DETROIT (AP) — Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond are both out for the Detroit Pistons on Monday night against Washington.Griffin did not return after halftime when the Pistons won at Houston on Saturday night. He has a sore left knee.Drummond is out with left eye inflammation. He also missed the game against the Rockets.Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was in the starting lineup Monday night after missing five straight games with a calf injury.Thon Maker and Markieff Morris started for the Pistons instead of Drummond and Griffin.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Protesters handed out T-shirts and held up signs in support of Hong Kong on Wednesday night when the Washington Wizards hosted a team from the Chinese Basketball Association.The Wizards beat the Guangzhou Long-Lions 137-98 in a game that included more than a half-dozen protests inside Capital One Arena over the NBA's ongoing rift with the Chinese government.Protesters handed out "Free Hong Kong" T-shirts on the street outside the arena before the exhibition game. The protesters, who said they were from Freedom House, held up signs reading, "Shame the NBA," ''South Park was right" and "Memo to the NBA: Principles over profit! No censorship! USA loves Hong Kong."The problems between the NBA and China began after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet last week that showed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.The NBA has not apologized for Morey's remarks.A Freedom House spokeswoman said some members were planning to protest inside during the game. A spokeswoman... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — On the day the Detroit Pistons opened their new training facility, owner Tom Gores discussed his hopes for the upcoming season.Not surprisingly, he'd like more progress after the team made a brief playoff appearance a season ago."We have to do more," Gores said. "Coach said it up there. He thinks we're in great shape, a lot better than we were last year, when we made the playoffs. We need to get through the playoffs. We've got to win in the playoffs."Gores was on hand Monday at the opening of the team's new training center and corporate headquarters in midtown Detroit. Coach Dwane Casey and Pistons players were also at the ceremony.The new facility completes the team's move to the city from suburban Auburn Hills. The Pistons are entering their third season playing their games at Little Caesars Arena downtown.Gores was asked about a possible contract extension for Drummond, the team's standout center. He spoke highly of Drummond but did not elaborate on any possible negotiations.... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Pistons owner Tom Gores says keeping Andre Drummond in the fold is a top priority, and that Detroit needs to take another step forward after making the playoffs a season ago.Gores was on hand Monday at the opening of the team's new training center and corporate headquarters in midtown Detroit. The new facility completes the team's move to the city from suburban Auburn Hills. The Pistons are entering their third season playing their games at Little Caesars Arena downtown.The $90 million Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center includes a sports medicine, treatment and rehab facility managed by the Henry Ford Health System, as well as retail and public spaces.Gores was asked afterward about a possible contract extension for Drummond, the team's standout center. He spoke highly of Drummond but did not elaborate on any possible negotiations.___Follow Noah Trister at https://twitter.com/noahtrister___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Blake Griffin worked so hard to lift the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs, then couldn't contribute as much once they were there.That's what coach Dwane Casey would like to avoid this season."I've said too many times, being from Kentucky, we rode him like a cheap horse last year," Casey said at media day Monday. "If we didn't, I don't think we would have made the playoffs, because he was that special to us, but again, with addition of some other talented guys on our team, hopefully we don't have to use him as much. I'm not going to put that in concrete, but I have to be smarter as far as the usage, because he takes a beating."Griffin averaged 35.0 minutes per game last season, his most since 2014-15, while also achieving the highest scoring average (24.5) of his career. He played 75 regular-season games, his most since 2013-14, but he missed two of the four games when the Pistons were swept by Milwaukee in the first round of the playoffs.Griffin ended up having... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons haven't made the playoffs much in the last decade — and when they have, their stay has been a short one.So after being swept by top-seeded Milwaukee this year, the Pistons hope this is just a start."It was exciting. It was a lot of fun," guard Luke Kennard said. "Obviously not what we wanted to happen when we got there, but getting there was our first goal as a team. There's just a lot to learn from it."The Pistons made the playoffs for only the second time in the last 10 seasons, but after four losses to the Bucks, Detroit has now dropped an NBA-record 14 straight postseason games. The Pistons haven't won one since 2008.The immediate goal — making the playoffs in coach Dwane Casey's first season at the helm — was accomplished. In fact, it looked like the Pistons might make the postseason comfortably after they won 15 of 20 games during a stretch in February and March. But knee problems hampered star Blake Griffin down the stretch, and Detroit barely made... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo will have his unique talents on display in the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in his six-year career.If Milwaukee's superstar can match or beat his latest jaw-dropping highlight, everyone is in for a treat, unless they play or root for the Boston Celtics.Antetokounmpo scored a career playoff-high 41 points to lift the Bucks a 127-104 sweep-sealing win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night."This means a lot," he said softly.The top-seeded Bucks will face fourth-seeded Boston in a postseason rematch. The Celtics are also coming off a sweep, against Indiana, and should have confidence in the matchup after eliminating Milwaukee in the first round last year.The Bucks swept a seven-game series for the first time since 1983, when they did it in the conference semifinals against Boston."We're going to celebrate it and have fun, but we'll quickly focus on Boston," Milwaukee guard Sterling Brown said. "It's going to be a fun series. Last... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Houston's James Harden were this season's leading NBA MVP candidates .In their latest playoff games, the superstars had relatively lackluster performances and their teammates were more than capable of picking up the slack to put Detroit and Utah on the brink of elimination.The Bucks can finish off a sweep of the Pistons in Game 4 on Monday night and the Rockets will get their chance to advance later the same evening against the Jazz.Antetokounmpo scored just 14, his fewest in the playoffs in nearly two years, and it didn't matter because six of his teammates also scored in double figures as top-seeded Milwaukee beat Detroit 119-103 on Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in their first-round series.Harden missed his first 15 shots before closing strong enough to score 22 points as one of six Rockets in double figures in a 104-101 victory over the Jazz that gave them a 3-0 lead in the opening series."That's what they've been doing all year long,"... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Detroit Pistons say Blake Griffin will be out of the lineup for the second game of the team's first round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.Griffin sat out Game 1 of the series with left knee soreness. The Pistons lost the opener by 35 points.He took part in light drills at Wednesday morning's shoot around while wearing a heavy brace on his leg. He had been listed as questionable and had been openly lobbying coach Dwane Casey to let him return to the court.Casey said before tipoff Wednesday that Griffin has good days and bad, and the knee might different at different times of the day."He's got the situation with his knee where there's good days and bad days," Casey said before Wednesday's game. "It may feel good in the morning and feel bad at night. He wants to go and I want him to go, but it's a medical decision. Hopefully, at some point, he can go."After missing three games with a sprained knee, Griffin returned on April 5 against Oklahoma City and scored... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are preparing for their Game 2 matchup with the Pacers aware their series-opening win was notable more for its ugliness more than the outcome.Meanwhile, the Rockets and Bucks are heading into their respective Game 2s with the Jazz and Pistons expecting more competitive games after dominating victories.Boston limited Indiana to eight points in the third quarter of its 84-74 Game 1 win. It was the Celtics' lowest point total of the season and the first time they won a game in 2018-19 in which they didn't reach 100 points.Change is on the minds of both teams.For the Celtics that could mean tweaks to the starting lineup as they continue to adjust to the absence of Marcus Smart, who is recovering from a torn left oblique."It's frustrating, but you have to take it day-by-day and one day at a time," Smart said Tuesday.Celtics coach Brad Stevens acknowledged Smart's absence forced them to play differently and will continue to require adjustments.Without Smart to help with... [More]

