TORONTO (AP) — A "culture reset" carried the Toronto Raptors to the top of the Eastern Conference for the first time this season.Next, the Raptors will try to hit reset on their playoff history with the Washington Wizards.After Cleveland swept the Raptors in the second round last spring, team president Masai Ujiri promised to change the culture surrounding the club.That meant greater emphasis on ball movement and 3-point shooting, something the Raptors were able to execute immediately. Toronto had 67 games with at least 20 assists, up from 34 the previous year, and averaged 33 shots a game from beyond the arc, third most in the NBA."We won 59 games," All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan said. "I think that speaks for itself. We know what works for us, what got us here, and what's going to take us even further."Thanks to the offensive overhaul, this Raptors team is far removed from the one swept in the first round in 2015, a series in which the Wizards won by an average of 14 points."That's old... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):3:10 a.m.The NBA has released the first-round playoff schedule, and the reigning NBA champs will host the postseason opener.Game 1 between Golden State and San Antonio opens the slate on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern — a somewhat unusual noon local time tip-off for the Warriors.The Warriors-Spurs game will followed Saturday by three other openers — Washington-Toronto, Miami-Philadelphia and New Orleans-Portland.On Sunday, the games are Milwaukee-Boston, Indiana-Cleveland, Utah-Oklahoma City and Minnesota-Houston.Game 2s will be held Monday through Wednesday.Game 3s start Thursday, and all Game 7s — if necessary — would be on April 28 and 29.For those planning way ahead, the NBA Finals are set to begin on May 31.___1:00 a.m.The NBA playoff bracket is complete.Portland beat Utah to grab the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and that allowed the rest of the bracket to be filled in — finally. The... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):1:00 a.m.The NBA playoff bracket is complete.Portland beat Utah to grab the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, and that allowed the rest of the bracket to be filled in — finally. The Trail Blazers will play No. 6 New Orleans in the first round, and No. 4 Oklahoma City will have home-court advantage against the fifth-seeded Jazz.The Jazz-Blazers game was the 1,230th and final regular-season matchup of the season. Every other game on Wednesday's schedule was over before the final buzzer in Portland, meaning it took the entire schedule to determine the last two matchups in the West.___11:55 p.m.The first two of the four Western Conference first-round matchups have been set.No. 1 Houston will play No. 8 Minnesota, and No. 2 Golden State (probably with no Stephen Curry) will play No. 7 San Antonio (probably with no Kawhi Leonard).The Rockets swept four games from the Timberwolves, and the Warriors... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):11:55 p.m.The first two of the four Western Conference first-round matchups have been set.No. 1 Houston will play No. 8 Minnesota, and No. 2 Golden State (probably with no Stephen Curry) will play No. 7 San Antonio (probably with no Kawhi Leonard).The Rockets swept four games from the Timberwolves, and the Warriors went 3-1 against the Spurs in the regular season.The rest of the West bracket will be set based on the outcome of the Utah-Portland game. New Orleans will start on the road, regardless of the winner, and Oklahoma City — thanks to its wild 137-123 win over Memphis — could still get a top-four seed.___10:50 p.m.Minnesota is in the playoffs.Jeff Teague's jumper with just over a minute left in overtime put the Timberwolves ahead to stay, and Minnesota topped Denver 112-106 on Wednesday night to grab the final spot in the NBA playoffs.The last West spot was the only one up for grabs on... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):10:50 p.m.Minnesota is in the playoffs.Jeff Teague's jumper with just over a minute left in overtime put the Timberwolves ahead to stay, and Minnesota topped Denver 112-106 on Wednesday night to grab the final spot in the NBA playoffs.The last West spot was the only one up for grabs on the season's final night. It was the NBA's first winner-gets-in, loser-goes-home game since 1997.Denver would have gone to the postseason with a win at Minnesota.Minnesota is in the playoffs for the first time since 2004 — ending what was the longest active drought in the NBA___10:40 p.m.The East is set.It took 82 games, the entire regular season and even an overtime in Miami to decide things, but the bracket for the Eastern Conference playoffs is filled.No. 1 Toronto will play No. 8 Washington, No. 2 Boston will meet No. 7 Milwaukee, No. 3 Philadelphia draws No. 6 Miami and No. 4 Cleveland gets No. 5 Indiana.All... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):10:40 p.m.The East is set.It took 82 games, the entire regular season and even an overtime in Miami to decide things, but the bracket for the Eastern Conference playoffs is filled.No. 1 Toronto will play No. 8 Washington, No. 2 Boston will meet No. 7 Milwaukee, No. 3 Philadelphia draws No. 6 Miami and No. 4 Cleveland gets No. 5 Indiana.All the Game 1s will be Saturday or Sunday, at the lower seed.Indiana went 3-1 against the Cavaliers in the regular season. All the other first-round matchups are ones where the playoff foes split four meetings this season.___10:15 p.m.For the first time since 2001, Philadelphia is a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.For the first time since 2008, LeBron James is not.The 76ers routed Milwaukee 130-95 on Wednesday night to wrap up the No. 3 seed on the East bracket, and that meant No. 4 Cleveland will face No. 5 Indiana when the playoffs open this... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):9:40 p.m.Russell Westbrook will average a triple-double for the second straight season.The Oklahoma City guard came into Wednesday needing 16 rebounds against Memphis to average 10.0 boards this season — and got there in the third quarter of the Thunder's game against the Grizzlies.Westbrook has no issue outdueling teammates for rebounds, and grabbed 16 of the Thunder's first 27 rebounds on Wednesday.It's only the third time in NBA history that someone has averaged a triple-double. Westbrook did it last year, and Oscar Robertson did it in 1961-62.___9:30 p.m.Houston Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute will likely miss at least the first round of the playoffs after dislocating his right shoulder in a meaningless game for the Western Conference leaders.Coach Mike D'Antoni said Wednesday that Mbah a Moute will likely miss two to three weeks with the injury sustained against the Los Angeles Lakers... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):9 p.m.There's never been more points in an NBA regular season than this one.For the fourth time in five years, the league's single-season total points record has been broken. The record from last season was 259,753 points across the league, and that went down as most of the night's early games were approaching halftime.It's been a season of milestones for the NBA. The league's assist record was broken, with the NBA players combining for over 1,000 more than they had last season. And even as the points went up, apparently so did the missing — there were 82,311 defensive rebounds league-wide going into Wednesday night, and that was another NBA record.___8:15 p.m.No. 23 has played in all 82.When LeBron James took the floor for Cleveland against New York on Wednesday night, it represented a first for the four-time MVP — this is the first of his 15 seasons in which he's played in every regular-season... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — The Latest on Wednesday's final slate of NBA regular-season games (all times local):8:15 p.m.No. 23 has played in all 82.When LeBron James took the floor for Cleveland against New York on Wednesday night, it represented a first for the four-time MVP — this is the first of his 15 seasons in which he's played in every regular-season game.James has ordinarily sat out games at the end of the season when the Cavs have a seed locked up. That didn't happen before the finale this year, so James played all the way to the finish. Cleveland can finish No. 3 or No. 4 in the East, depending on the outcome of its game against the Knicks and the Milwaukee at Philadelphia game.James' previous high for appearances was 81, back in the 2008-09 season. He says he's tried this season to "change the narrative" about what a player in his 15th season is capable of doing.James entered the finale averaging 27.7 points, 9.2 assists and 8.7 rebounds.___7:45 p.m.Toronto coach Dwane Casey is not giving... [More]

Philadelphia wants to open the playoffs at home. Toronto wants home-court advantage all the way to the NBA Finals.How they get through some marquee games this week will go a long way in determining if they reach those goals.For the Raptors, it's a game Wednesday against the team right behind them. For the red-hot 76ers, it's the one just in front of them: LeBron James and the reigning East champs from Cleveland on Friday.Toronto hosts Boston, with both teams playing for the second straight night. The Raptors lost Tuesday in Cleveland and Boston later fell in Milwaukee, keeping the Raptors two games ahead with five to play.A win Wednesday and the Raptors will be on the verge of locking up the No. 1 seed. Lose their third consecutive game, and the door stays open for Boston to grab it for the second straight season. The Celtics trimmed three games off their deficit during a six-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday, and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win Wednesday."It's... [More]

