NEW YORK — Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. has been playing through a knee issue no one outside the locker room knew about.

Speaking to reporters at shootaround ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Porter revealed he’s been dealing with a minor MCL sprain since Brooklyn’s 104-103 overtime loss to the...Read more

NEW YORK — The Liberty are set to begin the WNBA’s 30th season on May 8 — if the league and the WNBPA are able to reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement and avoid work stoppage.

The spring matchup against the Connecticut Sun would be the WNBA debut of new Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco at Barclays Center. The Friday ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Yeah, Coach would have approved. I think.

Still, on the night when the two teams with which John Wooden was most closely associated played each other – an occasion that UCLA made a tribute game, and that the Bruins’ players made count with a down-to-the-wire 69-67 victory over Purdue on Tuesday night – I’m sure there ...Read more

There was a distinct, almost electric dissonance humming through the Chase Center on Tuesday night. If you looked at the box score in a vacuum—stripped of time, score and reality — you saw a revelation. Jonathan Kuminga, the man exiled to the end of the bench for more than a month, erupted. Twenty-one points in 20 minutes. Seven field goals ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Fran Dunphy sat at a long table inside La Salle University’s athletic center early Monday afternoon, his body turned toward a wide window on the other end of a conference room, as if the difficult discussion topic pained him and he was trying to shield himself from the hurt.

A 70-page federal indictment had dropped Thursday ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — De’Anthony Melton heaved the ball over Moses Moody’s head and out of bounds, Brandin Podziemski had his pocket picked by Gradey Dick and the Warriors watched as a desperation attempt missed the rim as the shot clock expired.

Inside Chase Center, where there were more empty seats than usual, the crowd groaned.

Three ...Read more

CHICAGO — For a half-second, Coby White thought about pushing his luck.

It was deep in the fourth quarter of a 138-110 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Chicago Bulls held an unshakeable 31-point lead. White had knocked down 3-pointers on his last two trips down the court. There was nothing much to lose and plenty to gain as a crowd ...Read more

The Minnesota Timberwolves likely thought they had an easy win at the end of this four-game road swing.

Fans know that’s sometimes the most dangerous thing for them to think, and the Wolves let go of a game they could have won in a 127-122 loss to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday before 18,186 at Delta Center.

Not long after playing some of their ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — It is possible that, in one instant, the greatest era of Golden State Warriors basketball collapsed, right along with Jimmy Butler’s right knee.

Scans confirmed the worst on Tuesday, what was evident as Butler wailed in pain beneath the Chase Center basket on Monday night: A tear in his anterior cruciate ligament, ending his...Read more

CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson men’s basketball has been riding high for over a month.

On Tuesday, the Tigers came back to down to earth.

Clemson dropped its first ACC game of the season 80-76 in overtime to NC State at Littlejohn Coliseum, which snapped a nine-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 13 as well as a 10-game home winning streak.

...Read more

DETROIT — You could argue this is no time for half measures.

But that’ll be the dilemma now with these Detroit Pistons, who are halfway to a place they haven’t been in 20 years and perhaps nowhere near their full potential.

How best to reach it? And how far should the front office extend itself to try to expedite that process in the ...Read more

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan Wolverines will be the first to admit they haven’t been playing their best in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, though, they took a step in the right direction toward getting back to their previous form.

No. 3 Michigan kicked off a three-game homestand and a crucial stretch with four of five contests at home with a...Read more

NEW YORK — Far too often, St. John’s had been on the wrong side of games like this one.

In all five of their losses this season, the Red Storm blew a second-half lead. In three of those defeats, St. John’s led by double digits at one point.

But on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, the Johnnies were the comeback kids.

St. John’s ...Read more

BOULDER, Colo. — Kansas basketball coach Bill Self will not coach Tuesday night’s game against Colorado, KU Athletics has announced.

KU assistant Jacque Vaughn, former head coach of the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic, will take over head coaching duties for the game, as Self will remain in Lawrence following a health episode Monday.

In a ...Read more