These are the NBA playoffs of survival, where not even the stars are safe.

Defending champion Boston vs.

Not this time: The Denver Nuggets’ second-half lead was way too big for them to fritter away.

James Harden had 28 points and eight assists in an outstanding bounce-back performance, Kawhi Leonard added 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers forced a seventh game in their first-round NBA playoff series with a 111-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 6 on Thursday night.

Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 21 in his return from a foot injury, sparking the Nuggets’ 131-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night that gave Denver a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Aaron Gordon slammed down Nikola Jokic’s miss as time expired to lift the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 on Saturday to tie their playoff series 2-2.

Oklahoma City has a chance to secure its spot in Round 2.

Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting and the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round playoff series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver.

The Detroit Pistons could have sounded shaken, after a few miserable minutes against the New York Knicks ruined an otherwise solid return to the postseason.

Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and Aaron Gordon added 25, and the Denver Nuggets roared back from a 15-point first-half deficit to power past the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in overtime in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series.

The Lakers often attract large betting interest anyway.

Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body as the Los Angeles Clippers begin the postseason.

Jimmy Butler had 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists creating opportunities on both ends at every chance, Stephen Curry scored 37, and the Golden State Warriors earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in the Play-In Tournament.

Paul George will miss the rest of the season to recover from his injuries, ending a difficult first year in Philadelphia for the nine-time All-Star.

Doc Rivers says he saw star potential in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while coaching him as a rookie before the Los Angeles Clippers traded him to Oklahoma City.

James Harden delivered another 50-point game, putting on a throwback performance in the Clippers’ new arena.

James Harden scored 50 points, his 24th career 50-point game and first with the Clippers, as Los Angeles beat the Detroit Pistons 123-115.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-102 to win their rivalry matchup for the second time in three days.

The trade deadline is gone.

Ben Simmons has opened a new chapter with the Los Angeles Clippers, practicing with the team for the first time after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets.

Norman Powell scored 22 points, James Harden had a double-double and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 116-102.

NBA games are scheduled to return to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles on Monday night, with the Clippers planning to resume their schedule when they play host to the Miami Heat and the Lakers set to host Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

The NFL moved the Los Angeles Rams’ playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings out of Southern California on Thursday, the biggest of several changes to the sports calendar after days of devastating wildfires in the area.

Kawhi Leonard left the Los Angeles Clippers in Denver on Wednesday to be with his family in Los Angeles after they were evacuated from their Pacific Palisades home because of wildfires.

After what Kawhi Leonard has gone through the past nine months, returning to the court for the Los Angeles Clippers was the easy part.

Kawhi Leonard evidently is ready to play basketball again.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder won their franchise-record 13th consecutive regular-season game, 116-98 over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard won’t play for the Los Angeles Clippers to start the season because of ongoing rehabilitation from inflammation in his right knee.

The Los Angeles Clippers have sent Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz in a sign-and-trade deal for point guard Kris Dunn.

Stephen Curry drove to the basket, laid the ball in, got fouled and ended up on the floor after drawing the contact.

Derrick White has been named to the U.S. men’s basketball team for the Paris Olympics as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard.

Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are all good to go for the start of USA Basketball’s men’s national team training camp in Las Vegas next week, the first step toward what the Americans hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.

LeBron James is now the youngest and the oldest player to make an All-NBA team.

The Orlando Magic desperately want an opportunity to go back on the road.

Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and added 10 assists and seven rebounds, propelling the Dallas Mavericks to a 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

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.

Paul George and James Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Los Angeles Clippers hold on after blowing a 31-point lead and beat the Dallas Mavericks 116-111.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out of Sunday’s Game 4 of a first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks because of right knee inflammation.

Luka Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the suddenly defensive-minded Dallas Mavericks took a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and the Dallas Mavericks overcame the return of Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard to beat Los Angeles 96-93 and tie their Western Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Kawhi Leonard scored four points in the first half of his return for the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 of their playoff series against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers remain unsure when they’ll have their top player back on the floor.

James Harden scored 28 points, Ivica Zubac had a double-double and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 to win their playoff series opener.

Kawhi Leonard will miss the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff opener against the Dallas Mavericks.

Kawhi Leonard has been fighting “very, very stubborn inflammation” in his surgically repaired right knee for three weeks.

LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years.

Officials said they missed a foul call in the closing seconds of the Los Angeles Clippers’ 108-107 win over Philadelphia, denying the 76ers a possible victory in their fight for better playoff positioning.

Damian Lillard scored 41 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to rally past the Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 for their sixth straight victory.

