Category: Sports News

The NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome is days away, and no one is looking forward to it more than Barbara Bush, daughter of former President George W. Bush and the NBA’s vice president of social impact. She found her “dream job” and is loving every minute of it.

“I played basketball until fifth grade. I grew up in Dallas and everyone watched the Mavericks. Then when I moved to Austin it was all about UT," she said, referring to the University of Texas. "I never thought I’d work in basketball. For most of my career I’ve worked in global health with nonprofits. During COVID, I started paying more attention to the NBA as it utilized its arenas for vaccination sites and voting centers since you could be socially distanced and compliant by using them.”

While representing the foundation for which she worked, Bush attended meetings with NBA executives and sought ways to work together.

“I became more and more interested in what they were building,” she recalled. “So serendipitously I mentioned 'If you ever have an opening, I’d love to go through the recruiting process and see what happens.' One year later there was an opening, I applied, and I’ve been with the NBA for about three years now.”

Bush was promoted to her present position in 2023. Collaborating with the Clippers, she is overseeing this year’s All-Star youth and development programming and social impact initiatives, beginning with Thursday’s NBA Cares State Farm Assist Tracker Legacy Project Dedication in celebration of the YMCA’s 175-year anniversary at Weingart YMCA Wellness & Aquatic Center in South L.A.

“The YMCA’s been a great partner with the Clippers for years and years and we feel a strong affinity to the Y, given that our sport was created at a YMCA, so it’s been part of the story of the NBA itself,” Bush said. “We, the National Basketball Players Assn. and the Clippers, are renovating youth-serving spaces, including a STEM lab, teen center and basketball court.”

Read more:Rising Stars set to help kick off NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome

On Thursday night, seven L.A.-based entrepreneurs will present their companies to a panel of celebrity judges and compete for $200,000 in prizes in the All-Star Pitch Competition at the Kia Forum. Judging will be actress Issa Rae, marketing executive Bozoma Saint John, private equity partners Will Bumpus and Ted Oberwager, and Ann Miller, Nike’s executive vice president of global sports marketing.

“It’s a 'Shark Tank'-style competition, we had 200 companies apply, and this will be the final rounds where seven entrepreneurs get to pitch their business to some pretty well-known judges, so I’m sure they’re going to be nerve-racked,” Bush explained. “It’s really fun and inspiring to watch entrepreneurs have the courage to share in front of an audience their impressive businesses.”

The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Day on Friday morning invites 1,000 local youth from the Beyond the Bell and Woodcraft Rangers programs to participate in clinics teaching fundamentals of the game.

The 18th annual NBA Cares Day of Service is Friday afternoon at the Convention Center, and 500 volunteers will build home structures with Habitat for Humanity and pack essential kits for underserved families with Baby2Baby.

All weekend a Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo will bring together elite high school-age prospects from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe to take part in shooting competitions, life-skills seminars and five-on-five games guided by current and former NBA players and coaches.

“One interesting tie this year is how we’ve reconfigured the All-Star Game so it’s the USA vs. the World, given that so many players are from other countries,” Bush said. “Since NBC is covering the Olympics at the same time, we think it’s compelling to have our format be USA vs. the World.”

Bush is perhaps most excited about the NBA Total Health All-Star Walk on Sunday morning, a two-mile route in Inglewood.

“We’ll be working with Girltrek, a phenomenal nonprofit focused on walking as a way to maintain your health,” she said. “We expect 1,500 people and it’s open to the public. NBA and WNBA legends are participating, and Evernorth Health Services will do biometric screenings and skin cancer checks to take care of yourself before heading to the game.”

Bush acknowledged the Clippers’ role in planning everything the NBA is doing next weekend and praised the franchise for its community outreach.

“What I love about my job is I still get to work on health and social justice issues but from a totally different vantage point,” she said. “We’ll have eyeballs around the world watching so we want to make sure we leave the community better than when we arrived.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Before Sunday’s 111-89 loss to the Knicks, the Celtics had been 7-1 when playing on a Patriots Super Bowl Sunday.

