Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra have copious amounts of championship jewelry in their possessions, and their teams committing to the level of defense necessary to win in the postseason is a major reason why that's the case.Vastly improved defense will be what both coaches demand — or at least hope for — on Monday.Popovich's San Antonio Spurs just didn't have enough answers for Golden State in Game 1 of their Western Conference series, and Spoelstra's Miami Heat offered Philadelphia absolutely no resistance in a second-half meltdown that opened their Eastern Conference series. The Warriors and 76ers are both looking to take 2-0 leads when those matchups resume on their respective home floors."We understand that we are not favorites," San Antonio's Manu Ginobili said. "We are underdogs. We talked about it, and to get a win here, we've got to overachieve. We've got to do better than we think we can do, even. So we'll fight as hard as we can in Game 2."That will have to be a mantra for both... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Joaquin Oliver was buried in a jersey bearing Dwyane Wade's name. So perhaps it was fitting that Wade's best game this season came in sneakers with Oliver's name scrawled on them.The Miami area is reeling right now, and will be for a while, in the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. The school will reopen Wednesday, the first official day it will be in session since 17 students and teachers were killed in a Valentine's Day massacre that only cranked up the volume on the national debate over guns.Oliver was one of the 17 victims. His parents buried him in a Wade jersey. Wade is trying to meet the family, hoping to thank them, comfort them, listen to them, help them, hug them, and almost certainly cry with them."That they thought of me in that process, as something that he would have wanted, is mindboggling," the Miami Heat guard said.So is the fact that, again, Wade finds himself trying to solve a problem that apparently cannot be solved. He has been... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and Kevin Durant swarmed all over Stephen Curry in the final seconds, preventing the NBA's best shooter from finding even a patch of open air to launch a tying 3-pointer.Defense? In an All-Star Game?That was just one of the many exciting surprises created by a big change to the league's midseason showcase. After James and Curry got to draft their own teams, this exhibition really seemed to matter to basketball's best.And LeBron picked a winner.James scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds to play, winning his third All-Star Game MVP award while his team rallied to win an uncommonly entertaining edition of the event, beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night.For the first time in 67 All-Star games, the league abandoned the traditional East-West format used since 1951, instead allowing the two captains to pick their sides. That twist turned a sometimes staid event into the world's richest pickup game, and the intrigue was reflected on... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James picked a winner in the NBA All-Star Game.James scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds to play, winning his third All-Star Game MVP award while his hand-picked team rallied to win an uncommonly entertaining showcase, beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night.For the first time in the 67 editions of the All-Star Game, the league abandoned the traditional East-West format used since 1951 and allowed team captains James and Stephen Curry to choose their own rosters.That twist turned a sometimes staid event into the world's richest pickup game, and the intrigue was reflected on the Staples Center court, where a real basketball game broke out.LeBron's team even won an All-Star game with defense: On the final possession, James and Kevin Durant blanketed Curry, preventing the 3-point-shooting superstar from getting off a potential tying shot."I think myself and Stephen took it upon ourselves when we took on this format that we had to change... [More]

Dwyane Wade could not be more excited to get back to his familiar surroundings.He's also excited for an unfamiliar uniform.It's an unusual perk, but one of the things Wade said he's looking most forward to when he returns to the Miami Heat on Friday night is the team's new "Vice" jersey and shorts — the design being a play on the themes of Miami in the 1980s, replete with pastel trim and a font the team used when it played in its original arena."OK, I've seen the jerseys — me and a friend of mine, won't say his name — and I was like, 'Listen, I need to get those shorts, at least,'" Wade told The Associated Press in an interview after his trade from Cleveland to Miami was completed Thursday. "The jerseys are unreal."The friend, by the way, was fellow former Heat star — and fellow fashion aficionado — LeBron James."I will not confirm nor deny who it was," Wade said.The Heat are wearing the uniform 15 times this season, with 10 of those left to play. They are in them for Wade's return against... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love dodged surgery. The Cavaliers were hit hard.The All-Star forward, who was recently at the center of some team turmoil, will miss two months because of a broken left hand. Love fractured the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night during a loss at Detroit, and his injury is just the latest mishap for the Cavs, who are coming off a sub-par January.It was expected that Love would need an operation to repair the break, but after Cleveland's medical staff consulted with doctors at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, it was determined Love can recover without any procedure. He had surgery on his left hand in 2009 while with Minnesota and still has three screws in place.The timetable for Love's return means he'll miss all but the final two weeks of the regular season. The team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder won't have much time to get ready for the playoffs. But with the way the Cavs are playing, it's questionable how far they can go.Cleveland (30-20) is coming... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love dodged surgery. The Cavaliers were hit hard.The All-Star forward will miss two months because of a broken left hand, the team announced Friday. He injured the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night during a loss at Detroit.Cleveland's medical staff consulted with doctors at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery on Wednesday, and it was determined Love can recover without an operation. He had surgery on his left hand in 2009 while with Minnesota and still has three screws from the procedure.The timetable for Love's return means he'll miss all but the final two weeks of the regular season. The team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder won't have much time to get ready for the playoffs. But with the way the Cavs are playing it's questionable how far they can go.Cleveland (30-20) is coming off a bumpy January in which the Eastern Conference champions went 6-8 and were blown out in several losses, leading to finger-pointing between teammates. Now the Cavaliers will... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers forward Kevin Love will miss two months with a broken left hand, but he does not need surgery.Love broke the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night in the first quarter of a loss at Detroit. Following consultation at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, the team's medical staff decided Love can recover without an operation.Love's injury is yet another obstacle for the Cavs, who went 6-8 during a bumpy January that included several blowout losses and some finger-pointing between teammates.The five-time All-Star is averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds in his fourth season with Cleveland.With Love out, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue started forward Jae Crowder on Wednesday against Miami. Last week, Lue moved Crowder into the second unit and started Tristan Thompson at center with Love moving back to power forward.Love has been replaced on the All-Star team by Heat guard Goran Dragic.

