And on this roadtrip, where the Jazz will face the Pelicans once more on Monday night, it was really, really important for the Jazz decision makers to find a way to finagle a loss against the Pelicans.

T he Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler have had a falling out, and all indications are that the relationship could be beyond repair. A new piece by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne explains how

The Utah Jazz have hit the cellar of the Western Conference. Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set.

The battle of the second and third-ranked teams in the Western Conference features some of the league's up-and-coming franchises. The third-seeded Memphis Grizz

Early returns: Utah made a high-risk trade for Sergachev — in terms of acquisition cost and with the seven seasons left on his contract at an $8.5 million cap hit, especially coming off an injury-plagued year. It’s too early to make a long-term read on the trade, but the early dividends have been promising.

The Thunder has a 99.8% chance of being the No. 1 seed in the West, according to basketball-reference.com. Seems low.

and João Paulo (signed for one more year at something around $700k), CSO Craig Waibel kept the most important parts of last year’s Western Conference finalists together while adding both top ...

BOTTOM LINE: Detroit takes on Houston for a non-conference matchup. The Rockets are 14-6 on their home court. Houston is the Western Conference leader with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Alperen Sengun averaging 3.4.

The Cavaliers are 20-2 on their home court. Cleveland ranks third in the Eastern Conference with 29.1 assists per game led by Darius Garland averaging 6.8. The Suns are 8-12 on the road. Phoenix allows 114.3 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.1 points per game.

But Sunday, Jan. 12 NHL action has two of the Western Conference leaders looking to skate, shoot and score in their push to the top of the conference. The Vegas Golden Knights (28 wins ...

Victor Wembanyama continues to impress, anchoring both ends of the court, while Keldon Johnson, Julian Chapagnie, and Harrison Barnes thrive as a secondary scorers. The Spurs’ playoff hopes hinge on bettering their road performance and closing games against top-tier opponents.

Chicago Bulls (18-25, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (24-17, fifth in the Western Conference)