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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

12:13 AM ET Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis has been ruled out for the remainder of Thursday night’s Game 6 against the Phoenix Suns after aggravating his strained left groin in the first quarter. Davis suffered the injury in Game 4 of the first-round series and sat out Game 5. He was a game-time

3:23 PM ET At least one fan joined the Utah Jazz bandwagon after their five-game series win in the first round: Tee Morant, the father of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant. Moments after top-seeded Utah ended the series with a 126-110 win Wednesday night, Tee Morant told Donovan Mitchell that he’d be rooting for the

2:17 AM ET LOS ANGELES — From the moment Luka Doncic declared for the NBA draft in 2018, this game was coming. The game when it became clear he wasn’t just a great talent, but one who was ready to lead a team to a win against any opponent, in any playoff series, in any

12:27 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN As fans in Madison Square Garden rose to their feet to give one last round of applause to their New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young wanted to send the crowd home with one more parting gift. In the final minute of Wednesday’s Game 5, Young sized up Knicks

3:36 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN After the Boston Celtics shocked the basketball world with their dual announcement of longtime president of basketball operations Danny Ainge retiring and coach Brad Stevens leaving the sideline to replace him, Stevens said he chose to leave coaching and take on this new challenge because he wants “to do what’s

12:30 AM ET Dame Time. You know what that means. On Tuesday night, Damian Lillard put on an electric 55-point performance, becoming the first player in NBA history with at least 50 points, 10 assists and 10 three-pointers in a game, regular season or playoffs. With his twelfth 3-pointer, the pride of the Portland Trail

9:32 PM ET PHOENIX — Los Angeles Lakers star forward Anthony Davis is out for Tuesday’s pivotal Game 5 in L.A.’s first-round series with the Phoenix Suns because of a strained groin. Markieff Morris started in Davis’ place. Davis hurt his groin late in the second quarter of Game 4 and did not play after

1:35 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela didn’t mince words Tuesday when asked about the physical nature of his team’s first-round matchup against the New York Knicks. Things got chippy in Game 4 in Atlanta on Sunday, with John Collins needing four stitches in his lip because of an errant elbow from

7:02 AM ET NBA Insiders The Milwaukee Bucks have taken care of business, blitzing past the Miami Heat in four games. The Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks are each one win away from joining them in the Eastern Conference semifinals. What happens next in the Western Conference playoffs, though, is anyone’s guess. Outside

8:30 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers‘ star Joel Embiid was ruled out of Monday night’s potential closeout game against the Washington Wizards with right knee soreness. Embiid crashed to the floor after he was met in the air at the rim by Wizards center Robin Lopez just over seven minutes into Game 4. Lopez cleanly blocked

5:21 PM ET LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis missed the second half of the Lakers‘ 100-92 loss to the Suns on Sunday with a strained left groin. Davis missed a layup inside the final minute of the second quarter and collapsed to the floor after landing. He was slow to get up, clutching at his

10:27 PM ET A fan at TD Garden for Game 4 of the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics first-round series appeared to throw a water bottle at the head of Nets guard Kyrie Irving. The bottle missed Irving, who was walking toward the tunnel following the Nets’ 141-126 win on Sunday night. “You’re seeing a

8:50 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers will get no sympathy from the Phoenix Suns or any of the remaining playoff teams after they lost star forward Anthony Davis to a groin injury during a 100-92 loss Sunday afternoon at Staples Center. The Suns, after all, have been playing this first-round Western Conference playoff series

1:53 PM ET Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is expected to play Sunday against the LA Clippers in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series despite a strained neck, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Doncic is officially listed as questionable for the game, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Saturday that he thought Doncic

2:19 AM ET Mike Conley still can’t quite believe the way the basketball stars have aligned. After spending 12 seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, the veteran Utah Jazz guard is still adjusting to the fact that his new team is facing his old team in an emotional first-round playoff series. But after scoring 27 points,

8:21 PM ET It’s not unusual for Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone to tell it like it is and he put it quite bluntly again after a 115-95 loss in Game 4 to the Portland Trail Blazers. “Our starters were awful,” he said. “I thought we had some guys that were tentative, that looked a

1:39 PM ET ESPN News Services Mark Eaton, the 7-foot-4 shot-blocking king who twice was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year during his career with the Utah Jazz, has died, the team said Saturday. He was 64. The Jazz said police said Eaton was found lying in the road around 8:30 p.m. Friday night

1:16 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Every one of the 4,789 fans who entered TD Garden on Friday night came ready to boo Kyrie Irving until their voices were hoarse. But after Boston came away with a stunning 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, those same

5:27 PM ET Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook did not practice Friday and is being listed as questionable for Game 3 of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Westbrook rolled his ankle with 10 minutes in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 120-95 Game 2 loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday night and did