NBA

The Kardashians -- Khloe, Kourtney and Kris Jenner -- showed up to root on the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night, which seemed like a sure-fire sign they would lose.

But they didn't!

The Cavs rolled the Golden State Warriors 137-116 to win Game 4 and avoid a sweep, and Khloe's boyfriend Tristan Thompson busted out of a slump to grab 10 boards and add 5 points and 5 assists.

Announcer Jeff Van Gundy even took a few moments early in the game to denounce the family curse ... and he was right.

There are a lot of reasons to be jealous of Zach LaVine -- the dude's rich, he's freakishly athletic, and most importantly ... he's got a smokin' hot girlfriend.

TMZ Sports met up with LaVine and girlfriend Hunter Mar outside TAO in L.A. Thursday night, giving us the perfect opportunity to showcase his high school sweetheart.

20-year-old Mar is an athlete herself -- she played college soccer at Seattle U. -- and has been tied to LaVine since their days in Washington.

Enes Kanter has a big celebrity supporter -- Kristin Chenoweth -- who says the U.S. government should step in and help the NBA star become an American citizen ASAP.

Enes is in the middle of an international controversy -- a warrant has been issued for his arrest in his native Turkey where he's spoken out against the government. His father was recently arrested.

Enes is currently in the U.S. and says he's trying to get American citizenship. He says he's currently "countryless."

Kristin is a huge OKC Thunder fan and has been following the saga -- and explained to TMZ Sports why it's important for Enes to get U.S. citizenship. She's also praying for Kanter's father.

LeBron James says Cavs owner Dan Gilbert "completely bashed" him in that infamous 2010 letter about LBJ leaving for Miami ... and Bron says it was so disrespectful, it almost stopped him from returning to Cleveland in 2014.

LeBron opened up about the letter on Uninterrupted's "The Shop" -- which was shot during All Star Weekend but released Friday.

Gilbert's letter was loaded with insults -- even referring to LeBron as the "self-titled former King."

In the video, LeBron says Gilbert "completely bashed me and disrespected not only me as an individual but disrespected my name. And my name is not just myself, it's my wife, my kids, my grandfather, my mother, so many more people."

Bron goes on to say the letter was so hurtful, when the opportunity came to return to the Cavs in 2014, his family members were adamantly against it.

"My wife was like, 'f*ck that. I ain't with that' ... My mom was definitely like, 'f*ck that. We ain't going back.'"

But James ultimately says his return was about "the bigger picture" and wanted to be an inspiration to the people of The Land, despite his family's wishes.

John Salley vehemently refuses to even entertain the idea that the '17 Golden State Warriors have passed the '96 Chicago Bulls as the greatest team ever.

Salley -- who played with Michael Jordan on the legendary '96 Bulls team -- was leaving Craig's in WeHo when we had to ask straight-up: could Steph Curry and Kevin Durant have beaten M.J. and Scottie Pippen?

Salley: "Are you kidding me!?"

He breaks down the matchup -- player by player -- and scoffs at the idea that Steph would shoot the Bulls outta the arena.

Kris Humphries knows when to pull out ... and the housing market rewarded him handsomely.

The Atlanta Hawks center just sold his Bev Hills pad for $8.25 million, which is a KILLING ... considering he bought the 3, bedroom, 4 bath house for $6.2 mil back in 2015.

The 3,336 square foot house sits on nearly an acre with unobstructed city and coastline views. The house features tons of glass walls, gourmet kitchen and a den with a wet bar.

1:19 PM PT -- Withey's attorney Alan Jackson tells TMZ Sports, "This was an apparent pathetic attempt at a shakedown that we saw a mile away and we are thankful the DA recognized that."

Utah Jazz center Jeff Withey will NOT be prosecuted for domestic violence -- despite the fact cops believe there WAS a physical altercation with his Playboy Playmate ex-fiancee.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Withey was investigated by the Manhattan Beach PD after Kennedy Summers filed a police report accusing him of beating her up.

Investigators found evidence that Withey and Summers got into a physical altercation during an argument in July 2016 ... with Withey admitting he used force against Summers, which left bruises on her thigh.

But -- and this is the key part of the investigation -- cops believe the evidence shows Summers initiated the altercation by jumping on him and hitting him after accusing Withey of cheating on her.

Officials say they believe Withey has a "reasonable claim of self-defense in that he was trying to get [Summers] off him." They also say Withey "never admits to striking [Summers] out of anger."

Summers did have bruises on her thigh from the incident but no other visible injuries.

