Over the course of Donovan Mitchell's outstanding rookie season with Utah, Portland star Damian Lillard has become something of a mentor, regularly sending texts of encouragement.So Lillard really didn't mind when Mitchell was the one who broke his rookie 3-point record."He's had a great season, not just for a rookie but for a guard in the NBA. I'm really happy for him," Lillard said. "We've had some communication throughout the season. I like to see a guy that's humble, a guy that works hard. Not many people were talking about him coming out of the draft. He wasn't the talk of the draft."But he just came out and he just showed. That's what makes me a fan of him."Mitchell surpassed Lillard's mark of 185 3-pointers on Tuesday night in Utah's 119-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors.The next night, the two players were face-to-face in the final regular-season game. Portland claimed a 102-93 win on its home court, sending the Trail Blazers into a first-round playoff series against the... [More]

Over the course of Donovan Mitchell's outstanding rookie season with Utah, Portland star Damian Lillard has become something of a mentor, regularly sending texts of encouragement.So Lillard really didn't mind when Mitchell was the one who broke his rookie 3-point record."He's had a great season, not just for a rookie but for a guard in the NBA. I'm really happy for him," Lillard said. "We've had some communication throughout the season. I like to see a guy that's humble, a guy that works hard. Not many people were talking about him coming out of the draft. He wasn't the talk of the draft."But he just came out and he just showed. That's what makes me a fan of him."Mitchell surpassed Lillard's mark of 185 3-pointers on Tuesday night in Utah's 119-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors.The next night, the two players were face-to-face in the final regular-season game. Portland claimed a 102-93 win on its home court, sending the Trail Blazers into a first-round playoff series against the... [More]

Philadelphia wants to open the playoffs at home. Toronto wants home-court advantage all the way to the NBA Finals.How they get through some marquee games this week will go a long way in determining if they reach those goals.For the Raptors, it's a game Wednesday against the team right behind them. For the red-hot 76ers, it's the one just in front of them: LeBron James and the reigning East champs from Cleveland on Friday.Toronto hosts Boston, with both teams playing for the second straight night. The Raptors lost Tuesday in Cleveland and Boston later fell in Milwaukee, keeping the Raptors two games ahead with five to play.A win Wednesday and the Raptors will be on the verge of locking up the No. 1 seed. Lose their third consecutive game, and the door stays open for Boston to grab it for the second straight season. The Celtics trimmed three games off their deficit during a six-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday, and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win Wednesday."It's... [More]

Philadelphia wants to open the playoffs at home. Toronto wants home-court advantage all the way to the NBA Finals.How they get through some marquee games this week will go a long way in determining if they reach those goals.For the Raptors, it's a game Wednesday against the team right behind them. For the red-hot 76ers, it's the one just in front of them: LeBron James and the reigning East champs from Cleveland on Friday.Toronto hosts Boston, with both teams playing for the second straight night. The Raptors lost Tuesday in Cleveland and Boston later fell in Milwaukee, keeping the Raptors two games ahead with five to play.A win Wednesday and the Raptors will be on the verge of locking up the No. 1 seed. Lose their third consecutive game, and the door stays open for Boston to grab it for the second straight season. The Celtics trimmed three games off their deficit during a six-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday, and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win Wednesday."It's... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Damian Lillard says he's on his way home and hoping to arrive in time for the impending birth of his son.That means Lillard, who scored 41 points in Portland's 107-103 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, won't play when the Blazers visit Memphis on Wednesday night.Lillard says he learned when he got to the locker room after the game against the Pelicans that his girlfriend is in labor. He says the message was essentially, "Get home."Lillard says he'll go directly from the airport to the hospital when he lands.The Trail Blazers All-Star says he's excited but hoping he could get some sleep on the flight back to the West Coast, given how little sleep new parents tend to get.___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NEW YORK (AP) — As Monty McCutchen visits NBA teams on behalf of referees, he's hearing plenty of what he calls constructive criticism, delivered in a professional way."That's exactly what we're hoping to attain on the floor, is that no one is asking everyone to agree, no one is asking for there not to be constructive criticism," McCutchen said. "What we are trying to achieve is the sense of how to disagree respectively, how to disagree with an empathy and understanding."McCutchen left his job on the floor during this season to become the league's vice president and head of referee development and training. With some high tensions with both players and coaches, he and head of referee operations Michelle Johnson have been conducting respect-for-the-game sessions with each team in hopes of creating a stronger working relationship.He believes the meetings are going well, that players are seeing the commitment of the officials to have better communication.Though some players have complained... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard says the Portland Trail Blazers reach out to him before he reaches team milestones, just to give him a heads up.The only problem? Lillard doesn't read his emails.Lillard joked about it after his latest achievement: He surpassed Clifford Robinson on the Blazers' all-time scoring list, moving into fourth, in Portland's victory over the Knicks on Tuesday. Lillard, in his sixth NBA season, has 10,433 points."The team, I think they send me emails when something's coming up, but I never check my email," he said. "I never know unless I happen to see it on Twitter or until after I do it and somebody mentions it."Robinson was sure to get Lillard's attention, sending his sentiments over Twitter."Congrats @Dame_Lillard! Trust, I know what it takes to put yourself in that position. Keep putting that work in young fella!" Robinson tweeted.Lillard has certainly been putting in the work over the Blazers' current winning streak, which has stretched to a season-best... [More]

