Basketball

Meek Mill won't be able to watch his beloved 76ers take on the Raptors in Toronto on Saturday ... 'cause his request was NOT approved by his arch-nemesis -- Judge Genece Brinkley.

The Philly rapper has been on probation ever since his 2008 drug and weapons case ... and has to get permission every time he wants to leave the state of Pennsylvania.

So, when the Sixers got matched up with the Raps in the Eastern Conference semi-finals this week, Meek -- a HUGE Sixers fan -- filed a request to make the trip to the 6 to cheer on his guys in person.

We're told Meek's probation officer signed off on the request with no issue ... but when it came to getting Brinkley's signature, she refused to approve the request.

Of course, Meek and Brinkley have history ... and it's no secret they don't get along.

Michael Rubin -- a limited partner with the Sixers -- says Brinkley is deliberately ignoring their attempts to get approval ... teeing off on the judge in an Instagram post.

"Judge Genece Brinkley - I know you have a vendetta against Meek Mill and are obsessed with trying to control every aspect of his life, but did you really NOT approve him to go to rep the Sixers in Toronto for the game?"

"We filed w/your court as soon as the schedule came out since you need to approve travel to Canada! Since you didn’t respond to numerous phone calls we sent lawyers to your courtroom today which you purposely ignored!!"

The college hoops national champions won't be celebrating their title at the White House ... but it ain't a diss on President Donald Trump -- Virginia says it's just too busy to go!!!

Of course, the Cavaliers just won their first-ever men's basketball championship with a thrilling 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech back in March.

Usually, that's followed by a trip to 1600 Penn .. but Wahoos head coach Tony Bennett says they just can't make it happen.

And, why? Bennett says, "With several players either pursuing pro opportunities or moving on from UVA, it would be difficult, if not impossible to get everyone back together."

He added, "We would have to respectfully decline an invitation.”

Bennett ain't kiddin' ... superstars like Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome have already moved on to get ready for June's NBA draft. And, without those guys, it ain't much of a party.

NBA superstar Klay Thompson made the MOST of his night off the court -- going on a romantic dinner date with one of the hottest actresses in town ... Eiza Gonzalez!!!

If that name seems familiar ... it's because Eiza was one of the breakout stars of "Baby Driver," she's also starring in the upcoming "Godzilla vs. Kong" movie ... and she's been connected to some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Before Klay, Eiza dated Josh Duhamel ... and she was linked to guys like Liam Hemsworth, Cristiano Ronaldo, Calvin Harris and Maluma!!! #ShePimp!!!

But, on Thursday night, she was with Thompson at A.O.C. restaurant in West Hollywood ... and sources at the spot tell us they had a private table in the back so they could be alone.

Klay will get back on the court Friday night -- when his Golden State Warriors take on the L.A. Clippers at Staples Center in Game 6 of their NBA playoff series.

As for Eiza, her upcoming "Godzilla vs. Kong" flick is already getting a TON of hype -- even though it isn't scheduled to come out until 2020.

Elisa Johnson, Magic Johnson's daughter, says she suffered "intense scarring" on her stomach while escaping a terrifying home invasion back in December ... and now she's sharing the pics.

We broke the story ... Elisa was at a home in the San Fernando Valley on Dec. 2 when 2 armed men broke in and began terrorizing the 10 people inside.

We're told they held people at gunpoint and shoved people around while stealing cash, jewelry and electronics.

Elisa was able to escape through a sliding glass door at the back of the home and ran down the street.

TMZ obtained surveillance video from a neighbor's home which showed two men lurking on the block a few hours before the home invasion. We don't know if either of these guys are the suspect, but we know neighbors were suspicious

Now, the 24-year-old says she was injured at some point during the incident -- suffering damage to her abdomen.

"Months ago, I escaped from a home invasion and in the process I was left with intense scaring on my stomach," Elisa says.

"Until now I’ve been so afraid to show these scars, and incredibly insecure about the way I look. But I now realize these scars are a part of my journey, and tell the story of who I am."

Elisa says she loves her body and "I am proud to be in the place I am today. #selfhealing."

For the first time ever, the official Philadelphia Warriors scoring sheet from Wilt Chamberlain's legendary 100-point game is up for sale ... and it's expected to rake in more than $100,000!!!

The game was March 2, 1952 -- Wilt's Philadelphia Warriors took on the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Wilt racked up 100 POINTS that night -- the ONLY time a player has hit triple digits -- and Chamberlain famously posed for a photo with a sign that read "100."

