NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns is missing a game for the first time in his career, unable to play for Minnesota against the Knicks on Friday night following a car accident.The All-Star forward was placed in the concussion protocol earlier in the day, ending his streak of 303 consecutive games started.Coach Ryan Saunders said the streak was never discussed when he talked with Towns earlier Friday, and there was no hope of extending it once Towns entered the concussion protocol. A player can only return then once he has passed a battery of tests and been symptom free."I'd just like to have him out there because he's a pretty good player," Saunders said. "So the streak, I think that is something that everybody should definitely take note of with Karl's durability and his toughness and how he approaches the game, but from a coach's viewpoint you'd like to have like Karl on the floor whenever you can."Towns had played in his second consecutive All-Star game before he was involved in a car... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is in concussion protocol after a car accident and is missing a game for the first time in his career.The All-Star was involved in a car accident on his way to the airport during the break. He was cleared to fly and arrived in New York, where after further examination he was placed in the concussion protocol and ruled out for Friday's game against the Knicks.Towns had started all 303 games since being the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, the longest streak to begin a career since 1970-71.It wasn't immediately clear where the accident occurred. Minneapolis police said they didn't handle any incident involving Towns and coach Ryan Saunders had no other details before the game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns was questionable for Friday night's game in New York against the Knicks after a car accident in the Minneapolis area.The Star Tribune reports Towns was headed to the airport Thursday when he was involved in the accident. Coach Ryan Saunders told the newspaper Towns caught a commercial flight after the accident and missed a team shootaround.Saunders said he had no information on specific injuries for Towns. Guard Tyus Jones told the Star Tribune he saw Towns before the shootaround and Towns was doing "all right.""Rest" was listed as the reason for him being questionable on the official injury reportIt wasn't immediately clear where the accident occurred. Minneapolis police said they didn't handle any incident involving Towns. A Timberwolves spokesman didn't immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LeBron James finally has Anthony Davis as a teammate.For one game.His Los Angeles Lakers were unable to swing a deal for Davis, but James drafted the New Orleans Pelicans star on Thursday when he and fellow captain Giannis Antetokounmpo sat down to choose their teams for the Feb. 17 All-Star Game in Charlotte.Davis told the Pelicans he wanted a trade, and James has made it clear that he'd love to play with him. But the Pelicans kept Davis as the trade deadline passed, so for now, their time as teammates will be limited to All-Star weekend and James pounced at the chance to grab him with the second pick of the reserve round."I'm very sure of that," James said, when asked by TNT host Ernie Johnson if he was sure he wanted Davis as a teammate."Isn't that tampering?" Antetokounmpo asked.Responded James, as both players laughed: "Tampering rules do not apply on All-Star weekend," a thinly veiled reference to the reaction James got when he listed Davis as one of many players he would like the... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Gasol forgot his cellphone overnight on the Grizzlies' team bus over the weekend, giving himself some stress-free time in New York."I'm like, if I get traded then so be it," Gasol said.He and Mike Conley won't be able to hide quite so easily the next few days.The NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, and Memphis has told the franchise mainstays it is listening to offers for both . Conley acknowledges it will be an emotional week envisioning the end of an era."Before I would have said no, it wouldn't have been on my mind, not having been in this situation," he said. "But I'm not going to lie, it's going to creep in because you know that it's possible that one or both will be gone, and either way it'll be the last time we're playing together with him, or for the team, or whatever."The Grizzlies have fallen out of the playoff race, but teams who are in it might be interested in adding one of the respected veterans. During games or at home with the family, Gasol said... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Gasol forgot his cellphone overnight on the Grizzlies' team bus over the weekend, giving himself some stress-free time in New York."I'm like, if I get traded then so be it," Gasol said.He and Mike Conley won't be able to hide quite so easily the next few days.The NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, and Memphis has told the franchise mainstays it is listening to offers for both . Conley acknowledges it will be an emotional week envisioning the end of an era."Before I would have said no, it wouldn't have been on my mind, not having been in this situation," he said. "But I'm not going to lie, it's going to creep in because you know that it's possible that one or both will be gone, and either way it'll be the last time we're playing together with him, or for the team, or whatever."The Grizzlies have fallen out of the playoff race, but teams who are in it might be interested in adding one of the respected veterans. During games or at home with the family, Gasol said... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns sat on a hallway couch outside the movie theater, hunched over a tiny screen to watch the live unveiling of this year's NBA All-Star teams.When the image of Minnesota's blossoming big man appeared on the screen during TNT's broadcast of the announcement, signaling his second consecutive selection as a reserve, he dropped the smartphone on the floor and started to cry. His parents approached for congratulatory hugs a few seconds later.After all the drama that has dogged the Timberwolves this season, this simple moment triggered in the 23-year-old a wave of pride, relief and joy."It meant a lot to me, especially through everything I've went through from work to personal life," Towns said after practice on Friday. "A lot of emotion came out yesterday when I found out, because I just felt like I had so much doubt against me. I worked so tremendously hard on my body, on my mind, on my spirit. When I got that moment, it just felt really special. It felt more... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns.Indiana's Victor Oladipo was selected as one of the Eastern Conference reserves, even though his season is over because of injury. The other reserves from the East were Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Washington's Bradley Beal, Detroit's Blake Griffin... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — About two months after Jimmy Butler initiated their breakup, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to pay him a visit.Just one week after the ouster of basketball boss Tom Thibodeau , the Timberwolves have enough of their own issues to work through. They did their best to downplay the significance of Tuesday's game at Philadelphia that will pit them against Butler for the first time since the trade , but there are sure to be some raw emotions that night. The question is whether they'll stay bottled up."Philly's a really good team, one of the best teams in the East, so I feel like it'll be a great battle," Wolves guard Andrew Wiggins said Monday after practice, adding: "Jimmy, every game he plays hard. So it's not like he's going to play harder."The energy that Butler brought, of course, was never in doubt. The problem was how disruptive his presence became, after he requested a trade.Thibodeau tried to hang on to his hand-picked locker-room leader as long as he could,... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Saunders has always had basketball in his blood, the consummate coach's son who as a kid would sometimes doze off on the couch after joining dad for a late-night review of game film.Roughly three years after the death of his father, Flip Saunders , the 32-year-old Ryan Saunders has assumed the job in Minnesota he's been aiming for all along, albeit earlier and more abruptly than ever expected."He is very capable of doing this job. We all have a lot of confidence in him," Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns said. "We're ready to follow him. He's our new captain."Appointed interim coach of Minnesota on Sunday after Tom Thibodeau was fired halfway through his third season , Saunders ran practice for the first time on Monday before the team took off for a game at Oklahoma City on Tuesday."You never know if you're ready until you're in the situation," Saunders said, "but I have great support."His dad, by far the winningest coach in Timberwolves history, would of course... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves had just posted their fourth-largest margin of victory of the season, and Tom Thibodeau looked and sounded satisfied Sunday as the demanding and intense coach used his postgame news conference to praise the attitude and energy with which his team had just played.Minutes later, Thibodeau was fired.Halfway into his third season with Minnesota that began in turmoil surrounding the eventual trade of All-Star Jimmy Butler, Thibodeau's final game was a 108-86 victory over the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers .Assistant coach Ryan Saunders, who is 32, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Scott Layden will stay as the general manager, assuming oversight of the roster. Thibodeau was also the president of basketball operations, with full authority over personnel decisions."We would like to thank Tom for his efforts and wish him all the best," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement released by the team. "These decisions... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Sunday, halfway into his third season with the team that began with the turmoil surrounding the eventual trade of All-Star Jimmy Butler.Thibodeau was dismissed about an hour after the 108-86 victory over the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers .Scott Layden will remain the general manager overseeing the basketball operations and assistant coach Ryan Saunders will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season."We would like to thank Tom for his efforts and wish him all the best," Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said in a statement. "These decisions are never easy to make, but we felt them necessary to move our organization forward."The Athletic first reported that Thibodeau, who was also the president of basketball operations with full authority over the roster, had been let go. Saunders is the son of the late Flip Saunders, who's the winningest coach in club history.Thibodeau finished 97-107 with the... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With a baseline drive by Chris Paul and a bounce pass into the paint to Clint Capela, the Houston Rockets had what appeared to be an uncontested dunk early in the fourth quarter that would have cut Minnesota's lead to five points.Robert Covington closed in from behind, stopped the 6-foot-10 Capela cold and, managing to avoid the body contact that would have drawn him a foul, tied up the NBA's most accurate shooter last season to earn a jump-ball call .Yes, the Timberwolves are playing legitimate defense these days, even after trading their best defensive player.They erased a 19-point deficit in the final minute of the second quarter Monday night and outscored the high-octane Rockets 55-29 in the second half to notch one of the most remarkable victories in three seasons under coach Tom Thibodeau. That was the fewest points allowed in a second half by the Timberwolves in almost 11 years."We've got to change things," said center Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a plus-17 rating... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless walked into their hotel rooms in Minnesota, they found appropriate gifts from Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns: winter coats.After the overnight temperature dropped to 7 degrees, the newest members of the team by way of the Jimmy Butler trade with Philadelphia appreciated the welcome from Minnesota's best player. Butler's awkward and drawn-out departure created an icy atmosphere around the organization, but now that the deal is finally done, the Wolves have begun trying to warm the atmosphere back up."We can't wait to get on the court, put on that jersey and put it on for this city," Covington said at a news conference inside Target Center on Tuesday afternoon that carried just a bit less buzz than Butler's open-to-the-public introduction at the Mall of America less than 17 months ago.As Butler formally joined the 76ers , the Wolves pivoted forward after a pressure-relieving win over Brooklyn on Monday night... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Jerryd Bayless walked into their hotel rooms in Minnesota, they found appropriate gifts from Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns: winter coats.After the overnight temperature dropped to 7 degrees, the newest members of the team by way of the Jimmy Butler trade with Philadelphia appreciated the welcome from Minnesota's best player. Butler's awkward and drawn-out departure created an icy atmosphere around the organization, but now that the deal is finally done, the Wolves have begun trying to warm the atmosphere back up."We can't wait to get on the court, put on that jersey and put it on for this city," Covington said at a news conference inside Target Center on Tuesday afternoon that carried just a bit less buzz than Butler's open-to-the-public introduction at the Mall of America less than 17 months ago.As Butler formally joined the 76ers , the Wolves pivoted forward after a pressure-relieving win over Brooklyn on Monday night... [More]

Jimmy Butler has his wish: He's out of Minnesota.And just like that, Philadelphia has a new Big Three — one that could make serious noise in the Eastern Conference.A person with knowledge of the situation said Saturday that Butler is being traded to the 76ers in a package that will send Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Timberwolves. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced by either team and was still pending NBA approval, which is not expected until Monday.Justin Patton will also be sent to Philadelphia, and Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick are also going to Minnesota, the person said.The Athletic first reported the agreement.Because the trade was not official, Sixers coach Brett Brown had little comment."I can't speak much about it. I'm sorry," he said before the Sixers played Memphis.Sixers guard T.J. McConnell said he learned of the deal through social media."I didn't think it was true until more... [More]

Jimmy Butler has his wish: He's out of Minnesota.And just like that, Philadelphia has a new Big Three — one that could make serious noise in the Eastern Conference.A person with knowledge of the situation said Saturday that Butler is being traded to the 76ers in a package that will send Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Timberwolves. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced by either team and was still pending NBA approval, which is not expected until Monday.Justin Patton will also be sent to Philadelphia, and Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick are also going to Minnesota, the person said.The Athletic first reported the agreement.Because the trade was not official, Sixers coach Brett Brown had little comment."I can't speak much about it. I'm sorry," he said before the Sixers played Memphis.Sixers guard T.J. McConnell said he learned of the deal through social media."I didn't think it was true until more... [More]

Jimmy Butler has his wish: He's out of Minnesota.And just like that, Philadelphia has a new Big Three — one that could make serious noise in the Eastern Conference.A person with knowledge of the situation said Saturday that Butler is being traded to the 76ers in a package that will send Dario Saric and Robert Covington to the Timberwolves. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced by either team and was still pending NBA approval, which is not expected until Monday.Justin Patton will also be sent to Philadelphia, and Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick are also going to Minnesota, the person said.The Athletic first reported the agreement.Philadelphia's "Process" led it to the second round of the playoffs last season behind two of the game's youngest, brightest stars in big man Joel Embiid and point guard Ben Simmons. Butler, an elite wing and outstanding defender, will join them in a quest to rule the Eastern... [More]