NBA

10:59 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Ever since the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers opened the 2022-23 NBA season, the two rivals seemed destined to meet in the playoffs. Here we are. After the Celtics dispatched the pesky Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 Thursday night — and 11 days after the 76ers swept the Brooklyn Nets

11:18 PM ET ATLANTA — After they were hurt by the last six minutes of Game 5 on Tuesday, the Boston Celtics played that same end-of-game stretch in Thursday’s Game 6 with added urgency, leading to a win that pushed them into the next round of the playoffs. Effective defense and timely 3s from a

4:03 AM ET SACRAMENTO — Over the years, these Golden State Warriors have sent and delivered a lot of messages. Sometimes the coaching staff will splice in a funny video clip with a particular theme, hoping it cuts through and lands. Other times one of the veteran players will speak up, publicly or privately. There

4:02 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair before answering a question at his news conference Wednesday night following the Milwaukee Bucks‘ stunning 128-126 overtime loss to the Miami Heat in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. The Bucks, who owned the

12:59 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — Less than two weeks ago, the Miami Heat were trailing with under five minutes to go in the final Eastern Conference play-in game against the Chicago Bulls. At that point, it was easy to see a world in which the Heat wouldn’t even make the playoffs — and

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN New York Knicks fans spent the summer dreaming Donovan Mitchell would lead their team to playoff victories inside Madison Square Garden. Mitchell was on the court for a pair of Knicks playoff victories at the Garden over the weekend — just not in the uniform anyone around the NBA expected.

2:09 AM ET BOSTON — It was a scene Trae Young had rehearsed in his mind as a kid. Less than 10 seconds remaining. A must-win game. His team on the road, down one point. Basketball in his hands. Make a play. As TD Garden’s fourth-quarter game clock ticked down in Tuesday’s Game 5 against

1:05 AM ET PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns have some flaws and perhaps they still haven’t truly been tested but do they have a hellacious 1-2 punch. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant hit the wounded LA Clippers with an unrelenting barrage of impact plays over the last 10 days, culminating with a narrow and thrilling

5:28 PM ET Sacramento Kings star guard De’Aaron Fox says he is planning to play Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday despite a fractured index finger on his shooting hand. Fox participated in a non-contact practice on Tuesday and told reporters afterward there’s “no ifs, ands or buts. I’m playing.” Fox suffered

4:11 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Hours after coach Taylor Jenkins’ pregame admission that the Grizzlies are “far from where we need to be from a maturity standpoint,” shooting guard Desmond Bane blamed a lack of game-plan discipline for the defensive failure that allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to force overtime in Memphis’ 117-111 Game

10:35 PM ET Associated Press MIAMI — Jimmy Butler had the game of his life, and the Miami Heat had a comeback for the ages. Butler scored 56 points — tying the fourth-best scoring performance ever in an NBA playoff game — and the Heat roared back from 14 points down in the final quarter

1:33 AM ET ATLANTA — Joe Mazzulla had about two minutes to accomplish quite a bit. It was during the first timeout of Sunday’s Game 4 at State Farm Arena — the Boston Celtics led by three points after Derrick White‘s jump shot with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter forced the Atlanta Hawks to

10:01 PM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was trapped with 40 seconds to go in Game 3 of the series against the Sacramento Kings. He had nowhere to move and no one to pass to. He saw the trap and realized there were no real outlets, so instead

11:08 PM ET SAN FRANCISCO — By the time Draymond Green made it to the Chase Center late Thursday night, he knew what needed to be done. Green had watched the Golden State Warriors’ season-saving win against the Sacramento Kings in Game 3 of their best-of-7 first-round series from home after serving a one-game suspension

3:48 PM ET Jamal CollierESPN MIAMI — Giannis Antetokounmpo (back) did individual work on the court at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday afternoon, but Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer did not have further details on his star’s status for Game 4. “We’ll continue to monitor him,” Budenholzer said following a team film session

7:13 AM ET Jeremy WillisESPN.com Is Dillon Brooks just asking to get cooked in Game 3? After Game 2, when the Memphis Grizzlies evened their NBA playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers with a 103-93 win, Brooks, who said LeBron James called him “dumb” for picking up his fourth foul, then Brooks called James

12:01 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks earned a premature exit in Saturday’s Game 3 for poking the bear below the belt. Brooks was called for a flagrant 2 only 17 seconds into the second half after he swiped his left hand into LeBron James‘ groin area as the Los Angeles

12:24 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said his message to both injured superstar Joel Embiid and the rest of his team ahead of Game 4 of their first-round series with the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center was the same: dealing with Embiid’s latest postseason injury is just another