DENVER (AP) — The banged-up Denver Nuggets have signed veteran guard Nick Young under the injury hardship relief exception granted by the NBA.Young spent last season with Golden State, where he appeared in 80 games and averaged 7.3 points. He's also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia and Washington over his 11-year career. Young was the 16th overall pick by the Wizards in 2007.Denver hosts Memphis on Monday without Gary Harris (hip), Paul Millsap (broken toe) and Will Barton (hip/core muscle surgery). Jamal Murray is questionable with a bruised right shin.On Monday, the team also waived guard Brandon Goodwin. He was signed Nov. 29 under the injury hardship relief exception. Goodwin didn't appear in a game for Denver.___For more AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets coach Michael Malone kept the mood light at practice Monday and the lectures to a minimum.No reason to get too worked up over Denver's current three-game skid. After all, this is the same bunch that began 9-1 for one of the best starts in franchise history.Malone's missive to his team: Rediscover that resolve."It's too early in the season to have their heads down and have it be gloom and doom," said Malone, whose team hosts James Harden, Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. "We're young. Some of these guys are in moments they haven't been in before. That's my job, to teach and keep this team moving along in the right direction."Given their recent history, there's a sense of early season urgency. That's understandable since the Nuggets missed the playoffs by a game in each of the last two years. They don't want piled-up losses in November to come back and haunt them in April.Especially since everything was going so smoothly out of the gate. But the Nuggets... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward Will Barton is starting to take a few shots as he recovers from surgery to fix core and hip muscle injuries.There is no timetable for his return. Barton said Friday he's "getting stronger every day."The 27-year-old Barton was carted off the floor on Oct. 20 against Phoenix after he said he felt something pop when he took off for the basket. He had surgery days later.Barton's rehab work has focused on strengthening his core. He said he's been working out near the Nuggets to feel like a part of the team. He said there are "tough days for me so sometimes I need to be around them laughing and joking and taking my mind off the exact injury."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward Will Barton underwent surgery to fix core and hip muscle injuries.He will be re-evaluated in six weeks, the team announced Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia.Barton was carted off the floor Saturday night after he said he felt something pop when he took off for the basket in the third quarter against Phoenix. He had an MRI on Sunday and missed the Golden State game that night.The 27-year-old Barton averaged 16.5 points in two games this season. His injury likely opens up more playing time for Torrey Craig, Trey Lyles and Juancho Hernangomez.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The debates have been so lively inside the Denver Nuggets locker room recently that coach Michael Malone wanders in to make sure everything's all right.Just the enthusiasm of guard Isaiah Thomas bubbling to the surface. He's turning up the intensity with his booming voice in what's been a rather quiet room.Think he's chatty now, wait until he's fully cleared after undergoing hip surgery in March. That's when he will do his real talking — with his play.Thomas hopes to provide another spark to a Nuggets team that hasn't reached the postseason since 2012-13. Last season, the team went down to the wire, with the Nuggets losing out on the No. 8 seed to Minnesota in the final game — a stinging 112-106 overtime defeat."We just have to be more consistent and take things more serious and I think that's what I'm here for," said Thomas, who signed a $2 million, one-year deal in the offseason to prove his hip is healthy and worth a more lucrative contract. "I'm not saying I'm the guy... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have acquired forwards Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur along with a 2019 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets.The Nets also received a second-round pick in 2020 in the trade announced Friday. They sent guard Isaiah Whitehead to Denver.Denver, looking to cut costs after giving new deals to Nikola Jokic and Will Barton, subsequently waived Whitehead.Faried averaged 11.4 points and 8.2 rebounds in seven seasons in Denver, though his playing time declined and he appeared in just 32 games last season. Arthur has spent nine seasons in the NBA, first with Memphis and the last five with Denver.Both players are in the final years of their contracts. Faried is due $13.8 million next season and Arthur $7.5 million.Whitehead, a second-round pick in 2016, appeared in 89 games over two seasons for Brooklyn.___More AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

