News

12:16 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN CHICAGO — Derrick Rose wasn’t the only visitor to receive a big reception at the United Center on Wednesday during the Chicago Bulls’ 109-89 win against the Detroit Pistons. So did his former teammate, Luol Deng. Deng was celebrated on a night when the Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons 109-89

3:28 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers had to wait 138 days but they finally got to see what life is like with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the court together. “That s— was fun as hell,” an amped Patrick Beverley said coming off the court. The Clippers needed to overcome a

7:55 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — It finally happened. After more than two seasons and in his 172nd NBA game, Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons made a 3-pointer. The moment Philadelphia fans have been waiting for came with 8:20 to play in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s game at the Wells Fargo Center

7:00 AM ET LUKA DONCIC CROSSES the half-court line and surveys the defense, setting up a high ball screen on the right wing by using a nifty crossover and hesitation dribble to leave the defender on his heels. Time for a highlight. It is Nov. 11 and the Dallas Mavericks are trailing by five points

1:05 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James completed his triple-double collection on Tuesday. With 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 112-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar became the first player in league history to log a triple-double against all 30 NBA teams, according to the

8:27 PM ET Associated Press AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Former Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. pleaded not guilty to a single charge of injuring with intent when he appeared in an Auckland court on Wednesday. The son of three-time NBA all-star Glen Rice was released on bail and is to appear in court again

12:41 PM ET Australia is finalizing an agreement with Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown for him to return as the Aussies’ national team coach, sources told ESPN. Brown will coach the Aussies in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on a roster that could include Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons. The Australian team includes several NBA players, including

3:31 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Paul George knows the narrative used to be that he isn’t clutch. That hasn’t been true of late, and on Monday, the All-Star swingman proved that for the first time as a member of the LA Clippers. In his third game back from offseason surgeries on both of his

8:25 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The doors to the Los Angeles Lakers‘ practice court swung open Monday and as reporters trickled into the gym, a team spokesman joked that “our new free agent” was at the far basket, getting up shots. Dave Chappelle, welcome to the Lakers. The comedian and actor, whose recent

10:37 AM ET Suspended Miami Heat guard Dion Waiters is in Syracuse to “try to find solutions” by talking with Jim Boeheim, his college coach. Waiters was suspended without pay for 10 games earlier this month for conduct detrimental to the team after an incident on the team charter. It is his second suspension of

2:28 AM ET LOS ANGELES — As much as the on-court product this season has been can’t miss fodder for Los Angeles Lakers fans hungry for a winner, it was a courtside fan rooting on the Lakers’ 122-101 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday that stole the show. The fan just so happened to

7:29 PM ET Associated Press AUBURN, Ala. — Former Auburn and NBA player Marquis Daniels was injured in an automobile accident. An Auburn basketball spokesman says Daniels was in the accident Saturday night in Auburn and was transported to a Birmingham hospital for treatment. The spokesman didn’t disclose any further details on Daniels’ injuries. Daniels

11:21 PM ET Associated Press SAN ANTONIO — CJ McCollum scored 32 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 121-116 on Saturday night to spoil Tim Duncan’s first shot at coaching following Gregg Popovich’s ejection. LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 13 rebounds but the Spurs lost their fifth straight and

3:20 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Paul George drove to the rim, was shoved from behind and still found a way to score with the foul. “I’m back!” George screamed before completing the three-point play in the third quarter Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Many came to Staples Center hoping to see Kawhi Leonard

2:48 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell is out at least two weeks with a sprained right thumb. The Warriors announced that an MRI performed on Russell’s right thumb after Friday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics game confirmed the sprain. He will not travel with the Warriors on their upcoming four-game road

1:14 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors shooting guard D’Angelo Russell sprained his right thumb during the third quarter of Friday night’s 105-100 loss to the Boston Celtics and didn’t return. X-rays on Russell’s thumb were negative. He was expected to have an MRI on the thumb after the game, and an update

3:51 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James destroyed Nemanja Bjelica with a dunk in the first half Friday. Obliterated him. Might have well have turned Bjelica’s No. 88 uniform on its side and sent him off to infinity, and beyond. It was a career highlight-reel worthy throwdown for James on the same day he

6:45 PM ET Carmelo Anthony isn’t expected to make his Portland Trail Blazers debut until Tuesday’s game at New Orleans at the earliest, league sources tell ESPN. Anthony, 35, has to complete a physical with the Blazers before the one-year, non-guaranteed contract is finalized — and that could some as soon as Saturday, league sources

7:18 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Paul George finished with 33 points and nine rebounds in his first game of the 2019-20 NBA season — his first in an LA Clippers uniform. A pretty good start to the season, right? “I thought I was terrible,” George said following a 132-127 loss to the

2:17 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Cold outside air poured through the loading dock a couple hundred feet from tunnels leading out to the floor, coating the lower bowl at Smoothie King Center on Thursday with a chilled draft. For the first time this season, Paul George took the court for a pregame warmup and

7:18 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS – Paul George will officially make his Los Angeles Clippers’ debut Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Coach Doc Rivers confirmed pregame that George, who has missed the team’s first 11 games as he recovered from offseason shoulder surgery, will suit up and play. “He’s had two practices

12:51 AM ET HOUSTON — Notorious pest Patrick Beverley‘s reputation as an elite defender isn’t accurate, according to Russell Westbrook, who cited James Harden‘s 47-point performance in the Houston Rockets‘ 102-93 win Wednesday over the LA Clippers as proof. “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense,” Westbrook said. “He don’t guard nobody, man.

1:50 AM ET LeBron James likes to pass the ball. Legend has it he developed his appreciation for the pass as a 9-year-old playing for the Summit Lake Hornets in a rec basketball league in Akron, Ohio. He fed a diminutive teammate named Sonny Spoon by rolling the rock his way. It was the only

7:08 PM ET HOUSTON — Kawhi Leonard will play against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in the first of a back-to-back set while Paul George is expected to make his LA Clippers debut on Thursday at New Orleans. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers ruled George out before the game against the Rockets but said that

9:16 AM ET Houston, we have a Westbrook … now what? Following the initial shock of the Russell Westbrook trade to the Houston Rockets, there were three immediate questions about the superstar on the court: Can Westbrook shoot well enough to play in Houston’s system? Can Westbrook and James Harden coexist? Does Westbrook make the

1:57 AM ET PHOENIX — Anthony Davis had a wrap on his right shoulder before the game and tape around his ribs by the end of it, but neither setback stopped him from putting up 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 123-115 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. “He wants

5:36 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand during Monday night’s loss to the Utah Jazz, the team announced Tuesday after an MRI revealed the fracture. Lee, who is on a two-way contract with the Warriors for the second

7:00 AM ET NOBODY SAW MUCH of Daryl Morey in the days after the Houston Rockets landed in Tokyo for the NBA’s Japan Games. The Rockets’ general manager confined himself to his room at the Ritz Carlton in Roppongi Hills during the team’s six-day visit, spotted leaving for occasional jaunts to the Shake Shack located

1:06 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green became the first player in Chase Center history to be ejected from a game during Monday night’s 122-108 loss to the Utah Jazz. Green, who returned to the lineup after missing five straight games because of a torn ligament in his left index

3:46 PM ET Gordon Hayward will undergo surgery on his fractured left hand in New York on Monday afternoon, and a timeline on his return to the Boston Celtics will come after the procedure, his agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hayward suffered the injury in Saturday’s 135-115 win over the