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6:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay in the wake of pleading guilty to a felony count of threats of violence as a result of an incident last September, the NBA announced Thursday evening. “As an organization, we fully support today’s decision by the

1:22 AM ET NEW YORK — One day after posting on social media that he would like to see the NBA logo changed from Jerry West’s silhouette to Kobe Bryant’s, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving reaffirmed his stance and said he’s OK if he’s a leader of the conversation. “We want to set a standard

11:39 AM ET When you think of teams with multiple All-Stars, you think of dominance — the Jazz, the Lakers, the Nets. The Celtics have two All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but after Wednesday night’s blowout loss to the Hawks, Boston is in last place in the Atlantic Division. Team president Danny Ainge

3:09 AM ET As if the Los Angeles Lakers weren’t already struggling enough, down two starters heading into Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz, a blowout 114-89 loss only highlighted the rut the defending champions are in. With Anthony Davis (right leg) and Dennis Schroder (health and safety protocols) sidelined, the Jazz jumped all over

7:00 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was selected Wednesday to replace injured Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis in the NBA All-Star Game. Commissioner Adam Silver chose Booker to take Davis’ spot a day after Booker was snubbed by the league’s head coaches for a reserve spot

7:09 AM ET ONE MONTH INTO the NBA season, Steve Kerr had seen enough to make a rather grand declaration about the Utah Jazz. The Jazz had just dismissed Kerr’s Golden State Warriors, leading by 36 points after three quarters and cruising to a 127-108 victory on Jan. 23. It was Utah’s eighth straight win,

7:09 AM ET ONE OF TRAE YOUNG‘S favorite moves is simple. He gets the ball, calls for a screen and turns the corner, putting his defender on his hip as the help comes over to corral the drive. Once he feels his defender behind, he brake-checks, pulling up into a quick shot. A little old

7:21 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA announced the reserve selections for next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta Tuesday night, a list headlined by Brooklyn Nets star James Harden, as well as center Rudy Gobert and guard Donovan Mitchell from the league-leading Utah Jazz. Harden, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, is representing Brooklyn

9:26 AM ET The Houston Rockets will waive DeMarcus Cousins, a source confirmed to ESPN. Cousins, whos is coming back from multiple significant injuries, is averaging career lows of 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game in his first season with Houston. A four-time All-Star, the 6-foot-10 big man has bounced around the league the

3:06 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After logging 40-plus minutes for the fourth time this month only to see the Los Angeles Lakers lose 127-124 in overtime to the Washington Wizards on Monday night, LeBron James insisted he can handle the workload that’s being asked of him. “I think this whole narrative of ‘LeBron needs

7:50 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The “diverse experience” of newly hired Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is what intrigued president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to make the move. During Monday’s introductory news conference, Rosas welcomed the former Toronto Raptors assistant to try to turn things around after firing Ryan Saunders following Sunday’s loss in

7:00 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN FOR DAMIAN LILLARD, the game wasn’t over. Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers were trailing the Chicago Bulls by five points with 11.5 seconds left on Jan. 30, but he wasn’t about to give up. He made a 37-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead to two. After the ensuing inbounds pass,

7:04 AM ET Though the Western Conference standings look like a three-team race between the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers, the rising Phoenix Suns aren’t far behind. Chris Paul, Devin Booker & Co. have won 11 of their past 13 games. In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets just keep winning. After

9:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN When he was coaching the New England Patriots, Bill Parcells uttered what has become a famous maxim in sports: “You are what your record says you are.” After the Boston Celtics, dropped to 15-15 thanks to a horrific collapse in the Big Easy Sunday afternoon, losing 120-115 to the New

3:12 PM ET Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is likely to continue rehabilitating his left calf strain through the March 5-10 All-Star break with hopes of returning to the lineup for the start of the season’s second half, sources told ESPN. Smart, working to fully recover from the injury, which occurred on Jan. 30, resumed

2:56 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have hit their first true challenge of their title defense, with Saturday’s 96-94 loss to the Miami Heat marking the third defeat in their past four games since Anthony Davis aggravated his Achilles tendinosis and suffered a calf strain in his right leg. A question

8:36 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will not play in Saturday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets because he is “not feeling well,” the team announced just after the start of the game. Curry, who went through pregame warm-ups, was scratched just prior to tipoff and replaced in the starting lineup by

2:48 PM ET Kevin Durant will miss his fourth consecutive game on Sunday, sitting out against the Los Angeles Clippers as he continues to get treatment on a strained left hamstring. Steve Nash said on Saturday that the plan was for Durant to continue to do strengthening exercises while being monitored for any inflammation. Nash

11:02 PM ET Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray dropped 50, and so did Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. Both were career highs in scoring. Murray accomplished his in a 120-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Embiid did it in a win over the Chicago Bulls. 1 Related This is the second time this month

10:25 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN In a season full of dominant performances for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, none have been more dominant than the display he put forth Friday night against the Chicago Bulls. Embiid finished with a career-high 50 points to go along with 17 rebounds, five assists, two steals, four blocks and

2:06 PM ET The NBA is expected to share with teams a draft of the league’s second-half schedule as early as this weekend, or likely next week, sources told ESPN. The NBA released only the first half of the schedule in order to build in flexibility to make up games postponed due to health and

7:27 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant were named the captains for next month’s NBA All-Star Game on Thursday night. James and Durant will pick their respective teams from the remaining 22 All-Stars between now and the All-Star Game, which the NBA officially announced earlier

11:30 PM ET LeBron James is another milestone higher on his climb up the NBA’s all-time scoring list. In the first half of Thursday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, James became the third player in league history to reach 35,000 points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. Abdul-Jabbar tops the all-time

1:25 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA officially announced Thursday that it will be holding the All-Star Game on March 7 in Atlanta and will partner with the NBPA to give more than $2.5 million to HBCUs as well as to support awareness around equity and access to COVID-19 care, relief and vaccines. Due to

3:13 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry couldn’t buy a basket. After spending the first half of the season full of knocking down shots from all over the floor, while re-inserting himself into the MVP conversation, Curry came into the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s 120-112 overtime win over the Miami Heat having already

5:09 PM ET ESPN News Services As the decision to bench center Andre Drummond while the team pursues a trade has drawn criticism — most notably from Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green — Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said “nobody’s decision should be muted.” Bickerstaff said Drummond was not with the team Wednesday, and

1:26 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz will coach the Western Conference entry in next month’s All-Star Game, sources told ESPN. While the league has not officially announced the game is taking place March 7, if it holds to its typical timeline of selecting the coach of the team with the

1:03 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The mood inside the Milwaukee Bucks‘ locker room was “kind of quiet,” according to newcomer Bobby Portis, following a 124-113 loss to the visiting Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. But although reigning back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged some frustration after the Bucks’ fourth straight loss, he said there’s no reason

6:16 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body in his left knee and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Russell had missed Minnesota’s previous three games with what the team said was a sore left leg. He’s averaging 19.3 points and

1:35 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Celtics star Jayson Tatum said he is still dealing with the after-effects of COVID-19 more than a month after he initially tested positive for the virus. “I think it messes with your breathing a little bit,” Tatum said after the team’s shootaround Tuesday afternoon ahead of hosting the