3:15 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard blew by Royce O’Neale and took off down the lane before throwing down an explosive one-handed dunk all over Utah‘s Derrick Favors. Leonard’s powerful second-quarter slam put the exclamation point on a first half that saw the LA Clippers lead by as many as 29 points before
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1:01 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN When Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young took off his warm-up prior to Game 4 on Monday night, he revealed a little surprise — his right shoulder had elastic therapeutic tape on it. Coach Nate McMillan told reporters he wasn’t aware of any injury to his star player prior to tipoff.
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
1:01 AM ET ATLANTA — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid‘s second-round series against the Atlanta Hawks went from historical comparisons to the “Big Dipper” — Wilt Chamberlain — to a big oh-fer in the second half of Monday’s 103-100 loss that tied things up 2-2. Embiid went 0-for-12 in the second half, accounting for the
1:01 AM ET Their final moments weren’t elegant, and they might have been the beneficiary of some extenuating circumstances surrounding the health of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, but the Atlanta Hawks are — improbably — only two games away from the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. On the first of March, the Hawks were 14-20
7:35 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The three finalists for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award — Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green — were among the 10 players named to the NBA’s All-Defensive teams Monday night. Gobert, who claimed his third Defensive
6:25 PM ET The NBA’s Competition Committee met Monday to further explore rule changes to restrict the unnatural motions surrounding jump shots that players are using to draw fouls, sources told ESPN. The league wants to limit ability of players – including crafty stars like James Harden, Luka Doncic and Trae Young – to lean
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
4:29 PM ET Jazz guard Mike Conley will not play Monday in Game 4 of Utah’s postseason series against the Clippers because of a right hamstring strain. Conley has been sidelined since June 2 and hasn’t played yet in this best-of-seven series. The Jazz enter Monday’s road game with a 2-1 series lead. Conley, 33,
1:51 PM ET Injuries to Kyrie Irving and James Harden have flipped the odds on the Brooklyn Nets–Milwaukee Bucks‘ Eastern Conference playoff series, putting sportsbooks in a unique position where the current favorite to win the NBA title is now an underdog in the conference semifinal round. The Bucks tied the series 2-2 with a
12:47 PM ET Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni will interview Monday for the Portland Trail Blazers‘ vacant head-coaching position, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Portland, seeking a replacement for Terry Stotts, also will interview Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Spurs assistant Becky Hammon this week, sources told Wojnarowski. Blazers general manager Neil Olshey said last
1:17 AM ET For a moment, as he broke into the open court all alone, it looked like Chris Paul was thinking about dunking it. It would’ve been an emphatic final statement on the series, the play to cap off the complete dominance his Phoenix Suns showed over the Denver Nuggets throughout. But there were
9:00 AM ET The first online sports betting app tethered to a Major League Baseball venue launched last week at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and will be followed later this year by the opening of a retail sportsbook on the premises. BetMGM launched its betting app with the Nationals on Thursday. The app can
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
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
8:16 PM ET In the second quarter of Game 4, the All-Star got an entry pass in the middle of the paint before an unlucky step turned his right ankle, knocking him out for the rest of the second-round playoff series. That was Giannis Antetokounmpo last year against the Miami Heat, when a sprained ankle
4:50 PM ET Nets guard Kyrie Irving exited Game 4 of Brooklyn’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday and was ruled out for the remainder of the game with a sprained right ankle. Irving was injured with 6:04 left in the second quarter when he landed awkwardly on Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s foot
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