Jason Kidd has been here before in his first season as coach of the Mavericks, down 1-0 in a third consecutive NBA playoff series.
The Bay Area native is looking for another bounce-back from Luka Doncic and company in his first trip to the conference finals as a coach, which just happened to start in San Francisco.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Khris Middleton might not have been available for the Eastern Conference finals even if the Milwaukee Bucks had made it that far.
The three-time All-Star missed the Bucks’ last 10 games after spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Game 2 of a first-round series with the Chicago Bulls.
PHOENIX (AP) — It was no surprise when Luka Doncic looked ready for Game 7, calmly draining his first three shots to give the Dallas Mavericks an early lead.
The stunner came over the next two hours: The top-seeded Phoenix Suns had no response.
PHOENIX (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 35 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Dallas Mavericks stunned the top-seeded Phoenix Suns with a 123-90 Game 7 blowout Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.
Giannis Antetokounmpo powered his way to the rim, trying to keep the Milwaukee Bucks’ title defense alive. Again and again, the ball just wouldn’t drop.
Layups, putbacks — shots that are usually automatic for the two-time MVP and reigning NBA champion — bounced fruitlessly away.
BOSTON (AP) — In the fog of the Celtics’ Game 5 loss to Milwaukee that dropped his team into a 3-2 series hole, Boston coach Ime Udoka made a prediction.
“It’ll make it sweeter when we bounce back,” he said.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee police on Sunday were investigating three separate overnight shootings in which a 17-year-old boy and two men in their 20s died.
Downtown Milwaukee will be under a limited curfew for the rest of the weekend and a massive watch party scheduled for Sunday has been called off after 21 people were injured in three separate shootings near an entertainment district where thousands gathered for an NBA playoff game.
PHOENIX (AP) — The NBA's long regular season can be tedious, but make no mistake, it matters.
Just ask the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns — two teams who have home-court advantage in Game 7 of their respective second-round NBA playoff series on Sunday thanks to superior regular-season records.
Jayson Tatum scored 46 points, outdueling Giannis Antetokounmpo to make sure there wouldn’t be another Milwaukee fourth-quarter comeback, and the Boston Celtics beat the defending champions Bucks 108-95 on Friday night to force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jayson Tatum wouldn’t let it happen again.
With the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks attempting to complete a fourth-quarter comeback for the second straight game and close out their Eastern Conference semifinal, Tatum made sure the Boston Celtics instead kept their season alive and forced a decisive seventh game.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Boston forward/center Robert Williams missed his third straight game with an injured left knee as the Celtics tried to keep their season alive Friday night in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo is featured in a mural that will give the two-time NBA MVP a larger-than-life presence over downtown Milwaukee all year long.
The mural is 53½ feet high and 56½ feet wide, covering the side of a three-story building.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks want to build off the momentum from a thrilling comeback. The Golden State Warriors seek to put an embarrassing loss behind them as both teams attempt to end their second-round series.
BOSTON (AP) — Bobby Portis made a putback off Giannis Antetokounmpo’s missed free throw with 15 seconds left, Jrue Holiday snuffed Marcus Smart on Boston’s final two possessions and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday night to take a 3-2 series lead.
BOSTON (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks are still alive in the NBA playoffs, but star Giannis Antetokounmpo is already joking about his plans for next year.
BOSTON (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo was having his best shooting night of the playoffs. Milwaukee dominated on the boards. And still the Bucks trailed Boston by 14 points in a game that could send the defending NBA champions to the brink of elimination.
LONDON (AP) — Maybe it’s the ćevapi, or the souvlaki, or the mbanga soup.
Whatever it is, there’s no denying the tinge of international flavor when it comes to the NBA elite with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic winning the league’s MVP award for a second straight season Wednesday.
Bob Lanier, the left-handed big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA’s top players of the 1970s, has died. He was 73.
The NBA said Lanier died Tuesday after a short illness.
The journey of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers from difficult upbringings in Greece to NBA champions is the subject of an upcoming film.
“Rise” debuts June 24 on Disney+, the streaming service announced Tuesday.
Memphis’ chances of staving off elimination are even tougher now.
The Golden State Warriors put the Grizzlies on the brink of the offseason after they rallied late in Game 4 on Monday night to grab a 3-1 series lead as Memphis star Ja Morant sat out with a sore right knee.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks will have two preseason matchups at Abu Dhabi in October, marking the NBA’s first games in the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, leading the Golden State Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback for a 101-98 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Al Horford has played in more than two dozen postseason series in a 15-year NBA career but rarely has outwardly shown much emotion during all those appearances.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Boston Celtics big man Robert Williams didn't play in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Milwaukee on Monday because of soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Physical basketball plays are suddenly coming into question with emotions at an all-time high during these playoffs: So, what becomes too much on the big stage when stars hit the floor hard or get hurt?
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 42 points and made the go-ahead basket with 44.3 seconds left and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a frantic flurry of shots in the final seconds to beat the Boston Celtics 103-101 on Saturday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo found a way to get better shots and recapture his peak form just in time to help the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks regain the lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The quirks of scheduling for the NBA playoffs created three-day breaks between games in the Boston-Milwaukee and Memphis-Golden State series.
In this case, the teams don’t mind the delays too much.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton will miss at least two more games in the Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics as he recovers from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.
ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler says the team won't repeat the mistake of complacency he says set the stage for this season's disappointing first-round exit from the playoffs.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his postseason high and carry the Memphis Grizzlies into a tie in the Western Conference semifinals with a 106-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
BOSTON (AP) — There was a moment during the Celtics’ series-opening loss to the Bucks when it seemed as if Jaylen Brown would never make a shot.
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been ruled out of Tuesday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a bruised right thigh.
Smart was hurt Sunday in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Klay Thompson savored the moment by spending a few minutes on the court after a roller coaster of emotions during the final minute.
He hit the game-winning 3-pointer — only to miss two free throws before getting back on defense to force Ja Morant to miss a layup, giving Golden State a 117-116 win.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left and the Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s first-half ejection to edge the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
BOSTON (AP) — For most of Game 1 of their second-round series opener against Milwaukee, the Celtics did pretty much everything they wanted to on the defensive end against Giannis Antetokounmpo.
They blitzed him early with multiple defenders when he received the ball in the post and forced him into turnovers.
BOSTON (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had already picked up his dribble and spent half of a Eurostep when he realized he had nowhere to go with the ball.
Instead of attempting an off-balance shot or passing to a well-guarded teammate, the two-time NBA MVP flicked the ball high off the backboard, then followed it to the rim for a slam dunk.
BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics’ sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs underscored one thing about Boston's late-season rise to the top tier of the NBA's Eastern Conference: it was no fluke.
Preview capsule for the Boston-Milwaukee Eastern Conference semifinal series that starts Sunday:
No. 2 BOSTON CELTICS (51-31, 4-0) vs. No. 3 MILWAUKEE BUCKS (51-31, 4-1)