Month: April 2015

China’s Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang announced his retirement on Tuesday, ending a run in the sport marked by records and frustrated by successive late-career injuries.

When Dikembe Mutombo’s brother first brought him to the Kauka sports club in this working class neighborhood of Kinshasa in the early 1980s to play basketball, the gangly teenager struck few as a superstar in the making.

Led by its fabulous freshman guards, Duke clawed its way back from a second-half deficit and stung Wisconsin 68-63 to claim the U.S. collegiate national championship on Monday.

Zahui B., a dominant post player from Sweden, is eligible to be drafted after only two seasons with the Gophers because she will be 22 this year.

Brook Lopez, playing against his twin brother Robin, had 32 points to lead the Nets to their 11th victory in their last 14 games.

Brook Lopez doesn’t speak to his twin brother on the court. Hadn’t spoken to him at all since a late-night McDonald’s run the night before.

The team still has offices and a gym in East Rutherford while it builds a complex in Brooklyn, and the impending end of an era has left business neighbors nostalgic.

Kawhi Leonard just might swoop in and steal the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

While the Los Angeles Clippers threw alley-oop passes off the backboard and jumped to a 43-point lead, the Lakers needed two late 3-pointers from a guy on a 10-day contract just to avoid the worst offensive performance in franchise history.

With less than two weeks left in the N.B.A. season, even Western Conference contenders like Houston and San Antonio are still jockeying for position in the standings.

Andrea Bargnani bounced back from an awful, two-point performance in his last game against the Wizards with one of his best this season.

Andrea Bargnani scored 25 points and Shane Larkin added 15 and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks ended a nine-game losing streak with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Out since Aug. 1 after breaking his leg, forward Paul George gives Indiana a valuable weapon in its quest to qualify for the playoffs.

Rodney Hood scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz pulled away to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-95 on Sunday night.

The Golden State Warriors have steamrolled teams for the past month, but they ran into a huge roadblock named Kawhi Leonard.

Paul George savored every moment of his postgame stroll to the locker room.

Kyrie Irving heard LeBron James scream to shoot, so he shot.

An indicator that Sunday’s Knicks-Sixers game held little relevance outside of those directly involved emerged in the hours before tip-off.

Knicks forward Lance Thomas was on the last Duke team to win the NCAA title, in 2010, and sees the karma in place for the Blue Devils' fifth national championship….

Two developments occurred at the Garden for the first time this season — one seen, one heard. When Andrea Bargnani left the court in the final minute Sunday night, he…

The Splash Brothers had a little help from the big guys, and the Golden State Warriors had a little present for record-setting coach Steve Kerr.

Gerald Green came off the bench to score all 24 of his points in three quarters, leading the Phoenix Suns to an 87-85 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped the New Orleans Pelicans’ four-game winning streak with a 99-90 victory on Saturday night.

The Wisconsin Badgers stunned previously undefeated Kentucky 71-64 in a tense Final Four triumph on Saturday to advance to the U.S. collegiate national championship game against Duke.

Marcus Smart made a big basket to boost Boston’s playoff hopes.

Indiana’s All-Star swingman will make his N.B.A. season debut on Sunday, just in time to help in the Pacers’ last-gasp playoff push.

J.J. Redick scored 24 points, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 107-92 on Saturday night.

The Hawks lost forward Paul Millsap to an injury, but they set a franchise record for wins with Saturday’s victory over the Nets, whose six-game winning streak ended.

Tobias Harris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points, and the Orlando Magic beat the Milwaukee Bucks 97-90 Saturday night.

The Hawks looked playoff-ready while building a big first-half lead over a Brooklyn team which had won six straight.

Reggie Jackson scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning layup with 5 seconds remaining, and the Detroit Pistons rallied to beat the Miami Heat 99-98 on Saturday night.

Gerald Henderson was determined to turn an “awful night” into a memorable one.

Bradley Beal scored 20, John Wall added 18 points and 14 assists and the Washington Wizards defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 92-83 on Saturday night.

The Duke Blue Devils overcame an early deficit and defeated Michigan State Spartans 81-61 in a Final Four matchup on Saturday to advance to the U.S. collegiate national championship game.

Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns were pitted against each other from the moment the Final Four was set.

Tim Hardaway Jr. admits that he expected more of himself with the Knicks this season following an All-Rookie team designation one year ago.

The Portland Trail Blazers returned to their locker room to find black T-shirts hanging in their stalls with bold red-and-white letters reading “Northwest Claimed.”

The New Orleans Pelicans know exactly where they stand.

Pau Gasol was simply trying to redeem himself for two mistakes. He did more than that and helped the Chicago Bulls get a big win.

The entire NBA has had a hard time slowing down Nikola Vucevic this season.

The Brooklyn Nets won a game two nights earlier when Deron Williams missed in the lane and Brook Lopez scored on a rebound.

Deron Williams scored a season-high 31 points, and the host Nets beat the Toronto Raptors, 114-109.

Jeff Green scored 22 points and Marc Gasol added 19 as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-92 on Friday night.

Danny Green scored 21 points, including 6-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers, and the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 123-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night after losing Tiago Splitter to a right calf injury during a strong start.

