MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James believes Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey "was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation" regarding the potential consequences of his actions when he tweeted in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.In his first public comments since the Los Angeles Lakers returned home from a strange weeklong tour of China immediately after Morey's incendiary tweet , James' lengthy answer to a question about whether Morey should be punished for his tweet didn't appear to specifically address the merits of Morey's support of Hong Kong sovereignty.The Lakers superstar instead characterized the international incident caused by Morey's tweet as a cautionary tale about the power of social media."Yes, we do have freedom of speech," James said. "But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others, when you only think about yourself. I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Add Miami's Tyler Herro to the list of rookies who look ready for the regular season.Herro scored Miami's first 14 points on Monday night, going 5 for 5 in that stretch, and finished with 23 points in a 120-87 Heat victory over the Atlanta Hawks.Through three games in this preseason, Herro — the No. 13 pick in this year's draft — is shooting 18 for 33 from the field for 49 points."The kid can play," Heat assistant coach Malik Allen said in a televised halftime interview. "He has a confidence but he's a student of the game, he's smart, he's an extremely quick learner and you're seeing that."Among those taken in June's draft, some have wasted no time in announcing their presence to the NBA world.New Orleans' Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick, is averaging 23.3 points and shooting 71% in the Pelicans' four preseason games — all wins. Ja Morant, the No. 2 pick for Memphis, is among the league's assist leaders in exhibition season with 23 in his first three games.No. 3 pick RJ Barrett... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James believes Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey "was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation" regarding the potential consequences of his actions when he tweeted in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.In his first public comments since the Los Angeles Lakers returned home from a strange weeklong tour of China immediately after Morey's incendiary tweet, James' lengthy answer to a question about whether Morey should be punished for his tweet didn't appear to specifically address the merits of Morey's support of Hong Kong sovereignty.The Lakers superstar instead characterized the international incident caused by Morey's tweet as a cautionary tale about the power of social media."Yes, we do have freedom of speech," James said. "But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others, when you only think about yourself. I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James believes Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey "was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation" and the potential consequences of his actions when he tweeted in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.In his first public comments since the Los Angeles Lakers returned home from a strange weeklong tour of China immediately after Morey's incendiary tweet, James' lengthy answer to a question about whether Morey should be punished for the tweet didn't specifically address the merits of Morey's support of Hong Kong sovereignty.The Lakers superstar instead characterized the international incident caused by Morey's tweet as a cautionary tale about the power of social media."Yes, we do have freedom of speech," James said. "But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you're not thinking about others, when you only think about yourself. I don't want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and what we say and what we do. Even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, it can be a lot of negative that comes with it."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

Preseason numbers often mean almost nothing. Rotations are unusual, starters rarely play much, and few if any teams are putting a premium on winning games.As such, it's tough to glean much from exhibition stats.But what the Boston Celtics and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson — the No. 1 pick in this year's draft — have been doing so far in the preseason certainly stands out.The Celtics are 3-0 after beating Cleveland on Sunday — and have put together a huge run in all three of those games. The latest was a 50-17 spurt against the Cavaliers, a game that was close for most of the first quarter before Boston built what eventually became a 54-point lead.Boston's other big runs of note in this preseason were a 41-17 stretch last Sunday against Charlotte, and opening the game with a 29-4 burst at Orlando on Friday. On top of the 50-17 run against the Cavs, they added a 26-8 run in the fourth quarter as well.No matter who the Celtics have on the court, defense has been the constant. Boston is... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Rockets are back home in Houston, looking to leave behind the distractions from their trip to Asia.Their two games in Japan were overshadowed by the aftermath of a tweet by general manager Daryl Morey in support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, angering fans and officials in China.In their first practice since returning, the Rockets insisted they wouldn't let the fallout distract them from preparing from the season."Guys can handle it," coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We still got good work in. Everything's fine, but you know what happened (is) regrettable, and it happened, but as I said, our work will get done."Veteran P.J. Tucker denied that dealing with this situation has been a distraction to this team trying to contend for its first title since winning back-to-back championships in 1994-95."Not really, honestly," he said. "This time of season, everybody's getting in shape, getting ready for the season, focusing in. So with all of the things that go on in life,... [More]

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers did not get out of China unscathed.Davis will have tests Sunday to determine the full severity of a right thumb injury, which the Lakers have initially diagnosed as a sprain. He got hurt in the first quarter of the Lakers' 91-77 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Shenzhen in the finale of the NBA China Games series.Caris LeVert scored 22 points on 8 for 11 shooting for Brooklyn, which swept the two matchups between the clubs in China. Taurean Prince scored 14 for Brooklyn, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.Avery Bradley led the Lakers with 14 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11.The encouraging sign for the Lakers is that Davis — who has a history of being plagued by injuries throughout his career — continued to play for a few minutes after getting hurt while attempting to block a shot. He and LeBron James both shot 2 for 7 and scored six points apiece for the Lakers; James, like Davis, played the entire first quarter... [More]

