DENVER — LeBron James is king of another NBA record once held by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

James broke Abdul-Jabbar’s record for the most career field goals in the regular season Thursday against the Denver Nuggets, but an elbow injury limited his contributions in crunch time of the Lakers’ 120-113 loss.

After ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Up by as much as 19 points in the second half, Michigan State appeared on course for its usual senior night festivities on Thursday. But a Rutgers comeback made things tight at the end.

Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 21 points each to lead No. 8 Michigan State out of a trap against Rutgers in a 91-87 win. A 21-8 ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The third quarter of the Timberwolves’ 115-107 victory over Toronto on Thursday at the Target Center was evidence that the type of team the Wolves thought they could be was still in there, lurking below the surface and perhaps gearing up for the stretch run.

The Wolves won the third quarter 35-22, and they took over the game ...Read more

MIAMI — On many other nights, the Miami Heat might have reached the point of peril.

Against the Brooklyn Nets, adversity merely proved to be an inconvenience Thursday night for Erik Spoelstra’s team.

So even with Bam Adebayo in foul trouble, with Norman Powell sidelined, and with an unexpected deficit in the third period, ultimately a 126-...Read more

HOUSTON — Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not mince words before his Warriors hobbled into the game against the host Rockets at Toyota Center on on Thursday.

“This is probably as beaten up a team as I’ve ever been around in my 12 years with the Warriors,” Kerr said. “I look at it as a great challenge, but also a great opportunity for ...Read more

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Wolverines had a chance to become the first Big Ten team in 50 years to go undefeated on the road during league play.

They didn’t let the historic opportunity go to waste, but they certainly had to work for it.

No. 3 Michigan prevailed in a dogfight that went down to the wire against Iowa, 71-68, Thursday at Carver-...Read more

SAN ANTONIO — Ten days ago, the Detroit Pistons lost to the San Antonio Spurs, and they believed the lessons learned from that defeat would have benefited them in their rematch at Frost Bank Center on Thursday. This is particularly true when it came to gaining experience from playing against Victor Wembanyama.

In what could have been another ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Gap year, huh? Who cares! No one is turning down the volume on the Lakers. No one is turning down the heat.

The scrutinizing and psychoanalyzing continues like Luka Doncic screaming at the refs — incessantly, and with impressive stamina. About as loudly too. “Our losses,” Lakers coach JJ Redick recently said, “are louder...Read more

CHICAGO — Early in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Josh Giddey stood at the scorer’s table with a resistance band and a towel tucked into one hand, his eyes tracking every movement on the court.

Barely 15 minutes before, the guard could barely hobble off the court. Giddey turned his ankle on an offensive...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Searching to finish its longest remaining homestand of the season on a high note after a 1-2 start, the Magic found themselves in a tight back-and-forth contest against the Mavericks on Thursday night at Kia Center.

Dallas led by as many as 14 points in the first half before Orlando punched back to take an 11-point lead in the...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC coach Hubert Davis said freshman forward Caleb Wilson is “progressing” but has yet to compete in five-on-five play in team practices ahead of the No. 17 Tar Heels’ trip to Durham to play No. 1 Duke on Saturday.

“He’s been doing individual workouts ... he’ll do more today (in practice),” Davis said at a ...Read more

BOSTON — Friday could be comeback day for Jayson Tatum.

On their latest injury report, the Celtics upgraded Tatum from out — his designation on every prior report as he worked his way back from Achilles surgery — to questionable for Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden (7 p.m.; ESPN).

If he is activated, it would be ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Andre Drummond was in the Philadelphia 76ers’ locker room after shootaround on Tuesday when a couple of his younger teammates approached the center about his recent shoe deal news.

“All the young guys are already asking me for shoes like, ‘Yo, you signing guys?’” Drummond said with a laugh during a video call with The...Read more

NEW YORK — The Oklahoma City Thunder were without their star second option — Jalen Williams — for the ninth straight game.

But another one of the team’s stars made up for it. And he looked like he could fill the No. 2 role full-time for Mark Daigneault’s squad if needed.

Chet Holmgren entered Madison Square Garden with a shooting ...Read more

NEW YORK — Ahead of tipoff against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second leg of a road-home back-to-back on Wednesday, Knicks head coach Mike Brown laid out his team’s keys to victory.

The Thunder are well-coached under Mark Daigneault. They are led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They have a complementary ...Read more

Depending on how the Eastern Conference standings shake out over the final six weeks of the regular season, the Celtics could see Charlotte in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Hornets? The franchise that won 19 games a year ago, hasn’t reached the postseason since 2016 and hasn’t won a series since before Kon Knueppel was born? They...Read more

NEW YORK — The WNBPA’s executive committee affirmed it remains “united” on delivering a “transformational” collective bargaining agreement, the union said in a statement Wednesday.

“In every CBA negotiation, the goal of the league and teams is to divide the players,” the union said in the statement. The statement comes less than...Read more

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith hurled criticism at the New Orleans Pelicans organization and rattled off many of his own accomplishments during a monologue that lasted more than nine minutes on Wednesday's episode of "First Take."

It occurred a day after Smith called New Orleans star Zion Williamson a "food addict" on air and the Pelicans ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — There’s no shame in losing a basketball game.

This is doubly true when the two highest-paid players in the history of the franchise are either hurt (again), suspended (seriously?), or, when they are available, less than fully whole.

Sometimes, there’s even no shame in losing by 40.

However, there is great shame in losing ...Read more