HOUSTON (AP) — Carmelo Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets on Monday.Anthony was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks last month before the Hawks released him.Houston general manager Daryl Morey announced the signing and the Rockets posted a picture on social media of Anthony signing his contract.The 34-year-old joins a team led by MVP James Harden and star point guard Chris Paul. The Rockets hope the addition of Anthony will help them contend for their first title since 1995. They lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals last season.Anthony will get a fresh start in Houston after spending last season with the Thunder, with whom he averaged a career-low 16.2 points in 78 games. The third overall pick in the 2003 draft has averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in a 15-year career that also included stints with the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks.The 6-foot-8 Anthony is a 10-time All-Star and has won three gold medals in the Olympics. He is USA Basketball's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.Anthony has averaged more than 20 points every year of his career except last season and led the NBA in scoring in 2012-13, when he averaged 28.7 points a game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — Carmelo Anthony signed a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Houston Rockets on Monday.Anthony was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks last month before the Hawks released him.Houston general manager Daryl Morey announced the signing and the Rockets posted a picture on social media of Anthony signing his contract.The 34-year-old joins a team led by MVP James Harden and star point guard Chris Paul. The Rockets hope the addition of Anthony will help them contend for their first title since 1995. They lost to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals last season.Anthony will get a fresh start in Houston after spending last season with the Thunder, with whom he averaged a career-low 16.2 points in 78 games. The third overall pick in the 2003 draft has averaged 24.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3 assists in a 15-year career that also included stints with the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks.The 6-foot-8 Anthony is a 10-time All-Star and has won three gold medals in the Olympics. He is USA Basketball's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.Anthony has averaged more than 20 points every year of his career except last season and led the NBA in scoring in 2012-13, when he averaged 28.7 points a game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — Clint Capela has signed a five-year, $90 million extension with the Houston Rockets.Capela, who was a restricted free agent, started a career-high 74 games last season in helping Houston reach the Western Conference finals.The 6-foot-10 center averaged 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks — all career-highs — last season. The 24-year-old had 42 double-doubles last season and Houston was 25-2 when he scored 15 or more points.Capela, who the Rockets drafted with the 25th pick in 2014, has steadily improved in his four NBA seasons and his development has helped him become a key piece of this team led by James Harden, who won his first MVP award last month.The deal was first reported by ESPN.

PHOENIX (AP) — General manager Ryan McDonough says Trevor Ariza was the first player the Phoenix Suns targeted in free agency, speaking with him and his wife via FaceTime from a car one minute after free agency began.The Suns spent virtually all of their cap space on the 14-year veteran NBA forward, who agreed to a one-year, $15 million contract. On Friday, he was introduced as the newest member of a team that believes it is close to turning the corner after years of losing."They are a young team with a lot of talent that don't know how to win," Ariza said.The 6-foot-8 forward will go from Houston, the team with the best record in the NBA last season, to the Suns, who had the worst and haven't made the playoffs in eight years."We need his defensive ability and versatility, his shooting ability," McDonough said, "but I think as much as anything, maybe more than anything, we need his leadership and his winning pedigree."When the Suns had their first interview with new coach Igor Kokoskov,... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James sprung to his feet and screamed along with thousands of delirious Cleveland fans.When Indians outfielder Rajai Davis connected off Chicago Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman for a tying home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, James came unglued and reacted the way he might after a monstrous dunk or back-breaking 3-pointer in the NBA Finals.And while his fanatical response said a lot about James and his allegiance to the Indians, so did the tight, black T-shirt he wore on that unseasonably warm November night.It said: "Cleveland Or Nowhere."As the sports world waits to see where the three-time champion intends to play next season and beyond, there remains the real possibility that James could choose to stay in Cleveland, his hoops home for 11 of the past 15 years and where this Northeast Ohio son shares a unique and profound connection with fans who have followed him since his teens.James has other options: Los Angeles (salary-cap space... [More]

LeBron James sprung to his feet and screamed along with thousands of delirious Cleveland fans.When Indians outfielder Rajai Davis connected off Chicago Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman for a tying home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, James came unglued and reacted the way he might after a monstrous dunk or back-breaking 3-pointer in the NBA Finals.And while his fanatical response said a lot about James and his allegiance to the Indians, so did the tight, black T-shirt he wore on that unseasonably warm November night.It said: "Cleveland Or Nowhere."As the sports world waits to see where the three-time champion intends to play next season and beyond, there remains the real possibility that James could choose to stay in Cleveland, his hoops home for 11 of the past 15 years and where this Northeast Ohio son shares a unique and profound connection with fans who have followed him since his teens.James has other options: Los Angeles (salary-cap space for another star,... [More]

