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☆ Rockets Introduce Coach Ime Udoka, but Say Little About His Misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Sopan Deb | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta asked fans to be forgiving on Wednesday as he introduced the team’s new head coach, Ime Udoka, who had been suspended and then fired by the Boston Celtics within the past year for violating unspecified team policies. Fertitta said any critic unwilling to give Udoka a second chance was “not a good Christian person.”The Celtics suspended Udoka for the 2022-23 N.B.A. At the introductory news conference in Houston, Udoka made his first public comments since leaving the Celtics, who have declined to specify which policies he violated. Udoka was flanked by Fertitta and Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone, who also declined to provide details on what they know, including whether they had seen the report from the Celtics’ investigation. “But just the same way, I wouldn’t talk about exactly what we did with anybody else, I’m not going to talk about it with Ime.

☆ NBA roundup: Hawks use late rally to stay alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Boston's Jaylen Brown (35 points) posted his second straight 30-plus-point game and Jayson Tatum had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray scored 35 points, Bruce Brown and Aaron Gordon each had 14 and Michael Porter Jr. grabbed 10 rebounds for Denver. The top-seeded Nuggets are headed to the Western Conference semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons. Anthony Edwards put up 29 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 11 rebounds and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the eighth-seeded Timberwolves. Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Deandre Ayton added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the No.

☆ NBA roundup: Warriors survive late gaffe, tie series with Kings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Mike Conley added 19 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out for the Wolves. Nikola Jokic had 43 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Nuggets. Josh Hart chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who outrebounded the Cavaliers 47-33. The Hawks were within five points with 3:36 to play, but the Celtics took control by scoring the next seven points. Dejounte Murray finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

☆ NBA roundup: Anthony Davis, Lakers sprint past Grizzlies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Apr 22, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dennis Schroder (17) shoots the ball against Memphis Grizzlies forward David Roddy (27) in the fourth quarter during game three of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. LeBron James added 25 points and nine rebounds as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference matchup. D'Angelo Russell had 17 points and Rui Hachimura scored 16 for Los Angeles, which led by as many as 29 points in the wire-to-wire victory. Desmond Bane (18 points) ended the Morant run with a 3-pointer that cut the Los Angeles lead to 108-99 with 1:24 remaining. James Harden collected 17 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

☆ NBA roundup: Nikola Jokic, Nuggets take command over Wolves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The top-seeded Nuggets grabbed a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and will aim for a sweep on Sunday in Minnesota. Julius Randle contributed 11 points and eight rebounds despite 3-of-15 shooting, and Immanuel Quickley also scored 11 points. Dejounte Murray added 25 points for Atlanta, which lost the first two games of the series in Boston. Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points and 10 rebounds and added five assists. Marcus Smart finished with 24 points, eight assists and three steals, and Malcolm Brogdon scored 17 points.

☆ NBA roundup: Devin Booker, Suns even series with Clippers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Apr 18, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second half during game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Kevin Durant added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists as Phoenix rebounded from a Game 1 home loss. Kawhi Leonard registered 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals and Russell Westbrook added 28 points for the Clippers. Mitchell, the seventh-leading scorer in the NBA this season at 28.3 points per game, had just 17 points Tuesday but collected a career-high 13 assists. Mobley had 13 points and 13 rebounds while Garland scored 32 points, including 26 in the first half.

Games are split between TNT, ESPN, ABC, and NBA TV; you can stream them with a live TV service like Sling. NBA Playoffs livestream quick linksUS TV broadcasts: TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, ABC/ESPN3 via Sling Orange ($51/month)Watch from anywhere: Use ExpressVPN service to stream from Sling TVStart time: Playoffs being April 15 at 1 p.m. How to watch the NBA Playoffs in the USYou can watch the NBA Playoffs on ESPN, TNT, ABC, and NBA TV, with select games scheduled across each channel. How to watch the NBA Playoffs with a VPNSign up for a VPN if you don't already have one. ET TNT2023 NBA Playoff bracketThe NBA Playoffs bracket includes eight teams from each conference in the first round.

☆ The Haslam family sold its gas station business to Warren Buffett this year. Now it's set to buy a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( George Glover | Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Haslam family will finalize buying a stake in the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, according to Bloomberg. They're swapping fuel pumps for courtside seats after selling their gas station business to Warren Buffett. They're poised to own 25% of the Bucks in a deal that values the NBA franchise at around $3.5 billion. The Haslams agreed to buy billionaire investor Marc Lasry's 25% stake in the Bucks in a deal that values the NBA franchise at $3.5 billion back in February, per a previous Bloomberg report. The Haslam family retains control of Pilot's day-to-day operations.

