NBA

2:58 PM ET Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. — Trail Blazers president and CEO Chris McGowan has decided to step down after nine years in the position. Dewayne Hankins, chief commercial officer and executive vice president, will take over as the team’s new president of business operations. McGowan’s resignation is effective on Nov. 26. He released

1:54 AM ET ESPN News Services SALT LAKE CITY — Four players were ejected after Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner got into a scuffle late in the Indiana Pacers‘ 111-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. The tussle began after Gobert appeared to pull Turner down to the ground with him after Turner

2:44 PM ET Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic tested positive for COVID-19 and entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Thursday, sources told ESPN. The Bulls listed Vucevic in the protocols, but the positive test means the two-time All-Star selection will be sidelined for 10 days or until he has two negative PCR tests

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA season is — almost — a month old. What standouts are here to stay? The Eastern Conference standings is full of early-season surprises, including impressive starts from the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are dealing with injuries as they work

12:23 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Throughout the New Orleans Pelicans‘ much maligned start to the 2021-22 season, coach Willie Green has tried to stay positive about the direction in which his team is headed. But after a 108-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night in which his team picked up five

3:52 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had no interest in rehashing Monday’s on-court incident involving his team and the Denver Nuggets, or the subsequent penalties handed down by the NBA on Tuesday. “I’m done talking about it,” Spoelstra said Wednesday after his team’s shootaround in advance of Miami’s game against

8:00 AM ET JALEN GREEN HEARS the wrath from the old man with the unmistakable, raspy voice. It’s a little less than an hour before the Rockets’ shootaround begins, but almost half the roster is already on the Footprint Center floor in Phoenix, running three-man pick-and-roll drills. John Lucas, the Rockets’ 68-year-old assistant coach, provides

9:59 PM ET Denver Nuggets star and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has been suspended for one game without pay for forcefully pushing Miami Heat forward Markieff Morris in the back on Monday night. The Nuggets will not have their franchise center against Indiana on Wednesday Markieff Morris was also fined $50,000 for his flagrant two

4:49 PM ET Three former Phoenix Suns employees have received messages from Penny Sarver, the wife of Robert Sarver, who is the team’s majority owner. Two messages came from the @pennsar Instagram account and another was a text message from a number that belongs to Penny Sarver. These former employees say they consider the messages

1:11 PM ET Emotions from NBA MVP Nikola Jokic‘s retaliatory bodycheck from behind on Miami Heat forward Markieff Morris on Monday night have spilled onto social media as the brothers of both players weighed in. As the league looks into whether to levy any further punishment over the Denver Nuggets star’s ejection after his run-in

12:41 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors star guard Stephen Curry scored an NBA-season-high 50 points in Golden State’s 127-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Curry finished the night 14-for-28 from the field, 9-for-19 from 3-point range and 13-for-13 from the free throw line, while chipping in 10 assists and seven rebounds

6:13 PM ET After initial resistance, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Ben Simmons met with a team-recommended medical specialist to discuss his mental health on Monday, sources told ESPN. It is unclear what Monday’s meeting means for the Sixers’ ultimate hopes of a Simmons return to play, but it was a change of direction for Simmons

8:00 AM ET Who are the best teams in the NBA right now? The Milwaukee Bucks certainly don’t look like a team that belongs in the upper tier of the league. The defending champs, who continue to be without Khris Middleton after the All-Star tested positive for COVID-19 last week, have lost five of their

1:59 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — The NBA told its players, coaches and referees Sunday that they should receive booster shots against the coronavirus, with particular urgency for those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The league and the National Basketball Players Association — working jointly based on guidance from the league’s

2:45 AM ET PORTLAND — Having already navigated speculation about his desire to be traded and pushback over the hiring of his franchise’s new head coach in recent months, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard said his duty will remain the same while the team opens an investigation into general manager Neil Olshey. “The games

11:44 PM ET PORTLAND — A stomach illness caused Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis‘ night to end prematurely during Saturday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to the team. Davis exited the game with 4:51 remaining in the first quarter. He went straight to the locker room and did not return. The

1:29 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey is under an independent investigation commissioned by the team into allegations of workplace misconduct, a source confirmed to ESPN on Saturday. In a statement, the team acknowledged an investigation but did not name Olshey, saying the Blazers were “recently notified of concerns around

12:33 PM ET Jake Paul‘s next fight card will feature a familiar name to sports fans. Deron Williams, the former NBA All-Star point guard, will compete in a boxing match at the event headlined by Paul and Tommy Fury on Dec. 18 in Tampa, Florida, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian confirmed Friday with ESPN.