LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a deep venous thrombosis in his right arm.The Lakers announced their decision on the former No. 2 overall draft pick Saturday.Ingram has missed the Lakers' past two games after he reported shoulder pain following a morning shootaround last Monday. Lakers coach Luke Walton said earlier this week that Ingram had pain whenever he attempted to lift his arm.A deep venous thrombosis is a condition caused by a blood clot, frequently accompanied by swelling and pain in a limb. The condition usually occurs in legs, but can occur in the upper body.Walton did nothing to quell Lakers fans' concerns about the seriousness of the 21-year-old Ingram's health problem when he pointedly refused to provide any details while speaking to reporters before Los Angeles' home game against Boston."We've released what he's got going on, but I'm not going to get into all the details," Walton said.... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers forward Brandon Ingram will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a deep venous thrombosis in his right arm.The Lakers announced their decision on the former No. 2 overall draft pick Saturday.Ingram has missed the Lakers' past two games after he reported shoulder pain following a morning shootaround last Monday. Lakers coach Luke Walton said earlier this week that Ingram had pain whenever he attempted to lift his arm.A deep venous thrombosis is a condition caused by a blood clot, frequently accompanied by swelling and pain in a limb. The condition usually occurs in legs, but can occur in the upper body.Blood clots have affected several prominent athletes including Chris Bosh and Serena Williams in recent years. Bosh eventually retired due to blood clotting issues, but many other athletes have continued to play.Inram is averaging a career-best 18.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game along with 3.0 assists.The lanky swingman's chemistry... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):10:30 p.m.Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo is the NBA's slam dunk champion.Going over Shaquille O'Neal in the first round, then getting a boost from rapper Quavo in the finale, Diallo soared to the crown by topping New York's Dennis Smith Jr.Diallo topped Smith 88-85 in the finale. Charlotte's Miles Bridges and Atlanta's John Collins went out in the first round.Smith leapfrogged Miami's Dwyane Wade and took a lob from Stephen Curry to give himself a chance with his last dunk, getting a perfect score from the judges — and a round of boos from the crowd, many of whom weren't that impressed.That left Diallo as the night's final participant.Diallo pulled off a dunk that will be talked about for years in the first round — dunking over O'Neal, hanging on the rim by his elbow, then tearing open his jersey to reveal a "Superman" shirt underneath. And then he plucked the ball from Quavo as he went airborne for the dunk that... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):9:35 p.m.Brooklyn's Joe Harris held off Golden State's Stephen Curry to win the 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday night.Harris made 12 consecutive shots at one point in the final round on his way to a score of 26 points. Curry was second with 24 in the finals, and Sacramento's Buddy Hield was third with 19 points.The Warriors' star made his first nine shots of the final round, then missed three of five shots from the top of the key.Stephen Curry won the first round with 27 points out of a possible of 34. Hield was second with 26 points, and Harris finished with 25 to grab the last spot in the finals.There were 10 players in the event, and seven went out in the first round.Defending champion Devin Booker made his final seven shots but was eliminated in a tie for fourth with Danny Green with 23 points. The other competitors who did not advance: Dirk Nowitzki and Damian Lillard (17), Seth Curry (16), Kemba Walker... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):9:35 p.m.Brooklyn's Joe Harris held off Golden State's Stephen Curry to win the 3-point contest at All-Star Saturday night.Harris made 12 consecutive shots at one point in the final round on his way to a score of 26 points. Curry was second with 24 in the finals, and Sacramento's Buddy Hield was third with 19 points.The Warriors' star made his first nine shots of the final round, then missed three of five shots from the top of the key.Stephen Curry won the first round with 27 points out of a possible of 34. Hield was second with 26 points, and Harris finished with 25 to grab the last spot in the finals.There were 10 players in the event, and seven went out in the first round.Defending champion Devin Booker made his final seven shots but was eliminated in a tie for fourth with Danny Green with 23 points. The other competitors who did not advance: Dirk Nowitzki and Damian Lillard (17), Seth Curry (16), Kemba Walker... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):8:40 p.m.Boston's Jayson Tatum hit a 3-pointer from just beyond midcourt to beat Atlanta's Trae Young in the final round of the skills competition at All-Star Saturday night.Tatum defeated Memphis' Mike Conley in the first round, then topped Denver's Nikola Jokic in the semifinals.Tatum was slightly behind Young going into the 3-pointer, the final shot of the event, and decided he needed to try the long shot to get one in before Young could shoot for the title.Tatum says the trophy will go to his mother's home. He says he was "just out here trying to have fun. I threw one up and it went in."Jokic defeated Orlando's Nikola Vucevic, Young beat Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox and Dallas' Luka Doncic topped the Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma in other first-round matchups. Young beat Doncic in the semifinals.