DENVER (AP) — Now that the Denver Nuggets have a player they coveted in the NBA draft, their focus shifts to the start of free agency next week.Michael Porter Jr. went to the Nuggets at No. 14 Thursday night, giving them a potential impact player. Now the priority this offseason is keeping their own free agents and locking down the face of the franchise.Center and budding superstar Nikola Jokic is the top priority, and president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has said the Nuggets want to sign him to a long-term contract before he hits the market next summer."Nikola's going to be here for a long, long time," Connelly said. "Whatever we do, we're going to ensure that he's here as long as possible. We'll talk to Nikola, his brothers and his representation and he'll be in Denver for a long, long time. He'll be buying here."Will Barton is an unrestricted free agent and forward Wilson Chandler can opt out of the last year of his deal. Connelly said the Nuggets want to retain both."Will... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly says contract extensions for center Nikola Jokic and guard Will Barton are among his offseason priorities and he hinted coach Michael Malone might be in line for one, too.The Nuggets have increased their win totals from 30 to 40 to 46 under Malone but they extended their playoff drought to five years when they lost in overtime at Minnesota in the season finale this week."This is the most confident I've been in our core group since I've been here," said Connelly, who's been in his post in Denver since 2013. "I think we have the makings of a team that can enjoy sustainably high levels of success."I think there's going to be some pretty interesting financial decisions we'll make this offseason."Jokic was drafted in the second round in 2014 and signed a three-year, $4 million deal a year later. The Nuggets have a $1.6 million fourth-year option, which they can decline this summer and instead give Jokic a max contract.While that would crimp... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic only had a basic outline of his offseason plans: Rest, work out in Denver, return home to Serbia and rest some more.It's not more elaborate since the Nuggets big man figured he'd be working for a while longer.The Nuggets won six more games than a year ago and yet finished in the same position — a spot out of the playoffs. This season even came down to a winner-take-all scenario in Minnesota, where the Nuggets came up short in overtime to miss out on the playoffs for a fifth straight season."I'm not mad. I'm not sad, because I think we played good," Jokic said Thursday. "We're not making the playoffs because we were not focused the whole season, every game."Still, the Nuggets won six straight down the stretch to climb into contention for a spot, before losing to the Timberwolves in a spirited game."If we play with that sense of urgency that we did at the end, then we wouldn't have even been in this position," Will Barton said. "It's all a part of growing."Veteran... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The NBA playoffs that start this weekend already have an extremely tough act to follow.The regular season ended with a flourish.Wednesday's final night of the regular season was well beyond dramatic — an overtime game between Minnesota and Denver to decide the last berth, another overtime game between Miami and Toronto to determine some East fates, a 46-point first quarter by Philadelphia , an absurd 20-rebound, 19-assist night from Russell Westbrook.And now, the best time of the NBA year is finally here.The playoffs are back, with Golden State and Cleveland — who've met in the last three NBA Finals — not exactly looking like the overwhelming favorites the league has come to expect. A fourth straight Warriors-Cavs matchup is no guarantee. A fourth straight trip by either of those teams alone is far from certain, either.It all starts Saturday, the 16-team tournament that will be a two-month grind following the six-month grind of the regular season."I feel pretty ready," Toronto... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The NBA playoffs that start this weekend already have an extremely tough act to follow.The regular season ended with a flourish.Wednesday's final night of the regular season was well beyond dramatic — an overtime game between Minnesota and Denver to decide the last berth, another overtime game between Miami and Toronto to determine some East fates, a 46-point first quarter by Philadelphia , an absurd 20-rebound, 19-assist night from Russell Westbrook.And now, the best time of the NBA year is finally here.The playoffs are back, with Golden State and Cleveland — who've met in the last three NBA Finals — not exactly looking like the overwhelming favorites the league has come to expect. A fourth straight Warriors-Cavs matchup is no guarantee. A fourth straight trip by either of those teams alone is far from certain, either.It all starts Saturday, the 16-team tournament that will be a two-month grind following the six-month grind of the regular season."I feel pretty ready," Toronto... [More]

F Will Barton, who bruised his lower back in Detroit on Tuesday night, did not play Wednesday.

G Will Barton had 21 points and a career-high nine assists Sunday in the Nuggets' overtime loss at Indiana. However, Barton missed a shot to win it at the buzzer in regulation.

G Will Barton led the Nuggets, scoring 13 of his 23 points in the third quarter Monday during a loss at Dallas.

ATLANTA -- Cleveland's defense wasn't what it had been during most of its winning streak, but a season-best 18 3-pointers in 39 attempts were enough to carry the Cavaliers past the Atlanta Hawks 121-114 on Thursday for their 10th consecutive victory.Kevin Love had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and LeBron James had 24 points and 12 assists as Cleveland held on despite a scare from Atlanta.The Hawks, down by 12 points late in the third quarter, closed to 113-112 on two free throws by Ersan Ilyasova, but James hit a 3-pointer with just under two minutes left to help the Cavaliers regain control.Dennis Schroder had 27 points and Ilyasova 22 for Atlanta.Celtics 108, 76ers 97BOSTON -- Kyrie Irving scored 36 points to power Boston over undermanned but feisty Philadelphia.Irving and Marcus Morris keyed a 17-7 fourth-quarter run that broke the game open and gave the Celtics a ninth win in their last 10 home games. It was also the seventh straight TD Garden victory for Boston over the 76ers.The Celtics'... [More]

G Will Barton scored a career-high 37 points and hit the game-winning basket with 3.2 seconds left in a 111-110 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. Barton scored six points in the final 45 seconds.

G Will Barton (20 points) and Nikola Jokic (17 points) helped Denver (10-8) cut the deficit to 81-60 midway through the third Wednesday.

G Will Barton scored a game-high 25 points and went 5-for-6 from 3-point range in Denver's win at Sacramento on Monday.

G Will Barton totaled 26 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's win over Orlando.

G Will Barton scored 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds for Denver in a win over Brooklyn on Tuesday.