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Megan Briggs/Getty Images North America/TNS

Heat to send Thomas Bryant to Pacers; move clears tax space, could lead to standard deal for Dru Smith

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — The Miami Heat on Friday set up a small trade that could have a wide-ranging impact across their roster and payroll.

Reaching an agreement with the Indiana Pacers, the Heat will send out center Thomas Bryant once he is eligible to be traded Sunday.

While the Heat will receive the right to swap 2031 second-round draft slots with the ...Read more

Brian Simms/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Mark Pope gets his first shot at Louisville. It hasn't gone well for previous Kentucky coaches.

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The first Kentucky-Louisville game in this new era of college basketball in the commonwealth is almost here.

Mark Pope’s Wildcats will see Pat Kelsey’s Cardinals on the Rupp Arena court at 5:15 p.m. Saturday, the first meeting between the two new coaches. Pope knows plenty about this rivalry, playing in two editions of it...Read more

Rich Storry/Getty Images North America/TNS

Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro lead Heat past Raptors, 114-104

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — Jimmy Butler made sure this wouldn’t be hair raising, sporting tightly woven orange braids.

So the Miami Heat settled for a bit of four-play, extending their winning streak to four with a 114-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night at Kaseya Center.

Avenging a loss the previous time the teams met, the Heat rode the ...Read more

Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jim Souhan: Wolves should sit out the NBA trade period

Sports / Basketball /

MINNEAPOLIS — Someone check on Tim Connelly. He hasn’t made a trade in hours.

The Timberwolves hired Connelly to be their president of basketball operations in May of 2022. Since then, he has made four major deals:

— A large number of players and picks for Rudy Gobert.

— D’Angelo Russell for Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker....Read more

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images North America/TNS

Second-half surge helps Kings beat Pelicans to get back to .500

Sports / Basketball /

The Kings continued their recent resurgence with a 111-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday at Smoothie King Center.

Domantas Sabonis had a monster double-double with 32 points and 21 rebounds for the Kings (13-13), who have won four of their last five to get back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 22.

CJ McCollum scored 36...Read more

Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/TNS

How does Joel Embiid feel during this injury-riddled season? Paul George understands more than most.

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Paul George knows more than most about the mental toll injuries have put Joel Embiid through.

Embiid returned to the court Sunday afternoon and led the 76ers to a road victory over the Chicago Bulls. After finishing with 31 points and 12 rebounds, Embiid reiterated that he’s been dealing with depression. He told ESPN that he ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Celtics rout Pistons, 123-99, without Jayson Tatum

Sports / Basketball /

BOSTON — Last Wednesday, the short-handed Celtics needed to buckle down in the final minutes to secure a competitive victory over the pesky Detroit Pistons.

Boston faced the same scenario eight days later: home game against Detroit without the services of Jayson Tatum, who sat out with a knee injury.

This time around, there was no need for ...Read more

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS

LeBron James won't play for Lakers against Timberwolves on Friday

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James, who hasn't been with the Lakers this week because of "personal reasons," will miss Friday's game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.

Thursday, the team listed him as "out" with left foot soreness, an issue that popped up last week after the Lakers played the Miami Heat. James sat out the team's win Sunday ...Read more

Alex Slitz/Getty Images North America/TNS

NBA report admits two missed calls late in Warriors-Rockets, but not one that set Steve Kerr off

Sports / Basketball /

Steve Kerr was extremely upset about a foul call late in the Warriors’ NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the Rockets Wednesday night, and the NBA on Thursday confirmed the official’s call.

Jonathan Kuminga was called for a foul during a loose ball situation near the free-throw line on the Warriors’ offensive side of the court with 3.5 seconds ...Read more

D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS

Dieter Kurtenbach: The Warriors need Jimmy Butler. Their NBA Cup exit proves it.

Sports / Basketball /

Stop me if you’ve heard something like this before:

The Warriors choked away Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal game against the Houston Rockets, allowing a six-point lead to evaporate with a scoreless final three minutes in a 91-90 (what is this, 1995?) loss. The Dubs are now eliminated from the tournament, meaning they do not get a free ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Greg Cote: Time for Heat to trade Jimmy Butler, say thanks and move on if the offer is right

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — The Miami Heat in their Jimmy Butler era have been consistently good enough to tease and tantalize but not good enough to turn the hope into celebration. So it is again now, just past the quarter mark of his sixth NBA season in South Florida, with a team 12-10 after three impressive straight wins.

