NEW YORK — Just how long can you hold a team scoreless to start an NBA game?

The Knicks were determined to find out hosting the Utah Jazz on Friday.

The all-time record belongs to the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, who held the 1987 Sacramento Kings scoreless until the 2:54 mark of the first quarter.

The Knicks came close to that mark, ...Read more

If there was any doubt, the scene on the Charlotte Hornets’ bench 90 minutes before the opening tip was thrown in the air squashed it, providing insight even before the official word was handed down about who would play.

After missing the initial two games of the Hornets’ road trip in New York, mostly because the team’s performance staff ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — The fifth-ranked UConn men’s basketball team took some time to warm up its engine before rolling to a 83-59 win over East Texas A&M at Gampel Pavilion on Friday night.

Sandwiched between a monster win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and a rematch against reigning national champion Florida, the Huskies (8-1) had just a seven-...Read more

ATLANTA — Rarely have these Nuggets faced the specific form of adversity they encountered Friday night, when the Hawks threatened to run them out of the gym.

They handled the challenge with a 20-0 fourth-quarter run and a 134-133 triumph over Atlanta, extending their franchise-record road winning streak to nine games.

On a roller coaster ...Read more

DETROIT — Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who is regarded as a legend in the Motor City, might have been at Little Caesars Arena, devising a game plan to slow down the Detroit Pistons. However, on Friday night, Billups will be miles away from the arena that displays his jersey in the rafters.

Billups, 49, was arrested and charged ...Read more

DETROIT — Duncan Robinson made his third 3-point field goal with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter. His basket not only tied the game at 110 but also helped the Detroit Pistons maintain their composure during a frustrating night with the officials.

A few possessions later, Robinson connected on another significant 3-point field goal, which led ...Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Kentucky Wildcats got off to an unimaginably bad start in Bridgestone Arena.

And they finished the night with the same result as all three of their previous games against ranked opponents this season. A loss.

No. 11 Gonzaga beat the 18th-ranked Wildcats, 94-59, on Friday, handing Mark Pope’s team an embarrassing ...Read more

BOSTON — Fans hoping to see LeBron James and Luka Doncic play in Boston for the only time this season left TD Garden disappointed Friday night.

But the crowd’s loss was the Celtics’ gain.

Boston had no trouble dispatching the short-handed Lakers, who were playing without James (sciatica/foot), Doncic (personal reasons) and ex-Celtic ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson, who has played in just two of nine games during his freshman season because of a strained hamstring, should return for Sunday’s Border War men’s basketball showdown against Missouri in Kansas City, KU coach Bill Self said Friday.

Peterson, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound native of Canton, Ohio...Read more

BOSTON — One night after assisting the game-winning basket against the Toronto Raptors, superstar forward LeBron James will miss the Lakers' rivalry game against the Boston Celtics, the team announced Friday.

James was downgraded to out less than three hours before the game as he manages sciatica in his right side and joint arthritis in his ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Until now, these past few years of Miami Heat speculation when it came to Giannis Antetokounmpo largely was fool’s errand.

Until now.

Because for all the previous lust — and it was ample — there was no reason for small-market Milwaukee to even consider moving the most coveted asset of any small-market NBA team, a bona ...Read more

TORONTO — Of course.

Stuck between trying to extend his record streak of 1,297 consecutive games with 10 or more points or passing to an open Rui Hachimura to take the potential winning shot, LeBron James made the right play.

Because that’s what he’s done for 23 years in the NBA.

James’ assist on Hachimura’s buzzer-beating three-...Read more

TORONTO — The King’s reign is over, but the Lakers started a new, more important winning streak.

LeBron James’ 18-year, 1,297-game streak of 10 or more points ended on Thursday in the Lakers’ 123-120 win over the Toronto Raptors as the 40-year-old finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting.

James last scored in single digits on Jan...Read more

NEW YORK — Noah Clowney delivered another breakout performance with 29 points and career highs in free throws made (10) and attempted (12), but it still wasn’t enough. The Utah Jazz surged in the fourth quarter to snap Brooklyn’s two-game win streak and send the Nets to a 5-17 record after a 123-110 win.

And for most of the night, it ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS – The Timberwolves didn’t learn their lesson from a lackluster victory Tuesday against the Western Conference’s worst team.

In a rematch between the Wolves and Pelicans, the Wolves again lacked an interest in playing consistent defense, but they did enough to come away with a 125-116 victory, their fourth consecutive victory. ...Read more

If there was an ideal night for Jaylen Brown to miss his first game of the season, Thursday was it.

The Celtics didn’t need their No. 1 option to get past the last-place Wizards, coasting to a 146-101 victory at Capital One Arena. It was the third straight win and eighth in the last 10 games for Boston, which improved to 13-9 and climbed to ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA – Missing their two best players and facing a Sixers team wearing throwback 2001 jerseys, the Warriors paid tribute to the early-2000s Warriors by losing 99-98 and falling under .500, albeit in a spirited effort.

VJ Edgecombe won the game for the Sixers on a put-back, and De’Anthony Melton’s last-second layup on the leak-out ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — After surviving a fiery car wreck last spring, then injuring his knee last summer, USC star freshman Alijah Arenas could finally return to the court as soon as January, according to Trojans coach Eric Musselman.

Musselman said Thursday that Arenas' rehab from knee surgery was "going phenomenally."

The five-star freshman's ...Read more

Perhaps Steve Kerr is trying to manifest a reality that doesn’t exist.

Because if the Warriors coach has said it once this season, he’s said it a dozen times: He believes this group can be a top-tier defensive unit. He says it with conviction. He says it like it’s a foregone conclusion, just waiting for the rest of us to catch up.

I’m ...Read more