NBA

3:53 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — After a Joel Embiid tip-in put the Philadelphia 76ers up by 14 with under five minutes remaining Sunday afternoon, the superstar center stretched his arms out wide above his head and soaked in the boos from the partisan crowd at Madison Square Garden. Thanks to dominant performances

9:47 PM ET Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is expected to return from a groin injury Sunday for the Christmas Day matchup with the Denver Nuggets, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Booker last played one week ago, when he scored 58 points in a comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He landed on the

3:32 PM ET Sacramento Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis suffered a right hand injury and will undergo further testing and evaluation on treatment options that will help determine how much time — if any — Sabonis will miss, sources told ESPN on Saturday. X-rays confirmed the injury and the need for further examination after Friday’s loss

Dec 21, 2022 Christmas Day is often filled with holiday cheer, presents and, most importantly, basketball. The NBA will host five games throughout the day airing on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN app, and this year’s matchups are worth the watch. Joel Embiid and James Harden will tip things off and are sure to bring

8:00 AM ET The NBA’s star-studded slate of Christmas Day games will pit the game’s best against the best in a high-stakes day of action between top contenders. The surging New York Knicks, with their newest star point guard, Jalen Brunson, and a revitalized Julius Randle, will host MVP candidate Joel Embiid, James Harden and

3:29 PM ET Dave McMenamin Close ESPN Staff Writer Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09. Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 LOS ANGELES —

5:33 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Forward Draymond Green had a blunt assessment about what is holding the Golden State Warriors back following the team’s 1-5 road trip. “Right now, I think we are very fragile,” Green said Friday after practice. “You start going through these things and then you start believing them.

Dec 21, 2022 Associated Press NEW YORK — Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was fined $25,000 for coming onto the court to confront a referee and directing inappropriate language toward him during a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA announced Wednesday. Kidd was assessed two technical fouls and was ejected late in the third

11:52 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN NEW YORK — As the Golden State Warriors‘ road struggles boiled over in a 143-113 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night, head coach Steve Kerr said his team has hit rock bottom. The Warriors are depleted, playing without five rotational players, including three starters, and there is no

Dec 21, 2022 Tim BontempsESPN The NBA announced Wednesday afternoon that the New York Knicks would lose their 2025 second-round pick as a result of the league’s investigation into the team’s signing of guard Jalen Brunson this summer as a free agent. “This outcome reflected a finding, following an investigation, that the Knicks engaged in

6:30 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been placed in the league’s health and safety protocols and will not play Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs. Williamson has been a driving force this season for the Pelicans, who are 18-12 and in third place in the Western Conference. He’s averaging

10:44 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 52 points and the Toronto Raptors snapped the New York Knicks‘ NBA-leading eight-game winning streak 113-106 Wednesday night. “It’s cool,” Siakam said of posting his first 50-point game at Madison Square Garden. “I’m not a super basketball historian. I didn’t start

3:55 PM ET Associated Press Gregg Popovich has been at the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony many times over the years, always there to show support for someone on the stage. Next year, he might be there in a different capacity. The NBA’s all-time winningest coach — who has quietly declined overtures from the Hall

8:00 AM ET It’s not too early to put Jacque Vaughn in the NBA Coach of The Year conversation. The Brooklyn Nets head coach has helped spearhead one of the league’s most dramatic turnarounds in the early season, as the Nets have gone from controversy-laden underachievers to one of the hottest teams in the Eastern

1:33 PM ET Billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia is finalizing a purchase of the Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury for a record price of $4 billion, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. The deal, expected to be announced as soon as Tuesday, will end the tumultuous tenure of owner Robert Sarver. Ishbia is well-known and

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN ORLANDO, FLA. — PAOLO BANCHERO was only five years old when the SuperSonics left his hometown of Seattle to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still, despite growing up in a city without an NBA team, Banchero was raised by the NBA. Long before the Orlando Magic made Banchero the No.

1:50 AM ET PHOENIX — With the Phoenix Suns‘ lead already ballooning to begin the second half, Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley scored a layup while being fouled by Chris Paul early in the third quarter on Monday. After the whistle, Beverley placed his right hand a few inches from the floor, suggesting Paul

9:47 PM ET ESPN News Services Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard passed Clyde Drexler to become the franchise’s all-time leading scorer Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Drexler, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, had 18,040 points in 867 games for the Trail Blazers from 1983-95. Lillard, 32,