According to statistician Dick Lipe, the lone loss came in 2015, when the Celtics scored just 75 points against the Heat. Later that night, however, the Patriots rallied to earn a thrilling, 28-24, triumph over the Seahawks. Time will tell if history repeats itself, yet it’s an interesting trend to monitor nonetheless.

Here are 10 takeaways as the Knicks deprived the Celtics of their cementing sixth consecutive victory.

1. Oh, shoot

This was one of those games where living and dying by the 3 can sometimes yield a slow and painful death.

The Celtics shot 7 of 41 (17 percent) from distance, posting a season low in points, field-goal percentage (37), 3-point percentage and 3-pointers. Some of the looks just didn’t fall, some were ill-advised attempts and the Knicks certainly deserve plenty of credit for bothering the Celtics with their length.

2. Bruiser Brunson

There’s no denying it. Jalen Brunson (31 points, eight assists) is one tough dude, and he’s in his element as the head of the snake for the Knicks.

Brunson set the tone early with 15 points and four assists in the first quarter alone. He was average after that, but the damage had been done.

🏀 SUNDAY'S FINAL SCORES 🏀

Jalen Brunson and the @nyknicks win in Boston and move back into second in the East!

Josh Hart: 19 PTS, 6 REB
Jaylen Brown: 26 PTS pic.twitter.com/s80FH3hvop

— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2026

3. Grand Theft Alvarado

The Knicks may have made a major theft of their own by snatching Jose Alvarado. He gives New York a different look to accompany Landry Shamet and is a true terror defensively. When he hits shots, watch out.

4. Battling Baylor

Baylor Scheierman was a bright spot for Boston, as he posted 10 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and five assists in the loss.

Scheierman is averaging 10 rebounds per game in his last four contests and is starting to showcase the versatility that made him special in college.

At his core, Scheierman is someone who can make plays, hit shots, battle on the glass, defend at a high level and use his basketball IQ to spearhead runs. He’s starting to do that all at once more consistently.

Baylor Scheierman recorded his second career double-double this afternoon with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against the Knicks.

— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) February 8, 2026

5. Vuc watch

Nikola Vucevic had a pretty average game, with 11 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes, but it’s still worth taking a closer look at his performance.

The Celtics are really making a conscious effort to look for him in the paint, which is exactly what they should do. Vucevic commands so much attention and is a very skilled passer out of the post.

The chemistry is already there, and it will continue to grow in the coming months as he makes life easier for shooters like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.

6. Speaking of White

Derrick White contributed 19 points and four assists to go with Jaylen Brown’s team-high 26 points. This was White’s first game shooting 50 percent or better (7 of 14) since late January.

He’s still managed to affect the game in other ways, from shot-blocking to pace-setting, but perhaps he can use this performance as a springboard to bolster his shooting splits.

7. Missin’ transition

The Celtics scored 3 points off turnovers against the Knicks, marking their lowest total since 2021.

The Knicks, meanwhile, scored 16 fast-break points and got plenty of easy looks. It was one of those games where the Celtics had to work hard for everything and the Knicks seemed to generate high-quality attempts at will.

The Sultan of Stat's noteage today is far more exciting than the Celtics' performance in the 111-89 loss to New York. (The Sultan leads the NBA in excitement.)

The Celts shot 7-for-41 on 3-pointers – and the rest was pretty bad, too.@DickLipe has the good, bad and mostly ugly. pic.twitter.com/kHRWvedPxb

— Steve Bulpett (@SteveBHoop) February 8, 2026

8. Sam I Am

The Celtics missed Sam Hauser (low back spasms) in this one and could have used his spacing and shooting. Anfernee Simons also would have helped (it was still a good move).

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mixed and matched, turning to Ron Harper Jr., Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh and more, but nothing worked for extended stretches.

