Pelicans to play preseason games in Melbourne against NBL’s Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix on Oct. 3 and 5.

The New Orleans Pelicans will play two Melbourne teams in pre-season games in Melbourne in October, bringing the National Basketball Association (NBA) to Australia for the first time.

New Orleans Pelicans will become the first NBA team to play in Australia when they tip off in two pre-season games in October, organisers said Tuesday."This is an exciting moment for our organisation and a testament to the growing global impact of the NBA,

Oklahoma City’s 53-12 record is the best in the NBA, and it has an 11-game lead for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. This is the final game on the Celtics’ seven-game homestand, including other marquee matchups with the Cavaliers (loss) and Lakers (win).

The challenge come June could be OKC. That might not be the best result for the Celtics, but it would be the best series for basketball fans.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are traveling east to face the Boston Celtics in what could be an NBA Finals preview on Wednesday night.

The NBA has fined the Utah Jazz $100,000 for violating the league’s player participation policy after failing to make leading scorer Lauri Markkanen available for recent games

The Utah Jazz have been hit with a hefty fine by the NBA. The NBA has fined the Jazz $100,000 for violating the Player Participating Policy when the team failed to make Lauri Markkanen available for a game on March 5.

The NBA officially announced Wednesday a $100,000 fine to the Utah Jazz organization for sitting Lauri Markkanen out of the team’s game against the Washington Wizards on March 5, “as well as other recent games,