NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden won't be back for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Milwaukee Bucks believe their shooting touch will. So the Bucks have plenty of reasons for optimism heading into the game Monday night. Yet there's also still plenty of cause for concern. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are still out there for the Brooklyn Nets, who spent all season working around injuries and proved another point about themselves after shaking off Harden's loss 43 seconds into Game 1. “That we have the capability of rising to the occasion,” Irving said. “We’re a very mature basketball club because we play selfless and we trust each other, so in any situation in a game I feel like we have the talent, we have the preparation, we have the coaching staff to be able to go out and execute.” They did that on both sides of the floor in their 115-107 victory in Game 1. Durant scored 29 points, Irving had 25 and the Nets held the Bucks to 6-for-30 shooting from 3-point range. The Phoenix... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Milwaukee’s roster transformation started after losing to Miami in last season’s playoffs, one that made the Bucks give themselves a critical look. So they got bigger. Tougher. More experienced. And in the playoff rematch with the Heat, they were simply better. Some of those new additions — Jrue Holiday, Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis in particular — played huge roles for the Bucks in their first-round sweep of the Heat, one that ended Saturday and ensured that Milwaukee gets at least a full week off to prepare for an Eastern Conference semifinals matchup against either Brooklyn or Boston. “There were a lot of adjustments to be made,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said. “And all of that was for this time. A trio of returning players — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Lopez — were Milwaukee’s leading scorers against Miami, averaging a combined 61 points per game. Holiday, Forbes and Portis combined to average 41 more, and Forbes was particularly good from 3-point range off... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Donte DiVincenzo’s season is over, after tests showed Friday that the Milwaukee guard tore a ligament in his left ankle during Game 3 of the Bucks’ playoff series against the Miami Heat. DiVincenzo had appeared in 69 games for Milwaukee this season, all of them starts including the three playoff matchups. His regular-season averages — 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists — were all the best of his three-year career. “It’s tough news. On an individual, personal level for Donte, it’s really, really tough,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Friday. “But his mentality, his approach, anytime Donte is thrown some adversity or thrown something that’s difficult for himself or for everybody, the way he handles it just continues to be impressive every time.” The injury happened early in the second quarter. DiVincenzo was driving toward the basket when he apparently took a bad step and immediately winced in obvious pain. He made his way back to the other end of the court toward the... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks were without all five of their usual starters Friday night as they hosted the Charlotte Hornets a night after losing at Dallas. Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out his third straight game with a sore left knee. He missed his sixth game in the last 11. Jrue Holiday (bruised left knee), Donte DiVincenzo (bruised right hip), Brook Lopez (sore back), Khris Middleton (sore right knee) and reserve forward P.J. Tucker (strained left calf) also were declared out. Middleton and Lopez were listed as doubtful on Friday afternoon's injury report, but Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said at his pregame availability that neither will play. Charlotte also isn’t close to full strength. The Hornets announced Saturday that Gordon Hayward would miss at least a month with a sprained right foot. Rookie of the Year candidate LaMelo Ball hasn’t played since March 20 because of a fractured right wrist. Malik Monk has been out the last week with a sprained right... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks could play without all five of their usual starters Friday night as they host the Charlotte Hornets a night after losing at Dallas. Reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has a sore left knee that will cause him to miss a third straight game. This will be the sixth game Antetokounmpo has missed in the Bucks’ last 11 contests. Jrue Holiday (bruised left knee), Donte DiVincenzo (bruised right hip) and reserve forward P.J. Tucker (strained left calf) also have been declared out. Khris Middleton (sore right knee) and Brook Lopez (sore back) were listed as doubtful on Friday afternoon's injury report. The Bucks are coming back from a six-game trip in which they went 3-3. They ended the trip by losing 116-101 at Dallas on Thursday. This will be the second straight home game in which the Bucks have been missing most of their key players. The Bucks haven’t played at home since a 102-96 loss to the New York Knicks on March 27. Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Holiday, DiVincenzo and sixth man Bobby Portis all missed that game. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo praised the “amazing” moves the Milwaukee Bucks have made to improve the team, but the two-time reigning MVP stopped short Wednesday of saying he would sign a supermax contract extension offer. “Right now I’m not focusing on that,” Antetokounmpo said during his first preseason discussion with reporters. “I know my agent, Alex (Saratsis), and (general manager) Jon Horst and the Bucks ownership are focusing on those discussions. I’m just trying to focus on myself and how I can get better, how I can help my teammates be better, how I can be ready Saturday to play our first preseason game.” Antetokounmpo, who turned 26 last week, would be able to receive up to 35% of the salary cap with an 8% escalation each year of the deal under a supermax extension. The Bucks were able to offer a five-year deal worth over $220 million. He has until Dec. 21 to sign the extension, or else he will be eligible to become a free agent after the 2020-21 season. Antetokounmpo... