CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Hornets coach Charles Lee reflected on the noticeable shift.

His team is creating an unmistakable murmur throughout Charlotte and beyond. Thanks to the season’s resurgence behind the team’s young core — spearheaded by star guard LaMelo Ball, rising swingman Brandon Miller and Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Knueppel �...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — A man of few words, Nikola Jokic was candid and concise with his thoughts on the Luguentz Dort flagrant foul that provoked him to get in Dort’s face Friday night.

“Unnecessary move and a necessary reaction,” the Nuggets center said. “There is no such thing — I think there’s not supposed to be those things on a ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Just like it was in the first game a month ago, the Kentucky-Vanderbilt basketball rematch was a lopsided affair from the start Saturday afternoon.

This time around, it was the Cats on the right side of the score.

UK jumped on the 25th-ranked Commodores in the opening minutes and never let them get within striking distance ...Read more

DURHAM, N.C. — It was the final seconds of the first half Saturday at Duke, and Virginia was setting up for a last shot.

But the Cavaliers never got one up. Duke’s Isaiah Evans first cut off Chance Mallory’s attempt at a drive, then hounded the freshman guard into losing the ball out of bounds.

It was that kind of day, more about ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — Alex Karaban wasn’t going to let Seton Hall spoil his day.

In an emotional final game at Gampel Pavilion, after he became the first active player placed in the Huskies of Honor, Karaban came through as he’s done so many times before. The Pirates, making their best effort at an upset, went up seven with less than eight ...Read more

OKLAHOMA CITY — Once in a blue moon, Nikola Jokic likes to remind people he is a 7-foot, 285-pound Serbian man.

He decided that Lu Dort needed a reminder Friday during the fourth quarter of a white-knuckle thriller between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jokic confronted Dort after getting tripped in the backcourt, leading to a...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Whenever Anthony Edwards does something on the court, he shows emotion. Specifically, he shows emotion in the immediate aftermath of the event occurring.

Often he has trouble controlling his reaction in that three-to-five seconds afterward. That’s one reason why Edwards got so many technical fouls last season; he knew the ...Read more

BOSTON — Drained at the end of a four-game West Coast swing, the Celtics turned in their worst shooting performance of the season in Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Two nights later, they delivered one of the best in NBA history.

Back on the TD Garden parquet for the first time in 15 days, Boston walloped the Brooklyn Nets, 148-111...Read more

DETROIT — This week had the potential to clarify the Detroit Pistons’ status as championship contenders. For Cade Cunningham, it was a "week full of smoke." However, the Pistons' biggest challenge of the season ended with them posting a 2-1 record after a 122-119 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Little Caesars ...Read more

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Michigan Wolverines had three chances to claim the outright Big Ten regular-season title.

Turns out, all they needed was one.

In a top-10 tilt between two of the conference’s best, No. 3 Michigan proved to be a class above No. 10 Illinois in Friday’s 84-70 win at State Farm Center to ensure a first-place finish atop...Read more

The first quarter belonged to Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The second quarter belonged to Karl-Anthony Towns. And OG Anunoby put the finishing touches on the Knicks' best performance since the All-Star break — a 127-98 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) on Friday.

Hart scored 10 points in the game’s opening ...Read more

MIAMI — Two thoughts were unavoidable in watching Miami Heat godfather Pat Riley honored with a statue this week by his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

1. Great facial likeness; everything on point from the raised fist to the Armani suit. And as we learned last year with the properly mocked Dwyane Wade statue, a flattering or at least ...Read more

CHICAGO — Unaware of the typical postgame locker room scene spearheaded by LaMelo Ball, Coby White’s initial reactions were hilarious.

Following White’s debut for the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, and his new franchise establishing a record for consecutive road wins, he was immersed in the full Ball experience. While White was ...Read more

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A dozen years. Seven games. Four thousand, three hundred and eighty-nine days since Michigan State walked out of Mackey Arena with a win.

All over.

For the first time since 2014, Michigan State downed Purdue on the road Thursday at Mackey Arena, 76-74, in a game decided on the final shot. Big contributions from the ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Playing in their first home game following the NBA All-Star break, the Magic were aiming to carry over the momentum gained from their 3-1 West Coast road trip when they hosted the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at Kia Center.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosely‘s squad, however, gave up a double-digit to lead to Houston and fell, ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Nets fought, showed some life and even made a run that briefly woke up the crowd, but the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed looked the part in the end. Brooklyn fell to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 126-110 at Barclays Center, slipping to 15-43 and extending its losing streak to six games.

Fans arrived hoping for ...Read more

The victories over the New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies that gave the Heat the three-game winning streak going into the week were window dressing against going-nowhere teams.

The last two games, including Thursday night’s 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena, were the reality check for Erik ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey became the 76ers’ all-time leader in made 3-pointers in the first quarter of Thursday’s home game against the Miami Heat.

Maxey needed four makes entering the game to pass Allen Iverson, who made 885 3-pointers in his Sixers career. Maxey needed less than six seasons to eclipse that career mark.

Maxey buried ...Read more

The Celtics stalled out in the final game of their Western Conference road trip, losing to the Denver Nuggets 103-84 on Wednesday night.

The ugly loss featured Boston’s worst shooting performance of the season, as Joe Mazzulla’s club converted just 34.9% of its field-goal attempts and 27.9% of its 3-pointers.

It was the first time a ...Read more