JASON KIDD

The U.S.’s most successful sporting export has achieved its greatest success.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are the top seeds in the playoffs and at the moment, they look like it coming off impressive performances.

The Dallas Mavericks are buying time to get Luka Doncic involved in their first-round series against Utah after winning Game 2 at home without their star.

Luka Doncic is out again for the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their playoff series against the Utah Jazz.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after halftime, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Utah Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory over Dallas.

Luka Doncic won’t play for the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their playoff series against Utah because of the calf injury the All-Star guard suffered in the regular-season finale.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledges there is pressure in the NBA playoffs and after the winning the first title, “your mind wants to win a second time or a third time."

The Dallas Mavericks aren’t putting a timetable on Luka Doncic’s return from a left calf strain with the club four days from opening a first-round playoff series against Utah.

Luka Doncic strained his left calf in Dallas’ 130-120 win over San Antonio in what turned out to be a meaningless regular-season finale, putting the superstar’s status in question for the playoff-bound Mavericks.

Luka Doncic had 39 points, 11 rebounds and his 16th technical foul of the season for the Dallas Mavericks in a 128-78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and matched a season high with 15 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112.

Jalen Brunson scored 28 points while Spencer Dinwiddie added 26 with Luka Doncic resting a sore right ankle and the Dallas Mavericks overwhelmed the Houston Rockets in the second half for a 110-91 victory.

Spencer Dinwiddie made a 3-pointer at the buzzer against his former team, giving the Dallas Mavericks a 113-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Luka Doncic scored 30 points, Dwight Powell tied a career high with 26 and the Dallas Mavericks built a big lead and coasted to 113-100 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Dorian Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3.3 seconds left and the Dallas Mavericks, playing without All-Star guard Luka Doncic, overcame a 19-point deficit for the second time this week to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Saturday.

Dorian Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3.3 seconds left and the Dallas Mavericks, playing without All-Star guard Luka Doncic, overcame a 19-point deficit for the second time this week to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Saturday. Doncic was listed on the injury report as having a left toe sprain, and coach Jason Kidd wouldn’t elaborate on the injury. Spencer Dinwiddie scored a season-high 36 points to go with seven assists in his first start for Dallas since being acquired from Washington on Feb. 10.

Luka Doncic made two free throws with 7.9 seconds left on the way to 34 points and the Dallas Mavericks came back from 21 down in the third quarter to stun the Golden State Warriors 107-101 on Sunday night.

RJ Barrett scored 32 points, Mitchell Robinson had a season-high 19 and the New York Knicks snapped the Dallas Mavericks’ six-game winning streak with a 108-85 victory.

Another NBA head coach has entered the league's health and safety protocols.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points and seven assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 130-106 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night despite missing two stars and their head coach.

The Dallas Mavericks are set to retire Dirk Nowitzki's No. 41 against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

Oklahoma City rookie Josh Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double on Sunday night.

The NBA's five-game Christmas Day slate will be played as scheduled, but with many big names absent.

The NBA has called off five games for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday because of coronavirus-related concerns.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Luka Dončić had 26 in his return to the Dallas lineup, and the Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 in overtime.

Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker each scored 19 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 14 assists and the Phoenix Suns ran their winning streak to 11, rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-104 on Friday night.

Cam Reddish scored 20 points, Trae Young added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 113-87 rout of the Mavericks to ruin the debut of Dallas coach Jason Kidd.

For the NBA’s 75th anniversary team, 75 players weren’t enough.

The Western Conference has the best regular season team from last year in Utah.

New Dallas coach Jason Kidd is already thinking of ways to tell Luka Doncic he has help on the roster.

The pandemic and vaccination rates were the talk of the NBA on media day Monday.

Luka Doncic has signed the richest contract in the history of the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic is set to sign a $207 million supermax extension with the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic is making the Olympics look easy.

Jamahl Mosley has agreed to become the new coach of the Orlando Magic.

Jason Kidd is coming back to Dallas again, this time to replace the coach he won a championship with as the point guard of the Mavericks 10 years ago.

Kevin Durant had 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in one of the best performances in postseason history, sending the Brooklyn Nets back into the lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 114-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5.

The Blazers' disappointing early playoff departure is forcing the franchise to consider major moves to satisfy superstar Damian Lillard.

The Los Angeles Lakers simply need a rest after two NBA seasons that felt like one relentless grind only interrupted by a ring ceremony.

The Portland Trail Blazers and coach Terry Stotts are parting ways after nine seasons.

James Harden had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first postseason triple-double with Brooklyn, leading the Nets into the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 123-109 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5.

Memphis Grizzlies’ fans cheered Mike Conley earlier this year when he finally earned All-Star recognition in his 14th season.

A triple-double later, he joined NBA Finals lore — and the short-handed Miami Heat might have made this title matchup a series after all. A 13-point Heat lead in the early going? But the rest of the way was all Miami, Butler simply unwilling to let his team go down 3-0. ... Nick Aquilino, the son of Heat neuromuscular therapist Vinny Aquilino, performed the anthem -- a recording from a Heat game with fans in Miami. BUTLER’S TRIPLE-DOUBLEButler became the 21st player to have a triple-double in the NBA Finals — and four of the 21 were part of Sunday’s game.

Boston Celtics' Kemba Walker (8) reacts to a play against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA conference final playoff basketball game Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – There have been two undeniable truths about the Miami Heat this season. The Boston Celtics have scouting and analytics teams that undoubtedly know these trends. HEAT ON 3’SFor whatever reason, 31.1% is the magic number for Heat 3-pointers this season. BIG FINISHThe Celtics scored 103 points in the final three quarters of Game 5.

James Harden scored 36 points and the Houston Rockets ran away from the Lakers 112-97 on Friday night, the second straight round the No. Russell Westbrook added 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Eric Gordon had 23 points for the Rockets, the No. They forced 17 turnovers that led to 27 turnovers and played the much bigger Lakers even on the backboards. The Lakers playing for only the second time in 11 days. Lakers: Assistant coach Jason Kidd missed the game because of what coach Frank Vogel said were severe back spasms.

For the first time since 1990, the Dallas Mavericks are going to the playoffs without Dirk Nowitzki on the roster. The German great retired after last season, officially passing the torch as leader of the Mavs to Doncic the Slovene who nearly averaged a 30-point triple-double in just his second NBA season. So, no, he hasnt seen what the NBA playoffs are like. Behind Doncic, they only assembled the greatest year in NBA history in terms of offensive efficiency. He can make those incredible plays.And now Doncic gets the chance to make those plays on the NBAs best stage: The playoffs.