Basketball

Arizona Wildcats hoops star Bennedict Mathurin says he has been trying to apologize to a TCU dancer this week ... after he appeared to accidentally touch her chest following a game this weekend.

The alleged moment happened after the Wildcats' 85-80 win over the Horned Frogs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday ... when the 6'6" Canadian baller -- the 2022 Pac-12 Player of the Year -- took a bow in front of fans and spread his arms as he was headed to the locker room.

From one angle, Mathurin's hand appeared to make contact with the dancer's chest ... but a different clip shows he actually might have avoided touching her.

Either way, the 19-year-old said he is actively trying to reach out to the student to personally apologize.

"I actually sent an email trying to reach out to the cheerleader," Mathurin said.

"Through the TCU athletic department, I reached out to her and that is it."

Dave Heeke, Arizona's athletic director, backed Mathurin's words ... saying the hooper did reach out to TCU to try to resolve the situation.

"While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize."

The 1-seed Wildcats and Mathurin will face the 5-seed Houston Cougars on Thursday in Sweet 16.

Udonis Haslem was so frustrated with his teammate Jimmy Butler during Wednesday night's game ... he threatened to beat the star's "ass" in a team huddle.

The chaotic scene went down during Miami's home game against the Warriors at FTX Arena ... when "Jimmy Buckets" and UD almost came to blows during a timeout.

Haslem and Butler, who had been sitting down, were arguing ... when Udonis appeared to yell, "I'm not your f***ing kid," which prompted Jimmy to stand up from his seat.

Haslem then began shouting, "I'll beat your ass!" while looking Butler dead in the face.

In a video of the heated interaction, filmed by someone sitting courtside, you can see UD repeatedly saying he'd beat up Jimmy ... and even taking steps toward the Heat guard as his teammates were restraining him.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra found himself in the middle of the scrum ... and even he appeared to have words for Butler during the altercation as well.

The blowup ultimately led to a loss for Miami ... and afterward, Spoelstra tried to play it all off.

"Everybody was wondering where the dinner plans were after the game," Spoelstra said.

Devin Booker was so pissed off at a courtside heckler on Wednesday night ... he berated the dude and called him a "p***y" in the middle of a play!!!

The wild scene all went down at some point during the Suns' road game with the Timberwolves ... when Booker clearly had enough of a hearing a Minnesota fan's taunts.

The Phoenix superstar was dribbling up the court, and after the guy said something to him, Booker looked him in the eye and screamed, "Shut up, p***y!"

Video shows the fan and people around him were shocked by what they just heard ... especially after Booker calmly cruised past the halfcourt line to initiate the offense.

The fans giggled after the diss -- but Devin was able to get the last laugh on the scoreboard ... leading Phoenix to a 125-116 win.

Of course, the exchange is no doubt going to cost Booker some money -- because everyone from Kevin Durant to Jusuf Nurkic has been fined for their roles in recent heated interactions with fans.

Drake is once again subscribing to God's plan -- throwing down big on roulette and giving back to the community just as much as he won ... with none other than LeBron James!

Champagne Papi made a massive donation over the weekend, offering up a cool mil in Bitcoin to the LeBron James Family Foundation -- which focuses on charitable efforts for underprivileged students, among other initiatives -- and did so in partnership with Stake.com ... an online gambling house that Drizzy uses early and often, and which facilitated this dough.

You see ... Drake actually placed a massive bet recently on one of their online roulette tables -- wagering a hefty sum on black 11 -- and when it hit ... the dude got paid out big time.

Part of that money is what was donated to the LBJ Foundation -- and Bron Bron was actually on hand in Toronto Friday to usher in the gracious gesture, hitting up a fancy restaurant in the area called Harbour 60.

It wasn't just these 2 patting each other on the back though -- Drake had a huge surprise for a local high school basketball player named Michael (of Royal Crown Academy) who's on his way to a college career. To send him off properly, Drake donated $100k to him and his mom.

Drake and co. actually captured that sweet moment on camera as well ... and it was very reminiscent of when he was handing out cash to strangers a few years back -- and just as emotional.

NBA star Dejounte Murray is a candidate for best brother ever -- the Spurs guard just gifted his sister a new car for her 18th birthday!!

DM broke it down on Tuesday via Instagram ... saying he promised his sis if she did well in school, got a job and passed her driver's test, he'd get her a new whip for her special day.

