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Luka Doncic embraced by LeBron James and L.A. in his memorable Lakers debut

Sports / Basketball /

It wasn’t any other night, not in the story of this season, not in the history of this franchise.

Before Luka Doncic played his first second as a Laker, his name and number were on a T-shirt draped over every seat in the building. His aura was inescapable, from the Slovenian pregame music to the buzz in the building each time his face ...Read more

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Curry, Lillard battle as Warriors pick up win over Bucks

Sports / Basketball /

MILWAUKEE — It’s only been two games with Jimmy Butler, but the Golden State Warriors already look like a different team: one that can mount a comeback and pull away.

Also one that might have trouble slowing down dynamic scoring guards.

The Warriors had no answer for Damian Lillard, who scored 38 on 12-for-20 shooting, but nevertheless ...Read more

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Nikola Jokic amasses 40 in Nuggets win over Trail Blazers

Sports / Basketball /

DENVER — The Nuggets were so red-hot, even Nikola Jokic’s off-balance attempt to bait his way to the foul line for three shots went in.

Jokic seemed to draw contact while entering his shooting motion, but the officials called the foul on the floor. His wacky 3-pointer didn’t count, and the Nuggets’ possession ended in their first missed...Read more

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Magic fall short to visiting Hawks

Sports / Basketball /

ORLANDO, Fla. — On a night where Magic forwards Franz Wagner (37 points) and Paolo Banchero (31) notched 30-plus points in the same game, Orlando faltered late against the Atlanta Hawks at Kia Center on Monday.

Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young had just eight points through three quarters, but ended with 19 after he posted 11 in the fourth ...Read more

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Jayson Tatum's huge third quarter, Sam Hauser's hot shooting propel Celtics to rout of Heat

Sports / Basketball /

Until about an hour before tipoff Monday night, it was unclear whether Jayson Tatum would suit up against the Miami Heat.

The Boston Celtics superstar was added to the injury report a day earlier, listed as questionable with a knee issue, and with the All-Star break looming, Boston could have opted to give its most important player an extra day...Read more

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Carolina coasting: Clemson basketball blows out UNC, continues hot ACC start

Sports / Basketball /

CLEMSON, S.C. — This was supposed to be a tricky two-game stretch for Clemson.

Sure, the Tigers men’s basketball team didn’t have to leave home. But they were playing the No. 2 team in the country and blue blood in back-to-back games. It was their only Saturday-Monday turnaround of ACC play this year.

To make things a little more ...Read more

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Clippers bolster their depth by signing former Nets guard Ben Simmons

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — The Clippers announced that they have signed Ben Simmons to a deal on Monday, giving them another big body and athletic player.

Simmons, who has had an up-and-down career since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, was available after getting a buyout of his contract from the Brooklyn Nets and then ...Read more

Timberwolves-Lynx ownership arbitration won by Marc Lore, Alex Rodriguez

Sports / Basketball /

MINNEAPOLIS — After months of legal wrangling, Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are set to become owners of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.

A three-member arbitration panel ruled longtime owner Glen Taylor did not have the right to cancel a pending sale of 40% of his ownership stake to Lore and Rodriguez last year. Taylor said the vote was 2...Read more

Jason Getz/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Hawks guard Trae Young named to fourth NBA All-Star game

Sports / Basketball /

ORLANDO, Fla. — Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young will be going to San Francisco after all.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Monday named Young as an injury replacement for Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo on Team Chuck for the 2025 NBA All-Star game. Antetokounmpo can’t participate in the game because of a left calf strain.

The NBA ...Read more

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Luka Doncic hasn't made LA debut, but Laker assists with $500,000 fire relief donation

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Many prominent athletes and entertainers with deep ties to the Los Angeles area have donated large sums to the wildfire relief efforts. The most recent donation, however, is from a superstar athlete who wasn't even a member of a local team when the fires raged from Jan. 7-31.

