In last year's NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs sent the Heat back to Miami down 3-2, holding the momentum and a one-game advantage over the defending champions. With a dramatic Game 6 overtime win, though, Miami sapped the energy out of San Antonio and most were certain it would hold homecourt and win the second of back-to-back titles. They did just that, as LeBron James followed one classic, career-defining performance with another only nights later....

After seeing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green leave via free agency on Saturday, the Toronto Raptors have reportedly signed Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to a one-year contract, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. MORE: NBA free agency tracker 2019: Full list of signings, best available players Hollis-Jefferson, 24, was originally drafted 23rd overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2015 NBA Draft. He was traded the same day to the Nets along with Steve Blake for Pat Connaughton and Mason Plumlee....

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, which cited unidentified league sources, the Bucks and Lopez agreed to a two-year deal Sunday. The second season of the contract is a player option. The 31-year-old big man averaged 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Bulls last season. Bulls coach Jim Boylen praised Lopez’s leadership earlier in the year. “It’s invaluable to have a guy who honors his role as an example to the team, a guy who speaks up when a situation needs to be addressed,” Boylen said then, via the Chicago Tribune....

World-renown NBA impersonator Brandon Armstrong (@BdotAdot5) had to mimic Shaquille O’Neal. The time has come, and he’s straight “Shaqtin a Fool” with it. From the NBA on TNT personality’s classic baby hook to his awful free-throw routine and gargantuan strides up the court, his rendition will make you reminisce over the days “The Diesel” manned the paint for the Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavaliers and Celtics. Check it out. MORE: See LeBron James’ latest Nike sneaker | Meet Brandon Armstrong 

A series of coin flips on Friday helped lock in the draft order after the lottery and locked in odds for some of the teams hoping to land the No. 1 pick. Assuming nothing changes on lottery night, here’s a look at how the draft could go down in June… Suns — Deandre Ayton, C, Arizona Age: 19.7 | Height: 7-1 | Weight: 260 Ayton’s college career didn’t end exactly as planned when his Arizona squad was upset in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament....

Atlanta is a 1-point favorite at many Vegas bet shops, with a total of about 198, Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current Game 1 spreads and totals. AccuScore has the Hawks as 56.6 percent favorites to win Game 1 outright. The average score after AccuScore ran its 10,000-plus simulations is 98-96. AccuScore best bet: There’s a 53.4 percent chance the Hawks cover a -1 spread, a two-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend....

The standings in the Eastern and Western Conferences are still tight with only a few games left on the schedule, so a single win or loss could make a major difference in seedings. NBA LEAGUE PASS: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial) Which teams will punch their tickets to the postseason? And which playoff hopefuls will miss the cut? Here’s a breakdown of the NBA Play-In Tournament, including the projected matchups in each conference and an explanation of the tournament format....

The announcement was made on Monday by American Conservative Union chair Matt Schlapp on Twitter. The annual conference is currently scheduled to feature speeches from former President Donald Trump as well as other Republicans, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and conservative media personalities like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. Freedom, who added the word to the end of his name in November, has criticized several foreign governments over human rights abuses....

Point spreads and totals are current as of Tuesday morning. Check our odds page for updated Las Vegas lines. Dallas Mavericks (1-3 ATS) at Houston Rockets (3-1 ATS) Series: Rockets lead 3-1Game 5 Line: Rockets -7, Total: 222 For the NBA, the story of Game 4 was role players notching double-doubles, Monta Ellis scoring 31 points, and the Mavericks not willing to end their season just yet. As for bettors, the story was the crazy total....

Find a recap of Sunday's action below. MORE: Get well, Craig Sager | Ujiri: F*** Brooklyn | Playoff previews: East | West Rockets-Trail Blazers 1:10 am: RECAP: Those who stayed up to see the final game of the Sunday slate were rewarded with perhaps the best game of the playoffs so far. Portland came from behind late to grab a huge road win in overtime, with Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge delivering in a huge way for the Blazers....

The New Orleans guard appeared to attempt stomping on the foot of the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year as he made his way to the bench. The Pelicans won Game 3 119-100, with Rondo recording 21 assists. Rondo and Green have gone at one another every game this series. In Game 1, they got into each other’s chests after Green celebrated an and-one layup. MORE: Barkley apologizes to Green for saying he wanted to punch GS forward...

It seems Charles Barkley still has this idea the Warriors are a shoot-happy bunch that only pays attention to half the court. Barkley was at it again Wednesday at halftime of the Warriors’ Game 2 NBA playoffs matchup vs. the Trail Blazers. The score was 55-46, Warriors, at the half, by the way. The Warriors then went out and held the Blazers to six points over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the third period....

Thomas did it all offensively — drives to the basket, midrange jumpers, 3-pointers. Everything was working. It was an unstoppable tour de force that was met with whatever is the opposite of an immovable object. As good (exceptionally good) as Thomas was, he climbed over the 50-point plateau in part because the Wizards offered no solutions in guarding him. MORE: NBA scoreboard | Playoff schedule Celtics coach Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job throughout the season of configuring his lineups and designing sets that create scoring opportunities for Thomas, even with opposing teams knowing he is the No....

KD hit the Dubs’ first basket Monday night in Portland, a quick-release 3-pointer. MORE: Blazers’ social media can’t bear to give the score Minutes later, he pulled off a chasedown block that led to a Steph Curry transition 3. Not bad for a guy who has been nursing a calf injury. MORE: Kerr’s coaching career reportedly in jeopardy because of injury The rout, as they say, was on. By the midpoint of the first quarter, the defending West champs were up 25-5, and a series sweep looked very much like a lock....

Feeling a bit parched after doing work against Toronto in the third quarter, the Cleveland superstar pondered taking a pause to refresh with a beer from the crowd. MORE: Raptors-Cavaliers Game Center Um, no drinking on the job, LeBron. Back in the first quarter, James threw down a dunk contest slam with an assist from Kyrie Irving. Seems the Cavs are feeling mighty confident against a fellow Eastern Conference power....

MORE: Do the Raptors have any chance of stopping LeBron? That paved the way for a four-game season series marked by some notable absurdities. In January, the Wizards all wore black in the run-up to their game against the Celtics, claiming the garb represented a “funeral” for the Celtics. There was also a postgame run-in between Celtics forward Jae Crowder and Wizards guard John Wall, which prompted Boston police to beef up its presence in the hallway that connects the two locker rooms....

“Dudley has been fined $25,000 for escalating an on-court incident which spilled into the spectator stands by shoving Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. Butler has been fined $15,000 for escalating it further by then shoving Dudley,” the NBA announced Sunday. Fortunately for both men, they haven’t been suspended and will be able to play in Game 5 in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The incident began when Embiid swatted hard at Jarrett Allen, which prompted Dudley to shove Embiid....

Curry contributed 20 points, three rebounds and five assists as the Warriors defeated the Rockets,115-109, on Tuesday to move up 2-0 in the NBA playoffs’ Western Conference semifinals. Warriors star Curry sustained the injury during the first quarter when trying to knock the ball away from Clint Capela at the rim and headed to the locker room before swiftly returning. “I’ve been there. He’s a warrior – all pun intended – and he came back with a vengeance,” Thompson told ESPN....

On the Eastern Conference side of the playoff bracket, the Bucks and Hawks each survived hard-fought, seven-game battles in the second round. Milwaukee managed to beat an injury-plagued Brooklyn team, and Atlanta pulled off a surprising upset of Philadelphia, which entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the East. Over in the Western Conference, the Suns and Clippers took down the Nuggets and Jazz, respectively. However, both Phoenix and Los Angeles head into the conference finals missing key stars....