As it turns out, she did just that -- earning a 3.7 GPA, finding a job and getting her driver's license!!

"She did that so I had to stand on my words with actions," Murray said.

The 25-year-old All-Star showed off the big surprise for his sister on video ... poppin' up in Seattle to gift Jacaiyah, a brand new Honda ... saying "no more Uber!"

"I thank God for allowing me to do things like this," Murray said, "because I swear this type of stuff brings a smile to my face more than doing anything for MYSELF!!!"

Murray -- whose made over $35 million since 2016 -- says he didn't wanna just hand over a new car, but make her earn it with hard work ... just like he did to get into the NBA.

"I wanna use my hard working earning to help change the cycle I grew up on," Murray said, "and start a whole new cycle to where the kids know if they work hard and be good people good things will happen."

Murray did the exact same thing for his brother, Nate, who graduated with honors in 2019 ... surprising him with his first car -- a purple Dodge Challenger.

Shawn Marion is PISSED.

The 43-year-old NBA champ went on an all-time rant this week ... eviscerating hoop fans for criticizing his unique jumper and demanding some damn respect.

Marion made his fiery comments in a Twitter Space that was discussing the topic, "Who WOULD'VE been the GOAT, if they had more help?" ... after, apparently, someone clowned him over his unorthodox stroke.

And he didn't hold back.

"They talk about my motherf***ing shot," Marion said. "Don't nobody in the f***ing league shoot the same. Get the f*** out of here."

"I'm shooting 35-40% from the f***ing 3-point line at one point in my career," Marion added. "I was a very consistent jump shooter, so you want to sit there and tell me you want to talk about my motherf***ing shot, but don't want to talk about everything else I do on the f***ing floor?"

"Get the f*** out of here. Suck my d***. Like, seriously."

The Matrix went on to list his accolades throughout his 16-year career ... and he's got a point -- the dude is a 4-time All-Star, 2-time All-NBA and scored 17,700 points and grabbed 10,101 rebounds while suiting up for the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Marion has been passionately defensive of weird jumpers in the past -- he gave some solid advice to Lonzo Ball via TMZ Sports back in 2017 ... after the young hooper was getting crap for his own shot at the time.

Knicks owner/Hawks superstar Trae Young continues to TORCH New York, and then rub it in their faces ... and last night was no exception -- Ice Trae was as cold as ever, dropping 45 points and telling a heckling fan to "hold that L."

Young and the Hawks visited the world's most famous arena ... to square off against their Eastern Conference rival, the Knicks, and Trae more than lived up to his nickname.

The game was back-and-forth throughout the first half, and the faithful at MSG were letting Trae hear it all night.

At one point, while Trae was walking to the corner, comedian Roy Wood Jr. (who was sitting courtside) recorded video of an exchange between Young and some Knicks fans who'd apparently been trolling the hooper.

In the video, you can see Trae walking in the fans direction to cover Immanuel Quickley ... when he suddenly walks right up to a fan and says "Ayy hold that, hold that. Hold that L."

Of course, the rivalry between Young and Knicks fans dates back to last season's playoffs ... when Trae and his Hawks eliminated New York in 5 games in the first round.

Young averaged close to 30 points and 10 assists ... and played even better at the Garden than he did at his home arena, prompting Knicks fans to chant "F*** Trae Young" whenever he touched the ball.

Super Knicks fan Spike Lee had a front row seat for Trae's brilliant performance ... and the film director didn't look too thrilled as he watched Young torture his squad.

Humiliating Knicks fans wasn't all #11 did last night -- Trae hit Knicks big man Taj Gibson with a sick crossover before nailing a sweet pullup midrange jumper, and the crowd ate it up.

The U.S. government has finally been given access to Brittney Griner in Russia ... and in positive news, she's said to be "in good condition."

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price made the announcement on CNN on Wednesday ... explaining Russia is now allowing the U.S. to provide consular access to Griner.

Price said an official from the U.S. embassy was able to see her "within the past couple hours" -- saying they checked in on her condition and found she's doing okay while detained.

"There's only so much I can say," Price said, "but what I can say is that our official found Brittney Griner to be in good condition. And we will continue to do everything we can to see to it that she is treated fairly throughout this ordeal."

Price vowed that the U.S. government will "work very closely with her legal team, with her broader network, to see to it that she is treated fairly."

