SAN ANTONIO – Draymond Green could only watch as Steph Castle launched a pass toward the rim. Green had been switched onto the perimeter in transition, and behind him remained a disjointed and frazzled Golden State Warriors defense.

A combination of 6-foot-3 Will Richard and 6-2 De’Anthony Melton were also relegated to the role of ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — Somebody was going to pay for Duke’s loss to Michigan State.

Next on the Blue Devils’ schedule was … SIU-Edwardsville.

Poor SIU-Edwardsville, most would agree.

The No. 2 Blue Devils responded as most expected, with a one-sided victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was a game with a lot of ragged edges, but Duke took a ...Read more

MIAMI — The search for a signature victory is over. And the race for the NBA Cup is on.

Winning on their home court for only the second time this season, the Heat reached .500 for the first time this season with a 133-121 victory Friday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Kaseya Center.

After a series of middling wins against lesser ...Read more

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — For much of Friday night, Maryland appeared ready to deliver the kind of victory its men’s basketball program had been missing.

Then, as quickly as the excitement built inside Xfinity Center, it began to slip away.

Maryland squandered an 11-point halftime lead against No. 6 Virginia, falling 87-83 and failing to secure ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — After failing to find a way to win on their homecourt in their first four tries of the regular season, the Magic knew they couldn’t wait any longer to capture their first home victory under coach Sean Sweeney inside Kia Center.

That’s why on Friday night against the Bucks, the Magic didn’t leave the final result up to ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. —UConn had its depth tested in its first game without Nik Khamenia on Friday night, and it held up to beat a talented Ohio State team.

After a rough shooting night Monday, Braylon Mullins made his way back out onto the Gampel Pavilion floor and spent at least an hour getting shots up from all over the court. It paid off as he ...Read more

Quenton Jackson came off the Indiana Pacers‘ bench Friday night, buried a third-quarter 3 and put his fingers in Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson’s face.

That was the poke. Jalen Brunson is the bear.

The sequence was expected to set the scene for one of Brunson’s trademark late-game scoring eruptions, especially after the Knicks ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — There was likely nothing Kentucky could do in a matchup with winless Northern Arizona to lessen the concerns raised in its blowout loss to Kansas earlier in the week.

But there was certainly a way for Mark Pope’s Wildcats to make things worse.

Alex Wilkins helped Kentucky avoid a disaster with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.1...Read more

NEW YORK — When Michael Porter Jr. comes around Day’Ron Sharpe for a handoff, the Nets have two ways to attack. A defender caught on Sharpe’s screen can leave Porter room for a 3-pointer. Chasing Porter toward the arc can leave room for a cutter.

Sharpe decides who gets the ball.

That responsibility is becoming a bigger part of his job. ...Read more

CHICAGO — Matas Buzelis has been in need of a reset.

The third-year forward never felt entirely like himself in the first 10 games of the Chicago Bulls season. His statistics are down. So is his confidence. Buzelis doesn’t have a good explanation for either. At times, he gets back to himself for a possession or a half. But it always slips ...Read more

DALLAS — A photograph is supposedly worth a thousand words, but the above shot is of well more than a thousand empty seats in the middle of a good game featuring one of the most surprising teams in the NBA that has a teenager who is already a top-10 player in the league.

Just as Luka Doncic was better than Dirk Nowitzki, Cooper Flagg may one ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — LaMelo Ball and the Minnesota Timberwolves ran away from the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter at the Target Center, turning what had been a game into a laugher.

Absolute dominance.

The Wolves improved to 9-3 on the season, extending their win streak to five games, with a 133-94 win over the Mavericks.

The Wolves gradually...Read more

WASHINGTON — In two seconds, the Detroit Pistons' celebration turned to despair. With only two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Pistons led 121-118, but the Washington Wizards had the ball. A defensive breakdown allowed Trae Young to hit his fourth 3-pointer, sending the game into overtime as time expired in regulation.

Although ...Read more

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry called out several podcasters for their comments regarding his wife, Ayesha Curry, and her lead-acting role in the Roku Channel movie "Second Chance Holiday" — in particular a scene in which she shares a kiss with co-star Matthew Daddario.

In a video posted Wednesday on Instagram, the four-time NBA ...Read more

CHICAGO — This can’t keep happening.

That was the first thought that crossed Caleb Wilson’s mind in March when he crashed to the ground after floating above the rim for a dunk during a weekday practice at North Carolina. His first emotion, he told the Chicago Tribune this summer, was not anger or even pain. It was disbelief, pure and ...Read more

FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU men’s basketball is nearing a deal to add reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Robbie Avila to the roster, sources confirmed to the Star-Telegram on Thursday.

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news.

Avila averaged 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season ...Read more

HOUSTON — Warriors star Steph Curry will be out for the rest of the team’s five-game trip and potentially longer with an oblique tear that knocked him out of Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Rockets.

The Warriors announced the MRI results Thursday morning, saying he will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

What will his recovery look like?

A ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky fans have always put great stock in how the Wildcats perform on the biggest stages and against men’s college basketball’s other blue bloods.

So what happened to UK on Tuesday night against Kansas under the bright lights of the State Farm Champions Classic was pretty close to the last thing Mark Pope needed as he ...Read more

HOUSTON – The Warriors started their five-game trip through the Southwest Division in the worst way possible. Steph Curry injured himself in the first quarter of Wednesday’s game in Houston against the Rockets and did not return.

The Warriors ruled him out during the second quarter with right abdominal soreness. Golden State lost 115-108, ...Read more

CHICAGO — Matas Buzelis grabbed at his hair, pulling his head to the left and then wrenching it back to the right.

Whatever curse words his mouth formed were drowned out by the dull drone of the disappointed Chicago Bulls crowd at the United Center. Buzelis had just fumbled his sixth turnover against the San Antonio Spurs, batting helplessly ...Read more