NBA

11:53 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN INDIANAPOLIS — After Victor Oladipo buried a pull-up 3-pointer for his fourth straight basket, cutting a 16-point Boston Celtics lead to three with 3:30 remaining on Tuesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, he balled his fists, walked back to center court and roared at the crowd. Nearly 17,000 fans in attendance

4:27 PM ET The Cleveland Cavaliers and coach J.B. Bickerstaff have agreed to a multiyear contract, the team announced Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed, but sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Bickerstaff agreed to a four-year deal that will take him through the 2023-24 season. Bickerstaff took over as head coach last month after Cleveland

7:18 PM ET ESPN News Services MIAMI — The NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS are closing access to locker rooms and clubhouses to all nonessential personnel in response to the coronavirus crisis, the leagues announced in a joint statement Monday night. The leagues said they made the decision “after consultation with infectious disease and public

7:20 AM ET IT’S MIDWAY THROUGH the second quarter of a Jan. 18 game between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie is collecting himself after a hard foul and fall. As soon as he steps to the free throw line inside Barclays Center, the cheers echo from a corner of

8:38 AM ET Can anyone in the Western Conference catch the Memphis Grizzlies for the final playoff spot? On opening night, this would’ve been an unlikely question. With just over a month remaining in the regular season, four teams are looking to provide a different answer. What’s the prize for claiming the No. 8 seed?

11:16 PM ET DALLAS — Luka Doncic typically takes a shower before fulfilling his postgame media obligations, but he waited in full uniform for reporters to enter the Dallas Mavericks‘ locker room after Sunday night’s 112-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers. After his complaints to the referees didn’t receive the desired response, Doncic wanted to

7:58 PM ET LOS ANGELES — It started most mornings over the summer around 3:30 a.m. No matter if he was at the gym he had built for himself on the set of Space Jam 2 at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, or at the Los Angeles Lakers practice facility in El Segundo,

8:50 AM ET Full disclosure: I didn’t really want to do this column. It didn’t feel right. Normal doesn’t feel right. But my editors encouraged me, saying perhaps people might want some normal. We’ll see. I swapped out a “dislike” about the Nets because no one needs negativity right now. In the end, I didn’t

8:06 PM ET EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers‘ offense added a new toy to play with when the team signed Dion Waiters this week after he was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies following a trade from the Miami Heat. They just will wait a little to take that toy out of the

2:14 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will not play Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers, missing the first game since he returned from a 58-game absence earlier this week. The Warriors listed Curry as out with a “General/Illness” designation. On Friday, coach Steve Kerr had said Curry was a “good sore” after playing

7:27 AM ET There is no such thing as a must-win NBA game in March — but if the Los Angeles Lakers are going to reach their championship goals this season, they are going to have to start beating the LA Clippers. It’s why Sunday’s centerpiece game at Staples Center (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC)

2:57 AM ET Mulitple Contributors LOS ANGELES — Carrying the main card billing of an NBA Finals preview and perhaps the decisive showdown between the league’s top MVP front-runners, Friday’s heavyweight bout between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks possessed the sort of stakes offered in June, not March. And from the opening tip

5:01 PM ET Free-agent center Joakim Noah has agreed to a deal with the LA Clippers, league sources tell ESPN. Noah, 35, will join the Clippers on a 10-day contract next week, but there’s optimism that he would finish the season with the team barring any setbacks, league sources said. Noah will fill the franchise’s

11:14 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry took the 14 steps from his team’s locker room up to the tunnel that leads to the floor at Chase Center on Thursday night and couldn’t wait to see what was in front of him. He started running as soon as he got

8:46 AM ET THE TORONTO RAPTORS needed a bucket. Time to target James Harden, right? Down six points against the Houston Rockets in the closing minutes of a Dec. 5 game at Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors cleared out on the left side of the court and tossed the ball to their go-to guy, Pascal Siakam.

9:00 AM ET Before March gets too crazy, let’s look at 10 (actually, 11) NBA things: 1. Here come the Clippers Remember when people were worried about the Clips losing games without two or three starters, including one of the league’s 10 best players? That was cute. After destroying the Rockets in Houston Thursday, the

12:18 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — Although they’re fierce competitors on the court, both being All-Star Game captains, Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s inspired by LeBron James‘ ability to perform at an elite level at age 35. Before they previously tipped off, 11 days ahead of James’ December birthday, Antetokounmpo even referred to James as

8:14 PM ET The Golden State Warriors say guard Stephen Curry will return to the lineup Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors. Curry has missed the last 58 games with a fractured left hand he suffered Oct. 30. About time!!! 😂 pic.twitter.com/yVs6r4UTZI — Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 5, 2020 He’ll join a Golden State team