NBA

7:16 AM ET The NBA’s Western Conference finals showdown between the Phoenix Suns and LA Clippers will begin without two of the league’s biggest stars. Suns guard Chris Paul, who remains in the league’s health and safety protocols, has been ruled out of Game 1 (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC) and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard

1:00 AM ET The game could’ve been a movie, the action on the sidelines a soap opera and the dialogue between Kevin Durant and his longtime friend P.J. Tucker a stage play. But for all the drama that spilled on the floor Saturday night in an epic overtime Game 7 that saw the Milwaukee Bucks

6:38 PM ET Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Once again, the Utah Jazz endured a postseason collapse. But making an early exit from the NBA playoffs stung much more this season. The top-seeded Jazz fell to the LA Clippers in six games after blowing a 2-0 series lead. Injuries to All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and

12:21 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers are on the market looking to hire a new head athletic trainer after injuries ravaged their 2020-21 season. Nina Hsieh, promoted to head trainer two years ago, did not have her contract renewed, sources told ESPN. Hsieh worked for the franchise for more than a decade, beginning as

2:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Looking back on it now, there was no way to see what Terance Mann did in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 131-119 series-clinching win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night coming. No way. Anyone who says they foresaw the second-year player scoring 39 points to send the Clippers to

3:47 PM ET ESPN News Services Bradley Beal won a gold medal with USA Basketball 11 years ago, leading the Americans in scoring on their way to an undefeated run at the under-17 world championship. He’s looking for another gold this summer on international basketball’s biggest stage. The Washington Wizards guard has committed to playing

9:15 AM ET The Boston Celtics are trading Kemba Walker and their 2021 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a package that includes Al Horford, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Along with Walker and the No. 16 overall pick in 2021, the Celtics are also sending a 2025 second-round pick to the Thunder

1:15 AM ET NBA fans were anticipating a Brooklyn Nets–Milwaukee Bucks matchup to turn into a classic series. What’s happened is it’s turned into a classic 2021 series. This messy, flowless, injury-riddled, unpredictable and dramatic season has its mascot: a seven-game saga after the Bucks struck back to take Game 6 from the Nets, 104-89

4:15 PM ET Rick Carlisle — who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship — informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Thursday that he won’t be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach. “‘After a number of

3:17 AM ET With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely with a sprained knee, Paul George channeled his old mindset of being the franchise leader in Indiana and produced arguably his finest game and moment as a member of the LA Clippers on Wednesday night. Playing in front of a hostile crowd that has taunted his every

2:00 AM ET Every person who lived, worked or played in the NBA Bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, last summer was affected by the experience — some rather profoundly. Between the isolation, the separation from friends and family, the inability to escape from the game — or even the Disney campus — the challenges

1:01 AM ET Their final moments weren’t elegant, and they might have been the beneficiary of some extenuating circumstances surrounding the health of Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, but the Atlanta Hawks are — improbably — only two games away from the 2021 Eastern Conference finals. On the first of March, the Hawks were 14-20

11:02 AM ET Stan Van Gundy is out as the coach of the New Orleans Pelicans after just one season with the franchise, sources told ESPN on Wednesday morning. Van Gundy and Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin have been engaged in talks for weeks according to sources. New Orleans finished a

1:30 AM ET When an all-time great player is having an all-time great game, especially in the NBA playoffs, there’s a feeling that starts to envelop an arena as people start to realize this is a time-and-place moment. The collective adrenaline forces perspective on the spectators — and it can include the players and coaches

1:47 PM ET Brooklyn Nets star James Harden is hopeful to play Game 5 against Milwaukee and will test his right hamstring before tipoff Tuesday night, sources told ESPN. Harden, pushing for a chance to play, participated in the Nets’ shootaround Tuesday morning with improvement in his right hamstring, and that prompted the team to

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders While the Phoenix Suns put their feet up after an impressive sweep of MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, six teams continue to fight for the three remaining spots in the NBA conference finals. No matchup has more storylines than Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, which is locked at

12:20 AM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print With the LA Clippers trying to hit their stride in their second-round NBA playoff series with the Utah Jazz, Kawhi Leonard appeared to be at the height of his powers with a monstrous dunk late in the first half. LA entered Monday night’s Game

4:51 PM ET Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss Game 5 against the Bucks on Tuesday with a sprained right ankle, coach Steve Nash told reporters Monday. Irving, hurt in Game 4 on Sunday, had an MRI that showed the sprain. Nash added that he has “no idea” whether Irving will be able to return