2:48 PM ET Golden State Warriors guard D’Angelo Russell is out at least two weeks with a sprained right thumb. The Warriors announced that an MRI performed on Russell’s right thumb after Friday night’s loss to the Boston Celtics game confirmed the sprain. He will not travel with the Warriors on their upcoming four-game road

3:51 AM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James destroyed Nemanja Bjelica with a dunk in the first half Friday. Obliterated him. Might have well have turned Bjelica’s No. 88 uniform on its side and sent him off to infinity, and beyond. It was a career highlight-reel worthy throwdown for James on the same day he

12:33 AM ET MEMPHIS — The crowd greeted Mike Conley with thunderous applause when the Grizzlies legend was introduced as a visitor in FedExForum for the first time Friday night. The fans gave Conley an even longer, louder standing ovation during the first timeout after the arena played a tribute video that caused him to

3:35 PM ET Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Bill Russell says he’s finally ready to be a Hall of Famer. The 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ said on Twitter on Friday that he was presented with his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony that comes four

2:17 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Cold outside air poured through the loading dock a couple hundred feet from tunnels leading out to the floor, coating the lower bowl at Smoothie King Center on Thursday with a chilled draft. For the first time this season, Paul George took the court for a pregame warmup and

7:04 AM ET It has been 18 months since the New York Knicks hired David Fizdale, a move the organization was convinced would usher in the start of a new era. This time, the team believed, it would be different than all their past failings. This time there was a vision, a plan and alignment

1:18 PM ET Caris LeVert will miss four to six weeks, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, after the Brooklyn Nets guard underwent surgery Thursday to repair ligaments in his right thumb. In announcing the procedure, the Nets did not provide a timeline for LeVert’s return, saying he was out indefinitely and that updates on his

1:50 AM ET LeBron James likes to pass the ball. Legend has it he developed his appreciation for the pass as a 9-year-old playing for the Summit Lake Hornets in a rec basketball league in Akron, Ohio. He fed a diminutive teammate named Sonny Spoon by rolling the rock his way. It was the only

8:03 PM ET Associated Press MILWAUKEE — The Bucks have assigned Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, to the G League. The Bucks announced Wednesday that Antetokounmpo and Dragan Bender have been assigned to the Wisconsin Herd. Antetokounmpo, who signed a two-year, minimum contract with Milwaukee during the offseason, has appeared

3:07 PM ET NEW YORK — Kristaps Porzingis is intimately familiar with the winding hallways of Madison Square Garden. For the nearly four years he played for the New York Knicks, Porzingis would saunter up the ramp from the loading dock, walk down one dimly lit hallway and turn right into the Knicks locker room.

1:57 AM ET PHOENIX — Anthony Davis had a wrap on his right shoulder before the game and tape around his ribs by the end of it, but neither setback stopped him from putting up 24 points and 12 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 123-115 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. “He wants

5:36 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand during Monday night’s loss to the Utah Jazz, the team announced Tuesday after an MRI revealed the fracture. Lee, who is on a two-way contract with the Warriors for the second

2:34 PM ET Houston guard Eric Gordon will have knee surgery and will be out six weeks, Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said Tuesday. 2 Related Gordon had an MRI Tuesday morning that showed “significant” debris and opted for the procedure, which will take place Wednesday, D’Antoni said. “It’s been bothering him, actually, from the middle

9:16 AM ET Houston, we have a Westbrook … now what? Following the initial shock of the Russell Westbrook trade to the Houston Rockets, there were three immediate questions about the superstar on the court: Can Westbrook shoot well enough to play in Houston’s system? Can Westbrook and James Harden coexist? Does Westbrook make the

10:59 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry says he expects to play at some point this season after breaking his left hand in an Oct. 30 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Curry, who had surgery on Nov. 1 in Los Angeles, was in good spirits as he spoke to

2:52 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green will play against the Utah Jazz on Monday night after missing the last five games because of a torn ligament in his left finger. “It’s improved,” Green said of his finger after Monday’s shootaround. “It’s not all the way 100 percent. I’ll be

2:27 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Following a 113-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis admitted he is still feeling discomfort in his right shoulder that he jammed on a missed dunk attempt two weeks ago. “There’s really never a play I don’t feel it,” Davis said. He

11:08 PM ET After a 21-point blowout loss at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, New York Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry addressed the media to express their displeasure with the team’s struggles. “We’re not happy with where we are,” said Mills. “This is not where we expected to be