PHILADELPHIA — So how exactly did we get here, the Miami Heat spending these final two weeks of the season not only having to accept the reality of a third consecutive trip to the play-in round, but for the first time likely having to start that trip from the bottom of the play-in round?

As with almost any NBA season, even with one now mired ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Finch pulled up a chair at one of his favorite establishments in the North Loop section of Minneapolis, fresh off an eventful 48 hours as Timberwolves coach.

One night he collected his 200th win in a dominating performance, the next night his team lost to a depleted Indiana team in frustrating fashion.

“There’s no ...Read more

The Golden State Warriors changed the course of NBA history in a game they lost.

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph were giving the Warriors the business, and Memphis controlled the game. The Grizzlies scored 20 straight points in the first half and were cruising toward a win.

Then the Warriors tried something new.

For most of the fourth quarter on...Read more

NEWARK, N.J. — Playing the game they were built to win, the Duke Blue Devils led from start to finish Saturday night to subdue Alabama and earn a trip to the Final Four.

Kon Knueppel scored 20 points and Cooper Flagg tallied 16 more with nine rebounds as top-seeded Duke shut down second-seeded Alabama’s potent offense to post a convincing ...Read more

NEWARK, N.J. — Before the handshake line, before the cutting of the nets, before the hats and T-shirts, Cooper Flagg found his way to Jon Scheyer at the bench. The final seconds ticked off as they embraced, the player and coach who first envisioned this journey together.

Anything less than a Final Four would have been a failure. The bar was ...Read more

MEMPHIS — If Saturday felt like a big game, the crowd booming while the music thumped in the fourth quarter, it’s because the teams treated it like one with the final two weeks of the season on their doorstep.

Pushing to the finish line, both the Lakers and the Grizzlies needed some momentum. The Lakers were coming off a heartbreaking loss ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA – The reality is that with one loss over their remaining eight games, the Miami Heat will have the team’s first losing record since 2018-19.

For now, though, for the first time in a long time, they are feeling like winners, with Saturday night’s 118-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center extending the ...Read more

The Nets finally figured out the Washington Wizards. They won, 115-112, inside Capital One Arena on Saturday, avoided a season sweep and snapped a six-game losing streak. Their record improved to 24-51 with seven games left.

Brooklyn trailed by as many as 17 points.

Drew Timme, who signed a two-year deal with the Nets on Friday, finished with ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Magic saw their 3-game winning streak come to an end against the Mavericks on Thursday, a key third quarter was what shifted the contest in favor of Dallas.

But Saturday night at Kia Center, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley‘s squad was not only able to weather the third quarter storm brought on by the Kings but actually ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas freshman forward Flory Bidunga will enter the transfer portal, his guardian Dillon Craft confirmed to The Kansas City Star.

But — notably — Craft didn’t rule out a return to Lawrence.

“Flory will enter the portal with intentions to return to Kansas,” Craft said in a text message to The Star. “After ...Read more

NEW YORK — The leader of the Liberty is officially back.

Star forward Breanna Stewart re-signed with the Liberty, the team announced Saturday. The deal solidifies Sandy Brondello’s core players weeks before the Liberty begin its quest for back-to-back WNBA titles.

The contract is a one-year, $208,400 guaranteed deal, per New York Post’s ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Hey BBN, you’ve got the right guy.

Never mind the 78-65 loss to Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional semifinals on Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium. Never mind that the No. 2 seed Volunteers controlled the game from start to finish. Never mind that after beating the Vols twice in the regular season, Kentucky ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The most popular man at the Sweet Sixteen didn’t even make it into the arena. An empty duffel bag sat next to David Sierra as the 59-year-old San Joaquin Valley resident scanned the televisions inside a sports bar across the plaza Thursday afternoon.

“I’m walking out of here with less money than I had, but with a ...Read more

NEWARK, N.J. — At the beginning of his freshman year, Isaiah Evans wasn’t too concerned about the length of his shorts. He was happy to be wearing a Duke basketball uniform at all. But as the season wore on, and his playing time started to increase, he decided his shorts were too short.

He also wasn’t comfortable asking to go longer, not ...Read more

NEW YORK — When the chatter about potential NBA expansion first started to bubble, the list of issues the league needed to work through were clear.

A new collective bargaining agreement needed to be reached. A new national media rights deal needed to be finalized. Even when the sale for one of the most prominent franchises in the league ...Read more

ATLANTA — Michigan’s magical March run is over.

Too many self-inflicted mistakes. Too many offensive rebounds allowed. A huge second-half flurry.

It was all too much for the fifth-seeded Wolverines to overcome in Friday’s Sweet 16 matchup at State Farm Arena, where they couldn’t hold onto a nine-point second-half lead and couldn’t ...Read more

SPOKANE, Wash. — When UCLA signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, the program-changing prospects immediately flashed their potential by leading the Bruins to the Sweet 16. Opposing coaches were impressed, telling UCLA coach Cori Close that the freshmen would be so good “one day.”

Internally, Gabriela Jaquez squirmed each ...Read more

DENVER — There was nobody rising to meet the Jazz’s Isaiah Collier in the lane, and nobody rising to contest his kickout to a wide-open Brice Sensabaugh in the corner, and Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had seen enough.

A whistle blew for a timeout, a few minutes into the second quarter Friday night at Ball Arena, after a Sensabaugh ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — The first Kentucky basketball season of the Mark Pope era is finished.

The Wildcats fell in a double-digit hole early and couldn’t escape Friday night in Lucas Oil Stadium, ultimately losing to the Tennessee Volunteers, 78-65, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cats found themselves down 10 points before the ...Read more