LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was Election Night, and for 6:21 of elapsed playing time, the Kentucky Wildcats showed a Rupp Arena crowd of 19,304 their own version of a “blue wave.”

Sparked by some lovely ball movement, No. 23 UK uncorked a 25-3 first-half run Tuesday that turned an early 13-9 deficit to underdog Manhattan into a 34-16 UK advantage...Read more

SACRAMENTO — The Lakers encountered one of the NBA’s least impressive teams in the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, making it incumbent on them to take the right approach against a team that has one of the worst records in the league.

Slowly, the Lakers and Luka Doncic found their groove against the Kings, pulling away for an uneven ...Read more

All the talk surrounding the Heat over the last 48 hours was about its struggling defense. The Heat’s defense was much better on Wednesday, and it led to a much-needed win.

The win came in dramatic fashion, too, with Klay Thompson hitting a game-winning open corner three-pointer on an after-timeout-inbounds play with one second left in ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kon Knueppel exited to the locker room just six minutes into his season debut Wednesday night.

The second-year forward started against the Brooklyn Nets after missing the first eight regular-season games due to a left hamstring strain.

In the sixth minute, Knueppel committed a turnover on the offensive end of the floor ...Read more

The Minnesota Timberwolves pulled off an impressive 1117-107 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night at Toyota Center in Houston.

In a game that was close all night, with 26 lead changes, Ayo Dosunmu (21 points) and Bones Hyland (19) scored in bunches early on to keep the Wolves in the fight.

Ultimately though, it was a fourth-quarter ...Read more

DENVER — Nikola Jokic has arrived for the 2026-27 NBA season.

He’s been in Denver. He’s been on the team planes and in the team hotels. He’s been warming up and playing the games and cooling down. And even picking a few fights with his fans.

But not until Wednesday night did he arrive in his true home away from home, the paint at Ball ...Read more

BOSTON — A first-half blowout became a second-half thriller for the short-handed Celtics on Wednesday.

Playing without superstar Jayson Tatum (rest), Boston blew a 22-point lead but recovered in the final minutes to pull out a 109-102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

An 8-2 run late in the fourth quarter won the game for the Celtics, who ...Read more

DETROIT — Coach J.B. Bickerstaff knew facing the Philadelphia 76ers 11 days after their 106-93 victory would be completely different. In their rematch at Little Caesars Arena, Bickerstaff knew adding Joel Embiid would change the defensive scheme that led to the Detroit Pistons' win on Oct. 25.

Embiid missed the first meeting of the season ...Read more

NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson wasn’t sweating his relatively slow start to the season.

Instead, the Knicks captain on Tuesday attributed his down shooting numbers to simply “missing shots I normally make.”

Those shots were certainly falling Wednesday night.

Brunson erupted for a game-high 33 points — including 22 in the first quarter —...Read more

NEW YORK — Mikel Brown Jr. created just enough space against Moussa Diabaté, stepped back beyond the arc and buried a 26-foot 3 late in the first quarter Wednesday.

Later, the rookie drove the baseline and found a cutting Moritz Wagner for a dunk. On another possession, he drew the defense toward him and located Noah Clowney for an open ...Read more

SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson will meet with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday as a possible decision on NBA expansion draws closer.

Ferguson was asked about the meeting at the conclusion of his postelection media availability on Wednesday. It will be a virtual meeting and Ferguson’s office reached out to set it up.

...Read more

It really is a great color.

As a sea of purple — violet, lavender, lilac, whatever you want to call it — engulfed me on both sides of the Bay Wednesday, that was easily my most pervasive thought.

Simplistic? Sure. But the simple truths sometimes hit the hardest.

That Valkyries‘ purple is distinctive, but not garish. It’s accessible, ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The long-decided season-opener was over, and Cam Turley of the men’s basketball staff hand-delivered the ball in play as time ran out to the players in the UConn locker room.

“Cam came in and gave us the ball and we thought it was pretty cool,” senior Jayden Ross said, after the Huskies’ 86-46 victory over Gardner-...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky basketball opened the 2026-27 season in dominant fashion, breaking in a roster with nine Wildcats making their UK debut with an 85-57 win over Manhattan.

Sharpshooting Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic led the way with 24 points, hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers. Washington point guard transfer Zoom Diallo, who struggled...Read more

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino has landed his highest-rated high school recruit since taking over at St. John’s, earning a commitment Tuesday from 2027 senior Malachi Jordan.

Jordan, a 6-7 forward from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Prolific Prep, is a top-25 prospect in ESPN and 247Sports’ Class of 2027 rankings.

“I’m a Johnnie,” Jordan said in a...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Michael Malone has learned to coach more toward the process, not hang his head on every win or loss. Because believe it or not — the mighty North Carolina men’s basketball program against the Southern Conference’s Western Carolina on a day that was supposed to spur a new, promising era for a team with seven national ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Austin Reaves described it as "fun." Luka Doncic called the Lakers' effortless-looking offense as "flowing." And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.

Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with...Read more

Gabby Williams‘ phone was blowing up with congratulatory text messages after the former UConn women’s basketball star led the Golden State Valkyries to the WNBA title on Saturday night.

But one felt especially meaningful: From Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan.

The former Husky told ESPN about the text, which read: “Stay hungry.”

...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets have a pile of problems contributing to their clunky 3-3 start. Their soon-to-be $360 million man is at the top of the heap.

The one constant in Denver, the one foundational reality on which every other variable depends, is that Nikola Jokic is one of the best basketball players on earth. That his minutes, if all else ...Read more

NEW YORK — It’s one and done for Chris DeMarco.

The Liberty front office has decided to fire the head coach after just one season with the team, according to ESPN.

“Thank you, Coach DeMarco,” the Liberty posted on social media Tuesday.

The moves come after the team entered the postseason as an eighth seed and got swept by the Atlanta ...Read more