No player in all of basketball is a better fourth-quarter performer than Nets star guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving scored 21 of his 32 points in the final period alone in Brooklyn’s 122-115 victory over the Knicks at Barclays Center on Saturday. The scoring barrage marked his fourth 20-point fourth quarter of the season, tying Trae Young, Kemba ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was Mascot Day inside Spectrum Center, bringing together a collection of furry friends from the area and all over the country.

Homer the Dragon of the Charlotte Knights joined the likes of Chicago’s Benny the Bull, Phoenix’s Gorilla and, of course, Hugo the Hornet to entertain the masses. They tossed up one-handed ...Read more

The names have been out there and will continue to be out there when it comes to Miami Heat trade speculation.

But this is not about Jae Crowder, D’Angelo Russell, Bojan Bojdanovic, Jarred Vanderbilt, O.G. Anunoby, P.J. Washington, Norman Powell, Dorian Finney Smith, Malik Beasley, Kelly Olynyk or some other unknown target.

It’s about the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Amid the swirling uncertainty of WNBA free agency, the Chicago Sky made a major addition this week — to their front office, not their roster.

The Sky hired Nadia Rawlinson for a newly created role of operating chairman. Rawlinson aims to establish a stronger base for the business aspects of the team as the WNBA continues to grow ...Read more

BOSTON — The road trips have been long, the games have been stacked and, inside the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room, the eyes have been droopier. The NBA schedule is long — the comparisons to a marathon too accurate for them to be fully dismissed as merely a cliche.

But the Lakers — they’re lucky, lucky to be in Boston on Saturday to...Read more

BOSTON — As the Celtics backpedaled into a rare losing streak this week, Jaylen Brown took the blame. His pair of free throws with seconds left in overtime cost them, and he took accountability for not bringing the right energy in a poor performance.

On Saturday, he brought it at just the right time.

Brown shook off one of his worst games of...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — For most of Saturday, the Orlando Magic’s 128-109 home loss to the Chicago Bulls looked like it was going to go how most of their games on the second night of a back-to-back have gone.

The defensive intensity was lacking early. Their 3-point shots weren’t falling.

The Bulls took advantage of the Magic’s lackluster play,...Read more

DETROIT — The Pistons haven’t had many victories that would be considered easy. There was an opportunity for them to have one on Saturday, but instead Detroit relinquished an early 14-point lead to a lowly Houston Rockets team.

With two teams at the bottom of the league’s standings, the game was an opportunity for the Pistons to show they...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A prime opportunity to earn a major boost to its NCAA Tournament résumé slipped through Kentucky’s grasp Saturday night in Rupp Arena.

Reigning national champion Kansas came to town ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press poll and sitting at No. 9 in the NCAA’s NET ratings, and the Jayhawks left Lexington with a 77-68 ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Saturday's game at Target Center offered the Timberwolves two opportunities:

— To see how they stacked up against a quality opponent in the first of two consecutive games against Sacramento, third in the Western Conference, and;

— A forum on two All-Star hopefuls in Anthony Edwards and the Kings' De'Aaron Fox.

The verdict:...Read more

NEW YORK — It can’t be a rivalry if the results are this lopsided.

Even if the Knicks and Nets wanted to feed into the cross-bridge rivalry narrative — which they don’t — the numbers lean too drastically in Brooklyn’s favor.

Sunday’s 122-115 victory marked the Nets’ ninth straight victory over their nearby opponent. The Knicks ...Read more

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State’s basketball game against Florida was far from the challenge it was billed as when the Big 12 and SEC scheduled the matchup as part of their final conference crossover series.

The Wildcats dominated the Gators from start to finish on their way to a 64-50 victory in front of a sellout crowd at Bramlage Coliseum...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid got the ball as the shot clock ticked down, dribbled, and pulled up against Nikola Jokić.

The 3-pointer went bang, Embiid shrugged his shoulders on the way back to the bench, and the Wells Fargo Center crowd unleashed into an “M-V-P!” chant that reminded everyone who they believed was most worthy of the award. ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — For nearly the entire game, it seemed as though Jeff Capel’s team couldn’t catch a break. Matched up at home against a ranked opponent, any sort of momentum Pitt could gather would be matched by the opposition.

That was until the very end. An 11-0 run in the game’s final two minutes lifted the Panthers to a thrilling 71-68 ...Read more

CHICAGO — Candace Parker chose to leave the Chicago Sky for the same reason she joined the team in 2021 — to go home.

The Naperville, Ill., native and two-time WNBA champion on Saturday announced her decision to sign with the Las Vegas Aces as a free agent. In an Instagram post, she cited her family as her primary decision for returning ...Read more