Basketball

2:19 AM ET Kendra AndrewsESPN SAN FRANCISCO — On a night that every Golden State Warriors player to play meaningful minutes finished in double-figure scoring, it was their defense that propelled them to their 112-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. Heading into this series, the Warriors were

1:22 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO — Something has dawned on Stephen Curry as the Golden State Warriors stage their first legitimate title quest in nearly three years: He’s now the old guy. “When I look at some of those guys, you’re reminded of how young they are,” Curry said, contemplating the NBA’s starscape while the

6:59 AM ET All odds are provided by Caesars Sportsbook. What you need to know for Game 1 Interesting interior: The Warriors are the most perimeter-oriented team in the league, and the Mavs will likely attempt to limit the 3-point damage during this series. Considering that 68.3% of Andrew Wiggins‘ field goal attempts this postseason

8:36 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN For the fourth time in franchise history, the Orlando Magic have won the NBA lottery and will pick No. 1 in the 2022 NBA Draft. Orlando had a 14% chance to get the top pick along with the Houston Rockets and the Detroit Pistons. It’s the Magic’s first chance to

1:37 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN MIAMI — The Boston Celtics exited their locker room at halftime Tuesday night firmly in control of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. But then the third quarter happened. And, after the Miami Heat demolished the Celtics, outscoring them 39-14 and using their physicality to send Boston into a

6:03 PM ET The Boston Celtics say Al Horford and Marcus Smart are both out for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat on Tuesday night in Miami. Horford is in the league’s health and safety protocols, the team announced. Smart won’t play due to midfoot sprain suffered in Boston’s Game 7

8:00 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN To understand the depths of animosity between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics entering this year’s NBA Eastern Conference finals, you have to go back to an otherwise nondescript regular-season night in March 2013. That night in New Orleans, a Heat public relations official approached the team’s traveling media contingent

9:24 PM ET The NBA on Monday said it’s in the process of gathering more information after veteran point guard Rajon Rondo allegedly threatened a woman with a gun at her house last week. The woman filed for an emergency protective order against Rondo on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky, a copy of which was obtained

3:26 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is questionable for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat with a right midfoot sprain, coach Ime Udoka said Monday. Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Smart had an MRI on the foot Monday that came back clean, and that Smart

8:00 AM ET And then there were four teams left standing in the 2022 NBA playoffs. After the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns — last year’s NBA finalists — were knocked out in Game 7s on the same day, the 2021-22 season is one step closer to crowning a new champion. The Boston Celtics overcame

10:13 PM ET PHOENIX — The Western Conference Finals will have a surprise participant after Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks dismissed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in completely dominant fashion. The Mavericks claimed the right to advance to face the Golden State Warriors by rolling to a 123-90 rout of the Suns in Sunday’s Game

2:22 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN BOSTON — Robert Williams III will be available for the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, but he may not play his normal minutes — if he plays at all. Celtics coach Ime Udoka said Williams, who has missed

8:25 AM ET Which NBA contenders will join the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors in the conference finals? Sunday’s Game 7s feature two series that could not be more different. The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) have each bruised their way into their finale, each winning classics on the opponent’s

5:00 PM ET ESPN News Services MILWAUKEE — The Bucks have canceled a watch party for Sunday’s Game 7 against the Boston Celtics after 21 people were injured in three separate shootings near an entertainment district in downtown Milwaukee at the end of the team’s Game 6 Eastern Conference semifinals loss Friday night. A spokesman

2:05 AM ET MILWAUKEE — The Giannis Antetokounmpo–Jayson Tatum rivalry is here. It is defining the present of the Eastern Conference and may extend well into the future. Antetokounmpo is putting up Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal numbers. Tatum is breaking the records of all those retired jerseys for his 75-year-old storied franchise that has

12:44 AM ET Jamal CollierESPN MILWAUKEE — Three people were shot near Deer District outside Fiserv Forum near the conclusion of Friday night’s Game 6 between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, sending fans there fleeing through the streets. The Milwaukee Fire Department said one man and one woman shot were transported to the

5:20 PM ET Tim BontempsESPN CAMDEN, N.J. — Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said coach Doc Rivers will return next season for a third year with the franchise. “I just think he’s a great coach,” Morey said during Friday’s exit interviews after the Sixers were eliminated the previous night on their home

12:45 PM ET Andrew LopezESPN MILWAUKEE – Boston Celtics forward Robert Williams III is still questionable for Friday night’s Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks because of left knee soreness. However, Boston coach Ime Udoka clarified that the soreness is not stemming from his surgery last month to repair the meniscus his Williams’ left knee.