☆ James leads surging Lakers into playoffs, Bucks enter as favourites
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Apr 11, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) celebrates the victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves following overtime at Crypto.com Arena. By clinching the Western Conference's seventh seed, the Lakers earned the right to face electrifying guard Ja Morant and the No. He's going to get to the paint one way or another," ESPN NBA analyst JJ Reddick said on a conference call. "He's going to elevate. He's going to decide what the hell to do in the air and he's probably going to score.

☆ NBA roundup: Warriors hang 157 on Blazers, glide into playoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Shaedon Sharpe added 18 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds, while Jeenathan Williams had 17 points for Portland. New Orleans' Brandon Ingram had 42 points and 12 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 23 points and Trey Murphy III had 20. Lindell Wigginton scored 17 points and Bobby Portis had 16 for the Bucks. Jaden Hardy led all scorers with 25 points, with Theo Pinson forging a triple-double (23 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) for the Mavericks. De'Aaron Fox, who scored 13 points, played less than 18 minutes.

☆ The lucky breaks that built Nike
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fittingly as "Air" hits theaters, Nike will release an Air Jordan in "lucky green." "Luck plays a big role," Nike cofounder Phil Knight wrote in the closing of his 2016 memoir, "Shoe Dog." Athletes get lucky, poets get lucky, businesses get lucky." Knight wrote. Next Wednesday, Nike will release the "Black and Lucky Green" Air Jordan 1.

☆ NBA roundup: Mavs' playoff hopes dashed by Bulls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The result ended the Mavericks' hopes of reaching the Western Conference play-in tournament. Chicago, which had already clinched an Eastern Conference play-in spot, played without leading scorers DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine as well as Patrick Beverley. Orlando, which was in contention for a play-in spot over the past month following a 5-20 start, played its second game since being eliminated Tuesday. Grizzlies 137, Bucks 114Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 36 points to lead seven Memphis players in double figures as the Grizzlies clinched the No. Pascal Siakam scored 19 points, Precious Achiuwa added 16 points, and Fred VanVleet had 12 points and eight assists.

☆ NBA roundup: Warriors withstand Joel Embiid's 46-point game
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/5] Mar 24, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the basketball against the Philadelphia 76ers in the fourth quarter at Chase Center. A 23-9 run in the first 5:59 out of the locker room quickly flipped the game in the Kings' favor. Booker finished with 32 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, and Ross' 30 points marked a season high. Italian rookie Simone Fontecchio led Utah with 26 points, while Kelly Olynyk chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds. Haliburton and Myles Turner each scored 20 points to lead Indiana, which trailed by 29 in the fourth quarter.

☆ NBA roundup: Paul George gets hurt in Clippers' loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points and Paul George added 18 against his former team before departing with a knee injury. Derrick White added 20 points for the Celtics, and Marcus Smart scored 17. Day'Ron Sharpe scored 20 points to lead the Nets, who tied a season high with their fourth straight loss. Bogdan Bogdanovic started at guard in place of Dejounte Murray (illness) and scored 18 points. Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 20 points for the Spurs, who played without Keldon Johnson (neck), Devin Vassell (knee) and Zach Collins (rest).

☆ SlamBall, which combines basketball and football with trampolines, snags big investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Are you ready for some ... SlamBall? A star-studded lineup of investors in and around sports are jumping into the sport, which is a mashup of football, basketball and trampolines that was buzzy for a short time in the early 2000s. The investment comes as SlamBall plans to relaunch this summer, more than 20 years after the alternative sport was shut down in the U.S. as ratings fell in its second season. SlamBall recently closed an $11 million Series A funding round led by Roger Ehrenberg's IA Sports Ventures and Eberg Capital, a stakeholder in MLB's Miami Marlins. It took founder and CEO Mason Gordon and Mike Tollin – a producer behind the popular Chicago Bulls docuseries "The Last Dance" who helped launch the league the first time – nine months to secure their full roster of investors.

☆ Foot Locker touts a renewed partnership with Nike — but it still won't get the hottest sneaker releases
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Matthew Kish | Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Even so, don't expect to see more of the hottest Nikes and Jordans at Foot Locker stores. The Foot Locker CEO, sporting gold Nike Air Max 97 sneakers, announced a renewed partnership with Nike at the company's investor day, addressing one of the core analyst questions facing the sneaker retailer. Mary Dillon started as Foot Locker CEO in September. Mary DillonSpeculation had been building about Foot Locker and Nike working more closely together again since December when Nike CEO John Donahoe mentioned spending time with Dillon on a Nike earnings call. As part of its new strategy, Foot Locker wants to double sales of non-Nike brands, such as Hoka On, and Crocs by 2026.

