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Sixers' sixth consecutive playoff berth remains on hold after 109-105 double-overtime loss to Bulls

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Monday night’s loss delayed making things official.

As one of the league’s top teams for much of the season, the 76ers expect to do much more than reach the playoffs. They’re one of the contenders for the NBA title.

But things come in steps, and the Sixers missed out on taking the first one at the Wells Fargo Center.

...Read more

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Prince's flawless three-point shooting lifts Wolves over Knicks

Sports / Basketball /

NEW YORK – To keep their playoff hopes alive, the Timberwolves are going to need to punch above their weight class, given the team they have on the floor without Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

They got in just enough licks against the Knicks on Monday night and rode a hot shooting night to a 140-134 victory at Madison Square Garden. ...Read more

Warriors finally win a road game, beating the Rockets 121-108

Sports / Basketball /

HOUSTON — Finally. The Warriors snapped an 11-game road losing skid Monday night, beating the Houston Rockets 121-108.

Stephen Curry cheered while riding a stationary bike as the Warriors built their fourth-quarter lead up to 15 with under six minutes left. It didn’t matter that his teammates couldn’t hear him; he was ecstatic that ...Read more

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Lonzo Ball undergoes cartilage transplant in his left knee -- beginning an unprecedented recovery process for the Chicago Bulls guard

Sports / Basketball /

PHILADELPHIA — Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball underwent a cartilage transplant in his left knee Monday, a rare procedure that could decide the fate of his return to the court.

This was the third surgery on Ball’s left knee in the last 14 months. Uncertainty has shrouded every step of Ball’s recovery since the injury occurred in ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

'It's a feeling': Why Kawhi Leonard believes the Clippers could be great

Sports / Basketball /

Every strong team Kawhi Leonard has been part of has met his same, personal criteria.

It's not defensive rating.

It's not assist-to-turnover ratio.

It's not quantifiable at all.

"It's a feeling when you know you have a great team," the Clippers' star wing said Sunday. "It's not always [leading] to a championship, it's just about you knowing ...Read more

Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader/Silas Walker

John Clay: Kentucky fans are right to have high expectations. John Calipari isn't meeting them.

Sports / Basketball /

When asked by the national media, or from someone outside the Bluegrass, the question always comes with a smirk.

“Obviously one of the things that makes your job tougher than some is the expectations that surround Kentucky,” a media member asked John Calipari in the press conference after UK’s 75-69 loss to Kansas State in the second ...Read more

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Breaking down the good, bad of Kansas State's matchup with Michigan State in Sweet 16

Sports / Basketball /

Little was expected of Kansas State the last time it reached the Sweet 16.

In fact, the Wildcats received so little attention heading into the regional semifinals back in 2018 that one K-State player suggested they might as well rename that round of the NCAA Tournament as the Sweet 15 because it felt like no one thought they belonged.

That ...Read more

A.J. Hoggard fits the mold in legacy of Michigan State point guards

Sports / Basketball /

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The push-and-pull between Tom Izzo and his point guards over the years has always been fascinating.

When a point guard first arrives on campus, rarely does everything jell. Izzo is often pulling his hair out, while the player is wondering whether he can make the right move. To say it’s a difficult process at times would be ...Read more

Rick Pitino agrees to six-year deal to become St. John's head coach: reports

Sports / Basketball /

Iona head basketball coach Rick Pitino has agreed to become the coach at St. John’s according to reports.

Pitino informed the Gaels he was leaving the program in a team meeting Monday afternoon, according to ESPN. The 70-year-old had been courted by St. John’s following the recent firing of head coach Mike Anderson.

Pitino’s deal with ...Read more

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Hornets' LaMelo Ball attacking rehab

Sports / Basketball /

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Decked mostly in comfortable attire that included sweat pants and padded slippers, players trickled out of Spectrum Center’s inner bowels one by one following a morning group workout.

Preparations for the Charlotte Hornets’ matchup with Indiana on Monday night were in full swing and the team’s star point guard remained...Read more

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Paul Sullivan: Northwestern has no need for tears after disproving its doubters in a run to the NCAA Tournament's 2nd round

Sports / Basketball /

There was no crying kid meme on the internet Saturday night after Northwestern was bounced from the NCAA Tournament with a 68-63 second-round loss to UCLA.

