Basketball Page 200 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Wings choose UConn star Paige Bueckers with No. 1 overall pick
The Dallas Wings chose All-American guard Paige Bueckers of UConn with the No. 1 overall selection in Monday night's WNBA draft in New York.,The 6-foot Bueckers was the overwhelming choice in a draft in which there is no clear-cut No. 2 pick.,Bueckers is the sixth UConn player to be selected first i...

Luka Doncic’s No. 77 Lakers jersey is NBA’s best-seller
Luka Doncic's trade from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers shook the basketball world, and apparently motivated the fans, too.,Doncic's No. 77 Lakers jersey was the top seller for the 2024-25 regular season according to NBAStore.com sales, the NBA announced Monday.,A native of Slovenia,...

Veteran Warriors 'flying' toward West play-in vs. Grizzlies
The Golden State Warriors acquired Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline in an attempt to land a top-six Western Conference playoff berth.,Butler made the appropriate impact, but Golden State fell short of its goal and was relegated to the play-in tournament. The seventh-seeded Warriors now take the ha...

Lynx acquire G Karlie Samuelson from Mystics
The Minnesota Lynx acquired veteran guard Karlie Samuelson from the Washington Mystics on Monday.,In exchange, the Mystics will receive a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.,The Lynx acquired that additional first-round pick from the Chicago Sky on Sunday, trading their No. 11 slot in the 2025 ...

Nuggets' Josh Kroenke shares what went wrong in Denver
Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke was apologetic for changes made last week, when coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth were fired without warning.,But he also hinted that the changes have already brought upon the desired result.,"The season is not over yet," Kroenke said Monday. "W...

Reports: Lynx acquire G Karlie Samuelson from Mystics
The Minnesota Lynx acquired veteran guard Karlie Samuelson from the Washington Mystics on Monday, multiple outlets reported.,In exchange, the Mystics will receive a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. ,Samuelson, who turns 30 next month, joins her sixth team as she enters her seventh season in ...

Suns fire coach Mike Budenholzer after one season
The Phoenix Suns fired head coach Mike Budenholzer on Monday, less than 24 hours after the team with the NBA's highest payroll finished with a 36-46 mark.,"Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season. Our fans deserve better. Change is needed," the...

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...