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4:29 PM ET ESPN News Services Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo reeled off 41 points, 20 rebounds and six assists — in just 35 minutes — in Sunday’s 93-85 win over the Charlotte Hornets. It was the fewest minutes played in a 40-20-5 game in NBA history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The previous

6:34 AM ET NBA Insiders How are the 2020 NBA playoffs and draft lottery likely to shake out with teams approaching the 60-game mark? The postseason picture is starting to take shape, with 15 teams already having greater than a 99% chance to make it in, according to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index. But which team

2:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Since the moment James Harden became a member of the Houston Rockets in October 2012, the team has been almost exclusively built around him and his prodigious talent. That has led to plenty of Rockets victories on the back of Harden’s incredible offensive displays. And when Houston has

8:00 AM ET It’s not St. Patrick’s Day, but there’s something lucky about Leap Day for the Boston Celtics. Feb. 29 comes around only once every four years, but it’s been 36 years since the Celtics had to suffer through a defeat on Leap Day. Their 102-98 loss to the New York Knicks on Feb.

12:53 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — On the heels of James Harden‘s interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols — in which the Houston Rockets star appeared to take aim at Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s skill set — the reigning league MVP responded with a statement performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Milwaukee Bucks‘

12:25 AM ET MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks staged another in a series of artful basketball exhibitions on Friday night at Fiserv Forum. Giannis Antetokounmpo padded his MVP résumé with skillful efficiency and gaudy athleticism (32 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists in 27 minutes, before taking yet another fourth quarter off in a blowout). Of

9:00 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — A couple days into training camp, Chris Paul needed to set the record straight. Again. He had already cleared things up on Twitter, but as he stood in the corner of the Oklahoma City Thunder practice facility and peered across the floor with an eye toward Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paul

9:05 AM ET Let’s move into the weekend with 10 NBA things: 1. Jayson Tatum is here When was the last time this happened — a player in the middle of the season making The Leap, everyone digesting the revelation together and knowing it is real and lasting? Perhaps Kawhi Leonard toward the start of

2:48 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — The Los Angeles Lakers hardly ever practice, and shootarounds are even rarer for the veteran squad. So getting Markieff Morris, who signed with the team this week after receiving a buyout from the Detroit Pistons, up to speed takes some creativity. “We’ve kind of beefed up our film sessions,”

8:00 AM ET Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo helped the Milwaukee Bucks clinch the earliest NBA playoff berth in 15 seasons on Sunday. Meanwhile, LeBron James has the Los Angeles Lakers at the top of the Western Conference, but is that enough to stop Antetokounmpo from repeating as MVP? Will Zion Williamson make an All-NBA team

9:22 AM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Some key Kobe Bryant memorabilia, including two of his Los Angeles Lakers uniforms and cement handprints from his induction into the Grauman’s Chinese Theater hall of fame gallery, are going up for sale in April. Julien’s Auctions said Thursday that the items would be up for sale

8:19 PM ET ESPN News Services CLEVELAND — Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid left Wednesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter and was ruled out with a left shoulder sprain. Embiid appeared to collide with Cavaliers center Ante Zizic while being fouled late in the first quarter. The 7-footer held

8:51 AM ET CONFUSION REIGNS AS the Utah Jazz jog back on defense. Mike Conley is scurrying across the floor in search of someone to guard. It is Monday night in Salt Lake City, and the Phoenix Suns are pushing the ball up the floor after a routine defensive rebound early in the fourth quarter.

12:27 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN TORONTO — Tuesday night marked the first time since Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks came back to Scotiabank Arena since losing to the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. And after the Bucks came away with a different result this time, winning 108-97 over the

4:51 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has a nerve impingement in his lower back and is expected to be sidelined for an extended period of time, league sources told ESPN on Tuesday. Simmons is undergoing treatment and will be reevaluated in two weeks, but there’s little expectation that he will be close to

7:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PASCAL SIAKAM RELISHES the work. The process of getting better drives the Toronto Raptors forward in a way that sets him apart. “He was always the first one in the gym,” former teammate DeMar DeRozan said. “He always came back to the gym at night. He worked on everything he

10:30 PM ET Bradley Beal became the first player since Kobe Bryant to score 50 points on back-to-back nights when he dropped a career-high 55 in the Washington Wizards‘ 137-134 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. Beal shot 58% from the field — including 8 of 13 from 3-point range, one night after

11:00 PM ET LOS ANGELES — In the 6 a.m. hour, a line begins snaking down Olympic Blvd. “It’s going to be a crazy day, bro,” one security guard says to another as people flood the plaza outside Staples Center. Peddlers hawk memorabilia on nearby corners. City bus signages blink, “RIP KOBE.” In the seven

3:42 PM ET A memorial service inside Staples Center on Monday celebrated the lives of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. The date — Feb. 24 — reflects the basketball jersey numbers worn by Kobe (No. 24) and Gianna (No. 2). The service was held just less than a month after

10:33 PM ET The Milwaukee Bucks have clinched the earliest playoff berth in at least 15 years, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. The NBA postseason is not set to begin for another 55 days. The Bucks clinched Sunday despite not playing because the Washington Wizards lost to the Chicago Bulls. Milwaukee is 48-8 and

8:36 PM ET Lawrence Tanter had read through the plans dozens of times before he got into his car, put on John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and drove to Staples Center on Jan. 31. The Los Angeles Lakers were going to play their first game since the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and

2:12 PM ET Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has a sprained left knee and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the team said Sunday. Jackson left Friday’s 117-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers late in the second quarter after an awkward fall when he was contesting a shot. He didn’t return for the

1:19 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN MILWAUKEE — With Lil Wayne’s “Kobe Bryant” song blasting throughout Fiserv Forum, reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo went through an intense pregame workout, two hours ahead of the tipoff against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Once the sweaty, 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks superstar wrapped up on the court, he hit the

11:04 PM ET MIAMI — In the arena he made “his house” and the county nicknamed after him, Dwyane Wade starred up to the rafters with a wide grin as his No.3 jersey was lifted to its rightful place. Suited in an all-black suit and shirt combination, Wade stood center-court at halftime and delivered a

9:42 AM ET The fifth-place Philadelphia 76ers are underperforming, and the spiciest take surrounding the team right now is that its two young superstars can’t play together. But is that true? A quick look at recent Sixers history reveals that Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid can be an awesome duo. During 1,306 minutes with both

1:49 AM ET OKLAHOMA CITY — Before training camp, as nine new Oklahoma City Thunder players were getting to know one another while the organization itself was recalibrating to a post-Russell Westbrook world, Billy Donovan sat down with the three point guards on the roster and presented a bold plan. They — being Chris Paul,

7:19 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers intend to waive DeMarcus Cousins to clear a roster spot for Markieff Morris, if he clears waivers on Sunday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. Morris negotiated a buyout with the Detroit Pistons on Friday, leaving $4.3 million (the remainder of this season and his 2020-21

8:49 AM ET One-third of the NBA season to go, and 10 things to think about: 1. The new NBA All-Star Game With Sunday’s All-Star Game tied at 146, Kyle Lowry ran a pick-and-roll with Giannis Antetokounmpo, drawing a switch of Chris Paul onto the MVP. As Antetokounmpo burrowed into position for an entry pass

1:49 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — After putting up 39 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid declared he is the best player in the world, and that the aggression with which he played against Brooklyn was a carryover from the way

10:45 PM ET ESPN News Services ATLANTA — Trae Young had a career-high 50 points and the Atlanta Hawks scored the last 10 points of the game to beat the Miami Heat 129-124 on Thursday night. Young made 18 of 19 free throws and 8 of 15 3-pointers to set his scoring high in his