NBA

Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony aren't gonna let a 106-81 loss to the Lakers pups get them down, 'cause all 3 men hit the hottest spots in L.A. after getting stomped at Staples.

PG and Melo got the night started at Craig's, grabbing some food while George deftly dodged all those Lakers questions. Guessing they just wanted to lick those post-loss wounds on a full stomach, right?

WRONG, 'cause later they met up with Russ at Poppy -- a big L.A. late night hot spot -- where the guys got a little turnt up and seemed to be in good spirits.

The Lakers have been CRUSHIN' IT the past few games ... and you can tell by all of the huge celebrity fans who've rushed back to their courtside seats!

Pharrell, Floyd Mayweather, Will Ferrell and a bunch of other stars were all courtside to watch the Purple & Gold put a beating on the OKC Thunder 106-81 ... L.A.'s 8th win in the last 10 games.

L.A. fans can be fickle when it comes to their sports teams -- even Jack Nicholson stopped coming to games and thought about giving up his tickets back in 2015 when the Lakers were terrible.

But now that the Lakers are on a hot streak, there's a pretty good chance we'll see Jack, Leo ... hell, maybe even David Beckham again?!

The son of former NBA coach Rick Adelman -- who was an assistant NBA coach himself -- was killed in Houston when he was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Officials confirm 44-year-old R.J. Adelman was walking around downtown Houston around noon on Feb. 2 when he was hit by an 80-year-old woman driving a Chrysler Town & Country minivan.

According to the police report, Adelman was not using a crosswalk at the time of the accident.

Adelman was transported to the hospital in serious condition and was pronounced dead 4 hours later. According to the Harris County medical examiner, Adelman died as a result of blunt force injuries.

The driver was questioned by police and released without charges. However, we're told the accident is still under investigation.

R.J. was a scout for the Sonics and the Kings before becoming an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets while his father was the head coach. He later followed his dad to Minnesota where he took a job as Director of Player Personnel for the Timberwolves.

Back up off that ledge, Knicks fans -- Dr. Oz says Kristaps Porzingis can get 110% better from his torn ACL ... if he takes his advice.

We got doc Oz out in NYC ... and he broke down why Kristaps' season-ending injury ain't the end of the world (just the Knicks' season).

Don't get it twisted -- the celeb surgeon told TMZ Sports Porzingis is gonna have to bust his ass in rehab ... but if he follows a few of his recovery tips, Oz says he can legitimately "come back better than ever before."

An Australian politician is so pissed Ben Simmons didn't make the NBA All-Star game, he took the floor during a government session and alleged a full-fledged "Anti-Australian conspiracy!"

"No one with two brain cells to rub together would want Goran Dragic on their team," M.P. Tim Watts said this week in his Parliamentary address.

FYI, Simmons was born and raised in Australia before moving to the U.S. -- and the people Down Under are clearly bitter he's not getting the love they think he deserves.

"In a record breaking rookie year for the Philadelphia 76ers, Ben is currently averaging nearly 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists per game. He’s already had five triple doubles," Watts said.

He's also upset Australian-born NBA player Joe Ingles was not included in the 3-point contest -- saying, "[It] makes me think there’s some kind of anti-Australian conspiracy going on at league head office at the moment."

"If you thought that Australia was angry about the Simpsons vs. Australia TV episode, Yanks, you ain’t seen nothing yet."

Lonzo Ball is gonna be a daddy!!

The L.A. Lakers superstar and his longtime girlfriend, Denise Garcia, are expecting a Baby Baller together ... TMZ Sports has confirmed with multiple sources connected to the situation.

Zo and Denise have been dating since their days at Chino Hills H.S. ... and we're told Denise's family is excited to meet the baby and already loves it unconditionally.

We're told Denise is 4 months pregnant. We're told the baby is very healthy. No word on whether it's a boy or a girl ... but we're guessing LaVar is hoping for a hooper to continue the BBB legacy.

Congrats!!!

Baron Davis thinks Cardi B is probably safe in L.A. despite her recent Crips diss on social media ... but he ain't making any guarantees.

"Cardi B ain't no gangbanger," the South Central native told TMZ Sports.

Our photog asked if anyone will "press her up" when she comes to town for NBA All-Star weekend.

Baron replied: "I don't know that. The homegirls might."

FYI, Cardi has been getting serious threats on social media for saying she hates wearing "Flue" -- a derogatory term for the Crips' gang color.

Cardi has recently claimed to be a member of the Bloods.

The car crash that killed beloved ex-NBA player Rasual Butler and his wife, Leah LaBelle, was so loud, the audio was picked up on a home surveillance camera about a block and a half away from the incident.

You can hear the tires screeching for roughly 2 seconds -- followed by a series of loud bangs.

Cops say Butler's Range Rover was traveling at very high speed around 2:30 AM on Jan. 31 when he lost control and struck several parking meters, slammed into a wall and flipped two times before coming to a stop.

Judging from the audio, it sounds like Butler slammed on the brakes and tried to avoid the collision -- but he was going too fast to regain control of the vehicle.

