Basketball Page 196 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Dream look to strengthen playoff seeding in road game at Sun
The Atlanta Dream will be looking to improve their playoff seeding when they face the increasingly competitive Connecticut Sun on the road Monday in Uncasville, Conn.,Atlanta (25-14) is in the midst of the playoff race, one of four teams in a clump behind league leader Minnesota as the WNBA seeding ...

Sun G Bria Hartley (knee) to miss rest of season
Connecticut Sun guard Bria Hartley will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining to a meniscus tear in her right knee during a recent practice, the team announced Sunday.,Hartley is expected to make a full recovery for the Sun (10-29), who are eliminated from postseason contention with five...

Fever, Valkyries upping the intensity as playoff contenders
Expect a playoff atmosphere on Sunday when opponents jockeying for postseason positioning -- the visiting Indiana Fever and the Golden State Valkyries -- meet in San Francisco.,Sixth-place Indiana (21-18) and eighth-place Golden State (20-18) are separated by just a half-game following the Valkyries...

Seeing a path to playoffs, Sparks host skidding Mystics
The Los Angeles Sparks are on the outside of the playoff race with seven games left in the regular season.,That means a home loss to the Washington Mystics on Sunday night would represent a major blow.,Los Angeles (17-20) stands 2 1/2 games behind the Golden State Valkyries for the eighth and final ...

Kahleah Copper, Mercury pull away from Liberty
Kahleah Copper had 22 points with five 3-pointers, Alyssa Thomas tallied 14 points and nine assists, and the host Phoenix Mercury beat the New York Liberty 80-63 to remain ahead of the defending champion Liberty in the fight for home-court advantage in the playoffs.,Satou Sabally had 14 points and t...

Nneka Ogwumike nets 20 points to carry Storm past Sky
Nneka Ogwumike finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, leading the Seattle Storm to a wire-to-wire 79-69 victory at home over the Chicago Sky Saturday night.,Ezi Magbegor added 13 points for Seattle (22-19), which has won five of its last six and finishes with a 3-0 record against the struggling...

Valkyries blow out Mystics, cushion playoff spot lead
The Golden State Valkyries wasted little time on Saturday setting the tone in the first game of a pivotal, five-game homestand with their 99-62 rout of Washington in San Francisco.,Golden State (20-18) gave up the game's first basket -- a Sug Sutton 3-pointer one minute in -- and it was the only tim...

Napheesa Collier helps Lynx handle Sun
Napheesa Collier scored 11 of her 17 points in the second half and the Minnesota Lynx led most of the way in a 94-70 victory over the host Connecticut Sun on Saturday night in Uncasville, Conn.,The Lynx (31-8) clinched homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason and set a team record fo...

9-year NBA veteran Jeremy Lin announces retirement
Jeremy Lin announced his retirement from professional basketball via Instagram on Saturday night.,<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN_5wpSEkxE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" sty...

Fever earn last-minute win, damage Sparks' playoff hopes
Odyssey Sims converted a go-ahead floater with 13.6 seconds left Friday night and the visiting Indiana Fever edged the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75.,It was the last of 21 points for Sims, who got the shot after Aliyah Boston rebounded the miss of Kelsey Mitchell's 3-point attempt. Lexie Hull fed Sims cu...

Rhyne Howard, Dream seal playoff bid with win over Wings
Rhyne Howard scored 24 points and blocked a career-high six shots as the Atlanta Dream clinched a playoff spot with a 100-78 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday in College Park, Ga.,Howard played motivated basketball after she ridiculed the local fans for chanting "MVP" for Las Vegas Aces star A'ja ...

Rhyne Howard backs up talk, clinches playoffs for Dream over Wings
After Rhyne Howard called out the Atlanta Dream fans after a loss Wednesday, the three-time All-Star played like one Friday night in Atlanta with 24 points in a 100-78 win against the Dallas Wings., ,Howard played motivated basketball after she ridiculed the local fans for chanting MVP for Las Vegas...

Mavericks waive former first-rounder Olivier Maxence-Prosper
Though the NBA off season has been going on for multiple months now, the roster gymnastics aren't quite finished yet for every team.,The Dallas Mavericks let go of Olivier Maxence-Prosper -- their 2023 first round pick -- by using the waive-and-stretch provision in his contract Thursday afternoon, a...
Malik Beasley Free Agency Fits: Cavaliers, Pistons Among Best Landing Spots
Malik Beasley’s free agency market is heating up despite an ongoing investigation. The Cavaliers and Pistons lead the race, with the Knicks and Timberwolves also showing interest....

Ailing Liberty take aim at streaking Mercury
The defending champion New York Liberty are on the outside looking in for home-court advantage in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, adding an additional layer to their game at the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.,The Mercury and Atlanta Dream are both 24-14, tied for third place, and the Liberty (24...

Skylar Diggins, Storm go for season sweep of reeling Sky
After ending a five-game road swing with a big win over league-leading Minnesota, the Seattle Storm aim to keep rolling when they host the Chicago Sky on Saturday night.,The Storm (21-19) rallied from a 21-point deficit to claim a 93-79 win Thursday night behind 23 points from Skylar Diggins.,Diggin...

Valkyries, Mystics clash amid tight battle for last playoff berths
What could be the most critical homestand in the brief existence of the Golden State Valkyries begins on Saturday when they welcome the Washington Mystics to San Francisco.,Golden State (19-18) plays five home games in eight days beginning with Saturday's contest. The Valkyries embark on this stretc...

Lynx, striving to clinch top playoff seed, visit improving Sun
As they close in on clinching the top seed in the WNBA postseason, the Minnesota Lynx are slumping for the first time this season and doing so even with the return of Napheesa Collier from an ankle injury.,The Lynx attempt to avoid consecutive losses for the second time this season as Collier plays ...

Short-handed Wings sign G Christyn Williams
The short-handed Dallas Wings signed guard Christyn Williams to an extreme hardship contract on Friday.,Before the deal, which does not have a timeframe, Dallas did not have the minimum eight players available for Friday night's road game against the Atlanta Dream.,The last-place Wings (9-30) also s...

Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas carry Mercury past Sky
Kahleah Copper scored 28 points on her 31st birthday, MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas became the first player in league history with 300 assists in three seasons, and the host Phoenix Mercury held off the Chicago Sky 83-79 on Thursday.,Natasha Mack had 10 points and 12 rebounds, her first career double-...