BOSTON — So what if this is who the Miami Heat are, or at least can be, in the post-Jimmy Butler era?

What if the 10-game losing streak was, as coach Erik Spoelstra insisted, a period of discovery?

What if from the depths of the play-in round there can be yet another postseason breakout?

Why those questions now?

Because now there has been ...Read more

It was the kind of performance that can inspire confidence — at least until it wasn’t.

Contending for a title is the name of the game at Madison Square Garden, and the road to a title contention will undoubtedly run through Cleveland, home to the East’s No. 1-seeded Cavaliers.

The Knicks traveled to “The Land” for the second leg of a...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Three days after officially becoming Villanova’s head coach, Kevin Willard spoke Wednesday with reporters on Zoom.

Willard has had a busy few days. He traveled Monday to Indianapolis to watch the women’s team play in a WBIT semifinal, then flew to Las Vegas to meet with Villanova donors and his new team as it prepared to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Another left knee surgery is the decision for Joel Embiid.

The 76ers announced Wednesday that after consultations with medical experts, it was determined that the seven-time All-Star will undergo arthroscopic surgery next week.

This comes after the determination on Feb. 28 that Embiid was medically unable to play and would ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The stakes here in early April for the Lakers are easy to see, the trophies that sit in owner Jeanie Buss' window overlooking the practice courts a constant reminder of what the goals are for the team, particularly at a time when the talent on the roster looks formidable.

But for a player like center Jaxson Hayes, there are ...Read more

DENVER — The Russell Westbrook Experience left us nauseous.

As he stood in the corner, the clock near zero, Westbrook stared at the official in disbelief. His desperate fly-by resulted in a foul. Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s subsequent free throws resulted in a Nuggets’ double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

...Read more

DENVER – Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker came to Minnesota together from Utah a little over two years ago. Alexander-Walker wasn’t sure what was in store for his future. He was a free agent after the season, and there was a chance he would be out of the NBA the following season.

“Lost,” Alexander-Walker said. “Traded twice in...Read more

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

The basketball world knew that the Brooklyn-born former Knicks star wouldn’t have to wait long to add his name to the list of the game’s immortals.

Confirmation came Wednesday when ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the 10-time NBA All-Star has been notified he’...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The drawn-out drama surrounding the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves is finally over.

More than a year after Glen Taylor tried to retain majority control of the franchise by canceling its $1.5 billion sale to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, Taylor is ending that battle.

Lore and Rodriguez will become controlling owners after ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — Stanley Borden was out with his Duke teammates for warm-ups Saturday night, in full uniform, ready to play. Then, he threw on a gray zip-up hoodie and took a seat in the front row of the stands behind the bench and watched Duke win, just like everyone else behind him.

The 7-footer warmed up before both halves and cut down the ...Read more

They needed him, the weight of playoff-level intensity resting on his scratched-up shoulders, and so Nikola Jokic didn’t come off the floor.

Not at the start of the fourth quarter Tuesday night, the Nuggets down five and reeling from a second quarter where they were slaughtered in non-Jokic minutes. Not even after a nine-point lead with eight...Read more

Steph Curry raced past Jimmy Butler, with his hands up and ready for the pass, late in the first half of Tuesday night’s game at Memphis.

Curry received the pass he wanted and, some 30 feet away from the rim on the right wing, launched a rainbow shot. The ball ripped the net and gave him 32 first-half points, the 22nd time in his career that ...Read more

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has talked repeatedly about his team wanting to play its best basketball in the months of March and April.

Orlando failed to do that Monday night when it fell to the visiting Clippers at Kia Center but was able to bounce back against the Spurs at Frost Bank Center less than 24 hours later.

On the second night of a ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball program could have two one-and-done lottery picks in as many years.

Forward Liam McNeeley, the Big East Freshman of the Year, told ESPN that he will be declaring for the 2025 NBA draft on Tuesday.

Projected to be selected in the first round, possibly late in the lottery, McNeeley could be the ...Read more

DETROIT — For the second time in as many days, Michigan basketball landed a player out of the transfer portal.

This time, the Wolverines added a big piece from the Big Ten in Illinois big man Morez Johnson Jr., who shared news of his commitment on his social media accounts Tuesday.

Johnson, a former top-40 recruit, was an impact player on ...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden would rather face anyone but Auburn in the Final Four.

Tigers coach Bruce Pearl knows the feeling.

But two coaches a pair of wins away from a national title will set aside a 20-year relationship for a once-in-a-lifetime experience when the Gators and Tigers square off Saturday in San Antonio.

�...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Every step of Kevin Willard’s journey to Villanova from Maryland should be instructive and sobering. It should strip away any remaining sentimentality about the world of college basketball and how Villanova’s leaders view the Wildcats’ place in it. It should leave no doubt that those leaders wanted to, and perhaps ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Two days after being dumped by Kevin Willard for Villanova, Maryland men’s basketball has moved swiftly and named Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams its next coach.

The school announced Tuesday afternoon that Williams will be introduced Wednesday at Xfinity Center in College Park.

“It is an honor and privilege to be named the head ...Read more

DENVER – The NBA suspended Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo each for one game following an altercation between the Minnesota Timberwolves players and multiple members of the Pistons in Sunday’s win over Detroit.

The two will miss Tuesday’s game at Denver (10 p.m. ET, TNT) as the Wolves begin a five-game road trip.

For the Pistons, Isaiah ...Read more