4:50 PM ET After missing the past three games because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant returned Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 36 points in a 129-116 loss. Kyrie Irving, meanwhile, missed his third straight game for personal reasons. The Nets have elected not to elaborate on

1:30 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry didn’t allow himself to wallow in self-pity or shake his head in frustration on the night of the worst shooting performance of his career. He smiled wide at the idea that he could go 2-for-16 and the Golden State Warriors could still find a way to squeak

6:45 PM ET Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has been diagnosed with a fractured right knee, the team announced Sunday. Bogdanovic was hurt during the second quarter of Saturday night’s game at Charlotte and did not return. The Hawks described the injury specifically as an “an avulsion fracture in his right knee with associated soft

7:40 PM ET Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns returned to the starting lineup for Saturday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Towns missed the past six games with a left wrist injury suffered in a Dec. 27 win over the Utah Jazz. The Timberwolves have struggled without their star big man, losing all six

2:16 PM ET Associated Press The NBA’s Toronto Raptors and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning won’t have fans at home games in Tampa, Florida, until at least Feb. 5. Vinik Sports Group, which owns the Lightning and Amalie Arena, announced Saturday that the organization wouldn’t admit fans because coronavirus cases in the area have “risen

10:05 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Before the NBA season started last month, Commissioner Adam Silver was asked on a conference call with reporters what it would take for the league to shut itself down again like it did last March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “I think we are prepared for isolated cases,” Silver

5:43 PM ET Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will remain in the NBA’s health and safety protocol for an indefinite period and continue to be tested daily for the coronavirus, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 1 Related Porter, 22, has been in the protocol since last Thursday as a result of contract tracing. He

3:15 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry scored 38 points in a 115-105 win over the LA Clippers on Friday night at Chase Center, bringing his team all the way back from a 22-point second half deficit while reminding the rest of the basketball world just how much more

7:39 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles‘ iron man streak ended in Milwaukee on Friday night after 384 consecutive regular-season games played. Ingles, who held the longest active streak in the NBA, missed Utah’s 131-118 win over the Bucks because of right Achilles soreness. He hadn’t missed a game since Dec. 16,

3:08 AM ET LOS ANGELES — A day after a mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Los Angeles Lakers captain LeBron James wondered what would have happened if the group of insurgents was mostly Black people, and blamed the mayhem on President Donald Trump. “We live in two Americas,” James said Thursday following