5:17 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has been cleared to participate in contact drills, the team announced, the latest step toward his eventual return to the court. Williamson, who is in his third year, has missed every game this season because of a right foot fracture suffered in the summer.
NBA
12:04 PM ET There’s growing optimism that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James — who has been out two weeks with an abdominal strain — could make his return against the Boston Celtics on Friday, sources told ESPN. James has been making good progress, and Friday’s meeting with the Celtics (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) looms
3:48 AM ET Jamal Collier LOS ANGELES — Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 38 points on Monday night to help lift Chicago to a 121-103 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers, the fifth time in the past nine games he has notched at least 30 points. Even though DeRozan reached his season high
4:18 PM ET The NBA has fined the Minnesota Timberwolves $250,000 for what it says was a violation of league rules that prevent teams “from arranging or paying for offseason practice or group workout sessions for their players outside a team’s home market.” According to the NBA, the violation occurred as the result of Timberwolves
8:00 AM ET The NBA’s last remaining one-loss team suffered its second defeat Sunday when the Golden State Warriors fell to the Charlotte Hornets. Stephen Curry kicked off the week with a 50-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks — and dropped 40 against the Chicago Bulls on Friday — but was 7-of-22 from the field
11:19 PM ET Kevin Durant‘s MVP-like start to the season continued Sunday with 33 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder despite a sore right shoulder. After helping the Brooklyn Nets beat the Thunder 120-96, Durant acknowledged that he is getting treatment on his shooting shoulder. He could be seen at one point moving and feeling
9:37 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers top assistant coach Dave Joerger is leaving the team for several weeks to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a form of “head and neck” cancer, Joerger told ESPN. Joerger, 47, has undergone treatments while coaching for the past two weeks — missing only one road game — but the
8:21 PM ET Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner were among four players fined by the NBA on Friday after the two players got into a scuffle late in Thursday night’s game. Gobert was fined $35,000 for initiating the on-court altercation, while Turner received a $25,000 fine for escalating it,
2:58 PM ET Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. — Trail Blazers president and CEO Chris McGowan has decided to step down after nine years in the position. Dewayne Hankins, chief commercial officer and executive vice president, will take over as the team’s new president of business operations. McGowan’s resignation is effective on Nov. 26. He released
6:05 PM ET Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets with lower abdominal pain. Lillard has struggled to start the season, shooting below 40% from the field and below 30% from 3-point range. The Blazers officially ruled Lillard out with “lower abdominal tendinopathy.” He had
12:40 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — When he got off to a slow scoring start this season, James Harden said his body and conditioning weren’t yet ready to score 30 and 40 points. It took him 13 games but Harden cracked 30 points for the first time this season, and nearly hit 40. The Brooklyn
2:52 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis unloaded on the Lakers after Friday night’s 107-83 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves that was largely determined by a third quarter in which his team was outscored 40-12. “We sucked,” Davis said when asked about the third. “No defense. Can’t score. That’s not just this third quarter,
8:07 PM ET The NBA’s probe into possible pre-free agency tampering centered on the sign-and-trade acquisitions of Chicago’s Lonzo Ball and Miami’s Kyle Lowry appears to have reached the advanced stages, sources told ESPN on Friday. The NBA has conducted numerous interviews with team executives and player agents and have gathered electronic messaging of front
10:06 PM ET Associated Press DETROIT — Pistons power forward Kelly Olynyk will miss at least six weeks with a sprained left knee. Olynyk was hurt Wednesday in the Pistons’ 112-104 victory over the Houston Rockets, limping off the court in the fourth quarter. The Pistons said he underwent testing Thursday that revealed a Grade
1:54 AM ET ESPN News Services SALT LAKE CITY — Four players were ejected after Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner got into a scuffle late in the Indiana Pacers‘ 111-110 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. The tussle began after Gobert appeared to pull Turner down to the ground with him after Turner
2:44 PM ET Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic tested positive for COVID-19 and entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Thursday, sources told ESPN. The Bulls listed Vucevic in the protocols, but the positive test means the two-time All-Star selection will be sidelined for 10 days or until he has two negative PCR tests
8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA season is — almost — a month old. What standouts are here to stay? The Eastern Conference standings is full of early-season surprises, including impressive starts from the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are dealing with injuries as they work
12:23 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Throughout the New Orleans Pelicans‘ much maligned start to the 2021-22 season, coach Willie Green has tried to stay positive about the direction in which his team is headed. But after a 108-100 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night in which his team picked up five