Basketball Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets beat Spurs for 12th straight victory
Denver's Nikola Jokic scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 18-plus minutes of court time -- all in the first half -- as the visiting Nuggets rolled to a 128-118 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both playoff-bound teams.,The Nuggets (54-28) clinched ...

Trail Blazers lock up No. 8 seed in West by beating Kings
Deni Avdija recorded 25 points, 10 assists and six rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers secured the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference with a 122-110 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings in the regular-season finale for both teams.,Jrue Holiday added 23 points and seven rebounds for Portl...

Lakers empty the bench in lopsided win over lowly Jazz
Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton each posted 22-point, 10-rebound double-doubles on Sunday to help the Los Angeles Lakers earn a 131-107 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz in the regular-season finale.,LeBron James completed his 23rd regular season, finishing with 18 points in 17 minutes for the Lak...

Suns rout Thunder as reserves take center stage in finale
Jamaree Bouyea scored a career-high 27 points to help the Phoenix Suns close the regular season with a 135-103 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.,With their playoff positions secure going into the game, both teams sat the majority of their starters and major rotational players.,The T...

Rockets rest starters, rout short-handed Grizzlies
Clint Capela produced a double-double in his third start of the season while Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard combined for 39 points as the host Houston Rockets closed the regular season with a 132-101 victory over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.,The Rockets (52-30) concluded the schedule ...

Report: Doc Rivers out after three years as Bucks head coach
Doc Rivers is out as the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, according to a Sunday night ESPN report.,Rivers has one year remaining on his $40 million contract, and the Bucks will pay the remainder of that contract. The club and Rivers and discussing a possible move to the front office for 2026-27, a...

Baylor Scheierman, Celtics top Magic, enter playoffs on winning note
Baylor Scheierman tossed in a career-high 30 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 113-108 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Sunday in the final regular-season game for each team.,The Celtics (56-26), who had already secured the No. 2 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs, rested eight ...

Pistons reach 60-win plateau by racing past Pacers
The Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons closed out just the third 60-win regular season in franchise history on Sunday, leading wire-to-wire in a 133-121 defeat of the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.,With the East's No. 1 seed in the upcoming NBA Playoffs also secured, Detroit (60-22) limited...

Cavaliers rest core players, deal another defeat to Wizards
Nae'Qwan Tomlin scored a career-high 26 points and rookie Tyrese Proctor collected 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers beat the visiting Washington Wizards 130-117 on Sunday afternoon.,Jaylon Tyson had 18 points and rookie Tristan Enaruna had a season-be...

Raptors secure No. 5 seed with win over Nets
Scottie Barnes had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists Sunday, and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 136-101 to clinch their first playoff spot since 2022.,In recording his third triple-double of the season and the ninth of his career, Barnes helped the Raptors (46-36) clinc...

76ers close regular season with 126-106 win over Bucks
Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter as the host Philadelphia 76ers pulled away from the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half to win 126-106 on Sunday.,Quentin Grimes had four 3-pointers and scored 20 points for Philadelphia (45-37), which won its second straight and ...

Hornets knock off Knicks to secure East’s ninth seed
Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball and Coby White each scored 19 points as the visiting Charlotte Hornets earned the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with a 110-96 win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.,Ball made five 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and six assists for Charlotte...

Heat rout Hawks in regular-season finale, on to Charlotte for play-in game
Bam Adebayo produced 25 points and 10 rebounds, leading the host Miami Heat to a 143-117 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.,Miami (43-39) also got 26 points and five assists from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and 25 points from Norman Powell, who returned from...

UCLA likely to make history as No. 1 draft pick decision looms
UCLA just finished off a dominating run to the NCAA title, but now the stars of the Bruins are about to take over the WNBA Draft.,As many as five UCLA players could be first-round selections and six total will be chosen when the three-round, 45-player draft is conducted Monday night in New York. Tha...

Busy Sky acquire F Rickea Jackson from Sparks for G Ariel Atkins
The Chicago Sky acquired promising forward Rickea Jackson from the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday for two-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins, the teams announced.,Jackson, 25, was the No. 4 overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft and averaged 14.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 games (72 starts) over he...

Reports: Kings retaining coach Doug Christie for 2nd full season
Doug Christie is expected to return as head coach of the Sacramento Kings for the 2026-27 season, according to multiple media reports Sunday.,On Sunday, Christie closes out the first season of a three-year contract he signed with Sacramento on May 1. The Kings (22-59) enter the final day of the regu...

Sophie Cunningham returns to Fever for second season
Veteran guard Sophie Cunningham has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Indiana Fever, the team announced Sunday.,The 6-foot-1 Cunningham averaged 8.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 30 games (13 starts) in 2025 before she sustained a season-ending MCL tear in her right knee. She made a career-hig...

Report: Kelsey Plum to re-sign with Sparks on discounted deal
Two-time WNBA champion and four-time All-Star guard Kelsey Plum is signing a one-year, $999,999 contract to return to the Los Angeles Sparks, ESPN reported on Sunday.,In line for a $1.4 million supermax deal, Plum reportedly opted to take a discounted price as a means to provide financial flexibilit...

Valkyries sign F Gabby Williams to multi-year deal
All-Star forward Gabby Williams signed a multi-year contract with the Golden State Valkyries on Sunday.,Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team for Williams, who spent the past four seasons with the Seattle Storm.,"For a player of Gabby's caliber to choose us in just our second year ... mea...

TCU's Olivia Miles signs with Unrivaled ahead of WNBA draft
Olivia Miles, expected to be among the first selections in the 2026 WNBA Draft on Monday, signed with Unrivaled.,Miles, a 5-foot-10 guard, is expected to make her debut with Unrivaled next winter in the 2027 season. Entering its third season, the 3x3 basketball league was founded by WNBA stars Naphe...