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10:40 PM ET Game 4 of the NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns took a dramatic turn when Denver big man Nikola Jokic, the league’s newly crowned MVP, was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing the Suns by 8. Jokic

4:50 PM ET Nets guard Kyrie Irving exited Game 4 of Brooklyn’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday with a sprained right ankle and did not return. X-rays were negative, coach Steve Nash said afterward. Irving will undergo further testing and treatment. No timetable was given for his return. Irving was

12:14 AM ET Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell exited Saturday’s 132-106 Game 3 loss to the LA Clippers because of pain in his right ankle, but the decision for him not to return was due to the lopsided score. “I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it

5:28 PM ET NBA Insiders Facing the possibility of going down 3-0 to the top-seeded Utah Jazz, the fourth-seeded LA Clippers played their best basketball of the series in a 132-106 win in Game 3. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the way for the Clippers, as both stars eclipsed the 30-point mark in the

4:36 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Danny Green will be re-evaluated in two weeks after an MRI confirmed he strained his right calf, the Philadelphia 76ers said on Saturday. The injury occurred during the Sixers’ victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 on Friday night. The veteran will miss the rest of this series, and

1:24 AM ET Philadelphia 76ers wing Ben Simmons had his hands full on defense in the first half of Friday’s eventual 127-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Trying to keep up with Hawks star Trae Young is no simple assignment. But with the Sixers clinging to a

12:07 AM ET The Atlanta Hawks‘ double-teams came early and often, with help defenders behind them lying in wait. Such is the attention that Philadelphia 76ers center and MVP finalist Joel Embiid demands when he’s working down low. With less room to operate in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals, Embiid was limited

1:27 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The shoulder injury that ended Raptors forward Pascal Siakam‘s season early will likely force him to miss the start of next season as well. The Raptors said Friday that Siakam had surgery last week to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, with an anticipated recovery and

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA’s conference semifinals are in full swing. The Milwaukee Bucks just saved their postseason with a nail-biting Game 3 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz just put the LA Clippers in another 2-0 hole. In Friday night’s matchups, the Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks

2:50 AM ET It is easy to forget — and perhaps healthier — that two teams blew 3-games-to-1 series leads against the Denver Nuggets in last season’s Western Conference playoffs. But fate has matched those teams — Utah Jazz and LA Clippers — against each other in the second round of this year’s playoffs, a

1:36 PM ET Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley has been ruled out of Thursday’s Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the LA Clippers due to a mild strain of his right hamstring. Conley, who also missed Game 1, suffered the injury during the first half of Utah’s series-ending win over the Memphis

1:37 AM ET Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he felt his team “quit” in Wednesday night’s 123-98 loss to the host Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. “I felt we quit tonight, which is something you never want to see,” Malone said. “So I guess for Game 3, I’m just

2:03 AM ET Chris Paul plans. He planned when he forced a trade out of New Orleans a decade ago. He planned when he creatively leveraged a contract option to get himself to Houston. He planned when he helped change an arcane age rule in the collective bargaining agreement that enabled him the chance to

2:42 PM ET LeBron James plans to change his Los Angeles Lakers jersey number to No. 6 next season, a source confirmed to ESPN. James had worn No. 23 during his first three seasons with the Lakers. The number change was first reported Wednesday by The Athletic. Fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis will keep his

3:12 AM ET Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone felt a bad kind of déjà vu as he watched his team fade during the second half of Monday night’s 122-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. After seeing his team get blown out by the Portland Trail Blazers

2:04 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid‘s night started with a loss and ended with a win in perhaps his most impressive playoff performance to date. The Philadelphia 76ers‘ 118-102 Game 2 victory over Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday began shortly after the NBA announced Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic won league MVP honors, with Embiid

1:52 PM ET Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley will not play in the Tuesday’s Western Conference semifinals opener against the LA Clippers due to a mild strain of his right hamstring. Conley suffered the injury during the first half of the Jazz’s series-ending Game 5 win over the Memphis Grizzlies last Wednesday. He was

2:11 AM ET There are many things Chris Paul is good at, but one of his most crucial skills is sensing a moment. It’s never about how he starts; it’s how he finishes. And in Game 1 of Phoenix’s Western Conference semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets, Paul began slowly, hitting just two of his

12:55 AM ET When Steve Nash was hired to coach the Brooklyn Nets super-team entry last year, it was both shocking and controversial. Judgement on the hire is still a ways off, but Nash’s first postseason on the sideline has been impressive. Nash has run circles early around two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike

7:00 AM ET After no first-round series in the Eastern Conference went more than five games, here we are in the second round with two star-studded matchups. Can two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks get past the Brooklyn Nets‘ Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden? How much will the

9:08 PM ET THIS ISN’T WHAT Kristaps Porzingis expected when he arrived in Dallas. As the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade, he anticipated forming one of the NBA’s most potent duos with Luka Doncic, a fellow rising star. Porzingis anticipated it’d be a 1A-1B sort of situation. Doncic has certainly held up his end of

10:20 PM ET After a Game 7 win, the head coach or players all talk about a look the team has, a certain look that lets everyone know they’ll be ready for the moment. LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said his team looked like it was locked in as it went through a walkthrough before

4:56 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star guard James Harden is out for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday with what the team is calling “right hamstring tightness.” The Nets currently lead the series 1-0 despite losing Harden less than one minute into the series opener

7:08 AM ET After a thrilling play-in tournament and opening-round action that saw the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers get bounced by the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks sweep the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, we’ve reached the conference semifinals. What will the Suns do for an encore against the Denver Nuggets? Can

12:10 AM ET Months ago, when Blake Griffin came to terms that he was going to forego $13.3 million to get out of his contract with the Detroit Pistons, he’d come to terms with the fact that he was no longer a franchise player in body or mind. But that did not mean he could

7:00 AM ET After no first-round series in the Eastern Conference went more than five games, here we are in the second round with two star-studded matchups. Can the two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks get past the Brooklyn Nets‘ Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden? How much will

7:00 AM ET After a thrilling play-in tournament and opening-round action that saw the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers get bounced by the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks sweep the reigning Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, we’ve reached the conference semifinals. What will the Suns do for an encore against the Denver Nuggets? Can

10:50 PM ET After a fourth first-round playoff exit in five seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers and coach Terry Stotts mutually agreed to part ways on Friday, sources told ESPN. Stotts leaves Portland as the second-winningest coach in franchise history, including eight consecutive playoff appearances — the longest streak in the league. Portland’s season ended

3:39 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday is the winner of the 2020-21 NBA sportsmanship award, the NBA announced Friday. “It means a lot,” Holiday said after receiving the Joe Dumars Trophy, which is given to the NBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. “Just knowing that

1:27 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis could barely move and the Los Angeles Lakers could not move on, seeing their repeat title hopes cut short with a 113-100 loss in Game 6 of their first round series with the Phoenix Suns. Davis, cleared by L.A.’s medical staff and starting on Thursday after being