OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Paul George has found his shot.Actually, the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has been on a roll heading into the playoffs.In the five regular season games in April, he averaged 27.6 points and made 41 percent of his 3-pointers and 90 percent of his free throws. He closed the regular season with a 40-point outburst against Memphis.He kept it up in OKC's playoff opener, scoring 36 points and setting a Thunder playoff record with eight 3-pointers as Oklahoma City beat Utah 116-108 .It took George a minute to consistently take the scoring pressure off Russell Westbrook. He struggled on offense right after the All-Star break and said he couldn't find his shot."To his credit, when he was going through a little bit of that slump where he wasn't shooting the ball particularly well, he really put extra work in," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I felt like he was really driven and focused to work his way through it."A couple of former OKC standouts are also thriving early in... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The last time Carmelo Anthony was in the playoffs, he was with the New York Knicks facing rising star Paul George and the Indiana Pacers back in 2013.Now, Anthony and George are teammates with the Oklahoma City Thunder. They join Russell Westbrook in a quest for their first NBA title, starting Sunday when the Thunder host the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.Because it's been so long, Anthony appreciates the opportunity to play in the postseason. He came to Oklahoma City in a trade before training camp expecting to compete for an NBA title."It's important," he said. "I'm here now, so ain't no looking back. I'm here. It's important, it's exciting. At the same time, I'm not here just to say I made it back to the playoffs. I'm here to make a statement as a team and prove why we put this team together. This is the place where I belong, we belong, and we have an opportunity to start something good on Sunday."Westbrook became the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Phoenix Suns forwards Marquese Chriss and Jared Dudley $25,000 apiece for their roles in an altercation during a game against the Utah Jazz.The punishment handed down Saturday stem from the Suns' game Thursday night in Salt Lake City.With Utah leading 69-50 in the third quarter, Jazz guard Ricky Rubio was headed full speed on a fast break when Dudley body-blocked him to the floor, starting a scrum in front of the Suns' bench. Dudley got a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected, along with Marquese Chriss for pushing Rubio back down after Dudley's shove.Rubio was shoved to the floor twice in the game, which the Jazz won 116-88.___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

G Ricky Rubio had 11 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in Thursday's 100-89 victory over San Antonio.

HOUSTON -- Chris Paul delivered an impressive two-way performance and the Houston Rockets rolled to a 124-109, wire-to-wire win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night at Toyota Center.Paul finished with 28 points, eight assists and seven steals as the Rockets, who are unbeaten with Paul in the lineup this season, extended their winning streak to 12 games in large part courtesy of an early 3-point barrage.All five Rockets starters scored in double figures, with James Harden adding 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Clint Capela (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Ryan Anderson (12 points, 10 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Rockets, who are 13-0 with Paul in the lineup.The Spurs pulled their starters in the third quarter, with LaMarcus Aldridge (16 points) leading that group with just 27 minutes. Kawhi Leonard, playing in just his second game after a quad injury, did not play after the break after scoring 12 points in the first half.Nuggets 117, Pelicans 111 (OT)DENVER -- Will Barton... [More]

G Ricky Rubio and F Thabo Sefolosha each scored 15 points for the Jazz,

G Ricky Rubio returned Saturday after missing Friday's game with right Achilles soreness. He scored nine points in 16:29 at Utah beat Orlando 125-85.

CLEVELAND -- Thaddeus Young scored 26 points to lead all five Indiana Pacers starters in double figures in a 124-107 blowout of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.The Cavs, the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, are in a free fall. They have lost four straight and five of six games, including the last three by 58 points.Darren Collison added 25 points for the Pacers, who also received 23 from Victor Oladipo, 17 from Bojan Bogdanovic and 15 from Domantas Sabonis.LeBron James led the Cavs with 33 points and 11 assists, though he committed a game-high eight turnovers. Derrick Rose added 19 points, and Jeff Green scored 15 off the Cleveland bench.Hornets 126, Bucks 121CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rookie Malik Monk scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte beat Milwaukee.Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points.Khris Middleton scored a career-high 43 points, but Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to 14 points. The "Greek Freak" entered the game leading... [More]

CLEVELAND -- Thaddeus Young scored 26 points to lead all five Indiana Pacers starters in double figures in a 124-107 blowout of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.The Cavs, the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, are in a free fall. They have lost four straight and five of six games, including the last three by 58 points.Darren Collison added 25 points for the Pacers, who also received 23 from Victor Oladipo, 17 from Bojan Bogdanovic and 15 from Domantas Sabonis.LeBron James led the Cavs with 33 points and 11 assists, though he committed a game-high eight turnovers. Derrick Rose added 19 points, and Jeff Green scored 15 off the Cleveland bench.Hornets 126, Bucks 121CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Rookie Malik Monk scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte beat Milwaukee.Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 26 points.Khris Middleton scored a career-high 43 points, but Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo was held to 14 points. The "Greek Freak" entered the game leading... [More]

G Ricky Rubio finished with a season-high 30 points, with 21 points coming in the fourth quarter and overtime during Wednesday's win over Portland.He finished three shy of his career high set March 30 for the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Los Angeles Lakers.

