News

2:27 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Following a 113-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis admitted he is still feeling discomfort in his right shoulder that he jammed on a missed dunk attempt two weeks ago. “There’s really never a play I don’t feel it,” Davis said. He

11:08 PM ET After a 21-point blowout loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, New York Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry addressed the media to express their displeasure with the team’s struggles. “We’re not happy with where we are,” said Mills. “This is not where we expected to be

5:03 PM ET The Miami Heat have suspended guard Dion Waiters 10 games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team following an incident on the team charter on Thursday. It is Waiters’ second suspension of the season. Waiters experienced a “panic attack” on the team’s flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles after consuming a

11:21 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — It was the first play of the game and as is customary in Oklahoma City, the (mostly) full house crowd stood waiting the first bucket of the game for the home team. The Oklahoma City Thunder were playing the Golden State Warriors on a Saturday night in the big

12:12 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN CHICAGO — James Harden exited the game and took a seat next to Thabo Sefolosha on the Houston Rockets bench with 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter at the United Center on Saturday. He ended the night one point shy of a triple-double with 42 points, 10 rebounds and nine

4:48 PM ET After missing 10 games to start the season, Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin plans to make his season-debut against Minnesota on Monday, league sources tell ESPN. Griffin, who’s been rehabilitating a sore knee and hamstring since preseason, had been ramping up for a return in recent days. He had several pain-free practices

3:27 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Amid a renaissance start to the season for both the Los Angeles Lakers as a successful franchise and LeBron James as a dominant player, James has no plans to miss games due to load management in anticipation of a postseason run. “If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not,

12:52 AM ET Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard scored a career-high 60 points for Portland in the Trail Blazers’ 119-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 34 points and Kyrie Irving had 33 for Brooklyn to help send Portland to its fourth straight victory. Lillard set a franchise

4:17 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN CHICAGO — A key contributor won’t be in the lineup for the Chicago Bulls when they tip off against Houston on Saturday. Swingman Otto Porter Jr. has been ruled out against the Rockets with a left foot sprain, with no timetable for his return. “It’s a soft-tissue injury, so it’s

11:17 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Rui Hachimura made history before ever stepping on an NBA court. The 6-foot-8 forward became the first player born in Japan to be drafted when the Washington Wizards selected him with the No. 9 overall pick this June. His popularity in his home country is unmatched, making him unique among

12:38 AM ET PHOENIX — Justise Winslow was placed in the NBA concussion protocol, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed, after a 124-108 win over the Phoenix Suns Thursday. Winslow took a blow to the head in a collision with Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap in the Heat’s loss Tuesday. The Heat said he was

2:26 PM ET Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin has been cleared to participate in all basketball-related activities, putting him on track for a return to game action, the team announced Thursday. Griffin has yet to play this season due to what the team is calling left hamstring and posterior knee soreness. The Pistons are calling

7:20 AM ET After an offseason of furious player movement — including eight 2019 All-Stars changing teams — one intriguing storyline of this NBA season will be how players are received by fans when they return to the cities they left. Some will be easier to predict than others. Kyrie Irving in Boston? Won’t be

10:23 PM ET 76ers guard Ben Simmons did not return for the second half Wednesday at Utah because of what the team called a minor sprain in his AC joint in his right shoulder and will be re-evaluated Thursday in Denver. Simmons appeared to injure the shoulder in the first quarter when he collided with

4:21 PM ET Despite All-NBA star Kawhi Leonard sitting out consecutive national television games one week apart, the league said that the LA Clippers are in compliance of its rules on resting players. Leonard will miss Wednesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks on ESPN, his second straight week that a national TV absence fell

1:24 AM ET CHICAGO — With LeBron James catching his breath after playing nearly the entire third quarter and Anthony Davis sitting on the bench right beside him, saddled with four fouls, the Los Angeles Lakers relied on an unlikely lineup to key a fourth-quarter comeback against the Chicago Bulls. When Kyle Kuzma, Quinn Cook,

11:58 PM ET LeBron James turns 35 next month. He’s in his 17th season in the NBA. He has played more than 56,000 minutes between the regular season and postseason in his career. All of this is to say that it wouldn’t be outside the ordinary to expect the Los Angeles Lakers forward to begin

3:50 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins will miss around four months after undergoing surgery to repair his left labrum, the team announced on Tuesday. Collins dislocated his shoulder in the third quarter of a game in Dallas on Oct. 27. Collins will begin a treatment and rehabilitation process and will be re-evaluated

2:52 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors rookie forward Eric Paschall celebrated his 23rd birthday in style with a 127-118 win Monday night over the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring a career high 34 points, pulling down 13 rebounds and leading the Warriors to the organization’s first win at Chase Center. It was all

11:59 PM ET ESPN News Services PHOENIX — Devin Booker scored 40 points, Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 10 assists, and the Phoenix Suns beat the NBA’s final undefeated team by knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers 114-109 on Monday night. Phoenix (5-2) is three games over .500 for the first time in more than

4:37 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard admits that he has never seen anything like the rash of injuries the Golden State Warriors have endured dating to the 2019 NBA Finals. “I’ve never seen it,” Lillard said, in advance of Monday’s game against the Warriors. “I think they might be

3:17 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard maneuvered into the paint where he was greeted by a wall of Utah Jazz defenders before another one blocked his shot from behind. Everywhere Leonard seemed to move in the first half on Sunday night, Jazz defenders surrounded and harassed him into 1-for-9 shooting before the break.

12:27 AM ET SAN ANTONIO — The Los Angeles Lakers look dominant on defense and, in the early going, LeBron James has been a linchpin rather than a liability on that end of the floor. “I’m playing injury free. I’m not injured. My quick twitch is back. My speed is back, my strength is back,”

11:54 PM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram left Saturday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder midway through the second quarter with a head injury and did not return. Ingram apparently was struck in the head at some point during play and asked the bench for a sub. At the first

1:44 AM ET Lawrence MurrayESPN.com The Philadelphia 76ers found themselves down two points on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers with 2.2 seconds left to play. Prior to the timeout, the 76ers lost their only lead of the game as Portland All-Star point guard Damian Lillard took advantage of the fear that “Lillard Time”

12:39 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — As Giannis Antetokounmpo popped up from his customary routine pregame nap Saturday, the NBA’s defending champion Toronto Raptors were on his mind. In their first matchup since last year’s Eastern Conference Finals matchup, the reigning MVP helped Milwaukee hold on to beat Toronto, 115-105, after nearly blowing a

7:00 AM ET It’s only the second week of the NBA season, but front offices are already contemplating their shortcomings. There are a handful of teams who know they might have to make a significant roster move during the season. The market is mostly quiet now — trade season doesn’t really begin until Dec. 15,

3:53 AM ET DALLAS — When Luka Doncic played against LeBron James for the first time as an NBA rookie last season, he asked for the Lakers star’s jersey after the game. On Friday, in far less ceremonial fashion, James came into Doncic’s building and took a win away from the Mavericks‘ rising phenom. James

12:11 AM ET NEW YORK – The fate of Friday night’s game between the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets was all but decided when coach Kenny Atkinson whipped a large cue card and held it above his head with two hands. The commentators on the broadcast took notice of the sign, ball boys in the

3:35 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry underwent surgery on his broken left hand/second metacarpal Friday and will miss at least three months, the team announced. Curry had the surgery the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. The Warriors said he is expected to make a full recovery and will update his status