☆ NBA roundup: 3-pointer at buzzer pushes Mavs past Lakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday's defeat to the Houston Rockets because of load management. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder added 15 as Los Angeles played its 10th consecutive game without LeBron James (foot). Washington's 12 points and Kelly Oubre Jr.'s 11 points led Charlotte. Jalen Green paced Houston with 25 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 20. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

☆ NBA roundup: Joel Embiid (42) guides Sixers past Pacers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Mar 6, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tyrese Maxey made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for Philadelphia, and James Harden contributed 14 points, 20 assists and nine rebounds. Boston got 32 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists from Jaylen Brown. Trail Blazers 110, Pistons 104Damian Lillard recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists as visiting Portland handed Detroit its eighth consecutive loss. Cory Joseph had 14 points, Jaden Ivey contributed 13 points and 13 assists and Alec Burks also scored 13 points.

☆ NBA roundup: Red-hot Knicks outlast Celtics in double OT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

Julius Randle added 31 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who also received 29 points and 11 rebounds from RJ Barrett. Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who have lost their last two home games. Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points, Myles Turner added 16 and Chris Duarte had 15 for Indiana. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 points for Charlotte, which dropped its third straight. Walker Kessler (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Kelly Olynyk (15 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles in the loss.

☆ NBA roundup: Nets stun Celts with NBA's biggest comeback of season
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Cam Johnson added 20 points for the Nets, who also received 17 points apiece from Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. Jayson Tatum, who turned 25 on Friday, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, but he missed all eight of his 3-point attempts. Terry Rozier posted 22 points, Gordon Hayward 17 and Mark Williams 13 points for Charlotte, which was hurt by 21 turnovers. Kings 128, Clippers 127De'Aaron Fox recorded 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Sacramento won its fifth straight game by prevailing over visiting Los Angeles. Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the Golden State bench, chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

☆ NBA roundup: Suns win in Kevin Durant's debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Bucks 139, Magic 117Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists to fuel streaking Milwaukee's victory over visiting Orlando. Orlando's Cole Anthony scored a season-high 28 points off the bench and Markelle Fultz recorded 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jalen Williams led Oklahoma City with 24 points and chipped in seven assists, while Josh Giddey added 22 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. The 76ers, who snapped a two-game skid that included a home loss to the Heat, also got 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists from James Harden. Ja Morant had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Memphis, which led by as many as 28 and won its third straight.

☆ NBA roundup: Hornets win again, lose LaMelo Ball
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Gordon Hayward added 19 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. joined ball with 18 points for Charlotte. Mark Williams provided 15 points and 11 rebounds. Heat 101, 76ers 99Jimmy Butler had 23 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals to help Miami edge host Philadelphia. Jayson Tatum, who entered Monday averaging 30.4 points per game, was limited to 14 points before he was ejected late in the fourth quarter. Moritz Wagner and Markelle Fultz added 14 points each and Wendell Carter Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando, which began a three-game road trip by finishing a season series sweep against New Orleans.

☆ NBA roundup: Jayson Tatum sends Celtics past 76ers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points, Tatum added 18 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Derrick White had 18 points. Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points for the Raptors, who have won four in a row for the first time this season. Tyrese Haliburton added 15 points and 14 assists, and Andrew Nembhard scored 13 points. LaMelo Ball had 19 points and 13 assists, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Dennis Smith Jr. both supplied 15 points and Terry Rozier finished with 14 points. Bam Adebayo had 14 points and Kevin Love posted 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat, who shot 40 percent from the field.

☆ NBA roundup: Malik Beasley leads revamped Lakers to win
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Anthony Davis scored 12 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles. Klay Thompson scored 22 points and Ty Jerome added 20 for the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry (leg) and Andrew Wiggins (personal). Evan Mobley had 31 points and nine rebounds, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland scored 22 points each, and Jarrett Allen had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Tatum had 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Anunoby returned from a wrist injury to score 12 points, but Toronto was without Fred VanVleet (personal).

☆ Jayson Tatum Still Plays Like Kobe. He Got Better By Playing Beyond Kobe.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Robert O'Connell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The NBA’s All-Star Game MVP award, named after Kobe Bryant, may be the only honor in the league that a player can win simply by wanting it more than anyone else. In Sunday night’s installment of the game, a defense-free affair in which players took turns bouncing passes to themselves off the backboards and launching increasingly long-range and low-percentage 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics earned the trophy. His methods were straightforward: he shot his triples mostly from the arc, not the half-court stripe. His motivation was obvious, too.

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