Playoffs, Basketball | featured news

Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers 102-91 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series....

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each scored 29 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder recovered after squandering a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Rockets 105-102 on Wednesday night and take a 2-0 series lead....

Chicago evened its playoff series the only way it knows how: with bruising Bulls defense....

The Los Angeles Lakers had a golden opportunity to take Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series against San Antonio. The Spurs were struggling offensively and Los Angeles closed within four points midway through the third quarter Sunday. No one was more excited about that than the Lakers' biggest "fan," Kobe Bryant, who watched the national broadcast.

With the Memphis Grizzlies’ 86-70 victory over the Utah Jazz, the Lakers are bound for the playoffs, where they will rely on Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol... When Mike D’Antoni took over as the Lakers’ coach in November, he felt that he had a big problem. Two of them, actually. He did not think there was any way he could keep Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol on the court at the same time.

Kobe Bryant fueled a desperate rally with 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 104-96 on Tuesday night to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Dwyane Wade won't rule out missing the rest of the regular season to recover from a right knee injury, but the Miami Heat star said Sunday he hopes to return before the playoffs.

Jrue Holiday scored 20 points, and Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the tough-and-determined Philadelphia 76ers past the Celtics, 82-75 on Wednesday night to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7. No team has won consecutive games in a series where neither team has played well enough to seize control.

Miami took a big step forward. Indiana lost two forwards. Suddenly, the road back to the Eastern Conference finals no longer looks daunting for the Heat.

Eight people were shot in Oklahoma City Monday night just blocks from the Chesapeake Energy Arena as large crowds were leaving the Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers game, police said.