NBA News

The Los Angeles Lakers host the LA Clippers tonight in a Pacific Division battle of cross-town rivals. Luka Doncic and the Lakers (33-21) look to solidify their position atop the division and inch closer to Denver and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers (27-28) arrive at crypto.com Arena having won four of their …

Brooklyn Nets (15-39, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-14, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Friday, 8 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -16.5; over/under is 211.5 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: Brooklyn will attempt to stop its three-game road slide when the Nets face Oklahoma City. The Thunder have gone 22-7 at home. Oklahoma City is …

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 30 points and the Orlando Magic beat Sacramento 131-94 on Thursday night for the Kings’ franchise-record 15th straight loss. Orlando made a team-record 27 3-pointers on 51 attempts. Banchero was 5 of 7 from 3-points range and had six assists and five rebounds in the opener of a four-game trip. Advertisement The Kings …

Among a horde of tanking NBA teams, the Sacramento Kings stand alone with the worst record in the NBA. It didn’t get any better Thursday. The Kings extended their losing streak to 15 games with a 131-94 defeat by the Orlando Magic, breaking the franchise record for consecutive losses. That low mark was previously held by two different streaks during …

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his third triple-double of the season, and the Boston Celtics rolled over a Golden State Warriors team playing without Stephen Curry, 121-110 on Thursday night. Payton Pritchard added 26 points and Sam Hauser scored 16 to help Boston win for the seventh time in eight …

BOSTON (AP) — The City of Beverly Hills apologized to Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown on Thursday for initially stating that an event he hosted on the eve of the NBA All-Star Game was shut down because the city said it lacked a permit. “Upon further internal review, the City has determined that its prior public communication contained inaccurate information,” …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lauren Betts had 23 points on 11-of-15 shooting and eight rebounds, and No. 2 UCLA defeated Washington 82-67 on Thursday night to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with its 20th consecutive victory. The Bruins (24-1, 14-0) can win the title outright with a victory over visiting Wisconsin on Sunday. If they do, …

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker left Thursday night’s 121-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter with right hip soreness and was ruled out for the rest of the game. Suns head coach Jordan Ott told reporters that Booker “wasn’t moving great” and the decision to sit him was made to “save himself from himself,” per the …

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers did what they were supposed to do against the struggling Brooklyn Nets. Cleveland controlled this game wire-to-wire, which led to a one-sided 112-84 victory. The stats in the table below are taken from Cleaning the Glass. Effective Field Goal Percentage Offensive Rebounding Percentage Offensive Turnover Percentage Free Throw Rate Cavs 58.1%, 72nd percentile 26.7%, 40th …

CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and the Toronto Raptors returned from the All-Star break to beat the Chicago Bulls 110-101 on Thursday night. With Chicago coach Billy Donovan away following his father’s death Saturday, assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. directed the Bulls. Chicago has lost seven straight, also falling to the Raptors two weeks ago in Toronto. …

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 42 points and 13 assists to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 126-111 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night. The Pistons have defeated the Knicks in the teams’ three meetings this season. Advertisement Paul Reed scored 18 points, Tobias Harris had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ausar Thompson added …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trae Young is getting closer to his Washington Wizards debut, but Anthony Davis still isn’t ready for the practice court, the team announced on Thursday. The Wizards acquired the injured duo — who have 14 All-Star appearances between them — in respective trades with Atlanta in January and Dallas earlier this month. Advertisement The 27-year-old Young last …

CLEVELAND — Tanking has been a bigger issue this season than most — at least it is based on how the national media is covering it. As a result, the NBA is trying to find ways to curb that. According to a recent report from ESPN’s Shams Charania, the league is looking into adding anti-tanking measures. Things on the table …

The Washington Wizards released a statement Thursday saying Anthony Davis has not been cleared yet due to a hand injury, and the same goes for newly acquired point guard Trae Young, who is dealing with a knee injury. Davis’ hand will be re-evaluated in two weeks, while Young will be out at least another week. Washington acquired Davis in a …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Joe Gibbs Racing on Thursday filed suit against former competition director Chris Gabehart for allegedly embarking on “a brazen scheme to steal JGR’s most sensitive information” for the benefit of a rival NASCAR team Spire Motorsports. The suit filed in the Western District of North Carolina — the same court that heard last December’s antitrust suit …

The Golden State Warriors return to action tonight, kicking off the 27-game second “half” with a home matchup against the Boston Celtics. The good news is that the Warriors should be quite well rested … they didn’t have a single player lace up their sneakers at the busy All-Star weekend. The bad news is that the rest doesn’t seem to …

The Lakers were relatively quiet at the trade deadline aside from swapping Gabe Vincent for Luke Kennard. That’s in part because their proximity to their first-apron hard cap (less than $1.5 million away) limited what they could do. That shouldn’t be the case this offseason. Advertisement The Lakers have long been projected to boast max or near-max cap room and …

Today on the Kevin O’Connor show, KOC is joined by Tom Haberstroh to ask some big questions in the NBA world: Are the Houston Rockets done? What teams have the most to prove in the 2nd half of the season? Which young players might break out and which coaches are on the hot seat? Advertisement Then, the pair look at …

The Mountain West men’s basketball season is in full swing, but it’s never a bad time to discuss past Mountain West stars and their journeys after being in the conference. It’s time for our annual “Mountain West in the NBA” update, so let’s not waste any more time and dive into it! Advertisement Colorado State: Isaiah Stevens, G/F, Sacramento Kings …

Kansas’ Darryn Peterson has been one of the best players in college basketball season — when he has been on the court. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, that hasn’t happened nearly as much as the NCAA Tournament champion hopefuls might have envisioned. Advertisement Peterson’s inconsistent availability has been head-scratching at times, as he has played in 15 of Kansas’ 26 games …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. Our NBA player prop projections are back for Wednesday’s showdown, and the model has circled a few player props worth your attention. Advertisement We ran the numbers, compared projections to the posted lines, and found the spots where there’s actual breathing room. In …

These online rumors and accusations gained traction because they’re believable. Whether they are true or not is another question. During All-Star Weekend, accusations started to fly on social media that Kevin Durant was behind several “burner” accounts where, in texts, he was very critical of teammates and coaches, both from the current Rockets team and from previous squads. Advertisement When …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Atlanta Hawks head north to face the Philadelphia 76ers for the third time this season as Eastern Conference foes go head-to-head at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Advertisement Atlanta has been letting it fly this season, and in a high-scoring matchup, my Hawks vs. …

The NBA All-Star break isn’t really the halfway point in the season, but rather a notice to contenders around the league that it’s time to get serious. About 65 percent of the 2025-2026 regular season is already over, and there’s only about eight weeks until the playoffs start. March Madness might be the next big event on the sports calendar, …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The NBA All-Star break didn’t do much good for either the Indiana Pacers or Washington Wizards, as both have a laundry list of inactive players as they open a two-game set in the U.S. Capitol tonight. Advertisement It’s a battle between the two …