NBA

Jayson Tatum, less than a year after rupturing his Achilles, returned to the location of the worst moment in his pro career ... and while his Celtics lost to the Knicks, the superstar hooper left the historic arena on his two feet -- a win in itself.

Tatum's Celtics faced the Knicks on Thursday night, losing a tightly contested game, 112-106 ... but arguably, the bigger issue was getting Jayson through the game healthy, mentally, and physically.

"Absolutely," JT responded when asked if he was relieved to get the game behind him.

It was a big moment, a big hurdle for me. I was nervous and anxious to come back here," Tatum said.

Desmond Bane had a courtside curveball thrown his way Monday night -- and it came from an unexpected source.

The Orlando Magic guard was in the middle of a routine postgame interview after Orlando’s 123-107 win over the Detroit Pistons at Kia Center … when outta nowhere, Howie Mandel popped into the shot.

Mandel -- rockin' a cap and prepared for his cameo -- leaned in and hit Bane with a quick compliment … “You got talent.”

Steph Curry has been wearing all sorts of kicks after he broke up with Under Armour -- and he's now auctioning off more than 70 pairs (some game-worn) ... including the Kobe Bryant 6 Protro he wore the day after his sneaker free agency announcement.

TMZ Sports has learned the Golden State Warriors superstar is teaming up with Sotheby's to part with shoes from across his 17-year NBA career ... and several pairs stand out.

Steph's Kobe "Mambacita" kicks he wore after he revealed he was splitting with Under Armour after 12 years are part of the batch.

DJ Diesel -- aka Shaq -- has played in the biggest games on the planet -- but even he got the jitters stepping onto the stage at Sphere.

The Big Aristotle pulled up as a guest for Friday night’s show during Illenium’s “Odyssey” finale weekend … and afterward, the 7-foot-1 Hall of Famer admitted the moment hit different.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life and it’s hard for me to get nervous,” O’Neal wrote on Instagram, “but this is one of the few times I got on stage and was actually nervous.”

Vanessa Bryant kept her Easter tradition hopping this weekend ... back at Disneyland with the kids and fully in her happy place!

Peep the egg-stra cute snaps with Natalia, Bianka, and Capri ... mama bear rocked the ears, threw on the shades, and looked totally at peace, just soaking it all in.

And it wasn’t just for the vibes -- the whole crew was out there clocking rides and making the rounds.

Luka Dončić isn’t waiting around for his hamstring to heal ... the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has already jetted to Europe for aggressive treatment -- and it’s all about beating the playoff buzzer.

Luka suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain in Thursday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder -- he grabbed at his leg mid-game, dropped to the floor in pain ... and now the clock is ticking with the postseason just two weeks away.

The Lakers have already ruled him out for the rest of the regular season … but injuries like this usually take weeks, sometimes more than a month to fully heal.

3:05 PM PDT -- Bad news, Lakers fans ... Luka Doncic will miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a left hamstring injury during Thursday's game.

His status for the playoffs remains uncertain.

His agent, Bill Duffy, said in a statement that Doncic's historic season should still be considered for the league's end-of-the-year honors like MVP ... and they will apply for the "Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge" to the 65-game eligibility rule.

"His record-breaking season deserves to be noted in the history books, despite last night’s unfortunate injury and other extraordinary circumstances," Duffy said.

"We look forward to working with the NBAPA and the league office to ensure a fair outcome in this matter."

Austin Reaves unloaded on a fan during the Lakers vs. Thunder game on Thursday ... telling a guy to "shut the f*** up" after making fun of Luka Doncic's injury.

The heated exchange went down at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, when Doncic was laying on the hardwood after suffering a hamstring injury in the third quarter.

As Reaves, LeBron James, and other Lakers gathered around the Slovenian superstar, a man in attendance can be heard on video shouting, "Now you know what it's like to play defense!"

That pissed Reaves all the way off.

Jaden Ivey jetted out of town after the Chicago Bulls cut him following his anti-Pride comments ... with the hooper going live to discuss the situation as he waited to take off, before a flight attendant made him turn off his phone.

The 24-year-old's destination was unknown, but he was on a commercial flight when he started streaming to some of his 219K Instagram followers ... loudly discussing religion and sin.

As Ivey spoke, the safety briefing played in the background. A flight attendant eventually approached him, asking him to wrap things up as the cell phone could interfere with the communication system.

