Basketball Page 114 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Zaccharie Risacher's career high helps Hawks' playoff positioning
Rookie Zaccharie Risacher scored 23 of his career-high 38 points in the first half as the Atlanta Hawks started fast, never let up and cruised to a 133-109 rout of the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night in New York.,The Hawks (38-42) won for just the third time in their past nine games and are two games b...

Pacers edge undermanned Cavs, secure home-court advantage
The Indiana Pacers secured home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 114-112 win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday in Indianapolis.,With the New York Knicks' loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, the Pacers (49-31) could still earn the No. 3 seed in the E...

Cade Cunningham leads Pistons past Knicks
Cade Cunningham poured in 36 points and recorded eight assists as the host Detroit Pistons pulled out a 115-106 victory over the New York Knicks in a preview of a potential first-round playoff matchup on Thursday night.,Jalen Duren supplied 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons (44-36). Tobias H...

Mavericks trying to pull out of funk as Raptors visit
The Dallas Mavericks will set out to snap an untimely three-game losing streak when they play host to the Toronto Raptors on Friday.,The Mavericks' recent skid has caused them to fall into the 10th and final play-in spot in the Western Conference, and a turnaround doesn't seem likely based on recent...

Lakers take aim at No. 3 spot vs. No. 2 seed Rockets
The Los Angeles Lakers have clinched a playoff spot but they still have plenty to play for with two games remaining in the regular season.,Los Angeles can move closer to grabbing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference when it hosts the second-place Houston Rockets on Friday night.,The Lakers (49-3...

Slumping Suns close out home schedule against Spurs
The Phoenix Suns will look to produce a final home win in a disappointing season when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in a late-season Western Conference game with nothing on the line but pride. ,Both teams have been eliminated from the postseason and are using the final two games to eithe...

Thunder look to lock up league's best record against Jazz
A lot of the talk surrounding the Utah Jazz this season has been about their rebuilding process, tanking and acquiring one of the top picks of the 2025 NBA Draft.,Incidentally, the rookie on their team who's excelling the most right now is the one who didn't get selected in the first round. In Wedne...

Clippers visit Kings with eye on top-four seed in West
The Los Angeles Clippers carry a six-game winning streak and prospects of home-court advantage to open the playoffs into a season-ending Northern California road swing that begins Friday against the Sacramento Kings. ,The Clippers (48-32) swept a five-game homestand, culminating on Wednesday with a ...

After disappointing loss, Warriors set to face Trail Blazers
Playoff mode has started for the Golden State Warriors, who travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday for a regular-season game that is crucial for their postseason seeding.,"We are already in the playoffs," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "This is what the playoffs feel like -- a lot of p...

Pushing to improve play-in status, Bulls welcome Wizards
Making a late-season surge in pursuit of a playoff spot, the Chicago Bulls face the last-place Washington Wizards in their regular-season home finale on Friday.,Chicago (37-43) has won four of its last five, with a 7-3 mark over the last 10, following Wednesday's 119-111 victory over the Miami Heat....

Celtics set for final playoff prep with a pair vs. Hornets
A pair of teams with not much at stake will meet Friday when the Charlotte Hornets visit the Boston Celtics.,Boston (59-21) is locked in as the No. 2 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs and rested its top six players throughout Wednesday's 96-76 loss at Orlando. A victory would have given the C...

Kings G Malik Monk (calf) out at least 2 weeks
Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk will miss the rest of the regular season and the play-in tournament with a left calf strain.,The team announced the injury Thursday and said Monk, who didn't play in Wednesday's loss to the Denver Nuggets, will be re-evaluated in two weeks.,Monk, 27, averaged career...

Pistons G Jaden Ivey (leg) cleared for basketball activity
Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, sidelined since Jan. 1 with a broken left fibula, was cleared on Thursday to resume basketball activities.,The team said Ivey, 23, is entering the first phase of a re-conditioning program and that his status will be updated again in two weeks.,The Pistons (43-36) ha...

Nikola Jokic: Nuggets provided notice Mike Malone was being fired
Before the axe fell on head coach Michael Malone in Denver, ownership made three-time MVP Nikola Jokic aware of the move ahead of meeting with the since-fired team brass on Tuesday afternoon. ,Malone, who guided the Nuggets to the NBA title in 2023, was fired and general manager Calvin Booth was inf...

NBA roundup: Luka Doncic puts up 45 amid cheers in Dallas
Luka Doncic scored 31 of his 45 points in the first half of his highly anticipated Dallas homecoming as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Mavericks 112-97 on Wednesday.,LeBron James posted 27 points and seven boards, and Rui Hachimura added 15 points as the Lakers bolstered their grip on ...

James Harden's 35 points propel Clippers past Rockets
James Harden scored 35 points and Ivica Zubac added 20 in his first career triple-double as the Los Angeles Clippers continued their quest for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with a 134-117 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Inglewood, Calif.,Kawhi Leonard score...

Nuggets hold off Kings to win interim coach's debut
A day removed from the surprise firing of coach Michael Malone, the Denver Nuggets pulled out of a four-game losing streak with a 124-116 road win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.,Denver (48-32), playing its first game under interim coach David Adelman, led almost the entire way in a game cru...

Harrison Barnes' bomb lifts Spurs over Warriors at buzzer
Harrison Barnes buried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and the San Antonio Spurs damaged the Golden State Warriors' bid for a top-four finish in the Western Conference with a 114-111 victory Wednesday night in San Francisco.,Riding the momentum of six wins in its last seven games, Golden State (47-33) en...

Jalen Williams scores 33 as Thunder romp past Suns
Jalen Williams scored 33 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 125-112 road win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.,The loss, their eighth consecutive, eliminated the Suns from contention for the play-in tournament.,Phoenix (35-45) will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020.,The wi...

Kyle Filipowski's career game carries Jazz to OT win over Blazers
Rookie Kyle Filipowski set career highs with 30 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 133-126 overtime victory against the Portland Trail Blazers in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.,Filipowski hit 13 of 17 shots, including a game-tying dunk with 2.8 seconds left in regulation, and finished w...