8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN Last season, the Denver Nuggets‘ Nikola Jokic surpassed Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid in the closing weeks of the NBA’s regular season to win the Most Valuable Player award, as injuries to Embiid and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James cleared the path for Jokic to become the first

4:50 PM ET Iowa sophomore Keegan Murray will enter the 2022 NBA draft. “I am forever grateful that Coach [Fran] McCaffery gave me the opportunity to live out my dream,” Murray told ESPN on Tuesday. “Iowa will always be my home and I’m forever grateful to be part of Hawkeye Nation.” Murray, the No. 5

8:19 PM ET Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant will miss the remainder of the season with a left calf strain, the team announced on Monday. Grant suffered the injury in the first quarter of Friday’s loss to the Washington Wizards. Grant left that game after playing 7:30 minutes and did not play in Detroit’s game

4:02 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN The New Orleans Pelicans converted point guard Jose Alvarado‘s two-way contract to a multiyear deal on Monday. Sources told ESPN the contract is for four years with guarantees for the rest of this season and 2022-23, a non-guaranteed season in 2023-24 and a team option for 2024-25. Alvarado becomes extension

12:12 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — What started as a promising weekend for the New Orleans Pelicans slowly was turning into a nightmare. In a pivotal back-to-back set against the two teams they’re battling in the Western Conference play-in race, the Pelicans lost by four points to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday,

10:27 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN WASHINGTON — When Draymond Green returned from his back injury on March 14 that sidelined him for 11 weeks, the hope was that the Warriors were getting back a major puzzle piece to their success. In the second half of his return game, Stephen Curry sprained his foot, making Green’s

5:28 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — The NBA has fined Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince $15,000 for making an obscene gesture on the court. The league announced the fine Sunday. It stemmed from an incident that occurred at the end of the third quarter during the Timberwolves’ 116-95 victory over the Dallas Mavericks

9:16 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The Raptors‘ victory over the Pacers on Saturday night was delayed about 70 minutes in the second quarter and the arena evacuated because of a fire in a speaker hanging over the stands. Players headed to their locker rooms with 4:05 left in the second quarter and the

6:21 AM ET ESPN News Services Portland Trail Blazers forward Trendon Watford will be sidelined at least a week with a hyperextended knee and bone bruise suffered in Saturday’s loss to the Houston Rockets. Watford led the Blazers with 15 points and 10 rebounds before suffering the injury with 3:01 remaining in the 115-98 loss.

Mar 25, 2022 EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — If it were up to Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel, LeBron James would be adding a fifth MVP award to his career accomplishments after this season. “He is as deserving for MVP consideration as anybody in the league,” Vogel said after practice Friday. “I know how the