For much of their NBA play-in game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night, the Nets looked like the fearsome team that many observers had long said lay hidden behind their mediocre record. Kevin Durant was magnificent. Kyrie Irving didn’t miss a shot until the fourth quarter. Multiple teammates made significant contributions well above what … Read more
Sarah Bolton maneuvers in the air for a living, using silks and hammocks to defy gravity at heights of up to 25 feet. The sensation of being in the air, she said, is often one of empowerment, an extension of childhood fantasies becoming adult realities. Bolton runs the aerial arts school High Expectations in Memphis, … Read more
PHILADELPHIA – There was a nervous energy throughout the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday evening as the Philadelphia 76ers prepared to play Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. The Sixers have star power that should overwhelm most other teams, but their stars have had trouble in the playoffs before. Joel … Read more
Klay Thompson was splashing 3-pointers. Draymond Green was making stops and deftly finding open cutters. Stephen Curry drew several defenders any time he touched the ball. The threesome who redefined basketball on the way to winning multiple championships with the Golden State Warriors reunited in the playoffs on Saturday for the first time since 2019. … Read more
BOSTON – There was a time when Celtics fans were excited about Kyrie Irving. They can recall the summer of 2017, when Irving forced his way out of Cleveland and landed in Boston, where he delighted in the Celtics’ illustrious past and pledged to do what he could to help the team win. But over … Read more
When the Toronto Raptors selected forward Scottie Barnes with the fourth pick of the 2021 NBA draft, some people in the basketball world raised their eyebrows. Jalen Suggs, considered one of the can’t-miss prospects, was still on the board. One regular season later, the Raptors look prescient. The 20-year-old Barnes is a top contender for … Read more
BOSTON – Kevin Durant had no room. He admitted as much. Whenever he had the ball against the Celtics on Wednesday night, and even when he didn’t, defenders were crowding his space, shadowing him, draping themselves all over him like Saran wrap. They were on the perimeter, and in the paint, and at the elbow. … Read more