BOSTON (AP) Celtics forward Grant Williams was suspended for one game without pay for using inappropriate language and ”recklessly making contact with” a referee, the NBA said Wednesday. The league said he will serve the suspension on Friday night when Boston hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers. Williams was given a technical foul and then ejected in the fourth quarter of the …

The Los Angeles Lakers are 0-3, and not surprisingly, many are blaming Russell Westbrook, whether it’s fair or not. He has shot very poorly in his last two games, and the calls for him to be benched, sent home or traded have gotten as loud as ever. On Wednesday evening, the Lakers will take on the Denver Nuggets, a game …

No. 8 UCLA has been picked to win the Pac-12. The Bruins received 26 first-place votes from a 33-person media panel in the poll. No. 17 Arizona, No. 21 Oregon, Southern California and Stanford rounded out the top five. The Wildcats and Ducks each received three first-place votes and the Cardinal one. UCLA has four of its top seven scorers …

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has had an inconsistent start to the 2022-23 NBA season. He scored 30 points in two of the team’s first four games, but scored just a total of 20 in the other two, including a nine-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back. When asked how he could help …

North Carolina coach Hubert Davis has a new six-year contract and a raise after his first-year run to the NCAA championship game. Signed in late August, the deal runs through the 2027-28 season and is worth about $16.7 million. That includes base and supplemental pay, as well as compensation tied to the school’s multimedia and sports-apparel agreements with Learfield and …

Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. What’s good y’all. It’s Prince here with another Layup Lines, and I want to talk about the Portland Trail Blazers for a minute, because did anyone see them being the best team in the …

Hubert Davis has a new contract and a raise after leading North Carolina to the Final Four in his rookie season as head coach. The UNC men’s basketball coach now has a six-year contract that runs through the 2027-28 season worth roughly $16.7 million, according to the Associated Press. The university published details of his contract that includes several performance …

Clippers guard Norman Powell passes the ball around Kings center Richaun Holmes on Saturday in Sacramento. (Randall Benton / Associated Press) Norman Powell is not unused to slow starts, but four weeks after he’d begun his eighth NBA season by publicly declaring his expectations of making his first All-Star team, the Clippers guard entered the Paycom Center’s visiting locker room …

Ayton: Suns got physical to ‘legal limit’ against Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea The Warriors fizzled out in the second half of their 134-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at Footprint Center. Golden State only scored 39 points in the second half, and Suns big man Deandre Ayton might have revealed the reason for the Warriors …

Getty Images Russell Westbrook is unlikely to play in Wednesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets due to a sore left hamstring, according to Shams Charania. Austin Reaves is expected to start in the veteran’s place.  Westbrook initially hurt his hamstring in the preseason finale, when the Lakers brought him off the bench in an apparent attempt to evaluate how such …

Keyontae Johnson couldn’t do anything but stand in one spot and shoot a basketball. He wasn’t allowed to run around before coming to a spot and elevating toward the ceiling with his explosive athleticism as he shot a basketball. All he could do was stand in one place on the lined hardwood court and shoot. Today, Johnson’s story is well …

One week into the season, we have a lot of surprises — the undefeated Trail Blazers, the struggling Heat — and a lot of volatility in the NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings. That’s how it is in the first few weeks of the season until we get a real read on teams, but the team at the top this week …

In anticipation of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team last season, I set out to create “an unbiased ranking of unassailable players” and came closest with the 100-point system we now know as The Bill Russell Scale. In honor of Russell’s passing over the summer, I wanted to start this season — and each successive one — with a reminder of …

Good afternoon sports fans, it’s Chris Bengel back with you. Sometimes you just get punched in the mouth in the sports betting world. It’s hard to predict that the Warriors would completely unravel in the second half against the Suns. Klay Thompson lost his cool, received his second technical foul of the evening, and was ejected from the contest. That …

Forsberg: Boston’s frontcourt takes another hit with Grant’s suspension originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston The Boston Celtics’ inability to harness their frustrations during Monday night’s unraveling in Chicago will now leave them shorthanded for Friday’s visit from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The NBA suspended Grant Williams for one game for “recklessly making contact with and directing inappropriate language toward a …

When John Calipari recently saw an image of a coal miner with his son at Kentucky basketball’s Blue-White Game, it hit home with him. Calipari immediately tweeted out the photo and asked for help in identifying the man so the Wildcats could give him and his family the experience of a lifetime at Rupp Arena. The miner, Micheal McGuire, had …

Getty Images Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will miss Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers due to lumbar management, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Porter is expected to return to the floor for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz.  Porter played only nine games last season due to back issues. His back also kept him out of his …

Boston Celtics v Chicago Bulls The Celtics were reacting to the referees during their loss to the Bulls — Joe Mazzulla was ejected after backing up Jayson Tatum, who had gotten a technical earlier in the game. Then Grant Williams got ejected for bumping into Cheryl Flores — incidentally, but still making contact — after he made a little sprint …

Quarterback All eyes will be on the man that lines up behind the center come Saturday for the Wildcats, as there are questions on the health and availability of Adrian Martinez. If he isn’t able to go, Will Howard will make his first start of the season. Coincidentally, it would be Howard’s third straight year as the starting quarterback against …

This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. NBA suspends Celtics’ Grant Williams one game for role in ejection vs. Bulls originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston The Boston Celtics won’t have Grant Williams in Friday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. The 23-year-old forward was suspended one …

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley put the league on notice in his rookie season that he is a bonafide centerpiece for the team’s future. While plenty of attention has rightfully been on Donovan Mitchell’s start with the team this year, Mobley has continued providing steady play for the Cavs through his first three games. On Wednesday, the Cavaliers take on …

Welcome back to NBA Star Power Index: A weekly gauge of the players getting the most buzz around the league. Inclusion on this list isn’t necessarily a good thing — it simply means you’re capturing the NBA world’s attention. This is also not a ranking. The players listed are in no particular order. This column will run every week throughout the regular season.  If …

It’s going to be a new-look Iowa men’s basketball team. That much is obvious after Keegan Murray was selected No. 4 overall by the Sacramento Kings and Jordan Bohannon has officially moved on. There’s been some transfers away from the Hawkeyes, too, but Iowa still has a strong corps of players returning. That group is led by forwards Patrick McCaffery …

Storylines to watch for early-season Sixers-Raptors rematch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia Unlike the Sixers, the Raptors didn’t have to wait long to face the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. While the Sixers won’t see the Heat until Feb. 27, Toronto (2-2) will host the 1-3 Sixers for a two-game mini-series Wednesday and Friday. …

NEW YORK — Manhattan fired head basketball coach Steve Masiello two weeks before the start of the season, the school announced. He has been replaced on an interim basis by assistant RaShawn Stores, a former Manhattan player under Masiello. “We thank Coach Masiello for his service and wish him well,” Manhattan athletic director Marianne Reilly said in a statement. “As …