SALT LAKE CITY — Mick Cronin brought out an old boxing reference when asked about the challenge facing his ninth-ranked team against a massive underdog, mentioning Buster Douglas’ epic upset of Mike Tyson as evidence of what can happen without inflicting enough early damage.

It was the Bruins who absorbed most of the body blows in the first...Read more

NEW YORK — It was the same old story for the Knicks Thursday night:

The starters were brutal, and it took the bench to make it a game.

Julius Randle, Kemba Walker and company ran up a deficit that got to 24 points early in the fourth quarter. A lineup of Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks, Obi Toppin and Quentin Grimes turned in a spirited ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — People hoping to see the 76ers move Ben Simmons before the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline might be disappointed.

Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey was asked how likely it is for Simmons to be dealt before the deadline during a Thursday evening appearance on The Mike Missanelli Show on 97.5 The Fanatic.

“I ...Read more

NEW YORK — Cam Reddish’s first appearance in a Knicks jersey “should be any day now,” coach Tom Thibodeau said Thursday. That day wasn't Thursday night’s matchup against the Pelicans, which Reddish missed alongside Nerlens Noel. But the new trade acquisition is “pretty close” to returning from his ankle injury, according to ...Read more

NEW YORK — Nets star Kyrie Irving has been fined $25,000 for “directing obscene language toward a fan,” the league announced on Thursday.

The incident occurred at the 4:19 mark of the second quarter in Irving’s return to Cleveland — he is a former Cavaliers star — when a fan recorded an interaction between the Nets’ guard and some...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Former UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie has won his four-year legal battle with the university over the years and compensation remaining on his contract when he was fired in March 2018.

Arbitrator Mark Irvings, in his ruling, found that UConn “violated the collective bargaining agreement when it terminated Kevin ...Read more

CHICAGO — Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will be out 6-8 weeks after he has arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, the team announced Thursday.

Ball reportedly has a small meniscus tear in his knee, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Ball has been out of action since playing in the 138-96 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Shame on the Lakers.

Shame on them for turning a magical championship season into an unabated clown show.

Shame on them for spending the last 15 months deconstructing their rebuilt credibility and allowing themselves to crumble back into the same old mess.

Magic Johnson ripping from the cheap seats. Kurt Rambis sticking his ...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio — There were 13,000-plus in Value City Arena to watch Ohio State grind out a 61-56 victory over Penn State Sunday afternoon. As far as I could tell, every fan wore a mask, which is to say we could all breathe easier.

Props to Ohio State, which is maintaining a certain vigilance and is willing to pay a price for it. It's not ...Read more

Fifteen months ago, the Lakers won the NBA championship and Frank Vogel was lauded for being the steward who guided the franchise to its 17th title that tied it with the Boston Celtics for the most in league history.

Some two hours before the Lakers were set to play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Vogel sat behind a desk answering questions ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With about three minutes left, the Pistons looked to be out of it.

Not so much.

They staged a furious comeback in the final stretch and snatched a 133-131 victory over the Sacramento Kings in the final seconds on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

The Pistons set a season high for points, boosted by 30 points and seven...Read more

Kentucky faced multiple obstacles at Texas A&M on Wednesday night. The game was a sellout. The crowd was roused by a “white-out.”

And the Aggies saw their first game against a ranked opponent as a chance to validate their 15-2 start to the season.

“I think this win will be a big win if we beat Kentucky …,” guard Andre Gordon said ...Read more

Life without Kevin Durant has proven to be a bit more difficult than the locked-and-loaded Nets expected.

Without Durant — expected to be out until at least the All-Star break with a sprained MCL in his left knee — the Nets leaned on their other superstars and rookies to land a 119-118 victory over Spencer Dinwiddie and the Washington ...Read more

MIAMI — The preferred approach when your starting point guard and Sixth Man Award candidate are out probably is not to then see your leading man ejected.

But that is where the Miami Heat stood late in Wednesday night’s second quarter, with Kyle Lowry missing a second consecutive game due to personal reasons, Tyler Herro in quarantine after ...Read more

ATLANTA — Everything was going just fine for the Timberwolves early in their 134-122 loss to the Hawks.

The Wolves were rolling offensively and had built a double-digit lead that they maintained at halftime.

Then in the third quarter it all went wrong in spectacular, frustrating fashion. Anthony Edwards was ejected in a homecoming game for ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — With the NBA trade deadline three weeks away, Doc Rivers was asked Wednesday what the 76ers need to acquire to ensure a deep postseason run.

“Right now, when we’re whole with what we have, we’ve been pretty good,” the coach said. “Whether that means we go deep (in the playoffs), I don’t know that. Maybe we’re ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Nets have lost two things with Kevin Durant out for at least a month and a half:

1) Their most versatile defender; a perennial Defensive Player of the Year snub with the myriad ways he impacts a game on that end of the floor.

2) An all-time bucket-getter and clutch scorer who owns more Olympic gold medals (three) than NBA ...Read more