SAN DIEGO — On rare off days during the season, San Diego State’s basketball coaches typically drive to Los Angeles or head to the airport for a quick trip to evaluate high school prospects.

A few weeks ago, two coaches embarked on a different sort of recruiting mission. They visited the parents of one of their own players, lobbying to keep...Read more

MIAMI — It has been four months since the Miami Heat unveiled their statue on the front steps of Kaseya Center in honor of franchise icon Dwyane Wade. It also has been four months since social media had a field day questioning the likeness.

This week, on the “Underground Lounge” podcast hosted by former NBA player Lou Williams, Wade ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY – Inside the Timberwolves locker room, Anthony Edwards’ clothing and gear were inside and just outside of his stall Friday night. But Edwards wasn’t in the building, per the rules of his one-game suspension for reaching 16 technical fouls on the season after Thursday’s loss to the Lakers.

The Wolves left wondering what ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Lakers guard Austin Reaves, amid his best season as a pro, left Friday’s game with the Lakers because of a right calf injury. He’s expected to undergo an MRI scan Saturday to determine the severity of the injury, the team said.

The Lakers would go on to win the game 106-102.

Reaves played nine minutes in the first quarter ...Read more

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — An arena known for noise was oddly quiet when a referee, unhappy with all the contact between the post players, reached his arm out to separate UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau from Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn.

Seizing upon the moment with his team needing a boost, Kaufman-Renn waved his arms to raise the decibel level inside ...Read more

Being clutch doesn’t always mean scoring a game-winning basket. Sometimes, the game-winning play is moving the ball.

And sometimes, it’s being in position defensively just enough to force an all-world scorer to miss a layup.

The Knicks came up clutch on Friday night and punched a 114-113 victory over the No. 2 seed in the Western ...Read more

BOSTON — Virtuoso performances from the Celtics’ cornerstone co-stars weren’t enough to upend the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum (46 points, 16 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks) and Jaylen Brown (37 points, five rebounds, two assists) both were tremendous Friday night at a raucous TD Garden. But Boston got little from ...Read more

NEW YORK — A poor defensive fourth quarter by the Nets on Wednesday seemingly bled into Friday’s 121-102 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at Barclays Center, spoiling Cam Thomas’ long-awaited return to the court.

Portland, which entered the night on a three-game win streak, went 10-for-10 from the field in the opening minutes. Nets head...Read more

MIAMI – If only the games weren’t 48 minutes, this 2024-25 exercise would be a whole lot easier for Erik Spoelstra and his Miami Heat.

Instead, a blown 12-point fourth-quarter lead and yet another frantic finish for a team that hasn’t met a late lead it couldn’t disappear.

Through it all, on a night of rotation swings almost as wild as...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Lakers superstar LeBron James has been one of the faces of the NBA for more than two decades.

He doesn't blame rising star Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves for not wanting that label applied to him.

"I feel Ant," James said Thursday night after the Lakers' 111-102 win over Minnesota at Crypto.com Arena. "I ...Read more

DETROIT — The Denver Nuggets have been a leading contender for the NBA championship over the past five seasons, primarily due to Nikola Jokić's contributions. The former second-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has proven himself to be one of the greatest big men in NBA history, earning three MVP awards and guiding the Nuggets to their first ...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — March Madness has begun for the No. 3 Florida Gators.

Todd Golden’s team, and its fans, are ready as college basketball’s biggest month arrives.

UF students camped out Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center as ESPN College GameDay arrived in Gainesville for the first time since 2017 ahead of Saturday night’s ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — After undergoing further evaluation, including an MRI, Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been diagnosed with a trochlea injury in his left knee and he will be out indefinitely, the Sentinel learned Friday.

The Orlando guard missed his 14th consecutive contest Thursday night against Golden State with a left thigh contusion.

During ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid’s season is finished.

After further evaluation on the seven-time All-Star center’s left knee, the 76ers determined that Embiid was medically unable to play and will remain sidelined to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.

“We are working with the medical experts to determine the exact treatment plan and ...Read more

SALT LAKE CITY – Anthony Edwards will be suspended from the Timberwolves’ game Friday against Utah after the NBA upheld the two technical fouls Edwards received in Thursday’s loss to the Lakers.

The technical fouls were the 15th and 16th of the season for Edwards, and the 16th triggered an automatic one-game suspension. For the rest of ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With three of the Lakers’ championship trophies sitting on a table behind her, Jeanie Buss sat on a prop desk and joked about a very real thing that had just happened in her life.

“Everyone thinks, ‘Was this trade done to promote the show?’” Buss said before Thursday’s game. “I don’t think so.”

The show, “...Read more

Not all superheroes wear capes — at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks’ captain doesn’t need one.

Jalen Brunson delivered yet another late-game masterpiece in Wednesday’s 110-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 12 of his team’s final 15 points to hand the Sixers their ninth loss in a row.

It wasn’t just another game-...Read more

MILWAUKEE — One of the Nuggets’ toughest back-to-backs of the season began with a game that slipped through their fingers.

Nikola Jokic amassed an efficient 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, but Denver couldn’t help him enough in a 121-112 loss to the Bucks on Thursday at Fiserv Forum.

Now the Nuggets (38-21) must fly to Detroit to ...Read more