9. Kicked by the Knicks

The Celtics are now 1-2 against the Knicks this season, with both losses coming by double digits. After sweeping the regular-season series last year, they’re just a combined 3-6 in playoff and regular-season games since.

It’s enough of a sample size where it’s fair to be a bit concerned if they meet again. The Knicks are a difficult matchup for the Celtics because of their combination of size, shooting, speed and star power.

10. No biggie

It’s just one game, and in a long season, duds like this are going to happen. An important stretch before the All-Star Game awaits, with games against the Bulls on Wednesday and Warriors on Thursday.

The Celtics have still won five of six and 10 of 14. No need to panic.

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Will you take yours?

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Jalen Johnson has ascended in meteoric fashion during his five-year basketball career.

Johnson has gone from G Leaguer, to rotation player, to franchise cornerstone in that short span. And now, he’s been named to his first All-Star Game in his career. The weekend festivities will take place in southern California, primarily in the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the home of the Clippers.

But that won’t be his only involvement next weekend. It was recently announced that he will join fellow Duke Blue Devils Kon Knueppel, a rookie phenom, and Corey Maggette, a retired 14-year NBA veteran, in the NBA All-Star Weekend Shooting Stars Challenge.

In that competition, he’ll take on these three other trios:

• Team All-Star: Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren, Richard “Rip” Hamilton
• Team Harper: Derek Harper, Ron Harper Jr., Ron Harper Sr.
• Team Knicks: Jalen Brunson, Karl Anthony-Towns, Allan Houston

The contest makes its first appearance since the 2015 All-Star weekend. In it, there are seven spots on the floor with which the players can shoot from and earn various amounts of points with 70 seconds. Please see the attached PDF for a full set of rules and regulations.

Many will remember franchise icon Dominique Wilkins not only taking part in three straight competitions but winning the three most recent editions of the competition — a veritable dynasty as part of Team Bosh with NBA star Chris Bosh and WNBA star Swin Cash.

The event will take place on Saturday, February 14 after 5 PM EST on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

When you zoom out on Week 16 for the Suns, it reads like a week of missed opportunity. The West does not wait for anyone. It chews teams up nightly and dares you to keep pace. You have to handle your own business and hope a few breaks fall your way.

Phoenix started the week as the seventh seed and ended it the same way, but the math is shifting. Houston and the Lakers now sit two games ahead at 32-19. That gap did not have to be there. The door was open. The Suns never fully walked through it.

Coming off that long road trip where they split six games and lost both Devin Booker and Jalen Green along the way, the schedule finally softened. Nine of ten at home. Prime real estate. This team is supposed to feast there. Instead, seven games into that stretch, they are 3-4. Even the lone road game this week turned into an early mess, down 19 before waking up and clawing back to win. Credit for the fight, sure. But it keeps feeling harder than it needs to be.

That is the rhythm of an NBA season. You steal some you should not. You drop some you cannot afford. Eventually, it evens out. The bad from this week is loud. A 14-point fourth-quarter lead evaporated against Golden State. The good matters too. Booker is back. Green is back. Health changes everything.

The season keeps breathing. Up and down. In and out. Same as it ever was. Look at it, learn from it, and carry on.

Week 16 Record: 1-2

@ Portland Trail Blazers, W, 130-125

• Possession Differential: -5.7
• Turnover Differential: -6
• Offensive Rebounding Differential: 0

Tuesday night in Portland started like a trap game and played like one, at least early.

The Suns sleepwalked through a brutal opening quarter and watched the league’s worst three-point shooting team go 13-of-30 from deep. Down 19, things looked cooked. Then Phoenix woke up. They clawed back before halftime, detonated a 34-22 third quarter, and flipped the night on effort and poise.

