David Brandt, Associated Press | Posted April 26 - 11:34 p.m.
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Anthony Edwards scored 36 points, Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves used a hot-shooting third quarter to beat the Phoenix Suns 126-109 on Friday night and take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series. Minnesota goes for the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix. It was the third straight game the Wolves used a big third to turn a tight game into a comfortable victory. Minnesota hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, to take a 22-point lead into the fourth. Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points while Kevin Durant had 25 and Devin Booker 23.
Schuyler Dixon, Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 10:21 p.m.
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Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the suddenly defensive-minded Dallas Mavericks took a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in LA. The Mavs won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game series loss to the Clippers. Rookie Dereck Lively II scored all 13 of his points in the first half. James Harden scored 21 points for the Clippers, but fellow stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact.
Michael Marot, Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 7:51 p.m.
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Tyrese Haliburton completed a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left, capping his first postseason triple-double in his first home playoff game to give the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Indiana leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Sunday in Indianapolis. Giannis Antetokounmpo again sat out for Milwaukee because of a strained left calf. Haliburton had 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner added 29 points and nine rebounds, both playoff career highs. Milwaukee's Khris Middleton banked in a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds to force overtime and had a chance to force a second overtime, but his 3 bounced off the side of the rim. Middleton finished with a playoff-career high 42 points.
The Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 3:32 p.m.
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Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out of Friday night's Game 3 of their playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, but All-Star Khris Middleton be in the starting lineup. Antetokounmpo has not played since straining his left hamstring April 9. The Bucks made the announcement about the two-time NBA MVP on social media Friday. Middleton sprained his right ankle in Tuesday night's loss to the Pacers. The series is tied 1-1.
Tim Reynolds, Associated Press | Posted April 26 - 12:05 p.m.
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There's a quadrupleheader of playoff games in the NBA on Saturday. Cleveland is at Orlando, Oklahoma City is at New Orleans, Boston is at Miami and then the first possible elimination game of this opening round happens when Denver takes a 3-0 series lead into Los Angeles and tries to sweep the Lakers for a second straight season. The Cavs lead the Magic 2-1, the Thunder lead the Pelicans 2-0 and the Heat-Celtics series is knotted at a game apiece.
Doug Feinberg, Associated Press | Posted April 26 - 11:38 a.m.
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There is a buzz around the opening of WNBA training camps with the arrival of Caitlin Clark, her heralded rookie class and big offseason free agency moves. In addition to the league's success last year, camps open Sunday on the heels of an unprecedented season of college women's basketball. The momentum has led to record-setting viewership of the draft, season ticket sales have skyrocketed and Clark and Angel Reese jerseys have already sold out. But amid all of the excitement there is the stark reality looming. Of the 36 players drafted on April 15, many won't make an opening day roster as there's less than 144 spots available in the league.
Dan Gelston, Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 8:45 a.m.
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Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament. Embiid wore sunglasses to the podium after he scored 50 points in the Sixers' Game 3 win over the New York Knicks and said he's dealth with various symptoms such as blurred vision and dry eyes. Embiid said he first started noticing the affliction about a "day or two" before the Sixers played the Miami Heat on April 17 in the play-in tournament. Embiid had 23 points, 15 rebounds in the win that sent the Sixers to the playoffs.
The Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 7:51 a.m.
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Denver got down double digits and beat the Los Angeles Lakers, again. Joel Embiid had a playoff-career-high 50 points and Philadelphia got back into its series with New York. And the Orlando Magic got a win that their fans waited 13 years to enjoy. Thursday was high-drama in the NBA: Embiid and the 76ers beat New York 125-114 to cut the Knicks' lead in that series to 2-1, the Magic blew out Cleveland 121-83 to cut the Cavaliers' lead in that series to 2-1, and the Nuggets got at least 20 points from four starters and topped the Lakers 112-105 for a 3-0 lead in that matchup.
Greg Beacham, Associated Press | Updated April 26 - 12:05 a.m.
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The Denver Nuggets moved to the brink of the second round with a 112-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the first-round series. Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Jamal Murray added 22 points and Nikola Jokic had 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with the Lakers since 2022. Anthony Davis had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and LeBron James added 26 points and nine assists in the Lakers' seventh consecutive postseason loss to Denver over the past two years.
