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Antetokounmpo scored 39 points and had 16 rebounds and four assists as the Bucks moved into a 3-1 series lead over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals courtesy of a 113-101 victory Monday. But the Bucks also got 32 points from their bench — led by George Hill (15) and Pat Connaughton (nine) — compared to the Celtics’ seven. Antetokounmpo believes the Bucks’ depth has been crucial in the series, which returns to Milwaukee on Wednesday....

Golden State is the two-time defending champion and has won three of the last four titles. It earned the top spot in the Western Conference once again in 2018-19 before defeating the Clippers in six games in the first round. “It’s not just the idea of getting a ring, hanging a banner,” coach Steve Kerr told ESPN last month. “It’s the memory of all that went into it. You put a lot of effort in to achieve that....

This week, we’re going with a more positive spin. Heading into Thanksgiving, this week’s edition of Power Rankings is centered around one thing each team in the league can be thankful for — yes, even the Rockets, who remain on pace to post the worst single-season record in NBA history. As a reminder, these power rankings are a reflection of where teams stand up to this point in the season and not a projection of where they may land later in the season....

Before all 30 teams head to Las Vegas for the NBA 2K23 Summer League on July 7, the Warriors will host the Lakers, Heat and Kings in San Francisco for the California Classic, an event in which six games will be played over four days. MORE: Rosters for each California Classic NBA Summer League team While the Heat and Warriors are looking to develop their young talent to help them improve in the margins, the Kings and Lakers could rely on their young talent to help build for the future....

Roughly a dozen NBA players gathered for a teleconference with officials this summer to discuss fan behavior in the league, which all agreed is getting worse. Now the NBA has toughened its stance on what’s acceptable for fans to do and say and what’s considered abusive, according to The Associated Press. Some of the changes include a no-tolerance policy on derogatory and racist language. “We’ve added any sexist language or [anti-]LGBTQ language, any denigrating language in that way, anything that is non-basketball related,” said Jerome Pickett, the NBA’s executive vice president and chief security officer....

Count the Philadelphia 76ers among the interested. In fact, the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., cites a report than Embiid’s injury has heightened talks with the Cavs. First question: If the Sixers want to move up, who would they take? SN’s Sean Deveney has them calling Australian guard prospect Dante Exum at No. 3, but the man they really want might be small forward Andrew Wiggins. Deveney has Wiggins going to the Cavs at No....

“Feels like we have to get better,” Budenholzer said. Indeed. But for Budenholzer, that ship has pretty much sailed. This team is not getting better, probably not under his watch. General manager Travis Schlenk, hired last May, has put the Hawks into full-scale sell mode approaching the deadline on Thursday, with just about everyone on the roster outside of rookie John Collins up for discussion. Alas, the Hawks’ yard sale has not been the most popular on the block — “slim pickings,” as one scout said with a laugh on Friday....

The Knicks “will look into offers for Ntilikina to see if they can add another early second-round or late first-round pick,” according to a report from the New York Post. The 20-year-old is set to make around $5 million in 2019-20, the report says. The guard is “on the trading block and desires a relocation,” according to a separate report from the New York Daily News, which cites an unidentified league source....

The most high-profile issue has included Ray Rice, but a rash of other incidents have put the NFL in hot water with the public. Details of possible cover-up attempts have only added further scrutiny to NFL procedures. MORE: Griffin knew Sterling was ‘racist’ | Silver does not think Ferry should be fired But while the NFL has been in the news for domestic violence lately, it is hardly a new problem and it is not one that only affects professional sports or the NFL....

Collinsworth and play-by-play voice Mike Tirico were discussing how the league’s concussion protocol will be changing as a result of an investigation into how Tagovailoa’s injury was handled. Collinsworth said the new concussion protocol has to “pass the eye test for NFL fans.” “It just does. What we saw from Tua, he may well have had a back injury (in Week 3 vs. the Bills), I don’t know, but it looked the way he was stumbling, that’s what you see when someone is concussed, whether it was or not,” Collinsworth said....