The final day of the regular season has arrived, with one playoff spot to decide, seven of the eight first-round matchups still unknown and nine different seeds still not clinched.It also is the last day that Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade will be NBA players before retirement. Dallas is in San Antonio, Miami is at Brooklyn. Nowitzki and Wade played their final home games on Tuesday night, both scoring 30 points apiece.It is the first day of the offseason for a few teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers — whose season ended Tuesday with a loss to Portland and team president Magic Johnson stepping down in a move that few could have predicted. Washington, Cleveland, New Orleans and Phoenix also are done.The only known first-round matchup is in the Eastern Conference, where Indiana and Boston meet in Round 1. Every other matchup remains to be determined.There are no major individual races left to decide: Houston's James Harden is the scoring champion, Detroit's Andre Drummond... [More]

The final day of the season has arrived, with one playoff spot to decide, seven of the eight first-round matchups still unknown and nine different seeds still not clinched.It's also the last day that Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade will be NBA players before retirement. Dallas is in San Antonio, Miami is at Brooklyn. Nowitzki and Wade both played their final home games on Tuesday night — both scoring exactly 30 points apiece.It's the first day of the offseason for a few teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers — whose season ended Tuesday with a loss to Portland, and team president Magic Johnson stepping down in a move that hardly anyone could have predicted. Washington, Cleveland, New Orleans and Phoenix are also done.The only known first-round matchup is in the Eastern Conference, that being Indiana and Boston meeting in Round 1. Every other matchup is a mystery.At least there's no major individual races left to decide: Houston's James Harden is the scoring champion, Detroit's... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Kemba Walker is keeping the Charlotte Hornets in the postseason pictureWalker scored 20 of his 31 points in the first half to help Charlotte build a big lead and they went on to beat the Detroit Pistons 104-91 Sunday in a possibly pivotal game with just two games remaining in the regular season for the playoff-hopeful teams.The Hornets (38-42) have won three straight to cling to their chances of rallying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference."I'm happy to still be playing for something," Walker said.The Pistons have a lot at stake as well and yet they still seemed to lack effort at times, leading to some boos from their fans and criticism from at least one player."We didn't play for 48 minutes like we understood the implications and what this season is coming down to," Detroit star Blake Griffin said.Detroit (39-41) has 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... [More]

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]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Star forward Kevin Love will rest his surgically repaired left foot when the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Detroit Pistons.Love still isn't ready to play in back-to-back games and with Cleveland scheduled to host Orlando on Sunday, the team is remaining conservative with his minutes and won't play the 30-year-old in Saturday's matchup with the Pistons.Love scored 26 points in 28 minutes in Thursday's win against the New York Knicks — his fourth straight game.The Cavs have steadily increased Love's playing time since he came back from the operation, which kept the five-time All-Star out of 50 games. He scored 32 points against Memphis in his fourth game since returning.Love is averaging 18.6 points and 10.7 rebounds in 10 games this season.Love's absence combined with Tristan Thompson (foot) and Ante Zizic (concussion) out will make it tough for the Cavs to handle Pistons center Andre Drummond.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball 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