The FIBA Central Board has chosen France as the host of the 2031 FIBA Basketball World Cup, with Japan getting the Women’s World Cup in 2030.

The French cities of Lille, Lyon, and Paris will co-host the event from Aug. 29 to Sept. 14, with the final taking place in Paris.

The women’s tournament will be held in Tokyo from Nov. 26 to Dec.. 8.

Japan and France achieved success in the sport as Japan’s women and France’s men both won silver medals in basketball in their recent home Olympics. Japan hosted the 2020 Summer Games and Paris held the 2024 Summer Games.

The two locations were chosen in part because of their history of hosting major sporting events.

“Japan and France are two basketball-loving nations, two destinations extremely popular with our fans, players and partners,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said. “The FIBA World Cups have become synonymous with success in large part because selecting the appropriate host each time is the cornerstone of our mission to make basketball the most popular sports community.”

French star and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama is likely to headline the 2031 World Cup after the young superstar led the 2024 Olympic Gold Medal game in scoring with 26 points in a losing effort to the United States.

–Field Level Media

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points and dished out nine assists, leading Oklahoma City to a 120-107 home win over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and giving the Thunder a 2-0 lead in a first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The victory, however, might have been a costly one.

Thunder star Jalen Williams, who was limited to just 33 games during the regular season due to injuries, left the game midway through the third quarter due to a left hamstring injury.

“We’ll take a look at it in the next couple of days, and we’ll update you guys appropriately,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of Williams’ status postgame.

Williams pulled up during a drive toward the bucket and then grabbed at the hamstring as action went the other way.

Williams, who did not return, missed two long stretches of the season with injuries to his right wrist and right hamstring.

Before getting hurt, Williams was excellent, logging 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and four assists in 23 minutes.

Oklahoma City seized control in the third quarter, thanks in large part to Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

Holmgren grabbed rebounds on each of the first three possessions of the half and had 11 points and three blocks in the quarter while Gilgeous-Alexander had 12 points and four assists in the period.

Holmgren finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

The Thunder stretched their lead to 23 with a 13-2 run to end the third and then to 26 early in the fourth.

The Suns cut the deficit to 10 with nearly four minutes remaining, but coming out of a timeout, Ajay Mitchell hit a 3-pointer to stretch the gap to 113-100.

“We did a really good job building the lead that we did in the third heading into the fourth,” Daigneault said. “Obviously the fourth was a little wacky. We’ll watch that … But generally, it was a good one. We built a strong lead and were able to hold it.”

Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth.

After a slow start in Game 1, Gilgeous-Alexander missed his first three shots on Wednesday, then found the range. He hit 7 of 10 shots the rest of the first half.

After going 5 of 18 from the field in the series opener, Gilgeous-Alexander finished 13 of 25 in Game 2.

“Shai made the right play all night,” Daigneault said. “His floor game was outstanding. He got us really good shots.”

Early in the third quarter, Brooks and Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort got tangled up battling for a potential rebound off a free throw. The two quickly stepped away from each other, but each was whistled for a technical foul.

Late in the quarter, Devin Booker was called for a technical after bouncing the ball off Williams while trying to keep the ball in play.

“This is a playoff series so a lot of stuff happens,” said Suns coach Jordan Ott, who added that he didn’t get an explanation of the call. “We can do a better job keeping our composure at times.”

Booker finished with 22 points while Jalen Green had 21 in the loss.

Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday in Phoenix.

–Field Level Media

Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and had 11 assists and Tobias Harris added 16 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday night as the Detroit Pistons bounced back to even their Eastern Conference playoff series with a 98-83 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic.

Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson each had 11 points for the Pistons, who snapped an 11-game home playoff game losing streak, the longest in NBA history. Duncan Robinson and Isaiah Stewart also scored 10 apiece for Detroit, which last won a home playoff game in 2008.

“It means a lot,” said Harris of ending the home playoff skid. “Obviously, we’ve heard it. (We) heard it last year, but good one for us. But, game three is the game that we have to be ready for. It’s obviously great for our fans to be able to be in our arena to give us that support. They’re huge for us. They’ve been huge for us all season long. To get a big victory for them is awesome but we got to go on the road and handle business.”

