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They then move on to the Portland Trail Blazers' late win over the Phoenix lmct+ pokies Suns in the West before closing on previews of this week's other play-in games. Brian is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon to cover the two exciting play-in games from Tuesday night, including the wild ending between the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat and whether LaMelo Ball's controversial trip of Bam Adebayo will have ramifications moving forward. Inside the organization, they've long known that, despite stretches of play that remind everyone of their game-changing past, like that fourth quarter against the Clippers, this team, with two aging icons on the wrong side of the actuarial table, is nowhere near good enough to win a title. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Anthony Slater detailed the upcoming summer for the Golden State Warriors, an offseason that could lead to immense change for a franchise that has won four NBA titles in the past 11 seasons. Donovan, who had led the Bulls' bench for six seasons, elected to leave the franchise after extensive meetings with ownership. Bucks management met with Jenkins last week in Memphis and this week in Milwaukee, sources said, to secure his commitment. Kerr's future is the first domino, but management doesn't plan to rush Kerr, who just finished his 12th season as head coach.
Next offseason, New York is projected to be $31 million below the second apron with seven players under contract. The Knicks finished the past two seasons $53,000 and $370,000 below. In the case of the Knicks, the team would not be allowed to send cash in a trade, use the $6.1 million tax midlevel exception, aggregate salaries in a trade or use more than 100% of the traded player exception. Karl-Anthony Towns is extension-eligible this summer and can become a free agent in the 2027 offseason if an agreement is not reached. Including the 24th pick in next week's draft (June 23 and 24, 8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN), New York is $13 million below the second apron and has decisions with free agents Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson and possibly Jose Alvarado. ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote a big offseason primer about the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, detailing what he's hearing about whether LeBron James and Austin Reaves will be back and whether Luka Doncic will have influence on the team's moves. "When Trae Young was traded in January, it came with the understanding that he would opt out of his contract," Windhorst said. Sweeney will be tasked with raising an already stellar defense to an elite level while improving a Magic offense that struggled in a seven-game first-round loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Entering the game, the Pistons were 4–0 when facing elimination this postseason, while the Cavaliers have posted a road record of 1–5. James Harden had 23 points, but for much of the playoffs so far, struggled holding on to the ball, as he had 8 turnovers. Daniss Jenkins also had 15 points, and Paul Reed chipped in with 17 while Duncan Robinson had 14 off the bench. The Pistons staved off elimination with a balanced effort in a 115–94 road win against the Cavaliers. Detroit also led by 15-points at various moments in the first half, but they went cold at the end of the game, with Cleveland on a 13–0 run for a five-minute stretch in between the fourth quarter and overtime. The Cavaliers stunned the Pistons to erase a 103–94 with two-plus minutes left, and win 117–113 in overtime, taking a 3–2 series lead back home. While neither starter on the Pistons side scored more than 20 points, Caris LeVert came off the bench and led with 24 points, while also holding off Cade Cunningham under 20 points for the first time this season. For the eighth consecutive game, Tobias Harris scored 20-points or more, as he finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
( Oklahoma City Vs ( Los Angeles Lakers
The 6-foot-4 lefty out of Louisville averaged 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his three games in the California Classic. Davis is eligible for a contract extension that he can sign for up to four years and $275 million starting Aug. 6. All of Washington's key veterans, including Young, Davis and Deandre Ayton, were on hand for Dybantsa's summer league debut, and the team reassembled for a news conference announcing Young's new contract extension Friday morning. He had 27 points and seven rebounds, including one crowd-pleasing two-handed dunk over a Utah Jazz defender at the rim in the Wizards' win. The broad rule of summer league is not to overreact to single-game shooting lines, which are subject to all sorts of small-sample flukiness. The 6-foot-9 forward made just seven total 3-pointers in 24 games at North Carolina last season, and he never attempted more than three in a single game. "When we first traded for Coby, the priority was to always keep him and that was with or without LaMelo," Peterson said. The Hornets also expect Coby White to help fill the void left at point guard by Ball's departure.
Ayo Dosunmu fit in well in Minnesota after arriving via midseason trade, and he will presumably replace DiVincenzo in the starting lineup for the remainder of Minnesota's playoff run. He was one of just four players in the NBA to start all 82 games, and he offered a skill set otherwise missing from the players who surround Anthony Edwards in Minnesota's starting lineup. Without Edwards for multiple weeks, the Timberwolves might need to hope that the Portland Trail Blazers upset San Antonio to have a chance to reach the conference finals for the third consecutive season. There's very little shooting and playmaking talent left in Minnesota's lineup, and Julius Randle — who has been only OK against Denver, averaging 17.5 points and 3.5 assists per game on subpar efficiency — will need to step up in Edwards' stead. That might not be a tenable arrangement on offense, unless Dosunmu can continue posting career highs in points going forward.
