Sports News

Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff WriterMay 4, 2024, 06:48 PM ET

CloseLakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.Open Extended Reactions

DENVER — Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch handed his crutches to a team staffer, grabbed a wobbly railing, and walked up two steps onto the podium in the Ball Arena interview room before plopping down in a chair ahead of Game 1 of the conference semifinals between the Wolves and Nuggets on Saturday.

“All right, that’s easy,” Finch said with a chuckle.

Finch underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee. He suffered the injury last week, colliding with Minnesota point guard Mike Conley in Game 4 of the Wolves’ first round sweep of the Phoenix Suns.

Finch, who finished third in voting for

Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff WriterMay 4, 2024, 12:41 AM ET

CloseJoined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009Covers the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas MavericksAppears regularly on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FMOpen Extended Reactions

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving danced with his dribble, crossing over a few times in front of Clippers forward P.J. Tucker, before sidestepping and launching a 3-pointer from the corner in front of the Mavericks‘ bench.

The Mavericks were up 20 midway through the fourth quarter, putting the Clippers on the brink of elimination, and Irving was putting the exclamation point on his spectacular closeout performance. He got fouled by Tucker as he launched the jumper and was mobbed by his teammates when the shot splashed through the net.

It was an instantly iconic moment, the most memorable highlight of Irving’s scorching second half in the Mavericks’ series-clinching 114-101 win Friday night at the American Airlines Center.

“I was on the floor looking,

By HoopsHype | May 4, 2024

May 4, 2024, 05:56 PM ET

Former Michigan standout and Los Angeles Lakers draft pick Darius Morris has died at 33, his family announced Saturday.

No cause of death was given. TMZ reported Morris’ body was found in the Los Angeles area on Thursday. He was a Los Angeles native.

“With great sadness we announce the passing of our dearly beloved son, Darius Aaron Morris,” Morris’ family told TMZ on Saturday. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

Morris was a second-round pick of the Lakers in the 2011 draft. He averaged 3.3 points in 132 career games (17 starts) with the Lakers and four other teams in four NBA seasons. He went on to play professionally in China and France, last playing in 2019-20.

The Lakers said in a post to X they were “heartbroken by the passing” of Morris.

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May 4, 2024, 12:45 PM ETOpen Extended Reactions

The NBA fined Los Angeles Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell $25,000 on Saturday for verbally abusing a game official.

His actions occurred on the court after the Lakers’ season-ending Game 5 loss at Denver on Monday night, the league said.

Russell finished the 108-106 loss to the Nuggets with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 6 assists and 1 rebound. He averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds in five games in the Western Conference first-round series.

The 28-year-old Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists and set a franchise record with 226 3-pointers in 76 games (69 starts) in the regular season.

Kendra Andrews, ESPNMay 3, 2024, 10:13 PM ET

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ORLANDO, Fla. — The Magic huddled up four minutes into the third quarter of Game 6 against the Cavaliers.

Coach Jamahl Mosley called a timeout amid a 13-4 Cavaliers run that propelled Cleveland from down four at halftime to up seven. His message to his young team was simple: “Stay the course. This is a long game. We have to understand it’s a game of runs.”

It was still a five-point game heading into the fourth quarter, but the Magic took the lead within the first two minutes. Paolo Banchero scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic overcame a 50-point performance from Donovan Mitchell to hold off the Cavaliers 103-96 and force a Game 7 on Sunday in Cleveland.

The 2023-24 regular season is complete,

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The Dallas Mavericks advanced past the first round of the playoffs for just the second time since 2011 after beating the Los Angeles Clippers in six games after Friday night’s 114-101 win. It sets up a second-round meeting against the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder, where Dallas will be without one of their key rotation players. Forward Maxi Kleber is expected to miss significant time after dislocating his shoulder, per The Athletic, and could be sidelined for the rest of the playoffs.

Kleber doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he’s a key role player in Dallas’ frontcourt who can spread the floor out to the 3-point line, and provides additional interior defense. His five 3-pointers in Game 5 were a significant reason why the Mavericks were able to beat the Clippers. Not having

By HoopsHype | May 4, 2024

Jamal Collier, ESPNMay 2, 2024, 09:30 PM ET

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GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO sat at his locker inside Bankers Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, his head down, with one hand on his phone and the other on his forehead. As he sat in silence, wearing a magenta sweatsuit, the rest of his Milwaukee Bucks teammates got dressed around him, the conversation in the room reduced to murmurs.

Earlier that morning, Antetokounmpo went through a workout to rehab his strained left calf, hours before Game 4 of a first-round series he would never appear in. The two-time MVP was limited to cheering on his teammates from the sidelines. But his progress after the workout gave Bucks coach Doc Rivers the belief that Antetokounmpo could potentially return to face the Indiana Pacers.

What was left unsaid was how long the Bucks would have to extend the series for that to happen. Antetokounmpo was counting on his teammates to