1:00 AM ET The game could’ve been a movie, the action on the sidelines a soap opera and the dialogue between Kevin Durant and his longtime friend P.J. Tucker a stage play. But for all the drama that spilled on the floor Saturday night in an epic overtime Game 7 that saw the Milwaukee Bucks
NBA
2:16 AM ET NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets couldn’t stave off the effects of mounting injuries any longer. After defying the odds that hamstring strains and ankle sprains had dealt, after mesmerizing and even historic performances, the Nets just didn’t have quite enough to outlast the Milwaukee Bucks in a 115-111 overtime loss in
11:25 PM ET The Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets have given fans a thrilling series to determine who will go to the Eastern Conference finals. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant dueling to the end, the Bucks had a two-point lead with seconds remaining. With the game on the line, everyone assumed they knew
11:58 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Before these NBA playoffs began, Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if he thought his Milwaukee Bucks were better prepared for the postseason this year, after the disappointments that befell them each of the past two years. “I don’t know if this year is gonna be different,” Antetokounmpo said.
9:58 PM ET PHOENIX — LA Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Phoenix Suns because of a sprained right knee, and his status for the remainder of the Western Conference finals remains uncertain. Leonard did not travel with the team to Phoenix on Saturday. Clippers coach Tyronn
9:11 PM ET Phoenix Suns star point guard Chris Paul has been ruled out for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the LA Clippers, the team announced on Saturday. Paul entered the league’s health and safety protocols on Wednesday. The NBA’s rules for coronavirus-related isolation periods have evolved throughout the season in correlation
6:38 PM ET Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Once again, the Utah Jazz endured a postseason collapse. But making an early exit from the NBA playoffs stung much more this season. The top-seeded Jazz fell to the LA Clippers in six games after blowing a 2-0 series lead. Injuries to All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and
12:21 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers are on the market looking to hire a new head athletic trainer after injuries ravaged their 2020-21 season. Nina Hsieh, promoted to head trainer two years ago, did not have her contract renewed, sources told ESPN. Hsieh worked for the franchise for more than a decade, beginning as
7:49 AM ET Associated Press MADRID — Spain included Pau Gasol in its preliminary squad for the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. The 40-year-old Gasol was among the 18 players called up by coach Sergio Scariolo to prepare for the Tokyo Games. Only 12 players will make the final squad. The two-time NBA champion is trying
2:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Looking back on it now, there was no way to see what Terance Mann did in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 131-119 series-clinching win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night coming. No way. Anyone who says they foresaw the second-year player scoring 39 points to send the Clippers to
1:55 AM ET Coping mechanisms are as much a feature of the NBA playoffs as the postgame podium. “You have to have a short-term memory,” Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Tyrese Maxey said. Maxey was referring to the condition of defending Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young with smothering pressure only to watch him drain a “logo
12:50 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Patrick Beverley, Terance Mann and Marcus Morris Sr. stood on the court and urged the first sellout crowd at Staples Center in over a year to cheer even louder as history was unfolding in dramatic fashion. For the first time in their 51-year history, the Clippers are going to
1:11 AM ET ATLANTA — After the Philadelphia 76ers‘ 104-99 Game 6 win Friday to tie up their second-round series with the Atlanta Hawks, Joel Embiid was so fed up with how he viewed the officiating for him compared to the Hawks’ superstar leader, he wouldn’t even say Trae Young‘s name. “I just felt like
5:54 PM ET Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will not play in Saturday’s Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks, according to coach Steve Nash. Nash said that Irving has “miles to make up” before he could return to the court. He added, however, that if the Nets advance, the team anticipates Irving will be back,
3:47 PM ET ESPN News Services Bradley Beal won a gold medal with USA Basketball 11 years ago, leading the Americans in scoring on their way to an undefeated run at the under-17 world championship. He’s looking for another gold this summer on international basketball’s biggest stage. The Washington Wizards guard has committed to playing
2:56 PM ET The Boston Celtics‘ coaching search remains focused in the ranks of assistants, with a wave of second interviews expected to come with Brooklyn’s Ime Udoka, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and the LA Clippers’ Chauncey Billups, sources told ESPN. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, running the process to hire his successor, is
12:48 PM ET Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki has rejoined the franchise as a special adviser who will assist in the hiring process of a new general manager and coach and consult on other front-office decisions, the team announced Friday. “Mark Cuban approached me about a role as special advisor and I am happy to
12:30 PM ET Tory BarronESPN Editor Close Tory Barron is a Bristol-based writer and editor for ESPN.com. After retiring from playing lacrosse at UConn, the DC native decided to try her hand at writing about people playing sports. The week of June 16 saw the week of June 2 and said, “Hold my beer.” If