PHOENIX — Austin Reaves returned from a left calf strain that sidelined him for three games, but the Lakers’ second-leading scorer did nothing to fix the team’s most glaring weakness.

The Lakers’ defense collapsed in a 132-108 loss to the Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, giving up a season-high field goal percentage (59%), ...Read more

Michael Porter Jr. lit the fuse early, and the Nets’ defense did the rest.

Porter poured in a game-high 28 points and Brooklyn sustained its December defensive surge Tuesday night, holding the Philadelphia 76ers to 40.7% shooting while forcing 17 turnovers in a 114-106 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The victory improved the Nets to 9-19 and ...Read more

MIAMI – On the night before the night before Christmas, another lump of coal for the Miami Heat.

So make it eight losses in the last nine games and a .500 record at the holiday break with Tuesday night’s 112-91 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Kaseya Center, this time their lowest-scoring game of the season.

Looking nothing like the team ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Even though Karl-Anthony Towns played an excellent game against his former team, another player involved in last September’s blockbuster trade between the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks got some revenge in the fourth quarter.

Julius Randle, who had a tough first three quarters, turned it on when it mattered most. ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jasper Johnson says the best Christmas gift he’s ever gotten was an all-terrain vehicle when he was a child.

“My dad got me a four-wheeler, but I didn’t have it too long,” the Kentucky freshman guard said. “I ended up crashing it when he let me drive it, and he got scared.”

In the second half of the 2025-26 UK ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Facing an overmatched opponent that allowed him to freely tinker with his lineups, UCLA coach Mick Cronin tried plenty of mixing and matching Tuesday afternoon.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that a three-guard lineup might be the way to go after the continued struggles of centers Xavier Booker and Steven Jamerson II.

"We've ...Read more

NEW YORK — The NBA is once again taking a hard look at tanking, and the timing is no coincidence.

As the league continues to deal with the fallout from a gambling scandal that exposed how injury information and late-season lineup decisions can be exploited, officials have begun exploring new ways to remove the incentive to lose on purpose.

...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky was without its complement of players yet again Tuesday afternoon.

For this one, it didn’t matter.

The Wildcats defeated Bellarmine, 99-85, in a rare weekday matinee game in Rupp Arena. It was the team’s final game of the calendar year, as well as the last nonconference matchup on the 2025-26 schedule. UK will ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas freshman Kohl Rosario did something Monday night that he hasn’t done since late November.

He hit multiple 3-pointers.

In the second half of a 90-61 blowout win over Davidson, Rosario hit back-to-back 3s, drawing a roar from the packed Allen Fieldhouse crowd that wasn’t matched the rest of the game.

Rosario, ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — After a nail-biter on Saturday in Atlanta, No. 12 North Carolina men’s basketball treated its home crowd to a comfortable 99-51 win over ECU to close out nonconference play.

The game had tilted so far in UNC’s favor that, by the later minutes of the second half, the loudest sound from the crowd was the jeering of a ...Read more

DENVER — The Denver Nuggets might’ve been guilty of coasting Monday, but they could afford to coast.

Scoring the first 19 points of the game and leading by 25 after the first quarter, Denver bounced back from its largest loss of the season with a 135-112 win over the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena.

The Nuggets (21-7) haven’t lost consecutive ...Read more

BOSTON — A glance at the stat sheet would suggest Jaylen Brown, with his game-high 31 points and nine rebounds, was the driving force behind the Boston Celtics’ latest victory.

But credit for the 103-95 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night belonged to Boston’s bench.

Down 20 early in the third quarter, head coach Joe Mazzulla sent...Read more

NEW YORK — For the first time this season, St. John’s is unranked.

The Red Storm fell out of the AP Top 25 two days after Saturday’s 78-66 loss to Kentucky dropped them to 7-4.

St. John’s opened the season ranked No. 5 but has failed to live up to the lofty expectations thus far.

The Johnnies are 0-3 against ranked opponents and 2-4 ...Read more

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — By halftime on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome, the Clippers seemed to have the Lakers snared in a trap game. There was no other way to describe it.

The Lakers were down three regulars to start with, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton inactive with injuries and Rui Hachimura unavailable with a hip/groin injury suffered the ...Read more

DENVER — Quesarito Night got extra spicy.

“I wish there was fighting (in basketball),” Denver Nuggets guard/enforcer Bruce Brown said early Saturday evening after a 115-101 home loss to the Houston Rockets. “I wish we didn’t get fined.”

“I definitely wanted to cross the line,” Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant told a small ...Read more

NEW YORK – When it comes to slumps, skids and defeats in droves, it’s as if the logic for the losses is without limitation.

Sometimes it’s death by 3-pointers. Sometimes it’s an opposing hot hand. Sometimes one bad stretch doing the damage.

Sunday night, in falling for the seventh time in eight games with a 132-125 loss to the New York...Read more

NEW YORK — Defense set the tone Sunday night and carried Brooklyn home to a win.

The Nets limited the Toronto Raptors from the opening tip through the final possessions, pulling away late for a 96-81 win Sunday night at Barclays Center to move to 8-19 on the season.

After struggling against the Miami Heat, Michael Porter Jr. led the way with...Read more