OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rockets star Chris Paul is receiving treatment "around the clock" on his injured right hamstring and coach Mike D'Antoni hopes it will only be a matter of days before he is healthy enough to play again.The timeline remained unclear whether Paul might be fine to play a possible Game 7 if the Rockets lost Saturday night's Game 6 and had to return to Houston to face the Golden State Warriors again Monday night. Eric Gordon started in Paul's place Saturday at Oracle Arena."I think he'll play as soon as he can," D'Antoni said before the game Saturday. "It's just not a question of trying to outsmart. He's going to play. As soon as he's able to walk and run, he'll do it. There was no shot at it today."Golden State forward Andre Iguodala was out for a third straight game this series after he sustained a bone bruise in his left knee during Game 3. Coach Steve Kerr said Iguodala continues to have pain when running, so he's still listed as day to day."It's a bone bruise, and... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James and the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers won't get any sympathy from the Celtics when they return to Boston for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.Already laboring to reach his eighth straight NBA Finals with a supporting crew made mostly of cast-offs and throw-ins, James lost the only other All-Star on the roster on Saturday when Kevin Love was declared out for the series finale with a concussion.Now, in what could be his final game in a Cleveland uniform — again — James will have to do it largely on his own.In Boston, where the Celtics are perfect so far this postseason.And in a series where the road team hasn't really even come close."There's something different about LeBron, period," Cleveland forward Larry Nance Jr. said after James scored 46 with 11 rebounds and nine assists on Friday night to send the series to a decisive seventh game. "I think (coach Tyronn Lue) said it best: 'We're going into a Game 7 with the baddest dude on the planet on our team.'... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love won't be able to help LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Game 7 against the Celtics.Love was placed in the NBA's concussion protocol and the All-Star forward will miss Sunday's series finale of the Eastern Conference finals, a personal blow and yet another challenge for Cleveland to overcome.The Cavaliers said Love, who inadvertently bashed heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum in the first quarter of Game 6, experienced concussion-like symptoms Saturday before the team's flight to Boston.Moments before the Cavs sent a news release updating Love's status, coach Tyronn Lue held a confusing teleconference during which he said the 29-year-old was still being evaluated and there was a possibility he could play.However, like everything else in this erratic, convoluted season for Cleveland, things changed quickly.Now, the Cavs will be without their second-leading scorer and top rebounder as they try to win their fourth straight conference title against a younger team... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love won't be able to help LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Game 7 against the Celtics.Love was placed in the NBA's concussion protocol and the All-Star forward will miss Sunday's series finale of the Eastern Conference finals, a personal blow and yet another challenge for Cleveland to overcome.The Cavaliers said Love experienced concussion-like symptoms Saturday before the team's flight to Boston. Moments before the Cavs sent a news release updating Love's status, coach Tyronn Lue said the 29-year-old, who inadvertently bashed heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum on Friday, was still being evaluated and there was a possibility he could play.However, like everything else in this erratic, convoluted season for Cleveland, things changed quickly.Now, the Cavs will be without their second-leading scorer as they try to win their fourth straight conference title. Love is averaging 13.9 points and 10.0 rebounds in 17 playoff games, and he's the No. 2 scoring option on... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love will miss Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Celtics with a concussion.The team said Saturday that Love, who bashed heads with Boston rookie Jayson Tatum in the first half of Cleveland's Game 6 win on Friday night, experienced concussion-like symptoms before the team's flight and has been placed in the NBA's concussion protocol.Just minutes before the team announced Love's status, coach Tyronn Lue said he was still being evaluated.Love was kept out of the second half of Cleveland's 109-99 victory as a precaution after he and Tatum accidentally knocked heads. Love has suffered at least two other known concussions in his career.The Cavaliers were able to overcome the loss of Love, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, as LeBron James scored 46 and Cleveland got solid contributions from George Hill, Jeff Green and others.___More AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love's troubled season has twisted again.The Cavaliers All-Star forward, who has battled injuries and criticism while revealing he suffered panic attacks in the past, may have to sit out Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals after injuring his head Friday night during the first quarter of Cleveland's 109-99 win over the Boston Celtics.Love was kept out of the second half of Game 6 following his violent collision with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum.Cleveland's medical staff checked Love for a concussion, and the team announced at halftime the 29-year-old would not return to the game as a precaution.Love has not been placed in concussion protocol, but that could change if he has an onset of symptoms — headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light — in the hours ahead. He will be re-examined Saturday before the team flies to Boston.Cavs coach Tyronn Lue did not know if he would have his second-best player for the season's biggest game as the Cavs try to win their fourth... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love will miss the remainder of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals after banging heads with Boston's Jayson Tatum.Love and Tatum inadvertently collided midway through the quarter and both dropped to the floor. Love, who missed a March 28 game at Charlotte with a concussion, immediately raised his left arm as if to signal he needed help.He stayed down for several minutes before he was pulled to his feet. Love walked unsteadily to the bench with guard George Hill holding one of his arms. Love sat briefly before heading to the locker room for further evaluation.The Cavs said Love is being evaluated for a concussion and being kept out as a precaution.Love was replaced by Jeff Green, who sparked the Cavs to a 54-43 halftime lead.Tatum stayed in the game.Love, who is in his fourth season with Cleveland and is the club's second-best player, is averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds in the series.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love left Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals after banging heads with Boston's Jayson Tatum.Love and Tatum inadvertently collided midway through the quarter and both dropped to the floor. Love, who missed a March 28 game at Charlotte with a concussion, immediately raised his arm as if to signal he needed help.He stayed down for several minutes before he was helped to his feet. He walked unsteadily to the bench with guard George Hill holding one of his arm. Love sat briefly before heading to the locker room for further evaluation.The team had no immediate word on Love's condition. He was replaced by Jeff Green.Tatum stayed in the game.Love, who is in his fourth season with Cleveland and is the club's second-best player, is averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds in the series.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Latest on the stun gun arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown and the police body camera video (all times local):5:25 p.m.Milwaukee's police chief has confirmed the discipline for three officers in the arrest of Bucks player Sterling Brown.Chief Alfonso Morales said in a statement Friday that one officer was suspended for 15 days, a second was suspended for 10 days and a third for two days. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier had reported on the suspensions.Morales also says eight officers will receive a policy review. He says the officers' names will be released after a required legal notice.Police used a stun gun on Brown when officers detained him for a parking violation in January. Video of Brown's arrest was publicly released Wednesday.Brown told the Journal Sentinel on Friday that he "gave in" when police used a stun gun on him because he didn't want officers to "pull out their guns."___4:15 p.m.Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown says he "gave in"... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown said Friday he "gave in" when police used a stun gun as they detained him for a parking violation because he didn't want officers to "pull out their guns.""I was just being smart. I just wanted to get out of the situation and get home," Brown told the Journal Sentinel . He said he still gets upset when he watches the video of his interaction with officers in the parking lot of a Walgreens on Jan. 26.An officer had approached Brown because he was double-parked in a handicap spot and the interaction quickly escalated. The officer called for backup as the conversation with Brown became tense and a half-dozen squad cars responded.Brown said he thought he and the first responding officer were simply "going to have a dialogue back and forth between two men" and didn't expect the situation to escalate."I don't see what I could have done different," said Brown, whose father was a police officer in Maywood, Illinois, where the Bucks guard grew... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — If the Golden State Warriors are worried as they head into Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on the brink of elimination, they aren't showing it."We have a chance to tie the series at home. That's a pretty good position to be in," coach Steve Kerr said. "We've got to win two basketball games and we've done that an awful lot, so we're very confident."The defending champions trail Houston 3-2 in the best-of-seven series after consecutive wins by the Rockets, capped by Thursday night's 98-94 victory . Now the series shifts to Oracle Arena, a place where the Warriors have lost just one time in their last 17 playoff games.Stephen Curry said the Warriors are encouraged despite falling behind in the series because they believe both games could have gone their way and that a few simple corrections will get them back on track."We have an opportunity to re-establish ourselves at home, get a big win, keep ourselves alive, and then roll the dice into Game 7," Curry said. "Not all... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Latest on the stun gun arrest of Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown and the police body camera video (all times local):4:15 p.m.Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown says he "gave in" when police used a stun gun as they detained him for a parking violation because he didn't want officers to "pull out their guns."Brown said in an interview Friday with the Journal Sentinel that he gets angry every time he watches the video of the January incident in the parking lot of a Walgreens. An officer had approached Brown because he was double-parked in a handicap spot and the interaction quickly escalated.The officer called for backup as the conversation with Brown became tense, but Brown says he thought they "were going to have a dialogue" and didn't expect the situation to escalate.The officers involved in Brown's arrest were disciplined and police Chief Alfonso Morales personally apologized to Brown last month.___8:50 a.m.NBA player Sterling Brown says he tried to remain... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets will be without star guard Chris Paul for Game 6 because of a strained hamstring, a huge blow for a team trying to close out the Golden State Warriors.Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's victory that gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals."I hate it for him, above all," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He's practically won us the last two games. But great opportunity for other guys and we have plenty to choose from and we'll be ready."Eric Gordon, the star of Game 5, will start in Paul's place Saturday night. He started 30 games this season while Paul and James Harden dealt with injuries."It will not change anything that we do or how we do it," D'Antoni said.Paul's right leg will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston following Game 6. On Friday, he was with the team, laughing and joking with teammates as they walked on the court for practice.Harden said the Rockets don't have time to dwell on the absence... [More]

