INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Oladipo's season is over. The Indiana Pacers intend to make sure his injury doesn't derail theirs, too.After learning the All-Star guard faces season-ending surgery for a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, Oladipo's teammates quickly banded together in hopes of surprising the NBA again."It's very, very tough to see this happen to a guy who is so positive and means so much to this team," co-captain Thaddeus Young said Thursday. "But we can't just go be sad. We have to go out and grind out wins and stay together through thick and thin."Young and his teammates demonstrated what that might look like Wednesday night after Oladipo crumpled to the ground awkwardly as he tried to defend an outlet pass against Toronto. He was taken off the court on a stretcher with 4:05 left in the first half. Team officials announced during the game it was a "serious injury" to his right knee but waited until Thursday's MRI to provide more details.Even without their leader, Indiana... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A win inside the building where as a skinny kid two decades ago Dwyane Wade dared to dream. Displays of love from the city where he was raised. Shows of love from the school where he became a national name. A surprise arrival by family members to cap a celebration that included ovation after ovation after ovation.This was Wade's weekend.It wasn't the last steps of Wade's final season as an NBA player, but what took place in Chicago on Saturday and Milwaukee on Sunday will be among the most memorable moments he cherishes during this yearlong commemoration of his basketball life. Chicago celebrated a native son who has never forgotten where he came from. Milwaukee and Marquette celebrated the hero of their Final Four team 16 years ago.Summing it all up in one word, Wade chose "perfect.""Having my last Chicago game, and then to follow it with Dwyane Wade Day at my college, for 'One Last Dance,' besides my last game in Miami this is the peak of it," Wade said after 15th-ranked... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dwyane Wade's last dance went back to college.The Miami Heat guard — who has dubbed his 16th and final NBA season "One Last Dance" — was the guest of honor at Marquette's game against Providence on Sunday. Wade starred for the Golden Eagles during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, leading Marquette to the Final Four in his last year of college before he jumped to the NBA.It was part of a weekend celebration for Wade, who played for the final time in his hometown of Chicago on Saturday night when the Heat topped the Bulls. He and his family made the quick trip north to frosty Milwaukee, where students and fans donned gold T-shirts bearing his name and No. 3 on the back for "Dwyane Wade Day.""I think my younger self would be proud of me," Wade said.The big surprise came at halftime, when Marquette and some members of Wade's inner circle stunned him by having his two oldest sons and the nephew that he's raising come onto the court. Zaire Wade, his oldest, presented his father... [More]

BIRMINGHAM, Michigan (AP) — The Miami Heat have fined Dion Waiters an undisclosed amount for his expletive-laden comments about playing time earlier this week.Waiters made the comments to reporters from two South Florida newspapers after Miami's lopsided loss in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. The Heat were off Wednesday and announced the fine Thursday."We fined him and we addressed it as a team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.Waiters has played in five games this season, all as a reserve. He missed just over a full year while recovering from surgery to repair a long-problematic ankle, and has repeatedly said that being patient throughout the process is a challenge for him."Look, this is going to be very difficult for Dion," Spoelstra said. "I have empathy for everything he's gone through in the last year to get back to where he is right now. But this is not about him. This is only about the team and it's about winning."Miami is 21-21 this season, going into its game Friday at Detroit.Waiters... [More]

