Raptors earn rare win in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Even though the Jazz are having a rough year, the Toronto Raptors left Utah with a big sense of satisfaction Monday night. All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points, and center Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and nine rebounds as the Raptors earned a rare win at EnergySolutions Arena, beating the […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Kings 99, Bulls 70

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The return of center DeMarcus Cousins to the Sacramento lineup Monday was all the Kings hoped it would be. The collective defensive effort put forth by his teammates surpassed expectations. The Kings center finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return from a left ankle injury, and Sacramento held the […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Cousins returns as Kings rout Bulls

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento Kings coach Michael Malone had a familiar message for his team before the opening tip Monday. He will be all too happy to repeat it over and over if the results turn out as they did after his latest refrain. “I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but we had […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Foye’s 3-pointer pushes Nuggets past Clippers

DENVER — Los Angeles Clippers forwards Matt Barnes and Blake Griffin huddled over a laptop computer in the locker room after the game to see the final seconds unfold again. They watched as Denver Nuggets guard Randy Foye took a pass, dribbled behind the top of the key and squared to the basket. He rose […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Thunder hang on to defeat Grizzlies

OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Oklahoma City Thunder and Memphis Grizzlies face off, the games are never pretty. The winner is usually the team that finds a way to play through the pushing, shoving and hard fouls. It was the Thunder who turned out to be that team Monday with an 86-77 victory over the […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Livingston, Nets shut down 76ers

NEW YORK — Like a pitcher on the verge of a no-hitter, Shaun Livingston doesn’t want to think about the streak he is on. Still, there is no denying the Brooklyn Nets guard is playing some of the best basketball of his career. On Monday night, he did a little bit of everything to help […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Rondo looks sharp in Celtics’ victory

BOSTON — Brad Stevens got his first up-close look at the dynamic Rajon Rondo Sunday. Clearly, the rookie Boston Celtics coach liked what he saw. “I’ve seen pretty darn close. [He’s] just wearing the rust off a little bit, but, yeah, he was good,” Stevens said after Rondo played his best game since returning from […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Celtics 96, Magic 89

BOSTON — Rajon Rondo played his best game since returning from knee surgery — and it resulted in his first victory of the season. The talented point guard, who had been on the losing end in his first six games back, combined with forward Jared Sullinger to lead the Boston Celtics to a 96-89 victory […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021
Silver takes over as NBA commissioner

Adam Silver officially took over as NBA commissioner Saturday. The NBA announced Silver as its fifth commissioner with a photo on Twitter of Silver holding a basketball and shaking hands with outgoing commissioner David Stern. It included a caption that read: “It’s official: Adam Silver succeeds David Stern as NBA Commissioner.” Stern retired exactly 30 […]

Jeff Hawkins  •  15 Oct 2021