NBA News

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns are naming Todd Monken as their head coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced Monken’s hiring. Advertisement Monken had been Baltimore’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons. He first interviewed on Jan. 10 …

With nine games on the board, it’s a jam-packed Hump Day of basketball action, which means a ton of NBA player props to bet on. I’ve found my three favorites for today, which include a continuously undervalued Immanuel Quickley as he goes against his former team, and LaMelo Ball will create a buzz with the 3-ball when the Hornets take …

LeBron James is slowing down at age-41, and it’s becoming clear that his NBA career is reaching its conclusion. James will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. The Los Angeles Lakers are now Luka Doncic’s team, and James doesn’t fit his timeline. James could retire this summer, but it’s hard to imagine one of the greatest …

Cooper Flagg is indeed the real deal. The 6-foot-9 forward, who was picked first in last year’s NBA Draft, entered the league with lofty expectations and has seemingly made a reality of them. That doesn’t happen often. Advertisement Flagg’s production and ability to adapt to the NBA are wildly encouraging, to the point where the Dallas Mavericks can now do something …

The Chicago Bulls head on the road this evening for a matchup with the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Bennedict Mathurin has cooked against Chicago this season, and my Bulls vs Pacers predictions are eyeing him to ball out. Advertisement Read more in my NBA picks for Wednesday, January 28. Bulls vs Pacers …

The NBA trade deadline is next week, at noon PDT on Feb. 5, and there are dozens of teams in the league fighting for playoff and play-in position, including the Lakers and Clippers. Will the Lakers look to trade either LeBron James, who for the first time in his career has an expiring contract after making $50 million this season, …

The Thunder and Pelicans came together after the final buzzer of Tuesday’s game, but they weren’t exchanging dinner plans. A bench-clearing scuffle broke out in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter as Thunder guard Lu Dort and Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears got into a shoving match as the game came to a close, leading to teammates, coaches and officials …

Every longtime Cleveland Cavaliers fan remembers exactly where they were on June 19, 2016. It’s impossible to forget the anxiety that turned into euphoria when the final buzzer sounded, LeBron James fell to the floor, and a professional sports team in Cleveland was crowned champion for the first time in 52 years. Members of the current Cavaliers had a different …

Win or lose, Jessie Diggins plans to celebrate her last Olympics. More than 40 friends and family are traveling to the Milan Cortina Winter Games to watch America’s most decorated cross-country skier chase Olympic glory one last time. Advertisement The 34-year-old Minnesota native is retiring at the end of the season, and looking forward to finally getting some rest. “I’m …

A rookie tried to give Dillon Brooks a taste of his own medicine, and it ended up costing his team. Nets guard Egor Dёmin shoved Brooks late in Brooklyn’s 106-102 loss on Tuesday, Jan. 27, leading to a small dust-up that cleared assistant coaches off the bench. Advertisement With the Suns up by two with 1:14 left to play, a …

On Monday night, the Knicks closed their win over the Sacramento Kings with Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson on the floor. “This was a tight ball game and so I just rode that group,” Mike Brown said postgame. Advertisement Brown’s decision worked well; the Knicks went on a 13-0 run over four minutes late …

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana Hoosiers fans got their dream doubleheader Tuesday night. First, they watched college football’s new national champions take one more victory lap. Then they saw Indiana’s basketball team take its cue by keeping the momentum rolling and holding off its top rival, No. 12 Purdue, for the squad’s biggest win of the season — and yet …

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Croix Bethune, Jameese Joseph and Emily Sams all scored their first international goals and the United States went on to beat Chile 5-0 on Tuesday night. Emma Sears and Trinity Rodman also scored for the United States, which hasn’t conceded a goal in five matches. Advertisement Coach Emma Hayes went with a completely different starting …

PHOENIX (AP) — Mark Williams scored 27 points, Dillon Brooks had 26 and the short-handed Suns beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-102 on Tuesday night in a game that featured a scuffle late in the fourth quarter. After Brooks put the Suns ahead 104-102 on two free throws with 1:23 remaining, a steal by the Suns’ Royce O’Neale led to a …

It took three full quarters of sloppy play for the Knicks to exert expected dominance over the Kings on Tuesday night, and a huge 31-point fourth quarter that lifted them to a 103-87 home win was sparked by a pair of timely threes from Karl-Anthony Towns in the opening minutes. But the veteran center didn’t contribute to a closing 21-9 …

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Iga Świątek picked up a theme that Coco Gauff left the Australian Open with after the 21-year-old American’s racket-smashing, frustration-releasing moments away from the court went viral. Gauff said a “conversations needs to had” about the seemingly limitless access-all-areas cameras that track players from the locker room to the court and just about everywhere in between. …

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Mark Scheifele scored his 26th goal of the season, reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced and the Winnipeg Jets ended their two-game skid by beating the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Devils have lost back-to-back games after winning three in a row at the start of their …

Back in October, when federal investigators unsealed an indictment of alleged illegal sports betting — which led to the arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — it was directly tied to a previous arrest of former Raptor Jontay Porter for using the same prop bet scam. In those indictments, a total of seven games were allegedly impacted. However, prosecutors …

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Barry Dunning Jr. and Roman Siulepa each scored 15 points, Omari Witherspoon made a step-back jumper with 15 seconds left in overtime, and Pittsburgh beat Wake Forest 80-76 on Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak. Siulepa stole an inbounds pass along the sideline and raced the other way for a fast-break dunk to tie it …

PAARL, South Africa (AP) — South Africa captain Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten 86 off 47 balls as the Proteas beat the West Indies by 9 wickets Tuesday in the opener of their three-match T20 international series. Markram, who hit nine boundaries and three sixes, shared a partnership of 83 with Lhuan-dre Pretorius (44) and 93 with Ryan Rickelton to …

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a tricky stretch coming up. They are expected to be without Evan Mobley (calf) for the next one to three weeks and are still without the services of Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot). Additionally, standout two-way player Nae’Qwan Tomlin only has eight more games he can be active with the Cavs unless they convert …

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama prefaced what he said about the recent shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good as part of federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis with an initial disclaimer. “PR has tried,” he said, “but I’m not going to sit here and give some politically correct (answer).” Advertisement The 22-year-old from France then expressed dismay and …

The Cleveland Cavaliers will welcome LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers into town for their annual pilgrimage to Cleveland. The Cavs are playing their best basketball of the season. They’ve won four in a row, seven of their last nine games, and 11 of their last 15. However, that was before it was announced that Evan Mobley (calf) will …

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton said at his season-ending news conference Tuesday that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a preexisting ankle condition that make a fracture inevitable. Nix broke a bone in his right ankle on Denver’s game-winning drive in the Broncos’ 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs. Advertisement Nix …

Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokić is reportedly ramping up for his return from a knee injury that’s sidelined him for 14 games. That’s according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reported Tuesday that the Nuggets intend to reevaluate Jokić’s injury in “about a week.” The report doesn’t include a precise timeline. But it sounds like the three-time MVP isn’t long from …