5:02 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets are heading toward a Game 7 showdown after things got heated between the teams late in Thursday night’s contest. A scuffle broke out midway through the fourth quarter of Portland’s 119-108 victory, during which Blazers guard Seth Curry and Denver forward Will
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2:47 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — The Process continues. Facing elimination and an offseason rife with speculation were the Philadelphia 76ers to lose, Joel Embiid bounced back to lead a 112-101 win over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night and force a decisive Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. After slogging through Philadelphia’s losses in
1:11 AM ET PHILADELPHIA — From the moment Kawhi Leonard touched the ball on Thursday night in the Toronto Raptors‘ 112-101 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, he encountered multiple bodies. This seems like an obvious response to an attacking wing who has assembled one of the most prolific individual runs in NBA
10:01 PM ET HOUSTON — Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant will not play in the rest of his team’s Western Conference semifinals series against the Houston Rockets because of a right calf strain, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he is confident Durant will be able to return in the conference finals if Golden
6:18 PM ET Associated Press WASHINGTON — NBA commissioner Adam Silver wants half of all new referees joining the league to be women — and he would like to see teams hire female coaches, too. In an appearance Thursday for The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Silver said two of the past five refs added
4:33 PM ET Doug KezirianESPN Close SportsCenter anchor Behind The Bets podcast host Kevin Durant‘s right calf strain has unsurprisingly caused a drastic shift in the NBA playoffs betting market and could produce a different championship favorite for the first time all season. With Durant out for Game 6 Friday against the Rockets, the two-time
3:37 PM ET Marcus Smart was adamant Thursday that Kyrie Irving isn’t to blame for the Boston Celtics‘ failure to meet expectations this postseason. The Celtics were eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks, 116-91 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night. “Bulls—. That’s bulls—,” Smart said when asked Thursday if Irving’s leadership
1:32 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers have regrouped from Wednesday’s breakdown with head coaching candidate Tyronn Lue and plan to interview Frank Vogel for the position, ESPN confirmed. Vogel was flying out to Los Angeles on Thursday for the interview, league sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Vogel, 45, last coached for the Orlando Magic,
8:00 AM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — When you watch the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night, ignore the ripples of euphoria that occur each time Damian Lillard drills a 3-pointer launched from the crossroads of irrational and irresponsible. If your aim is to understand the connection Portland has with its best player, you’re actually better
7:00 AM ET Chris Herring IT’S MARCH 20, and the Philadelphia 76ers are facing their main Eastern Conference foes, the Boston Celtics, for the fourth and final time in the regular season. They’re 0-3 so far. But this night’s true battle — and the evening’s greatest drama — is the one between Joel Embiid and