NEW YORK (AP) — Kobe Bryant authored some of his most memorable moments at Madison Square Garden and made himself a centerpiece of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.Bryant was remembered for that and so much more Sunday after the five-time NBA champion, his teenage daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash.Tributes poured in from around the basketball, entertainment and political worlds. Players and teams who competed with and against Bryant struggled their way through the games that were scheduled, unable to summon his intense competitive spirit.“We laughed and joked about the Mamba mentality. We're all going to need it right now," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said through tears before his team played in Orlando.Madison Square Garden was lit up in the Lakers' gold and purple colors for the game between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Nets star Kyrie Irving didn't play, leaving the arena after hearing of Bryant's death.The 18-time All-Star made his first All-Star appearance... [More]

Once again, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are All-Star captains.Once again, the fans — mostly, anyway — got who they wanted as the game’s starters.And once again, too many NBA players made a mockery of their vote to decide which colleagues should start the league’s showcase exhibition.It’s time for the NBA to take the vote away from the players. It's clear too many don’t want the job.While fan voting pretty much set the tone for who will start Feb. 16 in Chicago, an AP analysis of the numbers shows that 380 players took part in the voting. The players, like the media and fans, voted for three frontcourt players and two guards apiece from the Eastern and Western Conferences.A look inside those numbers reveals a growing concern. Antetokounmpo — the league’s reigning MVP — got the most player votes, with 258. That means 67.9% of players who voted thought he was worthy of an All-Star start. More importantly, that means 32.1% of players who voted thought he should either come off the... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.“For me, it's always a blessing just being part of All-Star weekend," James told TNT on Thursday night.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are chosen.James is a starter for the 16th time, an NBA record. Being a 16-time All-Star also puts him third... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are chosen.James is a starter for the 16th time, an NBA record. Being a 16-time All-Star also puts him third... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Nets guard Kyrie Irving is missing Brooklyn's game against Philadelphia because of right hamstring tightness.Coach Kenny Atkinson said Irving was feeling soreness Sunday and then was checked again Monday before the team decided the All-Star point guard wouldn't play.Atkinson said the Nets were choosing to be cautious because they didn't want to risk losing Irving for the long term.Irving missed 26 games with a right shoulder injury before returning on Jan. 12 against Atlanta. He is averaging 26.5 points in his first season in Brooklyn.Garrett Temple moved into the starting lineup alongside Spencer Dinwiddie.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James still leads Luka Doncic in the race to become the leading Western Conference vote-getter and one of the two captains for next month’s All-Star Game, the NBA announced Thursday.James had 4,747,887 votes in the latest returns of fan voting, currently making the Los Angeles Lakers’ star the top overall vote-getter. Doncic has 4,598,323, good enough for the Dallas Mavericks guard to lead the Western Conference backcourt voting but 149,564 ballots behind James.The only other player with a reasonable chance of overtaking James or Doncic for the top West voting spot would be Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who has 4,412,619 votes. No other player in the West had topped the 3 million mark through the NBA’s most recent update.Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks remains the Eastern Conference voting leader, with 4,474,107 votes -- roughly 2 million more than Toronto’s Pascal Siakam.Captaincy for the game is given to the starter with the most votes from each conference;... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving is back for the Brooklyn Nets. Trae Young is out for the Atlanta Hawks.Irving had been sidelined for 26 games with a right shoulder injury. But he recently returned to practice, and Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said the point guard would start Sunday night.Irving hasn't played since mid-November because of an impingement and got a cortisone shot last month.He said last week surgery could still be a consideration if there was no improvement but instead took part in full workouts during the week and Atkinson said Irving is ready.Young has a left hamstring injury. Coach Lloyd Pierce said his second-year star received treatment Saturday but still felt soreness Sunday. Brandon Goodwin is expected to start in his place.Young averages 28.9 points and Irving 28.5. They are the current Eastern Conference leaders at guard in fan voting for the All-Star Game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving could return to the Brooklyn Nets' lineup Sunday after missing two months with a right shoulder injury.The Nets listed Irving as probable on the injury report Saturday for their game against Atlanta.Irving has missed 26 games with what the Nets said was an impingement, though Irving said he also had bursitis in the shoulder. He began to feel pain in early November before first sitting out after a game in Denver on Nov. 14.He revealed last week he had a cortisone shot on Dec. 24, opting for that instead of surgery, and said he hoped that would allow him to return at some point. He started practicing in full this week.The All-Star point guard is averaging 28.5 points in his first season in Brooklyn.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

