NBA News

Sacramento Kings (21-59, 14th in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (41-40, eighth in the Western Conference) Portland, Oregon; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Portland will try to keep its three-game home win streak intact when the Trail Blazers face Sacramento. Advertisement The Trail Blazers are 28-23 against Western Conference opponents. Portland is sixth in the league with …

The Wizards lost to the Miami Heat last night but got strong performances from Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington. The final tally was 140-117 — the third time this season the Heat scored 140 or more against the Wizards. The shellacking was Washington’s 28th loss by 20 or more points this season. I might believe that number was made up …

This has been a fascinating NBA season in many aspects, but especially when it comes to the various awards races. Despite the regular season being almost complete, a handful of the biddings for these categories are coming down to the wire. This year’s Sixth Man of the Year discussion is no exception. In most years, we usually have a pretty …

Brooklyn Nets (20-61, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Toronto Raptors (45-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) Toronto; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Brooklyn will aim to stop its seven-game road losing streak when the Nets take on Toronto. Advertisement The Raptors are 32-19 in conference play. Toronto ranks ninth in the NBA allowing just 111.9 points per game …

Chicago Bulls (31-50, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Dallas Mavericks (25-56, 13th in the Western Conference) Dallas; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Dallas will try to end its three-game skid when the Mavericks take on Chicago. Advertisement The Mavericks have gone 15-25 in home games. Dallas is 12-20 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages …

Neemias Queta’s first season as a full-time starting center for the Boston Celtics has gone according to plan, as teammates have already begun rallying around his campaign for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. In the third quarter of Friday night’s 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, he drew the loudest crowd reaction of the night. Queta set a …

Washington Wizards (17-64, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) Cleveland; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Washington visits Cleveland looking to end its five-game road skid. Advertisement The Cavaliers have gone 32-19 against Eastern Conference teams. Cleveland is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 119.4 points while shooting 48.1% from the field. …

If the Utah Jazz were fined $500,000 for suspected tanking in a game that they won, Adam Silver had better be aligning the crosshairs of his catastrophic death laser (every NBA commissioner has had one since Larry O’Brien had his commissioned back in ‘83) directly at the Memphis Grizzlies. If Utah’s tanking was worth half a million dollars, there’s no …

After a gut-wrenching loss to the Knicks on Thursday, the Celtics turned Game #81 into a three-point exhibition, tying their own record for 29 triples in a game and beating the Pelicans 144-118. Jaylen Brown was efficient (but with too many turnovers), Nikola Vucevic stayed on track, Sam Hauser caught fire, and we got to see Luka Garza and Hugo …

Detroit Pistons (59-22, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (19-62, 14th in the Eastern Conference) Indianapolis; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Detroit will aim for its 60th win of the season when the Pistons visit the Indiana Pacers. Advertisement The Pacers have gone 15-36 against Eastern Conference teams. Indiana is 9-42 against opponents over .500. The Pistons …

LOS ANGELES – With the Lakers playing without Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić for the rest of the regular season, plenty of people have written LA off. That’s understandable, as most teams can’t get far without their two top scorers. However, those teams aren’t the Lakers, and they don’t employ LeBron James. Advertisement In LA’s road win over Golden State …

New Orleans Pelicans (26-55, 11th in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (48-33, sixth in the Western Conference) Minneapolis; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: New Orleans will try to break its eight-game road slide when the Pelicans take on Minnesota. Advertisement The Timberwolves are 30-21 in conference play. Minnesota is eighth in the Western Conference with 50.1 points per …

Atlanta Hawks (46-35, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (42-39, 10th in the Eastern Conference) Miami; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Hawks -6.5; over/under is 243.5 BOTTOM LINE: Jalen Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks visit Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat on Sunday. Advertisement The Heat have gone 9-7 against division opponents. Miami ranks second in …

Golden State Warriors (37-44, 10th in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (41-40, ninth in the Western Conference) Inglewood, California; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Clippers -8.5; over/under is 223.5 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Golden State Warriors visit Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers in Western Conference play Sunday. The Clippers are 9-6 against division opponents. …

The Atlanta Hawks secured a spot in the NBA play-offs and the Southeast Division title with a 124-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. The Hawks, who only needed to win one of their remaining two games to guarantee a top-six finish in the Eastern Conference, blew away the already qualified Cavaliers in the third quarter, scoring 35 points …

Orlando Magic (45-36, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (55-26, second in the Eastern Conference) Boston; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Magic -4.5; over/under is 216.5 BOTTOM LINE: Orlando will try to keep its three-game road win streak intact when the Magic face Boston. Advertisement The Celtics are 35-16 in Eastern Conference games. Boston averages 114.9 …

Utah Jazz (21-59, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (52-29, fourth in the Western Conference) Los Angeles; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Utah travels to Los Angeles looking to break its nine-game road skid. Advertisement The Lakers are 32-19 in conference games. Los Angeles is eighth in the Western Conference with 14.8 fast break points per …

Memphis Grizzlies (25-55, 12th in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (51-30, fifth in the Western Conference) Houston; Sunday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Houston takes on the Memphis Grizzlies after Amen Thompson scored 41 points in the Houston Rockets’ 136-132 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Advertisement The Rockets are 28-23 against Western Conference opponents. Houston leads the Western Conference …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Devin Carter scored a career-high 29 points and the Sacramento Kings missed an opportunity to improve their draft position by beating the Golden State Warriors 124-118 on Friday night. The Kings remained tied with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the NBA this season, matching a win by the Jazz earlier in the night. Advertisement Maxime …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 28 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs with their 101-73 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Luke Kennard scored 19 points and Rui Hachimura added 13 for the Lakers, who will be either the third …

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Deni Avdija scored 35 points, Donovan Clingan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-97 on Friday night to take the inside track for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. If Portland beats the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the Blazers will secure their spot in the …

HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 22 points, with a key 3-pointer late, Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped the Houston Rockets’ eight-game winning streak with a 136-132 victory Friday night. Amen Thompson had a career-high 41 points and Kevin Durant added 33 for the Rockets, who have clinched a playoff berth …

Victor Wembanyama got to 65 games. Nikola Jokic might not. And the NBA’s award eligibility rule was a talking point yet again Friday night. The 65-game standard was the biggest reason Wembanyama played through bruised ribs in San Antonio’s next-to-last — and standings-wise, meaningless — game of the season against Dallas. He needed to play 20 minutes to ensure he’d …

DENVER (AP) — Jonas Valanciunas had season highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 127-107 in a battle of reserves Friday night. Denver (53-28) won its 11th straight game to secure at least the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Julian Strawther finished with 22 points and David Roddy had …

MILWAUKEE (AP) — AJ Green made 11 3-pointers to set the Milwaukee Bucks’ single-game record and scored a career-high 35 points in a 125-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Green shot 11 of 16 from 3-point range to break the record of 10 3-pointers that Ray Allen and Damian Lillard had shared. Green’s now has 227 3-pointers …