MILWAUKEE (AP) — Two games into their first-round playoff series, Milwaukee point guard Eric Bledsoe and his Boston counterpart, Terry Rozier, still seem to be having trouble remembering each other's names.Maybe it's the sign of a festering feud with the Celtics up 2-0 as the series shifts to Milwaukee. Perhaps it's a case of Bluegrass State bragging rights between Bledsoe, who played at Kentucky, and Rozier, who played at Louisville, though they never faced each other in college.Or it could be just a case of good-natured gamesmanship between two competitors.Through two games, it is advantage Rozier with Game 3 coming up Friday night.He had 23 points in Game 2 on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3 of 5 from the 3-point line, to match his postseason career scoring high set in Game 1. Rozier is shooting 7 of 16 from beyond the arc so far this series.So much for the Celtics being at a disadvantage at the point without Kyrie Irving, who is out for the playoffs following knee surgery."We've talked... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid is apparently done with Philadelphia's latest process.Listed as doubtful in the morning, Embiid was upgraded to probable by the 76ers on Thursday afternoon — hours before Game 3 of the Philadelphia-Miami Eastern Conference first-round series.Embiid participated in the team's morning shootaround, and apparently coach Brett Brown saw enough from his All-Star center to approve his return."We like what we have seen over the past few days," Brown said.Embiid has missed Philadelphia's last 10 games while recovering from a concussion and surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone around his left eye. He's no longer in the NBA's concussion protocol, and took to social media after Philadelphia's Game 2 loss to Miami to announce that he is "sick and tired of being babied."Translated: Embiid was declaring himself ready to play, and now the 76ers agree. So does the NBA, in the sense that the league needed to approve the style of mask that Embiid will wear to protect his face.Embiid... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LeBron James fought back tears. Former President Bill Clinton offered condolences. Craig Sager's daughter tweeted that she was "just sick" over the news.Such is the regard that so many, from so many walks of life, have for San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose 67-year-old wife, Erin, died Wednesday after a long battle with a respiratory problem.Spurs star Manu Ginobili says the team is "devastated, we are all hurting." But the players will "go out there and compete" and respect Popovich's philosophy of playing with "fire" and "determination."Added San Antonio's Tony Parker: "It puts everything in perspective. It's way bigger than basketball."The Spurs trail the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the first round, with the playoff series shifting to San Antonio on Thursday night. The 69-year-old coach ran practice Wednesday but will not be on the sideline for Game 3. Assistant Ettore Messina will coach the team.Clinton reached out on Twitter to the coach and his daughters:... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid is apparently done with Philadelphia's latest process.Listed as doubtful in the morning, Embiid was upgraded to probable by the 76ers on Thursday afternoon — hours before Game 3 of the Philadelphia-Miami Eastern Conference first-round series.Embiid participated in the team's morning shootaround, and apparently coach Brett Brown saw enough from his All-Star center to approve his return.Embiid has missed Philadelphia's last 10 games while recovering from a concussion and surgery that repaired a fractural orbital bone around his left eye. He's no longer in the NBA's concussion protocol, and took to social media after Philadelphia's Game 2 loss to Miami to announce that he is "sick and tired of being babied."Translated: Embiid was declaring himself ready to play, and now the 76ers agree."It's a collaborative thing with Joel and doctors and me," Brown said. "It's all this stuff that revolves around comfort, and feeling like we're responsible with his health, those types of things."Embiid wore his protective mask and went through practice Wednesday, getting used to contact again. His initial playoff appearance this year will be the first postseason game of his career.Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Miami was prepared for the possibility that Embiid would play Thursday."You can't spend too much time on an uncertainty," Spoelstra said. "But you have to spend a little bit of time."Embiid averaged 22.9 points and 11 rebounds in 63 games this season.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — LeBron James fought back tears. Former President Bill Clinton offered condolences. Craig Sager's daughter tweeted that she was "just sick" over the news.Such is the regard that so many, from so many walks of life, have for San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose 67-year-old wife, Erin, died Wednesday after a long battle with a respiratory problem.Spurs star Manu Ginobili says the team is "devastated, we are all hurting." But the players will "go out there and compete" and respect Popovich's philosophy of playing with "fire" and "determination."Added San Antonio's Tony Parker: "It puts everything in perspective. It's way bigger than basketball."The Spurs trail the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the first round, with the playoff series shifting to San Antonio on Thursday night. The 69-year-old coach ran practice Wednesday but will not be on the sideline for Game 3. Assistant Ettore Messina will coach the team.Clinton reached out on Twitter to the coach and his daughters:... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Latest on the San Antonio Spurs and coach Gregg Popovich, whose wife died at 67 (all times local):1 p.m.San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker says he has always viewed coach Gregg Popovich and his wife, Erin, as like his mom and dad.Parker broke in to the NBA when he was 19. He says Erin Popovich's death this week at the age of 67 is very emotional. He spent time with the family on Wednesday night.The Spurs will be without Popovich for Thursday night's Game 3 at home against Golden State. The Warriors won the first two games of the playoff series.Parker says the Spurs will do their best to get a win for Popovich.___NoonSan Antonio Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili says when the time comes, the team will play — even as they mourn the loss of Erin Popovich, the wife of coach Gregg Popovich.Ginobili says family is first, and it's hard to prepare for Thursday night's Game 3 against Golden State. Popovich will not be on the sideline with the team, which is down 0-2. Erin Popovich... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The death of the wife of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has brought an outpouring of support across the NBA.Erin Popovich died Wednesday at 67, the team said without disclosing details. Her death came after a long illness, the San Antonio Express-News reported.Spurs star Manu Ginobili says the team is "devastated, we are all hurting." But the players will "go out there and compete" and respect Popovich's philosophy of playing with "fire" and "determination."The Spurs trail the Golden State Warriors 2-0 in the first round, with the playoff series shifting to San Antonio on Thursday night. The 69-year-old coach — one of the NBA's most respected figures — ran practice Wednesday but will not be on the sideline for Game 3. Assistant Ettore Messina will coach the team.Spurs general manager RC Buford said at Thursday's shootaround he spoke to Popovich in the morning and he's "overwhelmed by the support.""Erin and Gregg were best friends who were together for 40 years,... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The NBA is paying tribute to the wife of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.Erin Popovich died Wednesday at 67, the team said. Her death came after a long illness, the San Antonio Express-News reported.LeBron James, who was playing Game 2 of Cleveland's first-round series against Indiana, was visibly upset when told after the game."Obviously, I'm a huge Pop fan. I love Pop. That's such a tragedy," James said during his postgame interview on TNT. "My best wishes go out to Pop and his family. That's devastating news."The NBA family, we all stick together. I know we compete every night. But something like this happens, it puts everything in perspective."Popovich is the current Olympic men's basketball coach. James calls him a "mastermind of the game" and has said he'd consider playing for the U.S. team under Popovich at the 2020 Tokyo Games after skipping the Rio Olympics.Popovich has coached San Antonio since 1996, leading the Spurs to five NBA titles. San Antonio trails... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid remains mired in Philadelphia's latest process, one he's found frustrating.Embiid was still listed as doubtful by the 76ers on Thursday morning, hours before they would face the Miami Heat in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.Embiid practiced Wednesday in Miami and was back on the floor Thursday for the team's game-day shootaround."He still remains doubtful," 76ers coach Brett Brown said before the shootaround. "He went through stuff yesterday that was decent. He had a little bit of contact, trying to get used to the mask, felt some bodies."Embiid has missed Philadelphia's last 10 games while recovering from a concussion and surgery that repaired a fractural orbital bone around his left eye. He's no longer in the NBA's concussion protocol.He was not made available to reporters at the morning practice. He took some foul-line jumpers, 3-pointers and then a handful of 40-footers during the portion of the 76ers' time of the floor that was visible... