5:17 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, the team announced, the latest step toward his eventual return to the court. Williamson, who is in his third year, has missed every game this season because of a right foot fracture suffered in the summer.
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3:45 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Deron Williams’ phone was flooded with calls and notifications once his boxing match against former NFL running back Frank Gore was announced last week. Among the first to reach out was Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul. Williams once challenged Paul for the label as the NBA’s top point guard
4:30 PM ET DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic will miss Wednesday’s road game against the Phoenix Suns due to left knee and left ankle sprains, the team announced. The injuries are “not too serious,” a source told ESPN. The Mavs are optimistic that Doncic will not be sidelined for an extended stretch,
1:56 PM ET Associated Press CLEVELAND — Cavaliers rookie forward Evan Mobley could be sidelined for a month with a sprained right elbow suffered Monday night in a loss to Boston. The No. 3 pick in this year’s draft got hurt when his arm got tied up while battling Celtics center Enes Kanter under the
12:04 PM ET There’s growing optimism that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who has been out two weeks with an abdominal strain — could make his return against the Boston Celtics on Friday, sources told ESPN. James has been making good progress, and Friday’s meeting with the Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) looms
10:00 AM ET The Los Angeles Lakers got blitzed by the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, but the team continues to see promising signs from talented young wing Talen Horton-Tucker. The third-year shooting guard scored 28 points on 19 shots and posted the best net rating of the team’s starters in the loss to the
5:42 AM ET Marc J. Spears The first NBA games in the United Arab Emirates will take place next preseason, sources told ESPN’s The Undefeated on Tuesday. The NBA and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi have agreed to a multiyear partnership, starting with two preseason contests next year. The two exhibitions
3:48 AM ET Jamal Collier LOS ANGELES — Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 38 points on Monday night to help lift Chicago to a 121-103 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, the fifth time in the past nine games he has notched at least 30 points. Even though DeRozan reached his season high
12:53 AM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — A judge has ruled that Kobe Bryant’s widow must turn over her therapy records to Los Angeles County in her lawsuit claiming she suffered emotional distress after first responders took and shared graphic photos from the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball star,
11:32 PM ET DALLAS — Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic limped off the court after turning his left ankle in the final minute of Monday’s 111-101 win over the Denver Nuggets. Doncic injured the ankle with 44 seconds remaining after contesting a driving layup by Nuggets guard Austin Rivers, who fell onto Doncic’s leg. Doncic
10:26 PM ET In initial remarks made to Phoenix Suns employees Monday, lawyers from the New York-based Wachtell Lipton firm that’s investigating the team and majority owner Robert Sarver addressed concerns about retaliation, confidentiality and a timeline for completion, league sources told ESPN. Two attorneys from the firm — David Anders and Sarah Eddy —
6:28 PM ET The Brooklyn Nets will enter their highly anticipated meeting with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday short-handed, without sharpshooter Joe Harris and veteran Paul Millsap. While All-Star Kevin Durant (sore right shoulder) isn’t listed on the injury report, the Nets ruled out starting swingman Harris due to a left ankle sprain suffered
4:18 PM ET The NBA has fined the Minnesota Timberwolves $250,000 for what it says was a violation of league rules that prevent teams “from arranging or paying for offseason practice or group workout sessions for their players outside a team’s home market.” According to the NBA, the violation occurred as the result of Timberwolves
8:00 AM ET The NBA’s last remaining one-loss team suffered its second defeat Sunday when the Golden State Warriors fell to the Charlotte Hornets. Stephen Curry kicked off the week with a 50-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks — and dropped 40 against the Chicago Bulls on Friday — but was 7-of-22 from the field
2:17 AM ET Jamal Collier LOS ANGELES — Every time Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan has come to play in Los Angeles during his 13-year NBA career, the games have been special for him, but the Bulls’ 100-90 victory over the LA Clippers at Staples Center on Sunday carried a bit more weight. DeRozan, who
11:19 PM ET Kevin Durant‘s MVP-like start to the season continued Sunday with 33 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite a sore right shoulder. After helping the Brooklyn Nets beat the Thunder 120-96, Durant acknowledged that he is getting treatment on his shooting shoulder. He could be seen at one point moving and feeling
10:27 PM ET Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter will undergo surgery to repair a right wrist injury on Monday and is expected to miss eight weeks, the team announced Sunday night. Hunter injured the wrist in a loss to the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 8. He missed Atlanta’s next game in Utah but played
9:57 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis “imposed his will” and Talen Horton-Tucker reintroduced his skill as the Lakers bounced back from a disappointing loss to beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-106 on Sunday. Davis scored 27 of his game-high 34 points in the first half, accounting for his biggest scoring half since December