Basketball Page 285 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Lakers and Clippers set to square off for the first of four times this season
Once the home city of the Los Angeles Lakers for 32 seasons and six NBA championships, the team returns to Inglewood, Calif., on Sunday, this time as the visitor.,The Lakers will travel down the freeway to the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, who built a $2 billion venue a mere mile away from T...

Nuggets bid to complete Florida mini-sweep at Orlando
Aaron Gordon was the centerpiece of the Orlando Magic when the franchise drafted him fourth overall in 2014, but a decade later he doesn't have the burden of carrying his new team.,The Denver Nuggets are Nikola Jokic's team, despite the three-time MVP's preference to be just a teammate. But Jokic ha...

Spurs, Heat both trying to snap losing streaks
The Miami Heat, still in the middle of a Jimmy Butler controversy, are set to host the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday afternoon.,On the surface, the Spurs, at two games below .500, and the .500 Heat are similar.,Both teams entered this weekend just outside playoff position. And both teams are on losing...

Cavaliers, facing Wolves, attempt to shake mini slump
The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the midst of a stretch that qualifies as their second worst of the season entering the finale of a three-game road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday in Minneapolis.,Cleveland is off to a tremendous start with 34 wins in its first 40 games, but the tea...

Hawks hope to get stars back for Celtics matchup
The Atlanta Hawks hope they will be closer to 100 percent healthy Saturday night when they go on the road to face the Boston Celtics.,The Hawks were missing five regulars but still beat the Bulls 110-94 on Wednesday in Chicago. Trae Young sat out that game with a bruised right rib, and Jalen Johnson...

NBA roundup: Nuggets spoil Jimmy Butler's return to Heat
Nikola Jokic posted his league-leading 17th triple-double of the season, bundling 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the Denver Nuggets' 133-113 road win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.,Jamal Murray led all scorers with 30 points for Denver, which won for the fifth time in six games a...

Austin Reaves' career night lifts Lakers over Nets
Austin Reaves scored a career-high 38 points, LeBron James added 29 points with eight assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of Anthony Davis to earn a 102-101 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Friday.,Gabe Vincent scored 10 points off the bench as the Lakers improved to 2...

Wolves ride Anthony Edwards' big night to win vs. Knicks
Anthony Edwards posted his second double-double of the season Friday night for the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, who rode a red-hot outside shooting performance to a 116-99 win over the New York Knicks.,Edwards was 8 of 13 from 3-point land while Naz Reid drained all six of his 3-point attempts f...

Missing Ja Morant, Grizzles sweep 2-game set vs. Spurs
Santi Aldama poured in a career-high 29 points as the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies walloped the host San Antonio Spurs 140-112 on Friday to sweep a two-game series between the Western Conference rivals.,Memphis won the first game 129-114 on Wednesday in San Antonio and has captured back-to-back co...

After rare road slip-up, Rockets try to regain form vs. Blazers
The Houston Rockets will seek to start a new road winning streak when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.,Houston won seven straight in visiting venues before succumbing 132-127 to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.,It also was the end of a five-game overall winning streak for th...

Thunder, without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fall to Mavs
Kyrie Irving scored 25 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 106-98 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.,The Mavericks snapped a three-game losing streak, while the Thunder lost for just the second time in their past 21 games.,Oklahoma City, which came into the game having won four ...

LaMelo Ball, Hornets hand reeling Bulls another loss
LaMelo Ball had 26 points and nine assists and Mark Williams notched a double-double of 19 points and 19 rebounds to lift the visiting Charlotte Hornets to a 125-123 victory over the slumping Chicago Bulls on Friday.,Charlotte opened the fourth quarter on a 21-2 run before holding on to win consecut...

Pelicans set multiple season highs in win over Jazz
CJ McCollum scored 26 points, Zion Williamson had a double-double and the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night., ,Williamson finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado scored 19 each, Daniel Theis had a season-high 18 and Jordan Haw...

Giannis Antetokounmpo (35 points) propels Bucks past Raptors
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 130-112 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Friday night.,Damian Lillard added 26 points as the Bucks earned their sixth win in seven games. Bobby Portis contributed 15 off the bench while seve...

Nikola Jokic's triple-double helps Nuggets hammer Heat
Nikola Jokic posted his league-leading 17th triple-double of the season, bundling 24 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the Denver Nuggets' 133-113 road win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.,Jamal Murray led all scorers with 30 points for Denver, which won for the fifth time in six games a...

Disgruntled Heat star Jimmy Butler returns in loss to Nuggets
Jimmy Butler, his seven-game suspension completed, returned to score 18 points for the Miami Heat in a 133-113 loss to the visiting Denver Nuggets on Friday night.,Less than two hours before tip-off, Butler said "I'm back" in a statement his agent Bernie O. Lee released on social media. The statemen...

Unrivaled debuts with healthy mix of WNBA stars, rule tweaks
The first game in Unrivaled history featured Skylar Diggins-Smith making the decisive shot -- even though her team was already in the lead.,That aspect is one of the many differences between the 3-on-3 women's league and traditional 5-on-5 play.,There was a swift pace to both games played during Fri...

Wolves ride Anthony Edwards' big night to big win
Anthony Edwards posted his second double-double of the season Friday night for the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves, who rode a red-hot outside shooting performance to a 116-99 win over the New York Knicks.,Edwards was 8 of 13 from 3-point land while Naz Reid drained all six of his 3-point attempts f...

Jayson Tatum, Celtics crush undermanned Magic
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 23 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 121-94 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Friday night., ,Tatum was 12 of 21 from the field. He also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Porzingis was 7 of 10 on fie...

Wizards on a skid as Jordan Poole makes return to Golden State
On a quest to make his first All-Star team, Jordan Poole prepares to face his former team when the Washington Wizards visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night in San Francisco.,The club's first-round pick in 2019, Poole played his first four seasons for Golden State, averaging a full-season...