Imagine this: Kevin Durant is out of bounds by an enormous margin, all three referees somehow miss the obvious infraction and Golden State winds up getting a basket that it didn't deserve to take the lead with a few seconds remaining.It seemed implausible.That is, until it happened.When such a scene played out last week in the Houston-Golden State overtime thriller, James Harden kept a ton of egg from landing on the NBA's face when he connected on a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a win in a game they would have screamed bloody murder about otherwise. But what if he missed? Or worse, if a call that big got missed in Game 7 of the NBA Finals?"How do you miss that?" TNT analyst Reggie Miller mused while watching the Durant replay.An obvious question, with an obvious answer: It's time for a change.Everyone in the NBA replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey that night surely saw Durant standing out of bounds. But there is no mechanism for the replay crews to trigger a review of such a play — since,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwyane Wade made his 500th career 3-pointer in the third quarter to join Michael Jordan and LeBron James on an elite list.On a miserable shooting night for Miami — the Heat had missed 20 of their first 22 attempts beyond the arc — Wade joined Jordan and James as the only players in NBA history with at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 3s.The Heat, trying to win for the 13th time in their last 18 games, trailed Atlanta by 21 points late in the third Sunday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — Bradley Beal has been keeping a secret from Dwyane Wade all of these years.Beal wears No. 3 for one reason.It's a tribute to his idol.After their 16th head-to-head meeting on Friday night — Miami beat Washington 115-109 — Beal finally summoned up the courage to let Wade know how he feels about his game, and acknowledged afterward that he was nervous when asking to exchange jerseys with the player who, not at all coincidentally, wears No. 3 for the Heat."I tried not to lose my mind when he first gave it to me because that's unbelievable," Beal said. "I'm trying not to be a fan, but I am a fan and I am a huge fan of his game. I try to predicate a little bit of my game off of his. This is probably the first time I'm actually saying that, but he's a legend forever."Wade has been exchanging jerseys with players over the course of this, his 16th and final NBA season. Beal said he was nervous to ask Wade for his, for fear that the answer would be no.Turns out, Wade wanted his jersey... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Wizards power forward Markieff Morris will miss at least six weeks with a neck injury, the latest setback in a difficult season for one of the NBA's most disappointing teams.The Wizards announced Thursday that Morris was examined by a doctor after dealing with neck and upper back stiffness since getting hit on the chin during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 16. Morris left that game at halftime with what the Wizards said then was a neck strain.He now will be limited to non-contact basketball activities for the next 1½ months. The Wizards are scheduled to play 20 games in that span.The 29-year-old Morris has never appeared in fewer than the 63 games he played in during his rookie season back in 2011-12.The Wizards already were without All-Star point guard John Wall for the rest of this season because he needs an operation on his left heel and Achilles tendon, and they're also currently missing center Dwight Howard, who is expected to be out for... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is out against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night because of an illness.Wade played in 46 games last season with Cleveland, where he was reunited with long-time friend LeBron James, before being traded to Miami. He has announced he will retire after the season — his 16th in the NBA.Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said several Miami players have been under the weather in recent days.The 36-year-old Wade is averaging 14.1 points in 27 games this season.

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]

WASHINGTON (AP) — This was hardly the ideal way for LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers to cap what amounted to an eventful week of highs and lows.And arriving one night after what seemed to be a breakthrough performance, this dud demonstrated just how much more room for improvement four-time NBA MVP James and his new teammates have.James shot just 5 for 16, managing merely a season-worst 13 points. He and the rest of the Lakers put up barely any resistance at the defensive end and trailed by as many as 27 points while stumbling their way to a 128-110 loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday night."We're a good team," James insisted afterward. "Tonight was just one of those instances where we didn't play well."That's certainly true, at both ends of the court and in various ways.The 22 turnovers. The 51-43 rebounding deficit. The 0-for-8 start on 3-point attempts. The way they allowed Wizards point guard John Wall to dominate en route to a 40-point, 14-assist performance."Not a lot of... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dwyane Wade will be spending a lot of time in Los Angeles while he settles into retirement next year. He already has a house here, and his wife's acting career would undoubtedly benefit from more time in Hollywood.LeBron James is a newly minted Southern Californian himself, and he's already hatching schemes to occupy his former teammate, longtime rival and permanent friend."I told him, 'No one likes to work out by themselves,'" James said with a grin. "So he can come to Staples. He can come to the practice facility anytime he wants to get workouts in. He can come help me with the young guys as well. He'll be around a lot more personally for me, so I'll love that."Wade still has 56 regular-season games left in his self-declared final NBA season with the Miami Heat, but he passed a major milestone in that procession when he lined up against James for the final time Monday night in the Los Angeles Lakers' 108-105 victory.The result wasn't the most important part of the night... [More]

So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]

