NBA News

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Lakers were far from perfect with their game plan execution during Tuesday’s 108-90 Game 1 loss to the Thunder at Paycom Center. But they did enough to hang around against the defending NBA champions. Advertisement They disrupted Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s offensive rhythm with aggressive defensive coverages. They took care of the ball in the …

According to Michael Grange, the Utah Jazz outbid the Toronto Raptors for Jaren Jackson Jr. during the trade deadline. From Grange: leading up to trade deadline in February, the Raptors were working hard to try and make a deal that would land them Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies before he was ultimately traded to the Utah Jazz in …

Well, that wasn’t a particularly encouraging loss. Despite facing a Thunder team coming off a week of rest, the Lakers were the ones who looked out of sorts for most of Tuesday’s Game 1 loss. While they didn’t trail by 30 at halftime — an improvement over the last two trips to Oklahoma City — it never really felt like …

Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference) Detroit; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Pistons -3.5; over/under is 216 EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Pistons lead series 1-0 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The …

OKLAHOMA CITY — Lakers head coach JJ Redick could only look toward the sky midway through the third quarter, uttering a slew of words not suitable for a national broadcast as he watched his defense momentarily break down, resulting in a wide-open Lu Dort triple and a Cason Wallace point-blank layup. A deficit that had been as small as four …

The Oklahoma City Thunder proved too strong for the Los Angeles Lakers to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA’s Conference semi-finals. The defending champions are the Western Conference’s top seed and made a strong start to the best-of-seven series with a 108-90 win at home on Tuesday. Advertisement The Thunder produced a balanced offensive performance while their defence restricted …

Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Thunder -15.5; over/under is 209.5 Advertisement WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Thunder lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 …

In the playoffs, rotations shrink, but perhaps Lakers head coach JJ Redick will have to open his up a bit. The Lakers had only eight players who logged at least 10 minutes and with so many subpar performances, someone else needed to be called upon. The Thunder had 10 players play more than 10 minutes and they got great production …

Right before Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder tipped off on Tuesday, May 5, Lakers head coach JJ Redick took a seat on the bench, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He’s going to need to take a few more throughout this series. Advertisement Because even though the Lakers led for …

The Cleveland Cavaliers missed an opportunity to steal Game 1 against the Detroit Pistons. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers. LOSER – Turnovers Cleveland turned it over 20 times tonight, allowing 31 points off those turnovers. That might be the fastest way to guarantee yourself a loss on the road. Advertisement The ball was especially slippery for James Harden …

Lakers coach JJ Redick was succinct about what it was like for his group to face the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder during the regular season. “We sucked against this team,” he said pregame. Advertisement The Lakers lost all four regular-season games against the Thunder by double figures, making L.A.’s 108-90 defeat to Oklahoma City in Game 1 of …

The Los Angeles Lakers lost forward Jarred Vanderbilt early to a gruesome finger injury on Tuesday night. Vanderbilt went up to try to block Oklahoma City Thunder star Chet Holmgren at the rim in the Lakers’ Game 1 loss, but he missed and ended up smacking his right hand hard against the backboard at the Paycom Center. As Holmgren went …

OKLAHOMA CITY — Chet Holmgren had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Los Angeles Lakers 108-90 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell each added 18 points for the Thunder. The defending champions improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, despite missing 2025 All-Star Jalen …

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series. Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 …

DETROIT (AP) — Jalen Duren delivered for the Detroit Pistons when they needed him most, making plays at both ends of the court against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Duren had three dunks, two rebounds and a block in a 67-second stretch to break open a tie game and Detroit went on to beat Cleveland 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 …

The injury luck for the Los Angeles Lakers, somehow, just got worse. Backup forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a right hand injury on Tuesday, May 5 during the second quarter of Los Angeles’ conference semifinal game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Advertisement The injury took place with 5:51 left in the first half, when Vanderbilt’s fingers swiped against the left side …

The Cleveland Cavaliers erased an 18-point deficit to tie the Detroit Pistons midway through the fourth, but an inability to get stops and scores when they needed them wound up in Detroit escaping with a 111-101 Game 1 victory. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents that player performing to our expectations …

DETROIT — Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series. Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern …

Turns out smack-talking officials on Twitch comes with a cost. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown learned this the hard way. The NBA announced Tuesday, May 5 that Brown has been fined $50,000 for comments he made during a Twitch livestream Sunday, May 3, one day after the Celtics fell in Game 7 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. …

The Detroit Pistons sprinted out of the gates of Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night. From there, they held on against a Cleveland team that found its rhythm on offense, but ultimately made too many mistakes in a 111-101 Pistons win. Advertisement With the win, Detroit secured its fourth-straight postseason victory to take a 1-0 lead in the …

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown $50,000 for public criticism of game officials following Boston’s first-round exit from the playoffs. The fine was announced by NBA Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations James Jones on Tuesday night, two days after Brown said in a livestream he hosts that game officials “clearly had …

The back half of the NBA conference semifinals tipped off with another pair of series openers. In the first game Tuesday, May 5, the No. 1 Detroit Pistons hosted the No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers, while the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder continued their championship defense at home against the No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers. Advertisement The interesting thing to note …

NEW YORK — To hear Nick Nurse tell it, it all came back to those high ball screens. Time and again in his postgame remarks after a tip-to-tail annihilation to tip off the 2026 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Philadelphia 76ers head coach pointed to a string of defensive possessions early in Game 1 on which it seemed his team had …

Not everyone was over the moon that Victor Wembanyama broke the NBA playoff record for most blocks in a game during Game 1 of the conference semifinals between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves, Monday, May 4. The 2026 Defensive Player of the Year finished with 12 blocks on the night, passing the previous mark by two. He also …

DALLAS (AP) — Masai Ujiri hadn’t even taken a question from reporters as team president and alternate governor of the Dallas Mavericks when he tacitly acknowledged the chaotic 15 months that have enveloped the franchise. “Listen, I hope to bring calm,” Ujiri said Tuesday in opening remarks at his introductory news conference just a few moments after trying to soothe …