NBA

8:00 AM ET After the many ups and downs of the 2022 Eastern Conference finals, including double-digit wins and injuries to star players, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are facing off for Game 7 in Miami on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET (on ESPN and the ESPN app). The winner will advance to play

5:17 PM ET MIAMI — The NBA announced that it has fined the Miami Heat $25,000 for “violating league rules regarding team bench decorum.” “On multiple occasions, several players stood for an extended period in Miami’s team bench area, stood away from the team bench, and were on, encroaching upon or entering the playing court

1:11 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI — Ahead of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka said that after his team has gone through a roller-coaster ride of a season to get to this point, it is only fitting that this series will come down to Boston having to win

9:08 PM ET Brianna Williams The Los Angeles Lakers secured their new head coach with the hire of Darvin Ham, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Prior to joining the Lakers, he served as an assistant for the defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks. He has worked under Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer since 2013, when the

2:13 AM ET BOSTON — The Miami Heat might have to clear some room in Championship Alley. That’s the name for the path from their home court to the locker room that is filled with wall-sized memories of greatness from Miami’s past. Gary Payton‘s jumper that started their 2006 Finals comeback. Blood dripping down Udonis

8:43 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to be their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Ham, who takes over the Lakers as a first-time head coach, replaces Frank Vogel, who was fired in April after the team went 33-49 and missed the playoffs this season.

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — As they find themselves on the precipice of the 2022 NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics might find motivation in a series that happened a decade ago. The Oklahoma City Thunder were near the top of the basketball world in 2012, having reached the Finals with a roster featuring

11:27 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are heading back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019 and for the sixth time in the last eight years. The Warriors punched their ticket with their 120-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 on the Western Conference

4:30 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN Zion Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions, the New Orleans Pelicans announced Thursday afternoon. The announcement clears the way for Williamson to go through offseason workouts unrestricted this summer as he prepares for the 2022-23 season. Williams missed the entire 2021-22 season after

1:04 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI — The Boston Celtics found themselves trailing the Miami Heat by five, on the road, at halftime of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday night. And yet, the Celtics felt just fine. They couldn’t have played much worse in the first half, committing 10 turnovers and

2:31 AM ET MIAMI — In late January, the San Antonio Spurs traded backup guard Bryn Forbes to the Denver Nuggets. Five months later, that unassuming move has made a major impact on the 2022 Eastern Conference finals. It was the opening of an opportunity for the Boston Celtics that has been fully realized as

2:49 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI — In three of the first four games of the Eastern Conference finals, the team leading at the end of the first quarter has come out on top each time. So, as the Boston Celtics prepare to take on the Miami Heat in Game 5 here at FTX Arena

8:45 AM ET Hanif Abdurraqib If I am being honest with myself, I probably do not love beautiful basketball as much as I’ve convinced myself I do over the past handful of my adult years. Of course, what registers as beautiful is subjective, but in this instance, I am talking specifically about the kind of

1:54 AM ET DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic doesn’t necessarily see any honor in avoiding being swept in the Western Conference finals. He remains focused on beating the Golden State Warriors in the series, regardless of the long odds. The Mavs are attempting to become the first team in NBA history to overcome a

9:09 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN DALLAS — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t want to talk about basketball in his pregame news conference heading into Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Basketball, he said, didn’t matter. “Since we left shootaround, 14 children were killed, 400 miles

1:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — When things have gone poorly for the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, it’s been when they’ve lost focus and allowed the Heat to speed them up and turn them over, leading to fast break points — the one consistent way Miami has scored in this series.

2:06 AM ET BOSTON — Midway through the third quarter Monday night as the Celtics were pushing their lead to as much as 32 points, Rudy Gobert couldn’t resist. “This Boston defense is tough” the Utah Jazz center tweeted. This was both innocuous and accurate at a time when the Celtics were smothering the Miami

3:37 PM ET Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly has agreed to a five-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves that is worth over $40 million and includes ownership equity, making Connelly one of the league’s highest-compensated executives, sources told ESPN. Connelly becomes the second consecutive top basketball executive to leave the Nuggets for a significantly more