"That is a message that we will continue to convey in no uncertain terms to the Russian Federation," he added.

As we previously reported, Griner has been detained in Russia since mid-February, after she allegedly tried to bring hash oil through airport security.

Zion Williamson threw down a monster dunk on Tuesday with no shirt on ... and it certainly looks like he's recovering from his foot injury nicely.

The New Orleans Pelicans star -- who fractured his foot during the 2021 offseason -- posted video of the ridiculous slam on his social media page ... showing signs that he might finally be putting his foot ailments in the rearview mirror.

In the video, you can see Zion getting up with ease, putting the ball through his legs, and then hammering it through the rim.

It's an amazing sign for Pelicans fans, because even though the former No. 1 overall pick is unlikely to play the rest of this season, it at least shows he's on the road to getting back to the NBA hardwood at some point.

Williamson has yet to play an entire season due to multiple injuries he's suffered in his career. In fact, since his rookie year in 2019, he's only started 85 games.

He's suffered multiple setbacks with his foot injury this season -- but if this clip is any indication, it's clear he's well on his way to returning ... and with no shirt on, it seems he's showing to his haters he's ready to keep his weight down when he gets back too.

Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkić's wallet is now significantly lighter ... the NBA just fined him $40,000 for tossing a fan's phone in a confrontation after a game on Sunday.

The league announced the punishment Tuesday morning ... reprimanding the 27-year-old for his actions in a postgame spat with a Pacers supporter.

If you missed it, following Portland's 129-98 loss to Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse ... Nurkić walked up to a fan, stared him down and then grabbed his phone and threw it.

Nurkić appeared to mutter some words to the guy -- before security ultimately separated them.

It's unclear what the fan said to piss off Nurkić -- but the NBA clearly didn't care either way, slapping him with the big fine.

Nurkić, who's been sidelined for several weeks while battling plantar fasciitis, has yet to address the incident publicly.

The Association, meanwhile, has been doling out a lot of fines like this one recently -- as NBA players have consistently fired back at fans throughout this season.

In fact, just days ago, Kevin Durant was hit with a $25,000 fine for cussing out a fan who was sitting courtside at a game earlier this month.

LeBron James hopes his invite for Kevin Love's wedding still stands -- 'cause he said after he dunked all over his former teammate on Monday night, he's worried it might get canceled.

If you missed it, the Lakers superstar put Love on a poster with an insane dunk during the first half of the Lakers-Cavs game in Cleveland.

The throwdown was sick -- James jumped over Kevin and slammed it so violently, his good buddy actually went crashing to the floor.

The play was great for the Laker, who ended up using the momentum from the basket to win the game -- but afterward, James said he felt a ton of remorse for doing that to his BFF.

"To be completely honest," James said, "I hate it had to be him. He's my guy, that's my brother."

"I hope I'm still invited to the wedding," he joked.

Love -- who got engaged to Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model Kate Bock last January -- was able to get a little payback after the dunk, putting James in a playful headlock.

LeBron told reporters it wasn't even his best dunk at the end of the day -- and he promised to keep it out of his highlight reel.

"I wish I could take those 2 points back and we'd still win the game by 9," James said. "K Love, I love you. I take it back."

Love clearly still needs some time to recover ... he said on Twitter after the game, "I’m not f*cking with my guy @KingJames for at least the next 48hrs!!!!"

Kevin Porter Jr. was way too hyped over Christian Wood's performance in the Rockets' wild win on Monday ... 'cause he got so excited, he completely ate it on the locker room floor!!

The game was nuts -- Houston came back from 23 points down on the Washington Wizards to win by 18 ... with Wood earning a career-high 39 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and going 8-9 from 3-point range in the process.

The Rockets' players showed love for the 26-year-old hooper after the 115-97 win ... by completely drenching him with water and cheering for their guy.

But, KPJ might've been just a tad too turnt -- stumbling to the carpet as the team went wild after the game.

Don't worry -- Porter was able to hop back up and rejoin the squad as they headed to the locker rooms ... but you can hear some guys busted out laughing in reaction to the fall.

The scene looked like an upset win during March Madness ... and it basically was -- the Rockets are now 18-54 with the dub, while the Wizards fall to 30-41.

