NBA

7:00 AM ET Even Stephen Curry can’t believe he’s on the verge of surpassing a record held by the great Wilt Chamberlain. “That’s surreal to be honest,” Curry said after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks last week, after which he sat 129 points behind the Warriors’ all-time lead. “[Chamberlain has] got a lot of

5:55 PM ET NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving will not play in the Brooklyn Nets‘ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday. He is out due to personal reasons, the team announced. The Nets will also be without LaMarcus Aldridge, who is listed as out for a non-coronavirus-related illness. James Harden was diagnosed with a

3:33 PM ET Golden State Warriors rookie center James Wiseman suffered a tear to the meniscus in his right knee and could miss the rest of the season, sources told ESPN. Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, underwent imaging Sunday for an injury suffered on Saturday night. Further consultation with

9:14 AM ET Forward Alize Johnson has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets worth up to $4.1 million, his agent George Langberg told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson’s productivity parlayed two consecutive 10-day contracts into the new deal with the Nets. Johnson had his choice of a bit more guaranteed money elsewhere, but

2:06 AM ET It was a potential NBA Finals preview, albeit with superstars on both squads sidelined with injuries. Nevertheless, Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder called L.A.’s 126-101 beatdown of the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday “the best win of the year.” The Lakers were playing without stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as well

7:29 PM ET Former major league slugger Alex Rodriguez and billionaire Marc Lore are finalizing a deal to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from majority owner Glen Taylor, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. Taylor will continue to hold full control of the team for two years before Rodriguez and Lore take over in 2023.

10:17 AM ET Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant is no longer driven by championships. After all, he has won two. Instead, he says it’s the desire to be at his best that fuels him. “I wasn’t expecting to be a happy human being from a title,” Durant told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in an interview that

12:18 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — All it took for the Boston Celtics to end their season-long seven-game homestand with a victory Friday night was a 17-point comeback to force overtime, and the best game of Jayson Tatum‘s career. The 23-year-old All-Star finished with a career-high 53 points — including 35 points in the

7:38 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks were without all five of their usual starters Friday night as they hosted the Charlotte Hornets a night after losing at Dallas. Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out his fourth straight game with a sore left knee. He missed his sixth game in the

3:02 AM ET The LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns have played twice this season, and there have been contentious moments resulting in technical fouls, flagrant fouls, ejections and plenty of “chirping.” After Paul George scored 33 points to help the Clippers take a 113-103 win over the Suns at Staples Center in a game that

1:38 AM ET Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said Thursday that he believes his tweets about women’s sports and the pay-gap with male athletes have been “extremely misconstrued,” saying in part, “I am on their side.” Green spoke about the topic one day after U.S. women’s national team star Megan Rapinoe ripped his remarks,

12:31 PM ET Toronto Raptors guards Fred VanVleet and DeAndre’ Bembry and Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker have been suspended one game each without pay for leaving the bench area during an on-court altercation during the Lakers’ 110-101 win on Tuesday. Raptors forward OG Anunoby and Lakers big man Montrezl Harrell were fined for

12:13 PM ET Golden State Warriors president and chief operating officer Rick Welts, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, will retire after the 2020-21 NBA season, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday. Welts has spent 46 years working in the NBA and, in 2011, became the most prominent sports executive

12:43 AM ET After missing almost two months because of a left hamstring strain, Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant quieted any lingering doubts about his health as the playoffs near: He looked like same superstar he has always been. Durant, coming off the bench in his return from a 23-game absence, scored 17 points on

2:42 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Less than a minute into his first game as a member of the LA Clippers, DeMarcus Cousins maneuvered his way around Enes Kanter, tapped an offensive rebound to himself and scored on a putback right in front of a delighted Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. Making his debut for the

7:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN THE SECOND THE basketball slips into Lonzo Ball‘s hands, he’s got one target in mind. It’s March 1 and the New Orleans Pelicans are down by six to the Utah Jazz early in the third quarter. After a Mike Conley 3, Pelicans wing Brandon Ingram takes the inbounds pass and

2:28 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry has won two MVPs and three NBA championships, but those who have watched him closely for years believe he continues to play the best basketball of his life during a year in which his team is struggling to hold on to a

8:03 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star James Harden played just four minutes before he was ruled out for the remainder of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks because of right hamstring tightness. Harden’s brief return came after he missed the Nets’ past two games while dealing with the same tightness.