12:03 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — Friday night marked a fantastic debut for the Phantastic 5. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-110, as their new-look starting lineup of Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid closed the game on a 14-7 run, part of an impressive overall display
NBA
9:59 PM ET Michael C. Wright NEW ORLEANS — All-Star Anthony Davis, making his return to the Pelicans’ lineup after nine games with a finger injury, was featured prominently on the scoreboard in the middle of the team picture when the Pelicans first came out of the tunnel Friday night. Last week, following his trade
5:59 PM ET ESPN News Services The NBA told the New Orleans Pelicans that if they did sit a healthy Anthony Davis, the team could be subject to a $100,000 fine for every game Davis didn’t play, league sources told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Friday. Under rules enacted for last season designed to prevent healthy
5:27 PM ET Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, with all due respect to local suffering L.A. Rams fans following their Super Bowl defeat, thinks his team has some similarities to the world champion New England Patriots. “I think early on they were facing a ton of adversity,” Pelinka said on a conference call
4:53 PM ET TEMPE, Ariz. — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday that as the popularity of the NBA continues to grow, players and coaches feel like “actors in a soap opera” — especially with stars signing shorter contracts than ever before. Kerr’s comments came in the wake of an emotional news conference
1:02 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Guard Wayne Ellington is closing in on a commitment to sign with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell ESPN, league sources told ESPN on Friday. Phoenix, which has been seeking a guard for a while, has acquired Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington from the Heat in exchange for Ryan Anderson.
1:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CAMDEN, N.J. — After reshaping his roster with a series of moves this week, most notably landing forward Tobias Harris in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, 76ers general manager Elton Brand declared Friday morning that Philadelphia’s time to win is now. “We believe we are in position to
11:41 AM ET As far as Danny Ainge is concerned, the invitations can be sent out because the wedding is still on. The Boston Celtics president of basketball operations on Friday said the team’s “engagement” to star guard Kyrie Irving remains intact, and the couple is planning on making it official on July 1, when
1:54 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Before Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown was asked if Markelle Fultz was going to return to Brown’s rotation sometime this season. “Right now I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised with how he arrives back with us, more than assume he’s going to be there,”
1:10 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — It wasn’t until there were about 15 minutes remaining until Thursday’s trade deadline that Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley knew he wasn’t getting moved, and after processing that information, he took a nap. “I never slept [last night],” he said. “Around seven or eight this morning after checking my