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.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The first piece of the 76ers’ offseason is set: Doc Rivers will return to coach next season, early exits and all. Another question mark seems somewhat settled, James Harden wants to stay in Philly and the Sixers want him back.
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.
Max Strus probably couldn’t have envisioned this.
Division II player when he started college. Ended up at DePaul and went undrafted. Bounced around a couple of summer leagues. Went to training camp with Boston and didn’t make the team.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jimmy Butler knocked Joel Embiid out of the playoffs, then walked over to his former 76ers teammate and hugged him, told him he loved him and was proud of him.
Butler then headed out of a familiar court a winner — and straight into another conference finals with Miami.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic has his first victory in an elimination game.
Now the young Dallas superstar gets another one — and another Game 7 to boot.
Doncic scored 33 points and the Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to force a deciding game in the Western Conference semifinals.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 33 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.
The home team has won all six games, none with a final margin closer than seven points.
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.
DENVER (AP) — To think, Nikola Jokic's entry into the NBA was once overshadowed by the introduction of the “quesarito.”
“Hopefully, I’m going to have some percentage from Taco Bell,” joked the Denver Nuggets' newly minted two-time MVP, whose name scrolled across the TV screen during the 2014 draft while the fast-food chain aired a commercial for its new product.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman has been named the NBA basketball executive of the year, the youngest ever to win the award.
Kleiman, 33, is the second executive with the Grizzlies to receive the honor.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA’s championship trophy has a new look, and the league will hand out some new trophies for the first time during these playoffs.
The league unveiled a slightly redesigned Larry O’Brien Trophy on Thursday, plus announced changes to the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy and changes to the design of the conference championship trophies.
Coach Bruce Pearl and Auburn lost two stars to the NBA from what he considered college basketball's best frontcourt.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies fought off elimination with the highest-scoring performance in their franchise's postseason history.
And with All-Star guard Ja Morant cheering from the bench.
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.
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic plays for Denver. And for Serbia.
Both places can once again make the same claim: For the second consecutive season, they’re home to the NBA's Most Valuable Player.
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.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Chris Paul the football player knows he shares a name with a much more famous athlete.
“There might be another named Chris Paul,” he said with a grin. “I think he plays basketball — I’m not sure.”
NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving may have to show the Brooklyn Nets he's more than a great basketball player if he wants a future with the team.
General manager Sean Marks made clear Wednesday that Irving will have to prove a commitment to being available to his team that wasn't there this season.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse will miss Game 6 of Edmonton’s first-round playoff series with Los Angeles after the NHL suspended him one game for head-butting Kings forward Phillip Danault.
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.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid took a shot to the face that not even his mask could help him absorb. He went down in a heap and stayed on the court in pain until he could compose himself.
Game 5 would get worse in so many ways for Embiid and the 76ers.
PHOENIX (AP) — The top-seeded Phoenix Suns looked much more like their old selves on Tuesday night.
All-Star guard Devin Booker said a little time in front of the TV with NBA Coach of the Year Monty Williams did wonders.
PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Suns used a huge third quarter to turn a tight game into a comfortable win.
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.
MIAMI (AP) — Shots fell again for the Miami Heat. They kept Joel Embiid and James Harden in check. Their coach got an in-game massage from DJ Khaled.
Yes, really.
It was that sort of night for the Heat, who — even without everyone getting shoulder rubs — are feeling pretty good about their playoff prospects again.
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.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis All-Star guard Ja Morant is doubtful for the remainder of the NBA postseason after an MRI and further evaluation revealed a bone bruise in his injured right knee.
The Grizzlies said they expect him to make a full recovery.
Becky Hammon's first two games as a head coach in the WNBA went well for the former NBA assistant with the Las Vegas Aces winning both contests.
Next up for the team is a trip to Washington to face a strong Mystics team led by Elena Delle Donne, who has played in just three games over the past two seasons.
NEW YORK (AP) — Perhaps trying to make sure it really happened, more people watched replays of 80-1 underdog Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby than watched it live.
NBC said some 36 million people watched the exciting finish of horseracing's premier event on NBC Sports' social media accounts, including 11.6 million on TikTok, the most ever achieved for a network sports presentation.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Joe Cronin has been named the Portland Trail Blazers' general manager after serving in the interim role since December.
Cronin became interim GM after Neil Olshey was fired following an investigation into allegations of a toxic workplace environment.
MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Lowry's strained left hamstring has sent him back to the bench.
Lowry's leg issue forced the Miami Heat to rule out their starting point guard for Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers.