NBA News

ATLANTA (AP) — Dominic Smith hit a walk-off grand slam and the Atlanta Braves stunned the Kansas City Royals with a six-run ninth inning in a 6-2 victory on Saturday night. Smith hit a 3-2 pitch from Carlos Estévez (0-1) over the right field wall as the Braves won for the second straight night. Advertisement Osvaldo Bido (1-0) picked up …

Tonight, the New York Knicks (48*-26) visit the Oklahoma City Thunder (58-16) at Paycom Center. This matchup tests whether New York can hang with the reigning champs or are just part-time sluggers. The Knicks dropped their seven-game win streak Thursday night in Charlotte, falling 114-103, while the Thunder keeps rolling at home with the best record in basketball. The teams …

Per a Spurs press release: The San Antonio Spurs announced the launch of Spurs AI Studio, a new innovation platform designed to create AI-powered fan experiences in collaboration with leading brand partners. The platform allows the Spurs to deliver premium AI-driven experiences to their fans with interactive, personalized activations in-game and digitally. Spurs AI Studio will debut its first production, …

ATLANTA (AP) — Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 27 points and the Atlanta Hawks shot 8 of 12 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to survive a late surge from Sacramento and beat the Kings 123-113 on Saturday night in coach Quin Snyder’s 500th career victory. Jalen Johnson had 26 points and 10 assists and Jock Landale had 19 points and 13 …

The Milwaukee Bucks have officially been eliminated from NBA playoff contention for the 2025-26 season. The franchise had not missed the playoffs since the 2015-16 season but will now instead land in the NBA draft lottery. Advertisement Center Myles Turner and the Bucks fell to 29-44 on the season after losing 127-95 to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs …

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Cedric Coward scored 24 points, including a pair of free throws with 6.5 seconds left, and had nine rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the Chicago Bulls 125-124 on Saturday night. After Coward’s free throws, Josh Giddey made two foul shots with 4 seconds left to pull Chicago within one point. The Bulls had a chance …

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tobias Harris led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points on Saturday as the Detroit Pistons strengthened their hold on the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 109-87 victory over the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves. Jalen Duren had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who have won nine of their last 11 games. They …

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 26: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dribbles the ball to the basket against Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at the TD Garden on November 26, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting …

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Garrett Mitchell hit two singles, drove in two runs and stole two bases on Saturday night to help the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 6-1 despite another home run by Munetaka Murakami. Christian Yelich had three hits and his RBI single opened the scoring in Milwaukee’s three-run first inning. Brice Turang also had three hits, …

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico and Portugal played to a scoreless draw on Saturday night in a warmup match that marked the reopening of the Azteca Stadium after nearly two years of renovations for the 2026 World Cup. Goncalo Ramos had the best scoring chance in the match when he rattled the goalpost in the 26th minute. Advertisement The iconic …

The late Bill Walton occupies a unique place in basketball history. He ranks with the greatest centers – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others – but injuries greatly limited his career. But when he was healthy, he was indisputably great. Advertisement Boston Celtics teammate Robert Parish was speaking to former Celtic Cedric Maxwell recently and …

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Randy Vásquez and two relievers combined for a two-hitter, and Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an RBI single and his stolen base led to another run as the San Diego Padres beat the Detroit Tigers 3-0 Saturday night to avoid a three-game sweep. Vásquez (1-0) struck out eight and allowed two hits — a single and double …

ATLANTA (AP) — Quin Snyder’s typically tamed hair had an extra slick to it after the Atlanta Hawks’ 123-113 win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. His team, fresh off its 15th victory in 17 games, thought Snyder’s 500th career win warranted a celebratory shower from the Gatorade cooler. Advertisement Snyder became the 41st coach in NBA history — …

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith’s mother died less than two weeks ago. He said the team has picked him up the last few weeks, and he returned the favor Saturday night. Smith became the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam in his debut with a new team, according to the Elias Sports …

The Milwaukee Bucks will miss the NBA playoffs for the first time in 10 years following a 127-95 defeat by the San Antonio Spurs. The Bucks have lost nine of their past 11 games and were without their star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the sixth game in a row as he continues his recovery from a knee injury. Advertisement It was …

Tonight, the Houston Rockets return to the scene of their second-biggest collapse of the season. Until their demoralizing loss in Minnesota, I figured the New Orleans game in December would stand alone. Of course, this team has surprised me over and over again with ways to frustrate us. I was at the Smoothie King Center on December 18. I was …

The Suns came into this game off some much-needed rest and took care of business against the Jazz in a much-needed win. Jalen Green and Devin Booker took command in this one, combining for 57 points and dominating throughout. The Suns’ rookies also had a great showing, as Rasheer Fleming and Khaman Malauch both made big impacts on both ends …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dylan Strome scored once in regulation and the lone goal in the shootout as the Washington Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-4 on Saturday night. After squandering an early 3-0 lead, the Capitals erased a 4-3 deficit to force overtime and pull out the win. Advertisement Hendrix Lapierre, Justin Sourdif, Anthony Beauvillier and Strome scored …

Sacramento Kings (19-56, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. Brooklyn Nets (17-57, 14th in the Eastern Conference) New York; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Nets -1; over/under is 221.5 BOTTOM LINE: Brooklyn is looking to break its four-game home losing streak with a victory against Sacramento. Advertisement The Nets are 9-26 in home games. Brooklyn is the worst …

Cleveland Cavaliers (46-28, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (21-54, 14th in the Western Conference) Salt Lake City; Monday, 9 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Utah plays Cleveland looking to stop its three-game home losing streak. Advertisement The Jazz are 13-25 in home games. Utah is first in the Western Conference with 29.4 assists per game led by Isaiah …

Minnesota Timberwolves (45-29, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Dallas Mavericks (24-50, 13th in the Western Conference) Dallas; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Dallas plays Minnesota looking to end its 12-game home slide. Advertisement The Mavericks have gone 13-33 against Western Conference teams. Dallas ranks third in the Western Conference with 34.2 defensive rebounds per game led by P.J. …

Chicago Bulls (29-45, 12th in the Eastern Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (56-18, second in the Western Conference) San Antonio; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Chicago looks to stop its three-game losing streak with a victory over San Antonio. Advertisement The Spurs have gone 28-7 at home. San Antonio scores 119.4 points while outscoring opponents by 8.2 points per …

SEATTLE (AP) — Rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter hit his fourth career home run to give Cleveland the lead for good in the 10th inning, and the Guardians beat the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Friday night. DeLauter, who Thursday became the fifth player in the franchise’s 126-year history to hit a home run in his first career regular-season at-bat, extended his …

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Matt Coronato extended his point streak to five games with a goal and two assists as the Calgary Flames scored four times in the second period in a 7-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Morgan Frost also had a goal and two assists for Calgary. Joel Farabee, Ryan Strome, Olli Maatta, Zayne Parekh and …

HOUSTON — The Illinois men’s basketball team was in the airport in Champaign, Illinois, preparing to board a flight to Houston for the NCAA Tournament regional, when Illini freshman forward David Mirkovic made a prescient purchase. Mirkovic’s teammate, Keaton Wagler, sent him a link to an artificially generated photo of Mirkovic wearing a black cowboy hat. It was meant as …