Category: NBA Basketball

The field for the 2023 NBA playoffs is set! Here’s how the bracket breaks down.

Nuggets 104, Heat 93
Game 2: June 4 at Denver (8 ET, ABC)
Game 3: June 7 at Miami (8:30 ET, ABC)
Game 4: June 9 at Miami (8:30 ET, ABC)
Game 5: June 12 at Denver (8:30 ET, ABC)*
Game 6: June 15 at Miami (8:30 ET, ABC)*
Game 7: June 18 at Denver (8 ET, ABC)*
* if necessary

Heat 123, Celtics 116
Game 2: Heat 111, Celtics 105
Game 3: Heat 128, Celtics 102
Game 4: Celtics 116, Heat 99
Game 5: Celtics 110, Heat 97
Game 6: Celtics 104, Heat 103
Game 7: Heat 103, Celtics 84

Nuggets 132, Lakers 126
Game 2: Nuggets 108, Lakers 103
Game 3: Nuggets 119, Lakers 108
Game 4: Nuggets 113, Lakers 111

Heat 108, Knicks 101
Game 2: Knicks 111, Heat 105
Game 3: Heat 105, Knicks 86
Game 4: Heat 109, Knicks 101
Game 5: Knicks 112, Heat 103
Game 6: Heat 96, Knicks 92

76ers 119, Celtics 115
Game 2: Celtics 121,

Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff WriterMay 31, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

CloseOhm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.
Follow him on Twitter »  Ohm’s chat archive »

WITH THE LIGHTS dimmed for the introduction of the starting lineups, Ball Arena directs everyone’s attention to the big screen for an urgent message.

“ATTENTION, WARNING TO VISITORS.”

Denver Nuggets public address announcer Kyle Speller proceeds to deliver a grim caution to the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans before the start of the Western Conference finals.

“All visitors to the Mile High City be warned,” Speller says in an ominous voice. “High levels of exertion at this altitude may cause hypoxia with symptoms of fatigue, difficulty

Getty Images

NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the media on Thursday prior to Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat, and among the many topics he covered was the Ja Morant situation. While Silver was somewhat vague, his comments make it seem like the Memphis Grizzlies guard will face significant punishment.

Nothing will be announced until after the NBA Finals have concluded, however. 

“We’ve uncovered a fair amount of additional information since I was last asked about the situation,” Silver said. “We probably could have brought it to a head now, but we made the decision — and I believe the Players Association agrees with us — that it would be unfair to these players and these teams in the middle of this series to announce the results of

Jun 1, 2023, 08:41 AM ET

As this year’s Finals take place with the Miami Heat facing the Denver Nuggets, we’re looking back at legendary performances from superstars such as LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Jordan, with the help of Basketball-Reference.com’s game score archive.

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Game score, pioneered by John Hollinger, is a measure of a player’s single-game value factoring in all elements of the box score from scoring efficiency to playmaking to rebounding and defensive impact. Although imperfect, it quickly captures a player’s baseline performance and allows us to compare conference finals games going back to 1978 — the first year the NBA tracked individual turnovers.

Over that span of 45 years of NBA Finals, we’ve highlighted the top 25 individual performances, 16 of which came in victories for their team. How did each player succeed and what did their heroics mean for the series and the NBA playoffs as

Jun 1, 2023, 06:45 PM ET

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro will continue to test his surgically repaired right hand, and a return to the lineup for Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Denver Nuggets looms as a possibility, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.

Herro, who had surgery to fix the third and fourth metacarpal on his right hand on April 21, will continue ramping up his workouts and try to get a sense of how the hand responds to contact before making a decision, sources told ESPN.

If he’s unable to return for Game 2 on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC), there’s confidence that Herro will be available for Game 3 on Wednesday ( 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC), sources told ESPN.

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Herro suffered the injury during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 16.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Wednesday said that

Ramona Shelburne, ESPN Senior WriterJun 2, 2023, 02:05 AM ET

CloseSenior writer for ESPN.comSpent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily News

DENVER — Every once in a while, when things look good but feel a little bit off, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone will turn around in the middle of a game and ask a team staffer how many shots Nikola Jokic has taken.

