NBA News

Who is and isn’t a blue blood in college basketball is often a heated debate. By definition a blue blood is a program with elite lineage. UConn’s blood line of elite success didn’t get going until the 1990s. The Huskies reached six Sweet 16s in the decade before breaking through in 1999 with the program’s first national title. Advertisement The …

Everything has gone wrong for the Golden State Warriors this season. They resolved a bit of in-house drama with the Jonathon Kuminga trade, but they’ve been without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler since before the All Star break. Butler is out for the foreseeable future with a torn ACL, while Curry has been dealing with a knee ailment of his …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Deni Avdija had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Jrue Holiday hit seven 3s and finished with 30 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped the Los Angeles Clippers’ five-game win streak, 114-104 on Tuesday night. The Clippers (39-37) are eighth in the Western Conference, a half-game in front of the ninth-place Blazers (39-38). Los …

Atlanta Hawks (43-33, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Orlando Magic (39-35, eighth in the Eastern Conference) Orlando, Florida; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Hawks -4.5; over/under is 233.5 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: Jalen Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks visit Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. The Magic have gone 24-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. Orlando ranks …

Luka Doncic broke NBA great Kobe Bryant’s 20-year record for the most points scored by a Los Angeles Lakers player in a calendar month as they overcame the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-113. Doncic, who returned after a one-game suspension for picking up his 16th technical foul, scored 42 points to take his tally for March to 579 – beating Bryant’s record …

Los Angeles Lakers (50-26, third in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles plays the Oklahoma City Thunder after Luka Doncic scored 42 points in the Lakers’ 127-113 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Advertisement The Thunder have gone 37-9 against Western Conference opponents. Oklahoma …

Milwaukee Bucks (30-45, 11th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (46-29, sixth in the Western Conference) Houston; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rockets -17.5; over/under is 217.5 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: Houston heads into a matchup against Milwaukee as winners of three games in a row. The Rockets are 26-10 on their home court. Houston leads the Western …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani got started on his bid to win a Cy Young Award — just about the only major prize to elude him — with six shutout innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first outing on the mound this season. At the plate, the two-way superstar went 1 for 3 with two walks and …

Phoenix Suns (42-33, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Charlotte Hornets (40-36, 10th in the Eastern Conference) Charlotte, North Carolina; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: The Charlotte Hornets host the Phoenix Suns in non-conference action. Advertisement The Hornets are 19-19 on their home court. Charlotte ranks fourth in the Eastern Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing just 111.4 points …

Shortly before New York’s prime-time loss in Oklahoma City, Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns was asked about his assimilation under head coach Mike Brown’s system — roughly eight months after the coach’s hire. “I’m still working through it,” Towns said. “Still trying to figure out where I could impact our team and winning the most. Right now, I’m just utilizing my …

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his first big league game in a pressure-packed spot against four-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen. The three-run homer that followed capped one of the most powerful MLB regular-season debuts in modern history. Advertisement The Venezuelan became just the seventh …

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — The 48-team field for FIFA ’s biggest ever World Cup is complete after a qualifying process that spanned more than two and a half years. Iraq edged Bolivia 2-1 in an intercontinental playoff at Monterrey in northern Mexico on Tuesday to secure the 48th spot, hours after Bosnia and Herzegovina upset four-time champion Italy on penalties …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 42 points with 12 assists, Deandre Ayton added 18 points with nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to four games with a 127-113 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Austin Reaves scored 19 points, while LeBron James, Jake LaRavia and Rui Hachimura each had 14 as …

PHOENIX (AP) — Jose Fernandez hit two home runs, including the go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, in his MLB debut and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Tuesday night. Fernandez finished 3 for 4 with an infield single for the first of his career in the second and a solo home run in the fourth. …

HOUSTON (AP) — Plate umpire Mark Wegner acknowledged he lost track of the count during Cam Smith’s nine-pitch walk Tuesday night in the fifth inning of the Houston Astros’ 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. In fact, Smith should have been out on strikes after the third pitch. Advertisement Smith swung and missed at two cutters from Red Sox …

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor Ingram celebrated his 29th birthday Tuesday by making 27 saves for his second shutout of the season as the Edmonton Oilers extended their winning streak to four games by beating the Seattle Kraken 3-0. Max Jones, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor McDavid scored for the Oilers who have won six of their last eight. Advertisement Edmonton …

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Umpire C.B. Bucknor’s tough start to the season continues. Bucknor was working as the first-base umpire for the Milwaukee Brewers’ 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday when he made a call that was so obviously incorrect from the replay that it had both managers smiling afterward. Advertisement Milwaukee was leading 4-2 in the sixth …

HOUSTON (AP) — Hunter Brown pitched six smooth innings, Yordan Alvarez homered and drove in two runs, and the Houston Astros routed the Boston Red Sox 9-2 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight win. Cam Smith also went deep for the Astros, who handed the Red Sox their fourth loss in a row following a victory on opening day. …

DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren had 31 points and nine rebounds as the Detroit Pistons defeated the Toronto Raptors 127-116 to clinch the Central Division title on Tuesday night. Duren is averaging 23.4 points and 10.5 rebounds in seven games since Cade Cunningham sustained a lung injury on March 17 in 130-117 win over Washington. The Pistons are 6-2 without …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Nikolaj Ehlers scored the go-ahead goal with 7:18 remaining and the Carolina Hurricanes reached the 100-point mark for the fifth time in franchise history, defeating the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 on Tuesday night. Ehlers added two assists as the Hurricanes remained tied with Buffalo for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Advertisement Carolina’s Andrei …

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bowen Byram flipped a long shot into an empty net with 1:43 remaining to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night. The Sabres became the NHL’s 11th franchise to reach 2,000 wins — and the first team not added in the league’s first expansion in 1967 when …

CINCINNATI (AP) — Oneil Cruz homered twice and Ryan O’Hearn hit a three-run shot as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-3 on Tuesday night. O’Hearn and Bryan Reynolds went back-to-back in the second inning. Cruz finished with three hits and three RBIs. He also scored three times. Advertisement The Reds were held hitless until Jose Trevino singled off …

BALTIMORE (AP) — Danny Jansen had three hits, including a three-run homer in the seventh inning that helped the Texas Rangers to an 8-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Jacob deGrom allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings in his first start of the season. The Texas right-hander was scratched Saturday because of neck stiffness. He struck …

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Andrew Painter struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings in a fantastic major league debut, and Kyle Schwarber and Adolis Garcia homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. Jhoan Duran struck out two in a scoreless ninth for his second save. Brandon Marsh made a nice running …

Who: Phoenix Suns (42-33) @ Orlando Magic (39-35) When: 4:00pm Arizona Time Where: Kia Center — Orlando, Florida Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports Listen: KMVP 98.7 After losing six of seven, the Phoenix Suns have a win streak. Winners of their last two, Phoenix took advantage of two of their easiest opponents left on their schedule, beating both …