News

10:01 AM ET The Chicago Bulls have fired head coach Fred Hoiberg after a 5-19 start to the season. Associated head coach Jim Boylen has been promoted to head coach. “Decisions like this one are never easy to make, however I felt this was the right choice for our organization at this time,” said Bulls

12:24 AM ET DALLAS — With the media swarmed around Dennis Smith Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith walked to his locker in the next stall Sunday night and jokingly greeted his Dallas Mavericks teammate: “Ruthless toothless!” Smith had most of his right front tooth fly out of his mouth when it was broken near the top by

3:35 PM ET DETROIT — Already down a big man, Steve Kerr doesn’t expect Draymond Green to be able to play on the remainder of Golden State Warriors‘ current five-game road trip. Green has missed the last eight games with a right toe sprain and was hopeful that he could return on this trip. Now

12:28 AM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — That gruesome ankle injury that put Gordon Hayward through a grueling year of rehab forced him to adjust his game. However he’s able to make it happen, the Boston Celtics are more than happy to have him making the significant impact they envisioned all along. Hayward had a

2:31 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen has been upgraded to probable and could make his season debut in Saturday’s game against the Houston Rockets. Markkanen has been sidelined with an elbow sprain since September. Initially, he was scheduled to be out six to eight weeks. He has missed 23 games. He

1:56 AM ET J.J. Barea got ejected from the Dallas Mavericks‘ bench late in Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers by referee Scott Foster for saying only, “That was a disaster,” the 13-year veteran guard told ESPN. “[On the first techical, Foster] said I was talking too much, but I never said a bad

4:54 PM ET Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo is be out indefinitely with a sore right knee, the team announced Friday. Oladipo has not played since a Nov. 17 game in which he played just five minutes before exiting after falling into a broadcast cameraman and fans sitting courtside. An All-Star last year, the 25-year-old

12:52 PM ET The Memphis Grizzlies are working through contract language on a one-year deal with free-agent center Joakim Noah and expect to reach a deal early next week, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The New York Knicks waived Noah and stretched the final season of his four-year, $72 million contract prior to the

2:49 AM ET LOS ANGELES — If it seems like LeBron James has been shouldering a disproportionate part of the load for the Los Angeles Lakers so far this season, that’s because he has. The four-time MVP admitted after Thursday’s 104-96 win over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday that he’s struggled with striking the right

9:27 PM ET Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger asked assistant general manager Brandon Williams to leave the team’s shootaround Thursday, according to The Athletic. Williams departed with Kings general manager Vlade Divac after Joerger’s request, the reports said. Joerger and Williams have reportedly been at odds for two weeks following a Yahoo! Sports report that

12:37 PM ET Nine-year-old Riley Morrison needed shoes for the new hoops season, but after deciding she liked Under Armour’s Stephen Curry model, she couldn’t find them. So she took her problem straight to the top, writing the Golden State Warriors star a letter. Saying she’s a big fan, Morrison wrote that she and her

1:05 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — A few nights after staying more than two and a half hours after the buzzer for a late-night solo shooting session, Russell Westbrook bounced back with one of his most complete games of the season, which included his 107th career triple-double to tie Jason Kidd for third on the

2:21 PM ET Nick DePaulaESPN After a stalemate over long-term extension talks with current endorser Jordan Brand, Toronto Raptors All-Star wing Kawhi Leonard has agreed to a multi-year shoe deal with re-emerging brand New Balance, according to league sources. The deal was first reported by Yahoo Sports. “It’s not official,” Leonard said at Wednesday morning’s

12:57 AM ET DENVER — Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball sprained his left ankle in a 117-85 loss to the Denver Nuggets but said he will be ready to play against Indiana on Thursday. X-rays on Ball’s ankle were negative, and he is considered day-to-day. Ball injured the ankle late in the second