When you gotta go, you gotta go ... and Anthony Edwards was the perfect example of that when he missed the start of the Timberwolves vs. Mavericks game -- hilariously admitting to reporters it's because he was "taking a s***."

The superstar guard made his return to the lineup on Monday after sitting out six games due to knee soreness ... but was noticeably MIA for the first few minutes.

Mike Conley took his spot for the time being until AE finally checked in ... and reporters asked after the 124-94 win what that was all about.

And anyone familiar with Edwards knows he doesn't sugarcoat anything.

The Chicago Bulls are done with Jaden Ivey after the NBA player made anti-LGBTQ comments and criticized Pride Night promotions in videos making rounds on social media.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news on Monday ... saying the Bulls have decided to part ways with Ivey, who they just picked up in a three-team trade with the Timberwolves and Pistons last month.

This decision comes after Ivey, 24, posted a series of lengthy videos on Instagram over the weekend ... venting about several topics, including the NBA's celebration of the LGBTQ community with Pride Night.

Months after a woman hit Paul Pierce with a paternity lawsuit ... she is now asking a court to make the NBA great pony up nearly $30K a month in child support.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, Princess Santiago claims Paul is the father of her newborn and is asking the judge to award her sole legal and physical custody, monthly child support in the amount of $29,811 and another $100K for her legal bills. She is also again requesting genetic testing to confirm that Paul is, in fact, the daddy.

On top of that, she wants Paul to pay one-half of all "reasonable expenses" relating to her pregnancy, birth, and post-birth expenses -- which she says totals $18,846.

Caitlin Clark can do it all on the court -- and on the sidelines, too -- 'cause the WNBA superstar put her photography skills to the test during the Indiana Pacers' home matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers!!

Clark was spotted courtside as the 'Cers welcomed LeBron James and Co. to town, where she picked up a camera to snap some flicks of the action.

From some of the photos Indiana shared, she's a total natural. However, the more impressive snaps were posted on her X account ... and she made sure everyone got the credit right.

1:50 PM PT -- As expected, Moses Moody's season is over. The Warriors guard was diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

The recovery for the injury can take up to 12 months.

Moses Moody's would-be highlight turned into a nightmare after a failed dunk attempt left him with a gruesome non-contact knee injury ... the Warriors guard, in excruciating pain, had to be stretchered off the court.

The unfortunate moment happened during the Warriors-Mavericks game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas ... when Moses was on a fast break after stealing the ball from Cooper Flagg.

Moses -- averaging 12.1 points per game this season -- was about to go up for a wide-open dunk, but his left knee buckled right as soon as he planted.

VCU opened the NCAA Tournament by busting brackets -- and Phil Martelli Jr. proved the March Madness gene might run in the family.

TMZ Sports caught up with the VCU head coach fresh off leading his 11-seed squad to a massive upset over No. 6 North Carolina -- a moment that hit even harder with his father, legendary coach Phil Martelli Sr., in the building to witness it all.

Martelli Sr., of course, knows a thing or two about March magic.

He famously led Saint Joseph’s to an undefeated regular season and an Elite Eight run in 2004 … turning the Hawks into one of the tournament’s most iconic Cinderella stories.

Now, it’s his son writing a similar script in his first year with the Rams.

The Lakers aren’t just heating up -- they’re on fire … and even Byron Scott is starting to believe this run might be real.

L.A. sits third in the west after ripping off eight straight wins, fueled by a full-blown takeover from Luka Dončić -- who’s been dropping video game numbers and completely reshaping the offense in the process. But Scott tells TMZ Sports it’s not just the scoring that has him buying in.

“The biggest thing for me has always been the defensive end,” Scott said. “But over these last four or five games, really this whole stretch, they’ve been locked in.”

That’s the difference.

Luka Doncic is calling a technical foul on his ex-fiancée, essentially telling the court she should consult a map before filing legal docs over their 2 children ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The Lakers superstar filed docs Friday asking an L.A. County judge to dismiss Anamaria Goltes' request for child support and attorneys fees, because she filed it in California ... when she knows the kids live in Slovenia.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Luka and his attorney Laura Wasser point out he is not a California resident, and neither are their daughters. He says he's been trying for months to get Anamaria to move to Cali with their kids, but she's refused, since moving back to Slovenia last May. As we reported, that distance is exactly why he says he pulled the plug on their engagement.