Category: Basketball

12:40 AM ET

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo has a plan to end his growing struggles from the foul line.

“It’s simple,” the reigning two-time MVP said Friday night after making just one of his 10 free throws in a 112-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. “Just go back. Shoot more. Focus on your technique. Take it step by step. Just shoot more. That’s it. The more you shoot, the more you work on it, the better you get. There’s no secret in that.”

According to Elias Sports Bureau data, Antetokounmpo’s 1-of-10 outing was the worst single-game performance from the foul line in Bucks history for a player with at least 10 attempts.

Elias Sports also noted that the only other players to shoot 10% or worse from the free throw line in a game with at least 10 attempts are Andre Drummond,

11:46 PM ET

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic animatedly expressed his dismay that coach Rick Carlisle didn’t use the team’s final timeout during a critical possession in the final minute of a 112-109 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.

The possession, which occurred with the Mavs trailing by two points, ended with Kristaps Porzingis badly missing a contested 3-pointer with 10.4 seconds remaining. After the Mavs took a foul seconds later, Doncic angrily gestured toward the Dallas bench, repeatedly forming a T with his hands to indicate that a timeout should have been called.

On the previous possession, Doncic created an open look at a 3 for Trey Burke by passing out of a double-team. Burke missed, but center Willie Cauley-Stein grabbed the offensive rebound with 17.7 seconds remaining. Doncic didn’t touch the ball the remainder of the possession, as Cauley-Stein handed off to Burke, who

Getty Images

HONOLULU (AP) — Nick Taylor pitched in for eagle to get his round headed in the right direction, and he kept going until he finished with a good break and one last birdie for an 8-under 62 and a two-shot lead Friday in the Sony Open.

It’s still as crowded as the H-1 at the top, typical of this tournament.

Taylor gave himself at least some separation with a gap wedge to 6 feet for birdie on No. 8, and then even his worst swing of the day turned into a birdie on the par-5 ninth.

The Canadian hooked his tee shot toward the high netting of the driving range. The ball was so close to the knee-high boundary fence that his only hope was to play the shot left-handed. However, the netting that extends upward from

6:30 PM ET

NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will miss his sixth consecutive game Saturday against the Orlando Magic.

While Irving has expressed a desire to return to play, sources said, his extended absence from the court requires a period of ramping up basketball activities. Irving has not played in a game since Jan. 5.

For the first five games of his absence, Irving was listed as out due to personal reasons. Saturday’s absence is unrelated, and he is listed as out as a part of the league’s health and safety protocols.

On Friday, the league announced that Irving had violated the league’s health and safety rules. The NBA investigated videos that began circulating on social media earlier this week that showed Irving at a family birthday party, maskless.

The league fined Irving $50,000 and announced he would forfeit his salary for the

6:07 PM ET

Associated Press

Six Washington Wizards players have tested positive for COVID-19, and another three are in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.

General manager Tommy Sheppard said in a video conference with reporters that two of the players who have the illness caused by the coronavirus have displayed symptoms, while the other four are asymptomatic so far.

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Sheppard said no members of the team’s staff tested positive.

He spoke after the team announced that its next two scheduled games were being postponed: at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday and Monday.

That makes four consecutive games for Washington that have been called off.

6:41 PM ET

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns on Friday said that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

The diagnosis is especially hard for Towns, whose mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died at 59 on April 13 due to complications from COVID-19. She had dealt with the virus for a month.

Towns said before the season that six other family members have also died due to complications with the virus.

“Prior to tonight’s game, I received yet another awful call that I tested positive for COVID,” Towns said in a statement shared on social media. “I will immediately isolate and follow every protocol. I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all the necessary precautions.

“… It breaks my heart that my family, and particularly my father and sister continue to suffer