You can predict how this will play ...Read more

Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer/TNS

Duke's beloved Crazy Towel Guy is missing from Cameron Indoor this season. Here's why.

Sports / Basketball /

DURHAM, N.C. — One Cameron Indoor Stadium tradition is missing so far this season, but maybe not all season.

Eighty-three-year-old Herb Neubauer is missing from Section 7, row G, seat 8, which is where he’s watched Blue Devils men’s basketball games for decades.

His name may not be on the tip of every Cameron Crazies’ tongue — but ...Read more

Alex Slitz/Getty Images North America/TNS

After controversial call, Warriors bounced from NBA Cup with loss to Rockets

Sports / Basketball /

As aghast as Steve Kerr was last week when the referees didn’t see Christian Braun try to call a timeout he didn’t have in the waning moments of last week’s loss in Denver, it didn’t compare to his disbelief at how the end of the Rockets game ended.

With 3.5 seconds left and the Warriors leading by one, Rockets guard Jalen Green dove on...Read more

L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS

No. 23 Aztecs nearly blow 19-point lead, hang on to beat Cal Baptist

Sports / Basketball /

After practice Tuesday, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher talked getting through Wednesday night’s game against Cal Baptist unscathed and getting to a 10-day break “so we can fix some things.”

He’ll have a long list.

The 23rd-ranked Aztecs nearly blew a 19-point lead in the second half before hanging on for a 81-75 win against a ...Read more

D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS

Jimmy Butler's agent refutes report of preferred trade destinations: 'All this is fabricated'

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — With two months to go before the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline, the Jimmy Butler situation continues to evolve.

Just hours after Butler on Wednesday afternoon casually brushed off the report of the Heat listening to outside trade offers, his agent Bernie Lee took a different approach in addressing the trade speculation surrounding his...Read more

Elsa/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jalen Brunson's struggles, defensive miscues lead to Hawks eliminating Knicks from NBA Cup

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK — This is the kind of game you pay close attention to: an elimination game with raised NBA Cup stakes. A win-or-go-home opportunity for the Knicks not only to earn some bonus cash, but win the In-Season Tournament in the second season of its inception. A shot to do something the team hasn’t done since 1973: hang a banner from the ...Read more

Brian Simms/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

A topsy-turvy night for Kentucky ends with an 11-point win over Colgate. It wasn't boring.

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Wildcats’ return to Rupp Arena made for an odd night.

After spending a week on the road — suffering their first loss and getting arguably their biggest win of the 2024-25 season — Mark Pope’s Wildcats appeared on their way to an easy victory over Colgate on Wednesday.

The No. 5-ranked Cats still won — ...Read more

D.A. Varela/Miami Herald/TNS

Heat's Jimmy Butler addresses trade speculation: 'It doesn't bother me one bit'

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — The trade speculation surrounding Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler has grown louder this week, but Butler doesn’t mind.

“I actually like it,” Butler said following the Heat’s practice at Kaseya Center on Wednesday. “It’s good to be talked about. I don’t think there’s such a thing as bad publicity to a point. But if ...Read more

Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS

Greg Cote: Time for Heat to trade Jimmy Butler, say thanks and move on if the offer is right

Sports / Basketball /

MIAMI — The Miami Heat in its Jimmy Butler era has been consistently good enough to tease and tantalize but not good enough to turn the hope into celebration. So it is again now, just past the quarter mark of his sixth NBA season in South Florida, with a team 12-10 after three impressive straight wins.

You can predict how this will play out, ...Read more

Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/TNS

NBA Cup elimination means Lakers get valuable rest and time for physical practice

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Go to Phoenix on Monday, play Tuesday. Fly to San Antonio late Tuesday and play the next day. Back to Los Angeles late on Thanksgiving eve, off for the holiday and then play the Thunder on Friday. Fly to Utah the next day, play the Jazz on Sunday. Then off to Minnesota on Sunday night, land late and play the Timberwolves on ...Read more