LOS ANGELES — The familiar faces on the court at Crypto.com Arena, and what will be a long-lasting connection between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, didn’t take away from the spirit of competition.

Because even with Anthony Davis playing his first road game against his former team since the trade that sent him to Dallas and ...Read more

Before Friday’s matchup between the Magic and the Pistons inside Little Caesars Arena, Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley was asked whether or not the contest felt similar to a playoff setting due to the stakes of the NBA Cup.

“A little bit,” Mosley said at the time.

He wasn’t far off when the Magic and the Pistons battled back and forth all ...Read more

NEW YORK — With 3:58 left in a two-point game on Friday night, Madison Square Garden watched its Knicks teeter on the edge.

They had just detonated a 13-point run to open the fourth quarter — a burst that blew the game wide open — only to give nearly all of it back in a matter of minutes. Now, clinging to a one-possession lead, the Knicks...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings fans have expressed their displeasure in a variety of ways this season while watching their team go 5-14 with an eight-game losing streak and several embarrassing blowout losses.

They’ve booed the Kings off the court and shouted “sell the team” at Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, but their frustrations ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers will not use their special NBA Cup court during a group stage game Friday against the Dallas Mavericks after the team flagged concerns that it was too slippery.

After the Lakers debuted the special yellow court on Tuesday in a win over the Clippers, Lakers superstar Luka Doncic said during his postgame news conference...Read more

NEW YORK — The fifth-ranked UConn men’s basketball team rolled to a 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois in a Black Friday rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight in the SentinelOne Showdown at Madison Square Garden.

There was no 30-0 run, but the Huskies built a double-figure lead about eight minutes in and never let it go, securing the wire-to-wire ...Read more

CHICAGO — There had not yet been a night when Duke had to lean on Cameron Boozer, to ask him to be the star he is supposed to be. Most games, he’s played fewer than 30 minutes, still scoring more than 20 points in three of those, but generally idling as the Blue Devils cruise.

Then came Thursday against Arkansas, when no one else seemed to ...Read more

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Miami men’s basketball coach Jai Lucas admitted following his team’s 72-62 loss to Brigham Young at Thursday’s ESPN Events Invitational that he had never seen quite a shot-blocking exhibition like the one BYU’s Keba Keita put on.

The athletic 6-foot-8 Keita, a native of Bamkako, Mali, swatted seven Miami shots...Read more

TCU men’s basketball pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the college basketball season by taking down the defending national champion and No. 10-ranked Florida, 84-80, on Thanksgiving in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.

Brock Harding lifted TCU (4-2) to the massive win by knocking down a clutch bucket with 48 seconds left ...Read more

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A “schedule from hell” has yet to burn Michigan State’s men’s basketball team.

First came Arkansas, which fell at Breslin Center. Then Kentucky, at Madison Square Garden last week, which fell in a blowout. Thanksgiving at the Fort Myers Tip-Off brought all Michigan State could eat in North Carolina. And yet the ...Read more

A junior college basketball player in Oklahoma has died after suffering a head injury during a game last weekend, his school announced.

Ethan Dietz, a 20-year-old sophomore at Connors State College, was pronounced dead Tuesday after suffering the injury on Nov. 22, the school said in a Facebook post.

“Ethan exemplified what it means to be a ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors had six players in double figures but still fell to the Houston Rockets 104-100 on Wednesday evening at Chase Center as Steph Curry suffered a poor shooting night and left the floor limping late in the fourth quarter.

Curry scored 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, committed six turnovers and headed to the locker room...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Timberwolves wanted to put their two most painful losses in the rearview mirror Wednesday night. Only problem was the one-loss Oklahoma City Thunder awaited them in the teams’ first matchup since the Western Conference finals.

The Wolves gave the defending champions more than most teams have given them this season, but ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — The Wolverines delivered a TKO in the first two rounds of the Players Era to reach the title fight.

All that stood in No. 7 Michigan’s way of a tournament trophy and an additional $1 million NIL compensation was No. 12 Gonzaga.

But what was expected to be a heavyweight bout turned into another one-sided smackdown as Michigan ...Read more

MIAMI — Nothing about the Miami Heat’s first 17 games was about hero ball, with an equal-opportunity approach fueling unexpected early-season success.

The past two games, however, have been a different story, with Herro ball both needed and impactful.

Leading the Heat in scoring for the second time in as many appearances since returning ...Read more

Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball player Elmarko Jackson is rarely mentioned by name on social media.

The redshirt-sophomore guard had struggled in his return to the court this season after missing all of last year with a torn patellar tendon.

It had gotten to the point where some Jayhawks fans, perhaps worried the struggling KU guard could ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — With one of the “Unforgettables” on the opposing sideline Wednesday night and the other three in attendance, a couple of kids from Kentucky had career nights for the Wildcats in Rupp Arena.

Trent Noah and Malachi Moreno were among the big contributors in UK’s 104-54 victory over Tennessee Tech, the Cats’ final tuneup ...Read more