LeBron James has faced Giannis Antetokounmpo as an opponent in the last three All-Star Games. The Los Angeles Lakers' star got him as a teammate this year. James used the No. 1 overall pick on Antetokounmpo — the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP from Milwaukee — in the draft for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. Kevin Durant, who will not play in the All-Star Game because of injury but still is the captain for Team Durant, took Brooklyn teammate Kyrie Irving with his first pick. The other starters for Team LeBron will be Stephen Curry of Golden State, Luka Doncic of Dallas and Nikola Jokic of Denver. The other starters for Team Durant will be Joel Embiid of Philadelphia, 2020 All-Star MVP Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Bradley Beal of Washington and Jayson Tatum of Boston. This is the fourth year of the NBA's playing captain format for the All-Star Game. James is 3-0, beating teams captained by Curry in 2018 and Antetokounmpo in the last two seasons. “I just try to pick players... [More]

Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Phoenix’s Devin Booker have been 3-point champions at All-Star weekend before, and they’ll try to win that trophy again Sunday. The NBA revealed the 15 players Tuesday who will be taking part in the other on-court events besides the All-Star Game in Atlanta, with the overwhelming majority of them pulling double-duty between those competitions and the game itself. Curry, Booker, the Boston duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Chicago’s Zach LaVine and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell — all of them All-Stars — will be the six competitors in the 3-point contest. All-Stars Luka Doncic of Dallas, Domantas Sabonis of Indiana, Julius Randle of New York, Nikola Vucevic of Orlando and Chris Paul of Phoenix will be five of the six entrants in the skills competition. They’ll be joined by Portland’s Robert Covington, the only current NBA player who is a graduate of a historically Black college and university. Covington went to Tennessee State. HBCUs will be a major part of... [More]

New Orleans forward Zion Williamson now can be called an NBA All-Star, and only three others in the game’s 70-year history have gotten there at a younger age. Williamson is one of four first-time All-Stars, all revealed Tuesday night when the league announced the reserves for the March 7 game in Atlanta. Joining him as fellow All-Star rookies: Boston’s Jaylen Brown, New York’s Julius Randle and Chicago’s Zach LaVine. Phoenix’s Chris Paul is an All-Star for the 11th time, and Brooklyn’s James Harden is one for the ninth consecutive year. The rest of the reserves include Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic from the Eastern Conference, along with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, Utah teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, and Portland’s Damian Lillard from the Western Conference. “It's definitely an honor," Mitchell said. Team captains LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant of the... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Orlando coach Steve Clifford proudly displayed a pair of personalized Mickey Mouse ears inside his home office Monday, saying they would be one of the gifts from this season that he would cherish the most.It’s safe to say they weren’t on his wish list when this season started.The world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the NBA into a bubble at Walt Disney World to resume the season — and now that the Magic are out of the bubble, they have no real idea what comes next.So, for now, there’s no concrete plans to be made for the 2020-21 season. That’ll come in time, but Clifford intends to spend the immediate future going over what went right and wrong after a season in which Orlando made the playoffs for a second consecutive year but couldn’t get past the first round.“I think what it does is it makes us more relevant again,” Clifford said. “First of all, making the playoffs is never an easy thing. You can’t take it for granted.... [More]

The Orlando Magic are going to be thrilled to see the Milwaukee Bucks take the floor on Saturday for Game 5 of their matchup.And they'll be even happier if they can face them again in a Game 6 on Monday.The NBA playoffs — which stopped for three days after the Bucks refused to take the floor on Wednesday in protest of the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin this past weekend — are set to resume. The first game on the slate is Game 5 of the Orlando-Milwaukee Eastern Conference first-round series, with the Bucks holding a 3-1 lead and putting the Magic on the brink of elimination.“We're all united in this fight," Magic coach Steve Clifford said Friday. “We support the Bucks and what they did. I think it's ended up being a very positive thing. If you look at it, it was the impetus for the WNBA, for other teams in the NBA, for baseball ... a bunch of college football teams, it was a positive occurrence. What they did kept the conversation going."Now, the Magic... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Gordon recorded his first career-triple double and was proudest of his assist total.Terrence Ross scored 19 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and Gordon finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, leading the Orlando Magic to a 136-125 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.Gordon is averaging more than 21 points and 10 rebounds over the Magic's recent six-game surge. This time, he felt best about his career high in assists.“That's what I'm looking to do,” he said. “I'm looking to distribute the ball and make the game easier for everybody on the floor and they do the same for me. It works well.”