Butler was one of the most well-liked guys in the NBA -- and tons of huge stars like Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant paid tribute to him after the incident.

Butler was 38. Leah was 31.

Three Kardashian baby daddies are all taking a leap of faith ... that their baby mamas will give them proper custody and/or visitation without the benefit of a custody agreement.

Sources connected to all three men tell TMZ, they never papered their financial and custodial arrangements. We're told Travis Scott and Kylie don't have anything in writing regarding custody or support of their newborn daughter. Same goes for Tristan Thompson and Khloe Kardashian, although that may be a bit premature since she hasn't given birth.

More interesting, perhaps, is that we're told Scott Disick doesn't have a written custody agreement with Kourtney Kardashian. They have 3 kids and from what we hear, the only conflict involves Scott's sobriety.

They have the option at any time of trying to ink a custody arrangement or going to court for one if they can't do it on their own.

NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns made a political statement at the Super Bowl -- making sure everyone knew he was rooting for the Eagles ... and Meek Mill.

KAT, flanked by his smokin' hot GF, came to the big game reppin' a "Free Meek Mill" Eagles jersey -- a public sign of support for the imprisoned Philly rapper (and unofficial team rapper).

He wasn't the only one -- NFL studs Todd Gurley and Melvin Ingram also came through U.S. Bank Stadium rockin' Meek ... while LeBron shouted out the #FreeMeek movement on social media.

Of course, Towns was also PUMPED on the outcome of the game ... yelling like a maniac and proudly proclaiming, "I ain't never been so happy!"

Cops have launched an investigation into the car crash that killed ex-NBA player Rasual Butler and his wife Leah LaBelle ... and they're retracing the couple's steps that night to find out exactly what went down.

We've learned investigators have visited several businesses near the crash site in Studio City, CA -- including a popular bowling alley where the couple was spotted earlier in the evening.

We know what you're thinking -- was alcohol involved? We're told cops are not specifically looking for proof Butler was boozing before the crash ... they'll know from the toxicology report.

The priority, we're told, is finding video of the couple in the car right before the crash -- in order to see what specifically caused the Range Rover to lose control and crash.

Meanwhile, we're told the autopsies on both Rasual and Leah have been completed -- and the medical examiner has said the cause is "multiple traumatic injuries" and listed the manner of death as an "accident."

HE NEVER MISSES!!!

Steph Curry's wife Ayesha has announced she's pregnant again!

Ayesha broke the news on Instagram saying, "Heyyyy how did this happen?! Curry party of 5. Feeling very blessed... and very sick. Yippie! #curryfor3."

Fetus Curry is the couple's 3rd kid -- she (or he) has got two big sisters ... 5-year-old Riley Elizabeth and 2-year-old Ryan Carson.

The kid will no doubt be adorable because that's just how things run in their family.

Steph and Ayesha were married in 2011 -- they met at a church camp when they were teenagers.

Charles Oakley is officially off the hook in his criminal assault case stemming from his altercation with NY Knicks owner Jimmy Dolan at Madison Square Garden last year ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Oakley was arrested back in February 2017 for getting physical with security who tried to remove him from MSG after a heated exchange with Dolan. It took an army of security to subdue Oakley.

The ex-Knicks star was charged with assault, harassment and criminal trespass ... but accepted an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal) -- which would expunge the arrest from his record if he agreed to keep his nose clean for 6 months.

If he didn't accept the ACD, Oak would've been facing a maximum of 1 year in city jail if convicted.

Now that time is up -- and Oak held up his end of the deal ... so his case has been thrown out.

Kenny Smith says he's still reeling from the "horrific situation" that claimed Rasual Butler's life ... and he's expecting the NBA to honor Rasual in a big way.

"Overall, the NBA community will step up. We'll do something on TNT," Kenny said.

Condolences poured in Wednesday from ex-teammates and legends like Shaq, Kobe and Allen Iverson ... and the Miami Heat were the first team to put together a video tribute.

The Jet says fans should expect a lot more of that -- because "everybody loved him."

Tracy McGrady tells TMZ Sports ... Blake Griffin has every right to be upset with the Clippers -- because learning that you've been traded on Twitter is "very disrespectful."

"For somebody that got that type of history with the organization, he's the one that really started to get the Clippers on a winning path ... yeah, that's very disrespectful."

McGrady's reacting to Blake's claim that he first heard he'd been shipped to Detroit on social media -- instead of getting a call from the Clippers, where he's been playing since 2009.

Still, McGrady thinks the Clips need to do Blake right and retire his jersey at some point.

The big question ... whose number goes into the rafters first -- Blake or Elton Brand??

Even McGrady has a hard time with this one ...

Stephen A. Smith says he's devastated over the death of his friend Rasual Butler -- telling TMZ Sports they knew each other for years ... and the NBA player was a really good dude.

"Just incredibly sad," the ESPN star said ... "He's a good guy. We have Philly roots together. I've known him for many years. I love his wife. Love his family."

"The world lost a good brother."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Butler lost control of his Range Rover in Studio City, CA early Wednesday morning and slammed into a wall -- killing him and his wife, who was a passenger in the car.