Tag: nytimes.com

De’Aaron Fox finished with 21 points and nine assists to power the No. 2-seeded San Antonio Spurs to a 114-95 victory over the No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers at home Tuesday and into the semifinals of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs posted all four of their wins in the five-game first-round series by at…

The San Antonio Spurs joined the Oklahoma City in the second round of the playoffs with a series-clinching win on Tuesday. Two more teams can book their places in the next round with wins on Wednesday. Both of those teams, the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers, were not favored in their series at…

The New York Knicks started fast and finished strong, cruising to a 126-97 home win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Tuesday night. Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 39 points to go along with eight assists. Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and OG…

The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive, cutting the series deficit to 3-2 with a 113-97 road win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at TD Garden. After back-to-back losses in Games 3 and 4, Philly flipped the script in Game 5 with a dominant fourth quarter. Joel Embiid led the charge with 33…

The Houston Rockets ruled out star forward Kevin Durant for their Game 5 matchup on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant has missed all but one game of the first-round series due to injuries to his ankle and knee. The 37-year-old missed only four regular-season games in his first season with Houston after a…

The NBA’s pursuit of an effective anti-tanking strategy took a significant step forward on Tuesday when league officials presented an updated draft lottery reform proposal — deemed the “3-2-1” system — to all 30 teams in a virtual general manager’s meeting. The proposal, which was obtained by The Athletic and would go into effect for…

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Austin Reaves’ status remains uncertain ahead of Game 5 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night. Reaves, listed as questionable for Games 3 and 4 of the series in Houston, didn’t play in those games as he continued his recovery from a Grade 2…

NEW YORK — Damon Jones, a former NBA player and assistant coach, became the first to plead guilty among the 34 defendants in the Department of Justice’s sprawling NBA gambling and poker game ring cases. Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Brooklyn federal courthouse to two charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud — one…

ORLANDO, Fla. — Magic forward Franz Wagner suffered a right calf strain during Monday’s Game 4 win in their first-round series against the Detroit Pistons, an MRI conducted Tuesday revealed. The Magic will list Wagner as questionable to play in Wednesday’s Game 5 in Detroit, with the Magic leading the series 3-1. The team did…

For financial reasons, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens needed to tear down a championship-caliber supporting cast over the offseason. He built it back well enough for the NBA to name him the Executive of the Year. The league announced Tuesday that Stevens captured the award for the second time in three years. He…