The search for sustained consistency remained a focus for the Lakers on Sunday against a Sacramento Kings team with the NBA’s worst record.

And it helped that the Lakers were completely healthy against the Kings, something that has eluded them nearly all season.

Behind strong efforts from Luka Doncic and LeBron James, the Lakers defeated the...Read more

DENVER — With 36 hours of distance from Nikola Jokic’s altercation with the Oklahoma City Thunder, David Adelman had a much stronger opinion on the play that sparked it than he initially did.

In particular, he and the Denver Nuggets weren’t thrilled by Thunder coach Mark Daigneault’s dismissive postgame attitude about the flagrant two ...Read more

BOSTON — Call it the Neemias Queta Game.

The Celtics center, whose ascent from fourth-stringer to impact starter has been instrumental to Boston’s success this season, delivered the best performance of his career Sunday night to power his team to a 114-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden.

Queta finished with a career-high ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — A Golden State Warriors team scratching and clawing for better playoff seeding will be without its superstar for much of the postseason push.

Steph Curry will be re-evaluated in 10 days as he continues to recover from inflammation in his right knee, Golden State announced in a press release on Sunday afternoon. It will keep ...Read more

After going 4-0 against the Denver Nuggets last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves have struggled with their division rival this season, having dropped their first three matchups against them, including an overtime loss on Christmas Day.

Their matchup Sunday Denver’s Ball Arena had weight in the Western Conference standings, and the Wolves’...Read more

NEW YORK — That’s eight straight losses for Brooklyn, with the draft lottery looming in the background.

The Nets fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-102 Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center, dropping to 15-45 and cementing a season-worst stretch. And yet, in the middle of another loss, Brooklyn found something it hasn’t been able to count ...Read more

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Michigan State came to Indiana at a crossroads, but its past two games have made clear its direction entering March.

In a wire-to-wire victory, Michigan State drew as much as a 13-point lead in dispatching Indiana, 77-64, Sunday at Assembly Hall. Jaxon Kohler and Jeremy Fears Jr. each scored 21 points, while Kur Teng caught...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Sixth-year senior guard Chad Baker-Mazara, who spent most of this season as the Trojans top scorer, is no longer with USC’s men’s basketball program, the school announced Sunday.

A person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly said that it wasn’t any one incident, but an accumulation of issues ...Read more

NEW YORK — Which New York Knicks were going to show up to Madison Square Garden on Sunday?

It was the question of the hour as a mixed bag of Knicks chock full of inconsistencies on both ends of the floor hosted the Western Conference’s No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs in a matinee matchup serving equal parts barometer and way-too-early NBA ...Read more

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Roy Williams pulled a doubleheader, in his own words, on Saturday. The day started by watching his former player, Coby White, drop 20 points in a Charlotte Hornets victory over the Portland Trailblazers — a fitting performance in White’s home debut. With one win down, Williams made his way back to Chapel Hill for No. 18...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers seemingly lost their mojo after the All-Star break, with three consecutive losses leaving them in search of the “consistency” and “togetherness” they had earlier in the season.

Their 129-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Chase Center was a step in the right direction, even if the Warriors...Read more

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On the eve of college basketball’s biggest month, Florida coach Todd Golden’s red-hot Gators looked like a team ready for another deep postseason run.

With a 111-77 win Saturday night against No. 20 Arkansas, the No. 7 Gators ended a flawless February 8-0 and poised for another memorable March — the time when ...Read more

NEW YORK — Rick Pitino didn’t downplay it.

Ahead of Saturday night’s crucial meeting with Villanova at Madison Square Garden, Pitino declared it “the most important game” in his three years at St. John’s.

That’s because three days earlier, St. John’s suffered a sobering 32-point loss to UConn that complicated its pursuit of a ...Read more

STORRS, Conn. — When UConn was recruiting Alex Karaban, Tom Moore, who was covering New England at the time, stressed he was not a player who would jump out the first time you saw him. You had to go watch him play numerous games, doing his little bit of everything, to get a true appreciation.

The rest of the coaches followed up, someone from ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. — From the time the 2025-26 Kentucky men’s basketball season got off to a dispiriting start in November, most of the discussion about Mark Pope’s Cats has focused on the limitations UK will carry into March Madness.

On the final day of February, in front of a giddy Rupp Arena crowd, Kentucky put on display against No. 25 ...Read more

One day after Michigan captured the outright Big Ten regular-season title, it was dealt a brutal blow.

The program announced Saturday that sophomore guard L.J. Cason tore his right ACL in Friday’s 84-70 victory at Illinois and will miss the remainder of the season.

"First and foremost, our hearts hurt for L.J.," coach Dusty May said in a ...Read more

TUSCON, Ariz. — For a moment in time, the improbable Kansas comeback seemed possible.

Star freshman Darryn Peterson hit an array of shots that reminded everybody inside McKale Center why he’s the potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, KU clawed within two on a jumper from ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — With time running out to save its star-crossed season, USC put itself in position for a statement-making Saturday, only to see that dream devolve into a nightmare in an 82-67 loss to No. 12 Nebraska.

It was a painfully familiar scene for the Trojans, who have found new ways to unravel after halftime all season. This time, their ...Read more

MIAMI – This time the Miami Heat got closing time right.

After blown fourth-quarter leads in the previous two games, road losses to the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, Erik Spoelstra’s team this time held its ground in a 115-105 victory Saturday over the Houston Rockets at Kaseya Center.

Unable to score at the close in Milwaukee ...Read more