Ersan Ilyasova led Milwaukee’s third-quarter surge from a halftime deficit with 11 points and the Milwaukee Bucks hurt the Boston Celtics’ playoff chances with a 110-101 win Friday night.

Rodney Stuckey scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 93-74 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Marcin Gortat scored 19 points, Bradley Beal added 18, and the Washington Wizards defeated the New York Knicks 101-87 on Friday night.

Cleanthony Early limped off the court on Friday perhaps for the final time, a fitting conclusion to a disappointing season.

Harrison Barnes made two huge defensive mistakes in the final minute. He redeemed himself and the Golden State Warriors with one big shot.

The Sacramento Kings announced they had signed Sim Bhullar to a 10-day contract on Thursday, making the 7ft-5in center the first player of Indian descent to join an NBA roster.

Jackson and Steve Mills, the team’s general manager, fielded prepared questions from Al Trautwig and Alan Hahn of the MSG Network before an invitation-only crowd of roughly 300.

Sim Bhullar, 22, has become the first player of Indian descent in the N.B.A.

Dwayne Wade nearly did the splits. For a moment, it appeared Miami’s season was torn apart.

Wade sustained a knee injury in the first half, and the Miami Heat’s playoff chances took another blow with a 114-88 road loss to Cleveland.

Dwayne Wade’s left knee is only sore, nothing seriously damaged.

James Harden scored 24 points, former Dallas guard Jason Terry hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer and the Houston Rockets beat the Mavericks 108-101 Thursday night.

Phil Jackson already has summed up this disastrous Knicks season by calling it “an experiment that’s fallen flat on its face.”

The Nets found themselves in a dogfight against a bad team last night, a predicament that screamed of mismanagement from Lionel Hollins.

Carmelo Anthony was at the Garden on Wednesday to rehab his surgically repaired knee, and he was spotted interacting with a few teammates.

Carmelo Anthony has shown up at the Garden for the last three weeks to rehab before games in the trainer's room. He goes on the court briefly for light stretching…

Maybe Knicks president Phil Jackson can finally stir the Knicks-Nets rivalry pot this summer by convincing Brooklyn's raging-hot center Brook Lopez to swap boroughs. Amid a heated playoff push, the…

Don’t mess with the Los Angeles Clippers. And certainly not Chris Paul.

Anthony Davis scored 20 points and the New Orleans Pelicans inched closer to a possible playoff berth with a 113-92 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

In his 17th N.B.A. season, Carter has adapted his game, replacing acrobatic dunks with mostly long-range jumpers in a reserve role for the playoff-bound Memphis Grizzlies.

Rudy Gobert scored a career-high 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had two blocks as the Utah Jazz cruised past the Denver Nuggets 98-84 on Wednesday night.

James Harden continues to strengthen his case for the MVP award, and is forging a place as one of the best players in Houston Rockets history in the process.

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has been in the NBA as a player or coach for most of the past 30 years.

The Miami Heat ruled the rookie guard Shabazz Napier out for the rest of the regular season after he had surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Monta Ellis scored 26 points, and the visiting Dallas Mavericks withstood Russell Westbrook’s eighth triple-double since the All-Star break to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Michael Carter-Williams had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a rare 95-91 victory at home over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.

Lou Williams scored 18 points to lead a balanced Toronto offense as the Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-99 on Wednesday.

Brook Lopez followed up his own miss for the winning layup with two seconds remaining at Madison Square Garden, and the Nets (34-40) moved into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

Brook Lopez’s follow shot with 2 seconds left gave the Brooklyn Nets their fifth straight victory and a share of seventh place in the Eastern Conference, as they beat the New York Knicks 100-98 on Wednesday night.

Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points after nearly missing the game with an eye injury sustained hours before tip-off, and the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 100-87 Wednesday night in a matchup of Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls.

The regular season may be winding down, but the San Antonio Spurs are continuing to play some of their best basketball of the season.

Marcin Gortat scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Bradley Beal added 20 points, and the Washington Wizards defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 106-93 on Wednesday night.

Marvin Williams scored 18 points and the Charlotte Hornets cruised to a 102-78 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

The video sales pitch from Phil Jackson to season-ticket holders ends with the words “The Plan is in Place.”

Karl-Anthony Towns hasn't necessarily surpassed Jahlil Okafor in the race for the top spot in June's NBA draft, but Kentucky's abundantly talented freshman is on even footing it seems with…

Stephen Curry snaked through the paint, came out near his bench, dribbled behind his back and faked Chris Paul to the floor on a jumper from the left corner, drawing oohs from the crowd.

Durant had bone graft surgery for a fracture in his right foot. The Oklahoma City Thunder said Durant was expected to return to basketball activities in four to six months.

Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Tony Parker added 16 in his 1,000th NBA game, and the San Antonio Spurs added more steam to their playoff push by beating the Miami Heat 95-81 on Tuesday night.

The Nets let a gigantic early lead evaporate but recovered down the stretch. By the end of the night, they were alone in the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final postseason spot.

Three more losses will guarantee that these Knicks are the first team in franchise history to finish an 82-game season with fewer than 20 victories.

Brook Lopez had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets reclaimed sole possession of eighth place in the Eastern Conference by beating the Indiana Pacers 111-106 on Tuesday night for their season-high fourth straight victory.

Andre Drummond had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-95 on Tuesday night.