1:11 AM ET NBA Insiders The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in an unfamiliar position for a defending champion, as the final days of the season see the wounded Western Conference power eyeing the improved health of LeBron James while fighting for playoff positioning. Meanwhile, teams like the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards find
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1:40 AM ET With the addition of play-in games to the 2021 NBA playoffs, the scramble for seeding is wilder — and more important — than ever, with almost every game down the stretch having significant postseason implications. Play-in matchups following Monday’s games Play-in games to be held May 18-21 • How the play-in tournament
10:39 PM ET Adrian Wojnarowski Close Senior NBA Insider Host of The Woj Pod Joined ESPN in 2017 Malika Andrews Close ESPN Staff Writer Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2018 Appears regularly on ESPN Chicago 1000 After missing five weeks with a hamstring injury, Brooklyn Nets star James Harden‘s return is expected to be a
10:00 PM ET Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the remainder of Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with a facial contusion, the team announced. During the third quarter, Irving collided with Bulls center Nikola Vucevic while going up for a rebound. Irving was hit in the face by Vucevic’s elbow.
3:54 PM ET LeBron James will give his injured right ankle one more day of rest Tuesday, when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the New York Knicks. James is targeting a return on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin. Frank Vogel said James was a full participant
7:51 PM ET Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will not play in the team’s last three games of the regular season as he “continues to make progress towards a return” from a sprained right ankle, the team announced Tuesday. He will be reevaluated prior to the start of the NBA playoffs. Mitchell suffered the injury
9:47 AM ET Tech entrepreneur Marc Lore and baseball star Alex Rodriguez’s 30-day exclusive negotiating window to purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves from Glen Taylor has ended without a formal deal. Both sides are continuing to negotiate in good faith in an attempt to reach an agreement and it is possible extension to the window could
12:48 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal called out Kent Bazemore on Twitter Monday night after the Golden State Warriors swingman appeared to take a shot at Beal while weighing in on Stephen Curry‘s place atop the NBA scoring race. During Monday’s shootaround, Bazemore, a close friend of Curry’s, praised his
12:41 AM ET Andrew LopezESPN In last season’s playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies participated in the first play-in game but fell to the Portland Trail Blazers in a close contest. On Monday night, the Grizzlies clinched a return trip to the revised and more advanced play-in tournament, but they don’t want to suffer the same fate.
11:20 PM ET With the addition of play-in games to the 2021 NBA playoffs, the scramble for seeding is wilder — and more important — than ever, with almost every game down the stretch having significant postseason implications. Here’s a breakdown of the key games from Monday and what the results mean for the seedings: