SAN ANTONIO — Within an hour of Duke’s 2024 NCAA Tournament loss to N.C. State, leaving the Blue Devils frustratingly short of the Final Four, attention immediately turned to what’s next.

Cooper Flagg’s name became a trending topic online shortly after the Wolfpack’s miracle run to the Final Four ended Duke’s season and had fans ...Read more

SAN ANTONIO — Maliq Brown’s emergency return to Duke’s playing rotation last weekend in Newark, N.J., went off without the feared hitch, and he’s on track to possibly play more in the Final Four.

The 6-9 junior forward missed Duke’s first two NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh after dislocating his shoulder during the ACC Tournament on ...Read more

The Pat Beverley clip went viral last month, and quickly. He may be better known as a podcaster and former NBA player now, but at one point Beverley was a rival of Jon Scheyer on the Chicago basketball scene, and Beverley had a lot to say about the Duke basketball coach’s willingness to play anyone, anywhere.

Beverley grew up on the West Side...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An early breakfast the day of the Sweet 16 in San Francisco gave Florida’s Alijah Martin something more to chew on.

The main course was another glimpse into the beautiful basketball mind of Todd Golden.

While he quietly ate, the veteran guard received a rare peek behind the curtain as his coach broke it down with ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t miss. And then they couldn’t make anything.

Eleven times in a row, they got a mismatch they liked and found themselves in spots on the court they wanted only to see their shots fail.

For the first four minutes, the Lakers’ offense was perfect. For the next eight, it was problematic.

For ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — For a while, the 76ers look capable of messing up the tank.

Adem Bona was unstoppable while he and his teammates were in the midst of spanking the Milwaukee Bucks. But Milwaukee built a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, and all was good in the Sixers’ must-lose game.

The Bucks ultimately prevailed, 126-113, ...Read more

Although the Magic had won their first three meetings against the Wizards by an average margin of 20.6 points, younger teams such as Washington can search for momentum to carry them into the offseason by defeating stronger competition in the final stretch of the year.

The Wizards accomplished exactly that type of win against the Kings on ...Read more

MIAMI — Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 110-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night at Kaseya Center to begin a three-game homestand on the back end of a back-to-back set. The Heat continue this stretch at home on Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks:

With both teams battling for postseason position in the final days of the...Read more

NEW YORK — Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has said one of the things he admires about Rudy Gobert is Gobert’s approach to each game. How his professionalism and approach doesn’t wax or wane depending on the opponent. It’s a quality not every Wolves player shares, and that has resulted in multiple losses in games the Wolves should have ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Unfortunately for Joel Embiid, the 76ers center knows a thing or two about left knee surgeries.

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers even revealed on Thursday that Embiid informed him during their teams’ Feb. 9 game that he would probably have to undergo another one.

At the time, Rivers, the former Sixers coach, didn’t believe...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden doesn’t talk much about his Jewish faith, but takes tremendous pride in his heritage.

This week will be a rare celebration of it at the Final Four.

Three of the four coaches in the national semifinals are Jewish: Golden, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Duke’s Jon Scheyer.

“It’s going to be a ...Read more

CHICAGO — Coby White spent the first five years of his NBA career trying to shake the “streaky” label.

It’s a frustrating moniker for any shooter. Getting hot goes hand in hand with getting cold. Fans, opponents and coaches always are waiting for the other sneaker to drop.

But White doesn’t want that. He isn’t content being a ...Read more

The focus rightly was on the immediate.

Stephen Curry scored 52 points Tuesday in a 134-125 win over the Memphis Grizzlies that vaulted the surging Golden State Warriors into fifth place in the Western Conference standings. He made 12 3-point shots, two shy of former teammate Klay Thompson's single-game NBA record.

Curry's performance was so ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Tristen Newton didn’t appear to be a perfect fit at UConn right away, but by the time he left, the East Carolina transfer turned consensus All-American had built a resume that placed him among the Huskies’ all-time greats. His absence left a clear hole in the 2024-25 roster as the Huskies were unable to replace that ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey is expected to be ruled out for the final six games of the 76ers’ season with a thumb sprain, according to an ESPN report Thursday.

The decision comes after Maxey, who has not played since March 3, was scheduled to go through individual workouts Tuesday and Wednesday, coach Nick Nurse said before the Sixers’ ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas A&M completed the rare athletic department grand slam on Tuesday when the last of its highest profile employees left the premises in less than two years, the final three from their own ambition.

— Nov. 12, 2023: Football coach Jimbo Fisher is fired.

— Jan. 16, 2024: Athletic director Ross Bjork leaves Texas A&M ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — They watched their son grow into a basketball prodigy, armed with height and athleticism and skills few 18-year-olds possess.

Now Ralph and Kelly Flagg make the final road trip of Cooper Flagg’s lone college season, heading to San Antonio to watch Duke in the Final Four this weekend.

This is why Cooper Flagg decided to play ...Read more

DENVER — Attendees at Ball Arena are prohibited by public-address decree from sitting down until the home team scores its first points. They were left standing in awkward silence during an early Michael Malone timeout three minutes into an unusual Nuggets game on Wednesday night.

Denver’s entire starting lineup (and then some) took a ...Read more

The teams the Clippers are chasing for a top-six spot in the Western Conference standings keep winning and that means the Clippers have to continue their pursuit of wins until the final seedings are decided.

His team understands “what’s at stake” and “what’s at risk,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, and that has kept his group on ...Read more