NBA News

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams could return next season with nearly every important contributor to a team that fell just a few big plays short of another trip to the Super Bowl, and they have the resources to add even more playmakers. That doesn’t make the current players feel any better about their agonizing 31-27 loss to …

ATLANTA (AP) — Led by CJ McCollum’s 23 points, the Atlanta Hawks used a 17-0 run in the second half to take the lead and beat the Indiana Pacers 132-116 on Monday. Dyson Daniels scored 22 points with nine assists, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 21 points and Atlanta earned its third straight win. Advertisement The Pacers led by 15 points midway …

Late January is always when upsets and funky results start to surface in the NBA. It’s the dog days of the season, guys have tired legs, players are distracted by the trade deadline, and they see the All-Star break coming and start acting like high school students the week before spring break. How will that impact these NBA Power Rankings? …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike McDaniel has agreed to become the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator. The Chargers announced the hiring Monday of McDaniel, who spent the past four seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. McDaniel was fired less than three weeks ago after going 35-33 and missing the playoffs in the past two years. Advertisement After interviewing for …

There are just 11 days until the NBA trade deadline, and while this is often when talks heat up, this year is seeing some cooling with the biggest names — this could be a quiet trade deadline (at least for those wanting to see a blockbuster deal). Here is the latest from around the league. Ja Morant Of the three …

NEW YORK (AP) — The Southeastern Conference set a record with 10 teams in The Associated Press women’s Top 25 basketball poll released Monday. Georgia entered at No. 23 after its win over then-No. 11 Kentucky to give the conference the most teams ever in a single week in the 50-year history of the poll. Last season, the SEC had …

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. team released its 232-athlete roster for the Milan Cortina Olympics on Monday and it includes Lindsey Vonn and bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, who are among the seven Americans making their fifth trip to the games. Other five-timers are hockey player Hilary Knight, figure skater Evan Bates and snowboarders Faye Thelen …

The Portland Trail Blazers hit the road this evening to face Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden. Shaedon Sharpe is showing out lately, and I’m eyeing him to keep it rolling in my Trail Blazers vs Celtics predictions and NBA picks below. Advertisement Trail Blazers vs Celtics prediction Trail Blazers vs Celtics best bet: Shaedon Sharpe …

The Los Angeles Lakers’ extended road trip moves east with a stop in the Windy City to battle the Chicago Bulls tonight. Deandre Ayton hopes a two-day break can bust his current funk. He’s struggled on both ends of the floor, which has led to him being benched in each of the past two games. Advertisement However, Chicago’s soft interior …

The Cleveland Cavaliers are playing their second straight game against the Orlando Magic. They won their previous game in Orlando 119-105. Repeating success Beating the same team twice in a row isn’t easy. There’s added motivation for the other team to get their revenge, and what worked in the first matchup isn’t guaranteed to work the second time. This, combined …

With this winter storm crushing half the country and NBA travel either delayed or cancelled this weekend, the Celtics return home for what could be another regular season-defining stretch of games. Here’s play-by-play announcer Sean Grande with the details: With the NBA trade deadline (February 8th) and All-Star Weekend (February 13-15th) on the horizon, the Celtics will play seven of …

Over halfway into the season, the Boston Celtics find themselves sitting at second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 28-17. They’ve set high standards for themselves by consistently sitting at or near the top over the past decade, but this year is different. Prior to the start of the season, the basketball world was debating whether they would …

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jannik Sinner may have felt lucky to survive the Australian Open third round but he rebounded quickly in a straight-sets win Monday over fellow Italian Luciano Darderi to reach the quarterfinals for a ninth consecutive Grand Slam event. The two-time defending champion struggled with the extreme heat and cramping in his Saturday afternoon win over No. …

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team won a “bizarre, sad” game at the Minnesota Timberwolves in a “sombre atmosphere” after the fatal shooting of an intensive care nurse by immigration agents in Minneapolis. The death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday was the second time in less than a month an American citizen has been killed by …

Los Angeles Clippers (21-24, 10th in the Western Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (15-31, 13th in the Western Conference) Salt Lake City; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Utah Jazz host the Los Angeles Clippers in Western Conference action Tuesday. Advertisement The Jazz are 9-22 against Western Conference opponents. Utah averages 30.3 assists per game to lead the Western Conference, …

Brooklyn Nets (12-32, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Phoenix Suns (27-19, sixth in the Western Conference) Phoenix; Tuesday, 9 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: Brooklyn is looking to stop its five-game slide with a win over Phoenix. Advertisement The Suns are 14-6 in home games. Phoenix is fifth in the NBA with 13.0 offensive rebounds per game led by Mark …

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 26 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past Minnesota 111-85 on Sunday, the fifth straight loss for the Timberwolves and their longest skid in more than three years. Curry added seven assists and four of his team’s season-high 20 steals after being listed as questionable to play because of knee soreness. Moses Moody …

For the fifth and final game of their road-trip, the Toronto Raptors faced the Oklahoma City Thunder, clinching their fourth-straight victory, to the tune of 103-101. This was the first of their two contests this season, but Oklahoma City hasn’t lost at home to Toronto since 2022, a streak that the Raptors have now finally been able to break. This …

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 21 of his 28 points in the first half as the Los Angeles Clippers built a 38-point lead in the second quarter and beat the Brooklyn Nets 126-89 on Sunday. James Harden scored 19 points, John Collins added 18, and Jordan Miller had 16. Ivica Zubac finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds …

CHICAGO (AP) — Defenseman Tobias Bjornfot scored his first two goals this season — giving him just three over seven NHL seasons and 139 career games — and the Florida Panthers defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1 on Sunday night for their third straight win. Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe connected 2:04 apart early in the third period and Sam Reinhart …

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Saddiq Bey and Zion Williamson each had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans squandered a 20-point lead before rebounding to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-95 on Sunday night. San Antonio held a 24-5 advantage to open the fourth quarter, but New Orleans closed the game on a 17-3 run to avoid …

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry’s career has been filled with several milestones and memorable moments. The latest milestone came Sunday when Curry entered the NBA’s history books as a top 20 all-time scorer. Advertisement Curry had 26 points, seven assists and four steals in a 111-85 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. During the game, Curry passed John Havlicek (26,395 …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Rookie Ben Kindel scored twice in the second period to lead the Penguins to a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday and a sweep of Pittsburgh’s four-game western Canada trip. Kindel, from nearby Coquitlam, British Columbia, had a large contingent of supporters on hand for his second multi-goal game. The 18-year-old had gone …

DENVER (AP) — Sean Payton conceded he will have second thoughts about his decision to pass up an easy field goal, as well as the play he called instead. The Denver Broncos and their fans now have the entire offseason to argue over which part of that critical fourth-and-1 play was worse. Advertisement Because Payton decided not to kick a …

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Stephen Halliday had two goals and an assist, Dylan Cozens also scored twice and the Ottawa Senators routed the road-weary Vegas Golden Knights 7-1 on Sunday night. Senators goalie Linus Ullmark returned to to the active roster from a personal leave, backing up Mads Sogaard. Ullmark was the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner. Advertisement Halliday scored his …