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Timberwolves pull off big comeback, beat Thunder 131-128 in overtime

Sports / Basketball /

OKLAHOMA CITY – Monday was not shaping up to be a thriller.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ injuries looked like they had finally caught up to them against the best team in the Western Conference, and they were down as much as 25 in the second half.

Even coach Chris Finch pulled Anthony Edwards with 3 minutes, 41 seconds to play. But from that...Read more

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Nikola Jokic sets career-high with 19 assists as Nuggets bounce back at Pacers

Sports / Basketball /

INDIANAPOLIS — The Denver Nuggets’ loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday was of the high-exposure variety. National television. A matchup they had dominated in recent years.

They needed a bounce back, and they got one Monday night. Aaron Gordon scored 25 points, Nikola Jokic set a career-high with 19 assists, and Denver won its 10th ...Read more

Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

76ers drop 8th straight game with 142-110 blowout loss to the Bulls

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers had another negative night … depending on who you ask.

For those wanting them to reach the postseason, Monday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls could be a detriment.

The Sixers missed out on an opportunity to clinch the season’s series over the Bulls following the 142-110 decision at the Wells Fargo Center.

...Read more

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Heat don't have a shot in 98-86 loss to Hawks, as season turns even more dire

Sports / Basketball /

ATLANTA – A microcosm of the season, as in the Miami Heat don’t have a shot?

It certainly felt that way in Monday night’s 98-86 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena, when a made shot practically was reason for celebration and a converted 3-pointer practically an abstract.

In falling to 1-6 since trading forward Jimmy Butler to ...Read more

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Nets doomed by slow start, rough finish in 107-99 loss to Wizards

Sports / Basketball /

The Brooklyn Nets fell to the Washington Wizards 107-99 at Capital One Arena on Monday, marking their second loss to the worst team in the NBA in as many tries.

However, Brooklyn’s defensive identity still shined through in spurts, as it forced a season-high 15 steals and created 23 turnovers — 15 of which came in the second half.

The ...Read more

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No. 15 Michigan grinds out win in low-scoring battle at Nebraska

Sports / Basketball /

Michigan coach Dusty May was confident the Wolverines would bounce back, respond and find a way to keep pace in the Big Ten race.

They’ve proven that throughout the season and did so once again in a wrestling match Monday at Nebraska.

Despite turning in its worst offensive performance of the season, No. 15 Michigan shook off the sting of a ...Read more

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'Dogfight for playoff seeding': How the Lakers are preparing for the wars to come

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Lakers players looked around the meeting room Saturday morning, double-checking with one another to make sure that what they thought they just heard was what JJ Redick actually said.

Did he, the Lakers coach, clearly amped up for their game with Denver later that night, tell his players to go to war and to be "willing to die on ...Read more

Clarence Tabb Jr./The Detroit News/TNS

Pistons' winning streak reaches 7 following home victory over Clippers

Sports / Basketball /

DETROIT — After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 7, the Detroit Pistons have become one of the top teams in the league. The victory sparked a season-long six-game winning streak. However, four of the last six games have been played on the road.

During a season of resurgence, the Pistons have performed better on the road than at home, ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LaVar Ball says 'everyone heard' about his amputated foot: 'If I wanted to, I'd grow it back!'

Sports / Basketball /

LaVar Ball confirmed a recent report that his right foot has been amputated. And he offered that information in the most LaVar Ball way possible.

Over the last month or so, Ball — the famously vociferous father of NBA stars Lonzo and LaMelo Ball and their brother LiAngelo Ball, who played in the NBA G League and is now a rising hip-hop star �...Read more

Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Marcus Hayes: Doctors discuss 'radical' surgeries for Joel Embiid that could sideline him for as much as a year

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — For the first time since he became the face of The Process, Joel “The Process” Embiid got benched. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter Saturday because the rest of the team was better without him. That the rest of the team included Quentin Grimes, Guerschon Yabusele, and Ricky Council IV should underscore just how badly ...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

John Clay: The effort is there, but shorthanded, this Kentucky basketball team can only go so far

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — You can’t fault their effort. They’re playing hard. They’re hanging tough in tough circumstances in tough situations when, as a previous coach might have said, they could easily let go of the rope. These Kentucky Wildcats are holding tight to that rope.

