BOSTON — One of the NBA’s worst teams nearly knocked off the Celtics on their home floor Sunday.

Boston trailed the lowly New Orleans Pelicans late in the fourth quarter and needed a last-second stop to escape with a 120-119 victory at TD Garden.

The game, which pitted the defending NBA champions against the last-place team in the Western ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Another night, another undermanned game involving the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Sixers and the Orlando Magic were both without six players for their game Sunday night at the Kia Center, but the hosts found a way to post a come-from-behind 104-99 victory.

The loss dropped the Sixers to 15-22 and marked their fifth setback in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers are going to stay in South Philly after all, according to City Council members and a key labor leader.

The team has struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor to remain in the South Philadelphia sports complex, after more than two years of heated debate over moving to a potential new arena on East Market Street.

Ryan Boyer...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The 76ers and Comcast still expect to submit a bid for a Philadelphia WNBA team, a source familiar with the situation told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday.

The Sixers making such a bid was part of a late-September PowerPoint presentation about the proposed Center City arena, a sentiment echoed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker in...Read more

CHICAGO — DeMar DeRozan never had a hard time defining himself in Chicago.

That was true even as he returned to the United Center in a black and purple jersey on Sunday, helming the Sacramento Kings to a 124-119 win in his first game against the Bulls since leaving the organization in free agency last summer.

It didn’t matter the time or ...Read more

NEW YORK — Rick Brunson stood on the court during a timeout, hands in his pockets, eyes locked on the tunnel leading from the home team locker room to Madison Square Garden’s hardwood.

He was waiting. Watching. Searching.

Moments earlier, his son — Knicks captain and soon-to-be two-time All-Star Jalen Brunson — had driven into the ...Read more

DALLAS — The Denver Nuggets dug themselves a 17-point hole, rallied to take the lead, then decided one comeback wasn’t enough.

So they fell behind again by 18 late in the third quarter, just to furiously battle back for a 112-101 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at American Airlines Center.

Jamal Murray bounced back from a terrible ...Read more

EVANSTON, Ill. — Welsh-Ryan Arena erupted. Chris Collins called timeout. Jeremy Fears Jr. threw his hands up like a gladiator. As an Xavier Booker alley-oop gave the Michigan State men’s basketball team a 22-point lead to cap off a 27-5 run in the first half, a Sunday afternoon trip to Evanston felt like any another game at Breslin Center.

...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan coach Dusty May and the Wolverines made it a goal to fill up Crisler Center.

Consider it mission accomplished.

Off to its best start in Big Ten play in four seasons, No. 24 Michigan gave fans more reason to keep packing the stands with a 91-75 win over Washington on Sunday.

Vlad Goldin had 19 points to lead five ...Read more

PORTLAND, Ore. — First the reasoning, at least the external perspective.

The Miami Heat balked at offering Jimmy Butler a maximum extension because at his age (35), recent history of missed games, and indifference to the regular season.

Certainly a reasonable stance.

But then the Heat, who could not have been more public in announcing they ...Read more

PORTLAND, Ore. – Heat coach Erik Spoelstra got what he wanted, practically forecasting the evening ahead.

“We’ve faced a good amount of adversity on this road trip,” he said at the morning shootaround. “I mean that’s great for a basketball team to go through all those emotions.”

Saturday night, more emotions, while still finding ...Read more

Kentucky’s sixth game away from Rupp Arena didn’t begin the same as the five that preceded it.

And that ended up being a very good thing for the Wildcats.

UK’s offense — led by a sharpshooting Jaxson Robinson — showed up early, and the sixth-ranked Cats built a double-digit lead before having to rally late for a 95-90 victory against...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — It came down to the final minute, the last 41 seconds to be precise, as it so often does. They didn’t invent the ACC Network to replay the first 39 minutes of this one for posterity, but North Carolina and N.C. State yet again contrived to concoct a finish that left the building too stunned to be angry.

Tied, with 41 seconds...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons have done a solid job of filling a vacancy created by an injured player. All season long, coach J.B. Bickerstaff has preached the importance of employing a collective effort. His philosophy has contributed to the Pistons' 4-1 record despite the loss of Jaden Ivey.

However, there have been a handful of moments ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Philadelphia 76ers listed Joel Embiid as questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Orlando Magic.

The seven-time All-Star center missed the past three games with a sprained left foot. He’s been sidelined a total of 23 games this season due to left knee swelling, left knee management, a sinus fracture, the ...Read more

MANHATTAN, Kan. — The Houston Cougars are among the best teams in all of college basketball.

The Kansas State Wildcats reside on the opposite end of the spectrum.

It's hard to find a bigger gap between teams in the Big 12. That much became clear when Houston flexed its superiority over K-State during an 87-57 victory on Saturday at Bramlage ...Read more

CHICAGO — Things have gotten better for the Chicago Bulls.

Right?

This season certainly feels better than the last. No cataclysmic losing streak. No rumblings of trade requests. The offense runs faster and punches harder. The defense has slowly developed into something almost passable over the last 10 games. Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević ...Read more

Alex Karaban must’ve taken the advice from his head coach.

Three days after missing a pair of critical free throws in the final seconds of a road loss to Villanova, Dan Hurley telling him to play with his back-to-back national championship rings to move past it, Karaban helped the UConn men’s basketball team return to dominant form on ...Read more