NBA

6:17 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN WASHINGTON — In June, the Golden State Warriors became just the second team in NBA history to clinch a title on the parquet floor of the TD Garden. Now, seven months later, the Warriors are one day away from returning to Boston since that day. “It was such a beautiful

5:00 PM ET ESPN News Services WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden celebrated the NBA champion Golden State Warriors at the White House on Tuesday. The Warriors have won four championships in eight years, but they didn’t visit the White House while Donald Trump was president. He publicly disinvited them after Stephen Curry, the team’s star,

3:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Twenty years after LeBron James was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, the No. 3 selection in the league’s most recent draft — Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. — told the Los Angeles Lakers star something to make him feel his age. “Hey,” Smith said

4:31 PM ET Hours after the NBA released its Last Two Minute Report for the Lakers‘ 113-112 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, determining that Russell Westbrook was not fouled by Joel Embiid on Los Angeles’ final offensive possession, LeBron James took to Twitter to share his frustration with the league’s officiating. Quote tweeting

6:15 PM ET ESPN News Services CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jayson Tatum knew he was sitting on 48 points entering the final minute of the Boston Celtics‘ Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday and briefly thought about backing the ball out and letting the clock run down with the outcome

9:57 AM ET Connor O’Halloran PARIS — The NBA is in discussions over hosting a preseason game in Africa for the first time, Basketball Africa League (BAL) president Amadou Gallo Fall told ESPN. The NBA has previously been involved in three exhibition games in Africa in 2015, 2017 and 2018 — all featuring top NBA

3:25 AM ET LOS ANGELES — For the second straight game, the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t close out a winnable game in the clutch. And for the second straight game, the Lakers were left lamenting a foul they believed went uncalled that affected the outcome. After Sunday’s 113-112 loss to Philadelphia, Russell Westbrook claimed Sixers

5:52 PM ET NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets‘ Ben Simmons was a late scratch for Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of back soreness. Simmons, who has now missed 11 games this season because of various injuries, had back surgery over the summer and has struggled to find a consistent rhythm during

11:59 AM ET Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green and forward Jae’Sean Tate have been suspended one game for leaving the bench area during an altercation with the Sacramento Kings, the NBA announced. The incident occurred early in the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ 139-114 road loss Friday, beginning after Houston’s Garrison Mathews fouled Sacramento’s Malik

10:10 PM ET ESPN News Services INDIANAPOLIS — Ja Morant had 23 points, 10 assists and another ferocious dunk as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Indiana Pacers 130-112 on Saturday night to extend the NBA’s longest current winning streak to nine games. Desmond Bane scored 25 points to lead the Grizzlies, who tied Denver for

5:17 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers hosted a pair of free agent centers, Meyers Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins, for a workout on Friday, according to coach Darvin Ham. “They both looked great,” Ham said after practice Saturday. “Whether or not we’re able to do something with them is a different

1:12 AM ET Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Domantas Sabonis had 19 points, a career-high 16 assists and 15 rebounds in his fourth triple-double of the season, and the Sacramento Kings beat the skidding Houston Rockets 139-114 on Friday night for their third straight win. The Kings (23-18) moved five games over .500 for the

9:42 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs hosted the largest crowd ever for an NBA regular-season game in their return to the Alamodome, with 68,323 on hand for Friday’s game against the Golden State Warriors The Spurs returned to their former home to celebrate their 50th anniversary season. Spurs Hall of

4:07 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Anderson Varejão has bounced back to the Cavaliers. One of the most popular players in Cleveland’s history, Varejão has been hired as a player development consultant and global ambassador for the team that he played with for 14 NBA seasons. Known for his hustle and frizzy hair, Varejão,

1:21 AM ET NEW YORK — Ben Simmons knows he’s got to be more aggressive offensively. The Brooklyn Nets big man has never doubted that he would get his offensive game back in order as he continues to shake off the rust from missing all of last season, but that particular point about needing to

12:55 AM ET PORTLAND — More than a year after an ACL tear in December 2021 ended his previous season, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio returned to the court Thursday, helping the Cavaliers to a 119-113 come-from-behind win over the host Portland Trail Blazers. Playing on a minutes limit, Rubio saw 10 minutes of action

7:04 AM ET LEBRON JAMES HAS shown no signs of slowing down as he rapidly approaches the NBA’s all-time scoring record long held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It seems like a safe bet that James, who recently celebrated his 38th birthday, will become the first player to break the 40,000-point barrier. He’s averaging 29.1 points per

2:06 AM ET Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a young Memphis Grizzlies fan had her prized basketball stolen, Ja Morant jumped in to ease the anguish. Ellie Hughes, an 11-year-old Grizzlies fan, was trying to get Morant’s attention for an autograph at Monday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs when two people swiped her