Timberwolves use timely performances from rookies Shannon and Dillingham for key win over Thunder

The Minnesota Timberwolves were short-handed for their final game before the All-Star break and facing the runaway Western Conference leader while playing on back-to-back nights. The rookies were more than ready. The Timberwolves took down the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-101 with four of their top eight scorers sidelined by injuries in one of their most inspired victories of the season. Terrence Shannon Jr. had all 13 of his points in the first half. He finished with six rebounds in 29 minutes and a plus-23 rating. Rob Dillingham had six points and five assists in 21 minutes. He was a plus-18.

Powell scores 41 points, Harden has 32 to rally Clippers to 120-116 OT victory over Jazz

Norman Powell scored a season-high 41 points and James Harden added 32 to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to a 120-116 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. Harden also had 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Los Angeles clawed back from a 20-point deficit and beat Utah for the second time in three games. The Clippers never trailed in overtime of Ben Simmons' debut, but did not pull away from the Jazz until Powell made back-to-back baskets to put them up 119-114 with 59 seconds remaining. Kyle Filipowski led Utah with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen also scored 20 points and John Collins chipped in 17.

Dante Exum scores 27 points to lead undermanned, undersized Mavericks past Heat, 118-113

Dante Exum scored a season-high 27 points, one short of his career high, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 118-113 on Thursday night. Max Christie added 19 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 17 and Kessler Edwards finished with season highs of 15 points and nine rebounds as the undermanned, undersized Mavericks swept a home back-to-back and won for the fourth time in five games. Tyler Herro scored 40 points for the Heat, who were swept in a road back-to-back and have lost four consecutive games. Rookie Kel'el Ware had 17 points and Kyle Anderson added 15 points and 10 rebounds

McCollum scores 43 points to lift Pelicans over the Kings 140-133 in overtime

and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 140-133 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III each scored 18 points for New Orleans, which beat Sacramento for the first time in four meetings. New Orleans won despite playing without power forward Zion Williamson, who scored 33 points on Wednesday and got Thursday off as he continues to work his way back into form from a left hamstring injury. Zach LaVine had 32-points and 10-assists for Sacramento, while Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and tied a career-high with 28 rebounds.

Naz Reid's 27 points help lead short-handed Timberwolves past West-leading Thunder 116-101

Naz Reid had 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in a 116-101 victory over Oklahoma City that stopped the Thunder's seven-game winning streak. Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 points to propel the Wolves into the All-Star break with an inspired performance against the West-leading Thunder behind a small-ball strategy necessitated by the absence of their starting frontcourt. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points and nine assists to lead the Thunder after shooting 2 for 13 in the first half. Gilgeous-Alexander had his streak of 25-point games end at 22.

Curry scores 27 points to lead the Warriors to a 105-98 win over the Rockets

Stephen Curry scored 27 points and the Golden State Warriors withstood a late surge by Houston to get a 105-98 win over the Rockets Thursday night. The Warriors were clinging to a two-point lead before using a 11-2 run to make it 102-91 with about two minutes remaining. A highlight of that spurt came when Curry juked Jeff Green before swishing a 3-pointer and Jimmy Butler wowed the visitor's bench with a two-handed dunk about a minute later.

Timberwolves sit Gobert with back spasms and face NBA-best Thunder without 3 starters

The Minnesota Timberwolves had three starters missing from their game against NBA-leading Oklahoma City. Center Rudy Gobert joined the injured group with lower-back spasms in his first absence of the season. Jaylen Clark got his first career start. Point guard Mike Conley has a sprained right index finger and was sidelined for the fourth consecutive game. Power forward Julius Randle has missed eight games in a row with a strained right groin muscle. Key reserve Donte DiVincenzo's absence reached 16 games with a sprained left big toe. Both Randle and DiVincenzo are scheduled to be re-evaluated during the All-Star break.