Dan Gelston, Associated Press | Updated April 25 - 10:09 p.m.
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Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter on Thursday night to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 125-114 win over the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Embiid boldly stated "we're going to win this series" after the 76ers dropped Game 2. With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive. The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.
Dick Scanlon, Associated Press | Updated April 25 - 9:21 p.m.
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Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers' lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2020 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011. Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Tim Reynolds, Associated Press | Posted April 25 - 5:24 p.m.
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Golden State's Stephen Curry led the league in clutch scoring this season, and now he's got another trophy to add to his collection. Curry was announced Thursday night as the NBA's Clutch Player of the Year, adding that award to a resume that includes two MVPs, an All-Star Game MVP, an NBA Finals MVP, a Western Conference finals MVP and nine All-NBA selections. The award is named for Jerry West, someone Curry knows well and someone who once was a consultant for the Warriors.
Steve Megargee, Associated Press | Updated April 25 - 4:07 p.m.
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Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton's status for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers is uncertain after he hurt his ankle in the last game and didn't practice Thursday. Middleton was limping in the first quarter of the Bucks' 125-108 Game 2 loss on Tuesday and briefly went into the locker room. He returned after getting his right ankle re-taped and ended up playing 36 minutes. Milwaukee already played the first two games of this series without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo's potential return date or possible availability for Friday remains uncertain.
David Brandt, Associated Press | Updated April 25 - 4:01 p.m.
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The Phoenix Suns and their so-called Big Three return home to the desert in a big pickle. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the Suns are in a 2-0 hole heading into Friday's Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who looked mostly dominant in a pair of double-digit wins in the first two games. The Suns hoped to be one of the NBA's best teams this year after acquiring Beal in an offseason trade. There are two more Game 3s on Friday, including Bucks at Pacers and Clippers at Mavericks. Both of those series are tied at 1-1.
The Associated Press | Posted April 25 - 9:00 a.m.
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The WNBA draft is over, and superstars like Caitlin Clark are heading toward surefire pro careers. Not all 36 draft picks have such assurances. The league has 144 coveted roster spots among 12 teams, and other options for pro careers in women's basketball either in the U.S. or overseas are scarce. Since 2018, only 65.7% of draft picks have played in a WNBA game at some point in their career.
Brian Mahoney, Associated Press | Posted April 25 - 4:00 a.m.
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The New York Knicks know when it's coming. When they throw a careless pass that leads to a turnover, or hoist a bad shot that ruins a possession, their coach is likely standing on the sideline with arms in the air, furious he's just witnessed such miscues. Like all coaches, Tom Thibodeau doesn't like mistakes and unlike a lot of his NBA brethren, he doesn't bother hiding it from the nearly 20,000 people in the arena watching. Many coaches will try to have a poker face and not react when their players make mistakes. But the Knicks say they are OK with Thibodeau's tantrums because they believe he has them prepared to win.
Cliff Brunt, Associated Press | Posted April 25 - 12:37 a.m.
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Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren won his center matchup with Jonas Valanciunas and helped Oklahoma City beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night. Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds as the Thunder took a 2-0 lead. Valanciunas scored 11 points in the first three minutes but did little damage after that. He finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Valanciunas made 5 of 7 field goals in the first quarter, but 3 of 7 the rest of the game.
Cliff Brunt, Associated Press | Updated April 24 - 11:28 p.m.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Chet Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds and Jalen Williams added 21 points for the top-seeded Thunder. Oklahoma City shot 59% from the field and made 14 of 29 3-pointers. Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points and Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram added 18 each for the Pelicans. New Orleans continued to struggle on offense without top scorer Zion Williamson. He remained out with a strained left hamstring.
Jimmy Golen, Associated Press | Updated April 24 - 9:02 p.m.
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Tyler Herro hit six of Miami's franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics and tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. Herro had 24 points and 14 assists to lead Miami. Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and new Celtics nemesis Caleb Martin also had 21 for the Heat. Miami shot 53.5% from beyond the arc to bounce back after a Game 1 blowout. Jaylen Brown scored 33 points for top-seeded Boston. Jayson Tatum scored 28. The series moves to Miami for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.