With the Houston Rockets on top of the NBA and James Harden on top of the scoring race, he may be running away with the MVP vote.Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard might have something to say about that.With stellar play steering their sizzling teams, they have at least entered their names in the conversation with a little more than a month left in the regular season.Harden has been runner-up to Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook in recent years, but it's looked like his time this season. With more than 31 points and nearly nine assists per game — third in the league in that category — for a team with the league's best record, it's hard to imagine needing to look elsewhere."What Harden and Houston is doing right now, he's the MVP of the league right now," Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas said on NBA TV.Davis and Lillard could deserve some thought.Davis has carried New Orleans with dominant basketball since DeMarcus Cousins was lost for the season last month. The Western Conference player of the... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trail Blazers have enjoyed post-All-Star break revivals the past two seasons.Those late-season rallies will no doubt be an ongoing theme in the congested Western Conference playoff race once Portland resumes play on Friday in Utah."I mean, I think that's in the back of our minds. We know that we're usually a better team in the second half of the season," Portland guard Damian Lillard said. "We can't just go into it saying, 'All right, we're always good at this part of the season.' I think mentally we have to understand how close of a race it is and that we've got to be sharp all the way through."Portland is 32-26 at the break, tied for sixth in the West, which is better off than it was last season at the same point.But the Blazers are one of five teams in the West with 26 losses. The Warriors and Houston Rockets sit comfortably atop the standings with the next eight teams jostling for position.The Blazers headed into the All-Star Game with a 123-117 victory over... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A few weeks ago, it appeared the Utah Jazz might be headed to the draft lottery. Those around the NBA weren't buying it."They've got some good players, so I don't think anybody was surprised they fought their way back in," Portland guard Damian Lillard said.As the season picks back up following the All-Star break, the Jazz are riding an 11-game winning streak. They are part of a tight cluster of Western Conference teams vying for playoff position with some two months left in the regular season.It's been quite a rise.Utah's last loss was back on Jan. 22. The Jazz fell to 19-28 after losing 104-90 to Atlanta and were 18 games behind the conference-leading Warriors."There were times where we kind of looked like we didn't want to play, myself included," Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell said after the loss to the Hawks, who are last in the Eastern Conference. "That's not us. That's not our identity."Rudy Gobert stressed it would be a painful road "until we start playing more... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A smile crossed CJ McCollum's face in the fourth quarter as he sat on the bench and the hometown crowd chanted "We Want CJ!"McCollum had already collected a milestone 50 points in the game against the Chicago Bulls. The crowd wanted more.For McCollum, 50 points was enough.The Blazers guard's final tally in the 124-108 victory over the Bulls on Wednesday night was a career high. So were his 18 field goals.McCollum also became just the second NBA player in history to score 50 or more points in less than 30 minutes , joining Golden State's Klay Thompson. Overall, he's the sixth player to hit the milestone this season.He acknowledged afterward that reaching the 50-point plateau was special. And indeed when he left the Moda Center, he had the game ball tucked under his arm."A lot of the elite players score 50 points, that's just the way it is," McCollum said. "It shows you are a really unique scorer and have a lot of abilities."McCollum sat in the fourth quarter for obvious... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James got Kevin Durant and reunited with Kyrie Irving in the NBA's first All-Star draft.Stephen Curry picked James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA's top two scorers, and grabbed his other two Golden State teammates in the selections Thursday.The draft was not televised, and neither James nor Curry would reveal who they chose first when they were interviewed on TNT when the rosters were unveiled. However, Durant later said that he had been the No. 1 selection.James was among those who said fans should have watched the proceedings and his decision to draft Irving could have made for a must-see moment. The point guard asked out of Cleveland last summer and the Cavaliers traded him to conference rival Boston."Kyrie was available on the draft board, he's one of the best point guards we have in our league," James said. "It was an easy choice for me."James and Curry will be the captains Feb. 18 in Los Angeles for the first NBA All-Star Game that doesn't use the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James got Kevin Durant and reunited with Kyrie Irving in the NBA's first All-Star draft.Stephen Curry picked James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA's top two scorers, and grabbed his other two Golden State teammates in the selections Thursday.The draft was not televised, and neither James nor Curry would reveal who they chose first when they were interviewed on TNT when the rosters were unveiled.James was among those who said fans should have watched the proceedings and his decision to draft Irving could have made for a must-see moment. The point guard asked out of Cleveland last summer and the Cavaliers traded him to conference rival Boston."Kyrie was available on the draft board, he's one of the best point guards we have in our league," James said. "It was an easy choice for me."James and Curry will be the captains Feb. 18 in Los Angeles for the first NBA All-Star Game that doesn't use the Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format.James had the No.... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James got Kevin Durant and reunited with Kyrie Irving in the NBA's first All-Star draft.Stephen Curry picked James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA's top two scorers, and grabbed his other two Golden State teammates in the selections Thursday.The draft was not televised, and neither James nor Curry would reveal who they chose first when they were interviewed on TNT when the rosters were unveiled.James and Curry will be the captains Feb. 18 in Los Angeles for the first NBA All-Star Game that doesn't use the Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format.The league is hoping that trying to something new will bring back some old-school intensity that has been absent from the last two games, when the West nearly scored 200 points.James also took the New Orleans duo of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins. His reserves are Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, the NBA MVP, Cleveland teammate Kevin Love, Washington guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio, Indiana's Victor Oladipo and Kristaps Porzingis of New York.After taking starters Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto, Curry rounded out his roster with Warriors teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Minnesota's Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns, Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Portland's Damian Lillard, and Boston's Al Horford.

