5:38 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will be held out of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ final six games of the season to aid in the recovery of his strained groin, the team announced Saturday. “After consulting with our team doctors and medical staff, we have decided to hold LeBron out of games for

9:36 AM ET LOS ANGELES — After becoming the first Los Angeles Lakers player since Magic Johnson in 1989 to register 17 assists and five steals in a game, Rajon Rondo said he hoped to stick around L.A. a little longer. “Absolutely,” Rondo told ESPN when asked if he wanted to come back to the

1:00 AM ET MINNEAPOLIS — The Golden State Warriors were furious with the officials following several “mind-boggling” calls late in a 131-130 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. The call that seemed to upset Warriors coach Steve Kerr and his players the most came with 4.4 seconds left in overtime and the

7:41 AM ET The NBA playoffs are still three weeks away, yet we know the eight teams competing for the Western Conference crown. As usual, the West is deep. But this season, each team has some troubling flaws that could prove fatal in the postseason. Let’s take a tour of their troubles. The two-time defending

1:06 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWUAKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s troublesome right ankle is acting up again. With just under eight minutes left in the Bucks on Thursday night game against the Clippers, Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk that gave the Bucks a 108-91 lead. As he retreated, Antetokounmpo collided with Garrett Temple and fell down

4:03 AM ET ESPN News Services Before an estimated 2,000 Slovenian fans in the stands, most if not all of them staying and chanting for them long after the game ended, Goran Dragic outdueled Luka Doncic in the first head-to-head meeting between the only two Slovenians currently in the NBA. “It felt like we were

1:33 PM ET Utah Jazz reserve point guard Dante Exum underwent surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon in his right knee Wednesday and remains out indefinitely, the team announced Thursday. Exum left last week’s 120-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves after three minutes with what was described as knee soreness. The extent of

8:39 AM ET ESPN News Services The NBA is going to play a regular-season game in Paris for the first time next year, with the league announcing Thursday that the Charlotte Hornets and Milwaukee Bucks are headed there. The game will be on Jan. 24. Paris has hosted preseason games before, and the league hinted

1:38 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — Down nine at halftime to the Indiana Pacers and with their season sliding over the past few weeks, Paul George knew something had to change for the Oklahoma City Thunder. It did. The biggest run without an opposing point in the NBA this season — a 24-0 burst early

3:44 PM ET LeBron James is out for Wednesday night’s game at Utah, the Lakers announced. James played Tuesday against the Washington Wizards at Staples Center and had 23 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds in a 124-106 win. Sunday against the Sacramento Kings, he recorded his eighth triple-double of the season (and 81st of