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers did not get out of China unscathed.Davis will have tests Sunday to determine the full severity of a right thumb injury, which the Lakers have initially diagnosed as a sprain. He got hurt in the first quarter of the Lakers' 91-77 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Shenzhen in the finale of the NBA China Games series.Caris LeVert scored 22 points on 8 for 11 shooting for Brooklyn, which swept the two matchups between the clubs in China. Taurean Prince scored 14 for Brooklyn, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.Avery Bradley led the Lakers with 14 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11.The encouraging sign for the Lakers is that Davis — who has a history of being plagued by injuries throughout his career — continued to play for a few minutes after getting hurt while attempting to block a shot. He and LeBron James both shot 2 for 7 and scored six points apiece for the Lakers; James, like Davis, played the entire first quarter... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Kings forward Trevor Ariza will miss the final two preseason games after he had a procedure to remove a lipoma from his back.The Kings said Ariza had the procedure Friday and would be re-evaluated after the preseason finale against Melbourne United on Wednesday.In addition, forward-center Harry Giles is sidelined by a sore left knee and also is likely to miss the last two preseason games. He underwent an MRI on Sept. 30.Sacramento signed forward Hollis Thompson, who averaged 16.6 points per game with the Phoenix Suns G League affiliate last season.The Kings open the regular season Oct. 23 at Phoenix.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sacramento Kings forward Trevor Ariza will miss the final two preseason games after he had a procedure to remove a benign tumor from his back.The Kings said Ariza had the procedure Friday and would be re-evaluated after the preseason finale against Melbourne United on Wednesday.In addition, forward-center Harry Giles is sidelined by a sore left knee and also is likely to miss the last two preseason games. He underwent an MRI on Sept. 30.The Kings open the regular season Oct. 23 at Phoenix.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers have exercised contract options on TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday.Leaf was the team's first-round draft pick in 2017 and has averaged 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in his first two seasons in the league. The 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward is expected to play a bigger role this season.Holiday showed promise as a rookie. The 6-1 point guard and 2018 first-round pick scored 5.9 points and dished out 1.7 assists in 2018-19 and should log more minutes now that point guard Darren Collison and backup Cory Joseph are no longer on the roster.Indiana also signed veteran guard Walt Lemon Jr., who played with Boston, Chicago and New Orleans over the past two seasons.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SHANGHAI (AP) — Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving left the team's preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers about one minute after tip-off after taking a hit to the face.Irving was attempting to play through a facial fracture, an injury that occurred in a pickup game last month. He was wearing a clear mask in an effort to protect his face, but appeared to bump into Lakers guard Rajon Rondo while playing defense just 1:06 into the contest.Irving's face made contact with Rondo's upper arm. The Nets guard immediately winced in pain, took the mask off and motioned to the bench that he needed a substitute.The Nets said Irving would not return to the game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SHANGHAI (AP) — Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving left the team's preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers about one minute after tip-off after taking a hit to the face.Irving was attempting to play through a facial fracture, an injury that occurred in a pickup game last month. He was wearing a clear mask in an effort to protect his face, but appeared to bump into Lakers guard Rajon Rondo while playing defense just 1:06 into the contest.Irving's face made contact with Rondo's upper arm. The Nets guard immediately winced in pain, took the mask off and motioned to the bench that he needed a substitute.It was not immediately clear if Irving would return to the game.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology.Marriott issued one. So did Delta. Mercedes-Benz, too.The NBA, embroiled in a rift caused by a tweet expressing support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, has avoided going that route — for now. But with billions at stake from things like merchandise sales and media rights, some experts are wondering if anything other than an apology from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will mend this fence, especially with the Chinese indicating that is what they want."I think that Commissioner Silver might have to do what everyone in our country doesn't want him to have to do," said Windy Dees, a sports marketing expert at the University of Miami. "He may have to say, 'I understand that your government, your political system, your culture, your ideologies are different than ours and we shouldn't push our beliefs on you.'""And that's exactly what Americans... [More]

When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology.Marriott issued one. So did Delta. Mercedes-Benz, too.The NBA, embroiled in a rift caused by a tweet expressing support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, has avoided going that route — for now. But with billions at stake from things like merchandise sales and media rights, some experts are wondering if anything other than an apology from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will mend this fence, especially with the Chinese indicating that is what they want."I think that Commissioner Silver might have to do what everyone in our country doesn't want him to have to do," said Windy Dees, a sports marketing expert at the University of Miami. "He may have to say, 'I understand that your government, your political system, your culture, your ideologies are different than ours and we shouldn't push our beliefs on you.'""And that's exactly what Americans... [More]

When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology.Marriott issued one. So did Delta. Mercedes-Benz, too.The NBA, embroiled in a rift caused by a tweet expressing support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong, has avoided going that route — for now. But with billions at stake from things like merchandise sales and media rights, some experts are wondering if anything other than an apology from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will mend this fence, especially with the Chinese indicating that is what they want."I think that Commissioner Silver might have to do what everyone in our country doesn't want him to have to do," said Windy Dees, a sports marketing expert at the University of Miami. "He may have to say, 'I understand that your government, your political system, your culture, your ideologies are different than ours and we shouldn't push our beliefs on you.'""And that's exactly what Americans... [More]

If the NBA really wanted to make a statement it should have never issued a statement, much less two.No need to complicate things when two team owners had already genuflected to the irate citizens of China. Or when James Harden took it upon himself to apologize to an entire nation.The simple path for the NBA was to do what the creators of the show "South Park" did this week after finding themselves caught between an authoritarian regime that tolerates no dissent and the pile of cash that doing business in China can bring.Admit what is really important."Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts," Trey Parker and Matt Stone said in a statement of their own. "We too love money more than freedom and democracy."The "South Park" creators, of course, make their millions by being funny. And there's a lot to chuckle about in a post that, among other things, declares that the leader of China doesn't really look like Winnie the Pooh after all.There's nothing funny... [More]