Jalen Suggs scored 19 points and Paolo Banchero added 18 for the eighth-seeded Magic. Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane also had 12 points for Orlando which connected on only 26 of 80 field-goal attempts, including just eight of 32 3-pointers.

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Saturday in Orlando.

After a defensive struggle in the first half for both teams, Detroit broke the game open in the third quarter, starting with a 30-3 run. The Pistons, who scored the first 11 points before Bane nailed a 3-pointer, outscored the Magic 38-16 in the quarter. Orlando hit only five shots, committed seven turnovers and trailed by as much as 27 points.

“I think they came out, added a little bit of a level of aggression,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Now, that first play we ran, they called offensive foul on Des (Desmond Bane), and then from there, they started picking up some heat, turned us over a couple of times. We missed a few shots at the rim, and that momentum just changed the game.”

The Pistons maintained a comfortable cushion through the final quarter, allowing the Magic to get no closer than 97-83 with less than a minute remaining.

“We just play defense,” Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It’s that simple. When we play defense at the level we’re capable of, it triggers everything for us. We can be an elite defensive team, a disruptive defensive team that pushes and gets us transition easy baskets, and that’s what we did.”

The first quarter was a defensive battle with the Pistons holding on for a 25-21 lead. Detroit, which led by as much as seven points, held Orlando to 26.9% shooting from the field while the Magic forced eight Pistons turnovers and briefly went in front 21-20.

The two teams continued the defensive intensity in the second quarter, which featured four ties and two lead changes. Detroit took an eight-point lead early in the quarter, but Orlando scored four of the last five points to tie the game at 46 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

The war of words is picking up between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.

The battle on the court should be even better.

The Timberwolves and Nuggets will resume their high-stakes rivalry when the teams tip off in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoff matchup Thursday night in Minneapolis. The best-of-seven series is even after Denver won the series opener and Minnesota bounced back to take Game 2.

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels added some spice to the series with his comments after Game 2. He said the Nuggets could not stop Minnesota from scoring at will.

“They’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels said. “They don’t got people who can defend the rim. Even if (Nikola Jokic) is there, we’re more athletic than them.”

Nuggets coach David Adelman fired back Wednesday when asked about the remarks.

“I can’t wait for his podcast,” Adelman said in a sarcastic tone. “He’s a really good player. Everyone has a sounding board these days. It’ll help his social media.”

Nuggets guard Cam Johnson did not seem surprised by McDaniels’ comments. He said it was part of a pattern by the Timberwolves that went back many months.

“They’ve just been saying a lot,” Johnson said. “All season, all series. Let them talk. Let them get everything they want off their chest.”

The neck-and-neck series offered plenty of drama before the trash-talking went public.

Anthony Edwards will try to find his shooting rhythm in Game 3. He is shooting 38.6% from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the series, which is well off his regular-season averages.

Edwards is averaging a team-high 26 points per game in the playoffs despite his inconsistent shot. Julius Randle is next with 20 points per game in the series, and McDaniels rounds out the top three playoff scorers with 15 points per game.

For the Nuggets, Murray leads the way with 30 points per game in the series. He has dominated at the free-throw line but struggled from the field, shooting 38.3% overall and 27.3% from beyond the arc.

Jokic is averaging 24.5 points, 14 rebounds and 9.5 assists in the series. Christian Braun is third with 14 points per game, and he has knocked down 50% of his 3-point attempts.

Johnson said he and his Nuggets teammates had full confidence heading into Game 3 despite losing the previous contest.

“It’s the playoffs,” Johnson said. “Unless you really expected to win 16 in a row really easy, something’s going to happen. It’s the playoffs. You have to bounce back. You know what I’m saying? It’s like a non-negotiable. It’s part of the process.”

Timberwolves Donte DiVincenzo will look to stay hot after knocking down a key 3-pointer late in Game 2. He did not hesitate when asked to describe what he loves about playing in the playoffs.

“It’s fun,” DiVincenzo said. “You see the energy out there. Big moments. That’s what you grow up dreaming about.”

Minnesota went 26-15 on its home court during the regular season. Denver posted the identical 26-15 record on the road.

–Field Level Media