3:15 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Boston Celtics will enter Game 2 of their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night as significant underdogs. But veteran center Tristan Thompson said that despite Brooklyn’s obvious star power, the Celtics remain confident in their ability to go toe-to-toe with their opponents. “I mean, listen, if
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11:14 AM ET Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was
11:02 AM ET Marc J. Spears NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the formation of a new business investment entity called NBA Africa on Monday that includes investments from former star players. NBA Africa will conduct the league’s business endeavors in Africa, including the new Basketball Africa League (BAL). Investors include two Nigerian businessmen as well
7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA playoffs tipped off this weekend, and all eight Game 1s are in the books. On Saturday, the Brooklyn Nets and their Big Three took down the Boston Celtics; Khris Middleton‘s overtime game-winner propelled the Milwaukee Bucks past the Miami Heat; and the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers
1:55 AM ET The big stage and bright lights of the 2021 NBA playoffs didn’t prove to be too much for several young stars making their playoff debuts Sunday, as they did everything from hitting game-winning shots to setting franchise records. Using data from the ESPN Stats & Information group, here’s an All-Star team of
2:40 AM ET Memphis Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks oozed confidence before, during and after scoring 31 points in Sunday’s 112-109 upset win over the top-seeded Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series. The 25-year-old set the tone for the rest of his teammates while repeatedly silencing a loud Salt
11:47 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young played in his first career playoff game on Sunday evening. His teammate Lou Williams was playing in his 72nd. As the Hawks stood in the huddle with 9.8 seconds left — with the screams of 15,000 New York Knicks fans raining down upon them —
10:10 PM ET Anthony Davis sounded the alarm after the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 99-90 Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday: It’s time for him to step up. “There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that
10:11 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — There are few people in the NBA today who know what it’s like, and what it means, to truly make Madison Square Garden shake. Tom Thibodeau, however, is one of them. In 1999, Thibodeau was an assistant on Jeff Van Gundy’s coaching staff with the New York
7:21 PM ET Dallas Mavericks power forward Maxi Kleber had no regrets about ending up on the wrong end of a Kawhi Leonard highlight but believed the LA Clippers‘ reaction to the spectacular dunk crossed the line. Kleber fell on his backside on the baseline after Leonard’s thunderous dunk over him in transition with 3:59
5:12 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers may be the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but they had their hands full with the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards on Sunday afternoon, escaping with a 125-118 victory to open the best-of-seven first-round playoff series. For those who expect the Sixers to cruise past their underdog opponents,
5:27 PM ET ESPN News Services Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will not play against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday night. Mitchell has been working toward his return from a sprained right ankle. He has been sidelined for five weeks after suffering the injury on April
4:40 PM ET Chris Paul returned in the second quarter of the Phoenix Suns‘ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday after suffering a right shoulder contusion. With the Suns up 11 in the second quarter, LeBron James leaped over Paul for an offensive rebound and putback layup, drawing L.A. within 38-29 with
1:04 PM ET The NBA is eager to restart the conversation with its teams and the players’ association about adding a midseason tournament to the league’s calendar, sources told ESPN. Commissioner Adam Silver, a proponent of the idea, has gained optimism that the success of the play-in tournament could drive momentum to reengage teams on
3:21 AM ET On the eve of opening weekend for the NBA playoffs, members of the Phoenix Suns organization gathered together to pop bottles of champagne. They might as well have been on ice for a decade. For the first time since 2010, the Suns are back in the postseason, thanks in large part to
2:53 AM ET Facing the presumptive MVP of the league, the Portland Trail Blazers approached Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets with a bold strategy: Let Nikola Jokic score. “We want him to score and not get his teammates involved,” Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic said. “When he scores, I think we have a better chance.
12:51 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Ever since the Brooklyn Nets put together their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden four months ago, the basketball world has waited to see what these Nets would look like in the playoffs. While it took a bit for the show to get
9:13 PM ET LOS ANGELES — There are a lot of things different inside Staples Center, and all NBA arenas, this season. Cardboard fan cutouts and masks — including for the 7,000 fans allowed in for the LA Clippers‘ 113-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western