12:01 AM ET SAN DIEGO — Michael Beasley‘s debut with the Los Angeles Lakers lasted six minutes after he was forced out of Sunday’s preseason opener with a head laceration. Beasley came off the bench to score four points, including a 3-pointer, before leaving against the Denver Nuggets for good with 9 minutes, 2 seconds
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10:36 PM ET New Orleans Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor left Sunday’s preseason game against the Chicago Bulls late in the fourth quarter with an injured right ankle. Okafor underwent an X-ray on his right ankle and will have an MRI on Monday, a league source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Okafor was seen in the arena
11:17 PM ET SAN ANTONIO — Pau Gasol hunched over to jam a foot into a grey Nike high-top sneaker and took a quick survey of the room, before leaning back, exhaling, and cracking a smile with both eyebrows raised. “Interesting.” No need for elaboration, here. The description more than sufficed Sunday for the new-look
4:58 PM ET TEMECULA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Lakers have repeatedly praised Rajon Rondo for the level of communication he’s brought to training camp. At Sunday’s shootaround ahead of the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets, Rondo offered up praise of his own — rather than instruction — for L.A. forward Brandon Ingram.
7:37 AM ET It’s time for our Seventh Annual League Pass Rankings. This is a watchability ranking based on a complex algorithm Bill Simmons and I unearthed while rifling through Dr. James Naismith’s archives. These are not power rankings. Louder: These are not power rankings. Teams are awarded between one and 10 points in five
2:31 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Tom Thibodeau’s summer from hell started in the back of a gym in Las Vegas. Long before Jimmy Butler demanded a trade from the Timberwolves, Thibodeau stood in a corner of the Cox Pavilion at the Vegas Summer League in mid-July answering questions from a small group of reporters.
12:23 AM ET DALLAS — Luka Doncic‘s performance in his preseason debut provided some glimpses of the unique skill that persuaded the Dallas Mavericks to trade up to draft the European teen star. Doncic, the No. 3 pick in the draft, scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 30 minutes during a 116-63 victory Saturday
10:48 PM ET Associated Press Kawhi Leonard is finally back on the court and the Toronto Raptors should be happy with the results. Leonard scored 12 points in his first game with his new team and the Raptors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 122-104 on Saturday night in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the preseason opener
6:36 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers wing Wilson Chandler will miss at least two weeks with a hamstring strain, the team announced on Saturday. Markelle Fultz hit a 17-foot jump shot, his longest attempt of the game, and scored 14 points for the Sixers on Friday in their preseason debut. A shoulder injury curtailed the 2017
6:11 PM ET A tattoo that JR Smith got on his right calf this offseason could end up costing the Cleveland Cavaliers guard more than just the price of the ink. Smith revealed on his Instagram account Saturday that the NBA has threatened discipline for the tattoo he got of the logo for Supreme —