National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

James, standing on the right side of the court by the Crypto.com Arena logo, passed the ball to Luka Doncic, who was positioned on the perimeter to his left. Once James released the ball, Austin Reaves sprung up from the paint to the 3-point line to set a back screen on Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who was guarding the Lakers star. The action freed James to advance toward the basket

Claire Rothman, a trailblazing sports and entertainment industry executive indelibly tied to the Los Angeles Lakers during their 1980s heyday, has died. Family members confirmed her death, on Saturday, was due to complications from a fall. She was 97. As the president and general manager of the "Fabulous Forum," Rothman was pivotal in bringing big-name musicians to the Inglewood venue and had deep ties to the Lakers when it was the team's home during the "Showtime" era, when the Lakers won five championships in a decade.

Ja Morant's season-even when he has been healthy or between suspensions-has been nothing to write home about. The Memphis Grizzlies' highest-paid player has been one of the most disappointing performers in the NBA this season, averaging just 17.9 points per game (lowest since his rookie year) on 36/13/94 shooting splits (at least he's making his free throws). Memphis is 6-11, not good enough to compete in a loaded Western Conference but also not bad enough to blow it up.

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant will miss the next two games while tending to a family matter, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Sunday. Durant will miss road games against two of his former teams -- the Phoenix Suns on Monday and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. Durant is averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Rockets this season, while shooting 48.5% from the field.

The Thunder trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half; their 32-point win was the largest by any team that trailed by 15 or more point in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98). It was also Oklahoma City's second-largest comeback win this season, after they trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by 19 points on Nov. 9. The Thunder improved to 5-0 when trailing by double digits, the only team without a loss in such games.

With a current FanDuel offer, new users who sign up can place a qualifying moneyline bet on any team to win, and if that bet is successful, they will receive bonus bets. This means you could place a $5 wager on the Knicks to win their matchup against the Magic, and if they do, you'll get your cash profit from the bet plus an extra $150 in bonus bets.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- James Harden made 10 3-pointers and scored 55 points, the most in LA Clippers' history, to help beat the Charlotte Hornets 131-116 on Saturday. It was the 25th 50-point game in Harden's 17-year career, tying Kobe Bryant for the third-most 50-point games in NBA history, according to ESPN Research. Charles Smith and Bob McAdoo previously held the Clippers' scoring record with 52 points.

Basically every rotation player has average to elite scoring efficiency, they pass the ball a ton, they score from a lot of different places with a lot of different players. Brandon Ingram is the NBA's best mid-range scorer. RJ Barrett is one of the best cutters in the league. Quickley is on a stretch of 45% shooting from downtown. Scottie Barnes is filling in wherever available and driving transition offense.

Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman, two key executives with the Los Angeles Dodgers, have begun playing advisory roles with theLos Angeles Lakersas part of the ownership transition from the Buss family to Mark Walter, multiple sources told ESPN. Zaidi, currently a special adviser to the Dodgers and renowned for his analytics background, is functioning as Walter's representative in helping with the transition, sources close to the situation said.

There were many questions about how he would fit into this new role and team, and I shared some of those concerns. He was good, but just how good could Ingram be when it mattered most? I always believed BI could be the prolific scorer he's proven to be, even if his time as the primary option with the Pelicans didn't fully realize the potential it seemed to hold when he first arrived as part of the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade.

It was announced today that Jakob Poeltl will miss tomorrow night's action against the Brooklyn Nets for lower back injury management, an injury that has plagued the 30-year old center all season. Resting him on the first night of a back-to-back against the Brooklyn Nets will allow him to be ready for a Monday matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who sit just behind Toronto in the standings.