That televised moment from 2017 — when 11-year-old John Phillips, son of then-NU athletic director Jim Phillips, became teary-eyed during the waning moments of the Wildcats’ ...Read more

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Amari Bailey's moment has arrived. How far will it take him and UCLA?

Sports / Basketball /

His ethos can be found under his right bicep, in large black letters.

"No Vanity," the tattoo reads.

It would be so easy to indulge in just a little now.

Amari Bailey is no longer an up-and-coming college basketball star. He's here.

With every slick move to the basket, every defensive stop, every pass that finds a teammate in the perfect ...Read more

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Dieter Kurtenbach: The Warriors bet big on Jordan Poole. They can't afford to wait for his best game any longer

Sports / Basketball /

When the Warriors signed Jordan Poole to a nine-figure contract extension before this season, it was with the belief that he would be the future of the franchise.

He might end up being that when his new contract starts after this season.

But the Warriors can’t afford to wait on Poole to find his best game any longer.

The Warriors need Poole...Read more

Austin Reaves has come a long way from a tiny Arkansas town to Lakers 'MVP!'

Sports / Basketball /

The moment, Austin Reaves has always felt, can wait. The game comes first, the next play the priority.

Reflection is for later.

It's a mindset that's allowed none of this to ever feel too big, that it's always been possible for someone from a tiny farm town to somehow be peers with the best basketball players in the world.

Like in his ...Read more

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Miami Hurricanes headed to Sweet 16 for second year in row after 85-69 win over Indiana

Sports / Basketball /

The Miami Hurricanes are headed to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row after overwhelming Indiana with their speed and athleticism. They played with no fear and unbridled joy and came away with an 85-69 victory.

They are headed to Kansas City to play top seed Houston on Friday. It is the first time in school history Miami made the Sweet ...Read more

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Mark Kiszla: His Blue Jays are in the Sweet 16. His son plays in the NBA. But that's not what makes Creighton coach Greg McDermott most proud.

Sports / Basketball /

DENVER — His son has scored more than 5,000 points in the NBA and the Creighton team he coaches is headed to the Sweet 16 of March Madness.

But know what gives Creighton basketball coach Greg McDermott the most pride?

Being Earl and Mary’s kid.

“Yeah, my parents are 89 years old, Earl and Mary are back home watching this tonight. You ...Read more

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UConn men's basketball headed to Sweet 16 for first time since 2014 after beating Saint Mary's, 70-55

Sports / Basketball /

ALBANY, N.Y. – The UConn men’s basketball team is headed back to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.

Thanks to a steady 24 points from Adama Sanogo and 12 in the second half from a scorching-hot Jordan Hawkins, the fourth-seeded Huskies blew past fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s, 70-55, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in ...Read more

Spurs' 3-point flurry in third quarter sinks Hawks on road

Sports / Basketball /

SAN ANTONIO — The Hawks gave up eight 3-pointers in the third quarter, giving the Spurs plenty of confidence to erase a 24-point deficit. The Hawks (35-36) fell 126-118 on Sunday.

Here are five observations:

1. There was still plenty of time for the Hawks to regain their stride after guard Trae Young hit a floater at the third-quarter buzzer...Read more

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Takeaways from Heat's win over Pistons behind fourth-quarter run fueled by Jimmy Butler

Sports / Basketball /

The Miami Heat accomplished something Sunday it hasn’t done enough this season: take care of business against an inferior opponent.

But it wasn’t easy.

The Heat bounced back from Saturday’s ugly loss to the Chicago Bulls, escaping with a 112-100 comeback win over the struggling Detroit Pistons on Sunday night at Little Caesars Arena to ...Read more

Michigan State upends Marquette, earns berth in Sweet Sixteen

Sports / Basketball /

COLUMBUS, Ohio — At Michigan State, the motto in the NCAA Tournament is to win the weekend.

On Sunday evening at Nationwide Arena, the seventh-seeded Spartans did just that, starting quickly, rallying then holding on to beat No. 2 Marquette, 69-60, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019, the last season the Spartans made the...Read more