LOS ANGELES — Above all else, the Los Angeles Lakers were committed to being resilient in Game 1 of the playoffs.

Even if they were missing their starting backcourt, the Lakers were committed to being resilient against the rugged and physical Houston Rockets, who were playing without Kevin Durant, who has a bruised knee suffered in practice. ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — The most anticipated news of the UConn men’s basketball offseason came Saturday as star Braylon Mullins announced his decision on social media to put off the NBA draft for a second year in Storrs.

Mullins was projected to be picked anywhere from late lottery to the mid-20s in the first round of the draft after averaging 12...Read more

DENVER — They could not shoot him with a blue arrow. He made Ant-Man look like Can’t-Man.

He jitter-bugged Donte DiVincenzo. He drop stepped Ayo Dosunmu. He left Naz Reid in the rearview. Even when he missed shots, he made the Minnesota Timberwolves miserable.

Instead of talking about winning, they resorted to whining.

“Well, the 16 ...Read more

NEW YORK — For the Knicks, this postseason isn’t just about surviving a round. It’s about making the entire direction of the franchise feel justified.

That was the weight inside Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. An early exit would darken the summer before it even began. A deeper run could validate the decision to move on from Tom ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Lakers aren't the only team beginning the playoffs with an injured star.

The Houston Rockets will be without Kevin Durant in Game 1 against the Lakers on Saturday, Houston coach Ime Udoka said, after Durant bumped knees in practice this week.

The fifth-seeded Rockets hope Durant's injury will be a "one-game thing," Udoka ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons' playoff experience this season is a complete turnaround from last year's. As the No. 6 seed, they entered the playoffs knowing exactly who they were up against — the No. 3-seeded New York Knicks. It enabled coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his players to begin their postseason practice by focusing on one team's ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The path is narrow, and the odds of following it are long. But, hey, at least it exists. You can find it on a map. That’s more than you usually can say about a seven seed in the NBA playoffs.

Not much of a rallying cry, I know. But let’s keep things in perspective. The Philadelphia 76ers will head to Boston looking to ...Read more

CHICAGO — General manager Jeff Pagliocca isn’t leaving the Chicago Sky’s future success up to lottery luck.

The Sky don’t own their first-round pick in the next two drafts thanks to separate deals with the Washington Mystics. Pagliocca included a pick swap in 2027 as part of last year’s trade for Ariel Atkins, a deal that also ...Read more

DETROIT — You can learn from watching, which is something Cade Cunningham was forced to do this spring, as the Pistons’ All-Star leader sat for nearly three weeks recovering from a partially collapsed lung he suffered in a game in mid-March.

But what you learn from watching often just reinforces what you already know. And in Cunningham’s ...Read more

SEATTLE — For all the excitement and buzz that’s been generated about the possibility of NBA expansion, it remains just that — a possibility. And while most of the conversation has focused on the potential of the SuperSonics returning, there is a world where all the talk falls flat and the NBA eventually comes back with the decision not to...Read more

PHOENIX – For a brief moment at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Friday, the Golden State Warriors looked like they would do it again.

They rallied from an 18-point first-quarter deficit to trail by just five at halftime against the Suns in the win-or-go-home play-in game.

When the Suns went back up by 16 after NorCal native Jalen Green...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — Magic coach Jamahl Mosley and multiple players made it clear at shootaround Friday morning that Orlando wanted to set a physical tone from the jump in a win-or-go-home NBA play-in game against the Hornets inside Kia Center.

Facing elimination, the Magic steamrolled the Hornets and clinched their spot in the NBA playoffs for ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Connecticut Sun general manager Morgan Tuck still remembers the first time she stepped on the court again All-Star center Brittney Griner during Tuck’s freshman season at UConn.

The Huskies would go on to win a national championship in 2012-13, but Griner’s Baylor squad delivered UConn its only nonconference loss of ...Read more

SEATTLE — Well, queer women around the world will be mourning Friday night.

This will forever be one of the moments where we ask each other, “Where were you on Friday, April 17, 2026, when Seattle sports power couple — hell, American culture power couple! — Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe announced via Instagram that they were breaking up?

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The elephant in the room for the Lakers as they enter the playoffs has been, and will continue to be, the status of their starting backcourt, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Both are out because of injuries — Doncic with a grade 2 left hamstring strain and Reaves with a grade 2 left oblique strain — and neither is expected to...Read more