Basketball Page 52 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Dearica Hamby (27 points, 15 rebounds) steers Sparks past Mercury
Dearica Hamby posted season highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds as the Los Angeles Sparks prevailed in their first road game of the season, beating the Phoenix Mercury 97-88 on Thursday night.,Hamby, who produced her first double-double of the season and the 55th of her career, led six Los Angeles pl...

Knicks ride third-period explosion to 2-0 lead over Cavaliers
Josh Hart bounced back from a quiet series opener by scoring nine of the New York Knicks' 18 consecutive third-quarter points Thursday night, when the hosts took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals by beating the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93.,Hart finished with 26 points in Game 2 for...

Valkyries dominate Liberty, continue hot start to season
Golden State held host New York to a season-low in points as the Valkyries defeated the Liberty 87-70 on Thursday night.,The game was a matchup between the WNBA's top-scoring team (New York, 100.0 average) and the league's best defensive squad (Golden State, 76.0). In four previous games, New York's...

Balanced effort sends Lynx to one-sided win over Tempo
Maya Caldwell scored 16 points off the bench on 6-for-12 shooting, and the Minnesota Lynx pulled away for a 100-72 win over the Toronto Tempo on Thursday night in Minneapolis.,Courtney Williams finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (3-2), which bounced back from a loss against the...

Sun, Storm meet in rubber game of season series
One might have thought the Connecticut Sun won more than their first game of the season on Wednesday.,The Sun (1-5) doused coach Rachid Meziane with water in the locker room following an 80-78 victory in Seattle that snapped a five-game losing streak.,The teams are scheduled to meet again Friday nig...

Banged-up stars in focus as Thunder, Spurs prepare for Game 3
It has been just two games, but the Western Conference finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have turned into a battle of attrition.,The Spurs came into the series without starting point guard De'Aaron Fox, who suffered an ankle sprain in Game 4 of the conference semifinal s...

Atlanta looks to leading scorer Allisha Gray in rematch vs. Dallas
A tough loss in their last game against the defending league champions hasn't lessened the Atlanta Dream's optimism for a run to the WNBA title.,After falling 85-84 to the visiting Las Vegas Aces on Sunday despite erasing a 17-point deficit with a furious fourth-quarter rally, Atlanta aims for a bet...

Report: Status for Thunder's Jalen Williams (hamstring) is game-to-game
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams' status in the Western Conference finals is game-to-game while he is evaluated daily for a left hamstring injury, ESPN reported on Thursday.,Williams is getting treatment after a second injury to the same hamstring in less than a month. He started but playe...

LeBron James puts focus on winning, unwilling to 'start over' in Year 24
LeBron James might not be willing to play for the league minimum, but if the potential Lakers free agent keeps retirement on the backburner, he's prioritizing winning over all other factors when considering his options for 2026-27. ,James has not officially determined his plan for next season but he...

Kennedy Burke's clutch play lifts Sun past Storm for first win
Kennedy Burke made a three-point play with 2.8 seconds remaining as the Connecticut Sun earned their first victory of the WNBA season, defeating the host Seattle Storm 80-78 on Wednesday night.,Seattle's Natisha Hiedeman missed a 3-pointer before the final buzzer.,Rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker, who ...

Jessica Shepard logs triple-double as Wings sink Sky
Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 24 points, Arike Ogunbowale added 22 and Jessica Shepard notched a triple-double to boost the visiting Dallas Wings to a 99-89 victory against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday.,Dallas (3-2) kicked off a three-game road trip by spoiling the Sky's home opener, limiting th...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder get past Spurs, level series 1-1
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and handed out nine assists to help lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 122-113 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday.,The result tied the series at one victory apiece headed into Game 3 in San Antonio...

Fever guard Caitlin Clark (back) sits out vs. Fire
Fever star guard Caitlin Clark sat out Indiana's home game against the Portland Fire with a back injury on Wednesday in Indianapolis.,Clark was not on the team injury report the day before the game. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark was a bit stiff and sore when she woke up Wednesday morning af...

Aliyah Boston helps power Fever to comfortable win vs. Fire
In her first game back from a lower leg injury, Aliyah Boston scored 24 points to power the Indiana Fever to a 90-73 win over the visiting Portland Fire on Wednesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana.,Boston shot 8 of 11 from the floor and also collected eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a ...

Fever guard Caitlin Clark (back) out vs. Fire
Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark is sitting out of Wednesday night's home game against the Portland Fire with a back injury.,Clark was not on the team injury report the day before the game. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark was a bit stiff and sore when she woke up Wednesday morning after...

Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel highlight first-team All-Rookie squad
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, the NBA Rookie of the Year and No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, highlighted the Kia NBA All-Rookie first team, which was announced Wednesday night after voting from a panel of 100 global media members.,Flagg was joined by Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knu...

Overachieving Tempo seek 3-game win streak at Lynx
The Minnesota Lynx hope to get back to the basics Thursday evening.,Fortunately for them, they have a pair of players who can help them do just that.,Olivia Miles and Natasha Howard will look to build upon their emerging pick-and-roll chemistry when the Lynx (2-2) tip off against the Toronto Tempo (...

Knicks hold momentum, but Cavs no stranger to playoff comebacks
The New York Knicks are no strangers to playing with plenty of momentum during the NBA playoffs. Nor are the Cleveland Cavaliers unfamiliar with climbing back from discouraging losses.,But Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals series on Tuesday might have provided the Knicks with their most mome...

Liberty hoping to add star power in contest vs. Valkyries
The New York Liberty are hoping to get back two All-Stars -- point guard Sabrina Ionescu and power forward Satou Sabally -- on Thursday night when they host the Golden State Valkyries.,Ionescu missed New York's first four games due to a left foot injury. However, she returned to practice on Monday.,...

Trail Blazers lay off 'significant' number of employees
The Portland Trail Blazers laid off an unspecified number of employees on the business side of the organization as part of a restructuring by new ownership.,The Blazers confirmed the job cuts in a statement to The Oregonian on Wednesday but did not specify an exact number or their job duties.,ESPN c...