Thursday night at Chase Center was a cold splash of reality right to the face:

Despite the beautiful arena and the constant development around it, the Golden State Warriors have officially moved into basketball’s worst neighborhood.

The Celtics strolled in and methodically dismantled the Dubs. Even with a little garbage-time hustle, the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For just the 11th time in 55 games this season, the Lakers had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sharing the court together.

They are the core of the Los Angeles Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together for far too much. In their first game since the All-...Read more

Thursday’s blowout in Cleveland lingered, but Friday offered a chance to respond. A chance to compete against the defending NBA champions. And for stretches, the Nets did exactly that.

It just wasn’t enough.

Despite a sharper start and a spirited third-quarter push, Brooklyn fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-86, at Paycom Center, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves enter the final third of their season with the third toughest schedule in the league, by opponent winning percentage.

There aren’t many gimmes the rest of the way, but one of them came in their first game out of the All-Star break against the Dallas Mavericks, who were without an injured Cooper Flagg, the top ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings were eager to see De’Andre Hunter play alongside Keegan Murray after acquiring him in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that won’t happen any time soon.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Friday that Hunter had season-ending surgery on his left eye, confirming a report from NBA ...Read more

NEW YORK — The NBA’s push to curb tanking shifted from theory to urgency Thursday, a change that feels especially relevant for the Nets.

Commissioner Adam Silver informed the league’s 30 general managers that the NBA intends to implement anti-tanking rule changes as soon as next season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The message ...Read more

DENVER — The Nuggets began the season with eyes on the Thunder. They should have been on Victor.

Victor Wembanyama is no longer the future. The San Antonio Spurs center is the present. And he is not going anywhere.

This is getting ridiculous. It is getting old.

The top superstars keep getting younger. And the Nuggets keep getting injured.

...Read more

NEW YORK — For the first time all season, No. 17 St. John’s is in the driver’s seat for a Big East championship.

The Red Storm enter Saturday afternoon’s home game against Creighton in sole possession of first place in the conference, having pulled ahead of No. 5 UConn by a half-game this week.

But with five games remaining on its ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — UCLA coach Mick Cronin apologized Friday for a pair of outbursts from earlier in the week and assured that he's still "a good fit" for the Bruins.

"I know I'm not bigger than the brand," Cronin said. "The brand matters, the school matters. The last thing I want to do is bring negative publicity to our school. And sometimes — ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kendall Phills saw the video of the LaMelo Ball car crash Wednesday, and it all came flooding back.

A high-profile Charlotte Hornet, involved in a high-profile wreck in a high-performance car.

Twisted metal. Scattered debris. Police cars. Gathering crowds.

The difference, of course, was quite literally the difference ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — There was a time when a coach calling on fans to show up and be loud for the next big game was considered, you know, a coach calling on fans to show up and be louder.

Pretty standard fare. At UConn, this old concept went viral with a few unusual twists this week. An opposing coach, Georgetown’s always-unpredictable Ed ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Kristaps Porzingis era in Golden State is off to an inauspicious start.

In their first game since acquiring the towering stretch five, the Warriors fell behind by as many as 34 points and trailed by double-digits the entire second half of a 121-110 loss to the Boston Celtics. And, for the most part, the deficit was accrued...Read more

BOSTON — The City of Beverly Hills on Thursday issued a formal apology to Jaylen Brown for shutting down an event of his because of what it called “inaccurate information.”

The Celtics star thanked the city for the apology but criticized the Beverly Hills Police Department for its handling of the incident. Officers told Brown at the time ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Upon hearing star point guard LaMelo Ball had been involved in a two-car accident in uptown, Charles Lee was as curious as everybody else.

“The first thing when you hear about any type of accident is you hope all parties involved are OK, and they’re healthy and they’re safe,” the Charlotte Hornets coach said. “He ...Read more

NEW YORK — After the All-Star break, the Detroit Pistons continued their strong performance, demonstrating why they hold the best winning percentage in the league.

Inside Madison Square Garden, the Pistons won their seventh game in eight tries, a 126-111 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

Cade Cunningham delivered an MVP-...Read more

Cleveland offered the benchmark Thursday night, and the Nets quickly saw the difference.

Brooklyn fell, 112-84, to the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena, dropping to 15-38 and snapping the brief momentum created by back-to-back wins before the All-Star break. The Nets never led, and what unfolded felt less like a competitive game and more like a ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors received some mildly encouraging news on an otherwise concerning injury situation surrounding their ailing superstar.

Golden State announced in a press release on Thursday evening that Steph Curry underwent an MRI on his right knee, and that results came back negative for any sort of structural damage. However, he...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers had just completed practice Thursday with a full and healthy squad when Luka Doncic strolled over to speak with the media.

Doncic had played only five minutes Sunday for Team World in the All-Star Game because of a lingering left hamstring strain. He missed the previous four Lakers games.

With the Lakers' season ...Read more