NBA

9:35 PM ET CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kyrie Irving‘s 50-point outburst during Tuesday night’s 132-121 win over the Charlotte Hornets was so impressive that Kevin Durant spent the first few moments of his postgame news conference clapping for his teammate at the podium. Durant called Irving’s performance a “master class” and said younger players should watch

11:39 PM ET ESPN News Services SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich is just one win away from becoming the NBA’s all-time winningest coach. Popovich tied Don Nelson’s NBA record with his 1,335th career victory as a coach in the San Antonio Spurs‘ 117-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night. And he did

7:20 PM ET SAN ANTONIO — LeBron James will not play Monday against the San Antonio Spurs because of “significant” soreness in his left knee coming off his 56-point effort against the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said before the game. James, 37, missed five games because of the knee from

8:00 AM ET Which NBA teams are making the biggest moves after an action-packed weekend? On Saturday, the Miami Heat toppled the Philadelphia 76ers in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. James Harden didn’t suit up — he was held out in the second leg of a back-to-back — but

12:47 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN As Nikola Jokic sat at the podium for his postgame news conference, his Denver Nuggets teammate Bones Hyland briefly popped in the room to let his thoughts be known. “MVP! MVP! MVP!” The comments came after the reigning MVP put up an excellent case for why he should get another

4:48 PM ET Associated Press BOSTON — Jayson Tatum scored a season-high 54 points — 34 of them in the second half — and the Boston Celtics overcame a rare appearance of both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the Nets lineup, beating Brooklyn 126-120 on Sunday. Durant played in his second game since mid-January

1:15 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors have dug themselves into a deep hole — their 124-116 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers being the latest shovel full of issues. They’ve lost four games in a row for the first time this season. They’ve dropped eight of their past 10

2:40 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors played the foil in the most notable bounceback of LeBron James‘ career back in the 2016 NBA Finals. On Saturday, they were subjected to another classic “desperation” performance by James. James scored 56 points, his highest-scoring game ever with the Los Angeles

2:49 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has returned to the city after spending nearly two months in Portland rehabbing his injured foot away from the team, sources told ESPN on Saturday. Williamson, who fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during the summer, is set to rejoin the team

7:37 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez has been cleared to be a full participant at practice for the first time since undergoing back surgery in December, coach Mike Budenhozler said prior to Friday’s game against the Bulls. Lopez went through a light workout on the court Friday at the

1:11 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — Fans at United Center may have reveled in Bulls forward Derrick Jones Jr.’s flagrant foul on Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen on Friday night, but Jones insisted afterward that the foul was not intentional and denied being a dirty player. Jones was given a flagrant foul 1 in

11:34 AM ET The lawyers leading the NBA’s investigation into the Phoenix Suns are preparing to interview Robert Sarver regarding the accusations against the team and its majority owner, sources close to the investigation told ESPN. Sources said more than 300 people have been interviewed as part of the investigation, which the league launched in

8:00 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN “DUB NATION, are you ready?” The crowd roared its affirmation as the lights dimmed to announce the Golden State Warriors‘ starting five. Draymond Green‘s name was called first, followed by Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney and Stephen Curry. Curry’s name is usually announced last, but the night of Jan. 9 was

10:16 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant spent part of his morning brushing off the notion that he wasn’t going to be a “savior” for his struggling team, then he almost did just that in a 113-107 loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday night. After missing a month and

3:33 PM ET Bradley Beal says he is no rush to make a decision on his future but acknowledged he is leaning toward re-signing with the Washington Wizards this offseason. “It’s fair,” Beal told reporters in Washington on Thursday when asked if he is leaning toward staying with the Wizards. “It’s fair.” Beal is eligible

12:54 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans wore yellow socks during their game Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings in a show of solidarity with Ukraine and to “bring more attention” to the large-scale invasion of the country by Russian military. Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, who is from Lithuania, along

12:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After a third straight sterling performance in a 76ers uniform — but a first in front of the fans here inside Wells Fargo Center — James Harden declared Philadelphia feels like home. “Just exciting,” Harden said after finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Philadelphia’s

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN EXACTLY TWO YEARS ago, the New York Knicks officially hired Leon Rose as president of basketball operations. Since then, Rose has had one in-person news conference — a gathering with a small group of reporters prior to the 2021-22 NBA season at the team’s practice facility in Westchester, New York.