Category: NBA

The Nets had come into TD Garden losers of 6 in a row on Friday night, they left losers of 7 in a row. The Celtics beat the Nets in blowout fashion, 148-111 behind a big 28 point game from Jaylen Brown.

Only Jayson Tatum missed this one for the Celtics. They started the group that has become the usuals; Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta. Brooklyn, meanwhile, had no one missing on the injury report. They started Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton.

The Nets have beaten the Celtics once already and the last time these two teams played, it went to 2OT. Brooklyn had given Boston problems this year so it was important that the Celtics brought the energy for 48 minutes. Especially since it was the first home game back off of a west coast trip.

Spoiler alert: they didn’t give the Celtics any problems on Friday.

The Celtics were hot from there early, making their first 5 makes and going 8/10 from the field. However, Brooklyn was able to hang around because Boston could not get a stop as the Nets started the game 7/11 themselves.

Former Celtic Josh Minott checked into the game for the Nets in the first quarter. He had 4 points and a huge poster dunk on Hugo Gonzalez in the period.

HUGE Josh Minott dunk, I miss him and am going to post his highlights too pic.twitter.com/DBEplaXG2b

— Danielle Hobeika (@DanielleHobeika) February 28, 2026

The Celtics led 35-32 at the end of the first quarter. They went 6/7 from three point range with the only miss being a Gonzalez heave at the end of the quarter. Nikola Vucevic led the way with 10 points and 5 rebounds off of the bench.

Boston’s defense was lacking in the first half. Entering Friday’s game, the Celtics had the best defense in the league over the past 1o games.

look at the celtics defense https://t.co/tJqxbJdc10

— jack (@janderson22_) February 27, 2026

However, Brooklyn was getting whatever they wanted throughout the half. Finishing with 32 points in the paint for the half.

The Celtics still led 66-57 after the half. Jaylen Brown led the team with 14 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Neither team could get a stop for a lot of the third quarter as well. The Celtic stayed hot from three as they were 16/26 from three for the game in the middle of the third quarter as they took their largest lead of the night.

They never looked back.

A 27-7 run gave the Celtics a 109-83 cushion at the end of the third quarter. Jaylen Brown led the team with 28 points while Nikola Vucevic had 24 and 10 off of the bench and was a +25 in the game.

The lead ballooned to 34 points in the 4th quarter as Payton Pritchard put in a nice layup leading to a Brooklyn timeout.

Jaylen Brown finished the game with 28 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. He was dominant throughout the game shooting 9/12 from the field and 4/4 from three. Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Payton Pritchard scored 22 points and was a +40 for the game.

The Celtics shot an astronomical 67% from the field and 65% from three while Brooklyn shot 49% from the field and 41% from three. Boston’s next game is Sunday night at 8 EST against the 76ers from TD Garden.

The good thing about the Lakers is that when things are going well, the attention the franchise receives is more than virtually anyone else in sports gets.

However, the other side of that coin is that when losses are piling up, the media frenzy is just as loud, perhaps even louder.

After the Lakers lost to the Suns, head coach JJ Redick discussed the negativity that comes with being the most popular basketball team on Earth.

"Our losses are louder than because we're the Lakers and because the way we lose. You get this deep in the season and again tonight was a one-possession clutch game…Our losses are louder." – JJ Redick postgame

— Jacob Rude (@JacobRude) February 27, 2026

Whether fair or not, the standard in Los Angeles is to win all the time, with no exceptions or grace allowed. So, when fans or the media can’t see the path towards a title, the blame game begins and that’s a contest no one can win.

Simply put, the Lakers, given the size of their fanbase and the amount of national TV games they play, aren’t allowed to struggle quietly. If something is going wrong in LA, it will be broadcast on every show, podcast and website imaginable.

It also doesn’t help that the Lakers are playing poorly.

During this losing streak, the Lakers have been blown out by the Celtics, lost to a Magic team missing key players, and failed to generate any stops in the fourth quarter against Phoenix.

When you have awful losses on the largest stage, it’s going to get people talking about your flaws ad nauseam.

As Don Draper said in the television show “Mad Men,” “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”

The only way the Lakers can do that is by winning games. And the path towards that is fixing the defense, optimizing the offense and getting the trio of LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves all playing well together.

Also, there are only 20-plus games left to get that done. So, yeah, the 2025-26 Lakers might be cooked.

But yes, Redick is right. It does get loud in LA.

Hopefully, one day, the noise is about the team going on a title run, and the conversation is about how the Lakers have one of the best run franchises in the NBA.

