DENVER — The best way to play a LeBron James flop? Have a Joker up your sleeve.

“Listen: To have the success that they’ve had, as great as (Nikola) Jokic has been­ — if you go back and look at that (Western) Conference finals, the Lakers had no answer,” former NBA guard Greg Anthony, now an analyst with Warner Bros. Discovery and NBA...Read more

MIAMI — This moment was inevitable, whether it came during the play-in, playoffs or the offseason.

At some point, it felt as if the Heat would have to make a decision on Jimmy Butler.

Then, Wednesday night in Philadelphia, came the crashing and crushing reality.

And, so, a crossroads, the intersection of the franchise revival and older and ...Read more

DALLAS — When it comes to sportscasters and analysts in Dallas-Fort Worth, Brian Dameris may not be a household name but he did drop the single greatest rant in the history of the broadcasts of the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys combined.

With all due respect to the many men and women who have served as ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It could have been the start of something big. Maybe it should have been. Crazy as it sounds, when Game 1 between the 76ers and New York Knicks tips off Saturday at Madison Square Garden, it will mark the first time the teams have faced each other in the playoffs in 35 years. And the final image of that series was the sort of ...Read more

MIAMI — As they went into Friday night’s winner-take-all play-in game against the Chicago Bulls, the Miami Heat paused to reflect on the perseverance of their leader.

While a sprained MCL in his right knee took Jimmy Butler out of Friday night’s showdown at Kaseya Center, it did not deter him from playing to the finish of Wednesday night�...Read more

DENVER — Coban Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr., was sentenced to six years in prison Friday for killing a woman in a drunk-driving crash last year.

Porter, 22, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in February on the condition that he would be sentenced to no more than eight years in prison. ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — From the start it was clear Stephon Castle wasn’t your typical “one-and-done” player. He came to UConn all in for winning a championship, and fulfilled that commitment to coach Dan Hurley.

In fact, Hurley called him “the anti-five star,” because his team-first attitude was different from the typical high-end ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — As a seventh Duke basketball player entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, the Blue Devils are closing in on their first addition.

Sean Stewart, a 6-9 freshman reserve forward, became the latest Blue Devils player from last season’s team to announce his departure via the portal on the same day Syracuse ...Read more

NEW YORK — The only time Josh Hart spoke about it was to poke fun at Jalen Brunson.

After all, Brunson’s 2023 playoff run ended in similar fashion to the brutal ending to Hart’s Villanova career.

With a turnover.

Hart and Brunson were teammates on the 2017 Wildcats team bumped from the NCAA Tournament’s second round by the Wisconsin ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Over the past 10 days, the coaching conflict that has defined Kentucky college hoops in the 21st century has flipped 180 degrees.

In what has essentially been an unending war between the “House of Calipari” and the “House of Pitino,” the forces of “Ricky P.” have secured a stunning victory.

On April 8, the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The countdown clock started around 5 p.m. Sunday and expires Saturday afternoon, a protracted gap between games that must feel like an eternity in the NBA's rhythm of life.

The playoff format grants the Timberwolves five full days to prepare for the Phoenix Suns, a Monday-through-Friday workweek that is the most important time ...Read more

NEW YORK — Elite Bulls defender Coby White had a unique way of describing Jalen Brunson after the Knicks’ All-Star point guard hung 45 points in a near wire-to-wire victory in Chicago on April 9.White called Brunson a ‘motherf-----.’

Brunson is that good. He’s proven it against each of the NBA’s premier individual and team defenses:...Read more

DENVER — They gave us what we wanted: The Nuggets back on stage with Maury Povich and a manila envelope. In the case of the 64-year-old Los Angeles Lakers, you are the father.

Denver welcomes the Lakers back to Ball Arena on Saturday as family. Cup your ears from Trinidad to Windsor and you can still hear the “Who’s your daddy?” chant ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors have an aging roster that just finished a middling season. They just paid a ludicrously large luxury tax bill with a team icon hitting free agency. They have a responsibility to compete for titles as long as Steph Curry remains great and a moral obligation to keep their dynastic core intact — possibly ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Day 3 of the continuing injury update regarding Kawhi Leonard brought in Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank to explain more details and to tell the media that his All-Star forward will be listed as “questionable” for Game 1 of the playoffs Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Leonard, who missed the ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — They were who we thought they were. Until they weren’t. The only conclusion left is they aren’t.

They aren’t the team that wouldn’t dunk against the Atlanta Hawks, that couldn’t shoot against the Boston Celtics. They aren’t the team that barely bothered to tie its shoes for Game 7 at TD Garden. Their point guard no ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — If there’s anyone on the Magic who understands the lethality of Cleveland‘s Donovan Mitchell, it’s veteran forward Joe Ingles.

The 36-year-old Australian, who’s become a crucial piece to Orlando‘s young roster, played with Mitchell in Utah from 2017-22 before the duo departed the Jazz.

Now they’ll face each other ...Read more

MIAMI — A worst-case scenario turned into reality for the Miami Heat on Thursday, when testing revealed a sprained MCL in Jimmy Butler’s right knee that the team said will have the team’s leading man out “several weeks.”

That prognosis comes with the Heat’s season on the line in Friday night’s winner-take-all play-in game against ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The outline hasn't really differed much in their past seven meetings, the four from last year's Western Conference finals and the three chances for revenge that the Lakers couldn't grab.

Generally, the game has been close, the Nuggets will then get into their late-game offense, and the game won't be close anymore.

Thursday, the...Read more

CHICAGO — Alex Caruso’s status for the Chicago Bulls’ play-in tournament game Friday in Miami is in jeopardy after a left ankle injury was deemed a “significant” sprain, according to ESPN.

Caruso spent a long time getting treatment on the ankle after Wednesday’s 131-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the United Center that set up the...Read more