9:36 AM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Houston Rockets star James Harden said he “can barely see” after getting hit in both eyes Tuesday night during the first quarter of a 115-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals series. Harden, who had bleeding in both eyes and suffered
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5:13 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors star forward Kevin Durant doesn’t think Houston Rockets guard James Harden is “cheating” the game by playing the way he does. “I wouldn’t say that he has an advantage,” Durant said after the morning shootaround before Game 2 on Tuesday night. “I think everybody, once they
2:17 PM ET Adrian WojnarowskiESPN Once Gregg Popovich formally commits to return for his 24th season as San Antonio Spurs coach, he’s expected to sign a three-year contract that will keep him as the highest-paid coach in the NBA, league sources told ESPN. A Popovich contract extension has been a foregone conclusion for months, but
10:02 AM ET Scott Foster, the referee most reviled by the Houston Rockets, has been assigned to call Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday. Foster, a 25-year NBA veteran, has not worked a Rockets game since James Harden publicly criticized him after the superstar fouled out of Houston’s
7:32 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — Eric Bledsoe was fuming. He knew better than to be baited by Joel Embiid — one of the league’s most notorious trash-talkers — but the game was physical. It happened so quickly: jostling for the rebound, the shove, Embiid tossing the ball at Bledsoe, who fired it back
7:18 AM ET Monday in San Francisco, Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and stars Chris Paul and James Harden spoke in front of cameras about officiating, rebounding and adjustments. There was not a single question or mention of the cloud that’s hanging over their team as they face a 1-0 series deficit in their Western
3:56 AM ET DENVER — Nikola Jokic saw an opening and was dribbling toward the basket with a head of steam when Portland’s CJ McCollum tried to knock the ball away and instead got a piece of Jokic’s face. The Denver Nuggets center was temporarily dazed by the flagrant one foul with 7:35 remaining in
3:34 AM ET DENVER — It was a source of pride for Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers, the way they held their composure in a heated series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with their trash-talking of opponents and the officials. In some ways, they believe that’s why they won the series; they kept
2:09 AM ET TORONTO — Playoff basketball is an exercise in problem-solving. The Philadelphia 76ers came into Game 2 of their series with the Toronto Raptors with several problems, but none more imposing and urgent than Kawhi Leonard. Following Toronto’s 108-95 win in the series opener, Raptors players and coaches were shocked that the Sixers
1:35 AM ET TORONTO — Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown said his team evened up its second-round series 1-1 Monday with a 94-89 win over the Toronto Raptors thanks to one of his players slipping into an alter-ego. Jimmy Butler, with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a blocked shot, became James. “This was