Right now, the dialogue is much darker. And no matter how loud the noise is, the play on the court warrants the criticisms.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

Ahead of their Saturday showdown at Rupp Arena, the Kentucky Wildcats and Vanderbilt Commodores have unveiled their SEC Injury Report.

For Kentucky, you will be absolutely stunned and shocked to hear that Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, and Kam Williams all remain out. Williams is out of a walking boot, and Mark Pope is keeping the faith that the sophomore guard can return toward the end of this season, but it’s far from a certainty.

For the Commodores, starting guard Frankie Collins remains out, though he hasn’t played since December 17, so Vandy is plenty used to being without him.

Only one other player is on the injury report, and that’s reserve guard Mike James, who is doubtful to play. The former Louisville guard is averaging just 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 11.1 minutes per game.

Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt Injury Report

You want more A Sea Of Blue coverage? Then add us to your “Preferred Sources” on Google to get all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and views. Be sure to check out our friends at Bleav in Kentucky for everything you need to know about the Cats packed into weekly podcasts. And Go CATS!

Miami (Ohio) basketball's perfect season lives another night.

The No. 25 RedHawks survived a scare from Western Michigan on Friday, Feb. 27, at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan, when Trey Perry hit a game-winning layup with 0.4 seconds remaining. Miami improved to 29-0 on the season with the win.

TREY. PERRY. 🔥@nbadreams25 comes up CLUTCH to keep No. 21 Miami unbeaten!@MiamiOH_BBall | #MACtionpic.twitter.com/uUoedz2fwJ

— MACtion (@MACSports) February 28, 2026

REQUIRED READING: How Miami Ohio became college basketball's most unlikely undefeated team

“Tough man, playing to win. He’s fiery. He’s a competitor. He’s built for those moments, man," Miami (Ohio) coach Travis Steele said of Perry in a postgame interview. "So we put the ball in his hands there at the end. I told him to try and get to the rim, not settle. Which he did. He got right to that left hand. He’s really good, he can finish with either hand equally as well.”

The RedHawks trailed by as many as nine points with 6:38 left in the game. They only led the contest for 4:43 of gametime, but were able to steal a victory at the end. Peter Suder led Miami with 18 points, while Almar Atlason added 16 points and Perry finished with 14, including the game-winner.

The Broncos tied the game at 67-67 with 12 seconds on a second-chance jumper from Justice Williams. However, Perry's layup kept the RedHawks quest for a perfect season alive. According to USA TODAY Sports' latest bracket projections, they are slated to be an 11-seed in the East Region as an automatic qualifier out of the Mid-American Conference.

“If you look at our numbers since Jan. 1, we’re a top 60 team in defense in the country, analytically," Steele said. "We’re really trending in the right direction, when we get a little healthier, we’ll regain that offensive magic we had. But our guys figure it out. That’s what good teams do. They win when they didn’t play their best.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miami Ohio stays undefeated with buzzer-beater vs Western Michigan

Charles Barkley agrees with disenchanted NBA fans.

The Basketball Hall of Famer appeared on long-running ESPN show “Pardon the Interruption” on Friday to discuss current matters in the NBA, particularly ranting about how hard it is to simply find games.

The league’s new media rights deal sprinkles games throughout ESPN/ABC, NBC/Peacock and Amazon’s Prime Video.

Barkley isn’t a fan of the whole setup.

“It is so difficult for fans to find the games now,” Barkley told Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser. “I think we’ve done a disservice to the fans and to the game. We’ve got to find a way to let the fans know. Because the fans are the backbone, and we want to support these networks.”

Barkley went on to say that people “don’t know” when games are on, and where.

“We’ve got to be very careful because we’ve got an 11-year deal, and it’s a team deal. The players are gonna be successful, but we want the networks to be successful also,” Barkley continued.

"I think we've done a disservice to the fans and to the game."

Charles Barkley says the NBA's new media deal has made it harder for fans to watch pic.twitter.com/xMy95U941j

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 27, 2026

The new media rights deal, signed in July 2024, was inked for 11 years and $77 billion, and it kicked in this year.

Controversially, the deal didn’t include TNT, which didn’t appear to be keen on keeping the NBA product.

“Inside The NBA,” a long-running staple of TNT’s coverage, has since been moved to ESPN and will air more often now that football season is over.

Previously, TNT and ESPN shared the bulk of the nationally televised contests, not including the in-house NBA TV.

