Month: April 2015

Windhorst: How injury affects Love's contract decision

The Memphis Grizzlies were so busy finishing off their first-round series they haven’t considered the impact of playing the Golden State Warriors without Mike Conley.

The San Antonio Spurs want to move on. The Milwaukee Bucks are trying to hang on.

The Memphis Grizzlies missed one chance to finish off their first-round series and get some much-needed rest before facing the Golden State Warriors.

Florida coach Billy Donovan is entertaining a move to the NBA again.

Love, who was injured in Cleveland’s series-clinching win at Boston on Sunday, had surgery on his dislocated left shoulder and may need six months to recover.

The Nets could not overcome their sloppy beginning against the Hawks in Game 5, and Atlanta now leads the series, three games to two, as the teams prepare to play Game 6 at Barclays Center.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have confirmed forward Kevin Love is out of the playoffs after “successful” surgery on Wednesday to repair his dislocated left shoulder.

Kevin Love had surgery on his badly damaged left shoulder that could require six months of recovery, officially ending any remote chance he had of returning during Cleveland’s playoff run.

Al Horford banged his dislocated finger and spent much of the game fiddling with it. Jeff Teague twisted his right ankle and hobbled to the locker room for a quick tape job.

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was evaluated and released from the emergency department of a Los Angeles-area hospital on Wednesday, about two weeks after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery, the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center said.

The ball bounced around the rim, and the pivotal fifth game of a thrilling first-round series teetered along with it.

After advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2009, the Houston Rockets shifted their focus to much bigger goals.

Atlanta has to know exactly what Brooklyn is feeling right now.

After evening their Eastern Conference playoff series against top-seeded Atlanta at 2-2, the Nets hit the road for Game 5 with new confidence.

James Harden’s message was simple and clear after the Houston Rockets’ first playoff series victory since 2009.

James Harden had 28 points, and Dwight Howard added 18 points and 19 rebounds for Houston, which will face the winner of the Clippers-Spurs series.

The 6-foot-10 Phillips played alongside the 6-11 Rick Robey on the Wildcats team that won the 1978 N.C.A.A. men’s basketball title.

Nobody was more surprised than Hawks veteran power forward Elton Brand when he received the midnight email last July 1 from Knicks president Phil Jackson. Free agency had begun, and…

After the final buzzer of their Game 4 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, the Portland Trail Blazers all gathered in a huddle at midcourt and raised their clasped hands skyward.

Michael Carter-Williams had 22 points and nine assists, Khris Middleton scored 21 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks avoided elimination again with a 94-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

The Milwaukee Bucks insisted this playoff series was about more than just showing up, taking their beating and learning from it.

Williams matched his playoff-career-high point total with 35, with 16 points in the fourth quarter, as the Nets won at home to tie their series with the Hawks at two games apiece.

Love, Cleveland’s starting forward, has been ruled out for the team’s next playoff series — and perhaps longer — after he sustained a dislocated left shoulder against the Celtics.

Deron Williams finally delivered the game that’s expected of him, and he wasn’t going to let the Nets lose it.

Paul Pierce scored 14 points and received a standing ovation as Washington ousted Toronto in a sweep.

At age 37, Paul Pierce is having a grand ol’ time on this playoff run with the Washington Wizards.

The Grizzlies and Bulls head into their games Monday night in complete control of their respective series, needing just one more victory to advance to the next round.

J.J. Barea last started a playoff game when he helped boost Dallas’ run to a championship four years ago. Al-Farouq Aminu had never been on the floor for the opening tip in a postseason game.

The Santa Cruz Warriors won their first NBA Development League championship Sunday, beating the Fort Wayne Mad Ants 109-96 to complete a two-game sweep.

John Wall twirled a red towel overhead, Paul Pierce motioned to the fans to make more noise, and the sellout crowd of 20,356 chanted “Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!”

Los Angeles’s players, criticized by Coach Doc Rivers after a rout by the Spurs in Game 3, received a wide range of contributions in tying a first-round series at two games each.

LeBron James had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists to thwart Boston, which was swept in a best-of-seven series for the fourth time in its history, but Love injured his shoulder in the first quarter.

The Los Angeles Clippers answered their worst loss in playoff history with one of their most uplifting victories.

Joe Johnson let slip that his teammate Deron Williams might be playing with tendinitis, but Coach Lionel Hollis defended Williams’s play after the Nets’ come-from-behind win over the Hawks.

Stung by the loss of point guard Mike Conley, the Grizzlies gritted out their latest victory over the Trail Blazers.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr dead-panned that he’d be relaxing on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas while waiting to find out who would be the Warriors’ second-round playoff opponent.

