A person familiar with the search tells The Associated Press that the Milwaukee Bucks have reached an agreement with Mike Budenholzer to become the team's next coach.The 2015 NBA Coach of the Year will replace Joe Prunty, the former assistant who went 21-16 in the regular season after replacing the fired Jason Kidd in late January.The person confirmed the agreement with the former Atlanta Hawks coach on Wednesday. The person requested anonymity because the team has not made an official announcement.The deal was first reported by ESPN.The Bucks lost to Boston in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.Budenholzer went 213-197 in five seasons with the Hawks, leading them to a franchise-record 60 wins and the Eastern Conference finals in 2015. He and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways last month with two years remaining on his contract, allowing Budenholzer to pursue other opportunities.The one with the Bucks may have been the best available, thanks to All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — J.R. Smith reached out, placed his hands on Al Horford's back and shoved Boston's big man out of bounds.It was the only time Smith was on target.Smith's shoddy performance in Game 2 — he missed all seven shots and committed a flagrant 1 foul in 27 forgettable minutes — underscored a startling disparity between Cleveland's and Boston's starting backcourts that allowed the fearless Celtics to withstand a brilliant, 42-point effort by LeBron James and take a 2-0 series lead.Smith and point guard George Hill were outscored 41-3 by Boston's Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who were faster, hungrier and maybe tougher."I don't think tougher," Smith said afterward, showing better defensive instincts than during the game. "They made shots, we missed shots at the end of the day. We had some good looks, they didn't fall. For them playing on their home court, they fell. It's a matter for us to bounce back, go home, try and get (win) two, even the series up and come back here."Smith will... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — J.R. Smith reached out, placed his hands on Al Horford's back and shoved Boston's big man out of bounds.It was the only time Smith was on target.Smith's shoddy performance in Game 2 — he missed all seven shots and committed a flagrant 1 foul in 27 forgettable minutes — underscored a startling disparity between Cleveland's and Boston's starting backcourts that allowed the fearless Celtics to withstand a brilliant, 42-point effort by LeBron James and take a 2-0 series lead.Smith and point guard George Hill were outscored 41-3 by Boston's Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who were faster, hungrier and maybe tougher."I don't think tougher," Smith said afterward, showing better defensive instincts than during the game. "They made shots, we missed shots at the end of the day. We had some good looks, they didn't fall. For them playing on their home court, they fell. It's a matter for us to bounce back, go home, try and get (win) two, even the series up and come back here."Smith will... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Celtics coach Brad Stevens has said what has carried his team through the NBA postseason is its ability to make "winning plays" with the game on the line.And more times than not, it's been Marcus Smart making them.Since returning from thumb surgery late in the first round, Smart has been unflappable and Boston's unquestioned deacon of toughness.From sacrificing his body diving for loose balls or keeping plays alive with a rebound , to causing deflections on defense, to popping up out of the crowd for a timely rebound or tip-in, Smart is the proud everyman for a once underdog Celtics team that has outworked the Cavaliers through the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals."That's me. That's how I was raised," said Smart, who was Boston's top performer off the bench in the Celtics' 107-94 Game 2 win with 11 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals. "I'm the youngest of four boys. My whole life I had to fight."I had to get down and do things in order to secure... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — J.R. Smith reached out, placed his hands on Al Horford's back and shoved Boston's big man out of bounds.It was the only time Smith was on target.Smith's shoddy performance in Game 2 — he missed all seven shots and committed a flagrant foul in 27 forgettable minutes — underscored a startling disparity between Cleveland's and Boston's starting backcourts that allowed the fearless Celtics to withstand a brilliant, 42-point effort by LeBron James and take a 2-0 series lead.Smith and point guard George Hill were outscored 41-3 by Boston's Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who were faster, hungrier and maybe tougher."I don't think tougher," Smith said afterward, showing better defensive instincts than during the game. "They made shots, we missed shots at the end of the day. We had some good looks, they didn't fall. For them playing on their home court, they fell. It's a matter for us to bounce back, go home, try and get (win) two, even the series up and come back here."Thanks to... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Deandre Ayton might be going back to Arizona after all. The same can be true for Marvin Bagley III. Or maybe Luka Doncic gets to reunite with his past coach.The Phoenix Suns have a trio of fine candidates for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.In various ways, the team already has an element of familiarity with each one of them.Ayton played his college ball at Arizona. Bagley, the Duke freshman star this past season, is an Arizona native. And Doncic, the Slovenian teen who has been tabbed a can't-miss NBA prospect, won a title with new Suns coach Igor Kokoskov last summer — when they helped give the tiny nation its biggest sports win, a gold medal at the European Championships.These are good days for the Suns, who have gone through three dreadful seasons and eight consecutive playoff-less campaigns. But they have a new coach in Kokoskov, a promising young core and after winning the draft lottery on Tuesday night, a chance to pick No. 1 overall at the draft in New York next month."It's... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Gerald Green was at a crossroads.Released by Milwaukee in training camp, the career journeyman couldn't find another NBA team that wanted him.He contemplated playing internationally and in the G League, but no one had any use for the over-30 player with almost a decade of NBA experience."I was honestly contemplating retirement," he told The Associated Press. "A lot of people don't know that, but I was done."So he contacted his agent to put an expiration date on his basketball career."I was like: 'Look man, when Jan. 1, 2018, hits, if I'm unsigned, I'm putting out a big statement on my Instagram letting everybody know, thank you for the awesome career over all these years but I'm done,'" he said. "'I ain't going to play no more.'"Just four days shy of his self-imposed deadline, Green received the call that would change everything: His hometown Houston Rockets wanted him."Basketball was the last thing on my mind until I got that call," he said. "Then it's kind of like ... 'Are... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Cavaliers forward LeBron James said he just needed a chance to "recalibrate" when he left in the second quarter Tuesday night after taking a shot to the jaw from Boston's Jayson Tatum."It was a tough play. Obviously incidental," James said after the Celtics beat Cleveland 107-94 to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals despite his 42 points and a triple-double. "His shoulder hit me square in the jaw. It didn't affect my game after that."James was driving to the basket when Tatum went for the steal with both hands and collided with the Cleveland star, driving his shoulder into James' jaw. James spent about 10 seconds on one knee under the basket, then walked off to the Cleveland locker room.He returned a few minutes later and finished out the half with what the Cavaliers said was a strained neck."I felt like I needed to go back to the locker room, which I did, and kind of recalibrate," James said.Asked if he was checked for a concussion, he said: "I was checked for multiple things, and I passed them all. That's why I was able to come back and finish the half."After scoring just 15 points in Boston's Game 1 blowout, James had 21 in the first quarter on Tuesday night. He finished with 12 assists and 10 rebounds, but also had six turnovers.The Celtics won the first two games at home, and the series now heads to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

BOSTON (AP) — Cavaliers forward LeBron James left Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night and went to the Cleveland locker room in the second quarter after colliding with Boston's Jayson Tatum under the basket.He returned a few minutes later and finished out the half with what the Cavaliers said was a strained neck.James was under the basket when he collided with Tatum, whose shoulder hit James squarely in the jaw. James was shown rubbing his chin, and then he went to the locker room.After scoring just 15 points in Boston's Game 1 blowout, James had 21 in the first quarter on Tuesday night. He finished the half with 25 points, six assists and four rebounds.