University police Maj. David Kelly says authorities stopped Lacey early Friday for riding a moped without a helmet near campus, then found an arrest order for Lacey for missing an April appearance on February charges of speeding and driving with a revoked license. Attorney Lee Turner says his client was released on unsecured bond and called it a scheduling “oversight” on his part after Lacey had reached out to him for representation....

Don’t listen. Don’t count the days. MORE: SN’s Midseason All-America team March is glorious, but it will arrive when it is scheduled to arrive. If one spends too much time obsessing about the impending NCAA Tournament, it’s too easy to miss the wonders of the regular season. February is coming, too. And these, 1-16 in our power rankings, are the teams that will most command your attention: 1. Gonzaga (16-2, 5-0 WCC) This team is not as good in general as its predecessor, but it is far more dynamic at both ends of the floor....

The identity of that fourth team was an unknown heading into Sunday, but the Cavaliers' win in the ACC championship game swung momentum in their favor. MORE: Instant bracket reaction | Unbreakable NCAA Tournament records Virginia's 72-63 victory over the Blue Devils was the team's third against a opponent among the RPI Top 25. The other three selections were no-brainer picks. Florida followed up its SEC regular-season title with a SEC Tournament title and has won 26 straight games....

The NCAA Tournament first round resumes at 12:15 p.m. ET. Here are a few games to watch and the story lines to enhance the entertainment factor in each region of Friday’s NCAA Tournament schedule. PHOTOS: First-round scenes | March Sadness: Teams react to elimination How will Jim Boeheim’s drama affect Syracuse? Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim doesn’t want his team to suffer anymore for his follies. When he was suspended at the beginning of the season for allowing ineligible student-athletes to play, ‘Cuse went 4-9....

That’s a relief, right? Because all the stuff about Lonzo being better than Steph Curry will stand as mere conjecture until at least the autumn, and all the stuff about him being “Magic Johnson with a jump shot” and Michael Jordan’s superior never will be proven either way. MORE: Interactive NCAA Tournament bracket On the other hand, Friday night in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region semifinals, Lonzo Ball was confronted in person by Fox....

Just as Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke players are so clock-aware they sprint to the bench the moment a TV timeout is due, just as Bob Huggins’ West Virginia Mountaineers know to “get opposite” and prepare to rebound from the weak side when a shot is attempted, the North Carolina Tar Heels know that if there are more than six seconds on the clock in an end-game session they are never to call timeout....

The NCAA Tournament bracket was released around 3:45 p.m. PT, Sunday. Avello, the executive director of the Wynn race and sports book, followed along as the matchups were announced. He consulted his power ratings, read up on a few of the smaller teams that he hadn’t dealt with much and put the town’s first March Madness points spreads on the board shortly after 6 p.m. PT. Bettors pounced, with line-moving money coming in on some of the biggest underdogs of the Round of 64....

NCAA vice president Dan Gavitt told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that officials did see all available angles of the play in which the ball went out of bounds with just under two minutes remaining. Officials initially gave Duke possession and decided not to overturn that call. Gavitt’s remarks came a day after John Adams, the NCAA’s supervisor of officials, said officials never saw the angle TV viewers were given that appeared to show the ball going off the fingers of Duke’s Justise Winslow....

You might think the Dolphins defensive tackle is a dirty player. And despite his continued status as one of the NFL’s best interior linemen, you might think Miami made a mistake when it signed him to a six-year, $114 million contract with $60 million guaranteed. MORE: NFL’s highest-paid defenders For Suh, 29, that’s fine. He doesn’t mind. He’ll just keep dominating the line of scrimmage on the field, studying business practices/investments off the field and playing video games in between....

HAISLOP: Suh will be a big problem for opponents | Super Bowl odds shakeup | Best, worst moves “This is obviously a great day,” Suh said. “And there’s many more to come after that.” Before signing Suh, Dolphins owner Stephen Ross got some advice from people outside of the NFL arena. He said he received a text from Jalen Rose saying, “You’re getting a great player but an even better person....