Barkley, who continues to co-host alongside Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal, has been a vocal proponent of the league becoming more “fan-friendly” as it relates to this media deal.

Olympians Hilary Knight, Kendall Coyne Schofield and Erin Ambrose have all been placed on long-term injured reserve by their PWHL clubs after sustaining injuries during the Milan Cortina Games.

Knight, a five-time Olympian and captain of the United States team that won gold, will be out of the Seattle Torrent's lineup indefinitely after sustaining a lower-body injury in Italy, the team announced Friday.

Knight had three goals and three assists for the U.S. at Milan Cortina including a goal in the 2-1 overtime win over Canada in the final. She has three goals and seven assists during the current PWHL season.

“While we’re eager to be at full strength and recognize the anticipation of Hilary’s return, we’re focused on putting her and our team in the best position for a playoff push," Torrent general manager Meghan Turner said in a statement.

Minnesota Frost captain Coyne Schofield was placed on long-term injured reserve on Friday retroactive to Feb. 19 with an upper-body injury. Coyne Schofield scored three goals for the United States during the Olympics.

“I am incredibly proud of all our Frost Olympians who demonstrated true excellence on the world stage,” general manager Melissa Caruso said in a statement. “We are fully committed to supporting Kendall throughout her recovery, and our medical team will be working diligently to help her prepare for her return to the ice."

The moves by the Torrent and Frost came a day after the Montreal Victoire announced that Ambrose has been placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to Feb. 19 for a lower‑body injury suffered while representing Canada in the gold medal game. Ambrose had a pair of assists at the Olympics.

The Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin, Canada's captain in Italy, was listed as day-to-day with an Olympics-related injury.

Victoire general manager Daniele Sauvageau said of the team's Olympians "we are confident that they will be back in the lineup in the near future.”

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AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — Fadima Tall, Madison St. Rose and Emily Eadie each scored 13 points to help No. 25 Princeton rout Dartmouth 97-47 on Friday night.

Princeton (22-3, 10-2 Ivy League) has won 19 of its last 21 games — with both losses coming against Columbia. The Tigers improved to 31-1 against the Big Green since the 2009-10 season.

Princeton pulled away by outscoring Dartmouth 32-12 in the third quarter. Toby Nweke and Grace O’Sullivan made back-to-back 3-pointers, and Skye Belker scored on two straight possessions to cap Princeton’s 25-4 third-quarter run for a 65-30 lead.

Princeton added a 13-2 run to begin the fourth for an 85-40 lead.

Belker and Nweke each scored 12 points and Taylor Charles had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Princeton, which did not have a double-digit scorer until the fourth quarter. Nweke made five of Princeton's 20 steals. The Tigers shot 57% from the field and outrebounded the Big Green 40-23.

Dartmouth (10-15, 1-11) was led by Zeynep Ozel and Jacalyn Myrthil with nine points apiece. The Big Green turned it over 26 times and attempted 29 less field goals than Princeton.

Up next

Princeton: Stays on the road to play Harvard on Saturday.

Dartmouth: Hosts Pennsylvania on Saturday.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

The Knicks (37*-22) visit the Bucks (26-31) tonight at Fiserv Forum with a chance to take the season series after splitting the first two meetings. Milwaukee has won eight of its last 10 and did so without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf). Things that make you go hmmm! Meanwhile, New York, with two days of rest, will want to take care of business tonight and get home to prepare for an early Sunday game versus San Antonio.

Tip-off is 8 pm EST on MSG. This is your game thread. This is Brew Hoop. Please don’t post large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in the thread. Mind your manners. And go Knicks!

* Should be one more, but the Cup Final was a trick of the eye.

The Dallas Mavericks (21-37) host the Memphis Grizzlies (21-36) on Friday night. Dallas is coming off a rather shocking loss to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Memphis is locked in to their tank, losing three in a row recently, with losses to Miami, Sacramento, and Golden State. This is a match up between two teams racing towards the lottery.

Here’s the main things you need to know:

• WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Memphis Grizzlies
• WHAT: The second night of a home back-to-back
• WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
• WHEN: 7:30 pm CST
• HOW: KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV streaming, NBA League Pass

It’s another brutal injury report for the Mavericks. They will be without so many players today. Starting with the obvious: Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively are still out. Cooper Flagg is missing another game due to his foot and Marvin Bagley is out after straining his neck in a fall against the Kings. Next there are four players listed as doubtful, which means they are out as well: Moussa Cisse, Ryan Nembhard, Klay Thompson, and PJ Washington. Caleb Martin is questionable with a back injury.