Irving, Thompson join injured list, giving Mavericks 8 players out for game against Heat

Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks' lengthy injured list for their home game Thursday night against the Miami Heat, meaning none of the players who started during the defending Western Conference champions' season opener will be on the court. Irving was listed out with a shoulder injury and Thompson a foot sprain following Wednesday night's 110-104 home win over the Golden State Warriors. Irving, 32, scored 42 points while playing at least 40 minutes for the fifth consecutive game. Thompson, 34, played 34 minutes and scored 17 points against the team for which he played the previous 11 seasons.

Kevin Durant cherishes another chance to return to Chase Center, this time for the All-Star Game

Each time Kevin Durant comes back through Chase Center to face his former Warriors, he takes time to stop and enjoy seeing all of the old familiar faces. Albeit brief reunions, they are meaningful nonetheless. So, fresh off becoming the eighth player in NBA history to reach 30,000 points, KD can't wait to get back to the Bay Area for this weekend's All-Star Game.

Another year, another All-Star for LeBron: How he ranks in All-Star history

There was a conversation that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic during last year's All-Star Game that went viral, since microphones picked up the exchange. The question was about who James played with in his first All-Star appearance. "It was me, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy ... that was my first All-Star Game back in '68, I think," James said. It was an exaggeration. A slight one, perhaps. James' first All-Star Game was in 2005 and he hasn't missed one since, meaning Sunday's All-Star event in San Francisco will be his 21st and further extend his all-time record in that department.

Heat President Pat Riley reveals where his 'three-peat' trademark revenues wind up

to various charitable organizations. Of particular importance to Riley and his wife, Chris Riley, are groups that help military veterans and their families, including the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in Tampa, Florida.

Dallas Wings announce TV deal with same local station that carries NBA's Mavericks

The Dallas Wings will have the same new regional television carrier as the NBA's Mavericks. All Wings games not carried nationally will be available in the Dallas-Fort Worth area on KFAA. It's a sister station of Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA. Some games could air on WFAA. The Wings were looking for a new regional television partner after being carried on Bally Sports Southwest. The Mavs and baseball's Texas Rangers were in similar situations.

Steph vs. Sabrina, the big hit of All-Star weekend last year, won't happen this year

There will be no Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu rematch at All-Star weekend. The NBA announced Thursday that the 3-point shooting event bringing together two of the biggest stars in the NBA and WNBA is not going to be part of the lineup in San Francisco. It was the hit of All-Star weekend last year. Talks went on for weeks to try to make the rematch happen, even stretching into All-Star week itself. It seemed more than logical that a rematch would occur; All-Star weekend is on Curry's home floor this weekend and Ionescu is a Bay Area native who grew up watching Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

The Kings sign former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz

The Sacramento Kings signed former No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz for the remainder of the season. The Kings were seeking more depth at point guard after recently trading away star De'Aaron Fox. Fultz was drafted first overall by Philadelphia in 2017. He has played 234 career games with the 76ers and Orlando, averaging 11.1 points, 4.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. Fultz last played in the 2023-24 season for the Magic.

It's a 6-pack of All-Star rookies: Wembanyama, Herro, Williams, Sengun, Mobley and Cunningham

There are six first-time All-Stars set to play in Sunday's NBA midseason showcase in San Francisco. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, Miami's Tyler Herro, Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Cleveland's Evan Mobley, Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams and Houston's Alperen Sengun all are headed to the game for the first time. Wembanyama's selection almost seemed like a formality. The league's reigning rookie of the year is already a global name; the NBA says Wembanyama content on social media is among the most viewed of all players and his jersey ranks No. 5 on the league's worldwide sales list.

Golden State Warriors blend sports and music with new album from their groundbreaking record label

arrives just in time for the league's All-Star Game weekend in San Francisco.

Harden and the Clippers visit conference foe Utah

Utah and Los Angeles will take the floor in a matchup of Western Conference foes. Thursday's matchup is the first this season between the teams. Utah is 5-31 against the Western Conference, and Los Angeles is 18-18 against conference opponents.