LOS ANGELES — Nelson Rodriguez has rooted for the Clippers his entire life, but the fandom of the Santa Ana resident was out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The 37-year-old never owned an article of the team's clothing growing up, or even as an adult. He can only keep up with them on social media since Nelson doesn't subscribe to ...Read more

DENVER — Nuggets center Nikola Jokic injured his right elbow while warming up Wednesday night and was ruled out before Denver’s 128-108 loss to the Houston Rockets.

The injury was officially listed as right elbow inflammation. Jokic has now missed six games this season.

The three-time league MVP is averaging 30.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and ...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets are not invincible on 24 hours of rest after all.

Back home after blowing out Dallas in prime time, Denver was dealt an unexpected blow an hour before opening tip Wednesday when Nikola Jokic was ruled out due to right elbow inflammation, an injury he sustained while warming up, the team said.

The Nuggets couldn’t ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A 10-point lead faded to four in the final minute, but now the Michigan State men’s basketball team has its 10th straight win.

Riding deep contributions that saw eight players score seven points or more, No. 12 Michigan State beat Penn State, 90-85, Wednesday at Breslin Center. Though foul trouble and tough finishes ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — If the Bucks were the team playing on the second night of a back-to-back Wednesday against the Magic, they certainly didn’t show it.

Less than 24 hours after taking down the Kings at Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee led by as many as 30 points in a 122-93 home victory over Jamahl Mosley’s short-handed Orlando squad.

The Magic were ...Read more

Two short weeks after losing by 54 points in Boston, the Toronto Raptors handed the Celtics their most humbling loss of the season Wednesday.

Toronto led for nearly the entire second half and held Boston to 15 fourth-quarter points in a 110-97 victory at Scotiabank Arena.

Despite facing two of the NBA’s worst teams in consecutive games, the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Nurse remains confident that the 76ers can still turn the season around.

“Our numbers of games with guys healthy are still very, very low,” the coach said before the Sixers faced the New York Knicks. “And I’m not keeping track as much as you guys are, but it’s still less than 10.”

Wednesday’s 125-119 ...Read more

AMES, Iowa — Kansas has lost three straight games at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum for the first time in the 22-year Bill Self era.

Senior guard Curtis Jones, a transfer from Buffalo, scored 20 points the first half — five the second stanza — as the No. 2-ranked Cyclones defeated the No. 9 Jayhawks 74-57 on Wednesday night before a ...Read more

If Jimmy Butler indeed is in the midst of his endgame with the Miami Heat, the process hardly is an outlier during Pat Riley’s three decades of stewardship of the franchise.

It’s almost as if it’s the team’s own version of the 3Rs.

Relocation of a leading man.

Recovery in the short term.

Reload for the team’s next iteration.

Over ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — One college basketball player this season has attracted the notice of The Onion, which posted a brief gag last week announcing Cooper Flagg was taking two weeks off for a “family trip to Hilton Head.” The joke lands, although it’s hard to pin down exactly why.

Is it his youngish appearance? He did, after all, just turn ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nick Richards won’t be coming back with the Charlotte Hornets when they return from their abbreviated three-game road trip.

The Hornets are sending Richards and a second-round pick to Phoenix for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks, league sources confirm to The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday. The Observer reported ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Bronny James is the son of a billionaire. He doesn’t need to be busting his butt trying to prove himself as a Lakers rookie or a player on the team’s G League affiliate.

“Bronny doesn’t have to play basketball at all,” LeBron James said on this week’s episode of Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast. �...Read more

CHICAGO — Tuesday’s matchup between the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers was one of eight games rescheduled by the NBA due to the California wildfires.

The Bulls were originally scheduled to play the Clippers at Intuit Dome on Tuesday night. However, the game will now take place on Monday with a 9:30 p.m. CT tipoff. This will create ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The hometown boy from Camarillo, Jaime Jaquez Jr., returned to the high school gym where he spent countless hours sweating, diving for loose balls and dunking. It was a much-beloved homecoming Tuesday night in front of a community that always appreciated his loyalty and dedication.

“We get to etch his name in history,” ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke’s dead-eye 3-point shooting made for a easy ACC win over the league’s worst team on Tuesday night.

Led by Kon Knueppel’s season-high 25 points, aided by six 3-pointers, helped the No. 3 Blue Devils build a 24-point halftime lead and roll to a 89-54 win over Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (15-2, 7-0 ACC) won ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was looking rough for the Kentucky Wildcats in their return to Rupp Arena on Tuesday night.

And then the shots started falling.

Mark Pope’s No. 8-ranked Cats weathered an early storm before coming on toward the end of the first half and staying in control from there for a 81-69 victory over No. 11 Texas A&M, its ...Read more