DETROIT (AP) — Kemba Walker scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to help the Charlotte Hornets build a big lead and they went on to beat the Detroit Pistons 104-91 Sunday.Charlotte (38-42) has won three straight to cling to its chances of rallying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.The Pistons (39-41) have lost four in a row to possibly plummet from being a sixth-seeded team to missing the postseason for a third consecutive year and the ninth time in a decade.Detroit coach Dwane Casey said before the game that his team had to slow down Walker after he helped the Hornets win the previous three matchups.That simply didn't happen.Walker had 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the second, lifting the Hornets to a 60-42 lead.The electric point guard had plenty of help.Hornets reserve Frank Kaminski scored a season-high 24 points and Jeremy Lamb had 17 points off the bench. Charlotte's Dwayne Bacon had 14 points and rookie Miles Bridges added 10 points.Detroit was led... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Blake Griffin is out for a third straight game because of left knee soreness, leaving the Detroit Pistons short-handed again as the playoff race winds down.Detroit entered Wednesday night's game against Indiana in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but the Pistons led ninth-place Orlando by just 1½ games.Griffin has mostly avoided injury this season, playing in 72 games, but the Pistons have been without him lately.Griffin is averaging 24.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists. This is the most games he's played since he appeared in 80 in 2013-14 with the Los Angeles Clippers.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

In case more proof was needed that the game of basketball has changed wildly in the last few years, check out the starting center for the team with the best record in the NBA — he is often nowhere near the basket.It's by design.Milwaukee's Brook Lopez hardly ever took 3-pointers in high school, or college, or his first eight seasons in the NBA. He's a 7-footer, and 7-footers were told forever to go to the low post and wait to see if someone throws you the ball. Those days are largely gone and perhaps no NBA big man has seen his job description change more than Lopez.He's taken more 3-pointers this season — 461 and counting — than any 7-footer in any NBA season. And that comes after he was 3 for 31, total, from beyond the arc in his first eight seasons as a pro, with many of those heaves coming in end-of-game or end-of-shot-clock situations."In our practice facility we have boxes out deep beyond the 3-point line, from areas we know we can get reps at," Lopez said. "Eventually, you just get... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Detroit Pistons will rest star forward Blake Griffin for at least one game this week to keep him as fresh as possible for their final postseason push. Griffin will sit out Monday's game against the Cavaliers after scoring 25 points in 33 minutes in Sunday's win over Toronto. Coach Dwane Casey doesn't want to overload Griffin as the Pistons (36-33) fight to hang on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While the Pistons sit Griffin, the Cavs will be without forward Kevin Love, who is sidelined with a sore back. He took a hard fall in Saturday's loss at Dallas. Casey wants to avoid having Griffin play in back-to-back games. After facing the Cavs, the Pistons will play four more games on this trip. Detroit is at Phoenix on Thursday, followed by games at Portland on Saturday and at Golden State on Sunday. "It's prudent to do," Casey said. "We'll give him a couple days to get his juices back going for the final stretch. We feel like this will be good for him." The... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Detroit Pistons will rest star forward Blake Griffin for at least one game this week to keep him as fresh as possible for their final postseason push.Griffin will sit out Monday's game against the Cavaliers after scoring 25 points in 33 minutes in Sunday's win over Toronto. Coach Dwane Casey doesn't want to overload Griffin as the Pistons (36-33) fight to hang on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.While the Pistons sit Griffin, the Cavs will be without forward Kevin Love, who is sidelined with a sore back. He took a hard fall in Saturday's loss at Dallas.Casey wants to avoid having Griffin play in back-to-back games. After facing the Cavs, the Pistons will play four more games on this trip. Detroit is at Phoenix on Thursday, followed by games at Portland on Saturday and at Golden State on Sunday."It's prudent to do," Casey said. "We'll give him a couple days to get his juices back going for the final stretch. We feel like this will be good for him."The 30-year-old... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Detroit Pistons will rest star forward Blake Griffin for at least one game this week to keep him as fresh as possible for their final postseason push.Griffin will sit out Monday's game against the Cavaliers after scoring 25 points in 33 minutes in Sunday's win over Toronto. Coach Dwane Casey doesn't want to overload Griffin as the Pistons (36-33) fight to hang on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.Casey wants to avoid having Griffin play back-to-back games. After facing Cleveland, the Pistons will play four more games on this trip. They're at Portland on Saturday and visit Golden State on Sunday.The 30-year-old Griffin is averaging 24.