The scenario is simple right now for Milwaukee and Golden State: Win a road game on Monday, go home toting a 3-1 series lead and be one win away from a spot in the NBA's version of the Final Four.The scenario is equally simple for Boston and Houston: Win a home game on Monday, or else.Top-seeded Milwaukee leads fourth-seeded Boston 2-1 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, and top-seeded Golden State leads fourth-seeded Houston 2-1 in their Western Conference semifinal. The Celtics and the Rockets host Game 4s, knowing a win will earn them a berth in what becomes a best-of-three showdown and knowing a loss places them squarely on the abyss that overlooks elimination."It's a great opportunity to respond," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.Boston had the home-court edge over Milwaukee, then gave it back with a loss on Friday night. Houston was a bounce or two away from getting into the most-dreaded 3-0 hole against Golden State, then rallied to win Game 3 on Saturday night and keep... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry made a point Monday of studying all 16 3-pointers James Harden attempted in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.He wants to be better prepared to defend the Houston star who has such a knack of drawing his man in to generate contact as he jumps forward to release the ball from long range.Who knew a debate about landing space would be all the talk going into Game 2 on Tuesday?"It sucks that that is the narrative coming out of it, because we literally could exhaust our energy on that as well. So what are you going to do about it?" Curry said. "Hopefully, Game 2, it's about the game and how we play and making shots and the energy and intensity that we need to play with, knowing what's at stake, and that becomes the conversation for sure."A day after the Houston Rockets complained about the officiating following a 104-100 loss in the opener of the best-of-seven series, the NBA's Last-Two Minute Report confirmed a no-call when Draymond Green defended... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are preparing for their Game 2 matchup with the Pacers aware their series-opening win was notable more for its ugliness more than the outcome.Meanwhile, the Rockets and Bucks are heading into their respective Game 2s with the Jazz and Pistons expecting more competitive games after dominating victories.Boston limited Indiana to eight points in the third quarter of its 84-74 Game 1 win. It was the Celtics' lowest point total of the season and the first time they won a game in 2018-19 in which they didn't reach 100 points.Change is on the minds of both teams.For the Celtics that could mean tweaks to the starting lineup as they continue to adjust to the absence of Marcus Smart, who is recovering from a torn left oblique."It's frustrating, but you have to take it day-by-day and one day at a time," Smart said Tuesday.Celtics coach Brad Stevens acknowledged Smart's absence forced them to play differently and will continue to require adjustments.Without Smart to help with... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets are finally healthy and have won a season-high nine straight heading into their final regular-season meeting against the Golden State Warriors.Despite the surge, James Harden & Co. still trail first-place Golden State, which has lost six of 10 capped by a loss to the lowly Suns, by 3½ games in the Western Conference standings. Houston has won all three games against the Warriors this season, but win or lose on Wednesday night, the Rockets have much bigger goals."We beat them four times or three times in the regular season ain't nobody going to remember in about a month," Chris Paul said.Indeed.The Rockets not only want to finish out the season strong to try to pass Golden State and second-place Denver for the top seed in the West. They also have their eyes on finally toppling the Warriors after Golden State has eliminated Houston from the playoffs in three of the last four seasons. They've twice lost to them in the Western Conference finals, including... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have decided to fire ninth-year general manager Dell Demps and start the process of finding someone to deal with the fallout of All-Star Anthony Davis' recent trade demand.Demps' dismissal comes after Davis said in late January that he would not sign an extension with New Orleans and wants to be traded to a contending team."As difficult as these decisions are, my responsibility is to provide the leadership and resources necessary to deliver a winning team to our fans and community," Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said Friday in a written statement. "I take that responsibility seriously and would like to assure our fans that I am prepared to provide any, and all, resources required to compete for championships."Davis has another season remaining on his contract after this one and this season's trade deadline has passed, meaning no trade will happen until summer under the new front office regime.Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft out... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden has been scoring at a pace not seen since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s.He doesn't want to talk about it, of course. He never does, whether things are going well or not. But it is clear he is enjoying this because his scoring outburst has coincided with Houston climbing the standings, back among the top teams in the Western Conference after an early-season slump."I love to hoop," he said. "I love to just be out there and the grind."He scored 40 points in Houston's win over Orlando on Sunday night to extend his stretch of consecutive 30-point games to 23, the fourth-longest streak in NBA history behind three such streaks by Chamberlain. In 13 games this month, last season's MVP is averaging 44.1 points. He has scored at least 40 points in eight games in January, including two 50-point games and a franchise-record 61 in a win over the Knicks."It's remarkable," teammate Eric Gordon said. "I've been around a lot of big-time players and he's for sure the best scorer... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets center Clint Capela underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb Thursday and will be out 4-to-6 weeks.Capela's surgery was done by Dr. Steven Shin in Los Angeles.Capela started Houston's first 42 games before he was injured Sunday night in a loss at Orlando. The 24-year-old is averaging 17.6 points and 12.6 rebounds — both career highs — this season.It's a significant blow for a team that has been without All-Star Chris Paul since Dec. 22 because of a strained left hamstring and that has also missed starter Eric Gordon recently because of a bruised knee.With Capela out the Rockets will look for more minutes from Nene and could also use Gary Clark to fill in at center.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Different leg. Same problem.Houston's Chris Paul has a grade 2 strain of his left hamstring, and general manager Daryl Morey said Friday the All-Star point guard will be out at least two weeks."We've got to figure it out," said Rockets guard James Harden, the league's reigning MVP. "Injuries happen."Paul was injured in the second quarter on Thursday night in a loss to Miami. Seeing Paul grab at the back of his leg surely conjured up bad reminders of his right hamstring strain late last season, the injury that knocked him out of Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won both of those games to erase the Rockets' 3-2 lead in the series, and went on to sweep Cleveland for the title.The Rockets are 0-5 without Paul this season, and have dropped nine straight when he doesn't play going back to last season. Including playoffs, the Rockets are 77-22 when Paul plays."I've had hamstring issues before and I know how frustrating... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Different leg. Same problem.Chris Paul has another hamstring issue to deal with, and the Houston Rockets are bracing for another stint without their All-Star point guard. Paul will have an MRI in Houston on Friday to determine the severity of the strain in his left hamstring, one that he hurt during the second quarter of the Rockets' 101-99 loss in Miami."We've got to figure it out," said Rockets guard James Harden, the league's reigning MVP. "Injuries happen."Seeing Paul grab at the back of his leg surely conjured up bad reminders of his right hamstring strain late last season, the injury that knocked him out of Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won both of those games to erase the Rockets' 3-2 lead in the series, and went on to sweep Cleveland for the NBA title.The Rockets are 0-5 without Paul this season, and have dropped nine straight when he doesn't play going back to last season. Including playoffs, the Rockets... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — James Harden returned to the Houston Rockets' starting lineup Saturday night against the Chicago Bulls after missing three games because of a strained left hamstring.The NBA MVP last season, Harden has appeared in four games and leads Houston with an average of 28.5 points. He was injured near the end of the loss to Utah on Oct. 24, and Houston was routed in the next two games.The Rockets beat the Nets in Brooklyn 119-111 on Friday night as Harden got an extra day of rest.Guard Eric Gordon was held out of Saturday's game with an abductor strain, suffered at Brooklyn.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets were up by 14 in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors when they started missing from 3-point range. They shot themselves all the way from prime position to advance to the NBA Finals to the end of a solid season.James Harden was the first to miss. Eric Gordon soon bricked one, and P.J. Tucker did the same. It was miss after miss after miss as the cold streak stretched to nine by halftime. There were 14 more in the third quarter in a surprising performance for a team that relied on the 3 all season. By the time Tucker connected with about 6 1/2 minutes left, the Rockets had missed an NBA-record 27 straight 3-pointers and the Warriors were on their way to a 101-92 victory.Though Gordon believes the result would have been different if Houston had Chris Paul for the last two games of the Western Conference finals, saying: "if he was out there, we'd have been playing on Thursday," the rest of the Rockets agreed that even the nine-time All-Star... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rajon Rondo and Draymond Green have won NBA titles and never have been known to shy away from conflict on the court.Now their combustible convergence in the playoffs is providing a spicy subplot to the Western Conference semifinal series between New Orleans and Golden State."We're here to fight," Rondo said following New Orleans' lopsided Game 3 victory that trimmed the Warriors' series lead to 2-1. "With my guys on the court, I'm going to fight as hard as I can ... and do whatever it takes."Green and Rondo had to be separated after whistles twice in the first three games — never mind some other antics in the flow of the game — and they'll be back at it again in one of two pivotal Game 4s to be played on Sunday. The other pits Houston against Utah in a series that the Rockets lead 2-1.The Rondo-Green sideshow is compelling because of what both players mean to their teams. They are not the type of trash-talking, loud-mouths who otherwise play marginal roles. They are accomplished... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Rajon Rondo and Draymond Green have won NBA titles and never have been known to shy away from conflict on the court.Now their combustible convergence in the playoffs is providing spicy subplot to the Western Conference semifinal series between New Orleans and Golden State."We're here to fight," Rondo said following New Orleans' lopsided Game 3 victory that trimmed the Warriors' series lead to 2-1. "With my guys on the court, I'm going to fight as hard as I can ... and do whatever it takes."Green and Rondo had to be separated after whistles twice in the first three games — never mind some other antics in the flow of the game — and they'll be back at it again in one of two pivotal Game 4s to be played on Sunday. The other pits Houston against Utah in a series that the Rockets lead 2-1.The Rondo-Green sideshow is compelling because of what both players mean to their teams. They are not the type of trash-talking, loud-mouths who otherwise play marginal roles. They are accomplished... [More]

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — By now, LeBron James is usually getting some rest in the NBA playoffs.The Pacers are making him work much harder than he has in years.After splitting the first four games, Indiana and Cleveland will meet on Wednesday night in the critical Game 5 of a first-round series that has been unpredictable, uneven and for James, unusual.This first round hasn't been the norm for the three-time champion.While he's 12-0 in the opening round, before the Cavs dropped Game 1 to the Pacers at home, James had never lost a playoff opener. In fact, James came in with a 21-game winning streak in first-round games and this will be his first Game 5 in Round 1 since 2012 when he was with Miami.The Cavs and Pacers aren't the only ones in a tussle in the Eastern Conference as Washington and Toronto resume their series in Canada tied 2-2. Things aren't quite as tight In the West as Utah holds a 3-1 lead over a fraying Oklahoma City team, and Houston, which dropped 50 points in one quarter... [More]

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]

G Eric Gordon scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half

G Eric Gordon and F Trevor Ariza scored 20 for Houston (25-7).

G Eric Gordon drilled seven 3-pointers, five in the final period, to spark the Rockets to a come-from-behind, 120-99 victory over the Jazz on Monday night. Gordon scored 17 of his season-high 33 points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-6 3-point shooting. "Early in the first half they were making everybody go toward the rim," Gordon said. "And then they got tired of that and were really protecting the paint, and then it was wide-open 3s.

G Eric Gordon totaled 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting off the bench to offset the short-handed Pelicans' offensive brilliance.

G Eric Gordon scored 22 points off the bench for the Rockets (18-4).