___7:30 p.m.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he's pleased with the level of competitive balance that currently exists... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):10:55 p.m.Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 35 points, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics added 30 and the U.S. beat the World team 161-144 in the Rising Stars game for first- and second-year players at All-Star Weekend.Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks finished with 25 points and 10 assists, and De'Aaron Fox of the Sacramento Kings had 15 assists for the U.S. Utah's Donovan Mitchell added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.Philadelphia's Ben Simmons led the World team with 28 points. Chicago's Lauri Markkanen had 21 points for the World squad, and Dallas' Luka Doncic had 13 points and nine assists.Both teams shot 55 percent.It was the fifth time the U.S. vs. the World format was used for what was once known as the rookie game. The World now leads the all-time series 3-2, after its two-game winning streak was snapped.___9:05 p.m.Famous Los scored 22 points to win MVP honors, and the Home team held... [More]

Nike's latest performance basketball shoe, from concept to reality, took about three years to put together.Or 30 years, depending on how you count.The Nike Adapt BB — a self-lacing smart shoe that can be controlled by a smartphone — gets released to the public on Sunday, a date that just happens to coincide with the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte. It has a motor embedded within the shoe, a hefty $350 pricetag and wearers will need to give them some time on a wireless charging pad every couple weeks or so.But Nike also insists that this isn't just a gadget or gizmo for the feet, something techies and sneakerheads will get because of the coolness factor. It was also made with the baller — some of the world's best ballers, to be precise — in mind. Even with the tech features, it weighs about as much as a more conventional high-end basketball shoe does."The footwear component of the design, it is intended and it is designed in the same vein as our highest performing basketball products," said... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Devin Booker is ready to take on the Curry brothers.The Phoenix Suns guard will look to defend his NBA All-Star 3-point championship from a year ago against brothers Stephen and Seth Curry on Feb. 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephen Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, won the event in 2015 while brother Seth, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, is competing in his first 3-point contest.Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Portland's Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Toronto's Danny Green, Brooklyn's Joe Harris and Sacramento's Buddy Hield round out the 10-player field.The 3-point contest will held on the same night as the dunk contest and the skills challenge at the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets.The dunk contest features Charlotte's Miles Bridges, Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo, Atlanta's John Collins and New York Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr.The skill challenge includes first-time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokic... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns will look to defend his 3-point contest title at the NBA All-Star game against brothers Stephen and Seth Curry on Feb. 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina.Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Portland's Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Toronto's Danny Green, Brooklyn's Joe Harris and Sacramento's Buddy Hield round out the 10-player field.The dunk contest features Charlotte's Miles Bridges, Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo, Atlanta's John Collins and New York Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr.The skill challenge includes first-time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Nikola Vucevic of the Magic and Luka Doncic of the Mavericks. Atlanta's Trae Young, Memphis' Mike Conley, Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox, Los Angele Lakers' Kyle Kuzma and Boston's Jayson Tatum will also compete.___More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James is back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers after the longest injury-related absence of his 16-year career.The leading All-Star vote-getter was set to play against the Clippers on Thursday night after missing 17 games. He was originally listed as out but was upgraded to doubtful earlier in the day.Lakers coach Luke Walton said James won't be on a minutes restriction, but he'll be closely watched. The four-time league MVP has participated in two full-contact practices leading up to his return.James' last game was on Christmas at Golden State, where he strained his left groin.The Lakers went 6-11 during James' absence and fell out of a potential playoff spot.He is averaging 27.