Category: NBA

Curry Scores Playoff Career-High 50 as Warriors Down Kings

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—With his big-game swagger on display for the world and that signature mouthpiece dangling from a celebratory grin, Stephen Curry drove fearlessly to the basket with jaw-dropping acrobatics all afternoon and he fired with precision from way back in a Game 7 extravaganza for the ages. He even playfully pretended to push the button…


Jimmy Butler Does Things His Way, Leads Heat Into 2nd Round

MIAMI—Jimmy Butler is different. Some players hit beaches over All-Star break; Butler went to Argentina to watch tennis and learn about coffee. Some players rest with one day off between games; Butler spent 10 hours flying round-trip to be at Pau Gasol’s Los Angeles Lakers jersey retirement one night and back in Miami for shootaround…


Pirates Star Dick Groat, Who Also Played in NBA, Dies at 92

PITTSBURGH—Before Bo Jackson knew everything, before Deion Sanders introduced Prime Time, there was Dick Groat. A wiry shortstop with a slick glove and a lightning-quick guard with a lethal set shot, Groat was a star on the baseball diamond and the basketball court in the 1950s, long before Jackson and Sanders made major sports multitasking…


Clippers Front Office Will Continue to ‘Build Around’ George, Leonard (Torn Meniscus)

Los Angeles Clippers president Lawrence Frank said Thursday that the team planned to keep injury-prone star players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George as the core of their team. Frank addressed reporters after the fifth-seeded Clippers bowed out of the playoffs in a first-round series loss in five games to the Phoenix Suns. At the same…


Morant, Grizzlies Stave Off Elimination, Beat Lakers 116–99

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Desmond Bane had 33 points and 10 rebounds, Ja Morant added 31 points and 10 boards, and the Memphis Grizzlies staved off elimination Wednesday night, April 26, beating the Lakers 116–99 to force their first-round Western Conference series back to Los Angeles. Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, had 18…


LeBron leads Lakers past Grizz 117–111 in OT for 3–1 lead

LOS ANGELES—When LeBron James got back to the Los Angeles locker room after Game 4, his fellow Lakers greeted him with a symphony of bleats. They were simply saluting the G.O.A.T. in his own language to celebrate a performance that was anything but old—and a gritty win that put the Lakers on the brink of…


Lakers Drill Grizzlies to Take 2–1 Lead; Dillon Brooks Ejected

Anthony Davis dominated with 31 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the host Los Angeles Lakers to a solid 111–101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of their tense first-round series on Saturday night, April 22. LeBron James added 25 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers took a 2–1…


Durant Scores 31, Suns Beat Clippers 112-100 for 3–1 Lead

LOS ANGELES— Phoenix’ big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Chris Paul were all in go-mode. As a result, the scrappy and shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers are on the verge of going home for the summer. Durant scored 31 points, Booker added 30 and Paul bounced back big in the fourth quarter of a…


Booker Has 45 Points, Suns Top Leonard-Less Clippers 129–124

LOS ANGELES—With Kevin Durant drawing defenders, Devin Booker found his way to the basket again and again. Booker scored 45 points, Durant added 28 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers 129–124 on Thursday night to take a 2–1 lead in the Western Conference playoff series. “He set the tone, got…


Grizzlies, Minus Ja Morant, Down Lakers to Level Series

Xavier Tillman recorded a career-high 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the absence of injured Ja Morant to produce a 103–93 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, April 19. The result evened the best-of-seven, first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win apiece. Jaren Jackson Jr. had…