NBA

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

10:49 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Reserve center Dewayne Dedmon has been suspended without pay by the Miami Heat for one game for conduct detrimental to the club. The move came one night after Dedmon had an outburst after being subbed out of a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He exchanged words with

1:43 PM ET After a full year of rehabilitating an ACL tear in his left knee, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio is targeting a return against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, sources told ESPN. Rubio will practice Wednesday, and if all goes well, he will play in Portland on Thursday, the sources said. The

7:50 AM ET Since the turn of the new year the Denver Nuggets have beaten the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and LA Clippers, and have taken over the top spot in the Western Conference alongside the Memphis Grizzlies. Two-time defending MVP Nikola Jokic is putting together his third legitimate campaign for the award and is

1:01 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Heading into Tuesday night’s game, the Golden State Warriors were confident Stephen Curry‘s return would be just what they needed to build on the momentum they had established during their homestand without him. Instead, the Warriors looked like a similar version of the team they were when

3:14 PM ET Stephen Curry will return and start Tuesday night for the Golden State Warriors against the Phoenix Suns, sources told ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. The star point guard’s minute load is still being decided, the sources said. Curry missed the Warriors’ past 11 games with a left shoulder subluxation. On Friday, Curry said his

5:29 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry is poised to return to the court Tuesday. The Warriors say Curry, who has missed the past 11 games with a left shoulder subluxation, is likely to be back for the team’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns. Warriors general manager Bob Myers and coach Steve

12:36 PM ET The pain in Anthony Davis‘ right foot continues to subside and the Los Angeles Lakers star plans to begin the ramp-up process to return to play when the team returns to L.A. this week, league sources told ESPN. Davis missed his 13th straight game Monday — a 122-109 loss to the Nuggets

11:55 AM ET Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant is expected to be sidelined for approximately a month, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday. The Nets announced Monday that Durant was diagnosed with an isolated MCL sprain of his right knee and will be reevaluated in two weeks. Durant missed six weeks with a

7:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN THE TORONTO RAPTORS are a rarity in the modern NBA: a franchise with options. Plenty of teams have sold off their draft picks to chase contention immediately. Plenty more have moved their stars to pursue futures built around young talent and the NBA draft. But Toronto is stuck somewhere in

8:08 PM ET MIAMI — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant was ruled out of the team’s 102-101 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday after injuring his right knee in the third quarter. Durant is expected to undergo an MRI on Monday, according to Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. The injury occurred with 1:05 left

12:01 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson was a late scratch for the Golden State Warriors‘ 115-101 loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday after experiencing left knee soreness in pregame warmups. Thompson’s left knee is the same leg as his torn ACL from 2019. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the training

3:10 AM ET SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with a 136-134 victory over the Kings on Saturday, but not without some controversy. Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox was called for a foul on the Lakers’ Dennis Schroder with 3.1 seconds remaining, with the score tied

12:45 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — After starting the season unavailable to play in back-to-back games while coming off arthroscopic left knee surgery in the offseason, Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine‘s performance in Chicago’s back-to-back this weekend — 41-points and 11 3s in a victory in Philadelphia on Friday and 36 points and six

11:30 PM ET ESPN News Services DENVER — For the second time this week, a Denver Nuggets game was delayed because of a crooked rim. Officials stopped play with 11:22 left in the fourth quarter Friday night with the Nuggets leading Cleveland 96-82 when Cavaliers players noticed the same rim that caused a 35-minute delay

12:27 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Despite finishing with a 7-for-22 shooting night, Kyrie Irving couldn’t help but smile as he walked off the floor following a 108-102 win over the Pelicans on Friday at Smoothie King Center. As has been the case throughout his star-crossed career, the 30-year-old hit the biggest shot of the

1:01 AM ET LOS ANGELES — With the Lakers heading to Sacramento this weekend and LeBron James needing fewer than 500 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time mark of 38,397 points, James reflected on the time he scored his first NBA points in the home of the Kings. “I knew that I was ready for

11:51 AM ET DALLAS — The Mavericks are waiving guard Kemba Walker a day before the four-time All-Star’s salary would have become guaranteed for the rest of the season, the team announced Friday morning. Walker, 32, averaged 8.0 points and 2.1 assists in nine games with the Mavericks. He signed for the veteran’s minimum in