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks will play another day.They’re waiting to see if reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will join them.It’s still a dire situation for the team that had the league's best regular-season record this season — they’re down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Miami Heat, with another win-or-go-home test awaiting in Game 5 on Tuesday night. And they don’t know if Antetokounmpo, who sprained his right ankle in Game 3 and then again in Game 4, will be ready.“There’s hope,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’re not ruling him out, so I guess until he’s ruled out you have hope. He’s going to do everything he can to make himself available.”Also Tuesday: Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, with that matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets tied at a game apiece.Antetokounmpo was with the Bucks for their light practice Monday. He got treatment on the ankle, then left wearing a protective boot over his right... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Having the NBA's best record during the regular season shows the obvious potential of the Milwaukee Bucks.It also means they haven't dealt with major on-court adversity often.They are now, facing a pivotal Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the rolling Miami Heat on Friday night. The top-seeded Bucks have dropped the first two games to the fifth-seeded Heat, marking just the fifth time this season that they've had a multi-game losing streak.“We've said it many times," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think your character really comes through when you face adversity, when you're tested. I think the character of this group is off the charts."They are being tested now, so that theory better ring true for Milwaukee — or else.The ending of Game 2 was bizarre, a close call looking like it would take a win away from Miami — Goran Dragic’s foul of Khris Middleton with the Heat up by three in the final seconds, a play where Middleton tied... [More]

The Orlando Magic are going to be thrilled to see the Milwaukee Bucks take the floor on Saturday for Game 5 of their matchup.And they'll be even happier if they can face them again in a Game 6 on Monday.The NBA playoffs — which stopped for three days after the Bucks refused to take the floor on Wednesday in protest of the shooting by police of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin this past weekend — are set to resume. The first game on the slate is Game 5 of the Orlando-Milwaukee Eastern Conference first-round series, with the Bucks holding a 3-1 lead and putting the Magic on the brink of elimination.“We're all united in this fight," Magic coach Steve Clifford said Friday. “We support the Bucks and what they did. I think it's ended up being a very positive thing. If you look at it, it was the impetus for the WNBA, for other teams in the NBA, for baseball ... a bunch of college football teams, it was a positive occurrence. What they did kept the conversation going."Now, the Magic... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo figured somebody was in trouble.Even though the Milwaukee Bucks had just defeated Orlando for a 3-1 lead in their playoff series, Mike Budenholzer wanted to talk to them in the locker room afterward.Antetokounmpo looked around, wondering if a teammate was about to be scolded.“Usually when coach wants to talk to us after a game, somebody messed up,” Antetokounmpo said. This time, it was because the Greek Freak did really well. Antetokounmpo was voted NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the fifth player to win that award and MVP in a career.The All-Star, who was MVP last year and is the favorite to repeat this season, ended the two-year reign of Utah center Rudy Gobert as Defensive Player of the Year.He got the news with the rest of his teammates on the league's best defensive team a day earlier.“Coach was so excited, he was so happy,” Antetokounmpo said. “He told me I won Defensive Player of the Year. He jumped on the... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

It was only a week ago when the sky was falling on the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA’s two best teams in the regular season, the top seeds in their respective conferences, both lost their playoff openers and looked vulnerable.Not so much now.Order has been emphatically restored, the Bucks and Lakers are a combined 6-0 since — winning those games by an average of 15.8 points — and both teams can reach the second round of the NBA playoffs with victories on Wednesday at the Disney complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.The Bucks lead the Orlando Magic 3-1; the Lakers lead the Portland Trail Blazers 3-1. The other game in Wednesday’s tripleheader is Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, that series knotted at two games apiece.“Obviously, in Game 1, we were all disappointed in ourselves,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said Tuesday. “We felt we weren’t the team that we are and capable of being. Each and every game, our effort has been there since then. ...... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — In a crammed schedule after the NBA's restart, rest has been hard to find.Teams played eight games in two weeks after play resumed on July 30, then jumped into the postseason. Midway through the first round, fatigue might start to show.That's why wrapping up series quickly, almost always a good thing, might be even more important this year. Miami has its chance. The Lakers and Bucks look like they still might.And Houston might regret if it let its opportunity get away.After wasting a late lead and dropping Game 3 in overtime, the Rockets look to regain control of their series against Oklahoma City when the teams meet Monday.“Playoffs, you've got some adversity somewhere and this is adversity,” Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said. “Now we've got to come out, make another statement, so that's what we're going to do.”Houston had a five-point lead with under a minute remaining in regulation Saturday, before the Thunder rallied for a 119-107 victory in overtime that... [More]

