Jaden McDaniels received a hit-ahead pass from Donte DiVincenzo, took a hard dribble inside the arc toward Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, stepped back to 12 feet inside the paint and drilled the baby jumper to put the Timberwolves up one with 48 seconds to play. No hesitation nor second thought required. Even with the […]
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Bulls-Heat game delayed because of condensation on United Center court
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat game Thursday night is under an indefinite delay because of an unsafe playing surface at the United Center. Condensation on the court — caused by a combination of warm, rainy weather outdoors and humidity indoors following a Blackhawks game the night before — created a slick playing surface that […]
Read MoreShort on starters, Nets lean on youth in 120-96 loss to Rockets
NEW YORK — Two rookies made their first career starts for the Nets and Cam Thomas provided a scoring lift off the bench with an efficient 21 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the absence of key starters in a 120-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night at Barclays Center. Brooklyn opened […]
Read MoreKnicks blow 19-point lead in New Year’s Eve loss to Spurs
If you beat the team that beat the team, does that make you the team to beat? The Knicks were about to find out. And then they blew it. After all, the San Antonio Spurs have had the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder’s number. They’ve defeated the 2025 NBA champs not one, not two, but […]
Read MoreBoys basketball: Northwestern's McDermott scores 32 as Warriors roll past Catholic Central
Dec. 30—Once Mason McDermott got going, he couldn’t be stopped — and set a record along the way. The Northwestern High School junior tied a career-high with 32 points in a 65-50 victory over Catholic Central on Monday at the third annual Clark County Basketball Showcase at Wittenberg University’s Pam Evans Smith Arena, setting a […]
Read MoreIra Winderman: Reality should have Heat as sellers, rather than potentially being left empty-handed
MIAMI — Losing provides no rewards, but reality can. That makes this a December the Miami Heat should remember. Because sometimes objects aren’t closer than they appear, such as the early-season notion of Erik Spoelstra’s team being in the thick of the Eastern Conference race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That clearly stands as the province of […]
Read MoreHeat make it two in a row, power past Pacers, 142-116, as Adebayo, Herro sit again
MIAMI — For most of Saturday night’s Miami Heat game, if you hadn’t watched much of the Indiana Pacers, you would have thought they were high percentage with their shots, relentless with their offense. Instead of entering the night last in the NBA in field-goal percentage and second-to-last in scoring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With defensive […]
Read MorePaul Sullivan: Phil Jackson and Sam Smith give an NBA history lesson — including Bulls dynasty — in new book
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bulls dynasty ended 27 years ago, but like any good dynasty the stories live on for generations. And several tales from those glory days are retold in the recent book “Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players,” co-written by NBA.com writer Sam Smith and […]
Read MoreWith Adebayo, Herro out, Heat get relief from swoon with 126-111 win in Atlanta
ATLANTA — What do you get when a pair of teams enter at 2-8 in their previous 10? The desperation of Friday night at State Farm Arena. Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks wasn’t about making a statement. It was about coming up for air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To that end, the Heat can breathe a […]
Read MoreAll the Knicks wanted for Christmas was a bench and they got one
The Knicks’ bench just won them a game — and they did it with two key players out of the rotation. Call it a Christmas Day unwrapping of the biggest gift given to these Knicks for the 2025-26 NBA season. Yes, hiring Mike Brown has changed the way this team operates on both ends of […]
Read MoreCan the Bulls keep outscoring their opponents — or is their defense on the hot seat again?
CHICAGO — Winning is a contradictory thing for the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls allowed opponents to score at least 120 points in four of their last six games. They also won all four of those games. This dichotomy is powering a four-game winning streak for the Bulls, who at 14-15 after winning five of six […]
Read MoreTimberwolves player net ratings through 30 games: Bones Hyland tops the chart
We all know about points, rebounds, assists, etc. The counting stats get much of the glory in basketball. But how does your team perform when you’re on the floor? That’s what net rating measures — the points per 100 possessions for your team versus your opponents. The more positive your number, the better your team […]
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Ira Winderman: The time has come for Heat to force NBA’s hand on Rozier
NEW YORK — Having already experienced both sizzle and stumble, it has become clear that this could well be a season determined in the margins for the Miami Heat. As in the margin between yet another trip to the play-in round — a fourth in a row — or something more substantive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement […]
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Heat snap five-game skid with 106-95 victory vs. Nets behind Powell, Ware
NEW YORK — Little has been easy for the Miami Heat lately and little will be easy for the remaining two games of this trip, on Friday night against the Boston Celtics and Sunday night against the New York Knicks. So if there was a moment for Erik Spoelstra’s team to make things right, to […]
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Magic guard Jalen Suggs suffers hip injury: ‘He laid it all on the line for us’
LAS VEGAS — Jalen Suggs didn’t have much of an answer when he was asked to describe the injury that kept him out of most of the fourth quarter during Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal against the Knicks. “I don’t even know,” the Magic guard said in the locker room when asked what happened after Orlando […]
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How a season at Northwestern helped propel Pat Spencer from NCAA lacrosse star to Golden State Warriors starter
CHICAGO — Pat Spencer still sticks out on the basketball court. That was true six years ago when he put on a Northwestern jersey for the first time as a graduate transfer. And it was true again Sunday night, when the former Wildcat stepped onto the United Center court for the Golden State Warriors and […]
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3 takeaways as the Chicago Bulls drop a lifeless loss — on their longest skid since February 2020
The white flag came out early for the Chicago Bulls in their seventh consecutive loss. Coach Billy Donovan sent in the end-of-bench players with four minutes and 21 seconds remaining in Sunday’s 123-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors at the United Center. It was a rare surrender formation for the Bulls, who have prided […]
Read MoreHeat unable to keep pace with Knicks in 140-132 NBA Cup loss, despite 38 from Powell
MIAMI – The running has been relentless. For that, the Miami Heat have been rewarded in the scoring column. The rebounding and the defense haven’t been. Because of that, now consecutive losses for Erik Spoelstra’s team and a middling 7-6 record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defenseless as they were in Wednesday night’s home loss to an […]
Read MoreBeede’s Breakdown: Magic split pair of home games with visiting Celtics
After handing the Celtics a 13-point loss Friday night at Kia Center, the Magic hoped to carry their momentum into Sunday’s rematch against Boston. Orlando, however, couldn’t put away the franchise that eliminated the Magic in last year’s postseason, and the Celtics escaped Central Florida with a 111-106 win, thanks to a team-high 27 points […]
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Julia Poe: Can the Bulls sustain this hot start? An aggressive, hustling defense suggests they can.