G Ricky Rubio hit 4 of 8 3-pointers. He scored 20 points as the Jazz (4-3) improved to 4-0 at home this season.

G Ricky Rubio scored 15 points and tallied 11 assists in a 97-88 loss to Phoenix.

G Ricky Rubio also had a strong floor game with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Jazz improved to 2-1 on the season.

G Ricky Rubio had 19 points and 10 assists Friday, making his way back to Minnesota after playing six seasons for the Timberwolves. Rubio was announced first for Utah before the game and received a standing ovation while waving to the crowd.

G Ricky Rubio had nine points and 10 assists in his Utah debut. He is the third-quickest active NBA player to hit 3,000 assists (Chris Paul, 304 games; John Wall, 347 games), doing it in 354 games.

Point guard Jeff Teague agreed to a three-year, $57 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to multiple reports.The agreement with the former Indiana Pacers player came just hours after the Timberwolves traded point guard Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz for a protected 2018 first-round pick via the Oklahoma City Thunder.Teague's deal contains a player option for the third year, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.The deal was struck as NBA free agency opened Saturday at 12:01 a.m. ET. The new contract doesn't become official until the free agency moratorium is lifted at noon ET on July 6.Teague, 29, averaged 15.3 points and 7.8 assists in 82 games in 2016-17 for the Pacers, his first year in his hometown of Indianapolis after seven seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.The Timberwolves sent Rubio to the Jazz on Friday to clear salary-cap space for free agency.Rubio, 26, has two years left on his contract. He is owed $14.25 million in 2017-18 and $14.95 million in 2018-19.Rubio... [More]

PG Ricky Rubio is headed to the Utah Jazz after an agreed deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, multiple outlets reported on Friday. The Jazz will welcome Rubio into their open salary space of $16 million before Saturday as a means to find a potential replacement for George Hill, who enters free agency as one of the top point guards on the market. Rubio has two years left on his contract. He's owed $14.25 million in 2017-18 and $14.95 million in 2018-19. Rubio averaged 11.1 points. 9.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 75 games last season. The 26-year-old has averaged 10.3 points and 8.5 assists during his six seasons with the Timberwolves since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 draft.

The Utah Jazz have agreed to acquire point guard Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, multiple outlets reported on Friday.The two teams reportedly have been in trade talks for over two weeks. The pick is top-14 protected.The Jazz will welcome Rubio into their open salary space of $16 million before Saturday as a means to find a potential replacement for George Hill, who enters free agency as one of the top point guards on the market.Rubio has two years left on his contract. He's owed $14.25 million in 2017-18 and $14.95 million in 2018-19.--The New Orleans Pelicans are expected to retain point guard Jrue Holiday with a big-money contract once the NBA free agency period begins at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.Holiday is expected to receive a five-year offer from the club for approximately $170 million in a meeting scheduled right as free agency begins.The sides can agree to a deal at the meeting but a new contract doesn't become official until the signing... [More]

The Utah Jazz have agreed to acquire point guard Ricky Rubio from the Minnesota Timberwolves for a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, multiple outlets reported on Friday.The two teams reportedly have been in trade talks for over two weeks. The pick is top-14 protected.The Jazz will welcome Rubio into their open salary space of $16 million before Saturday as a means to find a potential replacement for George Hill, who enters free agency as one of the top point guards on the market.Rubio has two years left on his contract. He's owed $14.25 million in 2017-18 and $14.95 million in 2018-19.Rubio averaged 11.1 points. 9.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 75 games last season. The 26-year-old has averaged 10.3 points and 8.5 assists during his six seasons with the Timberwolves since being selected with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 draft.The pass-first Rubio is just a 37.5-percent shooter during his career. He shot a career-best 40.2 percent in 2016-17.The expectant departure of Rubio leaves just Tyus Jones as Minnesota's lone point guard on the roster.

G Ricky Rubio contributed 14 points and 10 assists in the Wolves' loss to the Thunder on Tuesday.