News

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

8:56 PM ET CLEVELAND — LeBron James was welcomed back to Quicken Loans Arena for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers with a hearty ovation from Cleveland fans on Wednesday. It was volatile. It was tense. It was a blowout. Remembering LeBron’s first game in Cleveland as a member of

11:32 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN WASHINGTON — As the media session for Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. wound to a close Tuesday morning, amid trade talks and infighting among his teammates, he was thrown a lifeline by a reporter. For as bad as things are now, with the Wizards being 5-11 entering Tuesday night’s

1:26 AM ET Warriors forward Kevin Durant told Yahoo! Sports that last week’s heated in-game exchange with teammate Draymond Green — which then carried into the Golden State locker room — won’t have any impact on his impending free-agency decision. “Nah, [it won’t factor],” Durant told Yahoo! of the incident, which led to Green’s being

5:53 PM ET Associated Press WILMINGTON, N.C. — Michael Jordan returned to his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, and met with some hurricane victims who benefited from his $2 million donation. Stephanie Parker, her husband and four young children spent nearly months living in shelters provided by the American Red Cross, which Jordan helped fund.

5:43 PM ET Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for directing inappropriate language toward a fan during a recent game in Dallas. According to the league, the exchange occurred during the first quarter of the Warriors’ 112-109 loss to the Mavericks on Saturday. The incident capped a