Basketball Page 169 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Magic, Hawks meet again, this time as East's top play-in seeds
The Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic are on the play-in route with intentions of earning a first-round matchup with the defending champion Boston Celtics as they vie for the No. 7 position in the Eastern Conference playoffs Tuesday in Florida.,The regional rivals split their season series 2-2, with e...

Pelicans miss playoffs, fire VP David Griffin
The New Orleans Pelicans fired executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin on Monday after a 61-loss season.,Owner Gayle Benson made the announcement but did not address the future of head coach Willie Green, who was hired by Griffin in 2021. Green has a 148-180 record.,Griffin h...

Report: Paige Bueckers signing 3-year Unrivaled deal
Former UConn star Paige Bueckers is signing a three-year deal with the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league, ESPN reported.,Bueckers, expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on Monday, signed a name, image and likeness deal with Unrivaled last year that gave her equity in the fledgling league. ,The 6-foo...

NBA roundup: Clippers take 5th in West, push Warriors to play-in
James Harden had 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime Sunday afternoon, delivering the Los Angeles Clippers a 124-119 win over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco that sends the Clippers into the playoffs while relegating the Warriors to the play-in bracket.,Kawhi Leonard contributed 33 ...

Kings defeat Suns, will host Mavericks in play-in game
The Sacramento Kings capitalized on the visiting Phoenix Suns playing a depleted roster and secured home-court advantage for their upcoming Western Conference play-in matchup with a 109-98 decision on Sunday.,Sacramento (40-42) was already locked into a No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest with Dallas in the pl...

Timberwolves claim sixth seed in West by beating Jazz
Anthony Edwards made the most of a second chance, scoring 43 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves clinch a playoff spot with a 116-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday in Minneapolis.,The Timberwolves (49-33) earned the sixth seed in the upcoming Western Conference playoffs and will face th...

Grizzlies rout Mavericks in battle of backups
Lamar Stevens, Marvin Bagley III, Cam Spencer and Jay Huff combined for 101 points to lift the host Memphis Grizzlies to a 132-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.,Stevens had 31 points and six rebounds, Bagley added 25 points and 12 boards, Spencer contributed 23 points and seven a...

Western Conference sorts out playoff bracket on final day
The Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors couldn't let the chaotic race for Western Conference playoff seedings be unscrambled in regulation of their regular-season finale on Sunday.,They needed five more minutes, with the Clippers (50-32) winning 124-119 in overtime in San Francisco an...

Payton Pritchard helps Celtics beat Hornets to end regular season
Payton Pritchard tossed in a game-high 34 points to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Charlotte Hornets 93-86 Sunday on the final day of the NBA's regular season.,Charlotte, which trailed by 21 early, tied the game 86-86 on a Moussa Diabate layup with 2:13 to play, but Boston regained cont...

Clippers win to earn No. 5 seed, relegate Warriors to play-in round
James Harden had 12 of his game-high 39 points in overtime Sunday afternoon, delivering the Los Angeles Clippers a 124-119 win over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco that will send the Clippers directly into the NBA playoffs while relegating the Warriors to the play-in bracket.,Kawhi Leonar...

Nuggets defeat Rockets to earn No. 4 seed
Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon finished with 18 apiece, and the visiting Denver Nuggets clinched the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 126-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.,Denver (50-32) won its final three games to earn home-court advantage i...

Spurs rally for regular-season finale win over Raptors
Keldon Johnson scored 23 points off the bench and Stephon Castle added 20 that included a late basket and free throw as the host San Antonio Spurs roared back in the second half to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-118 on Sunday afternoon in the season finale for both teams.,Neither the Spurs (34-48) nor...

Thunder rest starters, cruise to victory over Pelicans
Aaron Wiggins scored 28 points, Branden Carlson had 26 points and 10 rebounds and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder never trailed during a 115-100 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday afternoon., ,Kenrich Williams had 17 points and 12 rebounds, Isaiah Joe scored 17 and Dillon Jones had 1...

Trail Blazers maul Lakers to end on high note
Dalano Banton matched a season high with 23 points to fuel the host Portland Trail Blazers to a convincing 109-81 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday in the teams' regular-season finale.,While the Trail Blazers (36-46) have long since been removed from playoff contention, the third-seeded ...

Timberwolves ensure top-six playoff spot by beating Jazz
Anthony Edwards made the most of a second chance, scoring 43 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves clinch a playoff spot with a 116-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday in Minneapolis.,With the win, the Timberwolves (49-33) earned either the fifth or sixth seed in the upcoming Western Confer...

Grizzlies rout Mavericks in battle of the backups
Lamar Stevens, Marvin Bagley III, Cam Spencer and Jay Huff combined for 101 points to lift the host Memphis Grizzlies to a 132-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.,Stevens had 31 points and six rebounds, Bagley added 25 points and 12 boards, Spencer contributed 23 points and seven a...

Kings defeat Suns, will host 9-10 play-in game
The Sacramento Kings capitalized on the visiting Phoenix Suns playing a depleted roster and secured home-court advantage for their upcoming Western Conference play-in matchup with a 109-98 decision on Sunday.,Sacramento (40-42) was already locked into a No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest with Dallas in the pl...

Pacers rally from 27 down to dispatch Cavaliers
Two-way player RayJ Dennis scored seven straight points in the second overtime as the fourth-place Indiana Pacers rallied from 27 down to beat the first place Cleveland Cavaliers 126-118 in a battle of Eastern Conference playoff teams Sunday in Cleveland., ,Rookie Johnny Furphy added six points in t...

Pat Connaughton's career day guides Bucks past Pistons
Pat Connaughton saved 10 of his career-high 43 points for overtime, Kyle Kuzma chipped in with 22 in just 12 minutes and the Milwaukee Bucks outlasted the visiting Detroit Pistons 140-133 on Sunday afternoon in a meaningless regular-season finale that took a back seat to Malik Beasley's pursuit of t...

Knicks' reserves lead comeback win over Nets
Landry Shamet came off the bench to score 29 points, and the short-handed New York Knicks rode a 17-0 third-quarter run to hold off the host Brooklyn Nets 113-105 in the regular-season finale for both teams Sunday.,New York (51-31), already locked into the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed for the pla...