We're told the Warriors' official team scorer's sheet -- which was signed by Wilt that night -- was taken home by the official team scorer. When he passed away, his widow gifted the item to a close family friend.

Now, that friend has decided to offer it up to a worthy collector via SCP Auctions -- the starting bid was $15,000 ... and there's already been a ton of action. The auction closes Saturday night.

Experts predict the sheet will ultimately skyrocket past the $100k mark -- since the official Knicks scoring sheet from that game sold for $100k back in 2012.

Damian Lillard's college coach could see the Trail Blazers star's game-winning shot coming from a mile away ... 'cause Randy Rahe tells TMZ Sports he predicted it would happen!!!

"As he's coming down and sizing up George, my wife says, 'He needs to drive it!'" the Weber State head man says ... "And, I said, 'Nope. He ain't doing that. He's going to let one go.'"

Of course ... Lillard did just that -- burying a 30-footer in Paul George's eye to send Portland into the second round of the NBA playoffs in insane fashion Tuesday night.

"When it went in," Rahe says ... "it was absolutely the most fitting ending for a performance like that that you could possibly have."

Rahe has seen Lillard do similar things before ... after all, the guy coached Damian at Weber State for 4 years from 2008 to 2012.

But, even Randy admits Dame's 50-point night had him shocked, telling us, "I was in awe."

The Sacramento Kings have teamed up with NBA officials to launch a joint investigation into the Luke Walton sexual assault allegations.

Both the Kings and the NBA have hired their own teams of investigators -- which are already working together to look into the accusations made by sports reporter Kelli Tennant.

Tennant claims Walton -- now the head coach of the Kings -- sexually assaulted her in a hotel room back in 2014, when Walton was an asst. coach with the Golden State Warriors.

The two women leading the Kings investigation are Sue Ann Van Dermyden and Jennifer Doughty -- who both have extensive experience conducting investigations.

As for the NBA side, they've tapped NBA Senior VP Elizabeth Maringer -- who previously served 12 years as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The Kings and the NBA issued a statement saying they "take these allegations very seriously and will collaborate to conduct a complete and thorough investigation."

As we previously reported ... Walton adamantly DENIES assaulting Tennant and claims she's an "opportunist" looking for a quick buck.

Tennant held a press conference earlier this week emotionally recounting her version of the incident -- saying she thought Walton was going to rape her that day.

Bill Laimbeer wants to hand Michael Jordan one more "L" ... 'cause the NBA legend says LeBron James is the greatest of all time "every day of the week!!!"

Bill knows what it's like to beat MJ -- the "Bad Boys" Detroit Pistons defeated the Chicago Bulls on their way to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990 ... and he had his fair share of tense moments with Jordan.

But, Laimbeer ain't saying this because he's still got a grudge against MJ ... telling Fox Sports Radio's "The Odd Couple" his reasoning behind his choice.

"[LeBron] came into the league involving his teammates from the start, at 18 years old," Laimbeer says.

"He understood how to play team basketball, both offensively and defensively, from day one. Jordan had to learn that."

"No one has single-handedly done what LeBron's done," he added ... noting LBJ has taken some awful teams to the NBA Finals (we're looking at you, 2007 Cavs).

As for how LBJ would fare in Laimbeer's era ... the dude is not backing down, saying straight-up, "If he was in our generation, he would've been by far the greatest that you've saw in your entire, whole world."

Ex-NBA star Sebastian Telfair has been convicted of possessing a firearm ... and could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Telfair -- a 33-year-old former high school phenom who spent 12 seasons in the NBA -- was busted back in June 2017 in Brooklyn .... after cops found several weapons during a traffic stop.

Officials say Telfair -- who played with the Trail Blazers, Celtics, Clippers and Timberwolves, to name a few -- had 3 pistols and what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle.

Cops say he was also carrying a ton of ammo and a bulletproof vest ... as well as some weed.

Telfair pled not guilty and fought the charges ... but was found guilty by a jury in NYC on Wednesday of felony criminal possession of a weapon, according to our law enforcement sources.

LeBron James is firing back at a report he's beefing with the L.A. Lakers -- saying it's "NOT TRUE" -- and he can prove it.

Bron was working out Wednesday morning when he saw an ESPN report by Dave McMenamin about how Lakers have a lot of work to do to "repair the relationship" with James.

Of course, there's been a lot of drama in Lakerville ... the season was a disaster, Magic stepped down, Luke Walton's gone and nobody knows who's gonna fill the head coach position.

But, is the relationship between LeBron and the Lakers really fractured?