MIAMI (AP) — Goran Dragic was planning a vacation for All-Star weekend. He's happily changing those plans.The Miami Heat guard was selected Thursday by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as an injury replacement for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Dragic will replace Cleveland forward Kevin Love, who broke his left hand.Dragic will play for Team LeBron, the squad drafted by LeBron James. Dragic leads the Heat with averages of 17 points and 4.8 assists per game this season, and will be Miami's lone representative in the All-Star Game.Teammates mobbed him when they got the word on Thursday."All the credit goes to them, too," said Dragic, whose long-awaited first All-Star nod came in his 10th NBA season. "Without them, this would not be possible. They put me in the right spots so I can be my best and I'm really grateful and thankful for that."Silver made the pick diplomatically: Dragic was next in line, based on the number of voting points he received from NBA head coaches among Eastern... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Goran Dragic is an All-Star for the first time.The Miami Heat guard was selected Thursday by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver as an injury replacement for the Feb. 18 All-Star Game in Los Angeles. Dragic will replace Cleveland forward Kevin Love, who broke his left hand.Dragic will play for Team LeBron, the squad drafted by LeBron James.He leads the Heat with averages of 17 points and 4.8 assists per game this season, and will be Miami's lone representative in the All-Star Game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked in London last week about fining misbehaving players, and even he acknowledged the penalties aren't much of a deterrent."More symbolic than anything," Silver said.It might be time for the league to change that.At least based on what's happened in the NBA the past couple days. The postgame locker-room incident that involved some players from the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday — the holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., no less — was a bad look for the league, as was the wild swing that Orlando's Arron Afflalo threw at Minnesota's Nemanja Bjelica on Tuesday.The James Johnson-Serge Ibaka dustup during the Miami-Toronto game last week earned those players one-game suspensions that cost them a total of about $300,000. Utah's Rodney Hood might have been lucky to have been fined only $35,000 for slapping a phone out of a fan's hand. Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry were probably smart to just talk about taking their... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has suspended Miami Heat forward James Johnson and Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka one game apiece for throwing punches at each other.The punishment was announced Wednesday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league's executive vice president for basketball operations.The fight began with 7:50 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat's 90-89 victory over the Raptors on Tuesday night in Toronto. Ibaka and Johnson started shoving each other while waiting for the ball to be inbounded under the Miami basket. Both received technical fouls and ejections.Johnson is serving his suspension Wednesday night when the Heat visit the Indiana Pacers. Ibaka will serve his suspension Thursday night when the Raptors host the Cleveland Cavaliers.The NBA also fined the Raptors' DeMar DeRozan $25,000 and the Heat's Goran Dragic $10,000 for a separate altercation at the end of the game, during which DeRozan attempted to shove.___For more NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

G Goran Dragic scored 25 points in Saturday's win at Orlando. Dragic scored nine of his points in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

PG Goran Dragic's availability was uncertain until his work out before tipoff Saturday. Dragic missed the previous three games because of a left elbow strain.

G Goran Dragic (strained left elbow) missed his first game of the season as Miami lost to Atlanta 110-104. Dragic was hurt in the final minute of Saturday's win over the Los Angeles Clippers. "He went out and tried it but the (elbow) wouldn't loosen up," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We'll see how he responds to treatment." Dragic is leading the Heat in scoring at 16.6 points but is shooting 10 of 33 in his last three games.

G Goran Dragic led the Heat with 19 points in a 107-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night at FedExForum. Dragic added five rebounds and five assists .

PG Goran Dragic broke out of a slump with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. In his three previous games, Dragic failed to score in double figures, averaging 6.7 points on 30 percent shooting. "It's nice to see the ball go in," Dragic said, "but that doesn't mean anything if you lose."

G Goran Dragic scored 21 points in Wednesday's 102-93 loss to Washington.

G Goran Dragic was limited to six points in Wednesday's 115-86 loss at New York. It was the fourth time this season Dragic did not score at least 10 points.

G Goran Dragic was limited to seven points on 1-of-5 shooting in Tuesday's 108-97 loss at Cleveland.