CHICAGO — For most of the game Thursday, the Timberwolves’ defense was absent from the United Center. The Wolves seemed resigned to attempt to outscore the Bulls, who were without guard Zach LaVine and playing on a back-to-back. After trailing most of the night, the Wolves came back in the fourth quarter for a 135-119 win.

They went on a ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Opening night comes with jitters, butterflies, a certain fear of the unknown. What if you’ve scripted and scored, say, a college basketball equivalent of South Pacific and Oklahoma! back to back?

Everyone comes to Broadway expecting you to knock it out of the park all over again, another unforgettable show. Gotta be Cats, ...Read more

The Warriors might very well be for real.

It would be ridiculous to suggest otherwise after they went into Boston and beat the Celtics on Wednesday.

That’s a big-time win against the defending champions, and it was no fluke.

Of course, it’s the first full week of November. Eight games in is too early to make bold declarations about a ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers assigned rookie guard Bronny James to their South Bay Lakers affiliate Thursday, clearing the way for James to make his NBA G League debut Saturday night in El Segundo.

James, the son of Lakers' star LeBron James, appeared in four games with the Lakers this season, including a moment on the floor together with his ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tyrese Maxey is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks with a right hamstring injury, sources confirmed Thursday.

The 76ers guard felt hamstring tightness during the 110-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at the Intuit Dome. Hamstring tightness that requires a multiweek recovery often indicates a strain. ...Read more

Paul George got the basketball on the wing and those same Clippers fans that cheered and adored him during the five years when he was one of their own ... booed him.

The boos from the sparse crowd at the Intuit Dome rained down on George all game because he now was a Philadelphia 76er. The fans even booed George when the Clippers showed a ...Read more

DENVER — In what was supposed to be their first scheduled loss of the season, the Nuggets refused to accept that label.

Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon out due to injuries. Against an undefeated opponent. An undefeated opponent that already crushed Denver at Ball Arena this season on opening night. Somehow, still, the short-handed Nuggets ...Read more

This time the Miami Heat survived the third quarter.

What they couldn’t handle was the fight to the finish. Not with Kevin Durant on the other side.

And, so, it remains a season still in search of a quality win, Erik Spoelstra’s team falling to 3-4 with a 115-112 loss Wednesday night to the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center.

Despite a 28-...Read more

The Detroit Pistons' two-game win streak ended Wednesday night in a 108-107 buzzer-beating loss to the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Jaden Ivey drilled a pair of clutch free throws that gave the Pistons a 103-101 lead with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter. However, All-Star guard LaMelo Ball scored five of the ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — Life without Paolo Banchero on the court hasn’t been easy for the Orlando Magic, to say the least.

Orlando, who’s without its first-time NBA All-Star indefinitely due to a torn right abdominal muscle, dropped its fifth straight contest Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers despite a game-high 28 points from Franz ...Read more

Death, taxes and the final game of a long road trip.

The Knicks concluded their four-game, eight-day swing with a trip to Atlanta to face the Hawks, and after winning in Miami and Detroit, then losing in Houston, the Knicks found themselves in a dogfight on Wednesday.

And after a particularly disappointing loss in H-Town, courtesy of a ...Read more

BOSTON — The Golden State Warriors have talked since training camp in Hawaii about making defense their identity.

Wednesday night in the TD Garden was the night it became true.

The Warriors entered the night with the second best defensive rating in the league, but they’d only taken care of business against lesser teams. The defending ...Read more

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LeBron James glared at the Los Angeles Lakers bench, another chance squandered, another run from the Grizzlies delivered.

There wasn’t much else he could do Wednesday night on the final game of the Lakers’ first road trip. He’d attacked mismatches. He’d swished home triples. He fought like hell with Memphis’ giant ...Read more

Steve Kerr, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, accepted the former president’s re-election in a media session Wednesday ahead of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Celtics in Boston.

“Well, I believe in democracy and the American people have spoken and voted for Trump,” Kerr said. “I want him to do well the next four years. I...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Alex Karaban directed the reigning back-to-back national champion UConn men’s basketball team as it opened the 2024-25 season with a 92-56 win over Sacred Heart in Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday.

There was a sold-out crowd on hand as the Huskies unveiled their second national championship banner in as many years about a half ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets (4-4) were in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings as of Election Day, one spot behind the New York Knicks (3-3) and four games out of first place. Their first seven opponents — Atlanta, Orlando, Milwaukee, Denver, Memphis, Chicago and Detroit — had a combined record of 21-32 entering Wednesday’s ...Read more

The debut of Rutgers basketball phenom Ace Bailey will have to wait.

The five-star freshman was ruled out of Wednesday night’s season opener at home against Wagner with an injury — a surprise development announced several hours before tipoff.

Bailey sustained the undisclosed injury during practice on Monday and is considered day-to-day, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — What figured to be an opportunity for Paul George to show that the grass is greener in Philly has instead morphed into a battle between two undermanned teams.

The question when the 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers meet Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome won't be whether the trio of George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey is better ...Read more