NBA

Sep 11, 2020 NBA Insiders The 2020 NBA playoffs pick up again Tuesday with the Eastern Conference finals, featuring a thrilling matchup of two teams that pulled upsets in the previous round: the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. (The East finals can be seen on ESPN and the ESPN App, including Game 1 on

6:20 PM ET With the Denver Nuggets down 15 heading to the locker room at halftime and their season on the line in Game 6, coach Mike Malone knew he had a big speech ahead of him. And, apparently, he delivered. “This one was my best one ever,” he joked. “It was my best one

6:46 PM ET Doc Rivers cannot play the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year as his sixth man. When trying to comprehend how the LA Clippers have squandered a 3-1 series advantage over the Denver Nuggets — and in spectacular fashion, by losing a double-digit second-half lead for the second straight game in Denver’s 111-98

2:04 PM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni has informed the franchise that he’s becoming a coaching free agent and won’t return to the Rockets next season, D’Antoni told ESPN on Sunday. “It’s with tremendous sadness and gratitude that my wife Laurel and I announce that our incredible journey in

10:41 PM ET As he sipped his coffee in a Salt Lake City hotel lobby just after the All-Star break, Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni spoke fondly about his professional fit with general manager Daryl Morey. D’Antoni had plenty of experience as a coach who butted heads with front offices when it came to basketball

7:14 PM ET The LA Clippers have blown second-quarter leads of 21 and 16 points in two losses this postseason so far and Marcus Morris Sr. knows the problem. “We just lean on us being as good as we are on paper and not actually finishing the game,” Morris said Saturday, a day after the

7:00 AM ET IT’S A FIVE-POINT game in a 1-1 playoff series and the game clock ticks inside two minutes in the first half when LeBron James goes in his bag. The sequence begins when James snags a defensive rebound and advances the ball up the left side of the court. Once past the massive

11:54 PM ET There are few people in the NBA who dislike each other more than Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge and Miami Heat president Pat Riley — and it has been this way going on four decades. They hated each other in the 1980s, when Ainge was a guard for the Celtics in the

6:00 PM ET Houston Rockets forward Danuel House has left the NBA campus and will not play again this season following a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols, the league announced Friday. According to the NBA, an investigation found that House had an unauthorized guest in his hotel room for multiple hours Tuesday.

7:20 AM ET We’re approaching the halfway point of the 2020 NBA playoffs, our third Game 7 is here, and the East finals start soon. Let’s bounce around the league for a look at what the postseason has given us and what lies ahead. 1. Predatory Kyle Lowry With 60% of Toronto’s starting five slumping

12:44 AM ET There are some quotes that follow a coach his whole career, or at least long enough to become profoundly ironic. When Mike D’Antoni took over as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012 and was asked how he planned to use likely future Hall of Fame big men Pau Gasol and

6:43 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report from Wednesday’s heart-stopping 125-122 victory for the Toronto Raptors over the Boston Celtics said the officials got one key call wrong — and another one right. The document — which analyzed more than 50 decisions the referees did, or

7:20 AM ET A lot of fans seem to hate watching James Harden play. I get it. There is a numbing effect to the thump-thump-thump of Harden dribbling 20 times while four teammates stand in places chosen by Harden. But I have a soft spot for the visual Harden experience. He inspires a chess match

11:44 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 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 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr.‘s status

2:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Newly hired Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said criticism that he “skipped the line” and got the opportunity to coach a presumed NBA championship contender was fair, but that his 18-season Hall of Fame career as a point guard positioned him to have success as a first-time head coach. “Well,

7:25 AM ET You’ve heard the maxim before: The NBA is a make or miss league. But it’s never been more true than in these playoffs. As the best basketball league in the world leans further and further into 3-point shooting, success from beyond the arc is increasingly deciding who wins the highest-stakes games to

9:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The scream sliced through a largely empty arena and put a dagger in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had been on a tear to begin Game 4 of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat, scoring 19 points in 11 minutes,

9:03 PM ET Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan won’t be returning to the Thunder next season, sources tell ESPN. Donovan’s contract expired at season’s end and the sides have decided against pursuing an extension. Discussions between OKC management and Donovan were described as collaborative and realistic. The reality of Oklahoma City’s eventual transition toward a