2:09 AM ET DALLAS — The formula the Dallas Mavericks used to pull off their series-evening 110-104 win in Monday’s Game 2 felt painfully familiar to the Utah Jazz. Without injured superstar Luka Doncic, the Mavs opened the floor by playing five-out offense, consistently exploiting the Jazz’s shoddy perimeter defense to create a plethora of
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4:25 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — With teammates bickering on the sideline and the reigning league MVP having been ejected in the fourth quarter, coach Michael Malone said the Denver Nuggets have to remain intact with their season teetering on the brink. After imploding for the second straight game and losing Game 2 of their
1:11 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — 76ers star Joel Embiid heard Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse complain about the way Embiid was officiated in the opener of the teams’ first-round playoff series on Saturday night. So, after Embiid finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and went 12-for-14 from the free throw line — taking
7:19 PM ET Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Monday. It’s the first DPOY award for Smart, who is the first primary guard to take home the honor since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season. Smart received 257 points (37 first-place votes) to finish
7:18 PM ET Associated Press DALLAS — Luka Doncic is again out for the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their playoff series against the Utah Jazz, even though coach Jason Kidd said the young superstar guard is continuing to make progress in his recovery from a strained left calf. Monday’s Game 2 comes eight
7:39 PM ET Associated Press Mark Williams is the first of Duke’s multiple NBA prospects to say he’s leaving to enter the draft. The 7-foot-1, 242-pound sophomore announced his decision in a social media video Monday evening. “Playing in the NBA has always been a dream of mine, just like how (attending) Duke was when
5:16 PM ET MIAMI — A couple of hours after the Miami Heat opened up their postseason run with a dominant 115-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, the NBA announced the finalists for the 2021-22 regular-season awards. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was named one of the top three candidates for Coach of the
12:15 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN PHILADELPHIA — Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Monday before shootaround ahead of Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers that rookie forward Scottie Barnes won’t play, and that it was unlikely guard Gary Trent Jr. or Thaddeus Young would, either. “Scottie’s out,” Nurse said. “Gary is not here for shootaround,
4:04 PM ET Memphis freshman Jalen Duren will enter the 2022 NBA draft, he told ESPN Monday. “My plan is to sign with agent Chafie Fields of Wasserman and enter the NBA draft,” Duren said. Duren, the No. 7 prospect in the ESPN 100, was named AAC Freshman of the Year and First-team All-AAC after
8:00 AM ET If NBA fans outside of Pennsylvania didn’t know the name Tyrese Maxey, they sure do now. While the Toronto Raptors were keying in on superstars Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ second-year guard was showcasing why he is such an important player in their success with 38 points in a