ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Not even a nine-day layoff could cool off the Wolverines.

Playing for the first time since its dominant showing at the Players Era tournament, No. 3 Michigan picked up where it left off and opened Big Ten play with another blowout.

Behind another strong all-around performance and balanced attack, the Wolverines pummeled ...Read more

NEW YORK — Continuing his offensive onslaught, Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 35 points while Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 off the bench as the Nets improved to 6-17 and picked up their third win in four games Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center, 119-101, against a short-handed New Orleans Pelicans team featuring impressive ...Read more

MIAMI — You play to win the games. We get that. The Miami Heat get that. It is why “tank” remains out of the team’s vernacular.

But there also are times when the greater good has to be considered, of getting your team whole and healthy through the 82-game regular-season marathon, preferably without players missing large chunks, as was ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cameron Boozer waved to the Michigan State fans as they started streaming up the aisles in the final seconds, and to the Izzone students who had chanted his name, and not in a friendly way.

He did it from the bench, having fouled out after dragging Duke to victory with a big second half, his work for the day done. This ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Cameron Boozer could hardly walk on the Breslin Center floor before a cascade of boos battered him like the biting wind of a cold December Saturday. That crowd had braved the cold to line up hours before tip-off to watch Boozer and No. 4 Duke take on No. 7 Michigan State.

The crowd and Michigan State got its licks in on ...Read more

NEW YORK — Just how long can you hold a team scoreless to start an NBA game?

The Knicks were determined to find out hosting the Utah Jazz on Friday.

The all-time record belongs to the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers, who held the 1987 Sacramento Kings scoreless until the 2:54 mark of the first quarter.

The Knicks came close to that mark, ...Read more

If there was any doubt, the scene on the Charlotte Hornets’ bench 90 minutes before the opening tip was thrown in the air squashed it, providing insight even before the official word was handed down about who would play.

After missing the initial two games of the Hornets’ road trip in New York, mostly because the team’s performance staff ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — The fifth-ranked UConn men’s basketball team took some time to warm up its engine before rolling to a 83-59 win over East Texas A&M at Gampel Pavilion on Friday night.

Sandwiched between a monster win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse and a rematch against reigning national champion Florida, the Huskies (8-1) had just a seven-...Read more

ATLANTA — Rarely have these Nuggets faced the specific form of adversity they encountered Friday night, when the Hawks threatened to run them out of the gym.

They handled the challenge with a 20-0 fourth-quarter run and a 134-133 triumph over Atlanta, extending their franchise-record road winning streak to nine games.

On a roller coaster ...Read more

DETROIT — Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who is regarded as a legend in the Motor City, might have been at Little Caesars Arena, devising a game plan to slow down the Detroit Pistons. However, on Friday night, Billups will be miles away from the arena that displays his jersey in the rafters.

Billups, 49, was arrested and charged ...Read more

DETROIT — Duncan Robinson made his third 3-point field goal with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter. His basket not only tied the game at 110 but also helped the Detroit Pistons maintain their composure during a frustrating night with the officials.

A few possessions later, Robinson connected on another significant 3-point field goal, which led ...Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Kentucky Wildcats got off to an unimaginably bad start in Bridgestone Arena.

And they finished the night with the same result as all three of their previous games against ranked opponents this season. A loss.

No. 11 Gonzaga beat the 18th-ranked Wildcats, 94-59, on Friday, handing Mark Pope’s team an embarrassing ...Read more

BOSTON — Fans hoping to see LeBron James and Luka Doncic play in Boston for the only time this season left TD Garden disappointed Friday night.

But the crowd’s loss was the Celtics’ gain.

Boston had no trouble dispatching the short-handed Lakers, who were playing without James (sciatica/foot), Doncic (personal reasons) and ex-Celtic ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson, who has played in just two of nine games during his freshman season because of a strained hamstring, should return for Sunday’s Border War men’s basketball showdown against Missouri in Kansas City, KU coach Bill Self said Friday.

Peterson, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound native of Canton, Ohio...Read more

BOSTON — One night after assisting the game-winning basket against the Toronto Raptors, superstar forward LeBron James will miss the Lakers' rivalry game against the Boston Celtics, the team announced Friday.

James was downgraded to out less than three hours before the game as he manages sciatica in his right side and joint arthritis in his ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Until now, these past few years of Miami Heat speculation when it came to Giannis Antetokounmpo largely was fool’s errand.

Until now.

Because for all the previous lust — and it was ample — there was no reason for small-market Milwaukee to even consider moving the most coveted asset of any small-market NBA team, a bona ...Read more

TORONTO — Of course.

Stuck between trying to extend his record streak of 1,297 consecutive games with 10 or more points or passing to an open Rui Hachimura to take the potential winning shot, LeBron James made the right play.

Because that’s what he’s done for 23 years in the NBA.

James’ assist on Hachimura’s buzzer-beating three-...Read more

TORONTO — The King’s reign is over, but the Lakers started a new, more important winning streak.

LeBron James’ 18-year, 1,297-game streak of 10 or more points ended on Thursday in the Lakers’ 123-120 win over the Toronto Raptors as the 40-year-old finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting.

James last scored in single digits on Jan...Read more