2:40 AM ET Memphis Grizzlies small forward Dillon Brooks oozed confidence before, during and after scoring 31 points in Sunday’s 112-109 upset win over the top-seeded Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series. The 25-year-old set the tone for the rest of his teammates while repeatedly silencing a loud Salt
NBA
10:10 PM ET Anthony Davis sounded the alarm after the Los Angeles Lakers‘ 99-90 Game 1 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs on Sunday: It’s time for him to step up. “There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that
10:11 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN NEW YORK — There are few people in the NBA today who know what it’s like, and what it means, to truly make Madison Square Garden shake. Tom Thibodeau, however, is one of them. In 1999, Thibodeau was an assistant on Jeff Van Gundy’s coaching staff with the New York
4:40 PM ET Chris Paul returned in the second quarter of the Phoenix Suns‘ first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday after suffering a right shoulder contusion. With the Suns up 11 in the second quarter, LeBron James leaped over Paul for an offensive rebound and putback layup, drawing L.A. within 38-29 with
5:27 PM ET ESPN News Services Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will not play against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday night. Mitchell has been working toward his return from a sprained right ankle. He has been sidelined for five weeks after suffering the injury on April
1:04 PM ET The NBA is eager to restart the conversation with its teams and the players’ association about adding a midseason tournament to the league’s calendar, sources told ESPN. Commissioner Adam Silver, a proponent of the idea, has gained optimism that the success of the play-in tournament could drive momentum to reengage teams on
7:21 PM ET Dallas Mavericks power forward Maxi Kleber had no regrets about ending up on the wrong end of a Kawhi Leonard highlight but believed the LA Clippers‘ reaction to the spectacular dunk crossed the line. Kleber fell on his backside on the baseline after Leonard’s thunderous dunk over him in transition with 3:59
5:12 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN The Philadelphia 76ers may be the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but they had their hands full with the eighth-seeded Washington Wizards on Sunday afternoon, escaping with a 125-118 victory to open the best-of-seven first-round playoff series. For those who expect the Sixers to cruise past their underdog opponents,
2:53 AM ET Facing the presumptive MVP of the league, the Portland Trail Blazers approached Game 1 against the Denver Nuggets with a bold strategy: Let Nikola Jokic score. “We want him to score and not get his teammates involved,” Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic said. “When he scores, I think we have a better chance.
3:21 AM ET On the eve of opening weekend for the NBA playoffs, members of the Phoenix Suns organization gathered together to pop bottles of champagne. They might as well have been on ice for a decade. For the first time since 2010, the Suns are back in the postseason, thanks in large part to