“The NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they’re able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially,” Kushner, an adviser to President Donald Trump, told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. “They have that luxury, which is great.” The Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic were scheduled to face off Wednesday afternoon at the AdventHealth Arena in Orlando, Florida....

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Celtics looked to be in cruise control in the third quarter, leading by as many as 20 points, before the Lakers mounted a furious comeback, behind a 31-5 run to flip the game in its head and lead by 12 points. SIGN UP TO WATCH EVERY GAME ON NBA LEAGUE PASS: U.S. and U.K. | All other countries Just when they thought they had the game won, the Celtics rallied with a late run of their own as Tatum sent the game to overtime with a tough turnaround fadeaway, before putting the game away in the extra period....

The Rockets, Nets, Clippers and Cavaliers combined for an exceptionally large, zaftig trade on Wednesday afternoon, sending disgruntled superstar James Harden to the Nets, and a whole lot of other things. Here’s the reported breakdown: Nets get: James Harden Pacers get: Caris LaVert, second-round pick Cavaliers get: Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince Rockets get: Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurcus, four first-round picks, four pick swaps with Brooklyn The trade is the second house-shaking deal the Rockets have made in recent months, shipping off point guard Russell Westbrook to the Wizards in exchange for John Wall....

The Pacers and Hawks are tied at a game apiece heading into Game 3 in Atlanta on Thursday. NBA PLAYOFFS PHOTOS: Western Conference | Eastern Conference George was especially effective even though he spent much of the night defending Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, who had 14 points. Paul Millsap finished with 19 for Atlanta. The first 24 minutes looked like an exact duplicate of Game 1, but the Pacers pulled away with a 31-13 third quarter....

Manu Ginobili scored 20 points, Danny Green added 16 points and Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard had 15 points apiece for San Antonio. The Spurs advance to face the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers, who upset the Houston Rockets in a six-game series. MORE: Hawks offer virtual beers | Randolph in shock | Raptors outpaced expectations Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Dallas. Last season ended for the Spurs with a Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat....

OAKLAND, Calif. — After a first-round series filled with drama on the court and off it, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers will put the focus back on basketball in the biggest way possible. Next up: Game 7. Stephen Curry scored 24 points and dished out nine assists, and the Warriors forced a winner-take-all series finale by outlasting the Clippers 100-99 Thursday night. "We are going to a Game 7 despite all the sideline music, and I like my chances because I've got a group of guys that want to do whatever it takes to win," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said....

Doc Rivers? He was 2-6 to start his postseason career, and followed that by blowing a 3-1 lead against the Pistons as coach of the Magic in 2003. All six of those coaches have something in common: They rank among the top 15 in NBA coaching wins all-time. Three of them (Wilkens, Sloan and Ramsay) are in the Hall of Fame. PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: East | West In the past week, with the Celtics down 0-2 to the Bulls despite ranking as the East’s top seed, the spotlight has landed on Boston’s coach, Brad Stevens....

Midway through the second quarter, Wizards forward Markieff Morris went down with an ugly ankle injury after landing on the foot of Celtics center Al Horford. The Wizards announced Morris suffered a sprained left ankle, and he did not return after playing only 11 minutes. “(Horford) stepped right under my foot,” Morris said after the game. “Not sure if it was intentional or not, probably not. But that’s what happened, rolled it on his foot....

The Texas rivals decided to have some mascot fun Wednesday night during Game 2 in San Antonio. They invited WWE superstar Henry, the World’s Strongest Man, to join in. MORE: Spurs await word on Parker’s injury; ‘Not good,’ says Pop Henry, who hails from Austin, laid the smackdown on someone dressed up as Clutch, the Rockets’ mascot, after the Spurs’ mascot got laid out. Cleanup on Aisle 6 …...