Lendeborg's individual workout and in-person meeting with the front office Thursday will assuredly play a role in whether the Warriors decide to draft him in two weeks. Lendeborg is among a group of prospects expected in the team's practice facility this week, with the NBA draft less than two weeks away (Round 1 is June 23 on ESPN/ABC). This isn't the league's first time down this road in recent years, as the Bucks have ultimately decided to keep their superstar forward each time any trade negotiations materialized. With less than two weeks until the NBA draft, the biggest non-Finals story in the league is the ongoing suspense of the Giannis Antetokounmpo saga. In Los Angeles, the future of LeBron James is the headliner over the next few weeks.
Kerr said he needed a week or two for the necessary space, contemplation and bigger picture conversations before deciding whether to seek another contract with the Warriors or walk away from coaching entirely, perhaps into the media space. Steve Kerr has made no decision yet in regard to his future coaching the Golden State Warriors, and the two sides don't expect to come to any firm determination until next week at the earliest, team sources told ESPN. Kevin Durant, who made his Houston Rockets playoff debut in Game 2 after missing Game 1 with a right knee contusion, is now listed as questionable heading into Friday's Game 3 with a left ankle sprain. Lakers guard Austin Reaves has not played since he suffered Grade 2 left oblique muscle injury on April 2. But this week, when Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter was asked if there's a possibility for Lillard to return during these playoffs, he didn't completely rule it out.
Ranking Every Player In 2026 Nba Finals
Barrett's three, which was similar to Kawhi Leonard's game and series winning shot against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals, hit the rim, bounced high in the air, and fell in with 1.2 seconds left. Journeyman backup point guard Dennis Schröder scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and Evan Mobley hit a pair of big 3-pointers to give the Cavaliers a narrow 125–120 win back at home. In addition, they shot 14 of 45 from 3-point range, compared to 14 of 23 by the Raptors. Toronto's other starting forward, Brandon Ingram, struggled mightily, scoring just 7 points on 3-for-15 shooting. The Hawks' offense struggled greatly throughout the night, committing 18 turnovers and shooting just 10 of 41 (24%) from 3-point range.
( San Antonio Spurs Eliminate ( Oklahoma City Thunder, 4-3
"Twenty-five points on 15 shots, like I said, 12 assists and a lot of the assists are where he's manipulating the defense and making the reads, and he's making tough passes that, as the guys said, only the really good players can make that read and that pass, and he did it on multiple occasions." They then move on to react to Brad Stevens' Jaylen Brown news conference and the rationale being presented before closing on summer league performances and what they're looking forward to in Las Vegas this week. Then the duo breaks down the Donovan Mitchell extension, including whether it makes sense for the Cavaliers and whether it will impact their pursuit of LeBron James. ESPN's Brian Windhorst discussed LeBron James' free agency on "First Take," including what the superstar could be looking for in his next home and how teams are feeling about their potential hopes of signing him. ESPN's Shams Charania reported on "NBA Today" that teams interested in signing LeBron James this offseason have been sending voice note pitches to Rich Paul, James' agent.
Facing a potential 3–1 series deficit on the road, the Knicks took the lead in the first quarter and never relinquished it, with a comfortable 14-point lead at halftime en route to a 114–98 victory to even the series at 2 apiece. During this period, NBC's broadcast erroneously displayed New York having one timeout remaining, despite it already being used with 10.2 seconds remaining. McCollum had missed two free throws, as the Hawks led by one with 5.6 seconds remaining, but Mikal Bridges missed a contested jump shot that would have given the Knicks the win. CJ McCollum became the latest Madison Square Garden villain, as he jawed former teammate Jose Alvarado and Knicks fans while leading a late fourth quarter surge to even the series at 1 apiece. Karl-Anthony Towns added an all-around performance of 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks, as all 5 Knicks starters finished in double figures. A two point game at halftime, the Knicks' lead grew to as much as 19 in the fourth quarter. The duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey led the way for Philadelphia, as they held off a fourth quarter rally by Jaylen Brown and Boston. The 76ers picked up their first playoff series win over the Celtics since 1982 (which was also a Game 7 in Boston) and their first Game 7 win since 2001, with a 109–100 road victory.
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