The Chicago Bulls want to be real. Their 6-1 record, best in the Eastern Conference, should be convincing enough on its own. Only the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder (8-0) have won more games. Yet the Bulls can’t escape the specter of uncertainty cast by the last three years of mediocre, myopic and ultimately […]
Read MoreGonzaga, USF to play at Golden State Warriors' Chase Center for third consecutive year
Gonzaga enters its final West Coast Conference season with a 33-game win streak against San Francisco, so it would be hard to make an argument that home-court advantage has played a big role – if one at all – in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and Dons. Still, Mark Few and his coaching staff […]
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ASK IRA: Could Kawhi Leonard fiasco provide a Heat reprieve?
Q: Ira, we’ve got the Clippers twice at the start of the season. I say suspend Kawhi Leonard until the league makes its ruling. – Sam. A: To be fair, this was followed by a smiley emoji. And, yes, the Heat do play at the Clippers on Nov. 3, with the two-game season series concluding […]
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ASK IRA: Wait, didn’t the Heat previously retire Jeremy Lin?
Q: Ira, just saw that Jeremy Lin retired. I thought the Heat retired him years ago? – Harrison. A: So now everyone’s a comedian? For those who don’t get the intended sarcasm, on Feb. 23, 2012, at Kaseya Center, amid the heights of Linsanity, when Jeremy Lin was taking the NBA by storm with the […]
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Timberwolves and Lynx hire Florida Panthers CEO to same position
New Timberwolves and Lynx controlling owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez made their first major hire Wednesday as they reshape business operations, tabbing Matthew Caldwell to serve as the organization’s CEO. Caldwell comes from the Florida Panthers, where he spent nine years as the NHL franchise’s CEO and president. The Panthers won the last two […]
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Kristian Winfield: LeBron to the Knicks? The case for and against a Knicks trade for King James.
NBA Free agency has mostly come and gone, and while most teams are shifting focus to the 2025–26 season, the Los Angeles Lakers still have one massive question to answer before training camp begins: What are they going to do with LeBron James? It’s a question that naturally loops in the Knicks as a realistic […]
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Bianchi: On opening night, Magic and Heat need to resurrect the hate!
The NBA dropped its schedule earlier this week, and buried in the long list of 1,230 regular-season games was a juicy nugget that should make every Orlando Magic fan sit up and start sharpening their social media barbs: The Magic will open the 2025-26 NBA season against the Miami Heat. Yes, you read that correctly. […]
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Heat trade Haywood Highsmith to Nets to move below luxury tax
MIAMI – In a move that takes the team below the punitive NBA luxury tax, the Miami Heat have traded forward Haywood Highsmith and a 2032 second-round draft choice to the Brooklyn Nets. With the Nets operating far below the NBA salary cap, the Heat in return receive only a conditioning 2026 second-round pick, one […]
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Chicago Bulls 2025-26 schedule by the numbers, from NBA Cup games to back-to-backs
The Chicago Bulls on Thursday announced their 82-game schedule for the 2025-26 season, giving fans a road map for the coming year of NBA basketball. The Bulls will open Oct. 22 at home against the Detroit Pistons, followed by a road game against the Orlando Magic on Oct. 25. They finish the regular season April […]
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ASK IRA: Is the new NBA reality that the Heat have to get better through trades?
Q: Interesting look at next summer’s free agency in that piece you did, but it also shows that Pat Riley is trying to replicate 2010 and the Big Three, which doesn’t happen anymore. That is why you have to prioritize the draft more than this team does. – Eli. A: Actually, going to disagree. While […]
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ASK IRA: Does Doncic’s Lakers deal (and lack of Dragic sway) change Heat 2026 offseason perspective?
Q: Ira, so much for my pipedream of Goran Dragic luring Luka Doncic to Miami. No need to save for free agency. – Sammie. A: As I addressed in my Sunday column, NBA free agency as the prime means of franchise makeovers has been on the wane for years. So from the moment he was […]
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Ira Winderman: For Heat, NBA’s new CBA means complicated business ahead
MIAMI — We’re not sure if Pat Riley still cruises Biscayne Boulevard top down in one of his classic convertibles. But a case could be made for this being a test drive of an offseason for the Miami Heat. While the current NBA collective-bargaining agreement went into effect on July 1, 2023, only now are […]
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