NBA News

ROME (AP) — Italy won’t get a chance at redemption for Roberto Baggio’s miss in the 1994 World Cup final at the Rose Bowl. The four-time champion isn’t even going back to North America for this year’s tournament after a penalty shootout loss to 66th-ranked Bosnia-Herzegovina in the qualifying playoffs. Advertisement It’s the third straight World Cup that Italy will …

On Tuesday, a pair of the league’s citizenship awards were announced. Two members of the Silver & Black received nominations. Harrison Barnes was nominated as an NBA Sportsmanship Award Finalist. The award is given to a player who most “exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court with ethical behavior, fair play, and integrity.” Advertisement He was nominated alongside former Spurs guard …

On March 31, the Houston Rockets put on one of their best performances of the year, defeating the New York Knicks 111–94 at home. The Rockets set the tone from the beginning. Houston took control early in the second quarter and never gave it up, playing with confidence, speed, and accuracy. Against a Knicks defense that never quite found its …

The Lakers didn’t need Luka Doncic to take care of business in Monday night’s win over the Wizards as he served his one-game suspension because of an accumulation of technical fouls But they needed every bit of the MVP-caliber play carried into Tuesday night to blow out the Cavaliers 127-113 at Crypto.com Arena. Advertisement Doncic got off to another one …

The 2026 NBA Playoffs are less than two weeks away, with the SoFi Play-In Tournament tipping off on April 14 and the first round officially underway on April 18. The playoff picture is rapidly taking shape, with 20 teams already locked in and the remaining seeds still up for grabs as the regular season winds down. With just nine games …

Boston fans know the team is in another golden age of contention. But how long can it last? The Celtics secured their fifth consecutive 50+ win season since 2021-22 with a 114-99 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night — the franchise’s 38th season with 50+ wins and its fourth time hitting that mark at least five seasons in …

Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick laced up some custom-made sneakers for a good cause on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena. Redick wore custom made Nike sneakers designed by Salt Lake City artist John Millar for the NBA and the NBA Coaches Association in honoring Autism Acceptance Month. Advertisement The shoes were designed with the Lakers team colors of …

The tests kept coming in the month of March for the Lakers and they responded with the same resounding answer: We’re ready. Yet, even though the Lakers posted a 15-2 record last month, even though they beat some of the best teams in the NBA, they still have another big test on the horizon that will further show whether they’re …

Coming into March, the Lakers were floating adrift, fresh off three demoralizing losses to the Celtics, Magic and Suns and staring the toughest stretch of the season in the face. The Lakers exit March having loudly declared they are a legitimate contender. According to Positive Residual, they had the second-most games and the 10th-hardest schedule in March. Advertisement They finished …

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Celtics fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. So many people deserve credit for the Celtics success in what was supposed to be a gap year in Boston. Despite …

Will two Big Ten teams face off with a national championship on the line? No. 3 seed Illinois and No. 1 Michigan are on opposite sides of the Final Four in 2026, and could guarantee the Big Ten the NCAA Tournament championship with wins in the national semifinals. The Fighting Illini take on No. 2 Connecticut, while the Wolverines face …

LOS ANGELES – The Cavs coming to town as a top Eastern Conference team posed another tough challenge for the Lakers. As was true throughout March, however, the Lakers were up to the test. They beat the Cavs 127-113 on Tuesday, and did so with great performances up and down the roster. Advertisement Luka Dončić, back from his suspension, was racking …

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 …