WASHINGTON – Yes, another early 22-point lead, just like Friday night in Boston.

But actually nothing like that blown 22-point lead against the Celtics, considering this was against a team again prioritizing its annual race to the bottom of the standings, and therefore top of the lottery.

So little worry for the Miami Heat in this one amid ...Read more

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Michigan Wolverines ended the week the same way they started it — with a regular-season series sweep.

Three days after beating Penn State for the second time in the Big Ten play, No. 2 Michigan repeated the feat and swept the home-and-home series with rival Ohio State.

What made Sunday’s 82-61 win over the Buckeyes ...Read more

Super Bowl Sunday started on a sour note for Boston fans.

Hours before the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks squared off across the country in Santa Clara, Calif., the Celtics fell to the Knicks 111-89 at TD Garden in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.

Boston and New York have spent the past several weeks jockeying for the No. ...Read more

The question in the wake of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline was one of: wouldn’t or couldn’t?

Because where the Miami Heat stood entering the process and where they stand exiting the process is not a place to be running in place.

Not bad enough to be lottery bad.

Not good enough to be contention good.

The fork in the road was right there...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls have barely had time to go around in a circle and introduce themselves since they first assembled as a team. Yet they somehow gave the Denver Nuggets a baffling scare on Saturday.

Denver pulled away late for a 136-120 win at United Center to snap its first three-game losing streak of the season, but the performance...Read more

LOS ANGELES — On the night the Los Angeles Lakers introduced the newly-acquired guard Luke Kennard, they also discuss relatively good news about Luka Doncic's injury and how long he'll be out.

The Lakers said Doncic was diagnosed with a mild left hamstring strain and will be listed as day-to-day, starting with Saturday night's 105-99 win over...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky was down double digits to Tennessee on Saturday night. Again.

The Wildcats made a game of it. Again.

And then Mark Pope’s team did it. Again.

The Cats stormed back in the second half and ultimately completed another UK basketball comeback, beating the No. 25-ranked Volunteers, 74-71, in Rupp Arena.

Collin ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A few moments before 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porzingis lifted his new No. 7 Golden State jersey for the flashing cameras in downtown Los Angeles, the newest Warrior tried his hand at comedy.

“Forty-eight minutes,” Porzingis quipped when asked how much he expected to play per night.

An hour before tipping off against the Luka ...Read more

EAST LANSING, Mich. — If Tom Izzo hadn’t made up his mind about disciplining Jeremy Fears Jr. when he spoke to the media Friday, then he had by tipoff of Saturday’s top-10 matchup with Illinois. He started Fears, his phenom point guard, in a game vital to Michigan State’s Big Ten title chase.

After a noisy week off the court, Fears ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s first lead over Duke on Saturday night was the only one that mattered.

Seth Trimble’s 3-pointer from the corner in front of UNC’s bench with 0.4 seconds left gave the 14th-ranked Tar Heels a 71-68 won over the No. 4 Blue Devils.

Trimble’s shot at the buzzer set off a wild celebration as the ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Magic traveled to Utah in late-December, Orlando needed a game-winning layup from Desmond Bane in the final moments of overtime to escape with a one-point win at Delta Center.

And on Saturday night at Kia Center, coach Jamahl Mosley‘s squad needed to make a major comeback to capture a 120-117 win against the ...Read more

When Logan and Jennifer Wagler dropped off their youngest son in Champaign, Ill., over the summer, their hope was that he would put on 5 pounds, adjust well to college life and work hard so he could find a way to contribute to the Illinois basketball team.

They’ve always tried to be realistic about their three kids’ sports careers, not to ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — When asked about Rudy Gobert’s comments from the Timberwolves’ loss to the Pelicans, the comments in which Gobert said it was about time for coach Chris Finch to start benching those who don’t give effort on defense, Jaden McDaniels smiled and turned into a politician.

“I don’t know nothing ‘bout it. I don’t even ...Read more

NEW YORK — With the trade deadline behind them, the Nets introduced Ochai Agbaji and Josh Minott on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center and beat the Washington Wizards, 127-113, improving to 14-37 while snapping a three-game skid. The turnover that made their arrivals possible was still fresh.

Cam Thomas, Haywood Highsmith and Tyrese Martin...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — If you missed Kansas' men’s basketball’s game against Utah on Saturday, here’s a word of advice:

Don’t bother watching the replay.

The No. 11 Jayhawks entered this matchup as 19.5-point favorites. They still won handily, 71-59, but it was a slog to get there.

In fact, outside of Flory Bidunga’s defensive ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie gave his youngest players another opportunity to close out a close game, but they couldn’t stop the team’s longest losing streak in more than 30 years.

Kawhi Leonard had 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-111 victory before a crowd ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons demonstrated that their loss to the Washington Wizards 24 hours earlier was an anomaly rather than the norm. Friday night, they bounced back in a 118-80 victory over the New York Knicks inside Little Caesars Arena.

Detroit had arguably its best 3-point shooting performance of the season, finishing with 17 made 3s...Read more

NEW YORK — The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team saw its 18-game winning streak come to an end in an 81-72 loss to No. 22 St. John’s in a sold-out Madison Square Garden Friday night.

The Big East’s top two teams put on a show, but the Johnnies prevailed, forcing 15 turnovers and getting to the free-throw line 31 times on their way to a ...Read more

BOSTON — The Celtics overcame a dreadful offensive first half and a 22-point Heat lead to secure their fifth straight win Friday night.

Derrick White’s corner 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining put Boston ahead for good in a 98-96 thriller over Miami at TD Garden.

Veteran newcomer Nikola Vucevic, acquired from Chicago earlier in the week for ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves can’t get Ayo Dosunmu on the floor fast enough.

Their newest prize acquisition sat out his first game with the team against New Orleans as the trade the Wolves made with the Bulls gets finalized, so the Wolves took the floor without him.

The same team that has struggled with a lack of defensive focus and ...Read more