NBA

12:18 AM ET PHOENIX — After a prolific 31-point first half, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker was forced from his team’s playoff game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday with right hamstring tightness. Booker appeared to suffer an injury with 4:30 left in the third quarter after challenging a Jaxson Hayes dunk in transition.

5:09 PM ET BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets swingman Ben Simmons has been cleared for contact as he continues to make his way back from a back injury that has prevented him from playing since he was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers just before February’s trade deadline. Nets head coach Steve Nash ruled Simmons out of

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN IT WAS AN early April evening, and the Miami Heat had just gone up by 18 points with 1:36 to play against the Chicago Bulls. It was time to call it. So when coach Erik Spoelstra looked down his bench, he called out a familiar name. Udonis Haslem, now 41

1:11 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — 76ers star Joel Embiid heard Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse complain about the way Embiid was officiated in the opener of the teams’ first-round playoff series on Saturday night. So, after Embiid finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and went 12-for-14 from the free throw line — taking

5:16 PM ET MIAMI — A couple of hours after the Miami Heat opened up their postseason run with a dominant 115-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, the NBA announced the finalists for the 2021-22 regular-season awards. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was named one of the top three candidates for Coach of the

8:00 AM ET If NBA fans outside of Pennsylvania didn’t know the name Tyrese Maxey, they sure do now. While the Toronto Raptors were keying in on superstars Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ second-year guard was showcasing why he is such an important player in their success with 38 points in a

8:49 PM ET BOSTON — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving said he was responding to words he heard from the crowd when he flipped off several Boston Celtics fans on two separate occasions during Sunday’s 115-114 loss in Game 1. After the game, Irving made it clear that he would have “the same energy for

1:55 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Tim MacMahon Close ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009 Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Mavericks Appears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic remains unlikely to play in

3:40 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors have a long-standing history of small-ball lineups. During the first championship run of their dynastic era, their small lineup was so lethal it was dubbed the “death lineup.” It has gone through a few different renditions since then, but as the Warriors embark

12:44 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — In the days leading up to the start of the first-round series between the 76ers and Toronto Raptors, the focus was on how effective James Harden would be against Toronto’s long, switching defense. In Game 1 on Saturday night, however, it was another 76ers guard who stole the

11:35 AM ET After running and shooting without back pain for over a week, Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is expected to take the next step on the floor in the coming week and begin practicing against teammates on the court, sources told ESPN on Saturday. His continued progress is fostering hope that Simmons could

8:00 AM ET NBA Insiders The NBA playoffs are here with four first-round games taking place on Saturday and Sunday. In the East, all eyes will be on the Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets series as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving look to upset the No. 2 seed Celtics, who are without injured center Robert

1:07 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN For the New Orleans Pelicans, all seemed lost in the third quarter Friday night in Los Angeles. The team that started the season 1-12 and was 14-32 at its lowest point had fought its way back to 36-46 and grabbed the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference play-in tournament.

12:37 PM ET LA Clippers star Paul George has entered health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 and will miss Friday night’s play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontemps. The winner of Friday’s game earns the No. 8 seed and a first-round meeting with the

8:00 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN THE LINE WAS wrapped around the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was July 5, 2019, and the debut of Zion Williamson was here. After waiting through the first three games, fans were eager to see the main event: Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans taking on the

1:01 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors are back in the playoffs for the first time in two years. And unlike the last time they were in the postseason — and the four times before that — there aren’t many expectations surrounding them. Sure, they are expected to make it

9:00 AM ET Mark Fainaru-Wada Close ESPN Staff Writer Investigative reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit since 2007 Co-author of New York Times best-selling books “League of Denial” and “Game of Shadows” Co-winner, 2004 George Polk Award Steve Fainaru Close ESPN Senior Writer Winner, 2008 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting Four-time first-place winner in

11:02 PM ET Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges struck a young fan with his mouthpiece after he was ejected from the team’s 132-103 play-in loss to the host Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, later calling his actions as he exited the court “unacceptable.” With Atlanta up big in the second half and Charlotte’s season winding