NBA News
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Time: 7:00pm CST
Rockets: Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun
Clippers: Bennedict Mathurin, Kawhi Leonard, Kris Dunn, John Collins, Brook Lopez
Last year’s number one overall draft pick Zaccharie Risacher was overlooked on the initial list for the 2026 Rising Stars event at the All-Star Weekend that will take place in under a week’s time. I outlined his injury-riddled disappointing second season earlier.
But with Ajay Mitchell of the Oklahoma City Thunder ruled out for the challenge due to injury, the NBA needed to backfill one of the sophomore spots. Today, we got some fortunate news for Risacher:
Risacher is averaging 10.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game — both figures fewer than his rookie season when he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
Tonight at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks (34*-19) host the Indiana Pacers (13-40). The Knicks are riding high, winning nine of their last ten tries, while the Pacers are dutifully clearing the conference drain of clogs. For tonight’s tilt, Mitchell Robinson (mgmt) and OG Anunoby (toe) will be out. With New York slated to play in Philly tomorrow night, a smart strategy would be for the healthy starters to slam the lid on this one early and let the bench crew—Kolek! Alvarado! Diawara! McCullar!—shovel the dirt on the coffin.
Tip-off is 7:30 pm EST on MSG. This is your game thread. This is Indy Cornrows. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Enjoy each other’s company, respectfully. And go Knickerbockers!
* Should be one more, but the Cup final doesn’t count.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to roll into the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak. The only thing standing in their way is a less-than-stellar Washington Wizards team.
Wednesday will be James Harden’s first game in Cleveland as a Cavalier. He’s made a great first impression with the team as he’s come up big in the clutch against the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets. We’ll see what he has in store for his home debut.
The Wizards aren’t exactly trying to win games at this point in the season. Their midseason trades for Anthony Davis and Trae Young were done with next year in mind.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Mark Price shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (33-21) vs. Washington Wizards (14-38)
Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
When: Wed., Feb. 11 at 7 PM
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Cavs -18.5
Cavs injury report: Dean Wade – OUT (ankle), Evan Mobley – OUT (calf), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Emanuel Miller – OUT (G League)
Wizards injury report: Bilal Coulibaly – QUESTIONABLE (heel), Anthony Davis – OUT (finger), Kyshawn George – QUESTIONABLE (ankle), Anthony Gill – QUESTIONABLE (hand), D’Angelo Russell – OUT (not with team), Cam Whitmore – OUT (shoulder), Trae Young – OUT (knee)
Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, Jarrett Allen
Wizards expected starting lineup: Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Justin Champagnie, Alex Sarr
Previous matchup: The Cavs needed 48 points from Donovan Mitchell to narowly defeat the Wizards 130-126 in December.
Here’s a look at both teams’ impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
| Offensive Rating | Defensive Rating | Net Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavs | 117.8 (7th) | 114.2 (11th) | +3.6 (9th) |
| Wizards | 110.3 (29th) | 121.3 (29th) | -11 (30th) |
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BERLIN, Germany (AP) — Freiburg advanced to the semifinals of the German Cup after a 5-4 penalty shootout win at Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.
Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Muller saved Pascal Klemens' sudden death spot kick in the Olympiastadion in Berlin to secure his team's place in the last four of the competition. Yuito Suzuki's strike had put the visitors 5-4 in front, meaning Klemens had to score to keep the shootout going.
After the game ended goalless in regulation time, Yuito Suzuki fired Freiburg ahead in the 96th minute. Eight minutes later the game was level again when Fabian Reese struck with a shot into the top corner.
Muller denied Michael Cuisance earlier in the shootout, but Freiburg's Johan Manzambi then saw his spot kick saved by Hertha keeper Tjark Ernst.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
With another week of college basketball complete, the next wave of NBA prospects continues to take shape.
Here’s the latest edition of The Long Forecast on NetsDaily, breaking down the latest regarding prospects in the 2026 NBA draft.
