Kobe Bryant News

There is no need to actually watch the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

In the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs, there are some pretty solid match-ups that will provide some excitement.

Game 2 is Tuesday at Staples, with the best-of-7 series then shifting to Denver’s Pepsi Center for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on May6.

Over the last 25 years, the NBA has truly become a global entity. As recent as the late ’80s, the international NBA player was a novelty, with a handful spread around the league in any given year.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant chose to sit out of his team’s regular-season final at Sacramento on Thursday night, which assured Thunder forward Kevin Durant of his third straight scoring title.

The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers have met before in the NBA playoffs and it was a closer series than many thought.

Despite the Lakers playing under a new coaching staff, experiencing several roster changes and learning a new system, Kobe Bryant has continually touted the Lakers as championship contenders.

David Stern has taken an overwhelming amount of heat the past few years over the direction of the league, most recently, the decision to blockade the Los Angeles Lakers from garnering Chris Paul this off-season has been his biggest source of criticism.

Game stories — The Times’ Ben Bolch explains why the Lakers ‘ 113-96 loss Thursday to the Sacramento Kings in their season finale meant absolutely nothing.

With the 2012 NBA regular season officially over, the postseason we’ve all been waiting for is about to begin.

The NBA Playoffs return to Oklahoma City with the Thunder taking on the Dallas Mavericks Saturday inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The NBA playoffs get underway tomorrow, and most of the lower seeds are facing serious uphill battles in the first round.

Coming into the last day of the season the scoring race between Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant was tight.

José Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com The vibe was positive on the Kings’ bench in the final seconds Thursday, as evidenced by the smiles on the faces of Francisco Garcia, back, and Tyreke Evans.

The vibe was positive on the Kings’ bench in the final seconds Thursday, as evidenced by the smiles on the faces of Francisco Garcia, back, and Tyreke Evans.