Lorenzen Wright's family finally got some justice on Monday ... 51-year-old Billy Ray Turner was convicted of murdering the former NBA player, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Wright, the 7th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, was killed in July 2010 in his hometown of Memphis. Lorenzen had gone missing days earlier ... before his decomposing body was discovered in a marshy field.

Prosecutors alleged Wright's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, hired two other people, including Turner, to commit the murder by luring Wright to the field under the guise they were there to meet someone who owed his ex money.

Turner, who pled not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy, was found guilty by a jury after only 2 hours of deliberation.

The judge sentenced BRT to life in prison for the murder charge. He will again go before a judge sometime in the future where he'll be sentenced for the other two charges.

As for Sherra, she previously plead guilty to facilitation of murder and facilitation to commit first-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in July 2019. She will be eligible for parole after only 9 years.

Delonte West -- who publicly battled mental health, addiction and legal issues -- is opening up about his basketball comeback for the first time ... with the NBA hooper saying he feels he has more bounce than ever in new workout footage we obtained.

We broke the news in February ... the 38-year-old, former 8-year NBA vet was training with the goal of making the BIG 3, participating in a try-out in Washington D.C. earlier this month (DW was invited to an upcoming workout).

Now, West is speaking out ... saying he's hyped to return to the court.

"It's important really to be honest about how you feel physically and what you're capable to do," West said in the new video.

"I lost some weight so I actually feel a little more athletic. I can jump a little higher now."

And, you can see in the footage ... 6'3" West goes up for a reverse dunk at an outdoor court in Maryland, throwing it down like it was nothing.

His jumper and handles look pretty good, too. West's manager, Donovan Fordham, tells us the former 24th overall pick (2004 NBA Draft) has been working nonstop, on and off the court.

"He's constantly working on mental health," Fordham tells us on Monday, "he's really fighting."

There's more. We're also told West and Fordham are working with 214 Films to create a documentary about Delonte's life.

The hooper has been through a lot ... and wants to shine a spotlight on the importance of mental health.

"It will be about him dealing with mental illness, addiction plus his personal life story," Fordham says, "He wants to highlight mental illness and help others with the same issues."

"He wants to be a voice for not just athletes but everyone who struggles with mental health."

Fordham says West is trying to change for his family ... with his 2 kids and mom being his motivation.

Shaquille O'Neal was an awful free-throw shooter during his career, but the Hall of Famer might've finally sorted it out ... 'cause he drained a shot right in the middle of his DJ set!!

The Big Aristotle has had a successful second career as a DJ since retiring from the league in 2011 ... and combined both of his passions at once at a recent concert by taking a mini ball and shooting at a hoop in the crowd.

But, unlike half the free throws he shot in his career (love you, Shaq) ... this one actually went in!!

O'Neal -- who shot an abysmal 52.7 percent from charity stripe during his career -- was never known to be able to hit clutch free throws late in the game ... but this time around, he hit it with ease!!

Everything from the form to the release looked good ... with Shaq even using his patent one-handed push shot ... and everyone loved it!!

Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga not only saved the world from a shirtless Charles Barkley ... but then clowned Chuck during his post-game presser.

Yes, not all heroes wear capes.

It all started when Barkley, known for his larger-than-life personality as a commentator, joked he would take off his shirt if his alma mater, Auburn, beat the Hurricanes last night.

Jim got wind of Chuck's comments, and after knocking off Barkley's old school, had a hilarious reaction to it.

“I listened to Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew that if Auburn won, he’d take off his shirt. And, I thought to myself, no one wants to see that, Chuck," Larrañaga said.

Of course, Barkley has ties to Auburn -- he played for the Tigers for three years averaging 14.1 points per game -- so, it's safe to say he was a bit biased in his prediction.

But, Auburn was 7.5 point favorite over Miami, so Barkley, like most people, was stunned when the Hurricanes easily handled Auburn.

Miami dominated the Tigers, 79-61, to advance to the Sweet 16 ... and it seems coach Larrañaga and his team played with extra motivation thanks to Chuck.

After the game, Barkley was a good sport about Larrañaga's pot shot ... and even heaped praise on Jim for the way the Hurricanes beat up on his Tigers.

We also got video of the Hurricanes arriving back in Florida thanks to our intern, Ryan, and the scene on the ground in Miami was pretty incredible.

A group of passionate fans was there to greet coach as early as 2:15 AM ... and coach spent time high-fiving students as they chanted "It's great to be a Miami Hurricane."