CHICAGO (AP) — Phoenix general manager Ryan McDonough was on stage moments after the NBA draft lottery ended, talking about the future of the Suns and mentioning how they had the best odds of picking No. 1 overall.And then he stopped to correct himself."We have No. 1," McDonough said. "I've got to adjust to that."It's an adjustment that he and the Suns will happily be making.The worst team in the league this season will pick first in the NBA draft on June 21, after the Suns won the draft lottery on Tuesday night. It's the first time the Suns will have the chance to make the first overall selection."It's great for our franchise," said McDonough, whose club went 21-61 this season and missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year. "It's something that you say coming into it, you don't have any control over it so you're not going to get nervous. And I was here dying. I could barely breathe. I needed an oxygen tank."The Suns have three great candidates for No. 1, all with ties to either... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Phoenix has won the No. 1 pick in next month's NBA draft.It's the first time the Suns will have the chance to make the first overall selection. The Suns had the right combination of pingpong balls pop up for them at the draft lottery on Tuesday night, a reward of sorts after a season where Phoenix had the NBA's worst record at 21-61.Phoenix lost a coin flip for the top pick in 1969 to Milwaukee. The Bucks took Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Suns took Neal Walk.Sacramento will pick No. 2 and Atlanta got the No. 3 pick — both of them moving up to get there. The top three spots were determined by the lottery, and then spots 4-14 fell in line of reverse order of record.The rest of the slots, in order, went to No. 4 Memphis, No. 5 Dallas, No. 6 Orlando, No. 7 Chicago, No. 8 Cleveland, No. 9 New York, No. 10 Philadelphia, No. 11 Charlotte, No. 12 and No. 13 Los Angeles Clippers, and No. 14 Denver.The draft is June 21 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.Josh Jackson, who just completed his... [More]

Brad Stevens' first opportunity to become an NBA head coach was presented to him by Boston. Same goes for Tyronn Lue, with Cleveland. Same goes for Steve Kerr, with Golden State.Hiring rookies worked out just fine for those clubs.Phoenix and Atlanta are now hoping to reap the same benefits as the Celtics, Cavaliers and Warriors. The Suns introduced Igor Kokoskov on Monday, the same day that the Hawks welcomed fellow first-time head coach Lloyd Pierce to their franchise. And those moves followed Charlotte last week hiring James Borrego, whose only head-coaching experience was a 30-game interim stint.There are plenty of established head coaches who don't have jobs right now. But even with the market flooded with experienced coaches, the Suns, Hawks and Hornets went down roads less-traveled — and there's still potential for more first-timers in the NBA head-coaching fraternity by the time next season opens."Rookie coach, international coach, foreign coach," said Kokoskov, the first European-born... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Igor Kokoskov is the first NBA head coach born and raised outside North America, but he reminded everyone at his introductory news conference with the Phoenix Suns on Monday that he didn't exactly just get off the plane."I don't consider myself as a European coach," he said. "I'm an NBA coach."Kokoskov, 46, just finished his 18th season as an NBA assistant coach. He's been with six different teams. Some played slow. Some played fast. He has been on the staffs of seven squads to reach the conference finals. This game is not new to him."As a coach, I'm not spoiled," he said. "I think your job is to build and create from what you have in front of you. I'm the kind of guy who loves my team. I love my guys and they can feel it."Kokoskov was named head coach of the Suns last week but, as an assistant with the Utah Jazz, he had to finish his work in the playoff series against the Houston Rockets before turning his attention to the desert.He was an assistant with the Suns from 2008... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Put Kevin Love's name atop the list of the Cavaliers that walked out of Cleveland's 25-point Eastern Conference finals Game 1 loss to Boston a little staggered, but with an unbowed head.The reason: He's got a teammate by the name of LeBron James that's had a way of responding after lopsided playoff defeats.Just ask the Indiana Pacers.The Pacers stunned the Cavs at home in their first-round opener, rolling to an 18-point victory. In Game 2, James was all but unstoppable as he replied with a 46-point, 12-rebound performance."I expect him to have a big response," Love said of James on Monday. "He's always done it. Even before he came back to Cleveland and since I've been here he's always responded big. .... He's going to approach this game as one that he's going to have to lead and bounce back."Even if James does have a big Game 2 Tuesday night in Boston, he'll need some help — and the Cavaliers know it.Love said he thought the Cavs were a "little soft" in the first half in Game... [More]