Since last week’s column, the Nets went 1-2 and currently hold the league’s fifth-worst record at 15-37. Their only win came over the Washington Wizards, who currently sit one spot ahead of the Nets in the tank race at 14-38.
As for Brooklyn’s second-round selection, they are currently slotted at No. 35 and 43 overall.
Here are the latest mock drafts from Tankathon and Bleacher Report.
Against Northwestern on Sunday, Stirtz was unstoppable, pouring in 36 points while shooting 12 of 20 from the field (60%) and knocking down 3 of 4 3-pointers, leading Iowa to a 76-70 victory.
After playing at Drake last season, Stirtz is in his first season as a Hawkeye. Across 23 games with the program, the 22-year-old is averaging 19.9 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting a blistering 40.6% from three-point range.
He is a talented perimeter shooter who can score at all three levels. The main concern, though, regards his athleticism, as Stirtz is not a particularly explosive athlete.
After getting off to a hot start this season, Colvin has cooled down in recent weeks.
His biggest knock last season was his inconsistency from 3-point territory. To open this season, it appeared that he had addressed those issues, as he was shooting over 40% from beyond the arc through the season’s first nine games.
However, that mark has dipped. Now, in 23 games, he is shooting 35.1% from 3. Colvin is also averaging just 12.4 points per game and hasn’t reached double figures in two of his past four games.
To build his stock back up, Colvin must find consistency from 3-point range and make more of an impact as a scorer.
Wagler has been rock solid as a freshman at Illinois, averaging 17.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 32.5 minutes per game this season.
He is shooting 45.9% from the field while converting a whopping 43.3% of his 3-point attempts, contributing to a 57.3% eFG%.
The 19-year-old is a poised combo guard who spaces the floor and rarely turns the ball over, averaging just 1.6 turnovers per game this season.
At the next level, Wagler projects as a high-IQ, plug-and-play piece in the backcourt.
Tanner is putting together a strong sophomore campaign at Vanderbilt, averaging just over 18 poins, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists across 31.6 minutes per game.
A crafty playmaker with great shiftiness, similar to Wagler, Tanner can score efficiently at all three levels.
If he continues to produce at this caliber, he will rise up draft boards, as NBA talent evaluators will buy into his scoring and creation combo.
Here is a list of NCAA games fans should tune in to this week.
The Duke-North Carolina rivalry matchup delivered the hype it promised.
The Tar Heels knocked off the Blue Devils 71-68 following a game-winning shot from Seth Timble, resulting in UNC fans rushing the court to celebrate, on Saturday, Feb. 7. While fans in the arena certainly seemed to appreciate the instant class, so did viewers watching at home.
According to ESPN, the game averaged 3.5 million viewers and peaked at 4.8 million. That is a 53% spike from the first time the teams faced off in 2025. The game was the most-watched men's basketball game in the last four years.
Saturday’s @DukeMBB vs @UNC_Basketball thriller was ESPN’s most-watched #NCAAMBB game in 4 years!
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) February 10, 2026
🏀 3.5M avg. viewers
🏀 Peak: 4.8M viewers
🏀 Up 53% from first Duke-UNC matchup in 2025 pic.twitter.com/R8PZ90iIHr
UNC trailed by 12 points at halftime and as many as 13 points in the second half. The Tar Heels' only lead of the game came on Timble's heroic shot.
Of course, the drama did not end with the game. Following the game, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer alleged that members of his staff "got punched in the face." Two days later, he said an assistant "got trampled on the floor" during the court storming.
The Tar Heels were fined $50,000 by the ACC on Sunday, Feb. 7, for fans storming the court, as it was a "violation of the league’s event security policy."
Duke and UNC are scheduled to conclude their regular seasons with their second matchup of the season on March 7, from Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
The sequel has a tough act to follow.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UNC's dramatic win over Duke draws most ESPN MBB viewers in 4 years
NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Como advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia for the first time in 40 years after beating Italian champion Napoli in a penalty shootout on Tuesday.