Ugly start, strong spine, familiar finish.

vs. Golden State Warriors, L, 101-97

• Possession Differential: +0.8
• Turnover Differential: -3
• Offensive Rebounding Differential: -4

It’s three days later, and I’m still pissed about this game.

vs. Philadelphia 76ers, L, 109-103

• Possession Differential: +1.7
• Turnover Differential: -5
• Offensive Rebounding Differential: +1

The Suns got their cavalry back Saturday night. Devin Booker returned. Jalen Green returned. The vibes were there. The shooting was not. Phoenix opened 1-of-13 from deep, finished 11-of-46 overall, and spent the night pump-faking themselves into worse decisions. The offense moved. The looks were clean. The threes refused to fall.

Inside the Possession Game

• Weekly Possession Differential: -2.8
• Weekly Turnover Differential: -14
• Offensive Rebounding Differential: -3
• Year-to-Date Over/Under .500: +9

Who doesn’t love trying to figure out this graph, eh?

There’s not a lot to unpack in the possession battle from this past week. On the surface, the Suns did some things well. They won the turnover differential. They were not crushed on the glass the way the noise might suggest. And yet, they still lost the possession game overall.

When I dig into the numbers, nothing really screams at me. Even with that ugly shooting night against Philadelphia baked in, the Suns finished the week at 36.2% from beyond the arc, which sits 14th in the league. That is fine. They were sixth in the NBA with 10.3 steals per game, which tracks with the effort and activity we have come to expect.

The problem shows up in the assists. 23.3 per game. That ranks 25th. And that tells you everything you need to know. The ball did not move with any real pop. Too much standing. Too much dribbling. Too many possessions ending in isolation that never quite got where they needed to go. And on the occasions when the ball did move, the shots did not fall.

Week 16 ended up being strange like that. A week that easily could have been 2-1. Instead, it turned into something messier. Sometimes it is not one stat that betrays you. Sometimes it is the way all of them quietly point in the same direction.

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Week 17 Preview

Only two games on the slate this week, both at home. And because the NBA never misses a chance to trip over its own scheduling genius, they come as a back-to-back. This could have been clean. Saturday. Monday. Wednesday. Instead, the league jams Dallas and Oklahoma City together and calls it a plan. So that is what it is, and that is when it is happening.

Dallas is fascinating in a chaotic way. Cooper Flagg has arrived and changed the temperature of the franchise. Everything Nico Harrison built has been stripped down to the studs, outside of keeping Max Christie around. Anthony Davis is gone. Flagg is already a problem. And yet, the wins have not followed. The talent is there. The results are not.

Then comes Oklahoma City. A Thunder team playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and wobbling a bit because of it. This feels like an opportunity. A real one. The Suns can make it two wins in four games against this group this season, with one more meeting waiting at the very end. Back to back or not, the opening is there. The question is whether Phoenix takes it.

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63% of voters believed Week 16 would be a 2-1 week for Phoenix. The 3% who chose 1-2 were correct. How does it shake out in this short week that has only two games…but they’re back-to-back?

MILAN (AP) — Lindsey Vonn came to the Winter Olympics as one of the headline acts of the Games, just a week after tearing the ACL in her left knee. But her chances of winning a medal at 41 came to an abrupt and painful end when she crashed in the women's downhill. Here's a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors of Vonn in Cortina, from her training ahead of the race to her crash on Sunday.

Luke Kennard has been in the NBA for a little more than a third of his life now, which is kind of wild to think about. He’s moved around, starting with Detroit, then playing for the LA Clippers, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Lakers just before the trade deadline.

Kennard’s singular gift is hitting shots – he’s leading the NBA in three point percentage at 49.7% – and since he’s playing for Duke legend JJ Redick, he has a coach who knows exactly what to do with that.

Redick said in an interview he sent Kennard some Lakers plays and schemes to get used to and that while a lot of guys wouldn’t bother, he was pretty sure Kennard would.

Maybe he did, because he nailed his first shot and got 10 points in his first appearance in purple and gold. L.A. is still transitioning from the LeBron James era to the Luka Doncic era and spacing is a big deal. Kennard can certainly provide that – and professionalism as well.

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