The Spartans shot 11 of 22 from beyond the arc at Madison Square Garden after making just 13 of their first 60 3-point attempts in their first three games, good for 21.7% and fourth-worst out of 361 Division I programs.
No. 17 Michigan State drains 11 3-pointers in 83-66 win over No. 12 Kentucky
Kur Teng hit three of Michigan State’s season-high 11 3-pointers on the way to scoring a career-best 15 points, and the 17th-ranked Spartans beat No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the annual Champions Classic. Michigan State (4-0) made half of its 3-point attempts after entering the game shooting 21.7% from long range — fourth-worst out of 361 Division I programs — with just 14 total through its first three games. The Spartans outrebounded Kentucky 42-28 and never led by fewer than 10 after Teng’s baseline fadeaway jumper deep in the corner with 2 seconds remaining in the first half.
No. 19 UCLA turns new look into 79-48 victory over Sacramento State
Eric Dailey Jr. had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Xavier Booker scored 12 and No. 19 UCLA rode a new-look starting lineup to a 79-48 victory over Sacramento State on Tuesday night. Trent Perry, Jamar Brown, Steven Jamerson II and Brandon Williams all started for the Bruins (4-1) after making just two starts between them in the first four games of the season. Booker, Tyler Bilodeau, Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark all began the game on the bench.
New lineup equals big victory for UCLA men against Sacramento State
UCLA begins game with four regular starters on the bench and the Bruins go on to rout an overmatched Sacramento State.
Champions Classic takeaways: Michigan State, Duke pick up top-25 wins at Madison Square Garden
Michigan State looked dominant in its win over Kentucky, while Duke was able to outlast Kansas with Darryn Peterson sidelined due to injury.
Kansas star freshman Darryn Peterson to have his hamstring injury re-evaluated
A lingering hamstring injury caused Darryn Peterson to miss a third consecutive game for Kansas, and coach Bill Self is not sure when the nation’s top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year’s NBA draft might be ready to play again. Peterson has not played since getting hurt during a pregame shootaround on Nov. 11. Self said the team feels good about how it is handling Peterson and doesn't expect the absence to be “long at all.”
Cameron Boozer helps Duke past Kansas at Champions Classic
Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans lead the way for No. 4 Duke in its defeat of No. 23 Kansas at the Champions Classic.
No. 24 Kansas runs out of steam without Darryn Peterson as Cameron Boozer leads No. 5 Duke to victory in battle of blue bloods
Kansas took early control despite playing without Peterson. But as the game wore on the Jayhawks didn't have enough firepower to keep up with a loaded Duke lineup.
Thomas scores 26 point as No. 21 Arkansas rallies past Winthrop 84-83
Meleek Thomas scored a career-high 26 points as No. 21 Arkansas scored the final six points to rally past Winthrop 84-83 on Tuesday night. Arkansas took their final lead with 11 seconds left when Nick Pringle scored at the rim after a Winthrop turnover. After the basket, he and Winthrop’s Logan Duncomb became tangled.
No. 17 Michigan State gets an unexpected 3-point barrage to beat No. 12 Kentucky
Tom Izzo had some nit-picking to do even after 17th-ranked Michigan State pulled away to beat No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night. “We made some shots,” Izzo said. “I’m not really sure,” Kur Teng, who had three of those 11, said when asked what changed.
Nets remain winless at home after 113-99 loss to Celtics
NEW YORK (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Payton Pritchard had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-99 on Tuesday night to move above .500 for the first time this season.
Derrick White added 15 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to improve to 8-7. They played the Nets even for about three quarters before smothering them defensively in the fourth, allowing just one basket for the first 10 minutes of the period.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points for the Nets, his career-best seventh straight game with at least 20. But after his 3-pointer gave Brooklyn a 90-89 lead with 9:08 left, the Nets didn’t make another basket until 1:56 remained.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points for the Nets, who fell to 2-12 overall and 0-7 at home.
The Celtics started the season 0-3 and then won their next three. They dropped the next two games and hadn’t gotten their record back to even again until beating the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Porter had 18 points at halftime and Pritchard scored 17. The teams combined for 22 2-pointers and 21 3-pointers in the first half, which ended with Boston leading 62-61.
The Celtics opened their first double-digit cushion when Brown followed a three-point play with a 3-pointer to cap an 8-0 burst and make it 75-65 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining in the third. Brooklyn cut it to one late in the period before Brown made another 3-pointer to send the Celtics to the fourth with an 89-85 edge.
With the Celtics leading 97-92, they chased down three missed shots on one possession to set up White’s 3-pointer. After a Brooklyn free throw, he made another 3 to make it 103-93. Brown’s 3 with 2:55 left capped an 18-3 run to make it 107-93.
