NBA

1:16 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN BOSTON — Every one of the 4,789 fans who entered TD Garden on Friday night came ready to boo Kyrie Irving until their voices were hoarse. But after Boston came away with a stunning 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, those same

5:27 PM ET Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook did not practice Friday and is being listed as questionable for Game 3 of their series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Westbrook rolled his ankle with 10 minutes in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 120-95 Game 2 loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday night and did

1:02 PM ET Milwaukee Bucks starting guard Donte DiVincenzo will miss the rest of the playoffs with a tendon injury in his left foot, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. DiVincenzo left Thursday’s 113-84 win over the Miami Heat in the second quarter due to the injury. The 24-year-old had started 66 games for the Bucks

2:45 AM ET LOS ANGELES — By now, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams knows what’s going on with his star point guard Chris Paul by the look on his face. There’s a look Paul gets when he’s locked in — something between completely-in-control and about-to-jump-into-any-fray — and then there’s the look he had on

1:19 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN The New York Knicks say they have banned a fan who spit on Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young on Wednesday night during Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The Knicks released a statement on the matter on Thursday afternoon. “We investigated the matter and determined that this patron, who

11:30 AM ET The fan who dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook has been banned indefinitely from Wells Fargo Center and has had his Philadelphia 76ers season ticket membership revoked. The 76ers announced the punishment for the unidentified fan Thursday, one day after the incident took place during Philadelphia’s playoff game against Westbrook and the Washington

9:33 PM ET Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook suffered a right ankle injury and left the floor limping in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s playoff game at Philadelphia. Westbrook stepped on 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz‘s foot and rolled the ankle with 10:28 remaining and the Wizards down 17 points in Game 2 of the

6:10 PM ET Meyer Orbach, the second-largest shareholder in the Minnesota Timberwolves, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Wednesday alleging that owner Glen Taylor’s pending sale of the franchise to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez is in violation of the franchise’s partnership agreement, according to a copy of the complaint obtained

11:51 PM ET NEW YORK — After the Nets took a 2-0 series lead over the Celtics on Tuesday, Brooklyn All-Star guard Kyrie Irving contemplated the reception that he would receive from the TD Garden crowd when his team travels to Boston — where he used to play — for Game 3 on Friday. “I

2:12 AM ET For as long as they have shared basketball rights — and hearts — in Los Angeles, there have been remarkably few playoff matchups between the Lakers and Clippers over the years. Like zero, to be precise. Fifteen years ago, the Lakers were one win away from creating the first “Hallway Series” at

7:23 PM ET Associated Press NEW YORK — Julius Randle was voted the NBA’s Most Improved Player on Tuesday after leading the New York Knicks to the playoffs during his best season. Randle was a runaway winner after earning his first All-Star berth in his seventh NBA season, receiving 98 first-place votes from a panel

8:00 AM ET BOBAN MARJANOVIC is singing. Just a minute ago, Boban was talking about growing up in Serbia and being 7-foot-4 and playing for the Dallas Mavericks, but now, he is warbling, in thickly accented English, a Vanessa Carlton song with the joy and energy of a devoted tween. “I’d walk a thousand MILES

12:02 AM ET On the eve of the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, the NBA’s social justice coalition released a statement Monday night calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as a way to honor the memory of Floyd and “others who have been victims of police

11:14 AM ET Brian Windhorst Close ESPN Senior Writer ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010 Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years Author of two books Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell was

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA playoffs tipped off this weekend, and all eight Game 1s are in the books. On Saturday, the Brooklyn Nets and their Big Three took down the Boston Celtics; Khris Middleton‘s overtime game-winner propelled the Milwaukee Bucks past the Miami Heat; and the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers

1:55 AM ET The big stage and bright lights of the 2021 NBA playoffs didn’t prove to be too much for several young stars making their playoff debuts Sunday, as they did everything from hitting game-winning shots to setting franchise records. Using data from the ESPN Stats & Information group, here’s an All-Star team of

4:40 PM ET Chris Paul returned in the second quarter of the Phoenix Suns‘ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday after suffering a right shoulder contusion. With the Suns up 11 in the second quarter, LeBron James leaped over Paul for an offensive rebound and putback layup, drawing L.A. within 38-29 with

2:53 AM ET Facing the presumptive MVP of the league, the Portland Trail Blazers approached Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets with a bold strategy: Let Nikola Jokic score. “We want him to score and not get his teammates involved,” Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic said. “When he scores, I think we have a better chance.