Seven times.

Since the Lakers listlessly began their post-All-Star break stretch with a disappointing loss against Charlotte, they’ve played seven times.

Seven times in 13 days.

They won in Portland, they dominated in Denver. They beat the Mavericks, they bested the Timberwolves and took care of the Clippers twice. And Tuesday, on a night ...Read more

The Brooklyn Nets were looking to end a four-game skid Tuesday night in San Antonio, but were thoroughly outmatched in the second half, falling to the Spurs 127-113 at Frost Bank Center.

After winning six of seven games entering the All-Star break, Brooklyn has lost six of seven since. Even the return of Cam Thomas and D’Angelo Russell couldn...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Two nights ago, the Toronto Raptors held on late to defeat the Magic by as many points at Kia Center to snap a three-game losing streak and hand Orlando its third straight loss.

On Tuesday night, Toronto again led by double figures in the fourth quarter and again staved off Jamahl Mosley’s squad on the road, 114-113, in the ...Read more

NEW YORK — Steph Curry didn’t have to completely steal the show for the Golden State Warriors to beat the New York Knicks on one of his favorite stages.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors reached back for one of their best defensive stretches of the season.

The Warriors held the Knicks scoreless for four straight minutes ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — After Saturday at Phoenix produced a game they rightly should have won, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards admitted he still too often plays to the level of his opponent, good or bad.

On Tuesday, Edwards scored all 18 of his points in the first half and his team defeated Philadelphia 126-112, rolling a 76ers team that had lost 10...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Kyrie Irving is out for the season after the Dallas Mavericks star tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee Monday night.

The Mavericks initially indicated that Irving had suffered a left knee sprain during their loss to the Sacramento Kings but said Tuesday that an MRI exam had revealed the tear.

"Kai, you are ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky basketball seniors left Rupp Arena with one last victory Tuesday night.

Mark Pope’s No. 19-ranked Wildcats — playing their final home game in his first season as head coach — dominated LSU from the beginning and departed their home court for the last time with a 95-64 win over the Tigers.

Seniors Lamont ...Read more

The Dallas Mavericks “plan” to return to the NBA Finals in 2025 went to the shredder on Monday night.

When All-Star guard Kyrie Irving hobbled to the free throw line, Kobe style, on an injured knee in the first half of a blowout loss against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, this looked bad.

Bad would be more welcome that this.

On ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Go ahead, close your eyes and dream.

You saw what the Dodgers' World Series parade was like. The cheers. The flags. The confetti.

Something like this could happen again soon, and it could happen before November.

The road to the NBA Finals is opening up for the Lakers, who are suddenly in second place in the Western Conference....Read more

LOS ANGELES — It's been fodder for memes, the cold open on "Saturday Night Live" and the predictable polarizing political talking points, but last week's Oval Office spectacle with President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left one Lakers player with a small sense of hope among a continued ...Read more

The unranked Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team showed glimpses of why coach Bill Self still believes in his squad as the Big 12 Tournament approaches.

Glimpses, but not a victory.

A mind-numbing procession of turnovers and poor overall offense doomed KU, which held its own for 39 minutes in an ESPN Big Monday showdown before falling 65...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY — The Detroit Pistons began their four-game West Coast road trip with a 134-106 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night at Delta Center. With the win, the Pistons improved to 35-27 overall.

Despite recording five turnovers, Cade Cunningham led the Pistons on the night with 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting, nine assists and ...Read more

In a physical game they never trailed, the Golden State Warriors pulled away from the Charlotte Hornets with a decisive fourth quarter.

Brandin Podziemski bounced back from his worst game in weeks to log 19 points and 10 rebounds and Steph Curry returned to his hometown with 21 points and 10 dimes. The Warriors (33-28) never trailed Charlotte ...Read more

MIAMI – The perfect cure for the hangover of a blown 19-point lead a night earlier?

The Washington Wizards, right on schedule for the Miami Heat.

Against the NBA’s 30th ranked offense and 28th ranked defense, Erik Spoelstra’s team was able to push past the sting of Sunday night’s overtime loss to the New York Knicks with a 106-90 ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It’s always something holding back the 76ers.

They were looking to build off Saturday’s unexpected victory over the Golden State Warriors. Instead, they went back to their losing ways, suffering a 119-102 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The loss at the Wells Fargo Center dropped the Sixers to 21-39. It was their ...Read more

PHOENIX – There was one thing that Sunday night’s 116-98 Minnesota Timberwolves victory over the Phoenix Suns made clear for the remaining 20 games this season: It’s going to be hard for Anthony Edwards to make it without picking up another one-game suspension for accruing two more technical fouls.

Even Edwards admitted that himself after...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Another unbeaten season at home brought No. 2 Duke the first of what it hopes is many championships this season.

Behind Cooper Flagg’s 28 points, the Blue Devils beat Wake Forest, 93-60, Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, clinching them at least a share of the ACC’s regular-season championship.

A seventh consecutive ...Read more

Mark Cuban alienated and irritated a lot of fans in his 20-plus years of owning the Dallas Mavericks, but he never put together the type of run this current ownership group is still on.

All of the goodwill and warm feelings generated by the Mavericks’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals, and signing free agent Klay Thompson, have been thrown into an ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls might seem well-positioned to absorb the loss of Ayo Dosunmu for the remainder of the season. After all, the roster is packed with guards.

But as they continue their push to make the NBA playoffs, the Bulls don’t have a true replacement for Dosunmu, whom the medical team shut down for the season Sunday to address...Read more

NEW YORK — The St. John’s surge continues.

Rick Pitino’s red-hot Red Storm moved up to No. 6 in this week’s AP Poll — their highest ranking since Jan. 29, 1991.

St. John’s went 2-0 last week, including a 71-61 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday that clinched the program’s first outright Big East regular-season championship since...Read more