CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is out against the Atlanta Hawks with a sore right Achilles.Love's injury is another setback for the Cavaliers, who are coming off their worst home loss in franchise history, a 133-92 rout by the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.Cleveland has lost 12 straight at home and 13 of 14 overall. The Cavaliers host the Hawks on Wednesday, the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.Cavaliers coach John Beilein doesn't think Love's injury is a major issue. Beilien said the 6-foot-11 forward slightly injured the Achilles last week and played with the soreness Sunday. Love averages 17.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in 46 games. Andre Drummond, acquired at the trade deadline from Detroit, hadd 19 points and 14 rebounds in his Cavaliers debut Sunday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

The moment was not lost on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The NBA's reigning MVP, a Greek of Nigerian descent who is now starring in Milwaukee, was about to make his first two selections of this year's All-Star Game draft and understood how significant his words would be when they resonated across the world's second-largest continent.His first pick: Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid."My African brother," Antetokounmpo said.His second pick: Toronto’s Pascal Siakam."My second African brother," Antetokounmpo said.Just like that, a son of Nigerian migrants and two kids who were playing soccer in Cameroon before turning their attention to basketball less than a decade ago became set to take the NBA All-Star stage together. And when they're all on the floor to start the game in Chicago on Sunday night, it'll be hard to envision a more significant basketball moment for Africa — a place that the NBA has long believed is a developing hotbed for the next wave of elite talent.But with Antetokounmpo, Embiid and Siakam... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks clarified on Tuesday that the new adviser they hired to improve their brand makes no personnel decisions, after he indicated during a televised interview that they would hire a new coach.Steve Stoute, hired in part last month to improve the team's connection to its fans, was interviewed on ESPN on Tuesday and said the Knicks would be looking for a new coach, even though interim coach Mike Miller has a better record than David Fizdale when he was fired in December.Stoute said the Knicks' recent firing of president Steve Mills "will bring a new coach and new coaches that are going to help develop these younger players.”The Knicks fired Mills on Feb. 4 and plan to hire player agent Leon Rose as team president. In the meantime, Stoute hinted at changes that would be coming during his TV appearance.“While Steve Stoute is a valued contributor to the Knicks’ marketing and branding efforts, he does not speak on behalf of New York Knicks personnel and basketball... [More]

Kobe Bryant will be announced Friday at All-Star Weekend in Chicago as one of the finalists for this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction class, which isn’t a secret and never was.Bryant always was a lock to be a first-ballot pick. Fellow first-time nominees Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett will almost certainly also be among those announced Friday as finalists. The complete class that will be enshrined at Springfield, Massachusetts in August will be announced on April 4 at the Final Four in Atlanta.But Friday’s announcement of the finalists in Chicago will be largely about the memory of Bryant, and rightly so. This All-Star weekend is the first huge gathering of the NBA family since Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Jan. 26. They’ll be remembered and honored throughout the weekend, and it’s a safe bet that Commissioner Adam Silver — in his annual All-Star news conference Saturday — has plenty to say about... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns waived veteran guard Tyler Johnson on Monday.The 27-year-old Johnson was acquired in a trade with Miami in the middle of last season. He averaged 11.1 points per game last season after coming to the Suns, but struggled to find a consistent role this year, averaging a career-low 5.7 points in 31 games, including three starts.He was in the final season of a four-year deal that pays about $19 million this year. Johnson has been battling a sore right knee and missed the past four games.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo for Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings after the All-Star forward posted a picture of his new baby on his Twitter account.Antetokounmpo, the reigning MVP who also is scheduled to be a team captain in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, tweeted “Liam Charles Antetokounmpo in the house” on Monday afternoon.It is the first child for Antetokounmpo and his girlfriend.Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.0 points, 13,5 rebounds and 5.8 assists. Milwaukee has the best record in the NBA at 45-7, including going 4-0 in games without Antetokounmpo.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves co-stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell have each purchased 1,000 tickets to the team's next home game for an online giveaway.The Timberwolves announced the promotion Monday in advance of hosting Charlotte on Wednesday night, which is expected to be Russell's first game at Target Center for Minnesota since he was acquired in a trade with Golden State on Thursday. The fifth-year guard did not play against Los Angeles because of a quadriceps injury on Saturday night, when the Timberwolves beat the Clippers 142-115 in front of a sellout crowd announced at 18,978.The complimentary tickets were available on the team's website with a limit of four per customer. Towns and Russell expressed gratitude to Timberwolves fans for their welcome of Russell after the trade, one of three deals the team struck last week in acquiring eight new players.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is out because of a sore left knee against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The Clippers have been monitoring the workload for Leonard, who will miss his 13th game of the season. Los Angeles is playing the second game of a back-to-back set after losing in Minnesota on Saturday.Leonard scored 28 points in 29 minutes against the Timberwolves, but the Clippers were routed 142-115. He's seventh in the league in scoring with 27.1 points per game.Patrick Beverley will miss his second straight game with a strained right groin. The Clippers (36-16) are third in the Western Conference and acquired Marcus Morris from New York on Thursday.

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]

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 112-95 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 19 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.With Middleton, Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe picking up the slack, it didn't matter as... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers waived guard Isaiah Thomas on Saturday, two days after acquiring him as part of a three-team trade.The move had been expected since Thursday's deal with the Wizards and Knicks. Thomas has averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists during his career with seven NBA teams. The 31-year-old guard was drafted by Sacramento out of the University of Washington in 2011.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, helping the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 112-95 on Saturday night.The Bucks won for the 13th time in 14 games, improving the league’s best record to 45-7 and remaining on course to become just the third team to top 70 wins in a regular season.Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, fell short in a personal bid to become the first player with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games, scoring two points in the first quarter and finishing 6 of 17 from the field.Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with a stretch of five straight games with 30, 15 and 5, accomplishing it from Dec. 10-17, 1965, with the Philadelphia Warriors.Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 23 points, including 5 for 5 on 3-point attempts. Khris Middleton had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe finished with 18 points for the Bucks, who led by as many as 27 in the third... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Hornets waived former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 15-year NBA veteran Marvin Williams on Saturday.The 6-foot-6 Kidd-Gilchrist was selected behind Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis in the 2012 draft, but he found himself out of Charlotte's rotation this season under coach James Borrego. He has played in only 12 games, averaging four points.The 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist holds career averages of 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game during his eight seasons in Charlotte.However, Kidd-Gilchrist struggled with his shooting despite efforts to improve his form. He shot 47.5% from the field during his career and 28% from 3-point range.The Hornets finished 7-59 in the 2011-12 season but wound up with the second pick in the lottery. That allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to draft Davis, a perennial All-Star, with the first pick, which proved to be a devastating blow to the development of the Hornets' franchise.The 6-foot-8 Williams... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Not yet finished with his fifth NBA season, D'Angelo Russell has landed with his fourth team.Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves sure don't want him to leave. “It’s surreal to really think that instead of us just talking on the phone or playing video games with each other and talking about how our teams are doing and everything, but now we’re getting to do this every day with each other,” Towns said.Russell was introduced at an open-to-the-public news conference Friday along with six other players acquired during the trading spree this week.“I’ve been seeing from a distance, and from close-up, the ship that Karl’s kind of been driving around here for years,” Russell said. “Players come and go from here. I take it they didn’t appreciate the situation here or whatever that may be, but watching from a distance I knew I could help Karl. I’ve never played with a dynamic big just like him.”President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was hired May 1. He was... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have requested waivers on guard Gerald Green, whom they acquired from Houston as part of the 12-player, four-team trade with the Rockets, Timberwolves and Hawks earlier this week.Green has missed the entire season because of a foot injury in the preseason that required surgery. The 12-year veteran has played in 658 career games for eight NBA teams, posting averages of 9.7 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing 19.8 minutes a game.He was the 18th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2005 NBA draft out of Gulf Shores Academy High School in Houston.

MIAMI (AP) — In deciding whether to pursue a trade for Andre Iguodala, the Miami Heat went all-in on research. They talked to people who knew Iguodala. They watched what he did last season. They took a deep dive into the analytics.And they came to a determination.“He’s elite,” Heat President Pat Riley said.Simple as that. That’s why Iguodala is now in Heat colors, and a team that wasn’t even good enough to make the playoffs last season is thinking big as it gears up for a run at the 2020 postseason. Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill all joined the team for a game-day shootaround practice in Sacramento on Friday to get their first taste of what life with the Heat is like.“He's an elite defender, an elite team defender, elite assist-to-turnover percentage, he ranks up into the top of those areas that are real tangible,” Riley said. “You don't lose that in seven months. And probably it was a blessing in disguise that he didn't play for seven months.Iguodala last played an NBA game in... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The victories have been scarce for the Cavaliers this season, overwhelmed by so many ugly losses, so many unwatchable moments.However, they're certain they won the NBA trading deadline. Landing two-time All- Star Andre Drummond is a huge get.“For what they gave up, it's a (blanking) steal,” said Tristan Thompson, using a profanity to emphasize his point.Unexpectedly, the Cavs finalized their trade for Drummond, the league's leading rebounder at 15.8 boards per game in the final hour before Thursday's deadline, completing a deal nobody had on their radar. Cleveland sent guard Brandon Knight, forward John Henson and one of its second-round draft picks in 2023 to the Detroit Pistons for the 26-year-old Drummond, one of the game's best all-around centers.“He plays extremely hard and has crazy production," Cavs star forward Kevin Love said Friday after practice. "It makes us competitive. We added an All-Star level player. He's a versatile big who can do a lot of things for us.”General... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have picked up guard Jordan McRae in a trade with Washington that became official Thursday night.In exchange, the Nuggets sent recently acquired guard Shabazz Napier to the Wizards.McRae averaged 12.9 points and 2.8 assists in 29 games for the Wizards this season. The 28-year-old out of Tennessee had surgery on his right ring finger in October. He's recently been dealing with a twisted left ankle.The 6-foot-5 McRae joins a Nuggets team that's off to a 36-16 start and currently sits in third place in the Western Conference. He provides back-court depth behind Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Gary Harris and Monte Morris. McRae has appeared in 115 games over four years with Washington, Cleveland and Phoenix. He was signed by the Wizards on a two-way deal on Sept. 10, 2018, before it was converted to a regular contract on April 9, 2019."Jordan was a great success story for our developmental program, with his hard work and dedication resulting in him earning a full-time... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks completed their dramatic overhaul of their center position on Thursday by reacquiring Dewayne Dedmon from the Sacramento Kings and Skal Labissiere from the Portland Trail Blazers.The trades came one day after Atlanta acquired center Clint Capela from Houston.The Hawks didn't stop with Dedmon and Capela. The team added more help inside by acquiring Labissiere and cash from Portland in exchange for a conditional 2024 second-round pick.The Hawks had roster spots to fill after requesting waivers on center Nenê, who was acquired with Capela, and forward Chandler Parsons. Dedmon is returning to Atlanta, where he enjoyed his two most productive seasons, from 2017-19. The trade sent center Alex Len and forward Jabari Parker to Sacramento. The Kings also are giving the Hawks two second-round picks.“We are happy to welcome Dewayne back to Atlanta,” said Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk. “In his time with us, he developed into a reliable outside shooter and strong... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks plan to hire agent Leon Rose to take over their basketball operations, a person with knowledge of the details said.Rose will replace Steve Mills, who was fired as team president on Tuesday.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The plans were first reported by ESPN and SNY.The Knicks released a statement in which Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan said he hoped to conclude the search for a new president quickly.“I am not selling, but I am determined to find the right leader for the Knicks who will ensure the long-term success of the team, just as we did with the hiring of Rangers President John Davidson," Dolan said.Rather than seek to hire an experienced team executive, the Knicks would be going with a model that has worked successfully for other NBA teams lately. The Golden State Warriors, with Bob Myers, and the Los Angeles Lakers, headed by Rob Pelinka, are both run by former... [More]