Tag: nytimes.com

The Oklahoma City Thunder took the lead in the Western Conference finals against the San Antonio Spurs by showing just why they have been so formidable all season: Two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led a team effort of such depth and versatility that just one of Oklahoma City’s role players managed to outscore the entire Spurs…

Facing a 15-0 deficit early in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t panic. Instead, the defending champions did what they always do: defend, attack relentlessly and lean on their depth, throwing waves of athleticism at the San Antonio Spurs. By halftime, the Thunder had turned that early…

SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs have their guards back, as both Dylan Harper (right adductor) and De’Aaron Fox (right ankle) were cleared to return for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Friday night. Meanwhile, Thunder forward Jalen Williams, who reinjured a hamstring in Game 2, is officially out for Game 3. Williams went through…

They are currently the fiercest of competitors, facing off in the 2026 Western Conference finals. But for one celebratory moment on Friday, the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren were named members of the same team. Wembanyama and Holmgren headline the 2025-26 NBA All-Defensive First Team, which was announced…

For the first two games of the Western Conference finals, the San Antonio Spurs have turned to rookie Carter Bryant to get stops. But this a story about Bryant needing to go. During Game 2 Wednesday night, Oklahoma City Thunder fans encountered the unusual sight of the in-uniform 6-foot-6 Spurs forward using a public restroom…

The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. A couple of The Athletic’s other newsletters have done mailbag editions, and it seems like a fun idea! If you want me or one of our writers to answer a burning question you…

SAN ANTONIO — The most telling part of Stephon Castle’s thunderous dunk over Isaiah Hartenstein in Wednesday’s Game 2 of the Western Conference finals happened before he bounced off the invisible trampoline. Before he suspended in the air like a rhetorical question. Before he cocked it back and flushed it with disrespect. Advertisement It came…

With the extended holiday weekend comes a wall-to-wall sports slate. There’s something for just about everyone across the next four days. The NBA and NHL continue their anticipated conference finals from the East to the West. MLB and the WNBA heat up their spring seasons with primetime Saturday spots. The French Open begins, the English…

The Dallas Mavericks are in the market for a head coach. Masai Ujiri, who took charge as team president earlier this month, decided Tuesday that it was best for the Mavericks to part ways with Jason Kidd and begin a search for his successor that will leave “no stone unturned.” “We will really, really look…

NEW YORK — Josh Hart’s jersey tasted like resentment. A man who has done all of the work — hand placement, wide base, visualize, follow-through — felt betrayed in the moment that this all was meant for.  Midway through the first quarter of Thursday’s Game 2 Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the…