LeBron James sprung to his feet and screamed along with thousands of delirious Cleveland fans.When Indians outfielder Rajai Davis connected off Chicago Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman for a tying home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, James came unglued and reacted the way he might after a monstrous dunk or back-breaking 3-pointer in the NBA Finals.And while his fanatical response said a lot about James and his allegiance to the Indians, so did the tight, black T-shirt he wore on that unseasonably warm November night.It said: "Cleveland Or Nowhere."As the sports world waits to see where the three-time champion intends to play next season and beyond, there remains the real possibility that James could choose to stay in Cleveland, his hoops home for 11 of the past 15 years and where this Northeast Ohio son shares a unique and profound connection with fans who have followed him since his teens.James has other options: Los Angeles (salary-cap space for another star,... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Maybe it was poetic LeBron James had a supporting cast on his injured right hand.He was missing one in the NBA Finals.For the second time in a career still ascending after 15 years, James was on the wrong side of a sweep as the Golden State Warriors, a team with no apparent weaknesses and as many as four of the league's 10 best players on its roster, transformed into a dynasty in Cleveland late Friday.After what may have been his final game with the Cavaliers, James revealed he hurt himself in a fit of frustration following a Game 1 overtime loss.He displayed a soft cast on his hand during his postgame news conference and then rounded up his children and some of their friends, and along with his wife, and the usual support group of handlers and security personnel, drove home to Akron.His next stop is unknown.Another suspenseful summer of "Where will LeBron go next?" is off and running.In the next few weeks, James is expected to decline his $35.6 million contract option... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets were up by 14 in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors when they started missing from 3-point range. They shot themselves all the way from prime position to advance to the NBA Finals to the end of a solid season.James Harden was the first to miss. Eric Gordon soon bricked one, and P.J. Tucker did the same. It was miss after miss after miss as the cold streak stretched to nine by halftime. There were 14 more in the third quarter in a surprising performance for a team that relied on the 3 all season. By the time Tucker connected with about 6 1/2 minutes left, the Rockets had missed an NBA-record 27 straight 3-pointers and the Warriors were on their way to a 101-92 victory.Though Gordon believes the result would have been different if Houston had Chris Paul for the last two games of the Western Conference finals, saying: "if he was out there, we'd have been playing on Thursday," the rest of the Rockets agreed that even the nine-time All-Star... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — When the Golden State Warriors lost Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to the Rockets on Thursday night to send them to the brink of elimination they vowed to be back in Houston for Game 7.After a resounding win in Game 6 that's exactly where the defending champions are, preparing for a winner-take-all game Monday night for a spot in the NBA Finals."It's going to be fun," Stephen Curry said. "It's what you play for, to be in a situation where you're one win away from going to the finals. Pressure both ways because of how big the moment is, and you've got to want it."The Warriors trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half Saturday night before using a splendid second half to roll to a 115-86 victory. Curry knows that if the Warriors hope to return to the finals for the fourth straight year they'll have to get off to a better start in Game 7."I guarantee if we start the game out like we did (Saturday) and they jump out to the lead, it's going to be 10 times harder... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Klay Thompson flashed back to a night he left the arena still in uniform, furious about his forgettable performance against Denver.It used to be he struggled to shake off a bad night, or even a bad start to a game.Now, he just keeps shooting. Whenever he feels like it, from wherever. No conscience. A hand or two in his face, no matter."I was not always like this. I used to be so hard on myself, especially early in my career," Thompson said. "... I learned, as I get older, if you play with passion, you play hard, and you leave the game saying I gave everything I have tonight in those 48 minutes, you can live with the result."The Warriors' season lives on largely thanks to Thompson's shooting touch. Golden State is one win from a fourth straight NBA Finals, headed back to Houston for Monday night's Game 7.He came through with the defending champions' season on the line in another do-or-die Game 6, just as he did two years ago at Oklahoma City. This time he scored 35... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — If the Golden State Warriors are worried as they head into Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on the brink of elimination, they aren't showing it."We have a chance to tie the series at home. That's a pretty good position to be in," coach Steve Kerr said. "We've got to win two basketball games and we've done that an awful lot, so we're very confident."The defending champions trail Houston 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after consecutive wins by the Rockets, capped by Thursday night's 98-94 victory . Now the series shifts to Oracle Arena, a place where the Warriors have lost just one time in their last 17 playoff games.Stephen Curry said the Warriors are encouraged despite falling behind in the series because they believe both games could have gone their way and that a few simple corrections will get them back on track."We have an opportunity to re-establish ourselves at home, get a big win, keep ourselves alive, and then roll the dice into Game 7," Curry said. "Not all... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets will be without star guard Chris Paul for Game 6 because of a strained hamstring, a huge blow for a team trying to close out the Golden State Warriors.Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's victory that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals."I hate it for him, above all," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's practically won us the last two games. But great opportunity for other guys and we have plenty to choose from and we'll be ready."Eric Gordon, the star of Game 5, will start in Paul's place Saturday night. He started 30 games this season while Paul and James Harden dealt with injuries."It will not change anything that we do or how we do it," D'Antoni said.Paul's right leg will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston following Game 6. On Friday, he was with the team, laughing and joking with teammates as they walked on the court for practice.Harden said the Rockets don't have time to dwell on the absence... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets are so full of physical defenders that Golden State coach Steve Kerr said many look like they could play football.And with three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt watching from a courtside seat Thursday night, this team long known for its powerful offense relied again on its defense to beat the Warriors 98-94 and take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals."Both teams are playing their guys heavy minutes so shots will fall or not," James Harden said. "But I think whoever can buckle down and get stops consecutively and create opportunities with their defense is going to win or have a chance at winning games."The last two games, we've done that."Indeed. The Rockets bounced back from an embarrassing 41-point loss in Game 3, when Golden State scored 126 points, to hold the Warriors to fewer than 100 points in two straight wins. Houston's stingy defense helped the Rockets come out on top on a night when Harden, the MVP front-runner, was 0... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — LeBron James was unanimously selected to the All-NBA first team for a record 12th time, while Houston's James Harden also appeared on all 100 first-team ballots.They were joined Thursday on the first team by New Orleans' Anthony Davis, Golden State's Kevin Durant and Portland's Damian Lillard.James passed Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone with the 12th first-team selection of his 15-year career. He also was a second-team selection twice.The second team was forwards Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee and LaMarcus Aldridge of San Antonio, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, and guards Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City and DeMar DeRozan of Toronto.Injury absences sent Golden State's Stephen Curry tumbling to the third team, where he was joined in the backcourt by Indiana's Victor Oladipo. Minnesota teammates Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler, and Oklahoma City's Paul George rounded out the third team.Voting was done by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets have a chance to take their first lead in the Western Conference finals with a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.To do that they'll need their superstars to step up again, with the pressure on James Harden and Chris Paul to deliver after their big performances in Game 3 spurred Houston to the road victory that tied the best-of-seven series at 2-2."We're back to even," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We know what we have to do and see if we can do it against a great team."After two blowout losses in this series, including an embarrassing 41-point rout in Game 3, the Rockets know they don't have any time to celebrate Tuesday's win. It was a victory that snapped Golden State's NBA-record 16-game home playoff winning streak."We have to get down to normal sea level real quick, because we've got a lot of work left," D'Antoni said. "We know it's not going to be easy, but also they know now it's not going to be easy. We're looking forward to... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — One good beating per series is plenty for Draymond Green and Golden State.The Warriors got it in Game 2 at Houston, and now the defending champions plan to do what they seem to do best: bounce back with brilliance.As the Western Conference finals showdown shifts to Oracle Arena for Sunday's Game 3, tied at one game apiece, the Warriors have spent the past few days discussing their Game 2 troubles and what they're striving to do in order not to be dominated again.It's time to play."I think we're at our best when we feel threatened," Green said Saturday. "Game 1 we felt threatened, we came out with a sense of urgency. Game 2 we maybe didn't feel as threatened and the sense of urgency wasn't there. I think you're allowed one of those a series. We've had our one, now it's time to lock in for the remainder of the series."And for the Warriors that starts on the defensive end against Chris Paul, James Harden and Co., because when they get stops it allows Golden State to... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry has absolutely no concerns about his 3-point touch, so he's counting on the first one he takes going in."I have confidence in myself and my teammates have confidence in me to do what I need to do," the two-time MVP said Friday. "Never worry about it because I know how hard I work at it. It's not a false sense of confidence. I know how hard I work at what I do."His teammates and coach also say enough with the panic about Curry already. Kevin Durant doesn't even want to hear about any shooting struggles: he considers Curry the best shooter on the planet, and so be it if he shows he's human, too, once in a while. This is after all the same sweet shooter who broke his own NBA record for 3s in a single season by hitting 402 in 2015-16."When Steph misses a shot everybody gets up in arms about it. That's how great he is. So many people expect him to make every single shot. Sometimes it doesn't happen," Durant said. "I knew the next couple days was going to... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Rockets have reason to feel good, tied with Golden State after winning Game 2 in a rout in the Western Conference finals.But a big challenge awaits Sunday at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won an NBA-record tying 15 straight playoff games.Houston coach Mike D'Antoni knows all about Golden State's success in Oakland, but thinks it has less to do with being at home than the fact that the Warriors are a great team."The challenge is you're playing Golden State. That's why they've won 15 in a row. Not because of the building, but because they're good," he said. "All these players are used to playing in hostile environments ... it helps a little bit (but) sometimes you feed off the energy also from the other crowd. So you try to take them out as soon as you can and take out the crowd."The Rockets aren't daunted by Golden State's winning streak there and are looking forward to the challenge."It's definitely a great place to play," Trevor Ariza said. "Their fans are great.... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — P.J. Tucker wasn't a high draft pick and actually is undersized by NBA standards.At 6-foot-6, the Houston Rockets forward's intensity and defensive grit helps him overachieve against taller opponents on a nightly basis.Off the court, Tucker also defies the norm.He has spent years curating a wardrobe that has helped his style ascend to the upper echelons of fashion.Tucker was in the Balmain store in Paris during this year's NBA All-Star break when the manager told him there was a special one-of-a-kind piece that would be perfect for him.When Tucker first laid eyes on the beaded haute couture jacket at the French luxury fashion house he loved it, but was certain it wouldn't fit his muscular 245-pound frame.It did."Everybody in fashion knows of those must-have pieces where you're just like: 'I've got to have it,'" Tucker said. "And I had to have this."Then he learned the price of the black and gold open front jacket: $25,000."I had no idea. I was like: 'Oh all right, that's... [More]