Up next
The teams meet Friday night in Boston.
Nwoko pours in career-high 29, LSU cruises by Alcorn State 107-81
Mike Nwoko scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Dedan Thomas Jr. and Marquel Sutton added 16 points each, and LSU rolled past Alcorn State 107-81 on Tuesday night. Thomas dished six assists to lead the Tigers (4-0). Sutton also hauled in 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double.
It's official: LeBron James to make season debut for Lakers Tuesday vs. Jazz
LOS ANGELES — It's official: LeBron James will make his season debut Tuesday night at home when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz.
He is listed in the starting five, though he is likely to be on a minutes limit in his first few games.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 19, 2025
"I thought he looked great," Lakers coach J.J. Redick said of LeBron's practice with the team Monday. "He's smart enough and there's enough carryover from last year, both with personnel and with our schemes, that I think it'll be, you know, easy for him to be integrated right away."
LeBron started suffering from sciatica on his right side back in August, and it caused him to miss all of training camp as well as the first 14 games of the season. The Lakers and James' medical team had agreed not to rush his return, and mid-November has long been the target date.
LeBron was assigned to the Lakers' G-League team last week to get in a couple of full practices, then was recalled and went through a full practice with the varsity Lakers on Monday. "Got to see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus," he said after the practice.
He obviously felt well enough to play.
LeBron James warming up pregame before his 23rd season debut (that’s not technically official yet, but…) pic.twitter.com/5N6cpPd5pF
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) November 19, 2025
"My lungs feel like a newborn baby," LeBron said after Monday's practice. "That's the most important thing: I've got to get my lungs back up to a grown man. My voice is already gone (from) one day back barking out calls and assignments and stuff. Got to get my voice working again. Be a lot of tea and rest tonight. Feels good to be out here with the guys. Missed them."
By stepping on the court tonight, LeBron will set a record by becoming the first player to play in 23 NBA seasons.
LeBron averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game last season, earning Second Team All-NBA honors and coming in sixth in MVP voting. He makes the Lakers' offense much more dangerous. While Redick has the Lakers running the offense through Luka Doncic, more and more teams are blitzing and trapping Doncic more to get the ball out of his hands and dare any other Laker on the floor to beat them. That ball now goes to LeBron, who gets to lead an attack on the defense in a 4-3 situation when that happens.
After Tuesday's game, the Lakers are off until Sunday, when they face the Jazz in Salt Lake City. At that point, they return home to face the Clippers in a critical West Group B NBA Cup game, which you can watch on Nov. 25 on NBC and Peacock.
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
Lakers star LeBron James set to make season debut tonight vs. Jazz
LeBron James will make his season debut Tuesday when the Lakers host the Utah Jazz, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity, after sciatica kept James sidelined for the Lakers’ first 14 games.
James is “trending in the right direction,” coach JJ Redick said before Tuesday's game, which will mark the beginning of James' NBA-record 23rd season. The 40-year-old missed the beginning of a season for the first time in his NBA career after starting to feel discomfort in his right side this summer.
James missed all of training camp and the preseason. The Lakers put together a 10-4 record despite playing without their biggest star. In his place, Luka Doncic has emerged as the NBA's leading scorer and guard Austin Reaves is off to a career season.
He's here. LeBron James onto the court for his pregame warmup. pic.twitter.com/nrCe5uwxsM
— Thuc Nhi Nguyen (@thucnhi21) November 19, 2025
The star trio played together for several months last year after Doncic joined the Lakers in a blockbuster trade, helping the team grab the third seed in the Western Conference. Redick expects the experience to help James integrate smoothly this year.
“He's smart enough and [there's] enough carry over from last year, both with personnel and with our schemes, that I think it'll be easy for him to be integrated right away,” Redick said.
James said after practice Monday he was not yet pain-free, but he has been able to manage the nerve injury enough to progress through practices with the G League team, the full NBA squad and then Tuesday's shootaround. James said dealing with sciatica came with unexpected challenges. He often could only hope he wouldn't feel pain when he woke up in the morning or when he went to sleep.
Read more:LeBron James knows there will be a 'feel-out' process when he returns to Lakers
Redick said the team and James are approaching “uncharted territory” when it comes to managing the superstar's health. Conversations have been consistent and will be ongoing as the season progresses.
“We'll figure out ways to get him rest when he needs rest,” Redick said.
Staff writer Broderick Turner contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Wilson pushes No. 18 North Carolina past Navy, 73-61
Caleb Wilson had 23 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. North Carolina to a 73-61 win over Navy on Tuesday night. A true freshman, Wilson also had four steals and three blocks for the Tar Heels (5-0).