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4:15 PM ET Rick Carlisle — who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship — informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Thursday that he won’t be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach. “‘After a number of

3:17 AM ET With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely with a sprained knee, Paul George channeled his old mindset of being the franchise leader in Indiana and produced arguably his finest game and moment as a member of the LA Clippers on Wednesday night. Playing in front of a hostile crowd that has taunted his every

2:00 AM ET Every person who lived, worked or played in the NBA Bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, last summer was affected by the experience — some rather profoundly. Between the isolation, the separation from friends and family, the inability to escape from the game — or even the Disney campus — the challenges

4:59 PM ET As the competitive balance of the NBA playoffs is being compromised by a rash of injuries — with player health affecting just about every second-round series — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James says he saw this coming. Before James offered his best wishes to Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers —

11:02 AM ET Stan Van Gundy is out as the coach of the New Orleans Pelicans after just one season with the franchise, sources told ESPN on Wednesday morning. Van Gundy and Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin have been engaged in talks for weeks according to sources. New Orleans finished a

1:30 AM ET When an all-time great player is having an all-time great game, especially in the NBA playoffs, there’s a feeling that starts to envelop an arena as people start to realize this is a time-and-place moment. The collective adrenaline forces perspective on the spectators — and it can include the players and coaches

7:46 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star James Harden will play in Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The decision was made after he tested his right hamstring on the court before tipoff Tuesday night at Barclays Center. It will be the first time Harden has been available

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders While the Phoenix Suns put their feet up after an impressive sweep of MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, six teams continue to fight for the three remaining spots in the NBA conference finals. No matchup has more storylines than Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, which is locked at

12:20 AM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print With the LA Clippers trying to hit their stride in their second-round NBA playoff series with the Utah Jazz, Kawhi Leonard appeared to be at the height of his powers with a monstrous dunk late in the first half. LA entered Monday night’s Game

4:51 PM ET Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss Game 5 against the Bucks on Tuesday with a sprained right ankle, coach Steve Nash told reporters Monday. Irving, hurt in Game 4 on Sunday, had an MRI that showed the sprain. Nash added that he has “no idea” whether Irving will be able to return

10:06 PM ET With the Denver Nuggets on the brink of playoff elimination, league MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected from Sunday night’s game with a Flagrant 2 foul after taking a wild swing in frustration at Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne. After a lengthy review, Jokic was handed the Flagrant 2 and ejected from Game

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