Coaches get fired. Players get fired up.A lot happens over the course of the NBA season. In this wacky week, it came in one day.The Cavaliers lost more games and apparently some patience with Kevin Love, and Jason Kidd lost his job in Milwaukee. Not even the stoic Spurs were immune on the manic Monday, with ESPN reporting there were differences between Kawhi Leonard and the team due to frustration in his recovery from a quadriceps injury.In a time of turbulence around the NBA, the only smooth sailing, it seems, remains by the Bay Area.The Golden State Warriors seem to be drama free, in part because of lessons Steve Kerr learned while playing for Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson. They understood that losing games didn't mean having to lose control, and their championship teams weathered whatever storms popped up quickly and quietly."Wonderful balance of this is our job and we should be passionate about it, we should work our tails off every day and we should be competitive and want to win... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry will be able to stock his All-Star roster with plenty of Golden State teammates.Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were chosen as reserves Tuesday, giving the defending NBA champions a record-tying four All-Stars for the second straight year.The Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards also had two reserves selected, and they will go into the pool of players that Curry and fellow captain LeBron James can draft to comprise the teams for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles. Their rosters will be unveiled Thursday, though the selection process won't be televised.Minnesota's Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns were chosen from the Western Conference, along with Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Portland's Damian Lillard.Besides Washington's John Wall and Bradley Beal, the rest of the Eastern Conference reserves were Boston's Al Horford, Cleveland's Kevin Love, New York's Kristaps Porzingis, Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Indiana's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry will be able to stock his All-Star roster with plenty of Golden State teammates.Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were chosen as reserves Tuesday, giving the defending NBA champions a record-tying four All-Stars for the second straight year.The Minnesota Timberwolves and Washington Wizards also had two reserves selected, and they will go into the pool of players that Curry and fellow captain LeBron James can draft to comprise the teams for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles. Their rosters will be unveiled Thursday, though the selection process won't be televised.Minnesota's Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns were chosen from the Western Conference, along with Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Portland's Damian Lillard.Besides Washington's John Wall and Bradley Beal, the rest of the Eastern Conference reserves were Boston's Al Horford, Cleveland's Kevin Love, New York's Kristaps Porzingis, Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Indiana's... [More]

Gregg Popovich was the coach nobody wanted.It's hard to fathom now, after five NBA championships as coach of the San Antonio Spurs and with him now alone in fifth place on the league's all-time victory list. But it's true — Popovich's decision to fire Bob Hill and make himself coach and general manager in December 1996 was horribly received at first, leaving even some of his own players baffled.The San Antonio Express-News took a poll after that season and found that 92 percent of Spurs fans wanted Popovich fired.As Popovich would suggest now (on politics, one of his favorite topics), sometimes voters get it wrong."The pressure is always there for any coach," Popovich said. "You've got to get the job done. If you don't, you're not there. If you do get it done, you get to stay."He said those words in 1997. He was right.Popovich now has 1,176 wins. He's 34 away from No. 4 Pat Riley, 45 shy of No. 3 Jerry Sloan, and should catch both next season. He would need 156 to catch No. 2 Lenny Wilkens,... [More]

G Damian Lillard missed his fourth straight game Saturday with a strained right hamstring.

G Damian Lillard missed his third straight game with a strained right hamstring. Lillard said he could have played but wanted to err on the side of caution.