3:38 PM ET Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons‘ pain-free progress is fueling hope that he could return in the first-round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, even if it’s just in a 10-15 minute a game role, sources told ESPN on Sunday. The Nets would need to advance out of the Play-in Tournament this week and,
NBA
6:46 PM ET DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic avoided a one-game suspension when the NBA rescinded the technical foul called on him during Friday night’s blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The league office made the determination Saturday after a review of what would have been Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the
8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The NBA regular season’s final weekend is here, and all we know is 48 hours of chaos lie ahead. Thanks to a jumbled seeding picture in both conferences, only a handful of seeds are decided. Here’s a quick rundown of all of it, beginning with the crowded top of the
7:58 PM ET ESPN News Services NEW YORK — Rookie Evan Mobley was back in the starting lineup for the Cleveland Cavaliers for Friday’s key game against the Brooklyn Nets. Mobley missed the previous five games with a sprained left ankle and the Cavaliers lost four of them without their big man. Mobley is a
1:17 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN CHICAGO — After entering the All-Star break tied for first place in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls’ prolonged second-half struggles have seen them fall in the standings as they endure their worst stretch of the season heading into the playoffs. Chicago locked itself into the No. 6 seed in
9:36 PM ET DALLAS — Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be suspended for Sunday’s regular-season finale unless the NBA office rescinds the technical foul called against him after the first quarter of Friday night’s 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was officially Doncic’s 16th technical foul of the season, triggering an automatic one-game
1:21 PM ET LOS ANGELES — LeBron James will not play in the final two games of the Lakers season because of soreness in his left ankle, the team announced on Friday. The Lakers, already eliminated from play-in tournament contention since Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns guaranteed the San Antonio Spurs would finish ahead
12:57 AM ET ESPN News Services DENVER — Nikola Jokic made history on the night his Denver Nuggets clinched a fourth consecutive playoff berth with a 122-109 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jokic became the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season. He had 35 points,
8:22 PM ET Associated Press DENVER — The Memphis Grizzlies would like for All-Star guard Ja Morant to play at least once before the regular season ends. The final decision for Morant’s return rests with the team’s medical staff. “He’s doing great,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said Thursday. “All signs are in a really good
7:42 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that while there was no specific discussion of the impending arbitration between Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers, he said his bigger concern moving forward is “a trend of star players not participating in a full complement of games,” and hopes
12:43 AM ET NEW YORK — For the first time since they both spurned the New York Knicks and joined forces with the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving played together inside Madison Square Garden and helped lead their team to a 110-98 victory over a Knicks team that
7:10 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers listed guard Matisse Thybulle as “ineligible to play” in Thursday’s game in Toronto against the Raptors, a sign Thybulle could also be unable to play in the three road games of a potential playoff series between the two franchises. Last week, ESPN asked the four teams atop
11:51 AM ET Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball will not return for the remainder of the season, the team announced Wednesday. Ball, who has not played since Jan. 14, had surgery on his left knee on Jan. 28 to repair a slight meniscus tear. The team said he is still experiencing pain “with high-level
12:57 AM ET PHOENIX — A season that started with championship promise for the Los Angeles Lakers ended with the pain of failing to even qualify for the play-in tournament. Tuesday’s 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns — coupled with a 116-97 win by the San Antonio Spurs over the Denver Nuggets — officially eliminated
2:26 PM ET PHOENIX — The Los Angeles Lakers will head into a potential elimination game without their leader, LeBron James. James was ruled out of Tuesday’s game against the Phoenix Suns with left ankle soreness, the team announced. It will be James’ third missed game out of the Lakers’ last four. The Lakers, who
8:00 AM ET Could the NBA regular season’s final week decide the 2022 MVP? While Denver Nuggets center and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has the inside track at the award, both he and Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid have plenty to play for down the stretch. (The Nuggets can still capture home-court advantage in the
2:35 PM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said he believes his team’s season got derailed when he injured the MCL in his left knee in mid January. “To be honest, I feel like our season was derailed by my injury,” Durant said after Monday’s practice. “So I’m not looking at it
7:37 PM ET Free-agent guard Luca Vildoza is expected to finalize a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks that’ll take him through the 2022-23 season, sources told ESPN. Vildoza — MVP of the 2020 Spanish ACB League finals — has fully recovered from foot surgery and will be activated for the Bucks in the playoffs, sources