NBA Fantasy
SportsThe Associated PressRockets withstand final review in 103-102 win over Pistons
Jerami Grant's driving layup on the final play came too late, and the Houston Rockets held on for a 103-102 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Down one with 3.4 seconds remaining, the Pistons inbounded to Grant, who faked a handoff to Blake Griffin and then drove down the right side of the lane. Time clearly ran out before he laid the ball in, but he was also bumped by Houston's P.J. Tucker.
SportsYahoo SportsNets' defensive woes flare up again in second straight loss to Cavaliers
The Nets have allowed 272 points in 2 games against the Cavs, one of the worst offenses in the NBA.
SportsAssociated PressSexton scores 25, Cavaliers beat Durant-less Nets 125-113
Collin Sexton had 25 points and nine assists, Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three days, 125-113 on Friday night. The Nets played without superstar forward Kevin Durant, who was held out as a precautionary measure as he continues his comeback from right Achilles tendon surgery. Kyrie Irving scored 38 points and James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which lost 147-135 in double-overtime to the Cavaliers in the debut of its high-scoring trio Wednesday.
SportsAssociated PressEmbiid dominates again in 76ers' 122-110 win over Celtics
Joel Embiid dropped a step-back 3-pointer and stated the shot was “nasty.” Embiid had 38 points and 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris scored 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 122-110 on Friday night. “We've got a great group of guys and we're still learning how to play with each other," Embiid said.
SportsAssociated PressPowell, Raptors regroup after blowing lead, beat Heat 101-81
Norman Powell scored 23 points, OG Anunoby added 21 and the Toronto Raptors recovered in the second half after blowing a 21-point lead to beat the Miami Heat 101-81 on Friday night. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for the Raptors, who never trailed on their way to avenging a 111-102 loss to the Heat on Wednesday night. “This was pretty much night and day,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said of his team's defensive effort.
SportsAssociated PressLaVine continues strong play, leads Bulls past Hornets
Zach LaVine is proving he can be an elite scorer in the NBA. LaVine, who has established himself as Chicago's main scoring option, continued his strong and balanced play with 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 123-110 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. “I think he understands that he has to lift up the level of play of the team,” Donovan said.
SportsYahoo SportsLeBron James, Kevin Durant push back on 'old heads' like Shaq blasting young players
Shaq's awkward interview with Donovan Mitchell has been criticized by many.
SportsAssociated PressCavaliers ship Kevin Porter Jr. to Rockets for draft pick
Kevin Porter quickly went from being a future star with the Cavaliers to part of their past. Cleveland completed its trade with Houston on Friday, sending Porter to the Rockets for a second-round draft pick, a deal the Cavs had no choice to make after running out of patience with a player they once viewed as a possible franchise cornerstone. The teams agreed to the swap on Thursday night, less than a week after Porter's outburst in Cleveland's locker room convinced the team it had to part with the 20-year-old.
SportsYahoo SportsFantasy basketball waiver wire: Pickups to make ahead of Week 6
Dalton Del Don offers up some fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for your consideration ahead of Week 6 of the NBA season.
SportsYahoo SportsShaquille O'Neal engages Donovan Mitchell in awkward interview after 36-point outing
Mitchell just dropped 36 points and shot 75 percent from 3-point range, but sure, Shaq, go after him.
SportsYahoo SportsNBA Fact or Fiction: The next 81-point scorer, skipping the COVID line and the upstart Cavaliers
Each week during the 2020-21 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into three of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether the trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.
SportsAssociated PressBarrett scores 28, Knicks beat Warriors for 3rd straight win
RJ Barrett had a career-high 28 points and the New York Knicks matched their longest winning streak of the season at three games by beating the Golden State Warriors 119-104 on Thursday night. “We come into every game feeling like we should win the game or give ourselves a chance to win the game,” Knicks forward Julius Randle said. Stephen Curry scored 30 points with five 3-pointers but shot just 9 of 19 as Golden State lacked the same energy it had in a lopsided win against the Spurs a night earlier.
SportsAFP NewsJames scores 34 as Lakers improve to 8-0 on the road
LeBron James scored a season-high 34 points as the Los Angeles Lakers won their eighth straight road game with a 113-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
SportsYahoo SportsReport: Cavaliers trading Kevin Porter Jr. to Rockets for second-round pick
Kevin Porter Jr. reportedly had an outburst in the Cavs' locker room last week, which prompted the team to find a way to deal him.
SportsLA TimesLeBron James says MVP snub wasn't a factor in his big game vs. Bucks
LeBron James finished with 34 points as the Lakers maintained their perfect record away from home in a 113-106 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
SportsYahoo SportsSteph Curry had a wild, hilarious reaction after a reporter called him by his first name
Wardell clearly isn't a name Steph Curry is called by very often.
SportsYahoo SportsIs winning everything? As the NBA's antiheroes, the Nets' Big 3 could upend superstar norms
In another time, the Nets might have been perfect villains, forcing themselves into relevance — even ubiquity — by winning, by inspiring copycats. New eras beget new definitions. The Nets aren’t villains. They’re antiheroes.
SportsYahoo SportsFantasy Basketball: Injury analysis for Jusuf Nurkic, CJ McCollum, and more
Jeff Stotts of RotoWire delivers some deep injury analysis for fantasy basketball players.
SportsAssociated PressGilgeous-Alexander helping young Thunder defy odds again
Some Thunder fans believe tanking to get higher draft picks is the way back to contention. Apparently, the team disagrees. Oklahoma City was expected by experts to be one of the NBA’s worst teams this season -- just like last season, when they shocked the league and made the playoffs.
SportsAssociated PressMore NBA games called off as contact tracing probes continue
COVID-19 didn’t keep Miami center Bam Adebayo out of any games last season, even though he tested positive for the virus not long before the NBA’s restart bubble opened. Adebayo is one of many players sidelined at some point in recent weeks by contact tracing, the method of figuring out who may have possibly been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. It has been a major factor in the decisions to postpone 20 games so far this season, including the latest three Memphis Grizzlies’ games that the league decided Thursday to push back.
SportsYahoo SportsNBA postpones Memphis Grizzlies' next 3 games under coronavirus protocols
The next three Memphis Grizzlies games are postponed due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
SportsYahoo SportsNBA trade watch: Which stars are likely to be moved next
Which mid-career superstars, expiring All-Stars and aging duos could be the next on the trade block?
SportsYahoo SportsBrooklyn's brilliance was on display but glaring holes still need to be addressed
Going all-in on star power was an easy decision, assuming Irving stays onboard and unexpected absences won’t become the norm. But staying pat could have the Nets on the outside looking in, although smart money says Marks will be scraping the lint in Brooklyn’s pockets to cover the glaring holes.
SportsYahoo SportsCole Anthony hits running, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to steal win for Magic
It's been a fun rookie class this year.
SportsAssociated PressYoung has 38, Collins adds 31 as Hawks beat Pistons in OT
Trae Young scored 38 points, John Collins had 31 and the Atlanta Hawks rallied to beat Jerami Grant and the Detroit Pistons 123-115 in overtime on Wednesday night. Grant had a career-high 32 points, including all of Detroit’s nine points in overtime, to continue his hot start to the season. Clint Capela had 27 points and a career-high 26 rebounds for Atlanta (7-7), the NBA’s first 25-25 game since Karl-Anthony Towns (27-27) on Jan. 12, 2019.
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