Detroit — The Detroit Pistons battled back from a 14-point deficit and made several attempts to close the gap on the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Despite gaining strong momentum early in the fourth quarter, their efforts fell short, resulting in a 111-104 loss at Little Caesars Arena.

With the loss, the Pistons' overall record fell to 32-...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — On a night the Michigan men’s basketball program celebrated its past, the Wolverines gave fans another reason to cheer on the present.

After raising Trey Burke’s No. 3 jersey to the Crisler Center rafters, No. 3 Michigan used a pivotal second-half run to take down Ohio State, 74-62, in Friday’s rivalry game.

Yaxel ...Read more

The Celtics escaped Brooklyn with a stunning victory Friday night thanks to Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard and clutch plays by a pair of 2025 draft picks.

Rookie Hugo Gonzalez drilled a game-tying 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining in overtime, and Boston pulled away in the second OT to defeat the Nets, 130-126, at the Barclays Center.

Brown...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Make it the honored six.

Trey Burke, the former Michigan star who led the Wolverines to the 2013 national title game, had his No. 3 jersey raised to the Crisler Center rafters at halftime of Friday’s contest against Ohio State.

Burke, a 6-foot guard from Columbus, Ohio, is the first men’s basketball player to receive ...Read more

NEW YORK — The biggest thing standing between Rick Pitino and the 900th win of his Division I coaching career is his son.

Pitino, who is one win away from that round milestone, and St. John’s are set to face Xavier on Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati.

His 43-year-old son Richard Pitino is in his first year as Xavier’s head coach.

“I ...Read more

MIAMI — Retired Miami police officer Marcos Tomas Perez has been sentenced to three years in prison and must repay the Miami Heat about $1.9 million after pleading guilty to selling hundreds of stolen Heat jerseys, including those worn in games by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Perez, 62, a former Heat and NBA security employee, was also ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James downplayed any suggestion of a rift between him and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss on Thursday following an ESPN report that detailed how the now-minority owner of the team had started to turn on the Lakers superstar.

"Quite frankly, I don't really get involved in that, or the reports, or whatever the case may be," ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers faced each other at Intuit Dome on Dec. 20, both teams were struggling. After that game, they began to move in opposite directions.

The Lakers were 19-7 before that game and the Clippers stood at 6-21. Since the Clippers’ win that night, they’ve gone 14-3 — and the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — There was a familiar cadence to the Timberwolves’ matchup against the Bulls on Thursday, Jan. 22.

Like their Jan. 20 loss at Utah, the Wolves built a double-digit lead against a struggling opponent. They let their defensive focus slack and before they knew it, the game tightened. The Wolves suffered a bad loss against the Jazz...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — After the Magic split a pair of games against the Grizzlies in Europe, coach Jamahl Mosley emphasized the need for his team to start games off stronger when it returned home this week.

Hosting the Hornets on Thursday night, Orlando failed to accomplish such a start, trailing by 15 after the first quarter, and found itself ...Read more

DALLAS — Jonathan Kuminga’s return to the Warriors' rotation might have been cut short after just two games.

During a timeout, the Warriors forward walked back to the locker room with team athletic trainer Drew Yoder with 3:52 left in the second quarter of the Warriors’ game against the host Mavericks on Thursday night. The Warriors ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Nuggets fans have been conditioned to experience extreme paranoia this season whenever a player reaches for his leg or shows even the slightest pain in a grimace.

A collective groan accompanied Peyton Watson down the court Thursday night after he popped up from the baseline with a limp. In a drowsy environment at Capital One ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Self watched with great interest from his west Lawrence, Kan., home late Tuesday night as his Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team beat Colorado, 75-69, in a highly competitive Big 12 battle.

Self, KU’s 23rd-year head coach, played the role of ESPN viewer after awarding acting-coaching duties to assistant Jacque ...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In case it wasn’t already obvious this wasn’t just another night, as evidenced by the extra table at midcourt with the logo of a well-known cable television entity, the sight of Kon Knueppel chatting with broadcast talent cemented it.

The Charlotte Hornets rookie sensation was surrounded by Tim Legler and Richard ...Read more

BOSTON — Last week’s Celtics-Pacers matchup was decided by a controversial call in the closing seconds.

Wednesday’s rematch required no such dramatics.

Boston dispatched last-place Indiana, 119-104, at TD Garden behind 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists from Jaylen Brown and 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from Sam Hauser, who went 5 ...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks didn’t need long to turn this one into a statement.

With Madison Square Garden buzzing and both teams searching for traction amid January skids, the Knicks’ stars brought the urgency from the opening tip, blitzing the Brooklyn Nets early and never looking back in a 120-66 win Wednesday night to snap a four-...Read more

Maryland men’s basketball snapped back to reality.

Three days after gifting Buzz Williams with his first victory in the Big Ten in the coach’s debut season with the team, the Terps waere saddled with another conference setback, 89-70, against No. 11 Illinois Wednesday night before an announced 15,201 at the State Farm Center in Champaign, ...Read more

DETROIT — Detroit Pistons assistant coach Luke Walton remembers looking up at the Staples Center scoreboard, wondering if it was "broken." The moment came with four seconds left in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-104 win over the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006.

Walton had just greeted Kobe Bryant with a fist bump in celebration of his latest ...Read more