9:13 AM ET MEMPHIS, Tenn. — You won’t offend the Memphis Grizzlies by flipping right past them on NBA League Pass. They’ll gleefully admit that 29 other teams are more fun to watch. But as the rest of the league trends toward a fast, beautiful brand of basketball, the Grizzlies play slow and ugly by

9:52 AM ET The LA Clippers are the biggest surprise in the league. Just ask Vegas. The Clips are on pace to win about 18 more games than their preseason over/under suggested. It’s the biggest such deviation in the NBA, and it’s all thanks to an efficient offense engineered by Doc Rivers and fueled by

2:50 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif — Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant is so good that after scoring 49 points in a 116-110 comeback win over the Orlando Magic, he was frustrated he didn’t get 50. “I still missed 17 shots,” Durant said. “Tricked off a 50 piece. I felt like I had some shots

7:08 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — Houston Rockets guard Chris Paul was out for Monday night’s game against the Washington Wizards with a sore left leg. It’s the second consecutive game Paul has missed. He sat out Saturday’s game in Cleveland after playing 37 minutes in an overtime win in Detroit the night before.

10:56 PM ET NEW YORK — He did it again. Eight days after hitting a game-winning 3-pointer for his new team, 76ers star Jimmy Butler hit a shot from nearly the same spot on the floor with 2.3 seconds to play to give Philadelphia a 127-125 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. “Another play

9:09 PM ET Former NBA All-Star and champion Willie Naulls died Sunday at 84. He died of respiratory failure caused by a rare immunological condition called Churg-Strauss syndrome, his wife said. Naulls played in the NBA from 1956 to 1966. He won three titles with the Celtics from 1964-1966 and was an All-Star with the

1:35 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — After going 1-of-12 from 3 in a 105-98 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook returned to the court still in his full uniform after the game for a shooting session some two hours after the final buzzer. Westbrook spoke with reporters after

2:19 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN DALLAS – The Boston Celtics saw yet another game slip away from them, and a 113-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night leaves Boston back to .500 a quarter of the way through the regular season. Celtics guard Marcus Smart quoted Yogi Berra to sum up his frustration with

10:48 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 22 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 22 points off the bench and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 111-96 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Jeff Teague added 18 points for Minnesota, which won for the

2:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James is on a mission to boost second-year point guard Lonzo Ball‘s confidence, and it appears to be paying off for the Lakers. “I think Zo, I think he just sometimes he doesn’t realize how great he is,” James said after a 90-83 win over the Utah Jazz

2:28 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Kevin Durant says he doesn’t want the Warriors to lose focus after snapping the first four-game losing streak in the Steve Kerr era. In the wake of Golden State’s 125-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night, the All-Star forward was hopeful his team can maintain the

3:39 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Rajon Rondo says he has been doing cardio on the basketball court as he recovers from surgery to repair his fractured right third metacarpal. Talking to reporters for the first time since suffering the injury on Nov. 14 and undergoing surgery the following day, Rondo was in good

11:13 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — Raymond Brothers, the agent for Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz, told ESPN on Wednesday that he has not requested a trade on behalf of his client. “I have given no indication to Elton Brand or anyone else that Markelle would prefer to be traded,” Brothers told ESPN’s Adrian

1:08 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Hamidou Diallo left the floor on a stretcher in the fourth quarter Wednesday night with an apparent serious leg injury. Diallo jumped for a rebound in transition, and after landing, Golden State Warriors forward Jonas Jerebko landed awkwardly on Diallo’s legs. Diallo immediately began rolling

11:58 AM ET Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving has tweeted about his profane dismissal of Thanksgiving following Wednesday’s game, saying he went too far with his comments. After being wished a happy Thanksgiving by a reporter following the Celtics’ 117-109 loss to the New York Knicks, Irving retorted that he doesn’t celebrate the holiday before

2:10 AM ET SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spun around, braced against the scorer’s table, and stared at the floor in disbelief, knowing that with seven-tenths of a second left, this call might cost his team. After catching the ball on the inbounds pass, Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol saw the