The first round of the NBA playoffs seems too easy for LeBron James.

Stephen Curry wasn’t about to say that shooting over Anthony Davis was easy.

Jerryd Bayless made a layup at the buzzer to lift Milwaukee to a victory over Chicago, drawing the Bucks to within three games to one in their playoff series.

Carlisle was fined $25,000 Saturday for criticizing officials after a loss to the Houston Rockets that left his team trailing, 3-0, in a first-round N.B.A. playoff series.

Jerryd Bayless cut right along the baseline, leaving Derrick Rose a couple of steps behind.

If Stephen Curry and Derrick Rose are tired after working overtime, now is the chance to earn some rest.

Kawhi Leonard has a passion for playing defense, but the San Antonio Spurs forward does not want to be regarded a one-dimensional player.

After hitting a 3-pointer to double the Washington Wizards’ lead with 16.3 seconds left, Paul Pierce turned to the stands with arms aloft, nodded and yelled, “That’s why I’m here!”

James Harden scored a playoff career-high 42 points, Dwight Howard had his postseason best with 26 rebounds, and Houston beat Dallas.

James Harden deferred to Dwight Howard and his role players when Houston swept two games at home to open a first-round series against Dallas.

Chicago and Cleveland each lead their series by three games to none, a deficit from which no N.B.A. team has ever recovered.

There are critics of N.B.A. teams’ pregame chapel services, but many people in the league have made the practice an essential part of their pregame ritual.

Stephen Curry wasn’t about to turn down the music, or put any kind of damper on a giddy locker room celebration that seemed more reminiscent of a series-clinching triumph.

One of the most memorable opening rounds in NBA playoff history came last season. One of the least memorable is playing out this season.

Jimmy Butler intercepted the errant pass and darted the other way for a fastbreak basket.

Chicago and Cleveland each lead their series by three games to none, a deficit from which no N.B.A. team has ever recovered.

LeBron James got to the arena early. When he left the Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to put an early end to the series.

Tim Hardaway Jr. has been through three team presidents, two coaches and more teammates he'd care to count in his two seasons after becoming the Knicks' 2013 first-round draft pick….

In theory, this is where the first batches of real postseason trouble are supposed to start presenting themselves to Golden State, Cleveland and Chicago.

The Atlanta Hawks are taking care of business during the NBA playoffs — on and off the court.

Three days from his 39th birthday, Tim Duncan keeps getting better with age. He smartly stayed on the court while playing the last eight minutes with five fouls, and recovered from a woeful fourth quarter to steady the Spurs in overtime.

Mike Conley and Courtney Lee each scored 18 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies grabbed their first 2-0 lead in a playoff series.

Late in the fourth quarter of Game 2, the Nets had a chance to tie the score and potentially even their first-round playoff series with Atlanta, but they couldn’t make the basket they needed.

Butler’s junior college coach said determination and a belief in hard work have fueled the Bulls player’s growth as a premier N.B.A. wing, one who will be a free agent this summer.

Known for pounding opponents inside with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, the Memphis Grizzlies are showing they can be just as effective outside the paint.

Seven months after a racially charged email put the Atlanta Hawks on the market, there’s an agreement to sell the NBA team for $850 million.

Paul Millsap answered all those questions about his shoulder. Al Horford didn’t let a dislocated finger slow him down.

Scott Brooks did everything but win a championship.

Rajon Rondo is out in Dallas.

Tuesday's 45-minute State of Zen address established two elements of patience — team president Phil Jackson is not trading his draft pick for a veteran if the Knicks are picking…

The NBA playoffs have picked up right where the regular season left off — with key players fighting to stay healthy when they are needed most.

A grand jury in Arizona has indicted Phoenix Suns players Marcus and Markieff Morris on two counts of aggravated assault relating to an incident after a basketball tournament in January, court papers showed on Tuesday.

Dwight Howard scored 28 points and James Harden added 24 to help the Houston Rockets coast to a 111-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

LeBron James scored 30 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, to pass the Hall of Famer Jerry West on the career playoff scoring list and make sure Cleveland did not slip up at home.

John Wall had 26 points and 17 assists, Bradley Beal scored 28 points and the Washington Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 117-106 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.

LeBron James scored 30 points, Kyrie Irving added 26 and the Cleveland Cavaliers finally shook off Boston in the fourth quarter, beating the Celtics 99-91 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their opening-round series.

Phil Jackson addressed the media for nearly 45 minutes on Tuesday, and perhaps his shortest answer was the most revealing one.

Phil Jackson owes it to James Dolan, the Knicks and their fans to be sitting on the dais during next month’s NBA Draft Lottery.