The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have restored some sense of normalcy to these anything-but-normal NBA playoffs.The top-seeded teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, lost their openers and are now looking to take control of their series. The Lakers could pull ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and the Bucks could take the lead on the pesky Orlando Magic.Lakers forward LeBron James has been around too long to get too worked up about one loss. He was confident the Lakers would recover from their Game 1 setback, and they looked much like their pre-pandemic selves in beating the Trail Blazers 111-88 on Thursday. “I know what we’re capable of,” he said. “I know how we’re built. I don’t compare us to anyone. I compare us to us.”The Lakers were fully aware of the challenge they would face against from the talented Blazers entering the series, led by All-Star guard Damian Lillard.“This team was in the conference finals last year,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Lakers and Bucks exited practice Wednesday to palm trees around them and sunny skies overhead.The weather is good at Walt Disney World. The service is great. The setting seems ideal.For the best NBA teams, it's anything but.The top-four seeds in each conference should be playing in their arenas right now, with home-court advantage in the first two games of their playoff series. They'd have their fans screaming during the action and in many cases families waiting at home afterward.Boy, do some of them miss that at the moment.“If's definitely a difference. You can feel it,” Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton said. "There's times where we really depended on our crowd last year and during the season this year to kind of pull us out of our struggle or whatever it was. And here, there is none of that."We have to bring it every single night. We can't rely on our crowd, our fans to give us that energy. We have to bring it ourselves."Milwaukee and Los Angeles, the No.... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All the Brooklyn Nets were missing Tuesday were their leaders in salary, points, points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and 3-pointers. If that wasn’t enough, the feel-good story of Jamal Crawford’s return to the NBA lasted for about six minutes.And they won.The severely undermanned Nets beat Milwaukee 119-116 on Tuesday, temporarily delaying what will be the Bucks’ clinching of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bucks didn’t use Brook Lopez or Wesley Matthews at all, plus didn’t play All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo or Khris Middleton after halftime, though it should be noted that the Nets were winning at intermission anyway.Who the Bucks played or didn’t play wasn’t all that relevant to the Nets. The walls of the temporary locker rooms at the Visa Athletic Center are paper thin and don’t hold sound, but the Nets probably didn’t mind the fact that anyone within 100 feet could have heard their raucous postgame celebration.“Very... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo is spending much of his time during the coronavirus-imposed hiatus working out, helping care for his newborn son and playing occasional video games.What the reigning MVP isn’t doing very often is shooting baskets since the NBA has closed team practice facilities.“I don’t have access to a hoop,” the Milwaukee Bucks forward said Friday during a conference call. “A lot of NBA players might have a court in their house or something, I don’t know, but now I just get my home workouts, (go) on the bike, treadmill, lift weights, stay sharp that way.”The hiatus is forcing thousands of athletes, pro and otherwise, to work out from home as they try to keep in shape. Equipment varies from player to player, too.“It all comes down to what they have and what they’re capable of doing,” Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “We can do a lot of body weight stuff. That’s how they stay ready. That’s the most I can offer as a coach for them to stay ready. I can’t say ‘Hey,... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo is spending much of his time during the coronavirus-imposed hiatus working out, helping care for his newborn son and playing occasional video games.What the reigning MVP isn’t doing very often is shooting baskets since the NBA has closed team practice facilities.“I don’t have access to a hoop,” the Milwaukee Bucks forward said Friday during a conference call. “A lot of NBA players might have a court in their house or something, I don’t know, but now I just get my home workouts, (go) on the bike, treadmill, lift weights, stay sharp that way.”The hiatus is forcing thousands of athletes, pro and otherwise, to work out from home as they try to keep in shape. Equipment varies from player to player, too.“It all comes down to what they have and what they’re capable of doing,” Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “We can do a lot of body weight stuff. That’s how they stay ready. That’s the most I can offer as a coach for them to stay ready. I can’t say ‘Hey,... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A slow start didn't help Giannis Antetokounmpo's shot at NBA history, but the Milwaukee Bucks are hardly a one-man show.Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the game, and the team with the league's best record never trailed Saturday night in a 111-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. It's the 13th time the Bucks have led from wire to wire this season.“It's nice to not trail ... but it doesn't really mean anything. We have to keep playing good basketball," Antetokounmpo said.“We were up 27 and they came back, cut the lead to 11. So it doesn't mean anything," the league's reigning MVP added. “We just try to take it quarter by quarter."Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists while also falling short of becoming the first player in league history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games.Antetokounmpo was originally listed with 19 points, but the NBA announced later Saturday... [More]