Like everyone on the Nuggets’ staff, Malone has learned to trust Jokic to read the game, what the defense is giving him and when it’s time for him to start attacking. But sometimes it’s still hard to wait.

Take Game 1 of these NBA Finals when Jokic took just one shot in the first quarter and three shots in the first half of Denver’s 104-93 win against the Miami Heat on Thursday night at Ball Arena.

Jokic was still in complete command of the game with 10 assists in the

Tim Bontemps, ESPNJun 1, 2023, 05:11 PM ET

CAMDEN, N.J. — New Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse was asked about the status of pending free agent James Harden and how he’d sell the star guard on playing for him next season.

“Winning has to be the sell, right?” Nurse said Thursday during his introductory news conference at the team’s practice facility. “Can we be good enough to win it all? That’s got to be a goal of his.

“And if it is, then he should stay here and play for us, because I think there’s a possibility of that.”

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Nurse, who was hired by the Sixers just a few weeks after his successful five-year run with the Toronto Raptors ended, said he already has talked to Harden and plans to meet with him as well as every other player on the roster, including Joel Embiid, with whom he sat down during the

Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

Aaron Gordon knows he could be a star elsewhere. 

Instead, he has wholeheartedly embraced a comparatively thankless role in Denver, playing behind Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and others on offense, while often guarding the opposing team’s brightest star. 

But Gordon doesn’t see his role on the Nuggets as relatively paltry — he sees it as a privilege. 

“I don’t care about the credit,” Gordon told FOX Sports. “I care about the wins.”

Gordon’s approach has greatly benefited the Nuggets, who have reached the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In their 104-93 win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 on Thursday, Gordon shined, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, while helping hold Jimmy Butler to just 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting. 

The Nuggets acquired Gordon at the 2021 trade deadline from the Orlando Magic, who had selected him as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 draft.  In Orlando, Gordon was the guy on a team that missed the playoffs five times and had two first-round exits. In Denver, he often works in the shadows, doing things that don’t show up in box scores — chasing loose balls, rim-protecting and forcing guys to alter their shots. 

When asked if he prefers his new job over his old one, Gordon smiled broadly. 

“Winning?” he said to FOX Sports. “Yes. Most definitely. I’d much rather score 15 on a winning team than 25 on a losing team.”

Nuggets coach Michael Malone has been deeply impressed with Gordon’s willingness to sacrifice, especially this season, after Murray and Michael Porter Jr. returned from lengthy absences due to injuries. 

“We always talk about Nikola embodying Nuggets’ culture, and I think Aaron Gordon is a prime example of somebody who’s truly selfless,” Malone said. “He understood with Jamal and Michael coming back this year, being healthy, that his role was going to change. He never once fought it. He’s embraced it from Day 1 of the season.”

Gordon has excelled as a two-way player for the Nuggets, averaging 16.3 points on a career-high 56.4% shooting, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists during the regular season, which propelled him into the conversation of making his first All-Star team in 10 seasons. 

But Gordon was passed over for the honor, with Jokic being the only Nuggets’ player selected as an All-Star. 

According to Malone, Gordon doesn’t get celebrated enough. 

“He does a lot of the dirty work for us,” Malone said. “And a lot of times he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves.”

This postseason, Gordon has poured himself into guarding the best players in the NBA. 

According to NBA.com, when he guarded Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns in the first round, he held him

Nick Friedell, ESPN Staff WriterJun 2, 2023, 01:32 AM ET

CloseNick Friedell is the Chicago Bulls beat reporter for ESPN Chicago. Friedell is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and joined ESPNChicago.com for its launch in April 2009.

DENVER — The Miami Heat set an NBA postseason record for fewest free throw attempts in a game, going to the foul line just twice during a 104-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

Afterward, Heat star Jimmy Butler vowed to attack the basket more heading into Game 2 on Sunday night. He didn’t hesitate when asked why the offense struggled so much to find its rhythm.

“Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself probably leading that pack, instead of putting pressure on the rim,” Butler said after scoring just 13 points. “Getting lay-ups, getting to the