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Joel Embiid remains listed as doubtful by Philadelphia for Game 3 of the 76ers' Eastern Conference playoff series at Miami on Thursday night.Embiid was on the floor with the 76ers for their morning shootaround practice, but coach Brett Brown says there's no change in the All-Star center's status.Embiid has missed Philadelphia's last 10 games while recovering from a concussion and surgery that repaired a fractural orbital bone around his left eye. He's no longer in the NBA's concussion protocol.He took to social media after the 76ers lost Game 2 of this series to the Heat, saying he's tired of being "babied."Embiid has averaged 22.9 points and 11 rebounds in 63 games for the 76ers during the regular season.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jrue Holiday's postseason production is providing Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis with a more comfortable margin for error — and has left Portland with precious little.Holiday's 54 points, 16 assists and slew of defensive successes in the first two games are big reasons why the sixth-seeded Pelicans hold a surprising 2-0 series lead over the third-seeded Trail Blazers as they prepare for Game 3 Thursday night in New Orleans."Playoff Jrue, I guess," Davis quipped after Holiday scored 33 — including a late, deep 3-pointer — in the Pelicans' Game 2 triumph in Portland on Tuesday night. "He's in a different mode."Philadelphia visits Miami in one of two other Game 3s on Thursday night, while the Spurs' return to San Antonio after a pair of double-digit losses at defending champion Golden State.Pelicans general manager Dell Demps bet big on Holiday on the first day of free agency last summer, giving the 27-year-old guard a five-year contract worth about $126 million. But if... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue has tweaked his starting lineup for Game 2 against Indiana.Lue will start forwards J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver over Jeff Green and Rodney Hood as the Cavs try to even their Eastern Conference series on Wednesday night.Green went 0 for 7 from the field and missed his three free throws in the opener. Hood scored nine points, but he was excused from shootaround Wednesday as his wife gave birth to twins.Lue had wanted to start Korver in Game 1, but the elite shooter has been slowed by a sore right foot.The Cavaliers started slowly in the opener and were beaten 98-80 by the Pacers, who snapped Cleveland's 14-game winning streak in first-round games and a 21-game winning streak by LeBron James in playoff-opening series.Lue has spent the entire season shuffling lineups due to injuries and three trades at the Feb. 8 deadline.___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jrue Holiday's postseason production is providing Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis with a more comfortable margin for error — and has left Portland with precious little.Holiday's 54 points, 16 assists and slew of defensive successes in the first two games are big reasons why the sixth-seeded Pelicans hold a surprising 2-0 series lead over the third-seeded Trail Blazers as they prepare for Game 3 Thursday night in New Orleans."Playoff Jrue, I guess," Davis quipped after Holiday scored 33 — including a late, deep 3-pointer — in the Pelicans' Game 2 triumph in Portland on Tuesday night. "He's in a different mode."Philadelphia visits Miami in one of two other Game 3s on Thursday night, while the Spurs' return to San Antonio after a pair of double-digit losses at defending champion Golden State.Pelicans general manager Dell Demps bet big on Holiday on the first day of free agency last summer, giving the 27-year-old guard a five-year contract worth about $126 million. But if... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Andre Iguodala knocked down another clutch 3-pointer and let out some rare emotion, triumphantly reaching his arms out wide as he ran back to the defensive end. The Golden State swingman had thrown down a spectacular alley-oop dunk only 31 seconds earlier, and he was feeling it as the clocked ticked away on a second straight lopsided playoff win.There's something about Iguodala in the postseason. He paces himself through the regular season to be fresh and ready — and sometimes dominant — on the big stage for the defending NBA champions."Everyone gets hyped when Andre gets hyped because that's a rare occurrence," teammate Klay Thompson said. "You might see it on the golf course."It's just what the short-handed Warriors were hoping to see.Iguodala is back in the starting lineup for Golden State's first-round series against the Spurs, filling in for Stephen Curry as the two-time MVP recovers from a sprained left knee. That's how versatile Iguodala is: the 6-foot-6 swingman... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Dirk Nowitzki's 21st NBA season will include a trip in China.His Dallas Mavericks will play a pair of preseason games against the Philadelphia 76ers there, 10 years after Nowitzki played for Germany in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He will become the first player in NBA history to play 21 seasons with the same franchise.The league announced Tuesday that the Mavericks and 76ers will meet Oct. 5 in Shanghai and then Oct. 8 in Shenzhen.The 76ers, who are back in the playoffs this season, have a large international fan base. They are led by Joel Embiid, a native of Cameroon, and Australian rookie Ben Simmons.Dallas and Philadelphia both will be playing in China for the first time. The games will be the NBA's 25th and 26th in China, which is passionate about basketball and will host the 2019 Basketball World Cup.