"THAT. IS. NOT. TRUE," LeBron said on Instagram ... "It's not true at all!"

He added, "It's just not!"

LeBron also pointed out that while he saw the report, he was working out at the Lakers facility -- "I'm actually at the Lakers facility right now ... HAHAHAHA!"

There you have it. LeBron James loves the Los Angeles Lakers.

Luke Walton's attorney was clearly watching Kelli Tennant spell out her case against the NBA coach on Tuesday -- and his takeaway is simple ... YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE!

"Yesterday's press conference was a poorly staged attempt to portray the accuser as a viable spokesperson for an important movement," attorney Mark Baute tells TMZ Sports.

"These claims are false and Luke’s innocence will be proven in court."

"[Tennant's] lawyers want to create a public circus to distract from their complete lack of evidence to support their outrageous claims. We will not try this case in the media or pay them a dime."

Tennant and her attorneys held a press conference on Tuesday -- where she fought back tears as she walked reporters through her sexual assault claim against Walton.

Tennant claims Walton pinned her down and forcibly kissed her in his hotel room during a 2014 encounter. She claims she repeatedly told Walton to stop and fought to escape.

During the press conference, TMZ Sports asked Tennant and her attorneys if they had any hard evidence -- injury photos, video, etc. -- and they essentially said no.

Clearly, Walton's team picked up on that -- and feel Tennant's case has no legs.

Walton has previously denied the allegations and said the accuser is nothing more than an "opportunist."

When Tennant and her lawyers were asked why she never went to police, she claimed she was too scared to come forward.

They also said their goal is not to put Walton behind bars -- but rather win a civil lawsuit against the NBA star. However, they did not mention a specific financial sum they're looking for.

This is the GREATEST reaction to Damian Lillard's game-winning shot Tuesday night -- his sister storming the court while screaming "That's my brother" ... and she got the whole thing on video!!!

LaNae Lillard was sitting courtside at the Moda Center in Portland to watch the Trail Blazers take on the OKC Thunder in Game 5 of their NBA playoff series.

And, almost like she KNEW Dame was gonna sink that buzzer-beater, she busted out her phone and began recording the whole thing to her IG story.

Dame shot. Dame scored. LaNae went WILD -- rushing over to the celebratory pile in the middle of the court while yelling at the top of her lungs, "THAT'S MY BROTHER! THAT'S MY MOTHER F**KING BROTHER!!!"

It's an amazing video -- the shot clinched the playoff series for the Blazers, eliminating Russell Westbrook and company ... which must have been especially sweet for Dame, considering the two had been going at it the whole series.

Congrats to the whole Lillard family -- amazing night!!!

4:57 PM PT -- We asked if there was any video or photo evidence to help prove Tennant's case, and her attorney essentially told us no.

4:53 PM PT -- When asked what they want to get out of the case, Tennant's attorney says they have no particular sum in mind.

4:49 PM PT -- Tennant says she did not go to law enforcement because she feared it would jeopardize her career.

Tennant's attorney says they do not intend to file a police report because they do not want to put Walton in jail.

4:43 PM PT -- Tennant says she didn't come forward at first because, "I was scared."

"I was scared for my job, my safety and what my job would be like."

She claims she's spent years trying to move past the incident and "bury it" -- but she couldn't. She says she finally mustered up the courage to tell her story.

4:40 PM PT -- Kelli Tennant got emotional while telling her story ... recounting how she felt Walton was "going to rape her" during the hotel encounter.

Tennant says she begged Walton like crazy to let her go but he ignored her pleas ... until finally giving up and letting her out of the hotel room.

"This type of behavior cannot be condoned," Tennant said.

4:33 PM PT -- Kelli says the alleged sexual assault took place in 2014, when she was 25-years-old.

Her attorney says she was uncomfortable coming forward back then but she's comfortable now.

Kelli says she met Luke Walton about 10 years ago through the volleyball community.

The woman accusing Luke Walton of sexual assault will speak with the media at 4:30 PM PT ... and TMZ Sports will be live streaming the whole thing.

Kelli Tennant and her attorney, Garo Mardirossian, will hold a press conference at his office in Los Angeles, they announced. They are both planning to speak.

Mardirossian has just issued a pre-press conference statement saying, "By way of this lawsuit, Ms. Tennant is speaking out and saying #timesup to the culture of abusing women in the NBA."

We broke the story ... Tennant -- a longtime sports reporter -- claims Walton sexually assaulted her in a Santa Monica hotel room while he was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors.

