4:38 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — NBA commissioner Adam Silver had a meeting this week in Paris and was asked by a gracious host how he takes his coffee. “Un sucre?” French President Emmanuel Macron asked. Over that coffee, the leader of the NBA and the leader of France struck a deal to work
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9:20 PM ET ESPN staff The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls are in Paris for the NBA’s second-ever regular-season game in France. Editor’s Picks 2 Related Perhaps no one was more excited than Pistons guard Killian Hayes, who grew up in France and played professional basketball for Cholet Basket. “I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,”
7:17 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — WHEN THE Chicago Bulls first came to Paris for a pair of exhibition games in the 1997 McDonald’s Championship, they were on top of the basketball world. Fans lined up outside the team hotel to catch a glimpse of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and the other
1:57 PM ET PHOENIX — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving says he will play Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns after missing Tuesday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs because of right calf soreness. Irving also missed a game last month because of the same issue, but he does not think the injury is serious.
1:26 PM ET Associated Press PARIS — Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has passed Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant for the All-Star Game voting lead among Eastern Conference players, putting him on track to be a captain for the Feb. 19 game in Salt Lake City. Antetokounmpo had 5,970,196 votes entering Thursday, the NBA said in the third update
3:24 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The Sacramento Kings ended Wednesday night’s game on an 8-3 run in the final minute to beat the Lakers 116-111, handing L.A. its third loss in the past week by a total of 10 points. Afterward, LeBron James said the Lakers have “zero room for error” given the injuries
12:05 AM ET Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Desmond Bane scored 25 points, Ja Morant had 24 and the Memphis Grizzlies won their 11th straight game to match the franchise record, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-114 on Wednesday night. Steven Adams tipped in the winner with 16 seconds left. Adams was in position to tip
12:03 AM ET DALLAS — The drastically improved defense that helped the Dallas Mavericks make a run to last season’s Western Conference finals seems like a distant memory, prompting coach Jason Kidd to call out his team’s poor effort on that end of the floor. Kidd made his pointed comments, sprinkling in a healthy dose
11:20 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — The Washington Wizards got star guard Bradley Beal back on the court and got themselves back in the win column on Wednesday night. Beal, who had missed the prior five games with a left hamstring strain, returned and finished with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists
10:15 PM ET Associated Press HOUSTON — Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball left Wednesday night’s game against the Houston Rockets after spraining his left ankle again. Ball said after Charlotte’s 122-117 victory that he didn’t think the injury was serious, and he didn’t plan to have X-rays on his ankle. “I can walk and