NBA

12:21 PM ET The Los Angeles Lakers are on the market looking to hire a new head athletic trainer after injuries ravaged their 2020-21 season. Nina Hsieh, promoted to head trainer two years ago, did not have her contract renewed, sources told ESPN. Hsieh worked for the franchise for more than a decade, beginning as

2:30 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Looking back on it now, there was no way to see what Terance Mann did in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 131-119 series-clinching win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night coming. No way. Anyone who says they foresaw the second-year player scoring 39 points to send the Clippers to

12:50 AM ET LOS ANGELES — Patrick Beverley, Terance Mann and Marcus Morris Sr. stood on the court and urged the first sellout crowd at Staples Center in over a year to cheer even louder as history was unfolding in dramatic fashion. For the first time in their 51-year history, the Clippers are going to

9:15 AM ET The Boston Celtics are trading Kemba Walker and their 2021 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a package that includes Al Horford, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Along with Walker and the No. 16 overall pick in 2021, the Celtics are also sending a 2025 second-round pick to the Thunder

1:03 AM ET Tim BontempsESPN With his team’s season on the line, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo entered Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals with a clear goal in mind: to attack every chance he could. After so much of this series has been dominated by chatter about his wayward jump shot, Antetokounmpo ensured

8:18 PM ET The LA Clippers will have to try to clinch their first trip to the Western Conference finals without Kawhi Leonard in Game 6. Coach Ty Lue said Leonard remains out for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz with a sprained right knee. Leonard could miss the rest of this series and longer

4:15 PM ET Rick Carlisle — who led Dallas to the 2011 NBA championship — informed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban on Thursday that he won’t be returning as coach next season, Carlisle told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Carlisle had two years left on his contract. He spent 13 seasons as Mavericks coach. “‘After a number of

2:00 AM ET Every person who lived, worked or played in the NBA Bubble in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, last summer was affected by the experience — some rather profoundly. Between the isolation, the separation from friends and family, the inability to escape from the game — or even the Disney campus — the challenges

4:59 PM ET As the competitive balance of the NBA playoffs is being compromised by a rash of injuries — with player health affecting just about every second-round series — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James says he saw this coming. Before James offered his best wishes to Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers —

2:22 PM ET Longtime Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson is out after 24 seasons with the franchise, the team announced Wednesday. Nelson’s departure comes after internal friction due to the increasing decision-making influence of Mavericks director of quantitative research and development Haralabos Voulgaris, sources told ESPN. Voulgaris, a former professional gambler hired

1:30 AM ET When an all-time great player is having an all-time great game, especially in the NBA playoffs, there’s a feeling that starts to envelop an arena as people start to realize this is a time-and-place moment. The collective adrenaline forces perspective on the spectators — and it can include the players and coaches

11:55 PM ET Kevin Durant showed out in Game 5 for the Brooklyn Nets. He played all 48 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he looked unstoppable in the 114-108 win. Durant finished with 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and Twitter couldn’t do anything but respect what he accomplished. From LeBron James and

7:00 AM ET NBA Insiders While the Phoenix Suns put their feet up after an impressive sweep of MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, six teams continue to fight for the three remaining spots in the NBA conference finals. No matchup has more storylines than Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks, which is locked at

12:20 AM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email print With the LA Clippers trying to hit their stride in their second-round NBA playoff series with the Utah Jazz, Kawhi Leonard appeared to be at the height of his powers with a monstrous dunk late in the first half. LA entered Monday night’s Game

4:51 PM ET Nets star Kyrie Irving will miss Game 5 against the Bucks on Tuesday with a sprained right ankle, coach Steve Nash told reporters Monday. Irving, hurt in Game 4 on Sunday, had an MRI that showed the sprain. Nash added that he has “no idea” whether Irving will be able to return

12:47 PM ET Brooklyn Nets assistant Mike D’Antoni will interview Monday for the Portland Trail Blazers‘ vacant head-coaching position, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Portland, seeking a replacement for Terry Stotts, also will interview Clippers assistant Chauncey Billups and Spurs assistant Becky Hammon this week, sources told Wojnarowski. Blazers general manager Neil Olshey said last

10:40 PM ET Game 4 of the NBA playoff series between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns took a dramatic turn when Denver big man Nikola Jokic, the league’s newly crowned MVP, was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter and the Nuggets trailing the Suns by 8. Jokic

10:06 PM ET With the Denver Nuggets on the brink of playoff elimination, league MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected from Sunday night’s game with a Flagrant 2 foul after taking a wild swing in frustration at Phoenix Suns guard Cameron Payne. After a lengthy review, Jokic was handed the Flagrant 2 and ejected from Game