We're told the findings were brought to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office -- and the decision was made to NOT move forward with the case. In short, Withey is off the hook.

9:33 AM PT -- Draymond's mom says she made peace with the Cavs fan.

"Everyone apologized so it's all good," she tweeted.

"If they would watch the game and enjoy it instead of worshipping it. They would be fine!"

More mama drama at Game 3 ... this time, it was Draymond Green's mother who was in the middle of a hostile situation with a Cavs fan -- and security rushed in to break it up.

It all went down right after the game ended -- you can see Mary Babers in the Golden State Warriors jacket getting into it with the Cavs fan.

Unclear what was said to set the whole thing off ... but things got heated and there was some shoving. You can see Cleveland PD officers who were working the event got involved and broke it up.

You never see Mary get physical. You do see fans holding her back.

No arrests were made. We reached out to Draymond's camp for comment. So far, no word back.

[H/T BSO]

Warriors super fan G-Eazy says he's heading to The Land for Game 4 of the NBA Finals ... and he's bringing a broom to help the Warriors finish their sweep on the Cavs!!

The Bay Area rapper talked to us about GSW's insane 11 point 4th quarter comeback in Game 3 ... and Young Gerald says Cleveland won't stand a chance against "the greatest team of all time" on Friday.

Kevin Durant's mother was FIRED UP after her son stuck the dagger in Cleveland Wednesday night -- and went crazy (in a good way) with Steph Curry's mom right after the game!

This video is GREAT -- Wanda Durant turns to Sonya Curry and screams, "They tried to give it to 'em but they wouldn't take it!"

It's awesome.

By the way, we spoke with Wanda earlier this week and she told us watching KD play now is just like when she watched him play as a kid ... same emotions.

Only now, he's killin' LeBron James.

Cleveland PD doesn't care their beloved Cavs are down 0-2 ... they're still talkin' smack.

Here's what the CPD just tweeted out to fans going to Game 3 tonight in The Land.

"No backpacks permitted in Q Arena or at FanFest for tonight's @cavs vs. what's their face's game."

Shaaaaaaaaade.

Game 3 starts in a few hours.

The father of OKC Thunder star Enes Kanter has been released from custody in Turkey and has been placed under government supervision ... according to Turkish reports.

Just last week, Enes tweeted out that his dad, Mehmet Kanter, was arrested by government officials during a raid on their family home in Istanbul. He believed Mehmet was singled out because of the NBA star's public criticism of Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to local reports, Mehmet -- a college professor -- spent 5 days in custody. Per the terms of his release, Mehmet must habitually check in with a local police station.

How does a former Lakers player feel about Jeanie Buss' boyfriend, Jay Mohr, dropping the n-word?

"It's not a good look."

That's what ex-L.A. Lakers player Roy Hibbert told us at LAX Wednesday .

As we previously reported, Jay Mohr used the word twice on Twitter Tuesday and has been catching heat for it. He has not apologized or backed off one bit.

Buss and Mohr have been quietly dating for months. We recently saw the two traveling together at LAX.

So far, Buss hasn't commented on the situation ... but you gotta wonder if the Lakers staff and players are expecting some sort of response. Especially after LeBron James talked publicly about how offensive the word is in the wake of racist vandalism at his L.A. home.

Lonzo Ball is shutting down any idea that his outspoken dad is gonna be a distraction to his NBA career ... telling reporters he's confident LaVar will stay in his lane.

Ball attended a private workout for the Lakers Wednesday -- the only pre-draft workout he agreed to do -- and was asked if he thought LaVar's antics could negatively affect him.

"They said that about me in high school, said that about me in college. I don't think it'll affect me," Zo said when asked about his dad.

Markelle Fultz -- the projected #1 pick in the NBA Draft -- says he's all suited and booted for the big day ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm blessed."

The 19-year-old former Washington Huskies superstar touched down in D.C. on Tuesday after his private workout with the Boston Celtics.

We asked how it went -- "Good, man."

As for the upcoming draft, Fultz told us, "I'm gonna have a great time. I'm blessed. I'm just happy to be there."

Don't get the brooms outta the closet just yet! At least one NBA star thinks the Cavs can win a game against the dominating Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Ty Lawson was out in Hollywood Tuesday night when we asked about LeBron James being down 0-2 to Steph Curry and Kevin Durant ... and although the Kings PG predicts GSW will take home the title, he says it won't be a cakewalk.

It's been a tough start for the Cavs so far -- losing Game 1 and 2 by a total of 41 points -- but at least there's hope.