But Saturday at Coleman Coliseum, playing the fourth-ranked team in...Read more

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Wolves fall 130-123 to West-leading Thunder, who get hot in fourth quarter from deep

Sports / Basketball /

Oklahoma City’s fourth-quarter, three-point shooting determined its 130-123 victory at Target Center on Sunday night after the Timberwolves started the game 1-for-11 in that category.

With the Wolves leading 110-105 with eight minutes left, the Thunder fired off seven threes — nearly in succession — on a night when they avenged a lopsided...Read more

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Sky trade the No. 3 draft pick to the Mystics for guard Ariel Atkins

Sports / Basketball /

CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky traded out of the draft lottery Sunday night to acquire veteran guard Ariel Atkins in a blockbuster trade with the Washington Mystics.

The Sky announced they sent their No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft — along with a first-round pick swap and a second-round pick in 2027 — to the Mystics to acquire Atkins. The guard ...Read more

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Second-half surge powers Magic past Wizards

Sports / Basketball /

ORLANDO, Fla. — For the Orlando Magic to get back on the track in the final stretch of the regular season, the opportunity to beat up on teams with a below-.500 record can’t be passed up.

That included Sunday night against the nine-win Washington Wizards, who entered on a five-game losing streak.

Although it took a half of basketball for ...Read more

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Cade Cunningham outduels Trae Young, Pistons hold off Hawks for 6th straight win

Sports / Basketball /

ATLANTA — When Cade Cunningham was named an All-Star in early February, many basketball fans, especially those in Atlanta, felt that Trae Young deserved the selection.

Young has had a strong season, as he is on track to earn his first career assist title, averaging a league-best 11.4 per game this season. He later received the honor by ...Read more

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Tyler Herro's 40 again not enough as Heat fall 120-113 to Bucks; Jovic injured

Sports / Basketball /

MILWAUKEE – The formula for this Miami Heat roster in the post-Jimmy Butler era to beat a team of the Milwaukee Bucks’ caliber is relatively basic: perfection.

Sunday night, the Heat got just about that from Tyler Herro, and it still wasn’t enough, while also suffering a debilitating injury to their rotation in what turned into a 120-113 ...Read more

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UCLA holds off Ohio State for Mick Cronin's 500th career win

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — A special day needed a big moment.

Leave it to the tallest UCLA Bruin to deliver a handful in his own tribute to Bill Walton.

With UCLA clinging to a narrow lead over Ohio State midway through the second half Sunday, Aday Mara took a pass from teammate Skyy Clark and pivoted for a dunk.

The 7-foot-3 center followed with ...Read more

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Luka Doncic looks like Luka in Lakers' win in Denver

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Lakers coach JJ Redick told Luka Doncic exactly what he wanted, a "blackout moment" when the superstar gets so lost in a game he starts yelling at no one in particular.

This, in Redick's mind, would be the signal, the sign that the emotional baggage Doncic has carried since having his life and career upended via a shocking trade...Read more

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Celtics survive Knicks rally, pull away late for fifth straight win

Sports / Basketball /

BOSTON — The New York Knicks spent big this offseason to close the gap between themselves and the defending champion Celtics.

Well, they’ve now met three times during the 2024-25 campaign, and that gap remains as wide as ever.

Boston improved to 3-0 against its Atlantic Division rivals with a 118-105 win Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. The ...Read more

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St. John's dominates UConn, 89-75, in statement victory as Liam McNeeley struggles

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — A three-second sequence in Sunday’s 89-75 win by No. 10 St. John’s over UConn offered a perfect encapsulation of the Red Storm’s dominance.

With 4:23 left in the first half at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s guard RJ Luis Jr. made a 3-pointer over Connecticut’s Liam McNeeley.

As UConn center Samson Johnson grappled for...Read more