NBA News

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. After a tough slate coming out of the All-Star break, the Charlotte Hornets look to get back on track as they battle the Washington Wizards on Sunday. Advertisement My Hornets vs Wizards prediction and free NBA picks expect the visitors to dominate the …

The injury news for the Phoenix Suns keeps getting worse. After losing star guard Devin Booker to a hip strain suffered in Thursday’s game, the Suns fear forward Dillon Brooks could be out for an extended period of time with a hand injury. Advertisement ESPN is reporting Brooks broke his left hand in the first quarter of a double-overtime win …

The Los Angeles Lakers will celebrate Pat Riley with an unveiling of a statue outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 22. The team will hold a private ceremony before the Lakers’ tip-off against the rival Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon. Advertisement Riley played an integral role in helping the Lakers’ organization achieve on-court success and a strong brand identity during …

Week 18 is the first full week of NBA action after the All-Star break, and this begins the mad dash to the fantasy playoffs for many managers. After a light Monday schedule with just three games, there will be at least five on every other day, led by double-figure days on Tuesday (11 games) and Thursday (10). There are some …

The NBA has evolved quite a bit over the last several decades. When it started in 1946, or 1949 depending on whether you count the pre-merger BAA as some do (the BAA and the NBL merged to make the NBA in 1949), the league was very much old school. When Bill Russell came along in 1956, he revolutionized the game …

Less than a week remains before the college basketball calendar turns to March. The NCAA Tournament field is somewhat starting to shape up, with multiple teams pulling ahead as potential national championship favorites. Saturday, Feb. 21, was potentially even a Final Four preview, with No. 3 Duke defeating No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Arizona beating No. 2 Houston. Advertisement …

Nearly 42 minutes into Friday’s game against the Clippers, Marcus Smart hadn’t even taken a shot or scored a point. In true Smart fashion, he proceeded to hit back-to-back baskets and score all seven of his points in the final 6:32 of the game. While Luka Dončić took a lot of the focus for his own late-game performance, both Smart …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami got off to a rough start in their MLS Cup title defense when David Martínez, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz scored in Los Angeles FC’s 3-0 victory Saturday night. Son Heung-min set up Martínez’s opening goal for LAFC, which emphasized its status as a primary threat to Miami’s crown during a …

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Graham Ike had 20 points and three blocks, Davis Fogle scored 18 points and No. 11 Gonzaga beat Pacific 71-62 on Saturday night to wrap up a top-two seed and a semifinal spot in the WCC Tournament. Emmanuel Innocenti added 13 points for the Bulldogs (27-2, 15-1 West Coast Conference). The 15 conference victories are the …

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Kelvin Yeboah scored in the 90th minute to rally Minnesota United to a 2-2 draw with Austin FC in a season opener on Saturday night. Yeboah, who scored nine times in 30 appearances last year in his first full season, used an assist from defender Devin Padelford on the equalizer. Padelford subbed in for Anthony Markanich …

WACO, Texas (AP) — Taliah Scott made all 11 of her foul shots and scored 22, reserve Marcayla Johnson added 12 points and 15th-ranked Baylor beat Arizona 74-60 on Saturday. Johnson scored 10 of her points in the first half, Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 10 and Bella Fontleroy grabbed 10 rebounds for the Bears (23-6, 12-4 Big 12), who were coming …

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jordan Poole highlighted a 23-point performance with five 3-pointers, and the New Orleans Pelicans outscored Philadelphia 60-35 during the final 21 minutes to beat the 76ers 126-111 on Saturday night. Zion Williamson added 21 points, Saddiq Bey had 20, and 17-year veteran center DeAndre Jordan grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots. Advertisement Jordan entered the …

Dillon Brooks’ breakout season has been one of the most surprising stories of the NBA season. That story is now on hold. The Phoenix Suns star sustained a broken left hand seven minutes into Saturday’s 113-110 victory over the Orlando Magic, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. He reportedly does not yet have a timetable. Brooks scored 5 points and grabbed …

BATON ROUGE. La. (AP) — Aiden Holloway scored 17 points, Amari Allen added 16 and No. 25 Alabama beat LSU 90-83 on Saturday for its sixth straight victory. The Crimson Tide (20-7l, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) also beat the Tigers (14-13, 2-12) for the sixth straight time. Advertisement Alabama, ranked second nationally in 3-pointers at 12.7 per game, had seven players …

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Green hit a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer to give the Phoenix Suns a 113-110 double-overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday. After Jalen Carter tied it for Orlando with 1.1 seconds left with a corner 3, Green hit all net from the corner as the horn sounded. Green struggled all game …

DALLAS (AP) — Jermaine O’Neal Jr. scored 16 points, Samet Yigitoglu and BJ Edwards both added 15 in SMU’s 94-70 win over Boston College on Saturday. Jaden Toombs and Jaron Pierre Jr. put up 13 points each for the Mustangs (19-8, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). Boopie Miller finished with 11 points and a team-leading seven assists. Advertisement SMU finished the …

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Bangot Dak scored 17 points, Barrington Hargress added 16, and Colorado defeated Oklahoma State 83-69 on Saturday, giving the Buffaloes their third straight home win. Colorado didn’t allow a field goal in a 5 1/2-minute stretch early in the first half and the Buffaloes led 25-8 eight minutes into the game. Colorado made five 3-pointers in …

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Mikel Brown Jr. scored 19 points, including seven during a 17-2 run midway through the second half that helped propel No. 21 Louisville past Georgia Tech 87-70 on Saturday. The Cardinals (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) never trailed but allowed the Yellow Jackets to get within 44-35 just after halftime. Advertisement J’Vonne Hadley made two free …

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chance Mallory drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 3.6 seconds to play, and then sank all three free throws to lift No. 14 Virginia to an 86-83 win over Miami on Saturday. Jacari White came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers for the Cavaliers (24-3, 12-2 Atlantic Coast), who won …

COLOMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 21 points and racked up a career-high nine assists, and Kobe Knox added 17 points for South Carolina in a 97-89 win over Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon, snapping a seven-game losing streak. Elijah Strong put up 16 points for the Gamecocks (12-15, 3-11 Southeastern Conference) and Mike Sharavjamts added 15. Eli Ellis …

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker will miss at least one week because of a right hip strain that happened against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday. The team made the announcement on Saturday before the team’s game against the Orlando Magic. Advertisement Booker is averaging 24.7 points, 6.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds over 44 games this …

Spanish league leader Real Madrid was stunned by Osasuna in a 2-1 loss on Saturday. Raul Garcia’s 90th-minute winner means Barcelona can overtake Madrid at the top of the standings by beating Levante on Sunday. Advertisement Madrid is two points clear of second-place Barca, having played a game more. Vinicius Junior looked to have at least salvaged a point for …

Sacramento picked up De’Andre Hunter at the trade deadline in a three-team deal that gave it a little more size on the wing as it sent out Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to Cleveland. Two games into his Kings career, Hunter suffered an eye injury that kept him out of the final three games before the All-Star break and the …

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Aston Villa’s Premier League title challenge was hit after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-fighting Leeds on Saturday. It took an 88th-minute equalizer from substitute Tammy Abraham to rescue a point for Villa — but the draw means Unai Emery’s team could be cut further adrift of Arsenal and Manchester City at …

Sometime in the next 24 hours, the NBA will hand down a one-game suspension to Minnesota center Rudy Gobert after he picked up his seventh flagrant foul of the season, this one for hitting Dallas’ Marvin Bagley III in the head and neck area on Friday night. The NBA imposes a one-game suspension for any player who reaches six flagrant …