MINNEAPOLIS — The crowd at Target Center on Monday night was announced at 19,250, and the ticketholders were allowed to see greatness firsthand. The response for a large majority of those witnesses was to boo that individual loudly at most every turn.

Coach Chris Finch’s Timberwolves were facing that greatness in a Game 4 that either would ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — With practice wrapping up, Paige Bueckers was having a little fun, with a purpose. From the wing, she was lofting 3-point shots with an exaggerated arc. None touched the rafters, but most went through the rim.

Was she just having fun, or was there a muscle-memory point to it? Always hard to tell with Bueckers, who is not ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Chet Holmgren won three state championships at Target Center as a student at Minnehaha Academy. His performance on that same court Monday night didn’t clinch a title, but it helped the Oklahoma City Thunder get a better view of that destination.

As homecomings go, this one will be hard to top.

Holmgren hit 3-pointers. He ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A few weeks ago at the NBA draft combine, Ace Bailey, the Rutgers standout freshman and one of the top talents in this year’s draft, was asked who he models his game after.

Among the first names he mentioned was Paul George, the 76ers’ skilled and athletic forward known for his shot creation, length and ballhandling ability...Read more

DESTIN, Fla. — Florida star Alex Condon will withdraw from the NBA draft and return to UF, giving Todd Golden’s Gators a key piece as they push to defend the 2025 national title.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound Condon had until Wednesday to decide whether to remain eligible for the June 25 draft.

“Really thrilled to get him back,” Golden said...Read more

DETROIT — All it took for Ron Holland II to have arguably his best highlight of his rookie season was a missed layup by Jamal Cain.

With the Detroit Pistons trailing the New Orleans Pelicans late in the third quarter on March 23, Holland recorded a rebound following Cain's missed attempt and pushed the ball up the court, igniting a fast break...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves are a team that pride themselves on defense, but it was their defense that ultimately let them down in a 128-126 loss to the Thunder.

Oklahoma City leads the best-of-seven Western Conference finals 3-1.

The Wolves allowed Oklahoma City to crush them on the offensive glass for 24 second-chance points while the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The little daredevil pedaled his bike down the family’s steep driveway, 4 years old and oblivious to the danger. He ended up in the emergency room with a gash on his chin that required stitches.

Upon returning home, the boy raced to his bike. Still dressed in hospital garments, he took his bike back down the driveway, ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — It took the New York Knicks 96 games to figure out what the rest of the basketball world could see — that Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the NBA’s most talented and prolific offensive threats at the center position — has been embarrassingly underutilized. That his lack of touches and shot attempts were not indicative of an ...Read more

The New York Knicks have life.

They can thank Karl-Anthony Towns for that.

After suffering fourth-quarter collapses in the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks returned the favor with a 106-100 win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Towns’ 20 fourth-quarter points fueled the Knicks’ victory...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Against the Chicago Sky, the Sparks found themselves in a must-win situation, not in the grand scheme of the standings, but for peace of mind. A win to help with confidence and morale.

After a week riddled with injuries and a three-game skid, Sunday’s matchup carried weight beyond the court — it mattered in the locker room. ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Long ago, a friend in the sportswriting business in Atlanta had a colleague who would join us in the required postgame saloon stop. He would get himself full of whiskey, tell a tale of a character or a stout performance, and then bellow his personal battle cry:

“And that’s what makes sports great!”

George was his name, ...Read more

MIAMI — Perhaps we’ve been looking at this all wrong since Heat President Pat Riley mentioned at his season-ending media session earlier this month, “I’ve done this 13 times in 29 years … those 13 rebuilds.”

Perhaps we tuned out when Riley concluded with, “You don’t just win it with one guy.”

In that regard, what is going on ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Welcome to the Western Conference finals, Timberwolves.

After they appeared overmatched in the first two games of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City, the Wolves came back home and thrashed the Thunder 143-101 on Saturday at Target Center. They made a loud statement that this series isn’t over, despite how the first...Read more

Twenty-four and zero.

That's the New York Liberty‘s regular-season record when Jonquel Jones records a double-double. And the record emphasizes a theme that needed to be reinforced since her arrival to New York: The Liberty are at its best when playing through Jones as the centerpiece of the offense.

The message — again — needed to be ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The question drew a rapturous applause Friday night inside Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. Some attendees rose from their seats into a standing ovation.

And it initially looked like Dawn Staley would maneuver around whether she had interest in coaching a hypothetical WNBA expansion team in Philadelphia. She appealed to those ...Read more

NEW YORK — T.J. McConnell is bringing the ball up the floor.

It’s a tie game, 81-81, on the first possession of the fourth quarter in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, and the Pacers have begun the flurry of pick-and-roll actions that will decide the game. And the Knicks cannot keep pace.

“I know one time I [messed] up the ...Read more

DENVER — Josh Kroenke said all the right things. And his message was completely wrong.

He hears the clock ticking on Nikola Jokic’s prime. But his plan to maximize his brilliance came across as tone deaf.

Kroenke is prepared to run it back. He did not say those words exactly. But make no mistake, next year’s Nuggets could look a lot like...Read more