NBA

1:20 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson walked down the hall from the court to the Golden State Warriors‘ locker room to the sound of fans shouting “Good game, Klay” and clapping their hands. “That one felt good,” Thompson said, as he high-fived a few of the people along the way. As

7:17 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Miami Heat forward Markieff Morris was cleared to play Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves following a four-month absence because of a whiplash injury. Morris was injured in a Nov. 8 scuffle with Denver’s Nikola Jokic. He missed 58 games. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game

11:12 PM ET San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich never had spent a moment thinking about NFTs until his longtime assistant, Brett Brown, raised the idea on a phone call to coincide with his inevitable breaking of Don Nelson’s record for regular-season career coaching victories. What inspired enthusiasm about the idea for Popovich is that

3:57 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James continues to redefine the standard for what a star is capable of at such a late stage of his career. James, 37, scored 50 points for the second time in his past three games in lifting the Lakers to a much-needed 122-109 win over the Washington Wizards

6:34 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN One day after announcing Brandon Ingram would miss at least a week with an injury, the New Orleans Pelicans suffered another blow Thursday when the team announced it was placing guard CJ McCollum in health and safety protocols. McCollum had 32 points and eight assists for the Pelicans on Wednesday

8:00 AM ET For nearly two decades, Manu Ginobili has had hundreds of dinners and countless talks with San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, discussing everything from “politics, war, the game, or kids.” Popovich even showed up at Ginobili’s door at 1 in the morning with wine to cheer him up after a tough game.

10:31 PM ET PHILADELPHIA — Ben Simmons endured all the boos that came his way during an emotionally charged return to Philly — and his new Brooklyn Nets teammates made sure they got the last laugh with a dominant 129-100 win over the 76ers on Thursday night. Making his first appearance in Philadelphia since requesting

5:18 PM ET New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish will miss the rest of the season with a right shoulder separation, the team announced Thursday. Reddish’s timeline for recovery will be six weeks, so he is expected to be able to have a full summer of work ahead of the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN.

10:37 AM ET The ESPN fantasy and betting cheat sheet is your pregame destination for our best intel and data to help you make smart fantasy and wagering decisions. NBA game odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook, and fantasy advice is based on ESPN 10-team leagues. Jump ahead: Game of the night | Picks and

2:03 AM ET HOUSTON — A triple-double from LeBron James and a high-scoring effort from Russell Westbrook weren’t enough to halt the Los Angeles Lakers‘ self-destruction tour, with Wednesday’s 139-130 overtime loss to the Rockets being the latest lowlight in a season full of them. “We kind of messed around with the game and they

10:51 PM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI — Not that there was any doubt about this, but the Phoenix Suns are going to the playoffs. The Suns didn’t leave any doubt in a matchup of conference leaders, either. Devin Booker scored 23 points, Mikal Bridges added 21 and the Suns shook off a slow start

3:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CAMDEN, N.J. — Even with Ben Simmons not playing in Thursday night’s game between the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers, there is plenty of excitement in Philadelphia. Sixers coach Doc Rivers said after practice Wednesday that while he isn’t a fan of the way this Atlantic Division rivalry began, he

8:07 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has a mild right hamstring strain and will be reevaluated in seven to 10 days, the team announced Wednesday night. The Pelicans started a four-game, seven-night homestand Wednesday against the Orlando Magic. 1 Related Ingram injured his hamstring late against the Denver Nuggets on

1:28 PM ET The NBA suspended Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis for one game without pay for “aggressively confronting and making contact with a game official,” the league announced Wednesday. Sabonis was ejected in the Monday night game against the New York Knicks with 4:35 remaining in the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center in

9:35 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyrie Irving‘s 50-point outburst during Tuesday night’s 132-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets was so impressive that Kevin Durant spent the first few moments of his postgame news conference clapping for his teammate at the podium. Durant called Irving’s performance a “master class” and said younger players should watch

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies have taken the NBA by storm this season. After flirting with the playoffs his rookie season, and making them by knocking off the Golden State Warriors — in San Francisco — in the play-in tournament in his second season, Morant has taken the full

8:00 AM ET Which NBA teams are making the biggest moves after an action-packed weekend? On Saturday, the Miami Heat toppled the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. James Harden didn’t suit up — he was held out in the second leg of a back-to-back — but

5:57 PM ET Kevin Durant said he’s still envisioning Kyrie Irving being a part of the Nets’ championship pursuit but he also acknowledges that it will be “hard to duplicate what he brings” if he can’t play home games in Brooklyn. Irving missed his second straight day of practice in Brooklyn as New York City’s