LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have reached the part of the NBA season in which they get a week off because of the All-Star break that starts Friday. It’ll give the Lakers time to rest, and perhaps most importantly, to get healthy.

Luka Doncic is at the center of what they do, but he missed his fourth straight game with left leg ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — In the 1950s, Sports Illustrated, then the crown jewel of sports journalism, hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a story about a racehorse that had leapt a fence.

Vonnegut would go on to become a famous author, and the publication was looking for a writerly view of this event. Deep thinking was in the offing.

After staring at a blank ...Read more

SEATTLE — Considering all that’s been going on around here of late, the chatter about the NBA has understandably taken a few steps back from getting a ton of attention.

But this weekend provides another opportunity when the league could advance the conversation on what seems to be the never-ending topic of expansion.

The league will gather...Read more

NEW YORK — The Knicks are rounding out a roster they hope can compete for a championship with one big addition entering the mid-February NBA All-Star break.

The Knicks are signing 2022 No. 9 overall pick Jeremy Sochan to a minimum contract for the rest of the season, league sources told the New York Daily News. ESPN was first to report Sochan...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina star freshman Caleb Wilson suffered a broken left hand during the Tar Heels’ loss at Miami on Tuesday night, the school announced Thursday.

Wilson is out indefinitely due to the injury and no timetable has been determined for his return to play, according to UNC.

The freshman from Atlanta suffered the ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. — The pitter-patter of rain outside of Oakland’s Grand Lake Theater melded with sharp cracks of bursting popcorn inside the venerable establishment, creating a soundtrack to the anticipation felt by attendees late on Tuesday afternoon.

A crowd — to the chagrin of security — clogged the cramped interior while hoping to ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place Sunday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood. Each year there are new twists to the game and activities during the three-day celebration of the best basketball players in the world. This year is no exception.

Here's what you need to know (all times Pacific):

All-Star Game

— When: Sunday, ...Read more

Clunky in the clutch again, the Nuggets managed to survive a late comeback Wednesday night at Ball Arena and went into the All-Star break with a 122-116 win over the Grizzlies.

Nikola Jokic registered his 20th triple-double of the season with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, though he also was responsible for nine turnovers two days after...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO – With the All-Star break only a few hours away, it would have been understandable if the Warriors’ effort was a bit lacking on Wednesday night against San Antonio.

But playing against one of the West’s top teams, the Steph Curry-less Warriors lost 126-113 to the Spurs in a game that was close for much of it.

Draymond Green...Read more

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate missing the first game of their respective four-game suspensions, the Charlotte Hornets were counting on rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner and veteran journeyman Grant Williams to step up in the final matchup before the NBA All-Star break. The results were mixed.

Kalkbrenner (five points) and ...Read more

EVANSTON, Ill.— Many have tried but nobody has been able to knock off the Michigan Wolverines in any game they’ve played away from home.

Add the Northwestern Wildcats to that growing list.

Behind a furious second-half rally, No. 2 Michigan overcame a 16-point deficit to keep its unbeaten road record intact and created some separation atop ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS — The UConn men’s basketball team pulled away late in the second half to beat Butler, 80-70, as Solo Ball returned to form with six made 3-pointers in a full Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.

Ball, who scored a career-high 26 points in the first matchup against the Bulldogs in Hartford, sparked a 10-0 run in the last six ...Read more

TORONTO — Despite being without Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, the Detroit Pistons delivered one of their most dominating performances of the season. Led by Cade Cunningham, who came close to a triple-double, the Pistons achieved a wire-to-wire 113-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Cunningham led the...Read more

Jose Alvarado brought the ball up the floor, threw an entry pass to Karl-Anthony Towns, then cut off Towns’ right shoulder to the rim. Towns found Alvarado wide-open for what could have been an easy 2.

But what followed was a blur of reads and reversals that never let the ball stick. Towns hit Alvarado on a back cut. Alvarado drew the defense...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Nobody typifies how up and down the Minnesota Timberwolves can be emotionally than Julius Randle. He has admitted it, and this Wolves team knows there can be times where Randle is going through lulls in how he’s feeling.

But when he’s engaged and playing like he was in the 133-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at ...Read more

NEW ORLEANS – A 29-27 record hardly is optimal at the All-Star break for a team seeking to avoid the play-in round for a fourth consecutive season.

But at least it beats the .500 alternative.

So it is with that record that the Miami Heat into their extended break, after a 123-111 victory Wednesday night over the New Orleans Pelicans at ...Read more

NEW YORK — The kids had it, and then they didn’t. What looked like a feel-good sendoff into All-Star weekend turned into another reminder of how little room for error exists for a young team still learning how to finish.

The Nets fell to the Indiana Pacers, 115-110, on Wednesday night at Barclays Center, watching an 18-point third-quarter ...Read more

As the Los Angeles Lakers approach the All-Star break, LeBron James summed up their situation as well as anybody could.

“That’s a championship team right there,” he said of the Oklahoma City Thunder after the Lakers’ 119-110 loss to the defending champs on Monday night. “We’re not.

“We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 ...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Speaking at a fan engagement event Tuesday night in Ocoee, Magic guard Jalen Suggs called Wednesday’s game the toughest part of accomplishing Orlando‘s goal of going undefeated on its four-game homestand ahead of the NBA All-Star break.

And he wasn’t wrong.

Facing the Bucks for the second time in three days after it ...Read more

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics avoided a pre-All-Star letdown Wednesday night, closing out the unofficial first half of their season with a 124-105 dismantling of the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden.

Trade-deadline pickup Nikola Vucevic tallied a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double against his former team to help Boston bounce back from Sunday’s ...Read more