“He puts us in a different place,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “He's not just scoring, he's playing an all-around game.”Nikola Vucevic added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who won for the fifth time in six games.D'Angelo Russell led Minnesota with 28 points, but did not score After a layup that gave the Timberwolves... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Terrence Ross scored 19 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter and Aaron Gordon finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists for his first career triple-double, leading the Orlando Magic to a 136-125 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.Nikola Vucevic added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who won for the fifth time in six games.D'Angelo Russell led Minnesota with 28 points, but did not score in the fourth quarter. Juancho Hernangomez added 18 points and 13 rebounds.The Timberwolves have lost 19 of their last 21 games, and 11 of their last 12 in Orlando.The 136 points marked a season-high for the Magic, the second-lowest scoring team in the NBA. They shot 54% and had a 54-33 rebounding advantage.After falling behind by as many as 13 points in the first half, Minnesota rallied behind Russell and Malik Beasley, taking a six-point lead on a 3-pointer by Russell from the corner with 5:23 left in the third quarter.Orlando... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A slow start didn't help Giannis Antetokounmpo's shot at NBA history, but the Milwaukee Bucks are hardly a one-man show.Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the game, and the team with the league's best record never trailed Saturday night in a 111-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. It's the 13th time the Bucks have led from wire to wire this season.“It's nice to not trail ... but it doesn't really mean anything. We have to keep playing good basketball," Antetokounmpo said.“We were up 27 and they came back, cut the lead to 11. So it doesn't mean anything," the league's reigning MVP added. “We just try to take it quarter by quarter."Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists while also falling short of becoming the first player in league history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games.Antetokounmpo was originally listed with 19 points, but the NBA announced later Saturday... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A slow start didn't help Giannis Antetokounmpo's shot at NBA history, but the Milwaukee Bucks are hardly a one-man show.Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the game, and the team with the league's best record never trailed Saturday night in a 112-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. It's the 13th time the Bucks have led from wire to wire this season.“It's nice to not trail ... but it doesn't really mean anything. We have to keep playing good basketball," Antetokounmpo said.“We were up 27 and they came back, cut the lead to 11. So it doesn't mean anything," the league's reigning MVP added. “We just try to take it quarter by quarter."Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists while also falling short of becoming the first player in league history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games.With Middleton, Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe picking up the slack, it didn't matter as... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, helping the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 112-95 on Saturday night.The Bucks won for the 13th time in 14 games, improving the league’s best record to 45-7 and remaining on course to become just the third team to top 70 wins in a regular season.Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, fell short in a personal bid to become the first player with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games, scoring two points in the first quarter and finishing 6 of 17 from the field.Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with a stretch of five straight games with 30, 15 and 5, accomplishing it from Dec. 10-17, 1965, with the Philadelphia Warriors.Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 23 points, including 5 for 5 on 3-point attempts. Khris Middleton had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe finished with 18 points for the Bucks, who led by as many as 27 in the third... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Miami got 24 points from Jimmy Butler and a big boost from rookie Tyler Herro on Saturday night. But it was a big game from center Meyers Leonard that put the Heat over the top in a 102-89 victory over the Orlando Magic."Tonight it just happened to be a night where the ball was finding my energy on both ends of the floor, I guess," said Leonard, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds before going to the bench with five fouls with 5:49 left in the game.Herro came off the bench with six 3-pointers and 23 points. Herro and Leonard combined for 10-of-19 shooting from 3-point range to help the Heat beat Orlando for the second time this week and stretch their lead in the Southeast Division to 12 1/2 games."Everyone in the locker room wants Meyers to be more aggressive," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “He really worked on it the last couple of days in practice, letting it fly, almost past his comfort zone. I'm talking about shooting it every time he touched it.”The 7-foot Leonard... