NBA News

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Michael Jordan inherited the racing bug from his late father, who routinely packed everyone into the car and drove from North Carolina to a handful of tracks every year as attending NASCAR races became Jordan family vacations. Decades later, Jordan is now a Daytona 500 winner. Advertisement He was an ecstatic team owner during the …

Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the first time in 13 years, ending Arizona’s nine-week reign. The Wolverines (24-1) claimed 60 of 61 first-place votes in Monday’s poll to climb one spot and supplant the Wildcats, who were unbeaten entering last week before falling at Kansas and at home to Texas Tech. Advertisement …

The second half of the NBA season is here and while we’ve had a two-man race for most of the season, there is a third option that is making noise, and he’s the only healthy player of the top three. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (-210) and Nikola Jokic (+300) are the frontrunners for MVP and rightfully so. The two have won the …

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — He was named after two basketball stars, with his father hoping he would end up following in their footsteps. In a way, he has. Meet Shaquille Anfernee Murray-Lawrence, a Canadian bobsled push athlete at the Milan Cortina Games. He was born in 1993, and yes, was named after Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, who …

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO (AP) — The curling drama at the Winter Olympics sent the sport’s governing body scrambling to address a growing controversy and curb conflicting accounts of rule breaking. The backpedaling came less than 24 hours later. A day after World Curling ramped up monitoring of the matches it pulled the plug, saying umpires would retreat and be available on …

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Graham Ike had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as No. 12 Gonzaga held off Santa Clara 94-86 on Saturday night. Graham shot 7 of 12 and had four assists to help the Bulldogs move a half-game ahead of the Broncos for first place in the West Coast Conference. It’s Graham’s seventh consecutive game …

Stop if you’ve heard this before, but the Lakers had someone in the dunk contest put up a dud. Jaxson Hayes competed in Saturday’s Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend and in a move that probably shouldn’t have been shocking given the history of Lakers competing in the event, it was a very underwhelming showing. Advertisement Hayes’ first dunk of the …

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game is under a new format in which an international team is featured against two teams consisting of American players. The very fact that the league has evolved to the point where an international team can be justified, and even favored at BetMGM, is the result of decades worth of global investment and marketing to turn basketball …

Game Summary: I would guess Miami got pretty much what they wanted in the first half, other than making free throws. McNeil was 0-1, Williams had 5 points, and Copeland was driving to the basket a lot and only had 2 assists. Rebounding was a nightmare to watch, Miami had 11 offensive rebounds and led total rebounds 20-13. Advertisement The …

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 26 points and Miami scored the last eight points of the game to beat North Carolina State 77-76 on Saturday night. N.C. State scored seven straight points to take a 76-69 lead with 1:07 remaining. Then Reneau answered with a three-point play and Tru Washington added a layup to pull Miami to within …

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Madison St. Rose led with 15 points and seven rebounds and No. 24 Princeton rode a big second half to defeat Cornell, 59-38 on Saturday. The Tigers (20-3, 8-2 Ivy League) bounced back from a loss against Columbia on Friday to win their third game in their past four contests. It was the second-lowest scoring game …

If Damian Lillard participating in the NBA 3-point contest while still recovering from a torn Achilles was a surprise, what he actually did in the NBA was a shock. The Portland Trail Blazers star, who hasn’t played an NBA game since April 27, won his third NBA 3-point contest title on Saturday, joining Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the …

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Nate Bittle and Takai Simpkins each scored 22 points to help Oregon snap a 10-game losing streak with an 83-72 win over Penn State on Saturday. The Ducks (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten) had been without a win since Jan. 2 over Maryland, their only previous Big Ten win of the season. Advertisement Bittle’s 22 came on …

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Dylan Darling had 23 points and eight rebounds and No. 17 St. John’s scored eight straight points after a fracas that resulted in six ejections to take the lead and earn its 11th straight victory, a 79-69 win over Providence on Saturday. Bryce Hopkins had nine points and nine rebounds for the Red Storm (20-5, 13-1 …

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 18 points and No. 5 Iowa State shook off a slow start to defeat No. 9 Kansas 74-56 on Saturday, snapping the Jayhawks’ eight-game winning streak. The Cyclones (22-3, 9-3 Big 12), coming off Tuesday’s 62-55 loss at TCU, began a five-game stretch in which they play four ranked teams by taking control …

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Everyone wants the same thing: A competitive All-Star Game. Fans want it. Adam Silver desperately wants it (remember the eye roll while handing out the trophy a year ago?) Media (and media partners) want it. Advertisement Will a new USA vs. World format finally give everyone what they want? While the timing of the 2026 NBA All-Star …

The All-Star break is a great opportunity for teams to reset. With less than two months until the playoffs, players get a chance to recover from nagging injuries and coaches can reset mentally before the final stretch of a lengthy regular season. Fantasy managers get the opportunity to do the same. A week off from scouring the waiver wire as …

NBA All-Star weekend rolls on this Saturday with the Slam Dunk Contest, 3-Point Contest, and brand-new Shooting Stars Contest. Our experts deliver their best NBA All-Star Saturday Night predictions and NBA picks from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. Advertisement NBA All-Star Saturday Night predictions NBA All-Star Saturday Night best bets Slam Dunk Contest best bet: Keshad Johnson to win …

MILAN (AP) — Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored to match an Olympic career goal record in her return to the lineup, and Canada rolled to a 5-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinal round of the women’s hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday. Poulin’s power-play goal with 4:30 left in regulation was the 18th of her Olympic career, …

Como’s hopes of securing Champions League qualification were dealt a blow by Fiorentina in Serie A on Saturday. Nicolo Fagioli and Moise Kean scored in 2-1 win for Fiorentina at Como’s Guiseppe Sinigaglia stadium. Advertisement The defeat came days after Como advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia for the first time in 40 years by beating Italian champion …

DUBLIN (AP) — Ireland got relief from a 20-13 home win over Italy in the Six Nations on Saturday, coming from behind at halftime and grinding out an unconvincing result. Coach Andy Farrell wanted his slumping side to muzzle the doubters and make a statement after being blown away by France 36-14 last week, Ireland’s worst Six Nations loss in …

MADRID (AP) — Borja Iglesias scored in stoppage time, after having another seemingly good goal ruled out through VAR, to salvage a 2-2 draw for Celta Vigo at Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday. A rueful Iglesias shook his head and smiled after having a 77th-minute goal disallowed when a long check determined there had been an offside infringement. …

MILAN (AP) — Dalibor Dvorsky’s goal with 39 seconds left may have sent Slovakia to the quarterfinals in men’s hockey at the Olympics as the winner of the group in a tiebreaker even after losing to Sweden 5-3 on Saturday in each team’s final preliminary round game. Slovakia wins Group B as long as Finland beats host Italy later in …

MILAN (AP) — Jordan Stolz was going to try to win his second speedskating gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday, competing in the 500 meters. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin is coming off a victory in Wednesday’s 1,000, the first of his four individual events at the 2026 Winter Games. He is considered a contender for gold in …

Slowly, LeBron James put on a pair of ice bath toe booties and dipped his left foot and then his right foot into a bucket that had been prepared for him following a Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena. His longtime personal trainer and athletic performance coach, Mike Mancias, next wrapped both of James’ knees and his back in ice. James …