For NBA players, the prize is the gold trophy.

Detroit guard Killian Hayes and Orlando’s Moritz Wagner were each given multi-game suspensions for their roles in a scuffle, while the NBA suspended eight Magic players one game apiece for leaving the bench area during an altercation.

Paul George scored 37 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 119-111 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinals series.

(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, Pool, File)ATLANTA – Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce was fired less than halfway into a season that began with heightened expectations but was beset by injuries. The Hawks are 14-20 and 11th in the Eastern Conference, following a 109-99 loss at Miami on Sunday night. AdMcMillan filled in for Pierce when Pierce was recently away from the team while his wife was giving birth. This was supposed to be the season the Hawks returned to the playoffs, and Pierce acknowledged before the season it was time to win. Pierce, hired in 2018, was 63-120 (.344) with the Hawks, missing the playoffs in each of his two completed seasons.