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Ray Allen has enjoyed watching former teammate LeBron James lead Cleveland through the NBA playoffs. And it's not much different than what Allen saw almost daily when the two were part of the Miami Heat's run to a NBA title in 2013."He's the main cog of what the Cavaliers are doing," Allen said Monday. "I don't see him doing anything outside of his spectrum. He's doing what he's been doing most of his career. When we start talking playoff basketball and about the players who are good, we expect them to do their jobs when it's time to do their jobs."For the two-time NBA champion in Allen, there's no higher compliment.Allen spent his stellar, 19-year career well prepared for whatever moment there was. He was a 10-time NBA all-star who helped a trophy-starved Boston to a championship in 2008, then joined James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Heat to capture the 2013 crown.Allen, the son of an Air Force veteran, starred for Hillcrest High School in Dalzell, South... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — At the start of his first news conference as the Atlanta Hawks coach, Lloyd Pierce looked down at a row filled with four of his new players.His thoughts immediately turned to his passion: Defense."If we weren't doing this press conference right now, I'd probably have these guys doing some defensive drills," Pierce said Monday. "That's who I am."Pierce, the former Philadelphia 76ers assistant whose agreement to become the Hawks coach was announced Friday , said his first priority will be assembling a staff. Pierce will be looking for assistants who share his passion for defense and his proven ability to connect with young players.A young Atlanta roster is about to add much more youth in next month's NBA draft.The Hawks leaned heavily on such young players as rookie John Collins and second-year forward Taurean Prince this season. More youth is coming in the June 21 NBA draft. The Hawks have three first-round picks and hope to land the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday's NBA draft... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James has made Boston's TD Garden his personal playground during the playoffs in recent years.The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the Eastern Conference finals with a 9-3 record against the Celtics in games played at the Garden over the last four years, including six straight wins.James' 979 postseason points against Boston were the most by any player against any opponent in the last 50 years. And his 21 playoff wins against the Celtics were also the most against them during that span.But none of that mattered Sunday in Boston's dominating 108-83 win over Cleveland in Game 1 , in which James committed seven turnovers while being held to just 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.It would be solid night for most NBA players, but was pedestrian by the super-human standard that LeBron has set for himself this postseason, at times single-handedly carrying the Cavs to victories.But he was clear that his concern level down being 1-0 was "zero.""I didn't go to college, so... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are in the unfamiliar position of opening on the road as they prepare for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals with the top-seeded Rockets in Houston on Monday night in the series that many have been waiting for all season.It's the first time the No. 2 Warriors have been in a playoff series without home-court advantage since 2014 when they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 in the opening round.For a team that has matched the Chicago Bulls' NBA record with 15 straight home playoff victories, the feeling is a bit unsettling."It's different," coach Steve Kerr said. "I think our guys, they are taking the challenge and they're embracing it. They feel like, 'OK, we don't have home court for the first time,' but we seem to be at our best when we are threatened. That's been kind of the M.O. of this team. We're definitely threatened. We're on the road for Game 1, we've never felt that."The Rockets, who earned the top seed for the first time in franchise... [More]

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — George Hill has gone from point guard to point grad in the NBA playoffs.Cleveland's starting guard missed practice Saturday and had a good excuse for his absence — he graduated from college.Hill received his diploma from IUPUI and took part in commencement ceremonies in Indianapolis while his teammates got in one last workout before heading to Boston for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.The 32-year-old Hill, who played for the Jaguars from 2004-08, a received his degree from the School of Liberal Arts. He was one of two student speakers to address the new graduates.On his Twitter account, Hill showed off a "Jaguars" tattoo on his left arm.Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said Hill would rejoin the team in time for the series opener Sunday against the Celtics.Hill joined the Cavs in February, coming over in a trade from Sacramento. He was slowed by back spasms and missed three games in the first round of the playoffs against Indiana, but returned and played a key role... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry and Draymond Green admire Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni from afar for how he empowers all his players to be scorers.No matter who you are, just let it fly — and for the Rockets that means regularly from 3-point range. And in transition whenever possible.Golden State coach Steve Kerr praises D'Antoni for influencing the way NBA teams now play offense: the pace and the space; precise ball movement and playing small without a traditional center; shooting at will and shooting from way back.Still, for all his success in leading the West's top team this season, D'Antoni might need a championship to validate his style.Standing in the way are the defending champion Warriors, who open the best-of-seven Western Conference finals at Houston on Monday night."He empowers everyone to shoot the basketball, and that's dangerous," said Green, Golden State's bruising forward. "That's why he's been so successful, especially on that side of the ball with any team he's ever... [More]