Basketball

DENVER (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t sulk over his off night. He didn’t hang his head, either, after the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Denver Nuggets for the second time in three games. He just smiled.

Cleveland Cavaliers (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Indiana Pacers (50-32, fourth in the Eastern Conference) Indianapolis; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cavaliers -4.5; over/under is 231.

Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14, first in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (50-32, fourth in the Western Conference) Denver; Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -5.5; over/under is 227.

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets knew bouncing back from their 43-point loss would mean hanging with the tubro-charged, top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder so that they could tap into their experience, home environment and closing prowess.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 43 points and nine rebounds, and the finally full-strength Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana 126-104 on Friday night to cut the Pacers’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Cleveland Cavaliers finally had their normal rotations back Friday night.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Donovan Mitchell refused to let another fourth-quarter lead slip away from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Minnesota Timberwolves said they are investigating if a fan directed racially charged comments toward Golden State's Draymond Green during the fourth quarter of a playoff game between the teams on Thursday night.

MIAMI (AP) — There's a photo that Miami Heat president Pat Riley keeps in his office. It's of Jimmy Butler, exhausted in Game 5 of the 2020 NBA Finals, catching his breath while slumped over a barrier that surrounded the court at Walt Disney World.

When the Boston Celtics left New York last month, they had just finished a season sweep of the Knicks that made it seem as if a postseason meeting would be a simple step on their climb back to the NBA Finals.