ORLANDO, Fla. — Welcome to the Lakers, Luke Kennard.

The Lakers’ midseason acquisition made the game-winning 3-pointer in the team’s 105-104 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday, extending the Lakers’ winning streak to nine.

Luka Doncic notched his 40th 30-point game of the season with 33 points and eight assists, but he was assessed...Read more

March is not when an NBA team wants to get creative with its losses.

And yet here stand the Miami Heat, staggered by a four-game losing streak that now includes Saturday night’s 123-122 loss to the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.

Last Saturday, an awful start led to a home loss to the Orlando Magic.

Tuesday night, blitzed in the fourth ...Read more

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Andrej Stojaković dribbled behind his back to get a step on Terrence Hill Jr. in the first half Saturday night and then took off.

When he completed the slam over VCU forward Lazar Djokovic, he hung ever so slightly on the rim, looking back toward the Illinois bench with a satisfied look on his face.

It was all part of the...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Perhaps this is a good time to pause. Somewhere between hope and reality.

Chances are, the Florida basketball team will fall heartbreakingly short of a national championship this month. Not that the Gators aren’t capable of winning the grand prize, but the odds are stacked against any single team versus the field.

And that’...Read more

ST. LOUIS — Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson knew before the University of Miami coaching staff gave them the Purdue scouting report exactly what to expect heading into Sunday’s game against the No. 2 seeded Boilermakers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The two Hurricane seniors transferred from Big Ten programs, Reneau from ...Read more

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Step by step. That’s what the NCAA Tournament becomes.

Teams do whatever is necessary to win, to take the next step, to move on. That’s all that matters. It’s often about grit, defense and digging down. Style points don’t matter.

There was nothing very stylish about Duke’s game Saturday with Texas Christian in ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Nothing could’ve been more emblematic of Tarris Reed Jr.‘s once-in-a-lifetime night, a night he could not be stopped, than the moment he lost his shoe. And still grabbed his 15th rebound.

“I was hedging a ball screen, and I think (Alex) Wilkins somehow kicked my shoe off,” Reed said. “I was panicking a little bit, I ...Read more

There is a reason why nearly a third of the NBA is tanking.

This year’s NBA draft is historically deep, and cellar-dwelling teams are doing whatever it takes to position themselves to land one of these franchise-changing talents.

And while every analyst’s prospect rankings differ, there is one player whose name is most frequently listed ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — CJ is 31 and from Omaha. He has been a Nebraska fan his entire life and attended the university.

He is well aware of the basketball team’s’ struggles over the years and, that before this latest edition of March Madness commenced, the Cornhuskers had never won an NCAA Tournament game.

“Everybody knew it,” he said. “It ...Read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Michigan State is onto the Sweet 16.

On a record-breaking day as point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dished 16 assists to set a school NCAA Tournament record, No. 3 seed Michigan State led the entire second half in a 77-69 win over No. 6 seed Louisville. Despite 15 turnovers, 3 for 13 3-point shooting and Fears’ crafty playmaking ...Read more

The conversation around Hubert Davis’ future at UNC has shifted — and quickly.

Multiple sources tell the News & Observer that discussions regarding Davis’ job security have escalated rapidly since North Carolina’s stunning NCAA Tournament exit Thursday night.

The sources requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the personnel ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Andre Drummond was fined $25,000 for making an “objectionable gesture on the playing court” during the Philadelphia 76ers’ win at the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, the NBA announced Saturday.

Drummond mimicked shooting a gun toward the crowd after making a corner 3-pointer with about eight seconds remaining in the ...Read more

ST. LOUIS — It was a physical, intense men’s basketball game between two evenly matched teams, but the Missouri Tigers could not get over the hump against Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s West Regional on Friday night at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

The No. 10-seeded Tigers fell to the seventh-seeded Hurricanes ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA – Tarris Reed Jr. put the UConn men’s basketball team on his back and carried it to an 82-71 win over No. 15 seed Furman in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a game that began late Friday night and ended early Saturday morning.

Aside from the UConn section and a light smattering around Xfinity Mobile Arena in ...Read more

GREENVILLE, S.C. — It was early January when Brad Underwood knew his friend was in a good place. His Illini basketball team was visiting the Palestra for a neutral site game against Penn State when Fran McCaffery stopped by to chat.

The two coaches had spent the previous eight years helping one another navigate and endure the pressures of a ...Read more

DENVER — With a possessed glare in his eye that Ball Arena hasn’t seen since the Nuggets let Russell Westbrook walk, Tim Hardaway Jr. signaled for a timeout on Toronto’s behalf.

The Nuggets have lacked an edge lately, as the dog days of the regular season have threatened to derail their playoff seeding. With a barrage of 3-pointers and an...Read more

SAN DIEGO — It was gold, white and blue against crimson and blue.

But really, it was green vs. blue.

Green, as in inexperienced. Blue, as in blue blood.

Cal Baptist made its first appearance in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Friday night at Viejas Arena. Kansas made its record 28th in a row.

The program with 163 games of NCAA ...Read more