Wolves' Chris Finch to have surgery after collision.
Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch will undergo surgery to repair a right patellar tendon Wednesday, and it remains unclear whether he'll be able to open the franchise's Western Conference semifinal series against the Denver Nuggets on the bench, sources told ESPN.In the early stages of his rehabilitation, Finch will be required to keep right leg immobilized in a brace. If Finch isn't able to park on the sidelines to start the series, assistant Micah Nori will coach Game 1 on Saturday, with Finch likely communicating to the bench from the locker room, sources said.
Barring complications from the procedure Wednesday, Finch -- who finished third in the NBA's Coach of the Year voting -- should be able to travel to Denver with the team Friday, sources said.
The Nuggets are the NBA's defending champions and the No. 2 seed in the West; the Timberwolves are the third seed.
Finch suffered the injury in the final moments of a Game 4 victory Sunday over the Phoenix Suns after Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr. collided with his coach after getting bumped dribbling down the sideline.
Finch led the Timberwolves to their best regular-season record (56-26) and first playoff series victory in 20 years. The Timberwolves have made the playoffs in each of Finch's first three seasons.
Nori has spent three seasons with Finch in Minnesota after stops with the Detroit Pistons, Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors.
76ers' Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre Jr. miss shootaround ahead of G5.
NEW YORK -- Both Joel Embiid and Kelly Oubre Jr. missed shootaround for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday ahead of Game 5 of their first-round series against the New York Knicks.Embiid missed it with a migraine, while Oubre had an illness. Embiid, who was already questionable with left knee injury management, remains so, while Oubre was put on the injury report as probable to play.
Philadelphia enters Game 5 trailing 3-1 in this best-of-seven series, and on the verge of being eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, despite being outscored by a total of four points over the first four games of the series, thanks in part to blowing a 5-point lead in the final 30 seconds of Game 2 here last week.
Embiid, who is less than a month into his return from a procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee, is averaging 35 points, 9 rebounds and 5.5 assists through the first four games, while Oubre has been one of the primary defenders on Knicks star Jalen Brunson.
Celtics take 3-1 series lead but lose Kristaps Porzingis.
MIAMI -- The Boston Celtics took one more step toward eliminating the rival Miami Heat with a convincing 102-88 Game 4 victory Monday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.But the win might have come with a cost, as Kristaps Porzingis, the team's starting center, hobbled off the court with a calf injury just before halftime and didn't return. Porzingis will undergo imaging Tuesday, but early indications are that he didn't sustain an Achilles tendon injury, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Following the game, Porzingis slowly walked out of the visiting locker room area wearing a gray walking boot on his right foot.
Porzingis appeared to tweak something after catching a pass from Jaylen Brown late in the second period. Upon getting the ball, Porzingis started driving toward his left, then grimaced before quickly giving the ball back to Brown and coming up lame in the middle of the play. Porzingis didn't appear to be touched by anyone on the play during which he was hurt.
As he walked to the locker room with a support staffer, Porzingis briefly held his jersey over his face in apparent frustration.
Minutes after he sustained the injury, the Celtics issued an update, saying Porzingis was suffering from right calf tightness. Following the game, Porzingis posted on social media, making note of the team's victory and adding, "Thanks for all the support, will be good" with a biceps emoji at the end of the message.
Celtics players held out hope that Porzingis' injury wasn't serious but also acknowledged that his presence as a floor spacer and rim-protector meant things would change if he is forced to miss time.
"All of us, our mindset has to shift," said veteran center Al Horford, who started the second half in Porzingis' place. "I talked to Luke [Kornet] and Xavier [Tillman], and let them know that all of us have to be ready to step up and do a little more, because KP was playing so well defensively."
Said Jayson Tatum: "We're going to have to play different, but it's a next-man-up mentality for however long [he's out]. Obviously I don't know anything [yet] -- but it's next man up. We just have to find a way to win each game."
The 7-foot-3 Porzingis, who joined the Celtics last offseason via trade with the Washington Wizards, fit his new team almost perfectly, averaging 20 points and seven rebounds per contest on career-best efficiency while giving Boston an even more dangerous five-out offense. But the Celtics, who went 21-4 in the regular season when Porzingis was out, looked just fine Monday in his absence.
Much of that stemmed from the Heat having no answer for Derrick White. The guard caught fire from deep in the first half, in which he shot 6-for-9 from 3, and went on to finish with a career-high 38 points.
It's unreal. You hit a couple, and then after a while, you feel like you can't miss -- the basket's just huge," said the 6-4 White, who also managed to throw down a pair of uncharacteristic dunks. White's scoring outburst made for an even steeper climb for the short-handed, scoring-challenged Heat, who haven't been able to replicate their hot shooting from Game 2, when they hit a franchise playoff-record 23 triples.
Including Monday's 9-for-33 performance from deep, Miami has shot just 29.5% (18-for-61) since then. Games 3 and 4 marked the first time since 2022 that Miami has been held under 90 points in back-to-back contests, be it regular season or the playoffs. The Celtics were the opponent last time it happened, too, back in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals.
Boston will seek to close out the best-of-seven series when it hosts Game 5 Wednesday night.
Knicks' Bojan Bogdanovic done for season after foot surgery
Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis to miss time with calf strain.
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is expected to miss a minimum of several games with a right soleus strain, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday.The Celtics said the star big man will be out for Wednesday's Game 5 in Boston because of the injury but did not offer a timetable beyond that.
The soleus (calf) strain is the same injury that has kept Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo out this postseason.
Porzingis suffered the injury in the first half of Monday's Game 4 win in Miami. He appeared to tweak something after catching a pass from Jaylen Brown late in the second quarter. Upon getting the ball, he started driving toward his left, then grimaced before quickly giving the ball back to Brown and coming up lame in the middle of the play.
Porzingis didn't appear to be touched by anyone on the play during which he was hurt. Following the game, he slowly walked out of the visiting locker room area wearing a gray walking boot on his right foot.
He was set to undergo imaging Tuesday.
Acquired last offseason, Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists during the regular season, helping Boston to a league-best 64-18 record and the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
The Celtics are up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and can close out the Heat at TD Garden on Wednesday.
