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) — Milwaukee has the best record in the NBA, Denver has its coaching staff at the All-Star Game and Sacramento is in position to end the league's longest current playoff drought.Overseeing a league that has wanted competitive balance, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver likes what he's seeing on those fronts.But he acknowledged during his annual address at All-Star Weekend that there are still ways for the league to have more top-to-bottom competitiveness."You can point to teams like Milwaukee, teams like Oklahoma City, what's happening in Denver now and Sacramento as signs that the system is working better than it has historically," Silver said Saturday. "I'd say we still have work to do, though. ... We can still come up with a better system to create more competition."While Golden State is still widely believed to be the favorite for what would be its fourth title in five years, the Bucks have been a success story all season in the East. Denver was leading the Western Conference... [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):7:30 p.m.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he's pleased with the level of competitive balance that currently exists within the league, though cautioned there are still many ways to improve on that front.Silver's annual All-Star weekend address was Saturday night. It comes with Milwaukee holding the NBA's best record, a surprise of sorts in Denver contending for the top record in the Western Conference and Sacramento in position to end the league's longest current playoff drought at 13 years.Silver says there are still teams who choose, for whatever reason, to not be as competitive as others. But he says the league is striving to continue creating a fair and balanced playing field for all 30 teams.___12:50 p.m.The NBA is bringing a pro league to Africa.The Basketball Africa League, a collaboration between the NBA and the sport's global governing body FIBA, was announced Saturday. The initial plan is for the 12-team... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):12:50 p.m.The NBA is bringing a pro league to Africa.The Basketball Africa League, a collaboration between the NBA and the sport's global governing body FIBA, was announced Saturday. The initial plan is for the 12-team league to begin play in January.It's yet to be determined which existing club teams will be part of the league. Qualification tournaments will be held later this year to determine those clubs, with teams from Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia expected to be among those taking part. No nation will have more than two teams in the league.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the league is "an important next step in our continued development of the game of basketball in Africa."___12:35 p.m.Boston's Kyrie Irving and New Orleans' Anthony Davis say they both plan to play in Sunday's All-Star game.Both have been dealing with injuries lately. Irving has been dealing... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):12:35 p.m.Boston's Kyrie Irving and New Orleans' Anthony Davis say they both plan to play in Sunday's All-Star game.Both have been dealing with injuries lately. Irving has been dealing with a strained right knee for about a week, and Davis left New Orleans' last game before the All-Star break with a bruised muscle in his left shoulder.Irving is a starter on Team LeBron, and Davis is one of the reserves on that team.Irving was definitive, saying he is fine and ready to go. Davis' tempered his prediction on playing, saying he expects to play but suggesting that it depends on how he feels Sunday.___12:10 p.m.LeBron James says he has kept a close eye on what freshman sensation Zion Williamson is doing at Duke and believes "it's great for the game."Williamson, a 6-foot-7, 285-pounder, has become a national sensation with his size and leaping ability.James said Saturday at practice for the All-Star game that the biggest... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):11:35 a.m.The Curry brothers have levied a wager for their head-to-head competition in Saturday night's NBA 3-point contest: Whoever loses must buy tickets for the entire Curry family anytime they play against each other for the remainder of their NBA careers.Stephen said Saturday before practice for the All-Star game that "the stakes are pretty high considering how many people show up for our games."It's unclear if the group will include a new sister-in-law. There are reports that Seth has proposed to Callie Rivers, the daughter of NBA coach Doc Rivers. When asked about it Saturday, Seth declined to talk about their relationship.Stephen, who won the 3-point competition in 2015, says he is motivated to win it again because he's "knows for a fact" that everybody else in the Curry family —including his parents— are pulling for Seth.Stephen says with a laugh, "so I hope to pull the upset."Both players are hoping to... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):10:50 p.m.Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo says he'll play in the FIBA world championships this summer.Greece has already qualified for the 32-team tournament, which starts in China on Aug. 31.Antetokounmpo said Saturday before practice for the All-Star game that the only way he wouldn't play is if he had any injury concerns.Many NBA stars are expected to participate, even though the finals in mid-September will be held a week or so before the start of training camps for the 2019-20 season.