NBA

7:31 PM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers are planning to welcome fans back to Staples Center for a game for the first time this season. The Lakers are finalizing plans to have fans in attendance when they play the Boston Celtics on April 15. The Clippers are planning on

7:56 PM ET Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle tested positive for COVID-19, preventing him from coaching Friday night against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Carlisle, 61, called the test result “unexpected,” saying that he was fully vaccinated in January. “There’s a chance and a hope that it will be a false positive,”

4:45 PM ET Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant has been fined $50,000 for using “offensive and derogatory language on social media,” the NBA announced in a statement Friday. Earlier this week, actor and comedian Michael Rapaport posted private messages that he said Durant had sent him — which included threatening language and anti-gay and misogynistic

3:02 PM ET All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell said his fear of flying would not prevent him from joining the Utah Jazz on future road trips after he opted not to travel to Memphis earlier this week in the wake of the team’s flight being forced to make an emergency landing. The team’s charter plane

2:34 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to sign point guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract, sources told ESPN on Friday. Thomas has not played an NBA game since Feb. 3, 2020, with the Washington Wizards. He did play two games with Team USA this February, leading the team in

1:50 PM ET Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is out for Friday’s game against the Toronto Raptors in Tampa as he continues to deal with a lingering tailbone injury. After playing 36 minutes in a 116-109 loss to the Heat on Thursday night, Curry said he would need to see how he felt Friday

7:00 AM ET NICOLAS BATUM FELT the doubt creeping in. He hadn’t played a minute of NBA basketball since Jan. 24, 2020, when the Charlotte Hornets decided to embrace a youth movement and send their 31-year-old, $120 million veteran permanently to the bench. That March, he publicly apologized to Hornets fans for not being able

2:34 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Paul George said the toe injury he has in his right foot has flared up again and that the LA Clippers are trying to figure out if it will linger the remainder of the season. George returned on Thursday after missing two games with what was listed as right

1:16 AM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green says that he is not motivated by the NBA’s new play-in games, despite the fact that his team currently sits in 9th place in the Western Conference — squarely on the fringe of the league’s reformatted playoff system. “To be honest with you I don’t go

9:00 PM ET NEW YORK — Kevin Durant, as part of his first public comments since injuring his hamstring in February, on Thursday addressed a feud between himself and actor Michael Rapaport that had been made public this week. Rapaport posted private messages that he said Durant had sent him — which included threatening language

7:28 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 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. There is optimism

6:56 PM ET Associated Press JJ Redick doesn’t have an ideal number of games in mind to get ready for the playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks, who were thinking postseason when they acquired the shooting guard with an expiring contract. “The ideal number is the most amount of games possible,” said Redick, who is recovering

3:46 PM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — Hawks forward John Collins will be out at least a week with a sprained left ankle, another blow to the injury-plagued team. Collins was injured during Tuesday night’s loss at Phoenix. He underwent an MRI that showed a lateral ankle sprain and associated bone bruise. He has started

1:49 PM ET NEW YORK — All-Star Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden has been ruled out of Thursday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets with hamstring tightness, while the team’s newest acquisition — center LaMarcus Aldridge — is available to make his debut in Brooklyn. Harden exited early from Wednesday’s 120-108 win over the Houston Rockets.

2:42 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN The New Orleans Pelicans have ruled out Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball from Thursday’s game against the Orlando Magic and could be without Brandon Ingram as well. Williamson was listed as questionable heading into Thursday’s matchup with a sprained right thumb. He injured the thumb on Monday against the Boston

11:28 AM ET ESPN News Services Cade Cunningham announced Thursday that he will enter the 2021 NBA draft after a dynamic freshman season that saw him named a first-team AP All-American. The 6-foot-8 Oklahoma State point guard is expected to be a high pick — possibly No. 1 overall, as he is ranked as ESPN’s

11:24 PM ET NBA Insiders With the NBA season nearly two-thirds complete, teams are now reconfiguring their depth charts and expectations after a wild flurry of trade deadline moves and buyout signings. While big names such as Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball didn’t change rosters, former All-Stars Victor Oladipo and LaMarcus Aldridge now find themselves

12:05 AM ET Members of the Utah Jazz feared for their lives after the team’s charter plane collided with a flock of birds shortly after takeoff Tuesday, causing an engine fire and failure and forcing an emergency landing. “For a good 10 or 15 minutes, I think all of us on that flight were questioning