It could be a Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis rematch in the All-Star Game.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has passed Dallas’ Luka Doncic for the overall and Western Conference lead in fan voting for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago, with about a week and a half left in the race. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the runaway leader in the Eastern Conference voting.The game’s captains -- James and Antetokounmpo held the jobs last year -- will be the All-Star starters who receive the most fan votes from his conference. James also was a captain the first time the format was used in 2018, then going up against a team picked by Golden State’s Stephen Curry.Team LeBron beat Team Giannis last year, 178-164. Team LeBron also won the inaugural edition of this All-Star setup, topping Team Stephen 148-145 in the 2018 game.James’ lead over Doncic was 82,001 votes, the NBA said on Thursday when releasing the second balloting update. James leads the West frontcourt voting with 3,359,871, ahead... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving will keep rehabbing his right shoulder in hopes of rejoining the Brooklyn Nets this season, though acknowledged that he may need surgery.Irving said Saturday he chose to get a cortisone shot late last month instead of having arthroscopic surgery, with the goal of playing for the first time since the middle of November. He said his shoulder problem began with overuse near the end of training camp and got worse early in the regular season.He finally stopped playing after a Nov. 14 game in Denver and the Nets have said his injury is an impingement. Irving said he also had bursitis in the shoulder.He said surgery would knock him out for at least a couple months, but he would prefer first to keep working toward playing this season, his first in Brooklyn.“I want to go out and play,” Irving said, “so just continue to rehab and live the results of me going out there and giving it an actual shot, going out there, being with the guys, seeing where we can land and then... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have waived swingman David Nwaba, who was lost for the season recently because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon.The move Friday frees up a roster spot for a Nets team that has lost a season-high four straight games while playing without injured starters Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert.The Nets are listing LeVert as probable to play Saturday against Toronto following right thumb surgery. He has missed the last 24 games.Nwaba was injured Dec. 19 in a loss at San Antonio and underwent surgery the next day in New York.He averaged 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games after signing with the Nets in July. The Nets also waived forward Henry Ellenson, who was on a two-way contract and had spent more time with their G League affiliate.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have waived swingman David Nwaba, who was lost for the season recently because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon.The move Friday frees up a roster spot for a Nets team that has lost a season-high four straight games while playing without injured starters Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert.Nwaba was injured Dec. 19 in a loss at San Antonio and underwent surgery the next day in New York.He averaged 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games after signing with the Nets in July.

Dallas’ Luka Doncic received more fan votes than any other player in the opening week of balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.The NBA released the first voting totals on Thursday and Doncic has received 1,073,957 -- 599 more than Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the only other player to top the million-vote mark so far, putting him well on his way to what would be a 16th consecutive All-Star appearance.James, Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard are the runaway leaders in the Western Conference frontcourt. Doncic and Houston’s James Harden also are off to enormous leads in the West guards race.In the East, Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam are the leaders for the three starting frontcourt spots. Atlanta’s Trae Young has gotten the most votes so far in the East guard race, about 11,000 ahead of Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving. Boston’s Kemba Walker is 450 votes back of Irving.Other... [More]

Dallas’ Luka Doncic received fan votes than any other player in the opening week of balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.The NBA released the first voting totals on Thursday and Doncic has received 1,073,957 -- 599 more than Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the only other player to top the million-vote mark so far, putting him well on his way to what would be a 16th consecutive All-Star appearance.James, Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard are the runaway leaders in the Western Conference frontcourt. Doncic and Houston’s James Harden also are off to enormous leads in the West guards race.In the East, Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam are the leaders for the three starting frontcourt spots. Atlanta’s Trae Young has gotten the most votes so far in the East guard race, about 11,000 ahead of Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving. Boston’s Kemba Walker is 450 votes back of Irving.Other notables... [More]

