11:31 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Raptors will continue to play home games in Tampa, Florida, for the rest of the 2020-21 NBA season, citing border restrictions and being “mindful of public safety measures” in Toronto as factors preventing them from returning home to play at any point this season. “Florida has been really welcoming
NBA
7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN When the Brooklyn Nets added James Harden to a roster that already included Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the bookmakers in Las Vegas were quick to declare the NBA’s newest Big Three as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, despite the fact that the Nets had started the season
11:58 PM ET DALLAS — As soon as Danilo Gallinari‘s difficult buzzer-beater attempt clanked off the rim, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young ripped out his mouthpiece and stomped toward referee Josh Tiven to protest a critical no-call on the final possession of a 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Young had been knocked to the
7:53 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns will return to the court for the first time since mid-January to play against the LA Clippers on Wednesday. Towns has been cleared to return from post health and safety protocol reconditioning. Towns, who hasn’t played since Jan. 13, announced on Twitter on Jan. 15 that he
5:15 PM ET The NBA is progressing on a plan to incorporate the slam dunk competition into halftime of the All-Star Game on March 7 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, sources told ESPN. A three-point shootout and skills competition are also expected to be part of the Sunday night event, sources said. The NBA
4:44 PM ET Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. — A law enforcement officer in California who sued the president of the Toronto Raptors over a 2019 scuffle following the team’s NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors dropped his lawsuit Wednesday. The Raptors had just won their first title at Oracle Arena in Oakland on
2:04 PM ET One day after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confirmed that his team had stopped playing the national anthem before games, the NBA on Wednesday issued a statement saying that wouldn’t be the case. “With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the
9:07 AM ET Associated Press ATLANTA — A historic Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store owned by Shaquille O’Neal was engulfed in flames early Wednesday, heavily damaging the structure. Atlanta fire crews responded to the iconic restaurant on Ponce De Leon Avenue shortly after midnight, news outlets reported. Video posted on social media showed raging flames. Battalion
6:58 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN It was just seven weeks ago that this NBA season tipped off, with Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic installed as the betting favorite to win MVP honors. But, like just about everything else in this pandemic-shortened season, nothing has gone quite to plan. Doncic’s Mavericks are in 14th place in
2:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN When the Utah Jazz reconvened for training camp in December, they’d had three months to think about how the prior season had ended: with Mike Conley‘s potential game-winning 3-pointer somehow spinning out against the Denver Nuggets. During those three months, the Jazz thought over and over again about that shot
1:45 AM ET Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watched Michael Jordan drop in so many impossible shots over the years that he had to chuckle when asked whether Stephen Curry made a behind-the-head circus shot late in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s 114-91 win over the San Antonio Spurs reminded him of
11:55 PM ET After the shot clock expired Tuesday night, cementing another disappointing game for the Brooklyn Nets, coach Steve Nash implored his players to look inward and ask themselves “what type of team they want to be.” “I don’t think that we go out every single day of our lives and sacrifice the time
11:52 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Derrick Rose said that when he decided he wanted to leave the Detroit Pistons, the only choice in his mind was to reunite with former coach Tom Thibodeau and executive William Wesley with the New York Knicks. “Of course,” Rose said after scoring 14 points in 20 minutes in his
9:28 PM ET The Dallas Mavericks have stopped playing the national anthem before home games at the direction of owner Mark Cuban, he confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday. The Mavericks do not plan to resume the tradition to play the national anthem before games in the future. Cuban, who declined further comment, made the decision
6:07 PM ET The LA Clippers will be without Paul George for at least two more games as he continues to deal with a swollen right toe, coach Ty Lue said Tuesday. George will not join the team on its two-game road swing through Minnesota and Chicago, which begins Wednesday with a matchup against the
1:09 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Heat guard Avery Bradley went nearly two weeks without seeing his wife and children after testing positive for COVID-19, a brutally hard part of his ordeal with the illness. The sacrifice was worthwhile, though: None of them got the virus. Bradley confirmed Tuesday that he tested positive for
12:23 PM ET A judge in Minnesota on Tuesday sentenced Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley to 120 days in jail to be served after the season after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of threats of violence. Beasley’s attorney, Steven Haney, told ESPN that Beasley will be part of a work release program and could
10:23 AM ET Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Safety investigators say the pilot of Kobe Bryant’s helicopter flew through the clouds in an apparent violation of federal standards, and likely became disorientedjust before the helicopter crashed and killed Bryant and eight others. Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said Tuesday that pilot