NBA

3:00 AM ET LOS ANGELES — It wouldn’t be a stretch to describe D’Angelo Russell‘s return to the lineup in the Lakers’ 122-112 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday as perfect. Russell, who missed L.A.’s previous six games with a sprained right ankle, scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter —

12:48 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — When Joel Embiid caught the ball with 7 seconds to go in Friday night’s game at Wells Fargo Center between his Philadelphia 76ers and the Portland Trail Blazers, he had one thing on his mind: Get to his favorite spot on the floor — the free throw line

3:23 PM ET Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will not play in Saturday night’s road game against the Memphis Grizzlies because of his left thigh strain, and Kyrie Irving‘s status is in question after he missed Friday’s practice for personal reasons. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to join us in Memphis,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd told

7:37 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — DURING A TIMEOUT late in the fourth quarter of a Feb. 24 game against the Miami Heat, Jrue Holiday picked up an orange Gatorade bottle and channeled his inner Backstreet Boy. Holiday had gone to the bench for the final time with 4:30 remaining and his Milwaukee Bucks

7:04 PM ET Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is expected to miss two to three weeks because of a left ankle injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday. The team said in a release that Durant has a left ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in three weeks. Durant, who had an MRI on

3:04 PM ET An MRI on the left thigh of Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic revealed no damage, and a return to the lineup will come as the discomfort allows him, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Doncic will undergo treatment to alleviate the soreness, but he isn’t expected to miss significant time, sources said. Doncic

3:08 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet blasted referee Ben Taylor for his officiating during the Raptors’ 108-100 loss to the LA Clippers on Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena. VanVleet didn’t hold back in his postgame news conference and is likely to receive a hefty fine from the NBA. “I

8:59 PM ET PHOENIX — Kevin Durant slipped and sprained his left ankle during pregame warmups Wednesday, knocking him out of what was supposed to be his first home game with the Phoenix Suns. The team is hopeful Durant avoided a serious sprain, but he is scheduled for an MRI Thursday to determine the severity

4:29 PM ET Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant will not face criminal charges stemming from his Instagram Live video in which he appeared to display a handgun at a nightclub, the Glendale, Colorado, police department announced Wednesday afternoon. The Glendale police conducted an investigation after being alerted to the video, determining that the incident

7:40 AM ET The New York Knicks owned the longest active winning streak in the NBA at nine straight before losing to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday. Now that the streak is over, the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and even the fading Boston Celtics, who lost to the Knicks twice in the past two weeks,

11:58 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Pau Gasol, the perfect complementary player to Kobe Bryant, was paid the best compliment possible by his former team: The Los Angeles Lakers retired his jersey. “I mean life goes by pretty fast, right? In the blink of an eye, you can be a kid playing basketball in your

1:44 PM ET Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks won’t have either of their two 2023 All-Stars available for their game Tuesday night at Orlando. Milwaukee’s injury report for the game lists two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday as unavailable. Antetokounmpo has a non-COVID-19 illness, and Holiday has a sore neck. The

3:22 PM ET ESPN News Services Giannis Antetokounmpo said he stole a triple-double. The NBA took it back. The league adjusted the statistics from the Bucks’ win over the Wizards on Sunday night, erasing Antetokounmpo’s final rebound that would have given him his fourth triple-double this season. He grabbed a defensive rebound with about nine

2:48 PM ET Police in Colorado said Monday they are investigating Ja Morant‘s actions from the weekend after the Memphis Grizzlies star posted an Instagram Live video in which he displayed what appeared to be a gun while at a nightclub. The Glendale Police Department confirmed the incident took place at a bar in Glendale,

7:04 AM ET PAU GASOL’S HAIR is coiffed short and tidy now. Sensible. Hints of gray show on the sides and contrast with the brown waves up top. He looks every bit the part as the husband and father of two he has become in his post-playing days. At first glance, the 42-year-old version of

6:10 PM ET DALLAS — A lot has changed with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks since the teams met in the Western Conference semifinals last season, headlined by the blockbuster trades both franchises pulled off with the Brooklyn Nets last month to land superstars. One thing that has stayed the same: Devin Booker and

9:45 PM ET LOS ANGELES — There’s no definitive timeline for Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to return to the team, coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday before the team’s game against the LA Clippers. The team had initially said Morant would be away for at least two games as he seeks help and the NBA

3:00 PM ET The Washington Wizards are signing Sydney Kings forward Xavier Cooks — MVP of the National Basketball League in Australia — to a deal through the 2023-24 season, Daniel Moldovan of Octagon Sports, his agent, told ESPN on Sunday. Cooks, who’ll join the Wizards as soon as the Kings complete play in the