11:55 PM ET The LA Clippers were up 13 and just over 13 minutes away from their first-ever trip to the Western Conference Finals. And then the Clippers did what Paul George said they didn’t want to do in this best of seven series — give the resilient Denver Nuggets life. “They are going to
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7:20 AM ET We’re approaching the halfway point of the 2020 NBA playoffs, our third Game 7 is here, and the East finals start soon. Let’s bounce around the league for a look at what the postseason has given us and what lies ahead. 1. Predatory Kyle Lowry With 60% of Toronto’s starting five slumping
12:44 AM ET There are some quotes that follow a coach his whole career, or at least long enough to become profoundly ironic. When Mike D’Antoni took over as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012 and was asked how he planned to use likely future Hall of Fame big men Pau Gasol and
6:43 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report from Wednesday’s heart-stopping 125-122 victory for the Toronto Raptors over the Boston Celtics said the officials got one key call wrong — and another one right. The document — which analyzed more than 50 decisions the referees did, or
7:20 AM ET A lot of fans seem to hate watching James Harden play. I get it. There is a numbing effect to the thump-thump-thump of Harden dribbling 20 times while four teammates stand in places chosen by Harden. But I have a soft spot for the visual Harden experience. He inspires a chess match
11:44 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr.‘s status
10:14 PM ET Five-time NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups has emerged as a candidate in the Indiana Pacers‘ coaching search, sources told ESPN. As the Pacers begin preliminary interviews with a number of candidates, Billups and team officials have recently engaged and are planning to talk further about the job, sources said Wednesday. Billups, 43, fits
7:25 AM ET You’ve heard the maxim before: The NBA is a make or miss league. But it’s never been more true than in these playoffs. As the best basketball league in the world leans further and further into 3-point shooting, success from beyond the arc is increasingly deciding who wins the highest-stakes games to
9:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The scream sliced through a largely empty arena and put a dagger in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had been on a tear to begin Game 4 of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat, scoring 19 points in 11 minutes,
9:03 PM ET Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season, sources tell ESPN. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension. Discussions between OKC management and Donovan were described as collaborative and realistic. The reality of Oklahoma City’s eventual transition toward a
7:15 AM ET JAMES HARDEN CROUCHED, waiting for referee Ed Malloy to release the ball into the air. Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis stood three feet away across the center circle. The Houston Rockets‘ superstar is 6-foot-5. Porzingis is one of the tallest and longest players in the league, listed at 7-foot-3. Something didn’t add
12:00 AM ET Danny Ainge was no different than most other Boston Celtics fans in the waning seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With just 0.5 seconds until victory, his team poised to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Boston’s president of basketball operations hollered at his
10:13 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — After the Boston Celtics dropped Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Toronto Raptors, they said they had to play better, smarter and harder to regain control of the series in Game 5. The Celtics then proceeded to go out and do
6:56 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — For many reasons — primarily the loss of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency — the Toronto Raptors entered the 2019-20 season as the least-heralded league champion since the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Bookmakers in Las Vegas set the line for Raptors wins at
4:30 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks staved off elimination on Sunday, beating the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime despite losing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to a right ankle sprain in the second quarter. After being fouled by Heat forward Andre Iguodala on a drive into the paint at the
8:47 PM ET Miami Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler acknowledged what anyone watching his team’s 118-115 Game 4 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks could see in the moment. The Heat let their foot off the gas when reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo reinjured his right ankle early in the second quarter of Sunday’s game.
7:17 AM ET The Milwaukee Bucks of fall and winter were a thing of basketball beauty. Giannis Antetokounmpo was once again building his MVP résumé, while Khris Middleton was continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s most versatile scorers, reliable from anywhere on the floor. Watching a fast break conducted by Antetokounmpo was
1:07 AM ET Throughout the course of this long season, the LA Clippers were darlings of sharp bettors and league intelligentsia, even as so many fans and even a healthy percentage of the Clippers’ peers sometimes wondered why. They encouraged injured players to take plenty of time to recover, harped on the long view as