NBA

12:18 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — All it took for the Boston Celtics to end their season-long seven-game homestand with a victory Friday night was a 17-point comeback to force overtime, and the best game of Jayson Tatum‘s career. The 23-year-old All-Star finished with a career-high 53 points — including 35 points in the

7:38 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks were without all five of their usual starters Friday night as they hosted the Charlotte Hornets a night after losing at Dallas. Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out his fourth straight game with a sore left knee. He missed his sixth game in the

3:02 AM ET The LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns have played twice this season, and there have been contentious moments resulting in technical fouls, flagrant fouls, ejections and plenty of “chirping.” After Paul George scored 33 points to help the Clippers take a 113-103 win over the Suns at Staples Center in a game that

1:38 AM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said Thursday that he believes his tweets about women’s sports and the pay-gap with male athletes have been “extremely misconstrued,” saying in part, “I am on their side.” Green spoke about the topic one day after U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe ripped his remarks,

12:31 PM ET Toronto Raptors guards Fred VanVleet and DeAndre’ Bembry and Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker have been suspended one game each without pay for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation during the Lakers’ 110-101 win on Tuesday. Raptors forward OG Anunoby and Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell were fined for

8:52 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Dr. Benjamin Paolucci, a longtime team physician for the Detroit Pistons who was with the franchise for each of its three NBA championships, has died. He was 84. The Pistons said Paolucci died Wednesday in Florida. Paolucci retired from the organization in 2015 after serving the Pistons’ medical

12:43 AM ET After missing almost two months because of a left hamstring strain, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant quieted any lingering doubts about his health as the playoffs near: He looked like same superstar he has always been. Durant, coming off the bench in his return from a 23-game absence, scored 17 points on

2:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Less than a minute into his first game as a member of the LA Clippers, DeMarcus Cousins maneuvered his way around Enes Kanter, tapped an offensive rebound to himself and scored on a putback right in front of a delighted Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Making his debut for the

7:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN THE SECOND THE basketball slips into Lonzo Ball‘s hands, he’s got one target in mind. It’s March 1 and the New Orleans Pelicans are down by six to the Utah Jazz early in the third quarter. After a Mike Conley 3, Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram takes the inbounds pass and

2:28 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry has won two MVPs and three NBA championships, but those who have watched him closely for years believe he continues to play the best basketball of his life during a year in which his team is struggling to hold on to a

8:03 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star James Harden played just four minutes before he was ruled out for the remainder of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks because of right hamstring tightness. Harden’s brief return came after he missed the Nets’ past two games while dealing with the same tightness.

7:00 AM ET How does the NBA play-in tournament work and which teams will participate during the 2020-21 season? The league first tested out the play-in round during the 2020 NBA restart in Orlando, Florida, with the Portland Trail Blazers topping the Memphis Grizzlies to get the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. In

5:43 PM ET The LA Clippers have signed DeMarcus Cousins to a 10-day contract for some much-needed depth at center. Cousins cleared health and safety protocols required for any free agent signing with a new team. The Clippers need a backup center and will take a close look at the veteran Cousins. Starting center Serge

7:00 AM ET The battle for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be a three-team race. The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks are separated by just 1.5 games. The rest of the conference, however, is in a logjam. Right now — with the No. 4 through No.

7:04 AM ET NBA Insiders The Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to reach the NBA Finals. On paper, no teams come close to matching the star power of Brooklyn’s trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving or L.A.’s dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But plenty

8:34 PM ET LOS ANGELES — It didn’t take Paul George long to see what Rajon Rondo can do for the LA Clippers. Rondo made his Clippers debut Sunday, playing 13 minutes off the bench in a 104-86 win over the undermanned Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. While Rondo had just two points, three

12:46 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday has agreed to a four-year, $135 million extension that includes bonuses that could take the deal to $160 million, agent Jason Glushon told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal includes a player option, according to Glushon. Holiday joined the Bucks in a four-team trade in November, providing shooting

7:42 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is returning to the lineup Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing the past 10 games with a bone bruise in his left knee. Embiid, who suffered the injury during an awkward fall on a dunk in the third quarter of Philadelphia’s win over