Basketball Page 255 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Grizzlies uses strong second half to roll past Spurs
Ja Morant racked up 21 points and 12 assists as the visiting Memphis Grizzlies were at their best in the final two quarters in a 129-115 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.,The Grizzlies trailed by a dozen points at halftime but dominated the second half, outscoring San Antonio by 18 in...

Damian Lillard puts up 30 as Bucks blast Magic
Damian Lillard scored 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 26 points and 11 boards to lead the host Milwaukee Bucks to a dominant 122-93 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.,Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis each added 14 points off the bench for Milwaukee, which won for the fifth time i...

G League regulars stun as hurting Hawks down Bulls
Keaton Wallace scored a career high 27 points and Daeqwon Plowden chipped in 19 off the bench on 7-for-8 shooting in his NBA debut to boost the short-handed Atlanta Hawks to a 110-94 win against the host Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.,Missing three starters and their top reserve, the Hawks never traile...

Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin gets 1-game ban for bumping ref
The NBA issued a one-game suspension to Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin for bumping a referee in a Tuesday game.,In a ruling announced Wednesday by the league's head of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, the NBA cited Mathurin "for making inappropriate contact with and verbally abusing a gam...

RJ Barrett guides Raptors to victory over Celtics
RJ Barrett produced 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Boston Celtics 110-97 on Wednesday night.,Scottie Barnes added 18 points and nine assists for the Raptors, who have won two in a row for the third time this season -- their best runs. Jakob Poel...

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart star for Knicks in OT win over 76ers
Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and Josh Hart posted a triple-double as the visiting New York Knicks nipped the Philadelphia 76ers 125-119 in overtime on Wednesday.,Mikal Bridges contributed 23 points and OG Anunoby scored 17 for New York, which had lost five of its previous seven games. The Knicks p...

Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon out vs. Rockets
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and forward Aaron Gordon are not playing in the team's home game against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.,Jokic injured his elbow during warmups and was ruled out before the start of the game while Gordon is out due to right calf injury management. Gordon mi...

Knicks C Karl-Anthony Towns (thumb) out vs. 76ers
The New York Knicks ruled All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns out of Wednesday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night due to a sprained right thumb.,Towns initially went from questionable to doubtful because of the injury and eventually was ruled out of the contest.,Towns play...

Report: Hornets trade Nick Richards to Suns for Josh Okogie
The Phoenix Suns are acquiring seven-footer Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Josh Okogie, ESPN reported Wednesday.,The Hornets are sending one second-round pick to the Suns while three second-rounders are coming back to Charlotte, per the report.,Richards, 27, is averag...

Suns look to snag rare road win at Washington
The Phoenix Suns are struggling to win away from home while the Washington Wizards are having trouble securing a victory regardless of location.,The Suns will look for an elusive road victory on Thursday night when they visit the Wizards on the second leg of their five-game trek.,Phoenix began its r...

Pistons look to continue hot stretch against Pacers
The Detroit Pistons have become the NBA's best feel-good story of the season. They'll reach the midway point of the season with a winning record, regardless of how they fare in a home game against Indiana on Thursday night.,Detroit has won 10 of its last 12 games to push its record to 21-19. The Pis...

NBA makes wildfire-related schedule updates
The NBA announced nine changes to the regular season schedule on Wednesday.,Two games were postponed last week because of the Los Angeles wildfires, while Saturday's game in Atlanta was postponed due to icy weather. Six other scheduling changes were made to accommodate the rescheduling.,--Charlotte ...
SEC Deserves Dozen Bids, Maybe More, in 2025 NCAA Tournament
While it's still mid-January, the SEC looks like they deserve at least 12 bids into the 2025 NCAA Tournament this March due to so many stellar starts to the season. ...
Nikola Jokic Doesn’t Deserve To Be a Victim of MVP Voter Fatigue
Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has won his fair share of MVPs, but he is playing at such a high level that he shouldn't fall victim to NBA MVP voter fatigue....

Unrivaled, new frontier in women's hoops, arrives Friday
Professional women's basketball returns this week.,It's not the WNBA, and the jerseys will look a bit different, and there will be less players on the court, but the players scoring layups, knocking down deep shots, grabbing gritty rebounds and dishing out sweet assists will be the same. ,From Brean...

Clippers keeping bigger picture in sight ahead of game vs. Nets
The Los Angeles Clippers will continue their progression toward full strength when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at Inglewood, Calif. ,After four defeats in five games, the Clippers pulled off a 109-98 home victory over the Miami Heat on Monday. Norman Powell scored 29 points and Ja...

Nikola Jokic, streaking Nuggets to test ascending Rockets
The Houston Rockets were in rebuilding mode a couple of seasons ago, and now it seems as if they're in contending mode.,Houston has won four games in a row -- the last two over the Memphis Grizzlies -- and sits second overall in the Western Conference heading into its game at the Denver Nuggets on W...

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks look to solve Magic again
The Bucks will square off against the Orlando Magic for the second time in six days on Wednesday when the teams meet in Milwaukee. ,It's the second night of a back-to-back for the Bucks, who recorded a 130-115 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday in a game in which it led by double digits fo...

Pelicans trending up, Mavericks down as teams clash
The New Orleans Pelicans are improving. ,The Dallas Mavericks are struggling. ,The Pelicans are coming off their best road trip of the season and the Mavericks are coming off a lopsided home loss as both teams complete a back-to-back when they meet Wednesday night in New Orleans. ,New Orleans still ...

Hawks' Trae Young aims for another big night vs. Bulls
After erupting for a season-high 43 points on Tuesday, Trae Young won't shy away from the possibility of shouldering a bigger load again on Wednesday when his Atlanta Hawks visit the Chicago Bulls.,Young's big night sparked the Hawks to a 122-117 home win against the Phoenix Suns.,"We always got to ...