Stanislav Lobotka's sudden death spot kick was saved by Como goalkeeper Jean Butez to spark wild celebrations on the field in Naples as Cesc Fabregas' team won 7-6 in the shootout.
The game had ended 1-1 in regulation time.
Martin Baturina fired Como ahead from the penalty spot in the 39th minute, but Antonio Vergara leveled just after the break.
Napoli came close to a winner when Amir Rrahmani saw a header cleared off the line in the second half.
Romelu Lukaku failed to score for Napoli earlier in the shootout and Maximo Perrone also missed for Como.
Napoli is a six-time winner of the Coppa Italia, most recently in 2020.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
After an embarrassing beatdown in Oklahoma City earlier this season, Monday felt like a big step forward for the Lakers. However, at the same time, it felt like a big missed opportunity.
The Lakers found a formula in the third quarter that let them not only get back into the game, but take control of the contest. The team simply went to a bully ball approach that saw LeBron James pick on the smallest Thunder defenders, force his way to the basket and either finish at the rim or create an open look.
However, once the fourth quarter came around, the Lakers didn’t, or couldn’t, go back to that. The result was the Lakers struggling to find consistent offense and when they did, the shots weren’t falling. The Thunder, meanwhile, did convert on their chances and, in a make-or-miss league, that was enough to win.
After the game, head coach JJ Redick said the inability to get LeBron the ball in the fourth proved costly.
“Down the stretch at times to start the fourth, I didn’t think we did a good job of getting LeBron the ball,” Redick said. “Some of that was we called plays and we didn’t execute. Some of that was just not having just the recognition. Him playing against smaller players was how we got back in the game and we didn’t do a good job of getting him the ball.”
Oklahoma City wasn’t going to simply allow LeBron to keep punishing them without adjusting, which they did. As a result, it wasn’t quite as simple as LeBron getting a switch and being on an island to punish a defender.
Still, the Lakers made a difficult task impossible through no fault of their own. After scoring 10 points on four shots from the field and the line along with three assists in the third quarter, LeBron attempted just three shots in the final four minutes of the game, making two of them.
While the Lakers can come away from Monday’s game encouraged, they also have the overwhelming feeling of an opportunity missed as well.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ thrilling last-minute victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night had two controversial calls. According to the NBA’s Last Two Minute report, both were called correctly on the floor.
First, the referees didn’t call a foul on James Harden’s three-pointer to tie the game with 33 seconds left. Tim Hardaway Jr. took away Harden’s landing space on the jumper, which usually is called a defensive foul.
The foul didn’t come, and that was supposedly the correct call.
The Last Two Minute Report states: “Harden (CLE) abnormally extends his leg as he returns to the floor to create the marginal lower body contact with Hardaway Jr. (DEN).”
I’m not sure if I agree with that one. Harden does extend his legs out when he’s shooting, but Hardaway is landing exactly where Harden took off from.
Moving on, the NBA also agrees that Donovan Mitchell was fouled by Jamal Murray on his drive with less than a second left. These two free throws led to the Cleveland victory.
The Last Two Minute Report states: “Murray (DEN) is late to the spot and turns into Mitchell (CLE), initiating illegal body contact.”
Murray was late to the spot, but that’s a tough foul in that moment. A no-call would’ve been acceptable given the situation.
The NBA did confirm that there was one missed call in the final two minutes.
Jaylon Tyson should’ve been whistled for a three-second violation on a late Nikola Jokic turnover. From the replay, it’s clear that Tyson was camped out in the lane, and you can hear someone on the court yelling out that it should’ve been a three-second violation.
All in all, the Cavs don’t have much to complain about here, especially after they got the win.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Bucks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Now that we’re several days past the NBA’s trade deadline, we’re starting to get your reactions on the Bucks’ moves and perhaps the most notable non-move in recent memory. We’ll have more on Milwaukee’s path moving forward with a belated edition of the Tuesday Tracker tomorrow, but for starters, let’s talk about the highest profile Buck and the high profile edition alongside him.
