BASKETTBALL

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The NBA is forging ahead with plans for a European league and expects initial responses from potential investors by the end of March, the league’s deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said Thursday.

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Cade Cunningham finished with 28 points as the Detroit Pistons shrugged off the suspensions of Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart to cruise past the Toronto Raptors 113-95 on Wednesday.

Duren and Stewart were both handed multi-game suspensions for their part in a mass brawl during Monday’s stormy victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

But the absence of the two Pistons centers had little effect on Detroit as they coasted to a wire-to-wire victory in Toronto.

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Superstar LeBron James nabbed another NBA record on Thursday, becoming at 41 the oldest player to record a triple-double as he propelled the Lakers to a 124-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

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Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs ran roughshod over the injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, the French superstar matching his NBA season high with 40 points in a 136-108 rout.

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The NBA took aim at “tanking” on Thursday, fining the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers over “management of their rosters” amid intensifying scrutiny on struggling teams thought to be focused on draft position rather than winning.

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The Los Angeles Lakers shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic on Thursday, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 NBA victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

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Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart was suspended for seven games by the NBA, and three others from a brawl between Detroit and Charlotte were also banned by the league on Wednesday.

Stewart’s punishment came for leaving the bench area, aggressively entering an on-court altercation and fighting, with the length of the suspension in part based on his history of repeated unsportsmanlike acts.

Charlotte Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate were each suspended for four games for fighting and escalating the altercation, while Detroit centre Jalen Duren was banned for two games for initiating the altercation and fighting.

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Alperen Sengun finished with 39 points and 16 rebounds as the Houston Rockets bagged their third consecutive victory with a 118-114 defeat of the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

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Turkish international Sengun, who was one of the most notable omissions from this month’s NBA All-Star Game, dominated at both ends of the court as the Rockets squeezed home.