NBA News

MIAMI (AP) — Michael Lorenzen will start for Italy and Keider Montero for Venezuela when the teams meet Monday night in a World Baseball Classic semifinal. A 34-year-old right-hander, Lorenzen pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in the group stage 8-6 upset of the United States on Tuesday. Advertisement “I faced him many times,” said Italy manager Francisco Cervelli, a former …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. With the Detroit Pistons closing in on the No. 1 seed in the East and the Toronto Raptors flirting with the Play-In, it’s not out of the question we’ll be watching a first-round series preview today at Scotiabank Arena. Advertisement Detroit has had …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. A matchup that once looked pretty has turned ugly as we approach tip-off, with the New York Knicks seemingly miles ahead of the Golden State Warriors. Advertisement Our NBA player prop projections for Warriors vs. Knicks help you make your NBA picks for …

Selection Sunday is the closing of one book and the opening of another on the college basketball season. For some teams, their hopes of making it in as an at-large potential Cinderella to March Madness are extinguished, while for others, hope springs eternal as they look to become the latest dancing darlings. Some things are all but set in stone. …

There are few things more embarrassing that missing a dunk in a basketball game. If you’re even attempting a dunk, that means you have a mostly clear look at the basket, hoping to flex your athleticism and make your teammates go crazy. Then, whatever ill-begotten fate awaits you, be it a slip, mishandling the ball, or a weird takeoff happens …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Golden State Warriors will be without a majority of their key players in today’s matchup at Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks look for a third straight win. Advertisement With no size or depth in Golden State’s frontcourt, my Warriors …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. With all eyes on Selection Sunday, the NBA offers a tasty seven-game slate with several NBA player prop betting opportunities on the board. Advertisement My three selections begin in Cleveland, head to Madison Square Garden, and hopefully end with another vintage Russell Westbrook …

The Spurs have been active this past week on Instagram. Between Jaylen Brown’s ejection, losing to the Nuggets, the team photo shoot, and then knotting up the series with the Charlotte Hornets, the Silver & Black have also been posting a lot from their player interview series. This installment asks the guys what day they with to relive if they …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Indiana Pacers are trying to shake a 12-game losing streak when they visit Fiserv Forum and the Milwaukee Bucks in an NBA Central Division battle. Advertisement With both groups playing fast and loose, my Pacers vs. Bucks predictions and NBA picks expect …

Here’s where the Wizards are at this point: losing by 11 to the Boston Celtics feels almost like an achievement. Most of the relative narrowness of that margin was due to Boston bricking open and wide-open threes they normally make, some working out of kinks related to Jayson Tatum’s return to the lineup, and probably a little Boston slacking off, …

Saturday night marked Jayson Tatum’s fourth game back since returning from a ruptured right Achilles tendon. His transition from five-on-five team scrimmages to rejoining the Boston Celtics’ starting lineup was swift, and coach Joe Mazzulla hopes that doesn’t get taken for granted. Coming back from a nearly 10-month recovery isn’t something that produces immediate results like those Tatum provided before …

March Madness will be officially underway in just a few hours when the full 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket is released. There are a handful of teams that are considered “locks” for the 68-team field that will get underway on Tuesday, March 17 with the first set of First Four games in Dayton. There are also a handful of teams that …

It’s a proverbial Christmas Day for fans of college basketball. The presents aren’t opened in the morning. They’re opened in the evening of Selection Sunday with the reveal of the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket of the 68-team field for March Madness. So who will be the top seeds and who will see their bubble burst. The final version of the USA …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Bobby McMann had two goals and an assist in his Kraken debut and Seattle beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday night to end a four-game losing streak and move within a point of the final wild card in the West. McMann went from Toronto to Seattle at the trade deadline, but was delayed because …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev recorded two goals and an assist for the second straight game and Adin Hill had his first shutout in a year as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Saturday night. The victory put the Golden Knights back into first place in the Pacific Division with 76 points, one ahead of …

MIAMI (AP) — Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback with a two-run shot, and Venezuela beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champion Japan 8-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals. Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for …

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Ereauna Hardaway and Cheyenne Rowe each scored 13 points and UTSA held Rice to a season-low score beating the Owls 54-40 on Saturday in the American Conference title game on Saturday. Idara Udo added 11 points for No. 6 seed UTSA (18-15) which clinched its first championship — and NCAA Tournament berth —since joining the American. …

The Los Angeles Lakers stormed to a 127-125 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, sealing the deal with some Luka Dončić magic. With six seconds remaining in overtime, Dončić sunk a difficult game-winning fadeaway from the corner, beating the clock and securing the win. After taking a lead in the first half, Los Angeles fell behind after a …

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Jaden Harris and Amir Taylor combined to score 35 points and No. 6 seed Kennesaw State defeated No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech to win their first Conference USA championship and clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Harris posted 18 on 4 of 6 from behind the arc. Taylor had 17, going 9 for 11 from …

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn scored the tying goal and also connected in a shootout, Alex Tuch ended the tiebreaker and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday night to rebound from their first loss since the Olympic break. Buffalo was coming off a 2-1 home loss to Washington on Thursday night that ended an …

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Saturday night. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour coached his 600th career game for the franchise and picked up his 367th career win, the most for a head coach at the 600-game mark, besting Tampa …

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Igor Shesterkin made 46 saves and Vladislav Gavrikov had a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Noah Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar and Vincent Trocheck also scored for New York, which won for the fifth time …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hany Mukhtar scored four minutes into second-half stoppage time and Brian Schwake earned his second clean sheet in his fourth MLS start as Nashville SC beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night. Mukhtar subbed in to begin the second half for Nashville (3-0-1) before scoring for the second time this season. It was his 84th …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points to lead No. 1 seed Utah State past No. 2 seed San Diego State 73-62 on Saturday to win the Mountain West Championship. Collins was 8-of-15 shooting and 4 of 10 behind the arc with three steals for the Aggies (28-6). Mason Falslev, who was named Mountain West Player of …

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Fadima Tall scored 20 points and Olivia Hutcherson sparked a late surge to help No. 23 Princeton beat Harvard 63-53 on Saturday to win the Ivy League Tournament. Top-seeded Princeton (26-3) avenged last season’s tournament semifinal loss Harvard. The Crimson beat Columbia 74-71 in last season’s title game. Advertisement The Tigers have won six of the …