Basketball Page 12 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Sixers stun Celtics to stay alive in series, force Game 6
Joel Embiid tossed in 33 points and added eight assists as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 113-97 Tuesday in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.,Embiid, who missed the first three games of the series following an appendecto...

Rockets superstar Kevin Durant ruled out for Game 5 against Lakers
Houston will once again have to try to postpone elimination without its biggest star, as the Rockets announced late Tuesday that Kevin Durant would be out for Game 5 against the Los Angeles Lakers.,It will be the fourth game out of five missed by Durant in the first-round playoff series.,The 16-time...

Injury-depleted Rockets, Lakers both feeling urgency about Game 5
In a series that has been devoid of impact players, the Los Angeles Lakers will get another chance to advance into the Western Conference semifinals when they play host to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their first-round series on Wednesday.,The Rockets staved off elimination in Game 4 and won the...

Report: NBA finalizing '3-2-1' draft lottery reform proposal
The NBA has shared details of its anti-tanking, "3-2-1 lottery" draft reform plan with team general managers, according to a report from ESPN.,There could be minor tweaks to the proposal ahead of it being voted on by the league's owners on May 28, but the larger points of the plan have a majority of...
J.B. Bickerstaff Is One Loss Away From Being Exposed as a Phony
The Orlando Magic take a 3-1 lead over the top-seeded Pistons, raising major concerns in Detroit....

Damon Jones agrees to plea deal in federal gambling case
Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones accepted a plea agreement, becoming the first to take a deal in the federal gambling investigation that led to more than two dozen arrests.,Jones, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Tuesday,...

Pistons aiming to avoid historic early exit vs. Magic
The Detroit Pistons need a three-game winning streak to avoid joining an infamous list. Only six top seeds in NBA history have flamed out in the first round of the playoffs to a No. 8 seed.,The Pistons trail Orlando 3-1 in their best-of-seven series after a 94-88 road loss on Monday. The series resu...

Celtics' Brad Stevens named NBA Executive of Year
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was named the NBA Basketball Executive of the Year for the second time in three seasons on Tuesday.,Stevens' Celtics finished with the second-best record (56-26) in the Eastern Conference in 2025-26 and secured a top-two playoff seed for...

Sparks tab Stacy Johns as team president
Stacy Johns has been named the president of the Los Angeles Sparks, the team announced Tuesday.,Johns began a short stint as the CEO at Bay FC of the National Women's Soccer League on March 2 but decided to return to Southern California for family reasons. That came on the heels of a five-plus-year ...

Caitlin Clark releasing children's book based on life story
Caitlin Clark is releasing a children's book based on her life story titled "EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams!",Clark's chosen title is a nod to the phrase decorating a wall in her childhood bedroom that read: "The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little EXTRA.",...
Why Top NBA Draft Prospects Aren’t Guaranteed Stars
Breaking down the 2026 NBA Draft class, including top prospects and underrated sleepers....

NBA roundup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder close out sweep of Suns
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 31 points and eight assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder finished off a four-game first-round playoff sweep with a 131-122 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Monday night., ,Chet Holmgren added 24 points and 12 rebounds and Ajay Mitchell had 22 points and six assi...

Nikola Jokic's triple-double extends Nuggets' series with Wolves
Nikola Jokic recorded 27 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets stayed alive with a 125-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of a first-round Western Conference playoff series on Monday.,Jamal Murray scored 24 points, Spencer Jones posted a playoff career-high 20 ...

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder finish sweep of Suns
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 31 points and eight assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder finished off a four-game first-round playoff sweep with a 131-122 victory over the host Phoenix Suns on Monday night.,Chet Holmgren added 24 points and 12 rebounds and Ajay Mitchell had 22 points and six assist...

Magic silence Pistons late to take 3-1 series edge
Desmond Bane scored 22 points and made one of his five 3-pointers with 1:16 left as the Orlando Magic beat the visiting Detroit Pistons 94-88 on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.,Detroit tied the game at 85-all with 5:24 remaining on Ausar Thompson's l...

Nuggets scratch Aaron Gordon (calf) for Game 5
The Denver Nuggets will be looking to avoid elimination in Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves without key contributor Aaron Gordon due to his injured calf.,The team ruled Gordon out Monday evening ahead of the game in Denver. Minnesota leads the first-round NBA playoff series three games to o...

Mavs' Cooper Flagg narrowly wins ROY over Kon Knueppel
In the second-closest vote in the award's recent history, a 100-member global media panel selected Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg as the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday.,Flagg, who earned the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy along with the honor, outpaced his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel...

Home to close, Spurs push to end series with Blazers in 5
Victor Wembanyama is back in full force as the San Antonio Spurs head home looking to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series.,The Spurs claimed a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series Sunday with a 114-97 come-from-be...

Touting their tenacity, Knicks set for another scrap with Hawks
The Knicks will try to ride a tone-setting first quarter from Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks into Game 5 on Tuesday in New York.,The Knicks responded to consecutive one-point losses by securing a seven-point lead after the end of the first quarter in ...

Prosecutors to introduce additional charges in Terry Rozier case
In court Monday to seek a dismissal of federal charges, former Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier learned prosecutors are expanding the case against him with intentions to present new charges to a grand jury.,Federal prosecutors informed Rozier's legal team two hours before a court appearance on Mo...