NBA

2:16 AM ET NEW ORLEANS — Normally low-key by design, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams had cutting remarks about the officiating after the New Orleans Pelicans took Game 4 on Sunday to even the first-round series at 2-2. The Pelicans shot 42 free throws to the Suns’ 15 and it was a 17-2 disparity in

5:06 PM ET Within hours of his planned season debut, Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons reported a return of back soreness on Sunday and has been ruled out for Monday’s Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, sources told ESPN. After approximately 10 days of pain-free ramp up following recovery from a herniated disc, Simmons’ admission

11:39 PM ET SALT LAKE CITY — With their season likely on the line, the Utah Jazz’s franchise cornerstones — who have one of the NBA’s most heavily scrutinized partnerships — connected. The result: A go-ahead alley-oop from Donovan Mitchell to Rudy Gobert that allowed the Jazz to even the series in Saturday’s Game 4.

1:14 AM ET NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant admitted Saturday night that he has been “thinking too much” throughout the first-round series against the Boston Celtics and that it has been a factor in his poor play. After being held to 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting in a 109-103 loss the

1:45 PM ET Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes has been named the 2021-2022 NBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced Saturday. Barnes received 378 points (48 first-place votes). Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley finished in second place with 363 points (43 first-place votes). The 15-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers is the

2:19 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN NEW ORLEANS — The Point God was at it again. Just five days after Chris Paul scored 19 fourth-quarter points to will the Phoenix Suns to a Game 1 victory, Paul scored 19 fourth-quarter points again on Friday night to lead the top-seeded Suns to a 114-111 win over the

12:14 AM ET ATLANTA — Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry suffered a left hamstring injury in the third quarter of the Hawks’ 111-110 Game 3 victory on Friday night. He could only watch from the bench as Atlanta, the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed, erased a double-digit deficit to draw within 2-1 of the

5:20 PM ET Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is experiencing significant pain and discomfort in his right thumb and could get an MRI in the near future to determine whether there is ligament damage, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski. Despite the discomfort, Embiid practiced on Friday and expects to play in Game

11:47 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Charlotte Hornets have fired coach James Borrego, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Borrego, 44, was 138-163 over his four seasons in Charlotte — the last three of which came as the Hornets were rebuilding in the wake of franchise icon Kemba Walker‘s leaving for Boston in free agency in

12:47 AM ET MINNEAPOLIS — In one of the most dramatic comebacks in NBA postseason history, the Memphis Grizzlies clawed their way out of a 26-point hole on Thursday night to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95. Improbably, the Grizzlies now lead the best-of-seven first-round series 2-1. “We all know the game is never over until

6:48 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton will miss the rest of the opening-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls due to a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee, sources told ESPN on Thursday. Middleton will be re-evaluated in two weeks when a timeline on his possible return in these playoffs —

8:00 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN JUST SEVEN MONTHS ago, one of the most important role players on a club desperate to return to its dynastic reign and the son of the legendary Seattle Supersonics’ Gary Payton, was preparing to apply for a desk job in the team’s video department. Seven months ago. Gary Payton II,

11:41 PM ET Brianna Williams Joel Embiid knows what it’s like to be losing on the side of a go-ahead 3-pointer in the NBA playoffs, but that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night. The Philadelphia 76ers star splashed a turnaround three with under one second remaining in overtime to secure a 104-101 win against the

2:43 PM ET Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker is likely to miss Games 3 and 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans with a mild right hamstring strain, but he hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the opening-round Western Conference series, sources told ESPN. The Suns were still evaluating results of an MRI on

12:10 PM ET BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons continues “progressing and moving forward” in his rehab from a herniated disk in his back, but it’ll be up to the former All-Star whether he plays in the first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, coach Steve Nash said. Nash remained noncommittal on a timeline

12:18 AM ET PHOENIX — After a prolific 31-point first half, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was forced from his team’s playoff game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday with right hamstring tightness. Booker appeared to suffer an injury with 4:30 left in the third quarter after challenging a Jaxson Hayes dunk in transition.

5:09 PM ET BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons has been cleared for contact as he continues to make his way back from a back injury that has prevented him from playing since he was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers just before February’s trade deadline. Nets head coach Steve Nash ruled Simmons out of

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN IT WAS AN early April evening, and the Miami Heat had just gone up by 18 points with 1:36 to play against the Chicago Bulls. It was time to call it. So when coach Erik Spoelstra looked down his bench, he called out a familiar name. Udonis Haslem, now 41