NBA News

North Carolina needed a basketball coach, and it set its sights on one in the Final Four. Its top target had a good job. A darn good one, and one newspaper columnist felt adamant Roy Williams wouldn’t leave Kansas, even if his alma mater tried to call him home to Carolina. Williams already turned down UNC once before, a few …

No Wemby, no problem. The Spurs won their third game in four nights and 11th straight Thursday night in an up and down game against the Clippers, keeping the #1 seed within reach while giving the Alien a night off. It was a high-scoring game from the tip. Kawhi continued his magnificent season and scored a handful of baskets from …

The biggest gut punch from Thursday’s loss to the Thunder was Luka Dončić‘s hamstring strain, but he wasn’t the only star with a visible injury in the game. Prior to Luka going down, Austin Reaves was the one who made a trip to the locker room. Reaves was holding his back for much of the first quarter before checking out …

The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled out a win against the Golden State Warriors. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers. WINNER AND LOSER – Defense On one hand, the Cavs played to their strengths by packing the paint and daring Golden State to shoot from downtown. The math worked in Cleveland’s favor as the Warriors shot just 12-44 from downtown. That’s …

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-99 on Thursday night without Victor Wembanyama in the lineup to win their 11th in a row. Wembanyama was rested on the second night of a back-to-back. He had 41 points and 18 rebounds in a 127-113 win …

Indiana Pacers (18-58, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (41-36, eighth in the Eastern Conference) Charlotte, North Carolina; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Hornets -15.5; over/under is 235.5 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: Indiana faces Charlotte in Eastern Conference action Friday. The Hornets are 24-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. Charlotte is fourth in the Eastern Conference at limiting …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luke Evangelista scored the only goal of the shootout in the eighth round, and the Nashville Predators tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night. Nashville, Los Angeles and San Jose are now even with 79 points apiece for the second wild-card playoff spot in the …

San Antonio Spurs (58-18, second in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (49-28, fourth in the Western Conference) Denver; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: San Antonio plays the Denver Nuggets after Victor Wembanyama scored 41 points in the Spurs’ 127-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Advertisement The Nuggets are 31-16 in Western Conference games. Denver leads the Western …

Washington Wizards (17-59, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (40-37, 10th in the Eastern Conference) Miami; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Washington will try to stop its three-game road slide when the Wizards face Miami. Advertisement The Heat are 24-23 in Eastern Conference games. Miami is fifth in the Eastern Conference with 12.0 offensive rebounds per game …

The Oklahoma City Thunder condemned the Los Angeles Lakers to one of the heaviest defeats in their history – one made more painful by an injury to star Luka Doncic. Reigning NBA champions Thunder claimed a commanding 139-96 victory, helped by 28 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as they improved their league-best record to 61-16. Advertisement The Lakers have only been …

The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a heavy turnover game to win on the road against the Golden State Warriors. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. Donovan Mitchell 25 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 5 turnovers Advertisement This was a weird game from Mitchell. He attempted some truly audacious shots in the first …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner had three goals and two assists and the Golden Knights scored three times in the third period to defeat the Calgary Flames 6-3 on Thursday night. It was the sixth time in Marner’s career that he had at least five points in a game and the first since also having five (one goal, four …

SEATTLE (AP) — Logan Cooley scored twice for the first of Utah’s six straight goals, Karel Vejmelka made 25 saves and Mammoth beat the Seattle Kraken 6-2 on Thursday night for their second straight victory. Utah has a five-point lead for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Advertisement After Cooley erased Seattle’s two-goal lead with his 21st and …

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Zack Ostapchuk scored his first goal in nearly three months and the San Jose Sharks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory. Collin Graf, William Eklund and Adam Gaudette also scored and Alex Nedeljkovic made 18 saves. Advertisement San Jose, which had the worst record in the NHL …

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid set up Matt Savoie’s power-play goal to pad his NHL-leading points total and help the Edmonton Oilers win their season-high fifth straight game, 3-1 over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. Chicago lost its fifth straight to drop out of playoff contention, extending its postseason drought to six seasons. Edmonton matched Pacific Division-leading Anaheim …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges scored 25 points, rookie Kon Knueppel set a franchise record for 3-pointers in a season and finished with 20 points as the Charlotte Hornets rolled past the Phoenix Suns 127-107 on Thursday night. Coby White added 19 points and LaMelo Ball had 15 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, who have won seven …

On the heels of his historic month, Los Angeles Lakers star guard Luka Dončić suffered a hamstring injury that could derail the rest of his regular season. With 7:39 to play in Los Angeles’ game Thursday, April 2 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dončić was driving down the left lane when he met an OKC double-team of Jalen Williams and Chet …

No Anthony Edwards and no Cade Cunningham, but the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons still played a thrilling game between NBA playoff contenders on Thursday night. Jalen Duran scored 22 points with 14 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, leading Detroit to a 113-108 home win. And Daniss Jenkins — who has been the revelation of the Pistons’ season — …

Anthony Edward was a lock to make his third All-NBA team in six seasons. Then the 65-game rule got in the way. Edwards is out on Thursday due to right knee pain and, as a result, cannot play in 65 games this season. That will leave him short of the 65-game threshold to qualify for postseason awards. (Technically, he can …

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Jack Hughes had two goals and three assists and Dawson Mercer scored twice as the New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals 7-3 on Thursday night. Hughes scored his first goal for the Devils 9:10 into the second period on a wrist shot, assisted by Jesper Bratt and Johnathan Kovacevic. He tacked on a wrist shot …

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cirelli registered his second career hat trick, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three points, and the Tampa Bay Lightning moved into first place in the Atlantic Division after a 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. Zemgus Girgensons scored his 100th career goal and Brayden Point scored his second in 14 games …

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Lauren Coughlin showed her familiarity with Shadow Creek by opening with a 5-under 67, putting her in a three-way tie for the lead Thursday with Nasa Hataoka and Women’s British Open champion Miyu Yamashita in the Aramco Championship. Coughlin played 127 holes last year at Shadow Creek when the tournament was match play, with …

Kon Knueppel added a major achievement to his Rookie of the Year campaign on Thursday. The Charlotte Hornets guard broke Kemba Walker’s single-season franchise record in 3-pointers in a 127-107 win over the Phoenix Suns. His season total is up to 261, one ahead of Walker’s 260 in 2018-19. Advertisement Knueppel finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting (4-of-9 from …

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City catcher Carter Jensen was removed from the Royals’ starting lineup for Thursday game with the Minnesota Twins after he overslept. “I didn’t wake up to my alarm. Slept through it,” Jensen told The Kansas City Star and other outlets. “Don’t really have an excuse — nor should I. It sucks. It happens. I …

The Los Angeles Lakers have secured their spot in the playoffs. Now, with six games remaining in the regular season, they have a chance to solidify their claim to the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. LA’s path is relatively simple: four wins, or four Denver Nuggets losses, or a combination of two Lakers wins and two Nuggets losses …