First off is Giannis. It became clearer and clearer as the deadline neared that he wouldn’t be going anywhere, and 32 minutes exactly after it passed, he tweeted out one message: “legends don’t chase. They attract.” He also included the famous meme from Wolf Of Wall Street, where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character tells his company he wouldn’t be leaving. Bobby Portis also mentioned that Giannis texted him simply a deer emoji and a 100 emoji. Bodes pretty well for his future with the Bucks, no? So do you think he’ll put pen to paper when he becomes extension-eligible on October 1?
Then we have the Bucks’ signing of former Nets leading scorer Cam Thomas, which I wrote more about here. It’s a minimum contract, so there’s no financial reason not to fill that fifteenth spot, and why not with someone who is, for all his warts, an absolute bucket? Longtime NBA fans know is drawbacks, though: he’s a bit of a ball-stop, he doesn’t play defense, he gets those points by taking a lot of shot attempts (probably too many). He made a 13-minute debut in Orlando last night, and we’ll see more of him soon, but generally speaking, do you like that the Bucks brought him in?
LOS ANGELES — Regardless of what came beforehand or what’ll come afterwards — and the Lakers didn’t have much time to dwell on Monday’s loss to the Thunder since they host the Spurs Tuesday night — a matchup against the defending NBA champions will always be a measuring stick game in their quest to contend for a title.
Their blowout victory and narrow defeat in back-to-back games to the Thunder last April showed they had what it took to compete with, and beat, anyone when they’re focused because of their high-end talent.
The blowout defeat earlier this season in November in Oklahoma City, with the Lakers missing LeBron James but the Thunder being without Jalen Williams, showed the Lakers, at the time, they lacked the requisite physicality and energy to compete with a team on the Thunder’s level.
What lesson came from Monday’s defeat, which came with the Lakers being without Luka Doncic but the Thunder being without reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
“That’s a championship team right there,” James said. “We’re not.”
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A strong statement from James, especially considering he was asked what he saw the biggest gaps were between his team and the Thunder.
He elaborated on his sentiments.
“We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can,” James said. “That’s why they won the championship.”
The Lakers had the energy to take an eight-point lead in the third against the Thunder after trailing by as many as 14 points in the second.
But not enough to grab crucial late rebounds, with the Thunder scoring 11 second-chance points off four offensive rebounds in the fourth.
Or stick with their basic defensive principles.
Or execute their offense as desired in the ways that helped them stay in the game, and at one point have an advantage, in the first place.
“When you play the best teams, and Oklahoma City is clearly the best team, you have to have a really high level of effort, and you have to have a really high level of execution; it’s got to be both,” coach JJ Redick said. “For the most part, our effort was fantastic, and then key stretches of the game, our execution wasn’t great. A lot of that for me was just our defensively, our basic shell principles. To start the fourth, I didn’t think we did a good job of getting LeBron the ball. Some of that was we called plays and we didn’t execute. Some of that was just not having the recognition.”
Maybe the Thunder’s physicality eventually wore the Lakers down. Multiple Lakers players were visibly exhausted in the locker room after Monday’s game.
When fatigue factors in, the true character of a team can show.
And what Monday showed is there are gaps – even small ones that they’ve narrowed since the fall – that separate the Lakers from being a true contender.
“Obviously we have a little ways to go, but we’re on the right track,” Marcus Smart said. “The way we fought, our sense of urgency, all the way up to the last five minutes, we were playing great basketball on both ends of the floor. A good measuring stick for us. I think we’re in the right spot. We just gotta clean up some things. I think we’ll be all right.”
Another milestone streak is ending for LeBron James.
James, the 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers icon, will miss his 18th game of the 2025-26 regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 10, officially making him ineligible for individual awards and All-NBA honors.
This snaps a streak that is practically incomprehensible, of 21 consecutive appearances on All-NBA teams.
Put another way: this will mark the first time since the 2004 offseason — three years before the release of the first-ever iPhone — that the All-NBA teams will not feature James.
The Lakers are set to host the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday, and the team is listing James as being out with left foot arthritis.