The NBA playoffs never go according to plan. The Golden State Warriors are proof of that.Again.They have been the league's best team over the last four seasons, without question. But even the great teams need injury luck on their side, as has been evident in each of their playoff runs over that span.Enter Chris Paul and Andre Iguodala this year.In 2015, Golden State didn't have to face injured Cleveland stars Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love in the NBA Finals and won the title.A year later, the Warriors blew a 3-1 finals lead against the Cavs because the series turned in Game 5 — not because Draymond Green was suspended (the often-offered and incorrect narrative), but because Andrew Bogut got clumsily taken out by J.R. Smith and the Warriors had no one left to defend the rim from LeBron James' constant onslaughts.Last year, Kawhi Leonard came down on Zaza Pachulia's foot in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, San Antonio's big lead was gone in an instant and the Warriors steamrolled the... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston's Chris Paul will miss Game 6 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night because of a hamstring injury.Paul was injured in the fourth quarter of Houston's win over the Warriors on Thursday night. The win gave the Rockets a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.The Rockets say Paul's strained right hamstring will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston following Game 6.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — NBA player Sterling Brown says he tried to remain calm when Milwaukee police used a stun gun to take him down during his arrest for a parking violation.In an interview aired on ABC's "Good Morning America" Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks player says police pinned him down and held his hands behind his back then used a Taser on him outside a Walgreens store Jan. 26.An officer approached Brown for illegal parking, called for backup and six squads responded.Brown says he gets mad every time he watches the police body camera video because he was "pretty much defenseless." The video was publicly released Wednesday.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports three officers have been disciplined in the arrest, with suspensions ranging from two to 15 days.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets are so full of physical defenders that Golden State coach Steve Kerr said many look like they could play football.And with three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt watching from a courtside seat Thursday night, this team long known for its powerful offense relied again on its defense to beat the Warriors 98-94 and take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals."Both teams are playing their guys heavy minutes so shots will fall or not," James Harden said. "But I think whoever can buckle down and get stops consecutively and create opportunities with their defense is going to win or have a chance at winning games."The last two games, we've done that."Indeed. The Rockets bounced back from an embarrassing 41-point loss in Game 3, when Golden State scored 126 points, to hold the Warriors to fewer than 100 points in two straight wins. Houston's stingy defense helped the Rockets come out on top on a night when Harden, the MVP front-runner, was 0... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Body camera video showing police using a stun gun on an NBA player over a parking violation is just the latest setback for efforts to improve relations between Milwaukee officers and the city's black population.The confrontation involving Sterling Brown of the Milwaukee Bucks also represents the first major challenge for new Police Chief Alfonso Morales, who took the job in February promising to restore public trust in a department besieged in recent years by excessive-force lawsuits."Milwaukee has all the ingredients to be a great city, but each time an incident like this occurs, we are reminded of how much work we still have to do," the city's Common Council said in a statement Thursday.Morales, a lifelong Milwaukee resident born to Mexican immigrants, pledged to be more transparent with cases of police misconduct, and he's already faced TV cameras twice this month to apologize for his officers' actions. The other case involved four officers caught on video kicking and... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue was answering a question about Boston's defense on LeBron James during a teleconference when he tripped the security system at his home.A piercing alarm sounded."Uh-oh," Lue said Thursday as he punched in a code to silence the screaming siren.While Lue and his home were clearly safe, and the light-hearted moment passed quickly, it was also symbolic of Cleveland's urgent situation.The Cavs are in a dangerous spot.Beaten for the third time in Boston in these home-sweet-home Eastern Conference finals, Cleveland will face its second elimination game of the postseason on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.Game 6 is for everything.Except, of course, if there's a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.Fueled by fueled-up Boston fans who must feel some sort of birthright to see their cherished team play in the Finals, the youthful Celtics again showed zero fear or hesitation on their parquet floor on Wednesday night during a 96-83 win in Game 5 that was never in... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named to the All-NBA second team.It's the second consecutive season that Antetokounmpo has been named second team All-NBA. He's the first Buck selected to an All-NBA team in back-to-back seasons since Sidney Moncrief in 1984-85 and 1985-86.In his fifth NBA season, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to their second consecutive playoff berth and the team's most wins since the 2009-10 season. He set new career highs in points (26.9) and rebounds (10.0) per game in addition to dishing out 4.8 assists per game, second-highest of his career. He also shot a career-best 52.9 percent from the field.Joining Antetokounmpoon on the All-NBA second team are San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge, Toronto's DeMar DeRozan, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City.