PITTSBURGH — Pitt coach Jeff Capel played at Duke, coached at Duke and was fully immersed with everything in the Duke basketball program.

Capel also believed he knew what to expect from Duke on Tuesday at the Petersen Events Center.

“They’ll be loaded for bear,” the Panthers coach said.

Not quite. While the No. 4 Blue Devils wanted to...Read more

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets are a cat burglar’s dream team. They’ve completely forgotten how to shut the door, let alone lock the darn thing.

“This is a tough loss,” coach David Adelman told reporters after Cleveland escaped with a soul-crushing 119-117 win at Ball Arena late Monday.

“It’s one of those losses you’ll remember ...Read more

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Given the emotional intensity of Saturday night — what with UNC’s best buzzer-beater since Luke Maye’s shot in 2017 and the subsequent celebrations on the court (twice) and on Franklin Street — a bit of a hangover shouldn’t have been surprising.

But Tuesday night was more than a simple lull. Instead, the No. 11 ...Read more

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns saved the day — but he couldn’t stay on the floor long enough to reap the benefits of his own heroics.

After Jalen Brunson missed three consecutive attempts to put the Knicks up late in regulation against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, Towns was fouled on a put-back attempt on Landry Shamet’s pull-up 3 and ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will miss his 18th game of the season on Tuesday night, confirming that the 41-year-old Lakers’ star will fall short of 65 total games and therefore end his bid at postseason awards as well as his 21-year streak of receiving All-NBA honors.

Players, albeit with some exceptions, must play 65 games to be eligible ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Fewer than 30 minutes until tipoff Monday at Allen Fieldhouse, the night was primed for about as good as it gets in regular-season college basketball: A national TV audience awaited, and 32 NBA scouts from 22 teams were in the stands at the loudest and most captivating venue in the land.

All in zealous anticipation of surging...Read more

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum was back on the court Monday, wearing a green jersey with his signature No. 0.

The jersey said “Maine,” not “Boston,” and the court was at the Celtics’ Auerbach Center practice facility, not TD Garden. Speaking with reporters one day later, he remained tight-lipped on when or if he plans to return to game ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — It was a little jarring to see the reaction that Jared McCain got the other night when he checked into a game against the Houston Rockets for his first minutes as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The home crowd sure didn’t sound like one that thought the Sixers had sold high on McCain, as Daryl Morey contended the ...Read more

The newest Cavalier and the face of Cleveland’s franchise broke Denver hearts at the last minute.

James Harden buried an improbable game-tying 3-pointer with a hand in his face and 31.4 seconds left, then Donovan Mitchell barreled into Jamal Murray to draw a blocking foul with 0.9 seconds to go, putting him at the line for a pair of decisive ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – Warriors-Grizzlies: a game once synonymous with animus and mutual disdain. Defined by playoff series, sound bites and hard fouls on national TV.

But the visitors from Memphis were a husk of that outfit, a cavalcade of new faces and Golden State castoffs being observed by the ghost of Ja Morant garbed in street clothes. But ...Read more

It’s hard to fathom what happened Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

That’s become a theme for this Kansas men’s basketball team.

This squad doesn’t care if they’re the underdogs, they just find a way to win. The Jayhawks didn’t even have star freshman Darryn Peterson against undefeated and No. 1 Arizona in a game they were ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch mentioned before the team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night that he and the coaching staff were taking a positive approach in light of the Wolves’ recent funk. He said they were trying to remind the players of how good of a team they can be.

For a night, at least, the ...Read more

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum has ticked another box on his Achilles comeback checklist.

In a team statement, the Celtics announced Tatum would be “assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice at the Auerbach Center” on Monday afternoon. Maine is Boston’s G League team.

After the practice, Tatum “will be immediately ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Detroit Pistons ended the Charlotte Hornets' nine-game winning streak with a fight-filled 110-104 victory inside Spectrum Center on Monday.

The game was overshadowed by a fight that broke out midway through the third quarter. At the 7:09 mark of the third quarter, Hornets center Moussa Diabate fouled Jalen Duren, who was...Read more

NEW YORK — Michael Porter Jr. was out. Egor Dëmin was, too. For most of this season, that combination has spelled trouble for the Brooklyn Nets but Monday felt different.

Behind forceful nights from Nic Claxton, who scored a career-high 28 points, and Noah Clowney, who added 22, and with three rookies taking full advantage of their minutes, ...Read more

MIAMI – The low point of this Miami Heat season?

Welcome to it, when Erik Spoelstra’s team on Monday night lost to a team that was trying to lose.

Given every opportunity to string together only their second winning streak since early January, the Heat disastrously declined the gift, falling 115-111 to the Utah Jazz at Kaseya Center.

...Read more

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — N.C. State basketball coach Will Wade, wearing a tired and somewhat resigned expression, looked at the videoboard and made a “T” sign with his hands 76 seconds into the second half. Timeout.

Wade was trying to stop the snowball, but it was too late.

No. 24 Louisville, after shooting 8 of 11 from 3 in the first half, ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic welcomed back Franz Wagner to Kia Center Monday, and his return sparked a big third quarter that boosted his team past the Milwaukee Bucks.

Orlando captured its third straight victory, 118-99, over the Bucks behind a combined 51 points from Anthony Black (26) and Desmond Bane (25).

The game swung in the ...Read more