Giannis Antetokounmpo had become such an attraction after just a few seasons in the league that ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said a couple years ago he wanted to see the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas, even if it was just a practice.The jump out of the gym explosiveness, the ability to go end to end — or until wherever he decides to leap for a dunk — in just a few strides made Antetokounmpo a highlight waiting to happen. The league took notice and put the Bucks on the Dec. 25 schedule last year, their first appearance since 1977.The Bucks are back this year, bringing the NBA's best record to Philadelphia powered by a much more complete MVP.The athleticism that helped the Greek Freak score a career-best 52 points against the 76ers last March is still there, now bolstered by emerging leadership and outside shooting skills that might just make Milwaukee (27-4) the team to beat this season.Things like sugar and soda are absent from his diet, with Antetokounmpo, who turned 25 this month, having... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — RJ Barrett was asked to explain something that would have been unusual to a 10-year veteran, let alone someone who had played 21 NBA games.Was it strange to have a coach run practice, only to fire him after it ended?“I mean, I have no idea. I just got here," Barrett said. “I don’t know how these things work."Welcome to life with the New York Knicks, rookie.It's nothing new when they change coaches, but the firing of David Fizdale was a head-scratcher even for the Knicks. When they finally got around to announcing his dismissal last Friday, hours after the practice he led, the Knicks did it with a two-sentence statement void of any quotes or any other explanation. They played at home the next night and then departed the following day for a road trip, all without president Steve Mills or general manager Scott Perry commenting on Fizdale's removal. That left it up to the players to do all the talking.The front office did speak earlier in the season, a strange press conference... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — David Fizdale was the latest coach tasked with trying to turn around the New York Knicks.He was given barely 100 games before the longtime losers decided it was time to try someone else.The Knicks cut ties with Fizdale and promoted assistant Mike Miller to interim head coach Friday after two straight blowout losses dropped them to 4-18,Fizdale ran practice earlier in the day, but was then fired along with assistant Keith Smart. The Knicks made no comment on the decision to release Fizdale after he went 21-83, a .202 winning percentage.The Knicks have lost eight straight games, with the last two by scores of 132-88 to Milwaukee on Monday night and 129-92 to Denver on Thursday night. They have the worst record in the Eastern Conference after finishing with the worst record in the NBA last season in Fizdale's first season.The Knicks went 17-65 in 2018-19 to match the worst record in franchise history and they are on pace to be even worse this season. New York missed out on... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks fired coach David Fizdale on Friday after two straight blowout losses dropped them to 4-18, a person with knowledge of the decision said.Fizdale ran practice earlier in the day but was then fired, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.The Knicks have lost eight straight games, with the last two by scores of 132-88 to Milwaukee on Monday night and 129-92 to Denver on Thursday night. They have the worst record in the Eastern Conference after finishing with the worst record in the NBA last season in Fizdale's first season.Fizdale's firing was first reported by ESPN.The Knicks went 17-65 last season to match the worst record in franchise history and they are on pace to even worse this season. New York missed out on the top stars that were available in free agency and the players they did get haven't meshed nearly well enough.Still, team executives expected better results, saying so with an unusual... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has begun working on the court but will miss at least one more game because of an injured right shoulder.Irving sat out for the eighth straight time Friday. The All-Star watched from the bench as Brooklyn beat the Boston Celtics 112-107.The Nets hoped he could return for the second part of their home-and-home against his former team but instead ruled him out once more with an impingement. He was at the arena for an evaluation and coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward that Irving has started shooting, though not participating in any workouts with contact.Atkinson said Irving would miss the Nets’ game Sunday against Miami and the team will see how he is progressing next week.Irving averaged a team-high 28.5 points in 11 games before he was hurt.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports