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.

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 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 Shelbu

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

BOTTOM LINE: Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves host the Cleveland Cavaliers in a non-conference matchup. The Timberwolves are 10-9 on their home court. Minnesota is third in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing just 107.6 points while holding opponents to 45.3% shooting.

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.

Domantas Sabonis of the Sacramento Kings was named Western Conference Player of the Week after multiple dominating performances.

Is it the sort of Earth-shattering move that we expected the Suns to make in the buildup to the deadline? No, but it's an interesting deal to address a major need with weeks of wo

The St. Louis Blues will host the Calgary Flames again on Thursday to complete an unusual two-game series featuring a postseason vibe.

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 ...

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 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 Grizzlies are an established squad built ...