Reuters Sports News Summary

The cap counts the top 51 player contracts on the 53-man roster. Lakers face Spurs, look to rebound from misstep The Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on track Friday night when they play the rubber match of their three-game season series against the visiting San Antonio Spurs.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Saints begin annual cap-clearing with QB Derek Carr restructure

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr agreed to restructure his contract to convert more than $28 million of his scheduled $30 million salary to a bonus, creating sorely needed salary cap relief. The details of the accounting were confirmed by Spotrac, which projected the Saints to be over the $246 million adjusted salary cap by more than $74 million before the conversion.

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets aim to topple tumbling Trail Blazers

The Denver Nuggets struggled prior to the All-Star break by finishing play with their second three-game skid of the season. The Nuggets got back on track in their return to action and will look to make it two straight wins when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Stetson Bennett, first-round pick both question marks for Rams

As the Los Angeles Rams prepare to enter the new league year in March, one of their biggest question marks is at the quarterback position. Matthew Stafford and then who?

All-32 view of salary cap: Commanders flush with cash, Bills bottom out

Washington leads the NFL with $96.4 million of salary-cap space two weeks before the start of free agency, while the Buffalo Bills are bailing water in cap hell with painful personnel decisions looming. The Bills and Saints are among teams spared by a massive increase of more than $30 million per team from the 2023 cap limit, which was confirmed at $255.4 million per team for 2024 by the NFL on Friday. The cap counts the top 51 player contracts on the 53-man roster.

Lakers face Spurs, look to rebound from misstep

The Los Angeles Lakers will look to get back on track Friday night when they play the rubber match of their three-game season series against the visiting San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers, minus LeBron James (sore ankle), will head home after a 128-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in San Francisco. Los Angeles played its second consecutive contest without James and had a three-game winning streak snapped. Los Angeles has won six of its past eight games to get back into the postseason conversation.

Timberwolves G Mike Conley signs contract extension

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. signed a contract extension on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the Timberwolves, however ESPN and The Athletic reported earlier in the week that the sides agreed on a two-year extension worth $21 million.

Curry brothers clash as Hornets take on Warriors

The Charlotte Hornets will have the capability of using an unusual means of slowing down Stephen Curry -- shadowing him with his brother, Seth -- when they duel the Golden State Warriors on Friday in San Francisco. Both teams will be seeking a second win in as many nights.

Jimmy Butler set to return as Heat visit Pelicans

The Miami Heat are eager to return to action after entering the All-Star break on a run of six wins in eight games. Miami will restart with a road game against the surging New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

NBA roundup: Luka Doncic (41) guides Mavs past Suns

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 41 points to help lead the Dallas Mavericks post a 123-113 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Doncic added 11 assists and nine rebounds. Kyrie Irving added 29 points for Dallas, which extended its winning streak to seven.

Bulls F Patrick Williams to have season-ending surgery

Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams will undergo surgery on his injured foot that will keep him out the rest of the season, the team announced Friday. Williams has been out since Jan. 25 with an acute bone edema in his left foot. At that time, Williams had already missed three games that month with foot discomfort and had been in a walking boot, and the Bulls said the injury required "active rest" for at least two weeks.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)