Basketball

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bobby Portis Jr. let his emotions get the best of him Sunday night and it proved costly for the already short-handed Milwaukee Bucks.

DALLAS (AP) — Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard was ruled out of Sunday's Game 4 of a first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, with no timetable for his return from right knee inflammation.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander joked at first when asked what makes Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault good at his job. “He’s annoying. Always nagging,” the All-Star guard said with a chuckle.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks will be without injured All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard when their playoff series resumes Sunday night at Indiana.

Denver is one win from returning to Round 2. And Oklahoma City is a win away from getting there for the first time since 2016.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gerald Herbert insists on making sure he provides the best coverage possible when photographing New Orleans’ NBA team. That means laboriously hanging remote cameras in the Pelicans’ arena hours before every home game.

MIAMI (AP) — There's been a notion in the NBA for years, one that says the game changes when the postseason rolls around. Joe Mazzulla disagrees. In the eyes of the Boston coach, nothing really changes from the regular season to the playoffs.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are still alive. And the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics were all rolling. Close games are hard to find in these NBA playoffs.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers finally cracked the Denver Nuggets' mastery of this rivalry and extended their playoff lives for at least another game. To absolutely nobody's surprise, LeBron James led the way.

Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25, first in the Western Conference) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (49-33, seventh in the Western Conference) New Orleans; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EDT BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Thunder -4.5; over/under is 204.