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1:59 AM ET DALLAS — A late-night phone call between Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram after their coach publicly challenged the pair to play with more passion for the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers helped spark a 107-97 come-from-behind road win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. Ingram scored a season-high 29 points, adding six assists,

8:18 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Chandler Parsons says that he’s “disappointed” that he couldn’t finish the season with the Memphis Grizzlies and insisted that he’s “ready to play and committed to getting back on the court.” “I am extremely disappointed that I didn’t get to finish this season alongside my teammates and the Memphis coaching

11:45 AM ET The future of sports betting-infused game broadcasts will be on display Friday, when the Washington Wizards host the Milwaukee Bucks. NBC Sports Washington Plus will produce an alternate broadcast for the Bucks-Wizards game that will feature a free-to-play predictive contest with a $500 prize, along with real-time sports-betting data and statistics that

9:58 PM ET MINNEAPOLIS — After a 108-86 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped the Los Angeles Lakers to 1-5 without LeBron James this season, Lakers coach Luke Walton said he wants to see more fire from his team’s two former lottery picks, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, as they try to make it through

7:24 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN The Minnesota Timberwolves have fired team president and head coach Tom Thibodeau, a league source told ESPN on Sunday. The Wolves’ victory over the Lakers on Sunday raised their home record to 14-6, including 8-2 against Western Conference foes, and overall record to 19-21. They are 11th in the West

2:20 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE – Mike Budenholzer dismissed the idea that Saturday’s showdown with the Toronto Raptors meant anything more than Friday’s blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks, but the energy in the building and the intensity of competition on the floor undercut Budenholzer’s contention from the opening tip. As Kawhi Leonard returns

12:55 AM ET ESPN News Services SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and had 10 3-pointers, and the Golden State Warriors held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 127-123 on Saturday night. The two teams combined to make 41 3-pointers, breaking the NBA record for most

3:25 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Enes Kanter will not travel to London when the New York Knicks play the Washington Wizards on Jan. 17, saying he fears for his life because of his ongoing clash with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kanter, a native of Turkey, has been an outspoken critic of the Turkish

3:52 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — It’s not often that Russell Westbrook will admit to a game containing some extra level of motivation. But with it having been nearly five years since the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers on the road, it had been on his mind for more than the previous

8:04 PM ET Associated Press PIRAEUS, Greece — Rick Pitino’s winning streak with Greek club Panathinaikos is over. After two straight victories in his European coaching job, Pitino’s team was dealt a 79-65 loss on the road Friday to archrival Olympiakos in a game for the Euroleague, Europe’s premier club competition. Olympiakos broke open the

4:52 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. – James Harden repeatedly flashed two fingers in the moments after he led the Houston Rockets to a come-from-behind, 135-134 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, the reigning MVP’s most recent statement about his plans to claim that award again. >photo1> This historic run by Harden,

4:01 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — After blowing a 20-point second-half lead and watching James Harden hit an “impossible” game-winning 3-pointer, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson felt the Golden State Warriors gave away a 135-134 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets. “For sure,” Curry said. “You have a lead like that, you don’t lose at

8:34 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN The Memphis Grizzlies have acquired Chicago Bulls forward Justin Holiday for two players and two future second-round draft picks, league sources told ESPN. The Grizzlies sent the Bulls their 2019 and 2020 second-round picks, along with forward Wayne Selden and guard MarShon Brooks, sources said. Memphis coveted the athletic playmaking

8:34 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN THE FIRST MEETING Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse had with Kawhi Leonard came with trepidation. As Nurse walked down the hall from his office inside the team’s practice facility to the coach’s meeting room last July, just weeks after being named Toronto’s head coach, uncertainty loomed large. Nurse had heard

3:40 AM ET LOS ANGELES — A year ago, Paul George‘s visits to Staples Center were borderline recruiting trips, featuring plenty of cheers, signs and chants. But after George spurned the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency last summer, fans greeted him with hearty boos on Wednesday, including every time he touched the ball. “It

