LOS ANGELES — A season of frustratingly unfortunate events for USC had led here, to this nightmarish crescendo at the one-minute mark Saturday, in a must-win matchup.

Through a roller-coaster afternoon, the Trojans had navigated one wave after another, riding several hot streaks and surviving the cold ones, knowing full well that their NCAA ...Read more

CHICAGO — The NBA trade deadline passed more than two weeks ago, yet the Chicago Bulls are still adding to the confounding saga of their flurry of deals.

Injuries once again sit at the heart of the issue. Guard Jaden Ivey will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a left knee injury. He will miss at least seven games and could stay home ...Read more

MIAMI — The last time an opponent arrived to Kaseya Center looking to lose, the Miami Heat denied them that privilege.

In that regard, consider Saturday night’s 136-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies a lesson learned.

Prioritizing improving their odds for the draft lottery, just as the Utah Jazz did in the Heat’s precious home game, ...Read more

CHICAGO— The Detroit Pistons secured their fifth consecutive victory in a blowout 126-110 win over the Chicago Bulls Saturday night at the United Center.

Despite a lackluster first half, the Pistons rallied in the third quarter, outscoring the Bulls 44-26. The Pistons improved to 42-13 while winning their eighth game in their last nine ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Michigan was ranked No. 1 in the nation and Duke was No. 3, but that was in the AP poll.

Nearly everyone else, and nearly every metric, have the Wolverines and Blue Devils 1-2, the two best teams in the country with February coming to and March just ahead.

It almost seemed fitting that the two would meet Saturday in the Capital ...Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green is a magnet for attention whenever he is on the floor for the Golden State Warriors.

Often for positive reasons: a perfect defensive rotation, a timely 3-pointer punctuated by his signature “BOOM” or a deft pass on the short-roll.

Other times, for his well-documented follies: blowups at officials, ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — UConn coach Dan Hurley demanded a championship response, and he got it Saturday.

The fifth-ranked UConn men’s basketball team bounced back from Wednesday’s upset loss to Creighton with a well-rounded, dominant 73-63 Big East Conference win over third-place Villanova at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Nine Huskies found the bottom of...Read more

An additional 10 minutes were needed to decide a winner between the No. 7 seeds in the East and West when the Magic met the Suns inside Mortgage Matchup Center on Saturday night.

Both Phoenix and Orlando took double-digit leads in regulation but found themselves tied at 96 following four quarters of action and then tied again at 103 after the ...Read more

When Kansas State found itself staring at a big deficit against No. 13 Texas Tech, interim basketball coach Matthew Driscoll assured his players that they weren’t out of the game.

“Early leads don’t mean anything,” Driscoll said during a timeout huddle in the first half.

His words contained wisdom, but the Wildcats were unable to fight...Read more

DETROIT — To no surprise, the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are on track to earn a high seed in next month’s NCAA tournament.

The men’s basketball selection committee released an early reveal of the top 16 seeds on Saturday, with Michigan being listed as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and Michigan State a No. 4 seed ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — For the second time this season, Rudy Gobert won’t be in the arena as the Timberwolves play a game.

That’s because Gobert is getting his second one-game suspension for accruing too many flagrant foul points, after committing another flagrant in the team’s victory over Dallas on Friday, Feb. 20.

Gobert’s arm made an “...Read more

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse fans poured over top of each other — from the temporary bleachers cutting the JMA Wireless Dome football field in half and onto the makeshift flooring underlaying courtside seating — screaming and pumping their fists as they were treated to a game-tying bucket.

An under-the-basket pass to Henri Veesaar was tipped...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — No matter what the Kansas men’s basketball team tried Saturday, Cincinnati had the answer.

Every time the Jayhawks scored what felt like a big 2-point shot, the Bearcats answered with a 3-pointer.

In a matchup that didn’t have much separation for most of the game, the back-and-forth contest ended in a rout. And it ...Read more

Thursday night at Chase Center was a cold splash of reality right to the face:

Despite the beautiful arena and the constant development around it, the Golden State Warriors have officially moved into basketball’s worst neighborhood.

The Celtics strolled in and methodically dismantled the Dubs. Even with a little garbage-time hustle, the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — For just the 11th time in 55 games this season, the Lakers had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sharing the court together.

They are the core of the Los Angeles Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together for far too much. In their first game since the All-...Read more

Thursday’s blowout in Cleveland lingered, but Friday offered a chance to respond. A chance to compete against the defending NBA champions. And for stretches, the Nets did exactly that.

It just wasn’t enough.

Despite a sharper start and a spirited third-quarter push, Brooklyn fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-86, at Paycom Center, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves enter the final third of their season with the third toughest schedule in the league, by opponent winning percentage.

There aren’t many gimmes the rest of the way, but one of them came in their first game out of the All-Star break against the Dallas Mavericks, who were without an injured Cooper Flagg, the top ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings were eager to see De’Andre Hunter play alongside Keegan Murray after acquiring him in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but that won’t happen any time soon.

A league source told The Sacramento Bee on Friday that Hunter had season-ending surgery on his left eye, confirming a report from NBA ...Read more