NBA

Steph Curry's got a brand new family member -- he's adorable, he's furry and he ain't cheap!

TMZ Sports has learned Steph and Ayesha just brought home a 10-week-old Goldendoodle puppy this week from a place called Murphy's Doodles ... a high-end breeder in Florida.

The woman who allegedly fought alongside Matt Barnes in the NYC nightclub brawl back in December has pled guilty to assault ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The woman is Laura Closure (aka Mae West) -- one of Matt's BFFs. Closure was with Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins the night they went to Avenue nightclub on Dec. 5.

Officials claimed Closure was not only involved in the brawl that ensued that night, but wrecked shop -- smashing a woman in the face with a bottle and decking another woman in the head.

Now, we're told Closure has pled guilty to 3rd degree assault (a misdemeanor) and has been ordered to complete 8 days of community service.

If she does the comm. service and stays out of trouble for 6 months, she will be allowed to re-plead to a lesser charge with a conditional discharge.

As for Matt, he's due back in court in June to deal with his 3rd degree assault charge stemming from the same incident.

Master P says he's ready for the NBA -- as an assistant coach -- and he's laser-focused on making it happen with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Austin Rivers is engaging in some serious generational smack talk with his dad, Doc ... saying he'd beat the hell out of his pops in a 1-on-1 game ... even when Doc was at the top of his game.

Austin currently plays for his dad on the Clippers, but before that Doc was an All-Star player in NBA. So when we got Austin out at Catch, we had to ask who'd win an all Rivers battle if both guys were young.

"I'm whooping that ass every time."

We got Doc a little later and asked the same question -- he said Austin would win because he's "old" now ... which tells us he fully didn't get the scenario and thinks a young him would bust his kid's ass.

Doesn't matter where Derrick Rose ends up in free agency ... he'll NEVER win a championship -- so says Ron Harper.

Earlier this week, Rose says finding a winning team is more important than a big contract when he searches for a new team this summer.

"Not even thinking money," Rose said ... "I'm not going to negotiate with people where money is the number one thing I'm asking for. I want to win."

So, we went to Harper -- a 5-time NBA champ -- and asked which team could be the right fit.

Charles Oakley says he's "hurting" that ex-teammate Patrick Ewing didn't call him after he was forcefully removed from Madison Square Garden last month ... saying, "You should have been the first!"

"I'm hurting because he didn't call in and show love because I had his back for 10 years," Oakley told TMZ Sports.

Oakley points out that his longtime friend, Michael Jordan, got involved and helped out -- and since NYC is Patrick's city, he REALLY felt Ewing should've done SOMETHING.

"You should have been the first one who said something about what happened in The Garden. Should have been the FIRST ONE."

By the way, Oakley was out at HeadQuarters Gentlemen's Club in NYC Thursday night -- where their strippers brought out a cardboard cutout of James Dolan and actually showed him some love!

Big news for J.R. Smith and his family ... their micro-preemie baby Dakota is thiiiis close to crossing the 3-pound mark and her breathing tube is out!

Michael Jordan bets HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS PER HOLE when he golfs ... so says Charles Barkley.

Sir Chuck appeared on the 'Dan Patrick Show' and said he once saw MJ bet $300,000 on a put -- and that wasn't even out of the ordinary.

Charles says MJ has so much money, those kind of bets are chump change to him.

Here's LeBron James putting his royal pipes to good use ... singing happy birthday to his All-Star point guard, Kyrie Irving, and the video is downright adorable.

Irving turned 25 today, and LeBron decided to mark the occasion with a few notes belted out on the team plane ... which he documented on social media for the world to see.

LaVar Ball could be right in his analysis of LeBron James' kids -- 'cause Austin Rivers says he's been "getting s**t" for being Doc Rivers' son since he was 6 ... but it never fazed him.

We got Austin leaving Catch in L.A. where he APPLAUDED James for clapping back at LaVar -- who recently said Bron's kids could get crap from other kids just because he has a famous father.

LeBron told LaVar to NEVER talk about his kids ever again.

But when we asked Rivers what it was like for him growing up with an NBA star for a dad ... this was his response:

"I've been getting that since I was 6 years old just for being the son of Doc. I've been getting s**t since I was a kid ... and it's never fazed me. I'm here now and I'm only getting started."

Translation -- Rivers says the haters only motivated him to be better ... and it sounds like they still do.

He then got into a $250k Mercedes G-Wagon and drove away.

Here it is ... the long-awaited DUNKING SHAQ statue at Staples Center!!

The 9-foot tall, 1,200 POUND statue has been in the works for months ... it will officially be unveiled on Friday night!

A bunch of Lakers greats -- including Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West -- are expected to attend the event.

Metta World Peace has simple logic for why people need to BACK OFF big NBA stars like LeBron James for resting during regular season games ... THEY DON'T REALLY MATTER!

"When you're trying to win a championship, you can't focus on the little games," Metta says.

"You don't win a title by winning a bunch of games. You win a title by winning in the playoffs."

Michael Jordan is mourning the death of his former Chicago Bulls General Manager, Jerry Krause ... offering his "heartfelt condolences" to Jerry's family and friends.

Jordan won all 6 of his NBA titles while playing under Krause -- and, while they butted heads at times, MJ is honoring his memory now.

Jordan issued a statement to TMZ Sports through his rep saying, "Jerry was a key figure in the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s and meant so much to the Bulls, the White Sox and the entire city of Chicago."

"My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Thelma, his family and friends."

LeBron James just gave major props to a viral video HERO ... praising a man who talked two young boys out of a street fight and into a handshake.

The video starts out with a brawl between two teenagers -- but then becomes a teaching session as a man intercedes PEACEFULLY, mentors the kids, and eventually gets them to squash their beef.

It began to make the rounds Monday night, garnering over 3.5 million views, and LeBron took notice, tweeting his appreciation.

"So dope!!! #Salute the homie who stepped in and spoke real to our young generation. We all need a word or 2 to help!"

If you like seeing Carmelo Anthony in Knicks colors, turn your head ... cause Melo was out in L.A. Sunday night chatting it up at Catch with Sam Cassell, an assistant coach for the Clippers.

The Clippers are one of Melo's most talked about potential landing spots, and rumor has it that a trade between them and the Knicks almost happened at the deadline.

Add into the equation Melo's wife, LaLa, has an exploding acting career (never hurts to be in L.A.) and the Knicks seem to be souring on Anthony in favor of Porzingis and this meeting could be HUGE.

Here's a treat for all you North Carolina fans ... video of a totally bummed out Kyrie Irving licking his Blue Devil wounds after his alma mater was eliminated from the tourney.

Duke went down to South Carolina Sunday night ... and when we got Irving out in L.A. he told us the loss hurt him, 'cause he thought the guys had a chance to win it all.

Irving played for Coach K back in 2010 (for all of 12 games) but even though he's killing it in the NBA right now it's clear from the clip he still bleeds blue.