Basketball news and stories by mail.com

Basketball

No. 8 Gonzaga, No. 13 Butler ready to square off
Gonzaga served as the model program for college basketball's non-power conference schools for more than decade. Butler took that blueprint, revised ...
New-coach success stories in college hoops
In his first season as Kentucky's coach, John Calipari led the Wildcats to 35 wins and a trip to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament.
LeBron's Heat hold off Kobe's Lakers 99-90
For a few exciting minutes in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers resembled the championship-caliber dynamo everybody expected ...
Billy Hunter's actions deemed wrong, not criminal
NBA players should consider whether they want to keep Billy Hunter as executive director of the players' association after a series of wrongdoings, ...
Bryant gets record 15th straight All-Star start
Kobe Bryant has been voted to his NBA-record 15th consecutive All-Star start, leading four Los Angeles players into next month's game. Lakers teammate ...
Knicks win in London, beat Pistons 102-87
Back in London and back on the basketball court, Carmelo Anthony went right back to his winning ways. The Knicks star was the main attraction at the ...
Stern has no problem with teams miking players
NBA Commissioner David Stern has no problem with teams aiming microphones at their own players during games. If anything, he wants more mikes on the ...
LeBron James piling up milestones at historic pace
LeBron James has reached so many milestones in his NBA career it might be easy to lose track. He hasn't. Just a point shy of becoming the youngest ...
James eclipses 20K points, Heat top Warriors 92-75
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley took a moment in the locker room late Wednesday night to give LeBron James the game ball ...
James becomes youngest player to score 20K points
LeBron James has become the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 points. James eclipsed the milestone Wednesday night against the Golden ...
Hornets win matchup of Doc, Austin Rivers 90-78
New Orleans Hornets rookie Austin Rivers sank a layup and ran past the Boston Celtics' bench on his way back down the floor. Doc Rivers had to fight ...
Tubby leaning heavy on starters in Big Ten play
Tubby Smith drew some criticism in his first five seasons in Minnesota for a substitution pattern that often looked more like a hockey philosophy.
Hawks suspend top-scorer Josh Smith for 1 game
The Atlanta Hawks suspended top-scorer Josh Smith for Wednesday night's home game against the Brooklyn Nets for "conduct detrimental to the team" ...
Badgers hold off No. 2 Indiana for 64-59 upset
Wisconsin played Tuesday night like it always does — defended everything, made big shots and limited the turnovers. Indiana looked like anything but ...
Kobe, Dwight get 31 each in Lakers' win over Bucks
Kobe Bryant played relentless defense, spurring his fellow Los Angeles Lakers to do the same. Dwight Howard dominated the paint, scoring easy baskets ...
No. 2 Notre Dame women defeat Georgetown 79-64
Notre Dame's tough defense and good free-throw shooting were too much for Georgetown. The second-ranked Fighting Irish held the Hoyas' Sugar Rodgers, ...
Sacramento mayor to present counteroffer for Kings
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is taking his fight to keep the Kings in California's capital city to NBA owners. Again. Speaking at the annual State ...
Knicks in London: Light load with 1 game this week
The injury-plagued New York Knicks welcome a week with just one game. The only catch is they had to travel to London for it. That's fine with the ...
No. 1 Louisville beats UConn 73-58
Louisville passed its first test as the No. 1 team in the country, beating Connecticut with a spirited second half. Next comes No. 6 Syracuse on ...
Durant scores 41, Thunder beats Suns for 30th win
When Kevin Durant takes over a game, it's quite a show. This time, it was at the expense of Marcin Gortat and the rest of the Phoenix Suns.
Bulls shut down Hawks in 97-58 rout
Tom Thibodeau sent a strong wake-up message to his team at a heated shootaround Monday morning. He got the response he was looking for. Carlos Boozer ...
Wizards win 3rd straight, 120-91 over Magic
For most of the first half of the season, the Washington Wizards consistently lost. They're suddenly unbeatable, having won three straight.
No. 1 Baylor women better without being perfect
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey struggles at times because her top-ranked Lady Bears are showing they can be better even without being perfect again.
Louisville jumps to No. 1 in AP basketball poll
Rick Pitino is guessing his Louisville Cardinals won't be the last team to be No. 1 this season. The Cardinals took advantage of losses by Duke and ...