NBA

1:01 AM ET Their final moments weren’t elegant, and they might have been the beneficiary of some extenuating circumstances surrounding the health of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, but the Atlanta Hawks are — improbably — only two games away from the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. On the first of March, the Hawks were 14-20

11:02 AM ET Stan Van Gundy is out as the coach of the New Orleans Pelicans after just one season with the franchise, sources told ESPN on Wednesday morning. Van Gundy and Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin have been engaged in talks for weeks according to sources. New Orleans finished a

1:30 AM ET When an all-time great player is having an all-time great game, especially in the NBA playoffs, there’s a feeling that starts to envelop an arena as people start to realize this is a time-and-place moment. The collective adrenaline forces perspective on the spectators — and it can include the players and coaches

1:47 PM ET Brooklyn Nets star James Harden is hopeful to play Game 5 against Milwaukee and will test his right hamstring before tipoff Tuesday night, sources told ESPN. Harden, pushing for a chance to play, participated in the Nets’ shootaround Tuesday morning with improvement in his right hamstring, and that prompted the team to

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders While the Phoenix Suns put their feet up after an impressive sweep of MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, six teams continue to fight for the three remaining spots in the NBA conference finals. No matchup has more storylines than Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, which is locked at

12:20 AM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print With the LA Clippers trying to hit their stride in their second-round NBA playoff series with the Utah Jazz, Kawhi Leonard appeared to be at the height of his powers with a monstrous dunk late in the first half. LA entered Monday night’s Game

4:51 PM ET Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss Game 5 against the Bucks on Tuesday with a sprained right ankle, coach Steve Nash told reporters Monday. Irving, hurt in Game 4 on Sunday, had an MRI that showed the sprain. Nash added that he has “no idea” whether Irving will be able to return

10:06 PM ET With the Denver Nuggets on the brink of playoff elimination, league MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected from Sunday night’s game with a Flagrant 2 foul after taking a wild swing in frustration at Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne. After a lengthy review, Jokic was handed the Flagrant 2 and ejected from Game

10:40 PM ET Game 4 of the NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns took a dramatic turn when Denver big man Nikola Jokic, the league’s newly crowned MVP, was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing the Suns by 8. Jokic

4:50 PM ET Nets guard Kyrie Irving exited Game 4 of Brooklyn’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday with a sprained right ankle and did not return. X-rays were negative, coach Steve Nash said afterward. Irving will undergo further testing and treatment. No timetable was given for his return. Irving was

12:14 AM ET Utah Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell exited Saturday’s 132-106 Game 3 loss to the LA Clippers because of pain in his right ankle, but the decision for him not to return was due to the lopsided score. “I feel like I was able to go back, but no need to risk it

5:28 PM ET NBA Insiders Facing the possibility of going down 3-0 to the top-seeded Utah Jazz, the fourth-seeded LA Clippers played their best basketball of the series in a 132-106 win in Game 3. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the way for the Clippers, as both stars eclipsed the 30-point mark in the

4:36 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Danny Green will be re-evaluated in two weeks after an MRI confirmed he strained his right calf, the Philadelphia 76ers said on Saturday. The injury occurred during the Sixers’ victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 on Friday night. The veteran will miss the rest of this series, and

1:24 AM ET Philadelphia 76ers wing Ben Simmons had his hands full on defense in the first half of Friday’s eventual 127-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Trying to keep up with Hawks star Trae Young is no simple assignment. But with the Sixers clinging to a

12:07 AM ET The Atlanta Hawks‘ double-teams came early and often, with help defenders behind them lying in wait. Such is the attention that Philadelphia 76ers center and MVP finalist Joel Embiid demands when he’s working down low. With less room to operate in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals, Embiid was limited

1:27 PM ET Associated Press TORONTO — The shoulder injury that ended Raptors forward Pascal Siakam‘s season early will likely force him to miss the start of next season as well. The Raptors said Friday that Siakam had surgery last week to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, with an anticipated recovery and

2:50 AM ET It is easy to forget — and perhaps healthier — that two teams blew 3-games-to-1 series leads against the Denver Nuggets in last season’s Western Conference playoffs. But fate has matched those teams — Utah Jazz and LA Clippers — against each other in the second round of this year’s playoffs, a

12:58 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Milwaukee Bucks are still breathing in the playoffs — barely. Already trailing 2-0 in an Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Brooklyn Nets, and finding themselves trailing by 3 with 83 seconds to go in Game 3 Thursday night at Fiserv Forum after a Kevin Durant 3-pointer, the Bucks