Dwight Howard is embracing his role with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his performance on Sunday night continued what has been an excellent start to the season. In search of a big man who could embrace a specific role, and come cheaply, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Dwight Howard to a non-guaranteed contract in August.
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
As the young NBA season rolls into November, storylines have swirled in every which way. The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have flip-flopped, the Boston Celtics look to be real and Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are clearly not friends. There is a buzz, some good, some bad, around almost every team, with plenty
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
NBA Betting Tip Sheet is a daily rundown of NBA betting lines and key factors that could impact the numbers in Las Vegas. All NBA odds are courtesy of The Action Network. Tonight’s lines (odds are subject to change until tip): Chicago Bulls (+2.5, +120 ML) @ Indiana Pacers (-2.5, -140 ML) (O/U 214) Notes: Both teams won Friday
The Warriors defense has been the driving force in their rough start and inexperience could be a compounding factor all season long. Throughout their run to five straight NBA Finals, most of the attention lavished on the Golden State Warriors was concentrated on the sheer magnitude of their star power, and how difficult it was
Stephen Curry broke his left hand in the Golden State Warriors’ latest blowout loss, and it’s time for this fading dynasty to tank for the rest of the year. In 1996-97, the San Antonio Spurs tanked their way to a 20-62 record as David Robinson missed all but six games due to a back injury
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.
As the young NBA season rolls into November, storylines have swirled in every which way. The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have flip-flopped, the Boston Celtics look to be real and Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are clearly not friends. There is a buzz, some good, some bad, around almost every team, with plenty
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,”
The Utah Jazz have lost Ed Davis for at least four weeks after he broke his left fibula on Thursday night. Despite not being a starter, this injury may hurt the Jazz in unexpected ways. Thursday night, despite winning against the Sacramento Kings, the Utah Jazz suffered perhaps the greatest loss of the evening, losing
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
As the young NBA season rolls into November, storylines have swirled in every which way. The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have flip-flopped, the Boston Celtics look to be real and Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are clearly not friends. There is a buzz, some good, some bad, around almost every team, with plenty
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wants a catchy nickname for his team’s bench unit. We’ve got him covered. Recently, Mark Cuban laid down the challenge — find a name for the Mavericks’ lovable, hardscrabble, effective bench unit. It’s been a long time since Mark has taken our advice but we’re glad he came to us with
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”
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 10: Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets looks on against the LA Clippers before a pre-season game on October 10, 2019 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the
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
As the young NBA season rolls into November, storylines have swirled in every which way. The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have flip-flopped, the Boston Celtics look to be real and Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns are clearly not friends. There is a buzz, some good, some bad, around almost every team, with plenty
With homecomings becoming more of a trend in sports today, Derrick Rose says that he would be open to returning to the Chicago Bulls in the future. Before LeBron James announced that he was “coming home” when he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, Derrick Rose had risen to national prominence as the hometown
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,
NBA Betting Tip Sheet is a daily rundown of NBA betting lines and key factors that could impact the numbers in Las Vegas. All NBA odds are courtesy of The Action Network. Tonight’s lines: New Orleans Pelicans (+3, +130 ML) @ Oklahoma City Thunder (-3, -150 ML) (O/U 227.5) Notes: Zion Williamson (knee) remains out
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
The calendar year of 2019 may be coming to a close, but the NBA regular season is still young. Just days old as the month flips over to November That said, there has been plenty of time for players and teams to surprise us. Every season has its share of early surprises. But, while some
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
As the NBA season moves through its second week, a new Nylon Notebook looks at Kawhi Leonard’s playmaking and other statistical outliers. Kawhi’s playmaking Kawhi Leonard has long since established himself as one of the most potent offensive players in the NBA but this season he’s working on another tier. Through five games, Leonard has a
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
We are now about two weeks into the NBA regular season and things have been far from boring. Both teams in Los Angeles are rolling and, among other things, the Phoenix Suns might be good at basketball again. If you thought this would another boring season in which a transcendent franchise floated to the Finals
2:21 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard came off a pick-and-roll and delivered a bounce pass to a diving Ivica Zubac for what appeared to be an open runner. The LA Clippers got a ghoulish dose of trick or treat, though, as Zubac’s shot bounced three times before softly resting on the back of
The Utah Jazz are finally off to a fast start in 2019-20, and it’s all due to their elite defense, rebounding and ability to force turnovers. For the first time in seemingly forever, the Utah Jazz are off to a great start to the season. Things looked a little iffy when they struggled to win
10:26 PM ET Undrafted point guard Kendrick Nunn has begun his Miami Heat career on a record pace, scoring more points in his first five games than anyone but Kevin Durant and Jerry Stackhouse in the last 25 years. His 28 point performance against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night pushed his points total to