Walton has lawyered up and adamantly denied the allegations -- with his attorney attacking the accuser as an "opportunist."

There are TONS of unanswered questions ... what was the date of the attack? Is there any photo of video evidence? Witnesses? Etc.

Canelo Alvarez has some BIG fans in his corner -- LeBron James and Maverick Carter -- and to show their support, they just hooked the boxer up with some SUPER HOT kicks!!!

LeBron's business partner just took a trip to Canelo's training camp in San Diego where Alvarez is gearing up to fight Daniel Jacobs on May 4. And, you better believe he didn't come empty-handed.

Carter presented Canelo with a pair of the new LeBron 16 "Martin" shoes -- which have already become some of the most coveted shoes on the market.

"You like sneakers?" Carter asks ... "These just came out. Very special."

Canelo is stoked -- and tells Carter to give his thanks to LeBron.

As we previously reported, Bron and Carter are producing a docuseries on the fight for DAZN called "40 Days" which premieres Tuesday night ... and will show how Canelo is preparing for the bout.

The series also features Canelo's promoter Oscar De La Hoya -- but if he wants a pair of LeBrons, he's gonna have to pay for 'em!!!

Luke Walton has lawyered up in his sexual battery case -- and now the NBA coach and his attorney are blasting his accuser as a lying "opportunist."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... sports reporter Kelli Tennant is suing the Sacramento Kings head coach claiming he sexually assaulted her back when he was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors.

Now, Walton has hired attorney Mark Baute, who issued a fiery statement slamming Tennant's allegations.

"Luke Walton retained me to defend him against these baseless allegations," Baute said.

"The accuser is an opportunist, not a victim, & her claim is not credible. We intend to prove this in a courtroom."

In the suit, Tennant says Walton tried to force himself on her in a Santa Monica hotel room -- but she was able to escape.

The Warriors say they had no knowledge of the alleged incident during Walton's employment. Same with the Lakers and the Kings.

We spoke with Shannon Sharpe about the situation -- and reiterated the importance of withholding judgment until we hear both sides.

7:15 PM PT -- The Sacramento Kings tell TMZ Sports, "We are aware of the report and are gathering additional information. We have no further comment at this time."

Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton is being sued for sexually assaulting a female sports reporter who claims he forced himself on her in his hotel room ... this according to a new lawsuit.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Kelli Tennant claims while Walton was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, he asked her to come and meet him at the Casa Del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica to drop off a book she had published.

FYI, Walton worked for the Warriors until April 2016, when he left to become the head coach of the Lakers.

In her suit, Tennant -- who worked as a reporter for Spectrum SportsNet and SportsNet LA -- says the 2 had a business relationship that went back several years and that's why she had asked him to write the foreword in her book.

Tennant claims when she arrived at Walton's hotel, he convinced her to come up to his room so they could "catch up." But when they got to his room, Walton suddenly pinned her to the bed, placing his hips and legs over her body.

In the docs, Tennant claims Walton began forcing kisses on her neck, face and chest. She claims she screamed for him to stop and tried to free herself, but he held her down, groped her breasts and groin, and rubbed his erection on her leg.

Tennant claims she was "in shock and fear. She was afraid she was about to be raped," the suit states.

Tennant claims Walton eventually relented and let her get up from the bed, but as she was walking toward the door to leave, he grabbed her from behind and again forced his body up against hers.

Tennant claims when Walton finally stopped and released her -- he walked her out of the room as if nothing had happened.

"He smiled, laughed again and made the disturbing statement, 'Good to see you,'" Tennant claims in her suit.

Tennant claims she did not initially report Walton's conduct but was forced to continually interact with him because of her job. She says each time she saw him, Walton would make implied threats of additional physical threats through his conduct -- imposing himself on her with big hugs or a kiss, even though she thought she made it clear his advances were unwanted.

In the suit, Tennant claims in May 2017 -- while Walton was the head coach of the Lakers -- there was an incident when Walton greeted her by uttering "vulgar, guttural sounds at her" and said, "mmmm ... you're killing me in that dress."

She says Walton also forced an aggressive hug on her and rubbed his body against hers.

It's unclear, based on the docs, what finally prompted Tennant to come forward with her allegations.

Luke recently left his position as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and is now coaching the Sacramento Kings.

Our camera guys spotted Luke and his wife Bre leaving dinner at Avra in Beverly Hills over the weekend, but they weren't in the mood to talk. Unclear if he knew Tennant was planning to file her lawsuit at the time.

We reached out to Walton's reps for comment ... so far, no word back.