NBA

9:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The scream sliced through a largely empty arena and put a dagger in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ season. Giannis Antetokounmpo had been on a tear to begin Game 4 of the Bucks’ Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Miami Heat, scoring 19 points in 11 minutes,

6:09 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is inactive for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Tuesday against the Miami Heat because of a sprained right ankle. Antetokounmpo clearly tried to get himself ready for Game 5. He was on the court about two hours before game time, getting some shots

7:15 AM ET JAMES HARDEN CROUCHED, waiting for referee Ed Malloy to release the ball into the air. Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis stood three feet away across the center circle. The Houston Rockets‘ superstar is 6-foot-5. Porzingis is one of the tallest and longest players in the league, listed at 7-foot-3. Something didn’t add

12:00 AM ET Danny Ainge was no different than most other Boston Celtics fans in the waning seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With just 0.5 seconds until victory, his team poised to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Boston’s president of basketball operations hollered at his

2:33 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN There’s currently no update on the status of reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for Game 5 after he reinjured his sprained right ankle in the first half of Game 4, but he certainly will try to suit up — if possible. The Milwaukee Bucks now trail 3-1 to the Miami Heat

6:56 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — For many reasons — primarily the loss of NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency — the Toronto Raptors entered the 2019-20 season as the least-heralded league champion since the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Bookmakers in Las Vegas set the line for Raptors wins at

4:30 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks staved off elimination on Sunday, beating the Miami Heat 118-115 in overtime despite losing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to a right ankle sprain in the second quarter. After being fouled by Heat forward Andre Iguodala on a drive into the paint at the

5:50 PM ET Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic is questionable for Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals series against the LA Clippers with a sprained right wrist. Jokic had 26 points and 18 rebounds in the Nuggets’ Game 2 win that evened the series at 1-1. He’s averaging 25 points, 8.7 rebounds and

7:17 AM ET The Milwaukee Bucks of fall and winter were a thing of basketball beauty. Giannis Antetokounmpo was once again building his MVP résumé, while Khris Middleton was continuing to establish himself as one of the NBA’s most versatile scorers, reliable from anywhere on the floor. Watching a fast break conducted by Antetokounmpo was

1:07 AM ET Throughout the course of this long season, the LA Clippers were darlings of sharp bettors and league intelligentsia, even as so many fans and even a healthy percentage of the Clippers’ peers sometimes wondered why. They encouraged injured players to take plenty of time to recover, harped on the long view as

6:33 PM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat with a right ankle sprain. The reigning MVP rolled the ankle during the first half of Game 3, but continued to push through it despite grimacing on some plays throughout the contest. Antetokounmpo refused to make

2:39 AM ET LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Following a six-day layoff after the Los Angeles Lakers made quick work of their first-round opponent, LeBron James said the Houston Rockets’ speed caught his team flat-footed in Friday’s 112-97 Game 1 loss to open up the Western Conference semifinals. “I think it’s the speed,” James said.

2:19 AM ET To those who have done battle with the Houston Rockets the past few seasons as they morphed into the purest form of positionless, small-ball basketball the NBA has ever seen, Friday’s 112-97 dismantling of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series does not come as a

5:02 PM ET LA Clippers power forward Montrezl Harrell has won the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year award, a source confirmed to ESPN. For the third consecutive year, the Clippers have the league’s top sixth man after Lou Williams won the award the previous two seasons. The Clippers now have had the Sixth Man

6:00 AM ET Eric WoodyardESPN Eric Bledsoe has heard the talk. How he was outplayed by fill-in starter Terry Rozier, who rankled Bledsoe on and off the court, causing him to average just 13.6 points per game on 44% shooting in the Milwaukee Bucks‘ seven-game loss to the Boston Celtics in 2018. How a year

1:37 AM ET It’s difficult to doubt the LA Clippers‘ personnel and its potential. Yet coming into this conference semifinals series against the Denver Nuggets, we still hadn’t seen the fully-intact, healthy Clippers play championship-quality basketball for a sustained stretch of time longer than 10 days after the All-Star break and before the March suspension.

6:48 PM ET The Grizzlies‘ Ja Morant has been named the NBA Rookie of the Year. The league announced Morant as the winner Thursday night, saying he received 99 first-place votes and 498 total points in polling of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Heat guard Kendrick Nunn finished second with 204 points. The Pelicans’ Zion Williamson,

9:49 AM ET Hall of Fame guard Steve Nash has signed a four-year contract to become the next coach of the Brooklyn Nets, sources told ESPN. The Nets announced the hiring Thursday afternoon. In recent weeks, Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks have been aggressive in recruiting Nash to make the leap