___10:10 a.m.John Collins has a favorite dunker. Not surprisingly, it's his Atlanta teammate Vince Carter.Collins will represent the Hawks in the dunk contest, one of the events during All-Star Saturday Night. The 3-point contest and skills competition are also on the evening docket.Collins had perhaps the best dunk of the Rising Stars game Friday night, going with a pass off the backboard to himself for a slam over Dallas' Luka Doncic. He says he's got three or four dunks ready to go for Saturday night.He won't reveal what to expect: "No hints," he said Saturday morning.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — John Collins has a favorite dunker. Not surprisingly, it's his Atlanta teammate Vince Carter.Collins will represent the Hawks in the dunk contest, one of the events during All-Star Saturday Night. The 3-point contest and skills competition are also on the evening docket.Collins had perhaps the best dunk of the Rising Stars game Friday night, going with a pass off the backboard to himself for a slam over Dallas' Luka Doncic. He says he's got three or four dunks ready to go for Saturday night.He won't reveal what to expect: "No hints," he said Saturday morning.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Curry family All-Star Weekend is off to a rousing start — a Curry knocked down a big shot on Friday.Not surprising, except it was Sonya Curry. Yes, Dell's wife and the mother of Stephen and Seth showed she also hit a dramatic game-winning shot from deep.Sonya sank a one-handed, half-court shot — that she took underhanded — to beat the clock and help her three-person team topple squads led by her NBA sons and one led by her daughter in a family shootout during a dedication of a refurbished Charlotte community center.And she let her sons know about it. Sonya raced around the court after the ball went through the basket as fans in the crowded center cheered. She danced, taunting her sons as they looked on in amazement while her teammate and husband applauded."I was trash talking with the kids and I said, 'me and your pops, we are going to take this thing from you.' And they were like, 'whatever, whatever," Sonya said.She joked that she now has "bragging rights" as... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):9:05 p.m.Famous Los scored 22 points to win MVP honors, and the Home team held on to beat the Away team 82-80 in the All-Star Celebrity Game on Friday night.Jay Williams scored 18 points for Home. Quavo scored 27 for Away and Hall of Famer Ray Allen scored 24 — though the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made went 0 for 8 from beyond the arc.___8:35 p.m.NBA executive Monty McCutchen has a less-than-surprising confession.Travels get missed.McCutchen, the former referee who moved to the league office last season and now helps oversee the officiating program, said Friday that about two traveling violations get called per game on average. He says the league believes that the real number of travels that should be called is closer to five per game.The NBA is no different than any other basketball league — if every letter-of-the-law travel was called, games could last for days. But McCutchen says the league is continuing... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):8:35 p.m.NBA executive Monty McCutchen has a less-than-surprising confession.Travels get missed.McCutchen, the former referee who moved to the league office last season and now helps oversee the officiating program, said Friday that about two traveling violations get called per game on average. He says the league believes that the real number of travels that should be called is closer to five per game.The NBA is no different than any other basketball league — if every letter-of-the-law travel was called, games could last for days. But McCutchen says the league is continuing to work with its referees on making that (and every) call consistently, and remains in constant contact with teams about concerns and interpretations.But don't expect a change to a four-ref system anytime soon. The NBA has tinkered with it at the G League level, and McCutchen says "when we looked into it, accuracy did not go up."___6:45 p.m.Basketball... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Paul Westphal says it's an honor these days to have anyone remember that he played basketball.The Hall of Fame obviously remembers.Westphal is one of 13 people who were announced Friday as finalists for enshrinement later this year by the Basketball Hall of Fame. He's one of four first-time finalists, joining seven-time All-Star Jack Sikma, five-time All-Star Marques Johnson and four-time defensive player of the year Ben Wallace."It's hard to put it into words," said the 68-year-old Westphal, who played 12 seasons — his best of those years with Phoenix — before spending parts of 17 more seasons as a head coach or assistant coach. "You never want to take anything like this for granted. It's just a real humbling, thrilling time to consider that something like this might happen."There are nine previous finalists back on the list this year — notably five-time All-Stars Chris Webber and Sidney Moncrief, eight-time first-team defensive player Bobby Jones, two-time NBA coach... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have decided to fire ninth-year general manager Dell Demps and start the process of finding someone to deal with the fallout of All-Star Anthony Davis' recent trade demand.Demps' dismissal comes after Davis said in late January that he would not sign an extension with New Orleans and wants to be traded to a contending team."As difficult as these decisions are, my responsibility is to provide the leadership and resources necessary to deliver a winning team to our fans and community," Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said Friday in a written statement. "I take that responsibility seriously and would like to assure our fans that I am prepared to provide any, and all, resources required to compete for championships."Davis has another season remaining on his contract after this one and this season's trade deadline has passed, meaning no trade will happen until summer under the new front office regime.Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft out... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Tim Connelly and the front office have assembled a Denver Nuggets team that's reaching new heights this season.For that, extensions all around.The team announced the move Friday for the president of basketball operations, along with Connelly's staff, in the midst of one of the best seasons in franchise history. Terms of the extensions were not released.At 39-18, the Nuggets trail the Golden State Warriors by two games for the top spot in the Western Conference entering the All-Star break."We firmly believe we can bring an NBA championship to Denver, and are thrilled to continue our pursuit together," Nuggets President Josh Kroenke said in a statement announcing the extensions.Connelly has helped orchestrate quite a turnaround for a team trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. They've become the talk of the NBA, with a do-it-all big man in Nikola Jokic and a deep roster that now includes a healthy Isaiah Thomas.Connelly joined the Nuggets in 2013 and... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):6:05 p.m.So, the best shooter in the Curry family is.... Sonya Curry?The mother of Stephen and Seth Curry sank a one-handed, half-court shot — that she took underhanded — to help her three-person team beat teams led by her NBA sons and one by her daughter to win a family shootout at a newly refurbished at a community center in Charlotte, North Carolina.It's a shot the Currys will be talking about for a long time.After sinking the shot, Sonya raced around the court as fans in the crowded center went wild. She then did a celebration dance as her sons looked on in amazement and husband Dell applauded.Seth Curry couldn't hold back laughter knowing he just got beat by his mom, a former volleyball player.The Portland guard said afterward "that was a lucky shot, but she knocked it down on the big stage. That was good to see."Seth joked getting beat by his mom was better than losing to his brother.He said, laughing, "Hey,... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Weekend (all times local):5:35 p.m.Chris Webber, Bill Fitch, Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Bobby Jones, Jack Sikma, Eddie Sutton, Ben Wallace and Teresa Weatherspoon are among the 13 finalists for enshrinement later this year into the Basketball Hall of Fame.Webber, part of Michigan's Fab Five and a five-time NBA All-Star, was a finalist for the third consecutive season.Fitch is a two-time NBA coach of the year who led Boston to the 1981 NBA championship. Johnson was a five-time NBA All-Star and an NCAA champion under John Wooden at UCLA. Jones was a four-time NBA All-Star, a huge part of Philadelphia's 1983 NBA-title-winning team and the league's sixth man award winner that season. Moncrief was a two-time defensive player of the year and a prolific scorer.Sikma was an All-Star in seven consecutive seasons, had a brilliant shooting touch and helped Seattle win the 1979 NBA title. Sutton is a College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and... [More]

To help you with planning for the NBA All Star weekend, here are some of our plans. This advisory will be updated until Sunday's game. Please contact Oscar Dixon (odixon@ap.org) with any questions. All times ET.FRIDAYBKN--All-Star-Curry Family WeekendCHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Stephen and Seth Curry are returning to their hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina for the NBA All-Star weekend. Stephen, a two-time league MVP, will join younger brother Seth in the 3-point shootout on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center and then play in his sixth straight All-Star game on Sunday. Their father Dell Curry is a former NBA star and color commentator for the Hornets. He says it’s going to be “be like a mini family reunion.” By Steve Reed. Sent: 850 words, photosBKN--ALL-STAR-SPORTS BETTINGCHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis doesn't bet. He does, however, want Wizards fans to know what they're doing if they bet on games. The Wizards and the Sacramento Kings are among the NBA clubs being proactive... [More]