Five-time All-NBA guard Luka Doncic, acquired by the ...Read more

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UConn men's basketball falls out of AP Top 25 rankings for first time since 2022

Sports / Basketball /

HARTFORD, Conn. — For the first time since the 2022-23 preseason poll, the UConn men’s basketball team is not ranked in the AP Top 25.

The two-time defending national champions fell out of the rankings after their home loss to St. John’s on Friday, which dropped them to 16-7 on the season (8-4 in the Big East).

UConn has had a tumultuous...Read more

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Bob Wojnowski: With stirring comeback, big numbers keep rising for Izzo, Spartans

Sports / Basketball /

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The players were everywhere, in the stands, on the floor, in the infirmary. On another day spliced with history, the Spartans brought out everybody, as they always do.

Tom Izzo keeps preaching “strength in numbers,” with a playing rotation that goes 10 deep. There also are stories in numbers, and Big Ten victory No. ...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

John Clay: Tennessee will surely bring a long memory to Rupp Arena to play Kentucky on Tuesday night

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — There are few things coaches love more than playing down revenge games. Just regular games, they say. No different from the last game, they say. No different from the next game, they say. All games are the same, they say. Until they’re not.

Tuesday night at Rupp Arena will be one of those until-they’re-not games. No. 4 ...Read more

Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/TNS

Fifty years later, memories of the Bob Knight-Joe B. Hall head slap incident live on

Sports / Basketball /

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Fifty years might have passed since Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight tapped, slapped or smacked Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall on the back of the head, but Jimmy Dan Conner remembers it as if it was yesterday.

“I heard every word,” the former All-SEC guard said Saturday at Rupp Arena before Kentucky defeated South ...Read more

Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Anthony Davis will be sidelined for a month following injury in Mavericks debut

Sports / Basketball /

LOS ANGELES — Former Laker Anthony Davis will be sidelined at least a month because of a strained left abductor, several people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on the matter told The Los Angeles Times on Sunday night.

Davis will be examined Monday to determine what the next step will be for his recovery, ...Read more

Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Danny Emerman: Jimmy Butler doesn't make the Warriors championship contenders. That's OK.

Sports / Basketball /

Four months ago, on the north shore of Oahu, Steve Kerr’s mind drifted from the cautious optimism of training camp to the perils of Ringz Culture.

Maybe it was the surfside yoga talking.

“To modern sports fandom, everything is, ‘Win the championship or nothing else matters,’ ” Kerr and his nine rings said. “But it’s really not ...Read more

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Sixers sunk in Milwaukee by barrage of Bucks 3-pointers

Sports / Basketball /

MILWAUKEE — The 76ers were doomed by the Milwaukee Bucks’ 3-point shooters.

The Sixers did just about everything possible to win Sunday afternoon’s game besides defend the 3. The Bucks made 24 of 55 3-pointers in their 135-127 victory at Fiserv Forum.

All-Star point guard Damian Lillard made 8 of 15 3-pointers while finishing with a game...Read more

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Former Kansas State basketball star Michael Beasley arrested at Kansas airport

Sports / Basketball /

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Michael Beasley's return trip to Kansas State ended on a low note.

The former Kansas State basketball star was arrested for marijuana possession at 5:12 a.m. on Sunday at Manhattan Regional Airport, according to the Riley County Police Department's daily arrest log. He was not confined after paying a bond of $750.

Beasley ...Read more

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Pistons avoid epic collapse to hold off Hornets in Dennis Schröder's debut

Sports / Basketball /

DETROIT — In preparation for the 2025 NBA trade deadline, Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and his team identified two key intangibles.

They aimed to acquire a veteran point guard who could serve as a secondary ballhandler during the Pistons' playoff push. However, regardless of the moves made, Langdon and his...Read more

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Scott Fowler: Are you kidding me? Mark Williams stays with Hornets after Lakers rescind trade.

Sports / Basketball /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Longtime Charlotte Hornets fans may think they have seen the team flounder in every possible way, but a new chapter was added Saturday night when the Mark Williams trade got rescinded by the Los Angeles Lakers due to the 7-footer reportedly failing a physical.

The Hornets tried to put a good face on with a late-night ...Read more