Each series was simulated 30 times with accurate rosters, updated distribution of playing time and anticipated playoff rotations in order to get the best idea possible of what is to come. The “NBA 2K” series has proven adept at predicting outcomes in the past while identifying areas of focus to keep an eye on. (1) Raptors over (8) Wizards — 73 percent Toronto fans may be able to rest easier knowing that “NBA 2K18” believes the Raptors have an 80 percent chance of snapping their nine-game losing streak in Game 1s....

While there undoubtedly will be series that turn into routs (the Warriors and Bucks in the first round, probably), multiple matchups will certainly come down to a seventh game. One player can make the difference down the stretch in those tight contests. And one game can swing a series in either direction. Here are five players who could potentially have that type of impact this postseason. 76ers forward Tobias Harris On paper, the 76ers’ starting lineup turned into one of the most dangerous in the NBA after they acquired Harris from the Clippers before the deadline....

A 114-94 victory Tuesday at Moda Center backed up the Game 1 win in Portland, with Lillard contributing 29 points, four rebounds and six assists. Only CJ McCollum had better stats for Portland as the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed gained the momentum in their first-round series. However, Lillard called for caution given that they have not made it through to the conference semifinals since 2016. “I’ve had experience of being 2-0 before,” he told reporters....

The Lakers, who finished the regular season with the seventh-best record in the Western Conference, defeated the Golden State Warriors 103-100 on Wednesday night courtesy of LeBron James’ game-winning three pointer with 58.2 seconds left. Having missed 26 of the Lakers’ last 30 regular season games due to an ankle injury, James hit a three-pointer over Stephen Curry from 34 feet out to lift the defending NBA champions past the Warriors....

Some of the top title contenders can be found at the top of our list, but even championship hopefuls such as the Bucks, Nets and Lakers face big questions entering the 2021-22 campaign. They aren’t alone, though, as The Sporting News staff has presented a big question for every NBA team. RANKING ALL 30 STARTERS: PG | SG | SF | PF | C Important note: These rankings are not projections for how the final standings will look....

While it played out over Twitter one way, NBA TV Canada showed how the trade affected players within the locker room, particularly Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy, who were sent to the Sacramento Kings as part of the Gay trade. Details of the deal start to emerge around the 9:51 mark. [HT: Sports Illustrated]

Memphis has intensified discussions about potentially moving the 31-year-old guard and Utah is a “front-runner” to land him if he’s traded this week, according to a report from The Athletic, which cites unidentified league sources. The Jazz also reportedly pursued Conley before the deadline but no deal was ultimately reached. Conley averaged 21.1 points and 6.4 assists in 70 games for the Grizzlies last season. He shot 43.8% from the field and 36....

Thursday followed the lead of Wednesday’s staring contest between teams with no side willing to blink. Guys like Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Jahlil Okafor had been discussed in a number of rumors, but none of them actually moved. MORE: Here are all of the trades that DID happen Sporting News provided updates throughout deadline day. Here’s what you may have missed. Latest NBA trade rumors, news, updates 3:40 p....

According to The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, Hood has drawn interest from a number of teams in the market for a scoring wing. Hood’s production has made him an attractive piece for a team to acquire ahead of the season’s final stretch. In entertaining offers for Hood, the Jazz appear to be heading in a different direction, while Hood is set for a large payday during the 2018 free agency period....

The Pelicans guard, who started his professional career with the Lakers, has become a top target for the Clippers. The New York Times’ Marc Stein reported Friday that the Clippers are “exploring trade routes” to acquire Ball before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline. MORE: Kawhi Leonard offers extremely literal answer to Charles Barkley’s question It’s easy to understand why the Clippers would be interested in adding Ball to the roster....

Suns rookie Josh Jackson is a sticking point in any trade for Irving, according to a report from Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Jackson, point guard Eric Bledsoe and a 2018 first-round pick would be the potential package heading back to the Cavs in exchange for Irving’s services. A source told Cleveland.com “If that [Bledsoe, a first-round pick and Jackson] deal for Irving was there, it’d be done by now.”...