ATLANTA — The cycle of mediocrity had a chance to add something of meaning Saturday at State Farm Arena.

Instead, no three-game winning streak for the Miami Heat, just a 120-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena and a 15-14 record going into Sunday night’s game against the Houston Rockets to conclude this three-game trip.

After ...Read more

NEW YORK — It’s been nearly a month since the Liberty and their fans had to say goodbye to Kayla Thornton — the team’s do-it-all glue player who left everything on the court each night.

The addition of the WNBA’s 13th and newest franchise — the Golden State Valkyries — pretty much ensured the reigning champion Liberty were going ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors didn’t have Steph Curry or Draymond Green, but they played with the type of intensity that such a disadvantageous situation requires.

Fighting for every rebound, applying ball pressure, trapping dribblers and wreaking havoc at any opportunity, the Warriors cut a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit to ...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets’ loss on Christmas day was an outlier within the context of this season, in that their offense betrayed them. Their 149-135 loss to the Cavaliers two nights later was more akin to the trend — but in its most extreme form.

Denver trailed by as many as 21 and fell to 8-5 at home this season in Friday’s loss to the NBA...Read more

Those tactics aren’t going to work anymore, Orlando. The Knicks have your number.

The short-handed Magic, missing three of their top scorers — Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner — leaned on their trademark physicality, a gritty style of play that has kept them competitive despite their depleted roster. Orlando’s defense ...Read more

BOSTON — Consider the Celtics’ skid snapped.

After losing four of its last seven and two straight for the first time this season, Boston bounced back in emphatic fashion by bulldozing the Indiana Pacers, 142-105, on Friday night at TD Garden.

Jaylen Brown was the tone-setter for Boston, scoring a season-high 44 points on 16-of-24 shooting ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Nets were playing textbook defense on Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs early, but that effort was not sustained throughout regulation in a 96-87 loss Friday night at Barclays Center.

Veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith returned to the starting lineup after missing three straight games because of a left calf contusion...Read more

HOUSTON – The Timberwolves got off to a rough start in the final leg of this three-game road trip when their flight was delayed several hours by thunderstorms heading out of Dallas on Thursday.

But their trip ended on a much brighter note in a 113-112 comeback win over the Rockets.

The Wolves trailed by 16 in the fourth quarter before ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid has been fined $75,000 for “making obscene gestures on the playing court” during the 76ers’ win at the Boston Celtics on Christmas, the NBA announced Friday night.

Embiid made the “DX crotch chop” thrusting motion while lying on his back after converting a layup through contact during the first half of the...Read more

DENVER — Nuggets coach Michael Malone, whose first head coaching job was in Sacramento, ripped the Kings for firing Mike Brown on Friday and revealed that Brown was informed of the decision via phone call after leaving a team practice.

“What really pissed me off about it was that they lost last night, fifth game in a row, I believe — ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings made a somewhat stunning move Friday, firing coach Mike Brown moments after he met with the media at the team’s Golden 1 Center practice facility in Sacramento.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were parting ways with Brown amid the team’s five-game losing streak, confirming a report from ...Read more

ATLANTA — Jimmy Butler remained away from the team Friday as the Miami Heat flew to Atlanta for Saturday’s second stop on their three-game trip. Butler has been away from the team the past three games due to what initially was listed as a stomach ailment, an absence that coincided with yet another round of trade speculation.

Having exited ...Read more

NEW YORK — Cam Johnson has been a powerful offensive force for the Nets in December. The 28-year-old forward has averaged 23.4 points per game in his first nine appearances this month while shooting 50% from the field, 44.3% from 3-point range and 87.7% from the free-throw line.

That includes four games with at least 20 points and one 33-...Read more

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — When Alex Schumacher finished his pregame shooting workout about 75 minutes before an early-season tipoff, he had one question: “What do I do now?”

Luckily, Schumacher’s locker is next to Ryan Arcidiacono, who began guiding the Windy City Bulls rookie through a routine. That is part of basketball life these days ...Read more

The last 10 days have been the best week and a half the Detroit Pistons have had in a long time. The Pistons' overtime victory over the Miami Heat on Dec. 16 began a stretch during which they won three of their next four games.

If not for an embarrassing outing against the Utah Jazz on Dec. 19, the Pistons would have been on their longest ...Read more

Milwaukee Bucks stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard were in street clothes on Thursday, which gave the short-handed Nets a major tactical advantage in their first trip to Fiserv Forum this season.

While Brooklyn struggled from the field early, the team was at its best on offense when it mattered most and held on to defeat the Bucks, ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Hawks trailed the Bulls 124-107 with 6:32 minutes left in the game. But behind a 31-7 run, they finished off their late-game rally in the fourth quarter to down the Bulls, 141-133, Thursday night at State Farm Arena.

“I think we knew we were going to have a run eventually,” guard Trae Young said. “They were shooting the ...Read more

DENVER — Nikola Jokic continues to bloat the stat sheet, now becoming proficient in the quadruple-double: scoring, rebounding, passing and yelling.

What’s going on with the NBA’s best player? I got pushback when I suggested the Nuggets owed him an apology for the roster construction in early November and again last week when I endorsed a ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — This time the Miami Heat turned the tables five days after blowing a 25-point lead in this building five nights earlier.

In dramatic fashion, no less.

Battling back from a 17-point deficit Thursday night at Kia Center, Erik Spoelstra’s team found a way in the absence of Jimmy Butler, winning on a Tyler Herro 19-foot jumper ...Read more

MIAMI — The changing face of major college athletics is a snarling one with sharp teeth and a ravenous appetite. It is eating up and spitting out coaches of a generation when things were slower, simpler. The latest victim: Jim Larranaga from the University of Miami men’s basketball team.

College sports at the highest level is cannibalizing ...Read more