3:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, Kawhi Leonard drove left around Glenn Robinson III and put the punctuation on his big night with his second monster dunk of the game as Omari Spellman thought about challenging before floating away from harm. The LA Clippers had four days off between
News
7:53 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Anthony Davis won’t play against Dallas in the opener of a road back-to-back after the Los Angeles Lakers star bruised his buttocks against the New York Knicks. The team made the announcement several hours before the Lakers played at the Mavericks on Friday night. Davis was injured on
10:40 AM ET Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam is expected to practice Friday with hopes of returning to the lineup in the next week, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Siakam has not played since Dec. 18, when he suffered a groin injury during an awkward landing. He is averaging a team-leading 25.1 points and
10:05 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder had never before played a tribute video for the return of a former player. But Russell Westbrook is certainly unique. The video played before the Houston Rockets‘ starting lineup was introduced Thursday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Deafening cheers and a familiar chant drowned out
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid is having surgery to repair a torn radial collateral ligament in the ring finger of his left hand Friday morning, the team said Thursday night. Embiid met with a hand specialist before Thursday night’s game against the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center, where the determination for him to have surgery
12:19 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — For more than two decades, there have been two universal truths about the Western Conference playoffs: The Spurs will be there, and teams with losing records will not. Both of those could change in 2020. The Spurs might still find a way to extend their NBA-record streak of
1:03 AM ET DALLAS — This situation certainly was not what Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had in mind recently when he emphatically declared that the “post-up just isn’t a good play anymore.” Nor was it how the Mavericks wanted to defend All-Star center Nikola Jokic with the game on the line. The 7-foot, 284-pound
6:56 PM ET PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — After allowing a total of 172 points in their last two home games, the LA Clippers started a rare two-day practice stretch on Wednesday trying to find their defense and rediscover some of that underdog grinding mentality they had a season ago. The Clippers are 26-12 despite shuffling
10:35 AM ET ESPN News Services An MRI on the back of Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis came back negative and he plans to travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Cari Champion on Wednesday. Davis left the game against the New York Knicks in the third
12:29 AM ET ESPN News Services LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis left the Los Angeles Lakers‘ game against the New York Knicks in the third quarter Tuesday night after he bruised his lower back in a painful fall to the court. Davis was injured when he fell awkwardly while trying to block the shot of
4:58 PM ET The NBA on Tuesday said via its Last Two Minute Report that officials erred by not calling a foul on Utah Jazz center Ruby Gobert in the closing seconds of Monday’s controversial win against the Pelicans in New Orleans. With Utah up two, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram drove directly at Gobert, who
1:39 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — A possible no-call that goes against the home team in New Orleans. The officials reviewing a call after time expired. Those same officials being escorted out of the playing area showered by thousands of boos. No, this wasn’t a Saints’ playoff game. This was the scene at
1:51 AM ET The Golden State Warriors waived forward Marquese Chriss after their 111-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. His contract would have become guaranteed on Tuesday. Golden State plans to complete a deal with guard Damion Lee to keep him on the 15-man roster, a league source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
12:50 PM ET Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. is expected to miss two weeks because of a sprained left knee, the team announced Monday. Porter suffered the injury in Sunday night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. His knee buckled awkwardly in the third quarter when he tried to change directions, and he had to
7:49 AM ET HIS FINISHING MOVE was probably unnecessary, but Trae Young knows he wouldn’t be here watching the play otherwise. Young, his Atlanta Hawks jerseys on display all around him, is sitting in a folding chair inside the locker room of the team’s shimmering, new practice facility. The Hawks call this area their “flex
12:12 AM ET ESPN News Services Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Kevin Porter Jr. exited Sunday’s 118-103 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves early with a left knee injury. The 30th overall pick in last year’s draft was injured in the third quarter when his knee buckled awkwardly while he tried to change directions. The slender guard immediately
11:31 PM ET NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are sliding. After holding a 16-point first-half lead, the Nets lost to the Toronto Raptors 121-102 on Saturday night at Barclays Center. It was Brooklyn’s fifth consecutive loss and sixth in its past seven games. Brooklyn’s overall record fell to 16-18. On Saturday, the Nets were
12:21 AM ET ESPN News Services CLEVELAND — Kevin Love has been the subject of trade speculation all season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers star showed his frustration several times during Saturday night’s 121-106 loss to Oklahoma City. Earlier in the day, Love yelled at Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman over a recent fine, according to
12:47 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — As speculation regarding his future abounds, Pistons big man Andre Drummond reiterated that he wants to spend the rest of his career in Detroit. Drummond, who has spent his entire eight-year career with the organization, did not hesitate when asked why he would like to stay in Detroit. “I’m
5:54 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for making inappropriate contact with a game official. Thomas received a technical foul and was ejected early in the Wizards’ 122-103 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Thomas was
2:36 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Two words came to mind for Dwight Howard when he was asked to compare Anthony Davis‘ first game against his former team five weeks ago to Davis’ performance Friday in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 123-113 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. “No stress,” Howard said. It’s a phrase Lakers
1:17 AM ET HOUSTON — Coach Brett Brown attempted to take a positive approach after the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 118-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night. It was the 76ers’ fourth consecutive loss, their longest losing streak since December 2017, but Brown said he liked the way his team competed by pulling within five
4:14 PM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers say forward Larry Nance Jr. will miss 1-2 weeks due to left knee soreness. Nance missed Cleveland’s win against Atlanta on Dec. 23, due to the knee, but had played in the Cavs’ four games since. The team said he underwent further testing on Friday and now will undergo
8:39 AM ET R.J. Hampton has been medically cleared for full contact in the Australian NBL, while LaMelo Ball remains out for the indefinite future, sources told ESPN. Hampton, No. 7 in ESPN’s top 100 draft prospects for 2020, has been cleared by doctors to resume full basketball activity after recovering from a hip injury
12:40 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LA Clippers star Paul George was ruled out of Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons with tightness in his left hamstring. George went back to the locker room with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter. At the end of the half, the team said the guard was questionable
6:05 PM ET Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is out indefinitely after an MRI on Thursday revealed a severe sprain and bone contusion in his left knee. The team said in a statement that Isaac will be re-evaluated in eight-to-10 weeks. “While this certainly is disappointing news, there was no damage to his ACL, MCL and
4:07 PM ET David Stern, the NBA commissioner who oversaw the sport’s biggest stage for three decades, has died, the league announced Wednesday. He was 77. Stern died as a result of the brain hemorrhage he suffered three weeks ago. His wife, Dianne, and their family were with him at his bedside, the NBA said.
11:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony said last month that his No. 15 jersey should be retired by the Denver Nuggets. So what about his No. 7 here at Madison Square Garden? After scoring a season-high 26 points for the Portland Trail Blazers in a 117-93 loss to the New York
4:11 PM ET On the night of the 2007 NBA draft lottery, David Stern sat in the temporary bleachers lining the NBA’s Secaucus, New Jersey, television studios and seethed. The three finalists had been revealed for a chance to draft Greg Oden and Kevin Durant with the Nos. 1 and 2 picks: Portland, Seattle and
11:29 PM ET HOUSTON — Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone considers his preferred defensive strategy of double-teaming Houston Rockets star James Harden, sometimes as far as 40 feet away from the basket, to be a form of flattery. “I know it’s probably frustrating for him,” Malone said before Tuesday night’s game at the Toyota Center.