Well-connected bench sparks Pistons to win over Spurs – ‘They know how to play’

NEW YORK (AP) — All-Star guard Kyrie Irving has asked the Brooklyn Nets for a trade, according to ESPN and The Athletic. Irving made the request after talks about a new contract did not go to his liking, the news outlets reported Friday. The NBA’s trade deadline is Thursday....

After a three-day break in which the Jazz were able to get some much-needed practice time and recovery for their bodies, Utah found itself locked in battle with Toronto late in the fourth quarter Wednesday night. Good thing the Jazz got the time to rest and recover because when much...

Surprise, surprise — Utah found itself in another close game late in the fourth. After a thrilling and exciting final 12 minutes that saw impressive shotmaking and offensive creation on both sides, the Jazz got the final say. A Walker Kessler rebound, followed by free throws from Mike Conley, clinched the 131-128 victory over Toronto on Wednesday night.

The NBA announced today that LA Clippers guard/forward Paul George has been selected as a reserve for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. The 72nd NBA All-Star Game will be held at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Sunday, February 19th at 5 p.m. PST on TNT. . George will make...

76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers Named January Eastern Conference Coach of the Month;. Joel Embiid Named January Eastern Conference Player of the Month, Embiid Also Selected to NBA All-Star Game. The 76ers (33-17) are an NBA-best 21-5 since Dec. 9, and now arrive in San Antonio for their next game...

Start ringing the bells in Philadelphia. After a shaky start, the Sixers have completely flipped the switch and are starting to look like the contenders they were pegged to be coming into the 2022-23 season. They’ve lost just five games in the last 60 days, during which they’ve strung together...

Trekking the reactionary route after Joel Embiid’s 47-point stunner against Nikola Jokic seemed reasonable in the aftermath, but a deeper dive shapes the lack of major movement in this week’s Kia Race to the MVP Ladder. No disrespect to Embiid, the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for...

The Minnesota Timberwolves (28-26) are looking to get two-straight wins on Friday night against the Orlando Magic (20-32) at Target Center. Minnesota took an overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, 119-114. D’Angelo Russell was the team’s leading scorer with 29 points, Anthony Edwards had 27 points, and Naz Reid earned a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Check out our daily collection of Pelicans news and notes from local and national reporters around the Internet on February 1, 2023. New Orleans put forth the type of effort and performance Tuesday that may have been enough to post a victory while facing the vast majority of NBA teams.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (25-26) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (24-26) Feb. 3, 2023 — Capital One Arena — 4:00 pm PST. Portland and Washington will meet two times during the regular season, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 3 in Washington. LAST SEASON: The Trail Blazers won the 2021-22...

The way things were going lately for the Bulls, losing three of their last four and giving up a 19-point lead to the Clippers Tuesday, the Bulls really needed a win Thursday against the Charlotte Hornets. And the Big Three came through by a comfortable 114-98 margin. You know, Ayo...

Right before Will Hardy stood up from his postgame press conference following Wednesday's victory over Toronto, he had one more parting message for the contingent of media members sitting in front of him. His message was short and succinct. "First of all, none of us are hoping. …. We are...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray has been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in January, the NBA announced today. The fourth overall selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, Murray averaged 14.0 points (51.0 FG%, 49.5 3pt%, 93.3 FT%), 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 32.2 minutes per game in 15 games (15 starts) during the month of January. Murray also received NBA Rookie of the Month honors for December.

Intelligence can come in many forms – there is basketball IQ, street smarts and book smarts, to name just a few categories. When New Orleans players were asked to name the smartest player on the roster, the query was kept open-ended, allowing for a range of responses. The Pelicans seemed to lean toward a couple of the club’s older, more experienced NBA pros while answering, but there were always a few mentions of a trio of second-year players.

MEMPHIS -- It had been a month and a half since the Trail Blazers won a road game, so starting a three-game trip versus one of the best teams in the West seemed like a tall task, and that was before two-fifths of the starting lineup went down due to injury.

DeMar DeRozan will stop in Salt Lake City later this month on the way to Springfield. That’s because the Bulls star scorer Thursday was named to his sixth NBA All-Star team for the game in Utah Feb. 19. The history of Hall of Fame enshrinements has pretty much an informal cutoff that after five All-Star selections you are a lock to swing open that door to the Hall of Fame.

The NBA announced today that Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone was named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in January. Additionally, Michael Malone and his coaching staff have secured the top seed in the Western Conference through games played on February 5th, earning them the right to coach Team LeBron in the 2023 NBA All-Star Game. Malone and his staff previously earned this honor in 2019 at NBA All-Star weekend in Charlotte.

The Lakers got a much-needed win Tuesday night, snapping their two-game losing streak (and their four-game streak of dropping overtime games), when they took down the Knicks 129-123. With LeBron and Anthony Davis returning to game action after missing Monday's loss vs. the Nets, and Patrick Beverley sitting out with...

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James has climbed into fourth place on the NBA’s assists list as he closes in on becoming the league’s career scoring leader. James passed both Mark Jackson (10,334) and Steve Nash (10,335) in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday. His 10,336th assist came on Thomas Bryant’s dunk with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The Boston Celtics torched every net in front of them Wednesday night. Those both of twine and human variety. No matter which type of net stood in front of Boston, it was burnt to a crisp by the team’s historically hot scoring. The Celtics tied for their highest-scoring quarter...