NBA News

The good thing about a defensive battle is that it provides some incredibly compelling basketball, where every shot must be earned, and every make has been fought for. The bad thing about a defensive battle is that sometimes no one makes a shot for five minutes at a time, and you can feel the life force draining from you as …

Philadelphia 76ers (45-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) New York; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Knicks -6.5; over/under is 215 EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Knicks lead series 1-0 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in …

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic and Oklahoma City Thunder guard/forward Jalen Williams have been ruled out of Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night with left hamstring injuries. The teams notified the league on the injury reports they turned in on Monday. Advertisement Doncic was injured in Oklahoma City about a month …

Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) San Antonio; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Spurs -9.5; over/under is 215.5 Advertisement WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Timberwolves lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Timberwolves visit the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in …

A record-breaking defensive performance from Victor Wembanyama was not enough to prevent the Minnesota Timberwolves taking a 1-0 lead against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA’s Conference semi-finals. Wembanyama made 12 blocks – a record for the NBA play-offs – but Minnesota, sixth seed in the Western Conference, upset second seed San Antonio by claiming a 104-102 win on …

NEW YORK — If there was ever any concern that the New York Knicks, coming off their annihilation of the Atlanta Hawks and freshly minted as the new favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA Finals, had spent the last few days getting fat and happy, Mike Brown sought to assuage them. Yes, the Knicks won eight …

With two top-10 defenses facing off, points were always going to be hard to come by in a second-round series between Minnesota and San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama took that to another level — he had 12 blocks in Game 1, the most in a playoff game in 52 years.All of which is why Anthony Edwards’ return from a bone bruise …

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half and the New York Knicks emphatically added to a historic postseason roll by overwhelming the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Knicks became the first team in NBA history to win three straight postseason games …

Rotations are always cut a bit shorter as teams get deeper in the NBA playoffs, but depth players have to stay ready in case their number is called. For the Knicks, that was Ariel Hukporti in Game 1 on Monday night. Advertisement Hukporti saw the floor just three times in New York’s first round meeting with the Hawks, but they …

Victor Wembanyama made a historic defensive stand on Monday night to kick off the Western Conference semifinals. But remarkably, it wasn’t enough to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an early win. The Minnesota Timberwolves surged ahead in the final minutes on Monday night at the Frost Bank Center to grab a 104-102 win over the Spurs in Game 1 …

The Met Gala falls on the first Monday of May every year, which coincides with the NBA playoffs, much to Ben Stiller’s dismay. While the New York Knicks superfan rubbed elbows with Hollywood’s elite at the Met Gala in New York City, the Knicks tipped off Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. “If you …

Victor Wembanyama made a historic defensive stand on Monday night to kick off the Western Conference semifinals. Wembanyama set the NBA’s single-game postseason blocks record on Monday night in the Spurs’ Game 1 matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He had 10 blocks through three quarters at the Frost Bank Center, which is something that only three others had done in …

It was the kind of game where Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey checked out with 6:03 left in the third quarter and Nick Nurse never put them back in. It was the kind of game where Jalen Brunson came out scorching and took over from the opening tip, scoring 27 first-half points on 10-of-14 shooting. It was the kind of …

The Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 in Game 1 of their second round matchup on Monday at MSG. Here are some takeaways… – The Knicks had a bit of a scare just minutes into this one, as Karl-Anthony Towns went down in significant pain after taking a hard fall coming down from an offensive rebound attempt, but he ended …

It wasn’t the historic beatdown the New York Knicks delivered to the Atlanta Hawks to close out their first-round series. But the vibe for the Knicks was the same Monday night as they cruised to a 137-98 Game 1 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Advertisement The win marked their fourth straight in the postseason by 16-plus points and their third …

While everyone’s focused on the NBA Draft lottery Sunday, the actual players making that such an exciting event will get their first official evaluations as NBA prospects in the coming days as well. It’s all happening in Chicago starting Sunday. The NBA Draft combine will take place from May 10-17 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in the second …

Tonight, the third-seed New York Knicks host the seventh-seed Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden for Game One of the Eastern Conference semifinals. A strong Knicks start could shape the series, while the Sixers look to grab a road win in hostile territory. Our heroes enter as roughly seven-point favorites, buoyed by their superior regular-season record, home-court edge, and deeper …

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown had a lot to get off his chest. Less than 24 hours after suffering elimination at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers in a first-round series Boston led 3-1, Brown took to Twitch. On Sunday night, he opened up about several topics — most tied to the team’s historic Game 7 loss, the first time …

With the first round complete, these are going to be the matchups for the second round of the playoffs. Eastern Conference Semi- Finals (1) Detroit vs. (4) Cleveland Game 5: Cleveland at Detroit | Wednesday May 13* Game 6: Detroit at Cleveland | Friday May 15* Game 7: Cleveland at Detroit | Sunday May 17* (2) New York vs. (7) Philadelphia Game 2: Philadelphia …

CINCINNATI (AP) — Adrian “Odie” Smith, whose Hall of Fame basketball career included a college national title with Kentucky, a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics and a 10-year stint in the NBA, has died at age 89. Smith died on April 28th, the University of Kentucky said in a statement. There was no word on how or where …

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Anthony Edwards has been cleared to play Monday night against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, returning 10 days after hyperextending his left knee. Edwards was expected to miss at least the first two games of the series in San Antonio, but the 6-foot-4 guard expedited his …

The 2026 NBA playoffs quickly became a battle of attrition. The number of significant injuries that loom over the start of the league’s four conference semifinals are proof enough. It’s not clear yet when NBA star Jalen Williams will return from injury after missing games in the Thunder’s first-round series. Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, hopes to get back on the floor …

Lakers center Deandre Ayton bounced across the court after practice Monday wearing all black, his chains swaying, his mood jovial as he approached the media to talk about his role in the Western Conference semifinals. His spirits were high for what lies ahead for the Lakers as they prepared to face the best team in the NBA, the defending champion …

DETROIT — Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff has agreed to a contract extension on the heels of Detroit’s first-round playoff series victory over the Orlando Magic. Details regarding the value and length of the extension were not released by the Pistons when they announced the deal on Monday. Advertisement The Pistons have gone 104-60 in regular-season games under Bickerstaff and made …

The Los Angeles Lakers know what they’re up against. “You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not,” LeBron James said of the Thunder after they beat the Lakers in February. Advertisement “I said to a bunch of people yesterday off site talking about this series, to me, the Thunder is one of …