Basketball Page 166 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Hawks fire GM Landry Fields, promote Onsi Saleh
The Atlanta Hawks fired general manager Landry Fields on Monday and promoted Onsi Saleh to fill the position.,The team also initiated a search for a president of basketball operations following a 40-42 season that ended with Friday's overtime loss to the visiting Miami Heat in the NBA Play-In Tourna...
Game 2 Likely to Decide Los Angeles Lakers' Fate After Game 1 Rout
After a blowout Game 1 loss to Minnesota, the Lakers face a must-win situation in Game 2 to keep their playoff hopes alive....

NBA roundup: Thunder demolish Grizzlies in playoff opener
Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points off the bench and Jalen Williams added 20 as the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a 131-80 home rout of the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series on Sunday.,The Thunder had plenty of blowout victories in the regular season, setting an NBA r...

Stephen Curry pours in 31 to propel Warriors past Rockets
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 points and Jimmy Butler III added 25 as the Golden State Warriors held off the Houston Rockets 95-85 on Sunday in Game 1 of this Western Conference first-round series.,Curry, who shot 1-for-10 and scored three points in a home loss to the Rockets on April 6, was b...

Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander among MVP finalists
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets, two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder are the finalists for this season's Most Valuable Player award, the NBA announced Sunday.,Gilgeous-Alexander averaged a league-best 32...

Donovan Mitchell, Ty Jerome power Cavaliers past Heat
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Ty Jerome scored 16 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away for a 121-100 victory over the visiting Miami Heat in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.,Backup point guard Jerome, making his...

Celtics erase small halftime deficit to trounce Magic in Game 1
Derrick White made seven 3-point attempts and scored a team-high 30 points Sunday to lead the Boston Celtics to a 103-86 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.,Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 14 rebounds for second-seeded Boston...

Clippers aim to reduce turnovers vs. Nuggets in Game 2
The Los Angeles Clippers did a lot of things right in Game 1 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series, but one area cost them the win against the Denver Nuggets.,Los Angeles had 20 turnovers on Saturday, including seven by Kawhi Leonard, in a 112-110 overtime loss. Because it was just one iss...

Thunder pour it on in 51-point Game 1 victory over Grizzlies
Aaron Wiggins scored 21 points off the bench and Jalen Williams added 20 as the Oklahoma City Thunder earned a 131-80 home rout in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series. ,The Thunder had plenty of blowout victories in the regular season, setting an NBA record for scoring margin in runnin...

As Knicks soar into Game 2, Pistons hope lessons were learned
With the New York Knicks facing an eight-point deficit to the upstart Detroit Pistons entering the fourth quarter on Saturday, Jalen Brunson returned to the locker room to change his sneakers and watched the first few minutes from the bench.,After the fleet-footed Brunson helped the Knicks rally to ...

NBA roundup: Jalen Brunson leads Knicks' 4th-quarter rally past Pistons
Jalen Brunson overcame a slow start to score 34 points as the New York Knicks dominated the fourth quarter in a 123-112 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday.,Game 2 will be Monday in New York before the series shifts to Detroit on Th...

Wolves put aside slow first quarter, take playoff opener from Lakers
Jaden McDaniels collected 25 points with nine rebounds and Anthony Edwards added 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 117-95 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of a first-round Western Conference playoff series., ,Naz Reid score...

Knicks go on 21-0 burst in 4th quarter, beat Pistons in playoff opener
Jalen Brunson overcame a slow start to score 34 points as the New York Knicks dominated the fourth quarter in a 123-112 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.,Game 2 will be Monday in New York before the series shifts to Detroit on Thursday.,The ...

Rockets' rise leads to meeting with former nemesis Warriors
Before entering a protracted rebuild that required five seasons to complete, the Houston Rockets' postseason history was inextricably linked to the Golden State Warriors.,During one five-year stretch last decade, the teams squared off four times in the playoffs. The Warriors won each series, includi...

Nuggets rally late in Game 1, upend Clippers in OT
Aaron Gordon had six of his 25 points in overtime, Russell Westbrook came up with a big defensive play in the final seconds and the host Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday.,"Russ is Russ," said interim Nuggets hea...

Nuggets rally late, upend Clippers in OT in Game 1
Aaron Gordon had six of his 25 points in overtime, Russell Westbrook came up with a big defensive play in the final seconds and the host Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday.,Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points, 12...

Battle-tested Heat ready for top-seeded Cavs
Fifteen years after LeBron James left Northeast Ohio to take his talents to South Beach, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat meet in the playoffs for the first time.,Miami locked up its berth with a 123-114 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, becoming the initial 10th seed to qualify t...

Top-seeded Thunder face Grizzlies with more left to prove
For much of the season, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has downplayed his team's accomplishments, even as the team ran away with the best record in the Western Conference. ,Oklahoma City needs to prove itself in the postseason, Gilgeous-Alexander said. Starting Sunday, the top-se...

Pacers outclass Bucks in series opener
Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam combined for 27 points in a run-away first half, Tyrese Haliburton directed a high-efficiency offense with a game-high 12 assists and the Indiana Pacers opened their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with a 117-98 thumping of the visiting Milwaukee B...

Defensive tussle ahead as Celtics open title defense vs. Magic
The Boston Celtics will continue their quest to win back-to-back NBA championships Sunday when they open the playoffs against the visiting Orlando Magic.,The Celtics, who beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023-24 NBA Finals, are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and are trying to become the fi...