BREAKING: Cavaliers star James Harden was arrested early Saturday morning in Texas and charged with the unlawful carrying of weapons 🚨
Harden was caught with a handgun in his vehicle, and it was allegedly in plain sight and not being carried in a holster. It’s a misdemeanor charge.
Harden was released on bond, and he has a court date scheduled for June 22nd.
(via TMZ)
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| Credit Getty Images/Scanpix |
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith had a strong reaction to Jalen Brunson performance after the New York Knicks pulled off a stunning comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks erased a 22-point deficit and defeated Cleveland 115-104 in overtime at Madison Square Garden after finishing regulation on a huge 18-1 run.
Following the game, Stephen A. Smith praised Brunson for taking over in crunch time and attacking Cleveland star James Harden possession after possession.
"Jalen Brunson goes ballistic and literally should be arrested for the assault that he put on James Harden," he said on ESPN's SportsCenter. "Just abused him at every single turn, annihilated him, kept going by him, scored like five or six straight baskets."
Brunson once again delivered in a big playoff moment for New York. The All-Star guard finished with 38 points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals while playing 46 minutes.
The Knicks struggled for most of the night and trailed by 22 points with under eight minutes left in regulation. However, Brunson sparked the comeback with aggressive drives, tough mid-range shots and clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter.
After forcing overtime, New York stayed in control and outscored Cleveland 14-3 in the extra period to take a 1-0 series lead.
Brunson shot 15-of-29 from the field and looked unstoppable down the stretch as the Knicks completed one of the biggest comebacks in recent NBA playoff history.
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals will take place on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
- BasketballNews
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| Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (left) and guard James Harden did not make the NBA All-Star team despite the Clippers hosting the game at Intuit Dome this season. Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images |
The Los Angeles Clippers will be hosting the 2026 NBA All-Star Game with no representatives playing.
The NBA announced its All-Star reserves on Sunday for the Feb. 15 game played at the Clippers home arena — the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. But despite having great statistical seasons and success of late, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard didn’t make the list. Meanwhile, the crosstown Los Angeles Lakers will have two-All Stars in LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
The NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles will feature a new “U.S. vs. World” format. Two teams of U.S. players and one team of international players will compete in four 12-minute games, with the top two teams advancing to a championship game. The reserves for both conferences, as selected by the respective conference coaches, were revealed Sunday.
Once again, Andscape presents its annual NBA All-Snub team, our squad of the most deserving players who didn’t make the cut.
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| FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES. Paolo Banchero (right) missed out on his second All-Star appearance. |
Banchero is in the Top 25 in the NBA in points and rebounds per game while also averaging 4.9 assists entering Sunday. Those stats weren’t enough to be selected to the All-Star team for the second time. Perhaps Orlando’s 25-22 record and Banchero’s early games missed to injury played a role.
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| Desmond Bane shoots against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 26 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. DAVID LIAM KYLE/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Bane has been a great addition for the Magic, averaging 19.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season. The snub, however, keeps Bane from making his first-ever All-Star appearance. Orlando’s far-from-stellar record probably had a role in the snub as well.
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| Injurie have limited Joel Embiid (right) to just 28 games this season. MITCHELL LEFF/GETTY IMAGES |
Embiid is averaging 26.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game this season. But what was likely held against Embiid was injuries limiting him to 28 games. It’s the second straight season that the seven-time NBA All-Star missed the All-Star team.
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| James Harden missed the All-Star team for the fifth time in six seasons. ALEX GOODLETT/GETTY IMAGES |
Harden entered Sunday ranked 17th in NBA in scoring at 25.4 points per game, along with 8.1 assists and 3.1 3-pointers made per game. The Los Angeles native, however, will miss being able to represent the Clippers at home. The 11-time NBA All-Star has failed to be named an All-Star in five of the past six seasons.
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| Brandon Ingram (left) didn’t get to join teammate Scottie Barnes on the All-Star team this season. JOSHUA GATELEY/GETTY IMAGES |
Ingram planned on bringing his rap star girlfriend GloRilla with him to Los Angeles had he been named an NBA All-Star for the second time. But after being snubbed, the celebrity couple will likely be heading somewhere else for vacation during the NBA All-Star break.
Ingram is averaging a team-best 21.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the Raptors this season. The Raptors also entered Sunday with tied for the Eastern Conference’s fourth-best record at 29-21. Even so, the East’s coaches decided that the Raptors only deserved one All-Star in forward Scottie Barnes.
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| Kawhi Leonard (left) is seventh in the NBA in scoring. LUIZA MORAES/GETTY IMAGES |
Leonard has had a rebirth this season, averaging a Clippers-best and career high 27.7 points per game entering Sunday which ranked seventh in the NBA (Leonard also leads the NBA in steals per game and free-throw percentage). The six-time NBA All-Star has failed to be named an All-Star in four of the past five seasons. While the Clippers’ record didn’t help his cause, his stellar play was certainly snubbed by the coaches.
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| Lauri Markkanen (left) missed out making the NBA All-Star World team. DAVID LIAM KYLE/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES |
Markkanen entered Sunday ninth in the NBA in scoring, averaging 27.4 points per game. The Finland native could have been a great addition for the inaugural NBA All-Star World team. The 2023 NBA All-Star has not made the All-Star team in three straight seasons.
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| Michael Porter Jr. is averaging career bests in points, rebounds and assists per game. AARON ONTIVEROZ/THE DENVER POST |
Porter Jr. is averaging career bests of 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his first season with the Nets. The Nets, however, didn’t help the newcomer’s cause with the third-worst record in the East. The Nets haven’t had an All-Star since Kevin Durant in 2022.
- Marc J. Spears
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| Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks celebrates after making a three-point basket late during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena on May 01, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan |
Los Angeles, United States: Jalen Brunson scored 40 points as the New York Knicks clinched a series victory over the Detroit Pistons while the Los Angeles Clippers downed the Denver Nuggets to set up a titanic NBA playoff decider on Thursday.
Brunson drained a game-winning three-pointer with four seconds remaining to give the Knicks a thrilling 116-113 win over the Pistons and seal a 4-2 series triumph.
In the Western Conference, the Clippers beat the Nuggets 111-105 at the Intuit Dome to level their series 3-3 and force a decisive game seven in Denver on Saturday.
James Harden led the way for the Clippers with 28 points while Kawhi Leonard finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Los Angeles bounced back from Tuesday's 131-115 game-five drubbing in Denver.
In Detroit, the Pistons had also looked poised to level their best-of-seven series with the Knicks after fighting back from 11 points down to lead 112-105 with just under three minutes remaining.
But an extraordinary late rally spearheaded by Brunson saw the Knicks claw their way back into the contest to tie at 113-113 with 36 seconds left on the clock.
Detroit star Cade Cunningham missed a layup to restore the Pistons lead, and that set the stage for an ice-cold three-pointer from Brunson to give the Knicks what turned out to be the winning lead.
"I stay poised and I rely on the trust and the composure that my team-mates give me," Brunson said. "None of this happens without them."
The third-seeded Knicks advance to an Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Boston Celtics, the reigning NBA champions, with game one set for Monday.
Brunson finished with 40 points, four rebounds and seven assists, with Mikal Bridges scoring 25 points and OG Anunoby adding 22.
"Jalen's shot, what can you say?" Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said of Brunson's game-winning three. "He's at his best when his best is needed, and he's done it all year. That's what makes him special."
Cunningham led Detroit's scorers with 23 points, backed by 21 from Jalen Duren and 20 from Malik Beasley.
A see-saw first half saw the Knicks romp into a 14-point lead after the opening quarter, outscoring the Pistons 37-23 thanks to 15 points in the opening frame from Brunson.
But Detroit came roaring back in the second quarter, with the hot hand of Beasley draining five-of-eight three-point attempts to haul the Pistons back into contention and into a slender lead at half-time.
The Knicks came out for the second half with renewed focus, the defense locking in to halt the flow of Detroit points while at the other end Brunson and Bridges combined for 21 points to build a double-digit lead.
The momentum shifted once more in the fourth quarter as Detroit fought back against a Knicks team who suddenly looked out of ideas as the Pistons surged into the lead, before Brunson rescued New York at the end.
In Los Angeles, a fired-up Clippers held off a late charge from Denver to secure their series-leveling win.
A nip-and-tuck contest hinged on a huge third quarter by the Clippers, who outscored Denver 32-22 to open up a double-digit lead which stretched to 15 points with just under six minutes remaining.
Denver rallied to cut the gap to just five points with less than a minute remaining, but the Clippers held firm to set up Saturday's decider.
"It was win or go home -- and we didn't want to go home," Clippers star Harden said.
"We've got one more game in a couple of days. We've got to be better. Still a lot of mental mistakes, still a lot of execution that we can get better at. But we've got to go out there and take it."
Denver interim head coach David Adelman pinpointed the third quarter as the moment the game swung away from his team.
"We got sped up, we didn't handle it -- we played defense but we never could come up with the 50-50 ball. That quarter absolutely killed us," Adelman said.
"We played a really good fourth quarter, but we've got to be better throughout the whole game."
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 25 points while Jamal Murray finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
- AFP
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| Joel Embiid is the first player to score 30-plus points in 20 of his first 25 games of a season since Michael Jordan in 1986-87. A look at the most 30-point games through the first 25 games of a season in NBA history: |
PHILADELPHIA -- Joel Embiid played through an ankle injury to push his 30-10 streak to 13 games, finishing with 31 points and 10 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers' 121-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Embiid scored all 31 points after landing awkwardly trying to block a shot with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
The 30-10 streak is the longest in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it for 16 straight games in 1971-72. Just two other players in league history have recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds in at least 13 straight -- Elgin Baylor (15 straight in 1961-62) and Wilt Chamberlain (six different times).
Embiid also scored 30 points or more in 14 straight games, the most in the NBA since James Harden had a 32-game run in 2018-19.
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| AP Photo |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Harden hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer while getting fouled with six seconds to play, sending the Los Angeles Clippers to their first victory since his arrival with a 106-100 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night in the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Harden dramatically drew the foul from Jae'Sean Tate and drilled his vintage 26-footer from atop the key before completing the four-point play to secure the win. The Clippers had lost six games in a row, including their first five since acquiring Harden from Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA -- Speaking for the first time since James Harden was traded to the LA Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said he didn't agree with Harden's assessment that he was held back by the 76ers the past couple of years.
"I don't think so," Embiid said after Thursday's 114-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors, in which he finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in 35 minutes. "I think he did a lot of great things for us.
The LA Clippers acquired 10-time All-Star guard James Harden in a blockbuster trade with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, sources told ESPN.
The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN.
The Clippers are sending a 2027 first-round pick swap to Oklahoma City, clearing the way for the Thunder to move a protected 2026 first-round pick to the 76ers, sources said. The Clippers are sending a 2024- and a 2029 second-round pick to the Sixers in the deal too, sources said.
The Sixers will waive veteran guard Danny Green to create the roster space for the trade, sources said.
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| Getty |
Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden, who missed the final preseason game on Friday after skipping multiple practices, remains away from the team as it prepares for practice Monday, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
It is increasingly unclear if Harden will be available to play in the Sixers' regular-season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, sources told ESPN.
Harden, who has sought a trade since picking up his $35.6 million player option for the 2023-24 season, did not show for practices on Wednesday or Thursday before he was ruled out of Friday night's preseason finale vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
In his first public comments since rejoining the Philadelphia 76ers last week, James Harden told reporters after Friday's practice he continues to see no way his relationship with Daryl Morey can be repaired while also saying his plan "is to play basketball. Yes, for sure."
"No," Harden said flatly, when asked directly whether he thought things could get patched up with Morey. "This is not even about this situation -- this is in life.
"When you lose trust in someone, it's like a marriage ... you lose trust in someone, you know what I mean? It's pretty simple."
Harden made a point of never saying Morey's name on Friday, only referring to him as "the front office."
