point leader who was traded alongside Julius Randle as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns deal, during his Monday media day press conference, ...Read more