Philadelphia wants to open the playoffs at home. Toronto wants home-court advantage all the way to the NBA Finals.How they get through some marquee games this week will go a long way in determining if they reach those goals.For the Raptors, it's a game Wednesday against the team right behind them. For the red-hot 76ers, it's the one just in front of them: LeBron James and the reigning East champs from Cleveland on Friday.Toronto hosts Boston, with both teams playing for the second straight night. The Raptors lost Tuesday in Cleveland and Boston later fell in Milwaukee, keeping the Raptors two games ahead with five to play.A win Wednesday and the Raptors will be on the verge of locking up the No. 1 seed. Lose their third consecutive game, and the door stays open for Boston to grab it for the second straight season. The Celtics trimmed three games off their deficit during a six-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday, and would clinch the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win Wednesday."It's... [More]

They do things differently in Toronto.When it's time for NBA public-address announcers to introduce the starting lineup before games, the Raptors don't wait to hear their names called. The starters simply huddle up for a quick chat while their backups gather a few feet away and use a basketball to play volleyball — bumping and setting it to each other before someone spikes a dunk.They're laughing. They're loose. And they don't mind if few are noticing.These are happy times for the Toronto Raptors, who kept their stars and coach together even after a string of playoff flameouts and are seeing that continuity rewarded. If they win three of their final eight games, they'll break the franchise single-season record of 56 victories. And they're in position to go into the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 1 seed for the first time, entering Monday with a 3 ½ game lead over No. 2 Boston."I feel like we have something special that is a well-kept secret," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.Canada's... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The drama has included turmoil and trades, head-scratching losses, infighting, injuries and illness.Cleveland's stormy season seems extracted from the script of a scandalous TV soap opera — "All My Cavaliers."But just when it looked as if LeBron James and this group of Cavaliers, some of whom have yet to play together, were about to implode with the postseason in sight, a startling win may have turned them around."I always say there is one game during the season that changes your team," acting coach Larry Drew said following Cleveland's 132-129 win over Toronto. "That game can be early, it can be midway, it can be late. There's always one game that kind of changes your team, the mindset."And I really believe tonight's game might have done that for us."With James on a mission to remind the Raptors of his magnificence, the short-handed Cavs, missing five rotational players and coach Tyronn Lue, rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half Wednesday night to stun the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Kevin Love has received more than 4,000 messages since opening up about his struggles with mental health issues."Overwhelming is a good word to use," the Cleveland Cavaliers forward said Wednesday after the morning shootaround before a game against the Nuggets. "I'm trying to read through all the emails and all the texts and respond to everybody in the right way."Love considered it therapeutic to write his essay for The Player's Tribune in which he addressed such things as his panic attack during a game this season and how he's spent most of his life afraid to accept there was something wrong with him.Although, it was daunting to release his story to the world."It did take me a while (to write). I didn't know if I was going to address it potentially in the summer, but I'm glad I did it now," said Love, a five-time All-Star who's currently sidelined by a broken hand. "Everybody is going through something. Everybody has things that you can't see, you can't touch, that they're... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Suffering for years in silence, Kevin Love has opened up about his struggles with mental health.The Cavaliers forward writes in an essay for the Players' Tribune that he had a panic attack during a game this season and he has spent most of his life afraid to accept there was something wrong with him."For 29 years, I thought about mental health as someone else's problem," he said.Love says he was stricken with anxiety Nov. 5 during a home game against the Atlanta Hawks. Love adds that he had been under family stress and hadn't been sleeping well. After briefly being winded while playing 15 minutes in the first half, he felt his heart racing and couldn't catch his breath during a timeout in the third quarter."It's hard to describe, but everything was spinning, like my brain was trying to climb out of my head," said Love, a five-time All-Star now sidelined after breaking his left hand last month."The air felt thick and heavy. My mouth was like chalk. I remember our assistant... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry would love to be an NBA All-Star Game captain again next year, especially since the game will be in his hometown of Charlotte.LeBron James would be OK with someone else taking his place, depending on who the top two vote-getters are, although his draft prowess led to Team LeBron beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night .And there's a definite appetite for the NBA to televise the captains' draft rather than conduct it clandestinely like it was this year."Televise it," said DeMar DeRozan of Team Stephen. "Give the people what they want to see. I think everybody wants to see it. At the end of the day, every single person that gets picked, you are an All-Star, so it doesn't matter where you really go, so I think televise it."Players raved about the new format of having captains draft the teams rather than the traditional format of East vs. West.And James finally revealed his draft order: Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, his former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry would love to be an NBA All-Star Game captain again next year, especially since the game will be in his hometown of Charlotte.LeBron James would be OK with someone else taking his place, depending on who the top two vote-getters are, although his draft prowess led to Team LeBron beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night .And there's a definite appetite for the NBA to televise the captains' draft rather than conduct it clandestinely like it was this year."Televise it," said DeMar DeRozan of Team Stephen. "Give the people what they want to see. I think everybody wants to see it. At the end of the day, every single person that gets picked, you are an All-Star, so it doesn't matter where you really go, so I think televise it."Players raved about the new format of having captains draft the teams rather than the traditional format of East vs. West.And James finally revealed his draft order: Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, his former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):8:20 p.m.LeBron James made a go-ahead, finger-roll layup with 34.5 seconds left and finished with a game-high 29 points to lead Team LeBron to a 148-145 victory against Team Stephen in the NBA All-Star Game.James, who was named the All-Star game MVP for the third time, gave his team a 146-145 lead with the layup and Russell Westbrook added a layup to complete the scoring."We got stops when we needed to," Westbrook said after the game.Indeed.Team Stephen couldn't get a good look for a tying 3 at the buzzer as both teams played with more effort than in recent years.In a departure from the traditional East vs. West format, Stephen Curry and LeBron James picked the teams. The players seemed to enjoy the new format. While there were the usual fancy passes and slam dunks, there was also a lot more defense — blocks, traps that lead to turnovers were all part of this showcase.Damian... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):7:45 p.m.Stephen Curry hit one of his signature 3-point shots with 27.7 seconds left in the third quarter to give his team a 112-109 lead over Team LeBron in the NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center.Curry finally broke into double figures with 11 points. Karl Anthony-Towns leads Team Steph with 17 points.LeBron James leads his team with 19 points.With the new format of the teams being picked by captains James and Curry, the players seem much more into it than in the past games, which have been largely devoid of defense.The final score of this game won't come anywhere near last year's game, when the Western Conference beat the Eastern Conference 192-182 behind Anthony Davis' All-Star Game record of 52 points.After the halftime show by N.E.R.D. and Pharrell Williams, injured Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks chatted with Jerry West and Bill Russell, who were... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):6:40 p.m.LeBron James is heating up but his team trails Team Stephen 78-76 at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center.James has scored 15 points. He had a big dunk and a 3-pointer to help pull his team within one point, but then Team Stephen opened another big lead. Team LeBron closed the gap again on 3-pointers by Paul George and Victor Oladipo.Stephen Curry had a slow start, going scoreless in the first quarter, and finally got his first points with a 3-pointer with 3:16 before halftime to push the lead to 67-58.Klay Thompson has 15 points for Team Stephen, all on 3-pointers.James and Curry are the captains and picked the teams in an attempt to freshen up the game.Anthony Davis of New Orleans wore a DeMarcus Cousins jersey in the first quarter to honor his injured teammate, but then switched back to his own No. 23 jersey in the second quarter.___6:10... [More]