MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves defeated the team at the top of the Western Conference standings on Sunday, scoring a 128-98 win over Denver.

Even though it will go in the official ledger like any other win, chalk this one up as the Wolves' biggest schedule win of the season.

A night after playing in Denver, the Nuggets opted to sit out ...Read more

Evan Fournier got an unexpected chance and ran with it.

With RJ Barrett a late scratch because of a non-COVID illness, Fournier, normally out of the rotation, was the backup guard and sent a reminder about why he broke the franchise’s record for 3-pointers just a year ago.

Fournier’s 17 points — including 5 for 8 from beyond the arc — ...Read more

At this point of the season, for this Kentucky basketball team, it feels like every game is an NCAA Tournament play-in game.

Take Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Florida was in town for a bubble battle. Both the Cats and Gators were 6-3 in the SEC. Both were in the 30s in the NCAA NET rankings. By night’s end, however, John Calipari’s Cats ...Read more

Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan is putting his trust in the front office to navigate the impending trade deadline as his team continues to struggle even to get to .500.

With the deadline at 2 p.m. Thursday, Donovan said before Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers that executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras ...Read more

The Dallas Mavericks are so desperate to put an All-Star player next to Luka they went with the crazy hot one.

Uncle Drew is coming to the Mavs.

Will be interesting. Will be entertaining.

And don’t come cryin’ when Kyrie Irving goes Rondo and this movie bombs.

On Sunday, according to ESPN and other media outlets, the Mavericks sent ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — The night before his first game against North Carolina, at least his first one as Duke’s head coach, Jon Scheyer participated in a familiar ritual. He met with the students — 3,000 of them, he said — inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, and delivered the de facto keynote address of the annual informal gathering that always takes...Read more

The hope this week is of the Miami Heat getting a better sense of self, in what has turned more into a quest for healing than necessarily an upgrade at Thursday’s NBA trading deadline.

After losing Saturday night to the Milwaukee Bucks to close out a 1-3 trip, the Heat limped back to South Florida short on bodies and again long on medical ...Read more

The Brooklyn Nets have traded star guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick and future second-round picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal comes days after Irving requested a trade from Brooklyn after he and the Nets failed to reach an agreement on a ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry is expected to miss multiple weeks with a lower leg injury, according to reports.

The extent of Curry’s injury is unknown except that he injured his lower left leg after a collision with Mavericks guard McKinley Wright IV in the third quarter of the Warriors’ win against Dallas on Saturday night.

Curry, 34, ...Read more

CSU athletics and Rams men’s basketball coach Niko Medved offered public apologies on behalf of the university after some fans could be heard chanting “Russia” at a Utah State player of Ukrainian descent.

While the Aggies guard Max Shulga was shooting free throws with 40.9 seconds left in an 88-79 win over CSU at Moby Arena, segments of ...Read more

As cliché as it sounds — or ultimately may be — Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has reiterated the same message about his team’s approach throughout the season: By committee.

That mindset was on full display in the Magic’s 119-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets at Spectrum Center.

Despite being without Mo Bamba and Jalen Suggs as a ...Read more

The exercise ahead of the NBA trading deadline, which this season comes at 3 p.m. Thursday, typically is to get a read on what a team is looking to add.

That is what makes the Miami Heat’s position this time around atypical. As much as anything, the starting point likely will be what Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg are looking to shed.

With the ...Read more

DENVER — Nikola Jokic has made so many pretty passes that by the end of Saturday night, he didn’t need to look.

He swung a no-look dime to Aaron Gordon midway through the fourth quarter to notch his NBA-leading 18th triple-double, and the Nuggets won, again, this time knocking off the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 128-108 for their third win in a...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was a get-well card to themselves, complete with hearts and smiley faces.

Everyone signed it. Personal touches were everywhere.

Adem Bona flexed in satisfaction as he sat along the baseline Saturday evening, the UCLA freshman center having blocked three shots in less than three minutes. Jaime Jaquez Jr. slapped hands in ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry is scheduled to get an MRI on his left leg after he exited Saturday’s 119-113 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Curry was guarding a driving McKinley Wright IV when the two appeared to bang knees at the 2:01 mark of the third quarter. Curry, who was whistled for the foul, hobbled away from McKinley. The Warriors ...Read more

DETROIT — Early in the third quarter, Chris Paul threaded a pass between Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren to find DeAndre Ayton for an easy dunk.

It was a common theme of defensive miscues as the Pistons suffered a 116-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.

The defeat marked Detroit’s second loss to the Suns this season. They ...Read more

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson put his team on his back on Saturday night. However, his performance is merely a footnote in the Knicks' 134-128 loss to the Clippers.

Clippers forward Nic Batum drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime where the Knicks could not capitalize on their valiant effort.

Brunson racked up ...Read more

NEW YORK — The pass from Paul George found Clippers wing Nicolas Batum in the right corner with 1.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The 3-point shot left his hand six-tenths of a second later.

Just as fast, the groans were heard inside Madison Square Garden.

Batum’s shot ripped through the net, forcing overtime and staving off ...Read more

This was not a road trip that soured at the finish, with Saturday night’s 123-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks closing out a weeklong 1-3 excursion.

This was a Miami Heat trip that soured at the start, with last Sunday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets upping the ante and the Heat able to meet the remaining challenges only in the victory over ...Read more