LOS ANGELES — Games the Lakers and Clippers were scheduled to play Saturday were postponed by the NBA on Friday night because of wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The Lakers’ game against the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena and the Clippers’ contest against the Charlotte Hornets at the Intuit Dome will be played at a date to be ...Read more

The short-handed Nets hit the road and played three strong quarters of basketball in Denver on Friday, but Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets unleashed an offensive avalanche in the third quarter that ultimately led to a 124-105 loss.

Ben Simmons returned from a four-game absence against the Nuggets, and in the game’s opening minutes, he set the ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — After the Magic fell to the Timberwolves by 15 points on Thursday night, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said his team “didn’t have the energy needed” to win against Minnesota.

There might not have been anything better to give Orlando a much-needed boost of energy Friday night vs. Milwaukee other than the return of Paolo ...Read more

BOSTON — A competitive game Friday night turned ugly late for the Celtics, who were run off their home floor by the short-handed Sacramento Kings.

The Kings, who were playing without injured leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, outscored Boston by 17 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 114-97 win at TD Garden. The teams were tied entering ...Read more

NEW YORK — The minutes police cannot save these Knicks. Neither can a more favorable whistle for Karl-Anthony Towns nor plugging in end-of-rotation players for 10-15 minutes a night.

It’s too late in the season to expect players who haven’t logged meaningful NBA minutes to perform competently in games with playoff implications.

Maybe ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Think back to the 76ers’ contest against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

The product inside the Wells Fargo Center was below the NBA standard as several key players were sidelined with injuries on both squads.

Well, things weren’t much different for the Sixers in their 123-115 loss to the lowly New Orleans ...Read more

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Maryland men’s basketball secured the signature win it has been searching for.

For the first time in four attempts this season, the Terps knocked off a ranked opponent by taking down No. 22 UCLA, 79-61, on Friday night before an announced 15,172 at Xfinity Center.

Maryland (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) ended a two-game losing ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors built enough depth in the offseason to withstand injuries, at least on paper. But if you showed anyone in Golden State’s front office their active roster on Friday night, they may have wondered if there was a new infectious disease ravaging their locker room.

Golden State started Dennis Schroder...Read more

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns drives to the rim, gets hit across the arm, over the head, or in the back.

His teammates and coaches brace for the whistle — after all, by the letter of the NBA rulebook, these are fouls.

But no whistle comes. Towns, increasingly frustrated with each no-call, plays on.

On the other end of the floor, the ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The night Paolo Banchero suffered a torn right abdominal muscle, the Magic were fourth in the East.

It was still early in the season and Jamahl Mosley‘s squad had played just five games.

But 72 days and 35 games later?

Orlando was still fourth entering Banchero’s highly-anticipated return to the court against the No. 5 ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was gone, Lakers coach JJ Redick already knew, but he needed to see it.

The morning after his team flew into Los Angeles with the city sky lit by the raging wildfires that would destroy his family's home, he rode through Pacific Palisades to survey the erasure of a community that he, his wife, his children and his sister-in-...Read more

PORTLAND, Ore. — It is a week Miami Heat forward Jaime Jaquez had circled since the NBA schedule came out in August, consecutive games against the Los Angeles teams and the opportunity to reconnect with so many elements of his past.

From the Heat’s practices back on his college campus at UCLA to his high school retiring his number on the ...Read more

PORTLAND, Ore. — If the thought was that the second week of Jimmy Butler’s seven-game team suspension would quiet the outside noise regarding the Miami Heat forward, that hardly appears to be the case.

At 2-2 since the team issued the unpaid sanction for “conduct detrimental to the team,” the Heat continue their six-game western swing ...Read more

MIAMI — Long before the summer of 2010, the Heat carefully cleared their books to set the table for what would be the most monumental free-agent splash in NBA history, one that delivered LeBron James and Chris Bosh and created a Dwyane Wade-anchored Big 3 that made four NBA Finals and won two of them.

The Heat are now positioned to clear ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The reigning king of college hoops had wrung himself dry over the previous couple of hours, as he does every game, win or lose — the ranting, the raging, the whining, the often-brilliant coaching. Dan Hurley then changed out of his navy blue suit and into UConn sweats for his meeting with the media Wednesday night, after his ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Sixers rookie sensation Jared McCain will officially miss the remainder of the season as he recovers from a left knee injury, the team announced Thursday evening.

McCain, who suffered a torn meniscus in the Sixers’ Dec. 13 game against the Indiana Pacers, underwent surgery to repair the injury on Dec. 17. The surgeon who ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — As the Miami Heat broke their huddle in the locker following Tuesday night’s victory over the Golden State Warriors, the chant was, “Breakthrough on three!”

The hope, after an excruciating double-overtime loss the night before against the Sacramento Kings, was of better days ahead amid a largely middling season,

In ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Welcome to the Big Ten, Washington.

For the first time since conference realignment brought four Pac-12 programs into the Big Ten, the No. 16 Michigan State men’s basketball team hosted the Huskies at Breslin Center Thursday night. That introduction was largely one-sided. The Spartans (13-2, 4-0 Big Ten) romped to an ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Put another dunk on Anthony Edwards’ highlight reel.

In the third quarter of the Timberwolves’ 104-89 victory over the short-handed Magic on Thursday, Edwards took flight from the left side of the lane as Orlando’s Anthony Black came over to defend.

Black was unsure whether he wanted to challenge Edwards or get out of ...Read more

DETROIT — After two straight disastrous showings against the Kings and Heat, the Warriors’ effort was in question for the first time all year. Head coach Steve Kerr called it a “crisis of confidence.” He needed to see more “competitive spirit.”

Even short five rotation players, the Warriors played with the type of urgency they’d ...Read more