NBA News

CLEVELAND — Jarrett Allen tied his playoff career high with 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 114-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of their series Sunday night. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 22 points and James Harden added 18 in a series in which …

This is the real Eastern Conference Finals. (That is with all due respect to Detroit and Cleveland, but neither of those teams has looked on the level of New York or Philadelphia in the playoffs.) This is also a showdown between two teams that looked like the best version of themselves in the first round of the playoffs, after leaving …

The Detroit Pistons fought back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Orlando Magic in the NBA play-offs and advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Pistons won the final match of their best-of-seven series 116-94, their first play-off series win since 2008. Advertisement They are the 15th team in NBA history to come back from 3-1 down, and the …

Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30, fourth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (60-22, first in the Eastern Conference) Detroit; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Pistons -3; over/under is 213.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Pistons host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Pistons host the Cleveland Cavaliers to begin the Eastern Conference second round. Detroit and Cleveland tied the regular …

Los Angeles Lakers (53-29, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (64-18, first in the Western Conference) Oklahoma City; Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT LINE: Thunder -16; over/under is 213.5 Advertisement WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Thunder host first series matchup BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers to open the Western Conference second round. Oklahoma …

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jarrett Allen is usually laid back before games, including interacting with the crowd during the last minute of pregame warmups. That wasn’t the case Sunday night as he played in his first Game 7. Advertisement Not only was the veteran center even more pumped up than usual, he had a game to remember. Allen’s 22 points and …

Jaylen Brown never shies away from voicing his opinion and that didn’t change following the Boston Celtics’ 109-100 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Brown went on the streaming platform Twitch on Sunday, May 3 to discuss what happened in Game 7 and spoke about the officiating. Brown had been critical of the officiating during the regular season and believes it …

CLEVELAND (AP) — Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett did everything they could to try to get the Toronto Raptors into the Eastern Conference semifinals. However, a couple of key injuries and a more veteran group ended the Raptors’ first playoff trip in four years. Advertisement Barnes had 24 points and Barrett added 23 in the Raptors’ 114-102 loss to the …

The conference semifinal matchups are set. Cavs-Pistons and Sixers-Knicks in the East. Lakers-Thunder and Timberwolves-Spurs in the West. Which teams will advance to the NBA’s final four? And what has been the biggest takeaway of the playoffs so far? Let’s break it down. Sixers-Knicks: Who wins? Tom Haberstroh: Knicks in 7. I can’t wait to see the Joel Embiid and …

The Cleveland Cavaliers did enough to get past a plucky Toronto Raptors team that put up a much better fight than we thought going into the series. Now, they have their hands full against a 60-win Detroit Pistons team. The Pistons didn’t look like the juggernaut they were in the regular season in the first four games of their first-round …

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Raptors 4-3 to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. Donovan Mitchell 22 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers Advertisement This wasn’t a great game from Mitchell, per se. We’ve seen him play much better than this. But compared to his …

The Cleveland Cavaliers are moving on, courtesy of a certain Fro. Let’s check on tonight’s winners and losers. WINNER – Jarrett **c**** Allen I’m not sure if there was a more encouraging way for the Cavs to exorcise some demons and advance to the second round than Jarrett Allen going full-on beast mode in a Game 7. Advertisement Are the …

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 32 points and 12 assists, Tobias Harris added 30 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 116-94 in Game 7 on Sunday to win a playoff series for the first time in 18 years. Cunningham averaged 32.4 points for Detroit, which last won a postseason series by beating Orlando in the second …

For the final 27 minutes of Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers that a lot of people expected to show up in Game 1 — the one with more talent than their Toronto opponents — finally showed up. In the final three minutes of the second quarter through the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers shot 51.5% from the floor, …

CLEVELAND — To say losing Game 7 to the Toronto Raptors would be disastrous for the Cleveland Cavaliers is an understatement. Eight years of building led to the most expensive roster in the league that traded for a 36-year-old former All-Star at the deadline just to save this season. Dropping this game would’ve been an indictment of every decision the …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. While the Minnesota Timberwolves have listed Anthony Edwards as “questionable” for Game 1 against the San Antonio Spurs, a logical mind doubts the superstar will return just yet. Advertisement These Timberwolves vs. Spurs predictions and NBA picks understand Minnesota needs to adjust its …

With Game 7 in the balance Sunday, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus randomly headbutted Toronto Raptors All-Star Scottie Barnes. Strus was issued a flagrant 1 foul after a replay review. He was lucky to have avoided a flagrant 2 penalty and an ejection. Advertisement The incident took place late in the third quarter as the Cavaliers held a 76-61 lead. …

CLEVELAND (AP) — Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday because of a sore right heel. “The injury right now is such that he needs to rest and go easy on his heel and we’ll see where he is at after this,” coach Darko Rajakovic said …

There’s a reckoning due in Denver after a stunning first-round playoff loss to a Minnesota Timberwolves team that played two-plus games without Anthony Edwards and Donte Divincenzo. Per multiple reports, it won’t come on the sideline. Nuggets head coach David Adelman is expected to return next season according to the Denver Post’s Bennett Durando and ESPN’s Shams Charania. But anybody …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The Minnesota Timberwolves already sprung one upset this postseason, three of their four wins against the Nuggets in the first round coming as underdogs. Now the San Antonio Spurs await, with both a rest advantage and homecourt advantage. Advertisement This Timberwolves vs. Spurs …

Despite having one of the world’s best players in Nikola Jokić and benefiting from the best season of Jamal Murray’s career, the third-seeded Denver Nuggets saw their season end prematurely at the hands of the injury-ravaged Minnesota Timberwolves. This, at a bare minimum, raises questions. Advertisement Jokić, needless to say, is a keeper. He’s not going anywhere, nor does he wish …

DETROIT (AP) — Paolo Banchero wanted to say the diplomatic thing. He just couldn’t do it. Shortly after Banchero’s Orlando Magic lost 116-94 to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday in Game 7 of their playoff series, he was asked if they have enough talent to win in the NBA. Advertisement Seated on the postgame press conference stage, Banchero hesitated before …

For the most part, ESPN has tiptoed around the situation involving Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini, formerly of The Athletic. On Sunday, ESPN’s Inside the NBA studio show jumped into the fray, with both feet. The show makes “gone fishing” graphics when a team’s season has ended. With the Boston Celtics losing on Saturday night to the …

The Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers and lost Game 7 at TD Garden. At home. To a seven seed. For a franchise built on banners, this collapse was a rare low point, especially since they’ve beaten the Sixers in every playoff series since 1982. Jayson Tatum didn’t play in the season-ending loss because of …

Game 7s have a way of producing unlikely heroes. Enter Tobias Harris. The Pistons’ veteran wing was solid this season (13.3 points per game) but stepped it up in the playoffs, averaging 20.2 points a night. In Game 7 on Sunday, he found another level. He had 19 points in the first half, including scoring 11 straight in the final …