NBA News

The first round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets continues on Tuesday. L.A. looks to take further control of the matchup and protect homecourt by going for 2-0. Start time and TV schedule Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets Advertisement When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Apr. 21 Where: Crypto.com Arena Watch: NBC, Peacock Just when it looked like the Lakers …

A playoff series can turn at any time. The San Antonio Spurs handled the Portland Trail Blazers at home in Game One on the back of a historic playoff debut from Victor Wembanyama. There were moments, however, where it looked like the Blazers could make it an interesting game, including big runs in the third and fourth quarters, that cut …

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, James Harden added 28 and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 115-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Evan Mobley had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who had at least three players score at least 25 …

Game Story 21-2. Twenty-One to Two. That is the run that was set to this entire game. Unfortunately for the Minnesota Timberwolves, it did not come in their favor. While so much can change after the first 12 minutes of game-time, there is no worse way to start a game off. Advertisement Worst of all, it came without MVP finalist …

If it feels like we’ve seen this movie before, it’s because we kind of have. Two years ago, Minnesota trailed Denver by 20 in Game 7 of their series, only to stage one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history and win to advance. This time was only 19 points, and it’s just Game 2, but you get the idea. …

San Antonio Spurs centre Victor Wembanyama has been named the NBA’s defensive player of the year. The 7ft 4in France international is the first unanimous winner in the award’s 43-year history having secured all 100 of the first-place votes. Advertisement At 22, he is the youngest player to win the award and the second to win it within their first …

DENVER (AP) — Jaden McDaniels took perhaps his most notable shot after Minnesota’s 119-114 playoff win at Denver in Game 2 on Monday night. The Timberwolves forward pretty much labeled all the Nuggets’ players bad defenders. Thrown in there were All-Stars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Advertisement “Go after Jokic, Jamal, all the bad defenders,” said McDaniels, who had 14 …

Orlando Magic (45-37, eighth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference) Detroit; Wednesday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Pistons -9.5; over/under is 218.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Magic lead series 1-0 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Orlando Magic visit the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The …

Late Monday night, when the questions stopped and the cameras turned off, Josh Hart remained in his seat at the podium for a few moments. He’d just answered a few questions about the Knicks’ brutal Game 2 loss. Advertisement Normally, players get up and head home after their postgame interviews, but Hart stared straight ahead with a look of frustration …

The Nuggets appeared to be cruising to a 2-0 series lead Monday night as they opened a 44-25 lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves. But the Timberwolves rallied to take the lead in the second quarter. And they rallied again in the fourth against a Nuggets team that looked outmatched and out of gas down the stretch to stun the Denver …

Phoenix Suns (45-37, seventh in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Thunder -17.5; over/under is 214.5 Advertisement WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Thunder lead series 1-0 BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference first round with a 1-0 lead in …

NEW YORK — Downstairs, the call was being made for the first bus to leave Madison Square Garden. Jonathan Kuminga, fresh off a 19-point outburst off the bench, was seated at his locker, shirtless, eating a plate of chips and guacamole (with one chocolate chip cookie on the side), listening to “If I ruled the World” by Nas, featuring Lauryn …

Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves are still standing. The Timberwolves, despite falling into a 19-point hole early at Ball Arena on Monday night, rallied back to knock off the Denver Nuggets 119-114. That evened up their opening-round playoff series, which has easily been the most competitive across the league so far this postseason, as it heads to Minneapolis for …

CJ McCollum heard it from a hostile MSG crowd after kicking Jalen Brunson in the groin on a jump shot during Game 1. The hometown fans gave him a warm welcome again for introductions ahead of Game 2, and they let him hear it even more after he got face-to-face with Knicks guard Jose Alvarado following an offensive foul call …

NEW YORK — The version of the Atlanta Hawks that entered the 2026 NBA playoffs is drastically different from the one that began the campaign back in October. Franchise centerpiece Trae Young is gone; so, too, is key offseason addition Kristaps Porziņģis. The team dramatically reoriented its identity in early January, changed its starting lineup in February, and hit the …

Well, that was a wild half of playoff basketball. The Denver Nuggets raced out to a 44-25 lead and appeared to be cruising to a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night. But the Timberwolves punched back with a 39-25 advantage in the second quarter by repeatedly attacking Denver’s interior defense and almost went into halftime with the …

Even with the Knicks’ fourth quarter collapse, they had an opportunity to hang on for the Game 2 victory at the buzzer. Atlanta’s CJ McCollum played the villain role perfectly all night long, racking up a game-high 32 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field after hearing it from the MSG crowd. Advertisement The veteran missed a pair of massive …

The Cleveland Cavaliers rode their three best players (Mitchell, Mobley, and Harden) for 83 points to take a 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Raptors. Let’s go over today’s winners, because there were no losers. Advertisement WINNER – BAGcourt It was somewhere between Donovan Mitchell’s second windmill gather and James Harden’s third step-back jumper of the game that I realized …

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers grinded out a sometimes ugly 115-105 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. Much of that success was due to their defense and how they shut down forward Brandon Ingram, thanks in part to the services of Dean Wade. Toronto’s leading scorer was held to just seven points …

Well, CJ McCollum and the Atlanta Hawks are headed home with an even series after all. The Hawks, despite trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, absolutely shut down the New York Knicks in the final period to grab a 107-106 win in Game 2 of their opening-round playoff series. That tied things up 1-1 as it shifts back …

DENVER (AP) — Timberwolves coach Chris Finch hasn’t gotten over the free-throw disparity in his team’s series-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets. “Maybe we ought to start flopping, too,” Finch said before Game 2 on Monday night. Advertisement More specifically, he was agitated about Jamal Murray going 16 for 16 from the free-throw line. Finch called Murray’s 16 attempts a …

CLEVELAND — It wasn’t pretty, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did enough to grab a 2-0 series lead in what became a somewhat physical game. They defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-105 and are firmly in the driver’s seat as the series shifts north of the border. Head coach Kenny Atkinson was concerned about his team’s intensity level to start Game 2 …

The Cleveland Cavaliers protected home court, as expected, as they walked away from Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors victorious and in great position to close out this series sooner rather than later. Despite just modest bench production — 19 points to Toronto’s 45 — Cleveland’s starting lineup and potent offensive system was simply too much for …

NEW YORK (AP) — Backup Mouhamed Gueye bruised his right hip early in Game 2 of the playoffs Monday night, but was able to return to the game late in the first half for an Atlanta Hawks team in need of healthy big bodies against the New York Knicks. Gueye had just come into the game in the first quarter …

Victor Wembanyama was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year Monday, April 20 and made history twice: becoming the first unanimous pick for the award and the youngest winner. Wembanyama, 22 years 106 days, is also the first winner under 23 years old to win the award. The previous youngest winner of DPOY was Dwight Howard, who was 23 years, …