James had previously indicated that he would not be playing the back ends of back-to-back games for the rest of the season, needing to manage the strain on his body.
Tuesday’s game is the second leg of a back-to-back, after Los Angeles dropped a game Monday, Feb. 9, against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James had missed the first 14 games of the season with a right sciatica nerve issue, eventually making his debut Nov. 18 in a game against the Utah Jazz.
The time sidelined with the sciatica issue cast doubt on his ability to reach the minimum threshold of 65 games for postseason award eligibility, especially because of James’ approach to back-to-backs.
James ranks first all-time in All-NBA selections, which is six more than the three players tied for second-most: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan. James’ 13 first-team selections are two more than the players with the second-most first-team selections, Bryant and Karl Malone.
Even if James were eligible for postseason awards, however, it would’ve been a stretch for him to make the lists; James is averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, which is unprecedented for someone his age, but may be insufficient for All-NBA nods.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeBron James injury update ends remarkable NBA streak
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James, who was among several Lakers players who weren’t available Tuesday night, will missed his 18th game of the season when he sat against the San Antonio Spurs, likely bringing an end to a legendary record.
James’ absence against the Spurs will prevent him from reaching the NBA’s 65-game threshold for end-of-season award considerations, meaning he won’t be eligible for All-NBA honors.
The 41-year-old James has been named to league-record 21 consecutive All-NBA teams, starting with second team honors following 2004-05, his second season in the league, and continuing through 2024-25, when he was also named to the second team.
James’ 21 total All-NBA honors, along with his 13 first team selections, are both league records.
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The Lakers ruled James out because of left foot arthritis, with the team playing on the second night of a back-to-back after Monday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James missed the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica that also limited him during training camp and preseason.
He made his season debut in the Nov. 18 home win over the Utah Jazz. James played in his first back-to-back set of the season in the Jan. 12 road loss to the Sacramento Kings and Jan. 13 home win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Before Tuesday, James hadn’t missed a game since Jan. 7.
Since the 2023-24 season, in most cases, players have had to play in at least 65 regular-season games to qualify for major awards such as MVP and the All-NBA teams.
James has averaged 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 34 games.
While his All-NBA streak will come to an end, James was named an All-Star for a league-record 22 consecutive season when reserves were announced on Feb. 1.
The most predictable schedule loss is turning out exactly as you’d expect.
After playing the Thunder on Monday in the first game of three in four nights, the Lakers are resting basically everybody against the Spurs on the second night of the back-to-back.
In the injury report released on Tuesday afternoon, the Lakers listed LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Luka Dončić and Marcus Smart all as out. Deandre Ayton is listed as questionable.
The most notable bit of news from this is that, in missing this game, LeBron is no longer eligible for postseason awards, meaning his streak of All-NBA appearances will end. It’s been a year of streaks coming to an end for him as his double-digit scoring streak was also snapped this season.
Luka’s inclusion among those out is not a surprise. Even as he’s considered day-to-day, it was unlikely this would be the game he returns, especially when everyone else was going to be out.
Similarly, it’s not a surprise Austin is included as he’s still working his way back from his calf strain. He has remained under a minutes restriction in his game so far. Naturally, it was expected he wasn’t going to play in a back-to-back.
As for Smart, he’s missed games sparingly throughout the season, often on a back-to-back. This isn’t out of the ordinary and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him suit back up on Thursday against the Mavericks.
Ayton’s inclusion isn’t a shock either. He missed Saturday’s game against the Warriors with a knee injury, so, again, it’s not unexpected that he sits out this back-to-back.
Each of these absences, as you can see, makes sense for reasons other than “they’re on the second night of a back-to-back after playing the best team in the NBA,” though that’s also a fair rationale.
The Lakers did win a game earlier this season while severely undermanned, but that was against a pretty mediocre Blazers team. Pulling off that feat against one of the league’s best teams feels unlikely.
So, if you want to take this opportunity on Tuesday to go out for dinner and catch a movie, check Silver Screen & Roll for the recap and coverage of the game.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
