NBA

3:47 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Playing in their first home playoff game in eight years, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like a true championship contender for the first time in a while. L.A., the No. 7 seed, won 109-95 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in its first-round matchup against the No.

2:48 AM ET A little more than a month ago, Austin Rivers was at home, out of the NBA and waiting on his phone to ring for another chance. On Thursday night, Rivers was at the forefront of a pivotal NBA playoff game, scoring 16 of his 21 points in a supercharged fourth quarter to

2:45 AM ET LOS ANGELES — By now, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams knows what’s going on with his star point guard Chris Paul by the look on his face. There’s a look Paul gets when he’s locked in — something between completely-in-control and about-to-jump-into-any-fray — and then there’s the look he had on

12:39 AM ET Seven months after advancing to the 2020 NBA finals, the Miami Heat are one loss away from elimination in this year’s playoffs after a resounding 113-84 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night in Miami. For the second consecutive game, the Bucks led from the opening minutes until the final buzzer,

7:27 PM ET The three fans banned indefinitely by the Utah Jazz made vulgar and racially offensive comments to Ja Morant’s parents, the father of the Memphis Grizzlies star guard told ESPN. A statement from the Jazz cited one “verbal altercation” that occurred during Utah’s series-tying 141-129 victory at Vivint Arena on Wednesday night, but

7:46 PM ET With his team facing enormous pressure to keep its season and title hopes alive, Ty Lue believes the LA Clippers will show what they are made of in Game 3 on Friday in Dallas. Trailing 2-0 and having lost home-court advantage to the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers must halt a five-game playoff

6:23 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Celtics guard Marcus Smart said he hopes fans will be “respectful” Friday night when former Celtic Kyrie Irving makes his first return appearance at TD Garden with fans in the building for Game 3 of Boston’s first-round playoff series with the Brooklyn Nets. “We want our fan base

1:55 PM ET Spain’s Usman Garuba, the No. 15 basketball prospect in the ESPN Top 100, has submitted paperwork to the league office to make himself eligible for the 2021 NBA draft, a source told ESPN on Thursday. Garuba, 19, is in the midst of a productive season competing at the highest levels of international

1:06 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t going anywhere, signing a 20-year extension to their lease at Staples Center. The deal with building owner AEG means the team will remain through 2041. The Lakers began play at Staples Center in November 1999 and have won six NBA titles in that span. The team and

12:36 PM ET Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball will become the first athlete to enter the world of dynamic nonfungible tokens (NFTs) when he releases a set of 500 prior to the announcement of the NBA Rookie of the Year in June, ESPN has learned. NFTs are unique blockchain-based tokens that give owners specific rights

2:27 PM ET NEW YORK — Jeff Green has strained his plantar fascia and will be re-evaluated in 10 days, sidelining him for the remainder of the Brooklyn Nets‘ first round series against the Boston Celtics. While he is out, Green will continue to travel with the team while working on his rehab, Steve Nash

1:19 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN The New York Knicks say they have banned a fan who spit on Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young on Wednesday night during Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The Knicks released a statement on the matter on Thursday afternoon. “We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who

11:30 AM ET The fan who dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook has been banned indefinitely from Wells Fargo Center and has had his Philadelphia 76ers season ticket membership revoked. The 76ers announced the punishment for the unidentified fan Thursday, one day after the incident took place during Philadelphia’s playoff game against Westbrook and the Washington

2:41 AM ET Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant cut toward the basket, caught the pass, cocked the ball back in his right hand and soared to the rim early in the second quarter. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert met Morant at the summit and stuffed the dunk attempt, a spectacular block by a big

2:55 AM ET Utah Jazz All-Star Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points in 26 minutes during Wednesday night’s 141-129 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals — looking like he hasn’t missed a beat after missing over a month because of a right ankle sprain. “I feel good,” Mitchell said

11:58 PM ET Ben Simmons answered critics of his scoring output on multiple levels Wednesday night, having a breakout offensive performance while also snapping back at those who question his approach. Simmons had an explosive first quarter, scoring 12 points to help his Philadelphia 76ers open an early lead on the Washington Wizards. He ended

12:32 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN For the first time in more than eight years — 2,923 days, to be exact — the New York Knicks were able to celebrate a playoff win. And, like the last one, they were able to do it at Madison Square Garden. With Wednesday night’s 101-92 win over the Atlanta

9:33 PM ET Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook suffered a right ankle injury and left the floor limping in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s playoff game at Philadelphia. Westbrook stepped on 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz‘s foot and rolled the ankle with 10:28 remaining and the Wizards down 17 points in Game 2 of the