Relentless defense has been the Wolves' identity all season. "We smell blood in the water and things... accelerate," coach Chris Finch said ..read more

The Pulse Newsletter ? | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Sell that flop today.  Hindsight always brings clarity, and while the regular season told us Minnesota was charmed, I don’t know anyone who saw this coming. And if anyone says they did, they’re probably lying.  Last night, the Timberwolves walloped the defending champion Nuggets 106-80 in Denver, a game Minnesota led by as many as 32 points. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 54 points. There was truly never a doubt who ..read more

"They never give up, they’re always competing, and it’s going to be a fun challenge,” says Celtics guard Derrick White ..read more

When the Mavericks saw Josh Giddey in February, he was in a long-distance slump. That's not the case as of late ..read more

In the first game of the electric series, the Pacers did their best to avoid shifting blame from themselves and onto the officials ..read more

Two more second round series get started in the NBA Playoffs on Tuesday with both top seeds in action ..read more

Madison Square Garden was electric as the Knicks' second-round series got underway with a tight win over the Pacers ..read more

Victor Wembanyama, the 20-year-old French star whose mere presence conjured reimaginings of what is possible in the sport, was named the NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, earning all 99 first-place votes. Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 draft, is the first unanimous top rookie since Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns in 2016. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren (second) and the Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller (third) were the other finalists for the league’s top rookie honor. “My goals were to always help my team as best as I could and to get better as the year went on ..read more

Do Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez have a strong case ..read more

Miami Heat president Pat Riley said the organization will not trade Jimmy Butler this offseason amid rumblings of possible discontent between the franchise and its star player over a possible contract extension this summer. Still, Riley did hint at points of friction between the two parties. Butler did not play in the Heat’s first-round series loss to the Celtics because of an MCL injury suffered during the Play-In tournament. But he recorded a video saying the Heat would have beaten the Celtics if he had been healthy and would have taken down the Knicks had they matched up. Jimmy ..read more