3:25 AM ET LOS ANGELES — The normally laid back Lou Williams had to be restrained from going after an official before being ejected. Minutes later, Patrick Beverley fouled out and went on to be ejected for jawing with Russell Westbrook. In the fourth quarter of a hotly contested, back-and-forth game against the Houston Rockets,

3:20 PM ET The Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2020 could be one of the most star-studded ever, with legends like Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett among the players becoming eligible for induction for the first time. They join a long list of returning candidates who’ll be up for induction, including Chauncey

7:29 AM ET The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers — basketball’s two best teams at the moment — face off on Thursday in the premier matchup of the 2019-20 NBA regular season so far. What are the biggest things to watch in this game? Where are these two championship contenders weakest? And what is

12:52 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers entered Wednesday night as the only unbeaten team at home in the NBA. It turned out, however, the Miami Heat had just the thing to trip the Sixers up: zone defense. Miami employed the zone liberally Wednesday night, using it on 39 possessions, per Second

7:24 PM ET Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns missed the Timberwolves’ game Wednesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans because of a left knee sprain. Coach Ryan Saunders called Towns “day-to-day” with the injury. Minnesota hasn’t played since a 124-117 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 13 when Towns had

7:11 AM ET NBA Insiders Who is the favorite for MVP — LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Luka Doncic or another contender? Who is winning the Finals: One of the Los Angeles teams or the field? We polled the ESPN Forecast panel of experts for their votes about a third of the way through

2:02 AM ET INDIANAPOLIS — Asked to look back at the team that arrived at Bankers Life Fieldhouse last February and imploded with a 42-point loss, Indiana Pacers coach Nate McMillan was diplomatic. “LeBron [James] had some injuries and a lot was going on with the Lakers last year,” McMillan said before the Lakers played

6:14 PM ET Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who missed 17 games with a sprained left ankle, will play Tuesday night against the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced. Kings coach Luke Walton said he will bring Fox off the bench, noting that he will have a minutes restriction. Though he has played just nine games,

1:26 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — Inside the Milwaukee Bucks’ locker room following Monday’s 120-116 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, players were not hanging their heads. They don’t have time to. Their 18-game win streak was snapped, two wins shy of matching the franchise record of 20 set during the 1970-71 championship season. But

12:40 AM ET HOUSTON — Russell Westbrook tapped his heart a few times when asked about the key to the Houston Rockets rallying from 25 points down in Monday’s 109-107 win over the San Antonio Spurs, their largest deficit overcome to win in at least the past 20 seasons. “Sometimes you’ve got to want it