LeBron James scored 34 points while the Los Angeles Lakers rallied back from a 21-point deficit for a dramatic 116-112 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard has a strained left inner thigh and his status for this weekend’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis was uncertain though coach Tyronn Lue didn’t consider the injury to be serious.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, Anthony Edwards added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the second half for a 121-100 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference.

Paul George scored 33 points, Kawhi Leonard added 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Detroit Pistons 112-106.

Russell Westbrook scored 23 points to become the 25th player in NBA history with 25,000 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21 of his 33 points in the first half and the Los Angeles Clippers put on an offensive show in a 136-125 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers were chosen as All-Star reserves Thursday, while the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks also had two players selected.

The Los Angeles Clippers say signed two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to a three-year contract extension worth $152.3 million.

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak with a 106-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

James Harden scored his 25,000th career point in the Los Angeles Clippers' sixth straight victory.

Russell Westbrook got into an extended verbal exchange with a fan late in the Los Angeles Clippers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich grabbed the microphone and chastised the crowd at the Frost Bank Center, telling fans to stop booing former Spurs All-Star Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers.

James Harden scored 17 points in his first game of the season, but the Los Angeles Clippers fell too far behind with a rough start to the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks beat them 111-97.

Even more than his stints in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, James Harden believes he has much more to prove in joining the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped an 11-game losing streak against the Los Angeles Clippers with a 130-125 victory.

James Harden is a superstar joining a team already loaded with stars.

Los Angeles Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George schooled Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama in his first road game, beating San Antonio 123-83.

The NBA enlisted an actor from “The Sopranos” and borrowed the central theme of the film “Ocean’s Eleven," that being a Las Vegas heist, to hype the inaugural In-Season Tournament that begins Nov. 3.

With a new “player participation policy,” the NBA has made it clear that healthy players should be on the court.

Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss a third straight playoff game for the Los Angeles Clippers, who are facing elimination against the Phoenix Suns.

Load management is a big topic across the NBA these days.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Devin Booker added 30 and the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Clippers without Kawhi Leonard 112-100 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Devin Booker scored 45 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers 129-124 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference series.

Kawhi Leonard won’t play for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series.

Devin Booker scored 38 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 123-109 on Tuesday night in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference first-round series.

Kawhi Leonard scored 38 points, including a pair of late 3-pointers, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 115-110 in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series.

Norman Powell scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 25 and the Los Angeles Clippers improved their playoff seeding chances with a 125-118 win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Clippers say Paul George has a sprained right knee and will be reevaluated in two to three weeks.

Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 134-124 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers in a matchup of Western Conference contenders.

Malik Monk scored a career-high 45 points, De’Aaron Fox had the go-ahead basket and finished with 42 and the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

Kyrie Irving scored 24 points in his Dallas debut and the Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 110-104.

LeBron James hit a career-high nine 3-pointers while scoring 46 points, but the Los Angeles Clippers hit 19 3-pointers of their own on the way to a comfortable 133-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Paul George scored 26 points, Kawhi Leonard had season highs of 25 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 113-93.

Kawhi Leonard is returning and starting for the first time this season against the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James had 30 points and eight rebounds before leaving the court gingerly with less than five minutes to play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 114-101 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, reserve Collin Sexton added 22 and the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-102.

Kawhi Leonard is sitting out his eighth game for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul became the third player in NBA history to reach 11,000 assists, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-95.

Kawhi Leonard had 14 points and seven rebounds in his first game in 16 months, and the Los Angeles Clippers opened a season of sky-high expectations with a 103-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ben Simmons finally played for the Brooklyn Nets in their preseason opener.

Brendan Donovan hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to lead Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-4 victory against the San Diego Padres, snapping a three-game losing streak.

By mid-January, LeBron James could be the NBA’s scoring king.

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the depleted Los Angeles Clippers 105-101 in a play-in and earn the West’s No. 8 seed for the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Clippers say Paul George has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss their play-in game against New Orleans.

Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell combined for 59 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Los Angeles Clippers 109-104 in a play-in game.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a team-record 60 points, the most scored in the NBA this season, and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 149-139.

The Los Angeles Clippers completed a four-game season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 132-111 victory.

Terance Mann had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Amir Coffey added 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers returned from the All-Star break with a 105-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, it's decision time for teams around the league.

Luke Kennard scored seven points inside the final 9 seconds, including a go-ahead four-point play with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 35-point first-half deficit to stun the Washington Wizards 116-115.

The basic mantra for all NBA teams this season should be just get into the playoffs.

Paul George has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will be out up to a month.

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