LEXINGTON, Ky. -- If Kentucky players needed a reminder that the game with archrival Louisville comes next, it came repeatedly at a team dinner at a Lexington restaurant Thursday night.

"Everybody who was in there was, like, win Saturday, win Saturday, win Saturday," Nate Sestina said Friday. "Obviously, it's a big deal for everybody here. And ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The NBA will likely take Thursday's matchup between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings, put in a vault and just let it collect dust for generations upon generations, never to see the light of day again. Or it might eject it into space so the sun could burn any trace of it.

Two teams with losing records, each ...Read more

With five days off between games, LeBron James was feeling pretty good physically heading into Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Then in the first quarter, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley kneed James in the groin as they collided, leaving the Los Angeles Lakers star crumpled on the court.

"I got kneed in the groin taking...Read more

MIAMI -- Embattled Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters returned to practice with the team on Thursday, following his third suspension of the season.

It marked Waiters' first formal practice with the Heat since the team announced on Dec. 12 that he was suspended for six games due to "failure to adhere to team policies, violation of team rules and ...Read more

Let's establish this from the gun: the tank is still on.

Yes, the Warriors -- despite having won three straight games, including an impressive, improbable, and downright cathartic win over the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day – are still going to select a player early in the 2020 NBA Draft.

But these young Dubs are no longer a pain to watch....Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Draymond Green hit a 3-pointer from his mark in the corner and ran to the sideline, jumping into Steph Curry in celebration while the Chase Center crowd erupted, as the Warriors took a six-point lead over the Rockets late in what would become their biggest win of the season.

The Warriors (8-24) defeated the Rockets, 116-104, on...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Elton Brand wasn't going to show his hand as far as potential acquisitions, but in a pregame news conference before the 76ers' game Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, the second-year general manager spoke with supreme confidence that his team is among the NBA's elite.

And then, the Sixers played like championship contenders ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The 76ers made a resounding statement.

They showed a sellout Wells Fargo Center crowd and a national TV audience how they stack up against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Sixers showed why, like Milwaukee, they were a preseason favorite to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heck, they looked destined to reach the NBA Finals after ...Read more

MIAMI -- The NBA court of appeals when it comes to the appeal of Dion Waiters' three Miami Heat team suspensions likely won't convene for months, as the players' union prepares its case.

But, already, the NBA court of public opinion is chiming in on what could come next for the thrice-suspended guard who again is working out with the team.

In ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Not long ago, Harry Giles III was considered a prized piece of a young core that was expected to lead the Kings back to prominence following an excruciating 13-year playoff drought. The organization put him on posters and billboards, promoting him as a big part of the team's future.

Now, Giles toils in obscurity at the end...Read more

On Christmas Day 2016, Omari Spellman, then 19, sat down with his family in Cleveland to watch LeBron James and the Cavaliers play the Warriors in one of the most entertaining Christmas Day games in the 72-year history of the event.

That was the game the Cavs won, 109-108, when Kyrie Irving hit a turnaround, fallaway jumper over Klay Thompson ...Read more

MIAMI -- Dion Waiters was back on the court Tuesday with some Miami Heat teammates and members of the coaching staff, on what technically was a day off for the team.

With AmericanAirlines Arena available to the roster for treatments on Christmas Eve, Waiters, whose six-game suspension ended with the Heat's Monday night victory over the visiting...Read more

DETROIT -- Nakiya Hamilton was grateful.

Truly, she was.

And the Warren resident knew how the Christmas shopping spree sponsored by the Detroit Pistons and the Alzheimer's Association would go.

Players would arrive at the Meijer on 8 Mile and be distant.

Oh, they would pose dutifully for photos and respectfully shake hands Sunday afternoon

...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Jay Bilas brought new meaning to the term basketball "analyst" Monday. He all but asked Kentucky fans to lay on the couch, take a deep breath, talk about the problem and then realize that the two defeats in Las Vegas last week are not cause for anxiety.

Why? Because all teams -- including Kentucky -- will lose games in an ...Read more

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade owns Christmas.

Disagree? Name a player who has won more games on Dec. 25 than Wade's 10 victories.

Having provided his fair share of holiday highlights, Wade's opinion on Christmas games matters. That's what makes his most suggestion -- that the NBA change the way the matchups are chosen -- so significant.

"Christmas ...Read more

NEW YORK -- With the ball at the baseline and some room to operate, the New York Knicks defender really had no chance against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. The player known as the Greek Freak spun around on the baseline to free himself and then went in for an over-the-head backward jam that wowed the crowd at Madison Square ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton made a major change to his starting lineup, inserting Marvin Bagley III in hopes of injecting life into his struggling team, but even that didn't work.

The Kings lost their fourth in a row, falling 113-104 to the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Golden 1 Center. The Kings have now lost ...Read more