So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dwyane Wade never thought he would play 1,000 games.And he's unsure what the milestone will mean.Wade is in line to become the 15th active player to appear in 1,000 regular-season games, the milestone he'll hit assuming he plays Saturday night when the Miami Heat visit the Los Angeles Clippers."I don't even know the significance of 1,000 games," Wade said. "I don't know if it's a big deal. I think it's just another number."The Heat might disagree with that.Heat coach Erik Spoelstra didn't know Wade was nearing the milestone until earlier this week, and got wide-eyed when told that Wade had appeared in so many games."That's crazy to think about," Spoelstra said.Nobody has played in 1,000 regular-season games for the Heat — Wade has played the most, 893 after Friday's game in Phoenix. But he'll be the fourth person to play career game No. 1,000 while wearing a Miami uniform, joining Rashard Lewis in 2013, Shaquille O'Neal in 2007 and Danny Schayes in 1996."He's showed an... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Even on a night off, Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov got hit.No penalty was called.No foul was called either.Barkov had courtside seats to watch the Miami Heat on Sunday night — and got a closer view of Dwyane Wade than he expected. Wade was trying to steal a pass when he wound up diving about four rows into the stands with 3:04 remaining, and he wound up clipping Barkov on his way into the crowd.The Panthers' captain wasn't hurt and didn't mind."D-Wade flying over you is really nice," Barkov said.Wade tweeted an apology to Barkov on Monday. He didn't realize that he hit anyone on his way into the crowd, and it wasn't pointed out to him who was in that prime seat until Monday.Barkov said getting tweeted at by Wade was "a big honor.""Maybe I'll have the team send an icepack," Wade said. "I actually know him, I'm a fan of his and we've met before, but I didn't know I hit him."It's not the first time Wade has dived into the stands after a ball. He's done it several times... [More]

Vince Carter could have gone anywhere.To a contender, to chase a ring. To retirement, because he has nothing left to prove. To television, which seems like it will be his next vocation whenever his playing days end.Instead, he chose Atlanta — a young team, a rebuilding team, a team that probably has minimal chance of making the playoffs.And he's happy."I'm with a great bunch of guys," Carter said. "I enjoy helping young guys who want to learn, who are willing to be coached and let you coach them and ask questions. It's a small thing, but it's a major thing — because if you're asking questions, that means you're trying to learn and grow. And these guys are all great."He's the NBA's oldest active player, someone who turns 42 next month. When he was drafted in June 1998, neither Trae Young nor Kevin Huerter had been born yet. And they're the starting backcourt for the Hawks this season, Carter's 21st in the league, with Atlanta being the eighth team he's played with.Carter talked with Dwyane... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Spencer Dinwiddie is wearing art on his feet this season.It's for a good cause.The Brooklyn guard is planning to have a different set of sneakers in every game this year, paying tribute to either various people or causes on that particular night. On Tuesday in Miami, his shoes were an homage to Heat guard Dwyane Wade — and Dinwiddie proudly got one of his childhood idols to sign the kicks afterward.And they were truly one-of-a-kind: The words "One Last Dance" were across the tongues of the shoes, a nod to what Wade is calling his 16th and final NBA season. There were images of palm trees, a Miami signature, as well as the No. 3 that Wade has worn on his jersey for the entirety of his time with the Heat."I knew when the schedule came out and he had said this is his last year, that we had to do something special," Dinwiddie said after Brooklyn's 104-92 victory.Dinwiddie isn't keeping the Wade-themed shoes or any others this season. They're all getting auctioned off for charities... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade is back with the Miami Heat.Wade ended his paternity leave Tuesday night, checking in for the Heat midway through the first quarter of their game against the Brooklyn Nets. He said his wife and their daughter are doing well, which allowed him to feel comfortable resuming his season after a seven-game hiatus."I'm going to obviously miss them," Wade said. "It was tough leaving my little girl and my wife, but I've got to get back to work and I'll see them again soon."Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union-Wade welcomed Kaavia James Union Wade into the world on Nov. 7. Wade had been in Los Angeles with them since then, and flew back to Miami on Monday.His return is most certainly welcome in Miami. The Heat went 2-5 in his time away, falling to 6-10 this season entering the game against the Nets. They were playing Tuesday without guards Goran Dragic (knee), Tyler Johnson (hamstring) and Dion Waiters (ankle recovery from last season)."There's a human element to this business... [More]