6:00 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN MILWAUKEE — The Boston Celtics have known for the better part of three months now that, if they were going to make it to the NBA Finals, they were going to have to go through the Milwaukee Bucks. And, more specifically, they were going to have to try to slow
NBA
6:38 PM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo has a ritual after losses. He walks into the locker room, undresses, wraps a towel around his lower body, puts protective covers on his toes and plunks his feet into a red bucket that is filled to the brim with ice water. Actually, he ices after
2:59 PM ET Golden State Warriors star guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will play in Game 1 of Golden State’s playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Sunday after being listed as questionable because of ankle injuries. Warriors coach Steve Kerr first announced Curry’s status Sunday afternoon, adding that fellow injured All-Star Klay Thompson
10:21 AM ET Malika AndrewsESPN MILWAUKEE — Before this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo had been accustomed to turning the gym lights on at night. Around 7 p.m., hours after the coaching staff had left and most of the players had retreated to their separate corners of Milwaukee, the Bucks forward would return to the team’s practice
3:45 AM ET DENVER — The Denver Nuggets watched a 17-point lead shrink to two with 52 seconds left Saturday night against San Antonio Spurs, and suddenly Game 7 and what had been an incredible 54-win season was on the verge of slipping away. But then Nuggets guard Jamal Murray rose up and sank a
1:19 AM ET TORONTO — Five minutes into the Toronto Raptors‘ 108-95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series, the crowd at Scotiabank Arena roared in anticipation. The player with possession wasn’t Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry or Pascal Siakam, because Toronto was defending in half court. Sixers center
1:22 AM ET TORONTO — Kawhi Leonard was subbed out of Saturday’s 108-95 Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers with just more than three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Up to that point, he’d made 16 of the 23 shots he’d attempted and 10 of 11 free throws to bring his scoring total
10:05 AM ET Nick DePaulaESPN Throughout the first round of the playoffs, Houston Rockets power forward PJ Tucker has cycled through a rotation of Kevin Durant sneakers from the last decade, breaking out a mix of both new and old. “I’ve known KD for so long,” Tucker said. “We’ve been friends for years and I’ve
7:59 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — James Harden, whose Houston Rockets have been eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in three of the last four postseasons, firmly believes the fourth time will be different. “We’re a very confident group of guys,” Harden said before the Rockets’ practice at Oracle Arena on Saturday, a day before
6:46 PM ET OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr publicly lobbied Saturday for the NBA office to reconsider its procedure for suspending players for technical fouls accumulated in the playoffs, a suggestion he has previously made behind the scenes in the offseason. Players are automatically suspended after receiving seven technical fouls for