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.While the Pistons sit Griffin, the Cavs could be without forward Kevin Love, who is questionable with a sore back. He took a hard fall in Saturday's loss at Dallas.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — Blake Griffin doesn't need to jump over any cars to be a hit in the Motor City.A year after arriving in Detroit with his career at a crossroads, a more earthbound Griffin is doing all he can to shake the Pistons out of their decade-long malaise."He does a little bit of everything for us. Probably one of our better pick-and-roll players, passers, scorers, leader by example, just so many things," Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. "His basketball intellect, for me, is one that's been the most impressive of our players. I didn't know that about Blake, because when you think about him, you think about the high-flying dunker and the muscular guy in the post, but there's a lot more to that than just his dunking and athleticism."A month shy of his 30th birthday, there are fewer above-the-rim highlights but Griffin's first full season with Detroit has been one of his best. He's averaging a career-high 26.3 points per game while making strides as a perimeter shooter, and he earned his... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Blake Griffin doesn't need to jump over any cars to be a hit in the Motor City.A year after arriving in Detroit with his career at a crossroads, a more earthbound Griffin is doing all he can to shake the Pistons out of their decade-long malaise."He does a little bit of everything for us. Probably one of our better pick-and-roll players, passers, scorers, leader by example, just so many things," Detroit coach Dwane Casey said. "His basketball intellect, for me, is one that's been the most impressive of our players. I didn't know that about Blake, because when you think about him, you think about the high-flying dunker and the muscular guy in the post, but there's a lot more to that than just his dunking and athleticism."A month shy of his 30th birthday, there are fewer above-the-rim highlights but Griffin's first full season with Detroit has been one of his best. He's averaging a career-high 26.3 points per game while making strides as a perimeter shooter, and he earned his... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons have signed guard Wayne Ellington and waived 2016 first-round draft pick Henry Ellenson.The Pistons announced the moves Saturday night.The 6-foot-5 Ellington is in his 10th NBA season. He averaged 8.4 points with Miami this season before he was traded to Phoenix and then waived. The Pistons needed outside shooting after trading Reggie Bullock.Ellenson, who was drafted with the 18th pick in 2016, has averaged just 3.8 points in 59 NBA games. The Pistons traded Stanley Johnson, their 2015 first-round pick, earlier in the week.Ellington is the Heat record holder for 3-pointers made in a season. He also won the national championship at North Carolina in 2009, when the Final Four was played in Detroit.The Pistons traded Bullock and Johnson before the deadline, but Detroit still has its formidable frontcourt tandem of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. The Pistons made it clear they're still hoping to make the playoffs, and team executive Ed Stefanski said Detroit would still be looking to add players .___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Ed Stefanski can maintain a sense of humor about the challenges facing the Detroit Pistons."I wouldn't be here if things were rosy, is the way I look at it," said Stefanski, a senior executive with the Pistons. "And I tell that in our meetings when people want to say, oh, you know, this and that. I said, 'You guys wouldn't be here if things were good.'"Stefanski arrived as part of a front office overhaul last offseason, and this week was his first trade deadline with Detroit. The Pistons acquired guard Svi Mykhailiuk from the Lakers and center Thon Maker from the Bucks, giving up Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson in the process. The moves netted Detroit a couple young players but did little to change the overall outlook for the franchise.The Pistons have a lot of money tied up in Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, and although Griffin has remained healthy and played like a star this season, Detroit was 24-29 heading into Friday night's matchup... [More]

LeBron James finally has Anthony Davis as a teammate.For one game.His Los Angeles Lakers were unable to swing a deal for Davis, but James drafted the New Orleans Pelicans star on Thursday when he and fellow captain Giannis Antetokounmpo sat down to choose their teams for the Feb. 17 All-Star Game in Charlotte.Davis told the Pelicans he wanted a trade, and James has made it clear that he'd love to play with him. But the Pelicans kept Davis as the trade deadline passed, so for now, their time as teammates will be limited to All-Star weekend and James pounced at the chance to grab him with the second pick of the reserve round."I'm very sure of that," James said, when asked by TNT host Ernie Johnson if he was sure he wanted Davis as a teammate."Isn't that tampering?" Antetokounmpo asked.Responded James, as both players laughed: "Tampering rules do not apply on All-Star weekend," a thinly veiled reference to the reaction James got when he listed Davis as one of many players he would like the... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Last season, the Detroit Pistons acquired Blake Griffin in a blockbuster deal shortly before the trade deadline.So far, their moves this time around have been a lot more mild.The Pistons traded Reggie Bullock to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday for rookie guard Svi Mykhailiuk and a future second-round draft pick. Detroit also agreed to send forward Stanley Johnson to Milwaukee for center Thon Maker, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that deal had not been announced publicly.The Pistons have been mediocre for a while, stuck between contending and rebuilding. For that reason, almost anything seemed possible as Thursday's trade deadline approached. Last year, Griffin came to Detroit in the middle of the season, but that wasn't enough to put the Pistons in the playoffs, and the franchise eventually parted with Stan Van Gundy, its coach and team president.This season hasn't been much different under new coach... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns.Indiana's Victor Oladipo was selected as one of the Eastern Conference reserves, even though his season is over because of injury. The other reserves from the East were Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Washington's Bradley Beal, Detroit's Blake Griffin... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — All-Star center Anthony Davis was pulled from the New Orleans Pelicans' game Sunday against the Detroit Pistons with a right hip injury but returned in the second half.The Pelicans announced after the first quarter that his return was questionable, but Davis checked back into the game during the third quarter.Davis collided with teammate Tim Frazier and Pistons forward Blake Griffin in the first quarter. All three players ended up on the floor. Griffin hurt his right knee but walked off the injury during the ensuing timeout, and Frazier was uninjured.Davis received treatment on the bench and left for the locker room with members of the training staff.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DETROIT (AP) — All-Star center Anthony Davis was pulled from the New Orleans Pelicans' game Sunday against the Detroit Pistons with a right hip injury.The Pelicans announced after the first quarter that his return was questionable.Davis collided with teammate Tim Frazier and Pistons forward Blake Griffin in the first quarter. All three players ended up on the floor. Griffin hurt his right knee but walked off the injury during the ensuing timeout, and Frazier was uninjured.Davis received treatment on the bench and left for the locker room with members of the training staff.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The best NBA team in Los Angeles right now isn't the one with LeBron James.It's the no-name Clippers.Going into Wednesday, the Clippers were fourth in the rugged Western Conference at 8-5, with overtime wins against defending NBA champion Golden State and Milwaukee, as well as Oklahoma City and Houston (twice)."We're going to keep on getting better," leading scorer Tobias Harris said. "We've showed we can play with the best of them."While they don't have talent on par with those teams, the Clippers are transitioning to a new era with a mix of veterans like Danilo Gallinari, Harris, Marcin Gortat and Patrick Beverley. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has cracked the starting lineup as a rookie point guard. Montrezl Harrell brings a contagious energy off the bench.In a win over Washington, they had a franchise-record nine players score in double figures."They seem to all have a chip on their shoulder because a lot of those guys are really good players but they might not get the... [More]

Blake Griffin had this season's highest-scoring game for all of about 24 hours before Stephen Curry bettered it — in just three quarters.Then, in Golden State's next game, after Curry poured in 51 points in a rout of Washington, Kevin Durant scored 25 in the fourth quarter, the best total of his career, and finished with 41 in a victory at New York.With the Warriors teammates' big nights and Griffin's 50-point outburst for Detroit coming in just a four-night span, it continued a torrid start for scorers that Curry said made it seem like "everybody's clicking at the same time."But count Curry among those who aren't sure the offensive onslaughts being seen now will still be seen in a few months."Those are just great players just making plays, having great nights. That's not any different than any other year," he said after Durant's big night."We're six games in. We'll see how it goes."Damian Lillard has already had a pair of 40-point nights and Kemba Walker is one point shy of doing the same.... [More]

Blake Griffin had this season's highest-scoring game for all of about 24 hours before Stephen Curry bettered it — in just three quarters.Then, in Golden State's next game, after Curry poured in 51 points in a rout of Washington, Kevin Durant scored 25 in the fourth quarter, the best total of his career, and finished with 41 in a victory at New York.With the Warriors teammates' big nights and Griffin's 50-point outburst for Detroit coming in just a four-night span, it continued a torrid start for scorers that Curry said made it seem like "everybody's clicking at the same time."But count Curry among those who aren't sure the offensive onslaughts being seen now will still be seen in a few months."Those are just great players just making plays, having great nights. That's not any different than any other year," he said after Durant's big night."We're six games in. We'll see how it goes."Damian Lillard has already had a pair of 40-point nights and Kemba Walker is one point shy of doing the same.... [More]