Basketball

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out of Boston's potential series-clinching matchup against the Miami Heat with a strained right calf.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 5 of the Los Angeles Clippers' tight first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night due to right knee inflammation. Leonard was ruled out by Clippers coach Tyronn Lue on Tuesday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves will enter their second round playoff series against defending champion Denver with an unsettled bench — coach Chris Finch will be recovering from knee surgery.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Knicks swingman Bojan Bogdanovic will have surgery on his left foot and miss the rest of the playoffs.

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Heat will be without yet another starter when they face an elimination game in Boston on Wednesday night. Rookie forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Brad Stevens was announced Tuesday as the NBA's executive of the year after helping build a Boston Celtics team that posted the league's best record in the regular season.

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray overcame a strained left calf, management's suggestion he sit this one out and another haymaker from the Los Angeles Lakers to score 32 points and sink the game-winner with 3.6 seconds left Monday night.

DENVER — Taped to the wall beside Jamal Murray's stall in the Denver Nuggets' locker-room is a picture of Bruce Lee with a quote from the martial arts legend. "Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do," it reads.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder entered the playoffs facing questions about their relative youth and playoff inexperience. Four games later, the Thunder is on to the second round after a convincing sweep of the New Orleans Pelicans.

DENVER (AP) — Sending LeBron James to his earliest playoff exit was harder than it looked, and Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone doesn’t foresee the next step in their title defense getting any easier.