NBA

3:06 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After logging 40-plus minutes for the fourth time this month only to see the Los Angeles Lakers lose 127-124 in overtime to the Washington Wizards on Monday night, LeBron James insisted he can handle the workload that’s being asked of him. “I think this whole narrative of ‘LeBron needs

7:50 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN The “diverse experience” of newly hired Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch is what intrigued president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas to make the move. During Monday’s introductory news conference, Rosas welcomed the former Toronto Raptors assistant to try to turn things around after firing Ryan Saunders following Sunday’s loss in

7:39 PM ET Associated Press The San Antonio Spurs are still dealing with a coronavirus outbreak, their state is reeling from the aftereffects of a deadly icy blast that has affected millions of Texans and one of their best players is mourning the death of a parent. Given all that, basketball seems secondary to the

5:28 PM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green admitted that he was “wrong” for getting ejected late in Saturday’s 102-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets and acknowledged that he felt worse about this episode than he did about getting suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals. “I can admit my faults and when

3:43 PM ET Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry went through all of Monday’s practice and is expected to play Tuesday after sitting out Saturday’s game because of an illness. “He’s feeling better today,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said during a video conference with reporters after Monday’s practice. “He went through practice, participated fully, so

1:14 PM ET Associated Press Julius “Dr. J” Erving is the latest NBA legend to reveal that he’s gotten vaccinated against the coronavirus, doing so Monday. Much like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gregg Popovich and Bill Russell before him, Erving made the announcement in the form of a video distributed through the league. “We were never afraid

7:00 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN FOR DAMIAN LILLARD, the game wasn’t over. Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers were trailing the Chicago Bulls by five points with 11.5 seconds left on Jan. 30, but he wasn’t about to give up. He made a 37-foot 3-pointer to cut the lead to two. After the ensuing inbounds pass,

7:04 AM ET Though the Western Conference standings look like a three-team race between the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers, the rising Phoenix Suns aren’t far behind. Chris Paul, Devin Booker & Co. have won 11 of their past 13 games. In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets just keep winning. After

1:55 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Despite scoring 12 points in under five minutes during the fourth quarter to help spark a late comeback, LA Clippers guard Paul George found himself cheering his team from the sideline as he was held out of the final 2:50 of a close game against the Brooklyn Nets due

1:45 AM ET The Brooklyn Nets are starting to come together. After experiencing some growing pains early on, they leave their longest road trip of the season thus far a perfect 5-0. In the process, Brooklyn has begun to answer pointed questions about just how good their defense needs to be to compete at the

11:04 PM ET The Minnesota Timberwolves have dismissed coach Ryan Saunders, sources told ESPN. The Timberwolves didn’t immediately name an interim coach on Sunday night. Minnesota has dropped 24 of 31 games to start the season, leaving them with the worst record in the NBA. They’ve lost eight of their last nine games, including a

9:06 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Coming off the heels of a historic collapse on Friday night, things once again looked like they were trending in the wrong direction for the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday afternoon. The Pelicans watched as the Boston Celtics stretched their lead out to 24 points midway through

9:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN When he was coaching the New England Patriots, Bill Parcells uttered what has become a famous maxim in sports: “You are what your record says you are.” After the Boston Celtics, dropped to 15-15 thanks to a horrific collapse in the Big Easy Sunday afternoon, losing 120-115 to the New

3:12 PM ET Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is likely to continue rehabilitating his left calf strain through the March 5-10 All-Star break with hopes of returning to the lineup for the start of the season’s second half, sources told ESPN. Smart, working to fully recover from the injury, which occurred on Jan. 30, resumed

1:07 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Detroit Pistons guard Delon Wright is expected to miss two weeks after suffering a Grade 2 strain of his right groin, the team announced Sunday. Wright was injured in a 109-95 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 19. He led the Pistons in scoring that night with 16 points.

2:56 AM ET In the Washington Wizards locker room, coach Scott Brooks stood at the front of the room, acknowledging players for their impact on a big win in Portland. He started with Isaac Bonga, who played only five minutes, but was a plus-five in the box score. “Those five minutes were huge,” Brooks said.

2:56 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have hit their first true challenge of their title defense, with Saturday’s 96-94 loss to the Miami Heat marking the third defeat in their past four games since Anthony Davis aggravated his Achilles tendinosis and suffered a calf strain in his right leg. A question

1:12 AM ET Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted that forward Draymond Green “crossed the line” Saturday night when he was ejected in the final seconds of a 102-100 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The wild sequence that led to Green’s ejection started with 9.3 seconds left in regulation with the Warriors leading 100-98,