NBA

7:47 PM ET Less than 2 weeks after being a 50-1 longshot to win NBA MVP, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid is now the favorite (+260) at Caesars Sportsbook. Embiid, listed at 50-1 on January 16, is in the midst of a 16-game stretch in which he is averaging 34 points and 10 rebounds per

12:52 AM ET ESPN News Services NEW ORLEANS — Nikola Jokic scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Denver Nuggets held off the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 116-105 on Friday night. It was the reigning NBA MVP’s sixth triple-double in January, tied

2:16 PM ET The Sacramento Kings — one of the most aggressive teams in the trade market and once an eager suitor for Philadelphia‘s Ben Simmons — have ended their pursuit of a deal with the 76ers and turned elsewhere in trade talks, sources told ESPN on Friday. Inside of two weeks until the Feb.

7:21 AM ET AT THE HEIGHT of protest over the May 2020 police murder of George Floyd, one of retired NBA star Dwyane Wade’s Twitter accounts posted: “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” The tweet from an athlete celebrated for his social justice advocacy was perfectly in character. The account that

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The 2022 NBA All-Star Game is just a few weeks away, and on Thursday night the NBA will reveal the 10 players voted in as starters along with the two All-Star captains who will draft their teams for the eventual showdown in Cleveland on Feb. 20. As of the last

7:26 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LeBron James and Kevin Durant again will be the captains of the two teams in this year’s All-Star Game, as the NBA on Thursday night announced the starters for its annual midseason showcase to be held Feb. 20 in Cleveland. James, who has now been a captain in each of

8:00 AM ET IT WAS THE start of the fourth quarter and the Boomers, the Australian Olympic team, were in a tight game against Italy in an important group stage match. The Aussies had inched ahead and a finishing kick would guarantee advancement to the medal round. Coach Brian Goorjian peered down the bench, looking

8:19 PM ET The Brooklyn Nets won’t listen to trade-deadline overtures for All-NBA guard James Harden, a resolve rooted in Harden’s repeated insistences to ownership and management that he’s committed to staying and winning a championship with the franchise, sources told ESPN. Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks are buoyed not only

7:47 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden did not play against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night because of what the team said was left hamstring tightness. Harden, who is averaging 37 minutes a game this season, was a late scratch a night after racking up a triple-double in Tuesday’s 106-96

12:26 PM ET As the NBA nears the fourth month of its investigation into the Phoenix Suns and majority owner Robert Sarver, the team is working toward creating a confidential internal hotline in the coming weeks for employees to report complaints, team sources told ESPN. On Monday, a Suns executive explained to colleagues that the

12:29 AM ET Trailing by 35 shortly before the half, point guard Reggie Jackson joked that the LA Clippers were “right where we want to be” against the Washington Wizards. Still, the Clippers could hardly believe what they had done when the buzzer sounded. Despite playing without the injured Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the

6:41 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Anthony Davis will play for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Brooklyn Nets after missing 17 games with a sprained MCL in his left knee. Coach Frank Vogel said there was no set minutes level for the All-Star big man, but the Lakers had a range they

8:03 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN The Chicago Bulls are getting one star back for Monday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, while simultaneously resting another. Zach LaVine is in the starting lineup on Monday night after missing the past five games with a left knee injury. Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan will not play against the Thunder

7:22 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes was formally charged with domestic violence, resisting arrest and battery against a police officer stemming from his arrest last summer in Los Angeles, court records show. Hayes was charged with 12 counts in total, including three counts of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse,

8:00 AM ET The race atop the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be a wild one in the NBA’s second half. The Miami Heat are the current leaders after their win over the Los Angeles Lakers combined with the Brooklyn Nets‘ loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, but plenty of contenders are right

11:39 PM ET MIAMI — Anthony Davis‘ left knee injury coincided with an offensive explosion from LeBron James, as his 33 points in Sunday’s 113-107 loss to the Miami Heat marked the 17th straight game that the Los Angeles Lakers star has scored 25 points or more. All with Davis out. With Davis potentially returning

12:36 AM ET MINNEAPOLIS — Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden does not believe he is getting the benefit of the whistle the same way he did in years past. The 32-year-old made that clear after getting to the line only four times in a 136-125 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night. When asked

4:53 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN The NBA suspended the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Grayson Allen for one game on Sunday for his flagrant 2 foul on Alex Caruso that caused a fractured wrist for the Chicago Bulls guard. The league punished Allen, who was ejected from the Bucks’ 94-90 victory over the Bulls on Friday night after