The Grizzlies also have a ton of guys out. Let’s list them off! Ja Morant, Zach Edey, Cederic Coward, Brandon Clark, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Anderson, and Sani Aldama. Ty Jerome is doubtful. Before the game tips SIXTEEN players between both teams aren’t going to play. Ridiculous.

Dallas is tired. Naji Marshall is playing 100000 minutes. Memphis has at least had a day off, whereas the Mavericks played one last night. This might be an ugly game but I bet Dallas hangs around.

Be sure to chime in with your predictions in the comments!

Consider joining Josh and me on Pod Maverick live after the game on YouTube, we should start LATE. Thanks so much for spending time with us here at Mavs Moneyball. Let’s go Mavs!

DETROIT (AP) — James Harden sat out the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night as he recovers from a fractured right thumb.

Harden was injured Tuesday against New York. He's averaging 18.9 points in seven games for the Cavaliers following a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Cleveland also was without Donovan Mitchell. He strained his groin against the Knicks.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

DETROIT — The Cleveland Cavaliers will be shorthanded for Friday’s showdown against the Detroit Pistons. Their star-studed backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden will both be missing the game.

Harden broke his thumb in Tuesday’s win over the New York Knicks. Initial X-rays revealed a non-displaced fracture of the distal phalanx. He will not be undergoing surgery at this time and is expected to play through the injury.

However, that won’t be happening on Friday as he’s still struggling to dribble according to head coach Kenny Atkinson.

“I know this morning he was struggling a little just dribbling,” Atkinson said when asked about Harden’s thumb injury before Friday’s game in Detroit. “If you have a hard time dribbling and catching [it’s tough to play]. Jarrett Allen went through it earlier in the season. We tried to bring him back. He wanted to rush, and then we had to go back and give him some time.

“I know James is different…we got to get the feedback from James. … Theres no tougher guy in the league. No one more available. No one wants to play more.”

The plan was to have Harden go through pregame warmups and see how it goes. However, he didn’t come out for pregame warmups like usual.

Even though he won’t be playing Friday, Atkinson says that he is making progress.

“It was improved from when he first did it,” Atkinson said. “It wasn’t like, man it feels the same. It’s better than it was two days ago, so that’s a positive.

Harden has played seven games with the Cavs this season and is averaging 18.9 points and 8 assists on .494/.488/.867 shooting splits. On the season, he’s averaged 24.5 points and 8.1 assists in 51 games.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be shorthanded again. That isn’t ideal when going against the best team in the conference, the Detroit Pistons.

I’ll be in the comments throughout the game sharing my thoughts. Feel free to join in on the conversation and let your voice be heard in the comments below.

Go Cavs!

VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain (AP) — Carlos Espí scored twice in the dying minutes to give Levante a 2-0 win over Alaves on Friday and a vital three points in its fight to avoid relegation from La Liga.

Espí, who came through the youth ranks at the Valencia-based club, had scored only once all season but tripled his tally with a blistering late show against an Alaves side that played the last half hour with 10 men after Víctor Parada was sent off.

Espí's deflected shot in the 88th minute put Levante ahead and he then sparked jubilant scenes with almost the last kick of the game when his assured finish rounded off a counterattack.

"This has been one of my greatest nights," the 20-year old told broadcaster DAZN. "It's incredible."

The result snapped a four-game losing streak for the home side. It remained second from bottom of La Liga but has cut the gap with the fourth bottom club to four points.

Alaves was 14th but only three points clear of the relegation zone.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread

PARMA, Italy (AP) — Gaetano Oristanio came on at halftime and scored a late equalizer for Parma against Cagliari in a hard-fought 1-1 home draw in Serie A on Friday.

Oristiano’s goal seven minutes from time earned Parma a point but its poor home form continued. It has won only two of its last 12 home games and has not won two in a row at Stadio Ennio Tardini since January 2020.

Still, it has taken 10 points from its last 12 and moves into 11th place, a point behind Lazio and a point ahead of Udinese.

Michael Folorunsho put Cagliari ahead 18 minutes into the second half with a stunning 30-meter strike.

The midfielder on loan from Napoli missed the last 10 games through injury and was introduced just after the hour mark. Two minutes later, he spied Parma goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi off his line and his dipping shot from near the right touchline flew over Corvi’s head and into the far corner of the net.

The goal was Cagliari’s first since January but leaves it without a win in four games. It sits in 13th spot, six points above the relegation zone.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer