nba Page 220 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Sassy Clippers Once Again Made The Warriors Look Like Frauds
When the Warriors dropped Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, it seemed like it might’ve been because they were overconfident, lackadaisical, and maybe even a little tuned-out. This would seem to have been confirmed by their subsequent 27-point demolition of ...
Rockets Survive Utah's Aggressive Butt Defense, Advance
The Utah Jazz needed a few games to get there, but they finally worked their way into fighting range of the Houston Rockets over the course of their first-round playoff series. The hilarious strategy of defending James Harden’s butt started to yield dividends, and a Rockets offense that scored 122 a...
Jusuf Nurkic Hobbled Over To The Blazers' Game To Rally His Team And Roast Russell Westbrook
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic suffered a horror injury less than a month ago, and even though he remains pretty immobile with a super busted leg, he still showed up to support his teammates Tuesday night. Nurkic wasn’t part of the dogpile after Damian Lillard’s heroic game-winner, but h...
The Denver Nuggets' Great Romance Is In Full Bloom Again
“Their chemistry is almost romantic,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after an 18-point rout of the Spurs in Game 5 on Tuesday. “They care about each other, they love each other. They play for each other. That’s when we’re at our best.”...
The Nets Weren't Ready Yet, But They Will Be
A downcast Jared Dudley should not be the image that endures from Brooklyn’s brief and dramatic stay in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Dudley’s feud with Ben Simmons was entertaining blog fodder (guilty!), but it also clouded a delightful truth: despite a 4-1 series loss against the Sixers tha...
Sports Were Good As Hell Last Night
When God (or whatever you decide is the name of the invisible being you keep nagging for favors for your favorite sports team) stops letting the nutters run the world and starts listening to the constituents, we will get Thunder-Blazers and Knights-Sharks on a loop that never ends, with a crawl acro...
They Are All Good Shots For Damian Lillard, You Absolute Fool
Damian Lillard pulled up from 37 feet and waved goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder. We all saw it. We all lost our minds, and perhaps in a fit of jubilation (or despair, depending on where you live) did or said something we regret this morning. Nobody handled the aftermath of one of the greatest s...
Damian Lillard Eliminates Thunder In Completely Psychotic Fashion
Damian Lillard opened Tuesday night’s Game 5 with a 19-point first quarter, keeping the Blazers close while Oklahoma City made everything thrown even vaguely in the direction of the basket. Lillard finished the first half with 34 points. He opened the second half with an utterly preposterous 30-foo...
Steve Kerr Thinks Russell Westbrook's Media Grudge Is "Dangerous" For The NBA
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is among the most eager and verbose figures in the NBA, which makes him the opposite of Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. Whereas Kerr will take the time to give his thoughts on gun control or own up to his own mistakes, Westbrook has pretty much always been antagonist...
There Should Be More Sweeps
At halftime of Game 4 in the Bucks-Pistons first-round series, Milwaukee found itself down six and on the verge of squandering the chance to match their potential second-round opponents (the Celtics) in sweeping away an inconsequential foe. Giannis and co. had taken not just a 3-0 lead in the series...
Bucks Take Pistons' Best Punch, Then Coolly Dropkick Them Into A Toilet
The Pistons got off to a very good start Monday night, at home, in Game 4 of their playoff series against Central division foe Milwaukee. Blake Griffin was lively; Reggie Jackson poured in 20 first-half points; the Pistons all but played Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton off the court. It was about as...
The Blazers Really Want Russell Westbrook To Keep Shooting
Russell Westbrook’s jumper has never been his best friend, but the relationship between the two has become particularly standoffish in the Thunder’s first-round playoff series against the Blazers. Westbrook keeps asking his jumper if he wouldn’t mind pitching in this time around, maybe help him adva...
Nobody Is Getting Suspended For Leaving The Bench Under This Bucks Assistant's Watch
By now, everyone in the NBA is aware that one of the worst infractions you can commit in a playoff game as a player is leaving the bench during a fight that’s happening on the court. One step in the wrong direction, and a player risks getting suspended for key playoff games. The NBA’s habit of bring...
Not Even A Historically Bad Shooting Night From James Harden Could Stop The Rockets From Crushing The Jazz's Spirits
Given how badly the Rockets had crushed the Jazz in Games 1 and 2, if news were to come out of James Harden breaking some sort of postseason record during Game 3, the underlying assumption would be that it was related to scoring. That was half-true on Saturday in Utah when Harden set the NBA postsea...
![Jared Dudley And Jimmy Butler Were Ejected After A Scrum They Started Got Out Of Hand [Updates]](https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/uxqqt0eruasj2mlbuxr1.png)
Jared Dudley And Jimmy Butler Were Ejected After A Scrum They Started Got Out Of Hand [Updates]
What started out as some beef between Ben Simmons and Jared Dudley has now escalated into Jared Dudley trying to beef with the other stars of the 76ers roster. In the third quarter, Joel Embiid tried to get a block on Nets big man Jarrett Allen—a player Embiid elbowed in the face and then laughed ab...
The Thunder Really Enjoyed Their Flukey Shooting Night Against The Blazers
There’s no secret as to why Damian Lillard was a little bothered on Friday following his game against Oklahoma City. After winning the first two games at home, the Blazers dropped Game 3 against the Thunder 120-108. But though his team still lead the series 2-1, and he was coming off a solid statis...
The Nets Didn't Have A Plan For J.J. Redick, So He Ripped Them Apart
Only a few NBA players qualify as “unguardable.” It’s a weird category: Being unguardable isn’t the same thing as being quantitatively better than everybody else. James Harden, the best scorer in the NBA, almost certainly will bust your ass no matter how you play him, but there’s at least a theory f...
Ben Simmons Definitely Has The Energy For Jared Dudley
Shockingly, the return of Jared Dudley did not tip the scales of the Nets-Sixers series. In Thursday’s Game 3, the Nets were lit up at home, 131-115, even with Joel Embiid in street clothes. Ben Simmons led Philly with 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting, and well-rounded box score aside, he also kept hi...
Derrick White Is Clobbering The Nuggets
Through three playoff games, the San Antonio Spurs have done what they do better than anyone: suffocate the life out of opponents by playing fundamentally sound basketball. On Thursday, with their series tied at 1-1 with the Denver Nuggets, the Spurs shot the lights out, finishing with 52 percent sh...