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
NBA
7:18 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — Paul George finished with 33 points and nine rebounds in his first game of the 2019-20 NBA season — his first in an LA Clippers uniform. A pretty good start to the season, right? “I thought I was terrible,” George said following a 132-127 loss to the
8:58 PM ET Carmelo Anthony, who has been out of the NBA for over a year, will sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, league sources told ESPN. The Blazers have tried at different times in the past to add Anthony and made an attempt to acquire him when he was with the
9:19 PM ET On Thursday night, the Portland Trail Blazers agreed to a deal with Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Anthony last played for the Houston Rockets on Nov. 8, 2018 before parting ways. The No. 3 pick of the 2003 NBA draft and Most Outstanding Player of the 2003 Final Four, Anthony
8:37 PM ET NEW YORK — There was no ceremonious tribute video or standing ovation for the New York Knicks’ former face of the franchise. Kristaps Porzingis was booed while he went through warm-ups. Fans interrupted the national anthem and let out screams of “Go back to back to Latvia” and “Traitor.” Porzingis was forcibly
5:05 PM ET Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter has a left rotator cuff strain with an associated shoulder capsule strain, the team announced. He will enter rehabilitation and treatment and will be reexamined in two weeks, the team said. Huerter injured the shoulder during a 125-121 victory over the Denver Nuggets Tuesday and underwent an
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
1:16 AM ET HOUSTON — LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers was ejected for arguing with official Tony Brothers at half court on Wednesday night while his son, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers, laughed and signaled for the officials to give his father a technical foul. As Doc Rivers was walking off the floor back to
12:51 AM ET HOUSTON — Notorious pest Patrick Beverley‘s reputation as an elite defender isn’t accurate, according to Russell Westbrook, who cited James Harden‘s 47-point performance in the Houston Rockets‘ 102-93 win Wednesday over the LA Clippers as proof. “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense,” Westbrook said. “He don’t guard nobody, man.