NBA

10:41 PM ET As he sipped his coffee in a Salt Lake City hotel lobby just after the All-Star break, Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni spoke fondly about his professional fit with general manager Daryl Morey. D’Antoni had plenty of experience as a coach who butted heads with front offices when it came to basketball

7:14 PM ET The LA Clippers have blown second-quarter leads of 21 and 16 points in two losses this postseason so far and Marcus Morris Sr. knows the problem. “We just lean on us being as good as we are on paper and not actually finishing the game,” Morris said Saturday, a day after the

7:00 AM ET IT’S A FIVE-POINT game in a 1-1 playoff series and the game clock ticks inside two minutes in the first half when LeBron James goes in his bag. The sequence begins when James snags a defensive rebound and advances the ball up the left side of the court. Once past the massive

11:54 PM ET There are few people in the NBA who dislike each other more than Boston Celtics president Danny Ainge and Miami Heat president Pat Riley — and it has been this way going on four decades. They hated each other in the 1980s, when Ainge was a guard for the Celtics in the

6:00 PM ET Houston Rockets forward Danuel House has left the NBA campus and will not play again this season following a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols, the league announced Friday. According to the NBA, an investigation found that House had an unauthorized guest in his hotel room for multiple hours Tuesday.

7:20 AM ET We’re approaching the halfway point of the 2020 NBA playoffs, our third Game 7 is here, and the East finals start soon. Let’s bounce around the league for a look at what the postseason has given us and what lies ahead. 1. Predatory Kyle Lowry With 60% of Toronto’s starting five slumping

12:44 AM ET There are some quotes that follow a coach his whole career, or at least long enough to become profoundly ironic. When Mike D’Antoni took over as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012 and was asked how he planned to use likely future Hall of Fame big men Pau Gasol and

6:43 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report from Wednesday’s heart-stopping 125-122 victory for the Toronto Raptors over the Boston Celtics said the officials got one key call wrong — and another one right. The document — which analyzed more than 50 decisions the referees did, or

6:00 AM ET With his suits, his hair and his style, Miami Heat team president Pat Riley has long presented a Hollywood image. But those who have worked for him know his mindset is closer to that of a general. Riley’s life has been in basketball, but as someone in his teens and 20s during

11:44 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 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 LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr.‘s status

2:30 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Newly hired Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash said criticism that he “skipped the line” and got the opportunity to coach a presumed NBA championship contender was fair, but that his 18-season Hall of Fame career as a point guard positioned him to have success as a first-time head coach. “Well,

7:25 AM ET You’ve heard the maxim before: The NBA is a make or miss league. But it’s never been more true than in these playoffs. As the best basketball league in the world leans further and further into 3-point shooting, success from beyond the arc is increasingly deciding who wins the highest-stakes games to

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