2:56 AM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — Dirk Nowitzki at last began his record-breaking 21st season with the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, coming off the bench in the first quarter of a 99-89 loss to the Phoenix Suns. No other NBA player has played that many seasons with the same team. “It is good
News
6:18 PM ET The Brooklyn Nets and guard Spencer Dinwiddie have agreed to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday. The deal is for $34 million, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. There will be a player option on the third year, sources said. Dinwiddie was eligible for four years and $47 million, but
10:26 AM ET New York Knicks guard Allonzo Trier — a rookie revelation on a two-way contract — has agreed to a two-year, $7 million contract with a team option for the second year, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. The Knicks were rapidly closing on 45 days of allowable NBA service under Trier’s two-way deal,
1:14 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Two nights after dropping 41 points on the NBA’s second-best defense in the Boston Celtics, Anthony Davis followed with 44 points against the league’s top defense in the New Orleans Pelicans‘ 118-114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. Davis went 16-of-32 shooting, including 11-of-11 from the line,
6:10 PM ET Associated Press PHOENIX — The city council has postponed a vote on a proposed $230 million renovation of the Talking Stick Resort Arena that would keep the Suns in downtown Phoenix. The council agreed unanimously Wednesday to postpone a decision until Jan. 23 so residents can attend five public meetings to be
8:47 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN The first colorway of the Curry 6 is based on the famed Fox Theater in Oakland. Courtesy Under Armour As he played host to an Under Armour product meeting at his home near Oakland, California, in 2017, Stephen Curry was asked to think two signature sneakers ahead. What ideas would he
1:29 AM ET SAN ANTONIO — Self-deprecating as usual, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich walked away before the obvious question could leave anyone’s lips just minutes after he moved past Pat Riley for fourth on the NBA’s all-time wins list with San Antonio’s 111-86 triumph Tuesday night over the Phoenix Suns. Informed of his latest milestone,
4:23 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers forward Jimmy Butler suffered no structural damage in his groin, league sources told ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Butler underwent an MRI on Tuesday after leaving Monday night’s win over the Detroit Pistons in the first quarter with a groin strain. Despite the good news, Butler is still listed as doubtful for
1:32 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN MOBILE, Ala. — It was early Saturday morning when Mobile’s biggest active homegrown star athlete, Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins, welcomed 100 hand-picked students into an airline hangar, instantly recognizing the unmistakable surprise on each of the kids’ faces. The Warriors had just closed out a road win over
8:19 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers guard Jimmy Butler left Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons with a groin strain and was declared out for the rest of the game. Butler has averaged 21.4 points a game since coming over to the Sixers in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves last month. Philadelphia has gone
11:58 AM ET The injury-ravaged Denver Nuggets signed veteran guard Nick Young on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the Nuggets announced they signed Young to the injury hardship relief exception, which is granted by the NBA, and waived guard Brandon Goodwin in a corresponding move. Young, 33, played 80 games last season with
10:51 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — With 90 seconds to go in Sunday’s showdown between the top two teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks, the ball found its way to Kyle Lowry in the corner for a wide-open shot. As the Raptors clung to a 97-94 lead, it
7:50 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN The Los Angeles Lakers are engaged in talks trying to acquire Phoenix Suns forward Trevor Ariza, league sources told ESPN. The teams have been working to reach an agreement with a third team that would take on Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as part of a potentially larger deal, league sources
2:42 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN CHICAGO — “The worst defeat in Chicago Bulls franchise history” sounds bad, but it looked worse. Boos rained down from the United Center crowd as the Boston Celtics slaughtered the Bulls 133-77, with the 56-point margin of defeat being the largest in the 53-year history of the franchise. Afterwards, Chicago
11:03 PM ET DALLAS — The person least impressed by Dallas Mavericks rookie star Luka Doncic‘s performance in Saturday night’s 107-104 comeback win over the Houston Rockets was probably the Slovenian teen himself. “I wasn’t playing great,” he said after scoring 21 points and taking over the game down the stretch. “My game wasn’t good
2:41 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram has an ankle sprain, an MRI showed, according to the team. He will be re-evaluated in a week. The Lakers are at Memphis on Saturday night, host Miami on Monday and are back on the road Thursday against Houston. Ingram injured his left ankle in the
12:46 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris is expected to need three to four weeks to rehabilitate a right hip injury, league sources told ESPN. Veteran Nuggets forward Paul Millsap suffered a broken toe in Friday night’s loss at Charlotte, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s the latest in a string of
2:31 AM ET MILWAUKEE — As he patiently answered questions during a post-shootaround media availability Friday afternoon, Steve Kerr was asked if there was any more pressure on his team heading into Friday night’s showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks given that the Bucks smoked the reigning champs by 23 points last month at Oracle Arena.
6:35 PM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — It was a “short but sweet” search to find the new coach of the Los Angeles Sparks. Turns out he has been sitting in the courtside seats for years. Derek Fisher was introduced Friday as coach of the team he watched play at Staples Center while helping
Dec 6, 2018 Last Monday in Chicago, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich arrived at his pregame interview in the gloomy concourse of the United Center, the house that Michael Jordan built. So many of the league’s iconic highlights played out here in the 1990s, and those images seemed to be on Pop’s mind. In
12:14 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving isn’t concerned after tweaking his right shoulder late in Boston’s 128-100 victory over the New York Knicks. Kyrie Irving scored 22 points before leaving the game in the final minutes nursing his right shoulder, Al Horford had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and
12:35 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson has been fined $15,000 for making an “inappropriate gesture” to a spectator. The NBA announced the punishment Thursday. Thompson’s action came at the end of the Cavaliers’ 99-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday at the Barclays Center. Thompson finished with
3:38 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After a whirlwind week in Laker Land in which Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and even Kevin Durant weighed in publicly about how LeBron James should play, or in Durant’s case what it’s like to play with him, James capped the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 4-0 homestand with 42 points in
12:19 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram injured his left ankle in the first quarter of Wednesday night’s game against San Antonio when he landed on the foot of Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge. After an official’s review, Aldridge was called for a flagrant foul 1 for sticking his foot
2:32 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t landed a superstar player yet to pair with LeBron James — and Kevin Durant thinks they may struggle in that effort. In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Durant discussed the challenges associated with playing with James. “It depends on what kind of player you are,” Durant
1:30 AM ET According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz has been diagnosed with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome and is expected to miss three to six weeks as he undergoes rehabilitation. Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) refers to a collection of signs and symptoms resulting from neurovascular compression at the thoracic outlet. The
11:17 PM ET There was a noticeable hole on the Heat bench in the closing seconds of Tuesday night’s loss to the Magic. It was about 7-foot, 265 pounds. Center Hassan Whiteside abruptly left the bench and went to the locker room by himself with less than a minute to go in Miami’s 105-90 home
2:51 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN INDIANAPOLIS — Chicago Bulls players have had 24 hours, one practice and a shootaround to digest the dismissal of Fred Hoiberg as head coach and Jim Boylen’s promotion from associate head coach. “It’s tough,” Zach LaVine said after shootaround on Tuesday morning. “I texted [Hoiberg] right afterwards and let him
2:20 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant says the growing pains LeBron James and the Lakers have endured for much of this season are a necessary evil but that they will square things away soon enough. “They have a determination to figure it out,” Bryant told Lakers play-by-play announcer Bill MacDonald at the team’s
6:20 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN CHICAGO — Fred Hoiberg had to go. On an afternoon in late September, the Chicago Bulls head coach was fulfilling his media obligations prior to a preseason practice. As Hoiberg answered questions about his team, his lead assistant, Jim Boylen, called the players into a huddle at the other end