NBA News

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs, and the two teams will face off again when the 2026 first-round series tips off at TD Garden today. Advertisement Jaylen Brown has delivered an MVP-caliber season, …

CJ McCollum delivered a low blow to Jalen Brunson on the court at Madison Square Garden. He then delivered another one after the game. During the second quarter of the Knicks’ 113-102 Game 1 win over the Hawks on Saturday night, McCollum was given a technical for kicking Brunson right in the midsection while taking a jump shot (he was …

Luke-ah? With star guard Luka Doncic back on the Lakers sideline but still out indefinitely, Luke Kennard did his best impression of the NBA’s leading scorer Saturday, catapulting the Lakers to a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series. Advertisement Kennard drained all five of his three-point attempts, …

At a certain point, you have to stop circling possibilities and just make a call. Nobody enjoys that part, because it means putting something on record and living with it for the next two months. The Celtics enter the playoffs as one of the most difficult teams in the league to pin down. They’ve shown enough to believe in a …

The Lakers limped painfully into the playoffs Saturday night only to delightfully discover a miracle salve. An opponent as mangled as they were. Yes, the Lakers are beginning this tournament seriously hampered by the indefinite absences of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Advertisement But — surprise, surprise — the Houston Rockets showed up with a bad leg of their own, …

The NBA has not seen a reigning champion take its title defense as far as the conference finals, let alone hoist a second consecutive Larry O’Brien trophy, since the Golden State Warriors were cut off at the ankle and calf by the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 Finals. That’s seven straight seasons in which parity has ruled supreme, for better …

Tyrese Maxey may not be on the level of a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, or even Jalen Brunson, but in a first round series against Philadelphia, the Celtics will get an opportunity to test their top-5 defense. When going up against a great player, there are two schools of thought: let them get theirs and shut everybody else down, or cut …

It was only a matter of time. Hack-a-Mitch has become a playoff staple with Knicks opponents given Mitchell Robinson’s well-documented struggles at the free throw line. And it predictably emerged again in the Knicks’ 113-102 Game 1 win over the Hawks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Advertisement Robinson had been impactful on the glass and as a rim …

The San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers took very different paths on their way back to the playoffs after prolonged droughts. San Antonio far exceeded expectations, a 62-20 season that no one saw coming, built on the talents of a young core that appears to have skipped a step or two in just Victor Wembanyama’s third season. Portland on the …

NEW YORK — Not only did Jalen Brunson take one below the belt, he also got criticized on top of it. Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum’s leg kicked out during a jumpshot Saturday, April 18, striking Brunson in the groin, which eventually resulted in a technical foul, upon review. McCollum believes the review happened because Brunson embellished it after the …

According to Fred Katz, the Cleveland Cavaliers will discuss moving Donovan Mitchell if they aren’t able to get an extension done this summer. From Katz: However Cleveland fares over these next two months will mold its future. Harden has a $42 million player option for next season that he’s likely to decline, a league source said. But a longer-term deal …

Across the regular season, the crowd at Lakers games does not rank among the best in the league. The lion’s share of the blame falls on ownership for pricing out the common, diehard fans and replacing them with fans who too often view the game as a status symbol rather than a chance to root on a team they’re a …

The score of this one might suggest that the Rockets weren’t in fact spanked, by the Lakers. They were. This was a wire to wire win for LA, and at no point did it seem like the Rockets were going to push past LA, take a lead, and keep it. The Lakers held the Rockets to 16pts below their season …

Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) New York; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT LINE: Knicks -5.5; over/under is 216.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in …

Toronto Raptors (46-36, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) Cleveland; Monday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Cavaliers -8.5; over/under is 223.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Cavaliers lead series 1-0 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The …

The Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off their injury worries to make a winning start to the NBA play-offs. The 18-time champions were without key players Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Maxi Kleber but 41-year-old LeBron James produced another fine display in a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets. Advertisement The Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks were the …

Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference) Detroit; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Pistons -8.5; over/under is 219.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Pistons host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Orlando Magic in game one of the Eastern Conference first round. Detroit and Orlando tied …

LOS ANGELES — Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night. Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the …

Mike Brown won 53 games in his first year as Knicks coach. His Knicks finished No. 4 on offense, No. 7 on defense and No. 5 in net rating. Strong numbers, solid results. But Brown knows his regular season accomplishments don’t mean much. Advertisement We all know that these Knicks – and their head coach – will be judged on what …

LeBron James has had plenty of special moments in his career, but one stood out following the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. The Lakers opened the second quarter with both James and his son Bronny on the floor, making the pair the first father-son duo in NBA history to log minutes together …

I always find myself wandering through the history of the Phoenix Suns. There is always something tucked away waiting to be found, some random nugget that makes you pause for a second and think, “Huh, I didn’t know that.” At this point I’ve spent enough time digging, writing, and obsessing, including putting together the whole All Time Pyramid project, that …

Could the Sixers upset the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs? It feels highly unlikely, but it would be revenge over four decades in the making. This spring will be the NBA-record 23rd time the two franchises have met in the postseason. It’s a rivalry that favors Boston historically, and, really, in 2026 as well. Still, the Sixers …

NEW YORK — In the first quarter, Jalen Brunson dropped 19 points on 8 field goal conversions. The rest of the game, he would make one more shot. The bench contributed just 20 points the entire contest, well below their regular season average of 31.6 per game. Advertisement Yet, despite the imperfect offense, the New York Knicks toppled the Atlanta …

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 30 points, going 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday in the opener of their first-round playoff series. Jokic had 25 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and a bloody nose in …

Fun fact: Jesse Itzler, who wrote “Go New York Go” is both a Knicks fan and a minority co-owner of the Hawks. Mr. Itzler must have felt some conflicted feelings as he sat down to watch the Knickerbockers host Atlanta in Game One of the Eastern Conference First Round. And it must have been a special kind of sting to …