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Paul George has found his shot.Actually, the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has been on a roll heading into the playoffs.In the five regular season games in April, he averaged 27.6 points and made 41 percent of his 3-pointers and 90 percent of his free throws. He closed the regular season with a 40-point outburst against Memphis.He kept it up in OKC's playoff opener, scoring 36 points and setting a Thunder playoff record with eight 3-pointers as Oklahoma City beat Utah 116-108 .It took George a minute to consistently take the scoring pressure off Russell Westbrook. He struggled on offense right after the All-Star break and said he couldn't find his shot."To his credit, when he was going through a little bit of that slump where he wasn't shooting the ball particularly well, he really put extra work in," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I felt like he was really driven and focused to work his way through it."A couple of former OKC standouts are also thriving early in... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder forward Paul George and Utah guard Donovan Mitchell, the leading scorers for their respective teams in their first-round playoff series, are uncertain for Game 2 on Wednesday because of injuries.George scored 36 points in the opener and set a team playoff record with eight 3-pointers in Oklahoma City's 116-108 win, but he missed the last minute to get treatment for a bruised right hip. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he'd wait until Wednesday to determine George's status. He said George was limited in practice and did not do contact work.Mitchell suffered a left foot bruise in Game 1, and a Jazz spokesman said he is questionable. The rookie went through portions of Tuesday's practice. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the opener after averaging 20.5 points in the regular season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Kyle Korver is getting daily treatment on his bruised right foot and taking medication to fight off a "nasty little bug" that has made its way through Cleveland's roster.Only time can heal his broken heart.As he begins chasing a championship, Korver is wrestling with the recent death of his younger brother, Kirk, who died at 27 from complications following a sudden illness.Following Tuesday's practice, Korver paused several times while discussing a "very complicated month" that has changed his life and split him in two. He's walking an emotional balance beam."You come back from dealing with death and the family and you hold that in one hand and you hold the playoffs here in another hand and it's interesting to kind of balance both of those at the same time and try to get yourself ready to play basketball," he said. "And, I've been hurt. I feel like it's been a very complicated month in my mind, but I feel like I'm in a good spot right now and I'm ready to play."Korver... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder forward Paul George and Utah guard Donovan Mitchell, the leading scorers for their respective teams in their first-round playoff series, are questionable for Game 2 on Wednesday.George scored 36 points in the opener and set a team playoff record with eight 3-pointers in Oklahoma City's 116-108 win, but he missed the last minute to get treatment for a bruised right hip. Thunder coach Billy Donovan said he'd wait until Wednesday to determine George's status. He said George was limited in practice and did not do contact work.Mitchell suffered a left foot bruise in Game 1, and a Jazz spokesman said he is questionable. The rookie went through portions of Tuesday's practice. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds in the opener after averaging 20.5 points in the regular season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Kawhi Leonard has a new team, and Gregg Popovich isn't the coach.This is where the San Antonio Spurs are at right now, as this impasse between the franchise and its best player continues even as the season is almost certainly winding down. There are only questions, no answers.How is Leonard doing? The Spurs act like they don't know. Leonard isn't saying, either. He hasn't been around the Spurs so far in these playoffs, rehabbing in New York, and Popovich is deferring questions to "Kawhi and his group."That's ironic. Unwillingness to answer certain questions is part of the Spurs' mystique. Popovich can be an interviewer's dream or an interviewer's nightmare, but now, it's the Spurs who are the ones seemingly frustrated by the lack of answers. Their best player was barely around this season, and with the Spurs looking almost certain to be knocked out of the playoffs soon by Golden State an offseason of what's next is looming.Leonard won't be on the floor for the Spurs in Game 3 when their... [More]