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Miami got 24 points from Jimmy Butler and a big boost from rookie Tyler Herro on Saturday night. But it was a big game from center Meyers Leonard that put the Heat over the top in a 102-89 victory over the Orlando Magic."Tonight it just happened to be a night where the ball was finding my energy on both ends of the floor, I guess," said Leonard, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds before going to the bench with five fouls with 5:49 left in the game.Herro came off the bench with six 3-pointers and 23 points. Herro and Leonard combined for 10-of-19 shooting from 3-point range to help the Heat beat Orlando for the second time this week and stretch their lead in the Southeast Division to 12 1/2 games."Everyone in the locker room wants Meyers to be more aggressive," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “He really worked on it the last couple of days in practice, letting it fly, almost past his comfort zone. I'm talking about shooting it every time he touched it.”The 7-foot Leonard... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 24 points and rookie Tyler Herro came off the bench with 23 on Saturday night to lead the Miami Heat to a 102-89 victory over the Orlando Magic.Meyers Leonard had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat before going to the bench with five fouls with 5:49 left in the game. Herro and Leonard combined for 10-of-19 shooting from 3-point range.Aaron Gordon scored 24 for the Magic, who lost their fifth straight. Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and nine rebounds.Miami led 57-49 at halftime despite a big first half by Gordon, who was 4 of 6 on 3s and scored 16 points.Herro, bumped out of the starting lineup by the return of fellow rookie Kendrick Nunn, hit three 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the first half.Back-to-back 3-pointers by Leonard stretched Miami's lead to double digits early in the second half, and the Heat led 73-60 when Butler converted a three-point play late in the third quarter.After the Magic closed the gap to six early in the fourth,... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Heat went cold in the fourth quarter Friday night, matching the lowest point total for a quarter by an NBA team in more than two years.Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Orlando Magic held Miami to six points over the final 12 minutes on their way to a 105-85 victory."They shut down the paint, they shut down our layups, shut down a lot of the things we're used to getting and shut down our normal threes," Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said. "There was a possession when they must have run us off five straight 3s on their close-outs and did a tremendous job with making multiple efforts, and we weren't really doing that on the other end. They deserved to get that win." Miami shot 3 for 19 from the field and missed all 10 3-point shots while committing six turnovers in the period.The last team team to score only six points in a quarter was Portland against Toronto in October 2017.Jimmy Butler had 23 points and 10 rebounds... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Orlando Magic shut down the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter in a 105-85 victory Friday night.Miami scored only six points in the fourth quarter, going 3 for 19 from the field. Jimmy Butler had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.Aaron Gordon had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, and Evan Fournier scored 15 points despite spending most of the game in foul trouble.One day after holding the Toronto Raptors to 6-of-42 shooting from 3-point range in a victory at Miami, the Heat shot 7 for 37 from long range and 37.5% overall.After Vucevic and Gordon combined for three 3-pointers in quick succession to give the Magic to a 67-49 lead early in the third quarter, the Heat responded with a 14-3 run. Meyers Leonard then hit pair of 3-pointers to cut Orlando's lead to four.But Miami wet scoreless for more than 3 1/2 minutes at the outset of the fourth quarter, missing five shots... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Terrence Ross made some shots and his Orlando teammates blocked a bunch of them.Ross scored a season-high 26 points Monday night and the Magic rejected 13 shots to break a three-game losing streak with a 103-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls.Mo Bamba came off the bench to block four shots, and Jonathan Isaac and Aaron Gordon blocked three apiece.“That's who we have to be,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “We're long, we have size, we have versatility. “The other guys did great things, but without (Ross), we would have been playing from eight, 10 behind there in the third quarter. He kept us in the game and made shot after shot.” Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points on 8-of-26 shooting, but the Bulls managed only 14 points in the fourth quarter. Tomas Satoransky added 20 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-point shots.“It's very difficult to win a road game when you have 17 turnovers and they have 13 blocks,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said.Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and seven... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Terrence Ross scored a season-high 26 points Monday night to help the Orlando Magic break a three-game losing streak with a 103-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls.Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points on 8-of-26 shooting, but the Bulls managed only 14 points in the fourth quarter. Tomas Satoransky added 20 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-point shots.Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, which blocked 13 shots and held the Bulls to 31 percent shooting in the second half. Jonathan Isaac finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.Ross, who made six 3-pointers, hit a short jumper and a 3-pointer on a 7-0 Magic run early in the fourth quarter to put Orlando ahead to stay.With LaVine hitting two free throws and a 3-pointer, the Bulls scored the first nine points of the game.Lauri Markkanen and LaVine made two 3-pointers apiece in the last 4:15 of the first half to leave Chicago with a 54-51 lead at the break.TIP-INSBulls:... [More]