SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie gave his youngest players another opportunity to close out a close game, but they couldn’t stop the team’s longest losing streak in more than 30 years.

Kawhi Leonard had 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-111 victory before a crowd ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons demonstrated that their loss to the Washington Wizards 24 hours earlier was an anomaly rather than the norm. Friday night, they bounced back in a 118-80 victory over the New York Knicks inside Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit had arguably its best 3-point shooting performance of the season, finishing with 17 made 3s...Read more

NEW YORK — The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team saw its 18-game winning streak come to an end in an 81-72 loss to No. 22 St. John’s in a sold-out Madison Square Garden Friday night.

The Big East’s top two teams put on a show, but the Johnnies prevailed, forcing 15 turnovers and getting to the free-throw line 31 times on their way to a ...Read more

BOSTON — The Celtics overcame a dreadful offensive first half and a 22-point Heat lead to secure their fifth straight win Friday night.

Derrick White’s corner 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining put Boston ahead for good in a 98-96 thriller over Miami at TD Garden.

Veteran newcomer Nikola Vucevic, acquired from Chicago earlier in the week for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves can’t get Ayo Dosunmu on the floor fast enough.

Their newest prize acquisition sat out his first game with the team against New Orleans as the trade the Wolves made with the Bulls gets finalized, so the Wolves took the floor without him.

The same team that has struggled with a lack of defensive focus and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic was diagnosed with a strained left hamstring and listed as out for the Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers have not indicated a timetable for Doncic's return.

Doncic was injured late in the second quarter of the Lakers' win over the Philadelphia 76ers on ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — It appears Mike Conley’s Timberwolves days aren’t over after all.

After trading him earlier in the week to the Bulls, the veteran point guard is likely to make his way back to Minnesota via the buyout market, sources confirmed on Friday. The sides are working on the timing of Conley’s potential return because, for salary-...Read more

MIAMI — It is almost but not quite right to say Thursday’s NBA trade deadline proved to be much ado about nothing for the Miami Heat.

More accurate to call it much ado about nothing ... yet.

For the Heat it’s been all about working a trade for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Thursday that became a dream deferred, not...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The biggest news for the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday was that all-star guard Luka Doncic was unable to play in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers because of left leg soreness, the team announced in the third quarter.

Doncic left the game in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 119-115 win over the Philadelphia 76ers ...Read more

PHOENIX – Only a few hours after a pair of trades sent Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Trayce Jackson-Davis to new teams, the shorthanded Golden State Warriors rolled into Phoenix with a thin roster and ample opportunities for unheralded players to step up in Phoenix on Thursday.

With Steph Curry in street clothes for the second consecutive...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Magic defeated the Nets by one point on Jan. 7, Orlando needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Paolo Banchero to escape Brooklyn on top in overtime.

Thursday night at Kia Center, however, coach Jamahl Mosley‘s squad handled its business against the 13-win team by leading wire-to-wire and by as many as 26 points in a...Read more

CHICAGO — If you went to Maxwell Street in the 1970s and bought nine used hubcaps, you probably had a decent chance of finding one that might go with your rusty, old Buick.

If you were an NBA executive at the 2026 trade deadline and acquired nine second-round draft picks, you also might have a chance of finding a player who could change your ...Read more

PHOENIX — Facing a room packed with reporters, live recorders and rolling cameras at Mortgage Matchup Center a few hours after Thursday’s trade deadline, Warriors coach Steve Kerr expressed regret over how things turned out after the Warriors dealt Jonathan Kuminga.

On Wednesday evening, the Warriors agreed to terms with the Hawks, sending ...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The first time Michigan and Penn State crossed paths this season, the Wolverines survived a last-second scare.

The rematch between teams at opposite ends of the Big Ten standings ended up being no match.

No. 2 Michigan dominated from start to finish and swept the regular-season series with a 110-69 smackdown of undermanned...Read more

DETROIT — Hours after the NBA trade deadline, teams often find themselves shorthanded. The Washington Wizards exemplified this situation, particularly after their major acquisition of Anthony Davis, which left the team three players short on the bench. All-Star guard Trae Young observed from the sidelines of Little Caesars Arena, where he ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Nets waived Cam Thomas on Thursday, a move first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania that formally ends Thomas’ uneven, often turbulent run in Brooklyn.

The decision came one day after Thomas was ruled out for personal reasons ahead of Brooklyn’s road game against the Orlando Magic and didn’t travel with the team. The 24-...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers didn't make a splashy move when they acquired sharpshooter Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks for Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick Thursday morning before the NBA trade deadline, but the deal allowed L.A. to address its needs now while still saving draft capital so it can join the Giannis Antetokounmpo ...Read more

NEW YORK — Giannis Antetokounmpo is staying put.

For now, at least.

Despite widespread speculation and considerable interest in the superstar, the Milwaukee Bucks did not move Antetokounmpo before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

Antetokounmpo reacted on social media by posting a clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” in which Leonardo ...Read more

PHOENIX – After five tumultuous seasons in the Bay Area, the Golden State Warriors finally parted ways with Jonathan Kuminga less than 24 hours before Thursday’s trade deadline.

On Wednesday evening, Golden State sent Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta, in return receiving Kristaps Porzingis. No draft picks were involved in the deal. ESPN�...Read more

TORONTO — With the trade deadline looming, and with the organization in the mix still to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Minnesota Timberwolves team that took the floor against the Toronto Raptors looked like their minds were on everything except basketball.

Then the Wolves woke up in the fourth quarter of a 128-126 victory, their first ...Read more