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Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night.
Jalen Brunson scored 28 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 of his 25 in the second half and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-102 on Saturday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
Jamal Murray shot and made 16 free throws. The entire Minnesota Timberwolves team went to the line 19 times. It was a discrepancy not lost on Minnesota coach Chris Finch.
There’s no substitute for experience, as the Toronto Raptors just learned the hard way, Josh Lewenberg writes.
Kevin Durant was scheduled to miss the Houston Rockets’ playoff opener against the Los Angeles Lakers with a knee injury, leaving both teams without their top scorer to begin the first-round series.
Donovan Mitchell extended his NBA record for 30-point games in series openers to nine with a 32-point effort in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors
Jamal Murray scored 30 points, going 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, and Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-105 on Saturday in the opener of their first-round playoff series.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, no longer the young upstarts, begin their quest for an NBA title repeat on Sunday at home against the Phoenix Suns.
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, Max Strus had 24 off the bench and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 126-113 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The Toronto Raptors failed to get much going in Game 1 of their opening playoff series, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-113 at Rocket Arena Saturday afternoon.
Toronto Raptors guard Immanuel Quickley has been ruled out for Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team announced Saturday morning.
Jalen Green was several feet behind the 3-point line as the shot clock wound down and didn’t have many options, so the Phoenix guard simply squared up and let if fly.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr isn’t sure about his future, saying after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that he’ll take some time to decompress before gathering with the team’s leadership and figuring out what’s next.
Jalen Green scored 36 points, Devin Booker added 20 and the Phoenix Suns locked down Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, winning 111-96 in the NBA’s play-in tournament Friday night.
Paolo Banchero scored 25 points and the Orlando Magic built a 35-point lead in the first half on the way to a 121-90 rout of Charlotte Hornets in a play-in tournament game on Friday night and advanced to a first-round playoff matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
Kevin Durant sustained a right knee contusion during practice this week but the Rockets are optimistic it will not be a significant issue during their first-round playoff series against the Lakers, a source told ESPN.
The two greatest scorers of this generation are matched up once again in the postseason this weekend when Durant and his Houston Rockets visit James’ Los Angeles Lakers. Game 1 is Saturday night in the latest chapter of this friendly rivalry, and the basketball world will be watching.
The NBA playoffs, not awards, drive Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham to chase greatness. A year after Cunningham had a first-round exit in his postseason debut, the point guard is motivated to lead the three-time championship franchise to success it hasn’t experienced in nearly two decades.
LA Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank reaffirmed the team's commitment to Kawhi Leonard long-term at his end-of-season news conference Friday.
The series between the Timberwolves and Nuggets, featuring Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, becomes the third installment over the last four postseasons. Each team has won a series.
Kevin Durant is back in the playoffs after missing out last season and he and the Houston Rockets are hoping to make some noise this postseason.
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