NBA News

The Philadelphia 76ers are alive! Philadelphia took Game 5 in Boston, 113-97, behind a 28-11 fourth quarter. Joel Embiid led the game in scoring with 33 points and eight assists, while Tyrese Maxey recorded a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds. Boston is up 3-2 in the series and has a chance to close out the series in Philadelphia …

The Knicks took Game 5, 126-97, to put themselves in the drivers seat of the series. New York is up 3-2 with the series back in Atlanta. New York is in a close out position and coming off its best shooting effort of the series in Game 5. The Knicks shot 57% from the field and 42% from three with …

For nine seasons, John Wall was the main attraction in Washington, D.C. The former No. 1 overall pick dazzled with the Washington Wizards, making five All-Star games during his fantastic run with the team. After a few years away, Wall is ready to make his D.C. return. It won’t come with the Wizards, however, it will come at Howard University. …

The New York Knicks will be looking to close out the Atlanta Hawks, but they may have to do so without a key player. Forward Josh Hart left New York’s 126-97 Game 5 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, April 28 in the fourth quarter and did not return to the bench. Advertisement After the game, Knicks coach Mike Brown did not have any …

If the Houston Rockets are going to battle back and force a Game 7 in their series with the Los Angeles Lakers, they’ll have to do it without Kevin Durant. The 37-year-old Durant will reportedly not play in Game 6 on Friday due to an ankle injury, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. After playing in 78 games during the regular …

LOS ANGELES — Entering Game 5, the Lakers were still comfortably in the driver’s seat against the Rockets. Now, the car is slowing down, making a funny sound and the hazard lights are on. Houston took Game 5 in Crypto.com Arena and, suddenly, a matchup that was one game away from a sweep is just one more victory away from …

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers consistently turned the ball over as the Houston Rockets earned a 99-93 victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series on Wednesday, April 29. Now the series might be turning in the Rockets’ favor after winning two straight games and closing the gap after the Lakers built a 3-0 lead to …

So that Game 3 overtime win Friday in Houston was fun, huh? The Lakers needed it, of course. The Lakers wanted it. The Lakers are paying for it. Because LeBron James looked superhuman since playing those 45 minutes, including all five gutsy minutes of ovetime. Advertisement He hasn’t looked great. Not even particularly good, not by his lofty standards. And …

This season never really gave the Golden State Warriors a stable version of themselves. It kept shifting with players in, players out, lineups changing, roles stretching past where they were supposed to go. Some nights it looked functional, some nights it didn’t, and most of the time it felt like they were figuring it out in real time with no …

CLEVELAND – Dennis Schroder spent a few minutes at halftime listing out all of the things the Cleveland Cavaliers should be doing better in Game 5 against the Toronto Raptors. On the top of that list, was getting back to playing their way. “I felt like I had to say something to the group,” Schroder said afterward. “So we can …

There have been 159 times an NBA team has led a series three games to none. There have been 159 times that team has won the series. Marvel in that statistic. Appreciate its power. Wax in its endurance. Embrace its existence. Advertisement Because the Lakers are two losses from blowing it to bits. Lakers guard Austin Reaves tries to control …

The Michael Jordan/LeBron James GOAT debate is heating up again, thanks largely to King James, who had a few things to say about it. They’re very different players, as James rightly notes, but we’re in the Jordan camp for several reasons. Advertisement First, as Muggsy Bogues pointed out, consider their weaknesses. For James, it’s free-throw shooting, basic shooting mechanics, turnovers …

“You have to kill them.” This was JJ Redick’s response when asked about the challenges of closing out a team in a playoff series. His team experienced it firsthand when the Houston Rockets staved off elimination in Game 4. Then, with a chance to deliver the death blow in front of their home crowd, the Lakers once again failed to …

The Golden State Warriors cycled through injuries, lineups, and versions of themselves that never quite stuck. Jimmy Butler III went down. Stephen Curry missed time. Moses Moody didn’t make it through the year. By the end, it felt less like a season and more like something that kept getting interrupted. But even inside all that, there were nights where everything …

The Rockets are coming home to Houston. Not to start their off season, but to play Game 6 of their first round series with the Lakers. The series is now 3-2 in favor of the Lakers, and of course it’s easy to see a world where they Rockets would be ahead 3-2. They aren’t, of course, but they also have …

There’s a kind of relationship that only championship basketball produces. It isn’t friendship or a business. It’s something more volatile than either, built over four title runs, a thousand film sessions, and three knockdown fights a year just to establish the rules. Steve Kerr gave us the most honest line of the entire Warriors postmortem cycle when he told The …

A largely lifeless offensive performance from the Lakers saw the Rockets take a second consecutive win in the series in Game 5 on Wednesday, 99-93. The purple and gold still lead the series 3-2. While Austin Reaves returned for the contest and eclipsed 20 points, few other Lakers showed up as offense was hard to come by yet again. The …

The Cleveland Cavaliers survived a thriller against the Toronto Raptors, largely thanks to Dennis Schroder. Schroder, we all owe you an apology. You might have just saved the season. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. Advertisement Donovan Mitchell 19 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers This started off as another …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James didn’t get overly excited last week when his Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a shocking 3-0 series lead over the Houston Rockets despite playing without their top two scorers. James also isn’t ready to panic after his Lakers lost their second straight potential clincher Wednesday night, putting them halfway to making an unwanted bit …

LOS ANGELES — There was a “here we go again” moment for Rockets fans in the final minutes of Game 5. A LeBron James bucket at the rim had turned a seven-point Rockets lead just 30 seconds earlier into a three-point lead — Houston fans had a flashback to their team’s collapse in the final 30 seconds of Game 3. …

The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back for a huge Game 5 win and a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Raptors. Let’s go over today’s losers. LOSER – The First Half I can’t blame anyone for feeling antsy in the first half. To be honest, if you weren’t starting to worry about a full-blown panic attack, then I don’t know how …

New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Atlanta Hawks (46-36, sixth in the Eastern Conference) Atlanta; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT LINE: Knicks -2.5; over/under is 213.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Knicks lead series 3-2 Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks look to clinch the series over the Atlanta Hawks in game six of the Eastern Conference …

The Houston Rockets forced a Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers, defeating them 99-93 in Game 5, in the first round of the NBA playoffs on April 29. The Rockets one-upped the Lakers, who saw the return of Austin Reaves. He scored 22 points in their Game 5 loss. The Lakers had been without Reaves most of the series …

CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden garnered the most attention in the series of moves the Cleveland Cavaliers made near the NBA trade deadline. However, the Cavaliers would have been in dire straits Wednesday night without Dennis Schroder. Advertisement Schroder scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers came back to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-120 in Game 5 …

The Houston Rockets are still on their back foot, but they’re two wins from achieving NBA history. After trailing by double-digits at one point in the first quarter, Houston roared back to take Game 5 99-93 against the Los Angeles and force a Game 6 in a series they once trailed 3-0. No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 …