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists.Kyle Kuzma (left hip strain) and Josh Hart (left knee tendinitis) also returned Thursday.The Lakers got Rajon Rondo back last week. He was also hurt in the Christmas win over the Warriors.They remain without Lonzo Ball, who has an ankle sprain that will keep him out until at least late February.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Utah's Donovan Mitchell and Dallas' Luka Doncic were among the 20 players announced Tuesday as participants in this year's Rising Stars game at All-Star weekend.Simmons is the reigning rookie of the year, and Doncic is the favorite to win that award this season.For the fifth straight year, the game that features rookies and second-year players will use a U.S. vs. World format.The U.S. team includes Mitchell, Jarrett Allen of Brooklyn, Marvin Bagley III and De'Aaron Fox of Sacramento, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jayson Tatum of Boston, Jaren Jackson Jr. of Memphis, and John Collins and Trae Young of Atlanta.The world team has Doncic, Simmons, Cedi Osman of Cleveland, Josh Okogie of Minnesota, Lauri Markkanen of Chicago, Rodions Kurucs of Brooklyn, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Los Angeles Clippers, Deandre Ayton of Phoenix, OG Anunoby of Toronto and Bogdan Bogdanovic of Sacramento.Bogdanovic was the game's MVP last year when the World team beat the U.S. 155-124. The World team is 3-1 in the current format of what was once called the rookie-sophomore game.The game is Feb. 15. Boston's Kyrie Irving and Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki will be honorary members of the coaching staffs.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It took a bear — Jazz Bear — to catch a bat and leave the high-flying hijinks to the NBA players.A wayward bat flew around the court inside the Vivint Smart Home Arena about an hour before Utah's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, interrupting the pregame shooting routines of the likes of Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio.The few thousand fans in the building took turns cheering and then groaning while watching the flying mammal zip around the arena and elude several security guards and an on-court employee armed with a net.Jazz Bear took a break from entertaining the crowd by taking a few swings himself before finally capturing it — with nothing but net.Fans then cheered wildly as the proud mascot strolled off the court with the big catch."That was scary," Mitchell said after Utah's 106-101 victory . "I was not cool with that at all. I'm glad the Bear got him because I would not have finished my warmup. I would have gone to locker room if he was still flying around out there."The whole thing quickly became a social media hit, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma appropriately tweeted : "Where is Manu when you need him."That, of course, is former San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili, who famously swatted a bat to the hardwood and captured it in the middle of game against Sacramento on Halloween night in 2009.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It took a bear — Jazz Bear — to catch a bat and leave the high-flying hijinks to the NBA players.A wayward bat flew around the court inside the Vivint Smart Home Arena about an hour before Utah's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, interrupting the pregame shooting routines of the likes of Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio.The few thousand fans in the building took turns cheering and then groaning while watching the flying mammal zip around the arena and elude several security guards and an on-court employee armed with a net.Jazz Bear took a break from entertaining the crowd by taking a few swings himself before finally capturing it — with nothing but net.Fans then cheered wildly as the proud mascot strolled off the court with the big catch."That was scary," Mitchell said after Utah's 106-101 victory . "I was not cool with that at all. I'm glad the Bear got him because I would not have finished my warmup. I would have gone to locker room if he was still flying around out there."The whole thing quickly became a social media hit, and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma appropriately tweeted : "Where is Manu when you need him."That, of course, is former San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili, who famously swatted a bat to the hardwood and captured it in the middle of game against Sacramento on Halloween night in 2009.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James stopped worrying about his place in history long ago. His legacy has been secure for years. The argument about where he ranks, whether or not he's the best player to ever step on a basketball court, will continue forever and there will never be a definitive answer.That is, unless he keeps doing things like this.In his 16th season, James can still make the game look absurdly easy. The latest entry on the long list of his unforgettable nights came Sunday, when James scored 51 points and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 113-97 win over the Miami Heat. He's only the second player to score at least 50 in a game this deep into an NBA career; the other is Kobe Bryant, in his final game, and that was aided by 50 shot attempts."I've always been a guy to let the game talk for itself, speak for itself," James said. "My body of work speaks for itself, still to this day, 16 years in."He paused for a second, breaking into a big smile."If there's ever a discussion," James said,... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just three games into LeBron James' tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, they were missing two suspended starters when they faced the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.Although nobody thought James' time on the West Coast would be boring, Brandon Ingram is sorry for his role in getting this season off to a weird start.Ingram is also grateful he received only a four-game suspension for his role in the Lakers' brawl with the Houston Rockets. The normally mild-mannered forward confronted referee Jason Phillips, shoved James Harden and threw punches at Chris Paul."Well, it was better than we expected," Ingram said after the Lakers' morning shootaround. "I'm happy it's only four. But I know I've got to control my emotions a little bit better. ... I thought it would be more than four, but I'm happy that it's at least four."Rajon Rondo also began his three-game suspension two days after spitting and punching in his altercation with Paul, a longtime rival.James was a peacemaker... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Beasley thinks the basketball world is foolish to assume the Los Angeles Lakers' revamped locker room will be combustible before the fuse is even lit.The Lakers announced their signing of Beasley to a one-year contract Monday, adding the versatile forward to their new core of veterans around LeBron James.Beasley, Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee have all joined Los Angeles this month in a slate of provocative offseason signings to supplement its talented youngsters and James, who started the parade to the West Coast when he left Cleveland for the 16-time NBA champions in free agency.All four of these well-known, well-traveled veterans around James have varying degrees of colorful histories in their previous NBA stops, prompting widespread speculation in the media and around the league about how coach Luke Walton will manage his roster. They've already attracted an immediate online nickname — "The Meme Team" — while other pundits have compared them... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's official. LeBron is a Laker.The Los Angeles Lakers announced the signing of LeBron James as a free agent Monday night, confirming the seismic shift created by the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player's decision to leave Cleveland for the 16-time champion franchise on the West Coast.James' representatives at Klutch Sports Group tweeted a photo of James signing his contract with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. James' agency already announced last week that the superstar had agreed to a four-year deal worth $153.3 million with Los Angeles.The Lakers have missed the playoffs in a franchise-record five consecutive seasons, while James has played in the past eight NBA Finals with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning three titles.The 33-year-old budding entertainment mogul immediately becomes the focus of the Lakers franchise and a possible foundation for the NBA's next superteam, depending on whether James and the Lakers can persuade more superstars to... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — From George Mikan to Kobe Bryant, superstars have been the Lakers' lifeblood for decades.LeBron James is already the biggest star of his generation, and he followed a familiar path to Los Angeles' bright lights when he decided to sign with the Lakers as a free agent.It's no coincidence that this glamorous, 16-time champion franchise has consistently attracted already great players with outsized ambition. The 33-year-old James has taken on the challenge that Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal all accepted near the primes of their careers.Becoming a basketball superstar is one thing, and nobody is bigger than James after 15 prolific NBA seasons and three championships. Succeeding with the Lakers is something different, according to many of the men who have worn this gold jersey.Just ask Bryant, who won two Olympic gold medals as James' teammate while spending his entire 20-year career with the Lakers."The NBA does better when the Lakers are at their... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Magic Johnson is betting his job on his free-agent recruiting skills for the Los Angeles Lakers.Johnson declared Monday that he will step down as the Lakers' president of basketball operations if he can't persuade an elite free agent to sign with the 16-time NBA champions within the next two summers."Next summer, if nobody comes and I'm still sitting here like this, then it's a failure," Johnson said after a news conference to introduce draft picks Moe Wagner and Svi Mykhailiuk.Johnson was put in charge of the Lakers' front office by owner Jeanie Buss in February 2017, and the former superstar point guard immediately announced his plans to revive the struggling franchise by enticing the game's best players to join as free agents.With Paul George and potentially LeBron James headlining the market this summer, Johnson is leading the Lakers' efforts to land both players this weekend. If they sign elsewhere, Johnson and the Lakers will pursue the large crop of 2019... [More]