Basketball | featured news

Washington Wizards big man Nene cleanly stripped the ball from Charlotte Bobcats center DeSagana Diop, took a few dribbles up the floor, then spotted Emeka Okafor streaking from the corner of his eye. Displaying a little flash to wake up an apathetic crowd at Verizon Center, Nene whipped the ball behind his back and hit Okafor in stride before Okafor jackhammered a one-handed dunk over Diop.

Strange game for the Lakers. First one in a while. Maybe they were tired from back-to-back games. Maybe they've got a weird issue about winning on the road. Actually, there shouldn't be any excuses. They lost to the lowly Sacramento Kings. Period.

The losing play and overall lack of production left Coach Randy Wittman with little choice but to make a change. Somehow, that meant Jan Vesely would get his first start of the season for the Washington Wizards.

Zach Randolph had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Marc Gasol added 24 points and the Memphis Grizzlies handed the New York Knicks their first loss of the season with a 105-95 victory on Friday night....

Raymond Felton scored 25 points and the New York Knicks stayed undefeated by rallying to beat the San Antonio Spurs 104-100 on Thursday night.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had double-doubles, with Paul keying a third-quarter spurt that helped carry the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-100 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

Africa can produce the world's best basketball players, says Denver Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri... As an NBA executive, I'm always looking for untapped potential. As a proud native of Nigeria, I believe that Africa is one of the world's greatest resources in that area.

Just finished interviewing new Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni by telephone, and how’s that for a fine start in town — he's talking to Page 2.

When Jim Buss and Lakers management fired Mike Brown as coach, they should have had a deal already in place with Phil Jackson. The current roster is too old for D'Antoni's up-tempo game... A host of challenges confront Mark Thompson as he officially takes over as chief executive of New York Times Co, from making the company less dependent on advertising to trimming costs to figuring out what to do with its pile of cash.

In a stunning reversal, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni late Sunday night, spurning Phil Jackson, whose contract demands were apparently too steep. D’Antoni will sign a four-year deal worth $12 million, according to reports. His debut on the Lakers bench could be delayed a few weeks while he recovers from knee-replacement surgery.