6:51 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Tristan Thompson and Rodney Hood will return for the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing time with injuries. The return of the two players will give a boost to the Cavaliers, who have the NBA’s worst record (8-29) going into Wednesday night’s game against the Miami Heat. Thompson has missed

9:13 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN The footwear industry didn’t need just another signature sneaker. Russell Westbrook, who reinvented the arena walk-in with his daring fashion, didn’t want just any other shoe with his name attached. The starting point for his newest signature sneaker, the Jordan Why Not Zer0.2, was simple: Be anything but simple. “To

2:08 AM ET New year, new Mambacita? Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant announced Tuesday night that he and his wife, Vanessa, are expecting their fourth child — a baby girl, or as Bryant wrote, “another #mambacita.” The couple already has three daughters: Natalia, Gianna and Bianka. Bryant made the announcement on his Instagram

2:56 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday afternoon that star guard Kyle Lowry underwent pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections in his back last week, and that he remains without a timetable for a return. Lowry, who had already been ruled out of Tuesday night’s game against the Utah Jazz, received the

12:21 AM ET HOUSTON — A historic run by reigning MVP James Harden has allowed the Houston Rockets to rise in the Western Conference standings and awed his coaches and teammates. Harden continued his roll with a 43-point triple-double on Monday to carry the Rockets to a 113-101 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, pulling Houston

11:04 PM ET SAN ANTONIO — Kyrie Irving dressed alone in the visitors’ locker room after the Boston Celtics‘ 120-111 loss Monday to the San Antonio Spurs, squinting his eyes after suffering what he called a scratched left cornea in the fourth quarter. Celtics coach Brad Stevens wasn’t sure whether the injury could force Irving

1:18 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Former Warriors swingman Patrick McCaw is practicing with the Cavaliers, who signed him to a two-year, $6 million offer sheet last week. McCaw officially joined the Cavaliers’ roster on Monday after Golden State decided not to match Cleveland’s offer. The 23-year-old McCaw had been expected to be in

2:58 AM ET LOS ANGELES — A buzz went through Staples Center just over the mere sight of an injured LeBron James walking into the arena a few minutes into the game, but by the end Los Angeles Lakers fans were roaring over Brandon Ingram‘s best clutch performance of the season. On James’ 34th birthday,

Dec 28, 2018 Nick DePaulaESPN Over the course of LeBron James‘ career, he has worn sneakers incorporating themes based on everything from his favorite cereals, movies and cartoons to the favored cities and cultures that his global travels had opened his teenage phenom eyes to. By the time he had reached his 10th model, there

7:34 AM ET You know LeBron James. He has starred in commercials with entertainers like the late Bernie Mac since he was 18. He has been competing in the most-watched basketball event of the year — the NBA Finals — for the past eight years. He has yet to release an autobiography, but even with

11:42 PM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala was ejected from Saturday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers for a ‘hostile act’ after tossing the ball about 20 rows deep into the stands after the buzzer went at the end of the first half. Iguodala was assessed a technical foul

3:41 PM ET Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books Adrian Wojnarowski Washington Wizards star John Wall is planning to undergo season-ending surgery to repair bone spurs in his left heal, league sources told ESPN. Wall is expected to finalize a

3:58 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Just days removed from the Lakers‘ biggest win of the season — a rout of the Golden State Warriors on their home court on Christmas Day — the team dropped its second straight game, and it caused a crack in their team camaraderie. “I felt like we kind of

6:45 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — John Wall is out for the Washington Wizards‘ game Friday night against Chicago due to a left heel injury, and coach Scott Brooks says the point guard will see a specialist. This week the spotlight lands on Trae Young’s weird year, Klay Thompson forcing shots and too many

11:55 AM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers will sign Golden State Warriors restricted free agent Patrick McCaw to a two-year, $6 million offer sheet Friday, league sources have told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. McCaw declined a two-year, $5.2 million offer from Golden State, a source told The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears in October. The Warriors can match