NEW YORK (AP) — Team LeBron against Team Stephen is the NBA's new All-Star matchup.LeBron James and Stephen Curry will go head-to-head again, this time as captains who pick teams for the revamped NBA All-Star Game.James and Curry received the most votes from fans in their conferences Thursday night and will draft from a pool of the rest of the NBA's best for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles."Captain huh? Really Appreciate all the votes from the fans, media and players!" Curry wrote on Twitter .James will pick first as the player who received the most fan votes. He will make his 14th All-Star Game start, one behind Kobe Bryant for the most in league history.He could start his team with Kevin Durant, who teamed with Curry to beat James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Or maybe he could go with Kyrie Irving, a former All-Star Game MVP who asked to be traded away from Cleveland last summer and has led Boston to the best record in the East.Perhaps it will be Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo,... [More]

Gregg Popovich was the coach nobody wanted.It's hard to fathom now, after five NBA championships as coach of the San Antonio Spurs and with him now alone in fifth place on the league's all-time victory list. But it's true — Popovich's decision to fire Bob Hill and make himself coach and general manager in December 1996 was horribly received at first, leaving even some of his own players baffled.The San Antonio Express-News took a poll after that season and found that 92 percent of Spurs fans wanted Popovich fired.As Popovich would suggest now (on politics, one of his favorite topics), sometimes voters get it wrong."The pressure is always there for any coach," Popovich said. "You've got to get the job done. If you don't, you're not there. If you do get it done, you get to stay."He said those words in 1997. He was right.Popovich now has 1,176 wins. He's 34 away from No. 4 Pat Riley, 45 shy of No. 3 Jerry Sloan, and should catch both next season. He would need 156 to catch No. 2 Lenny Wilkens,... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets star James Harden will miss at least two weeks with a left hamstring strain.The team announced Monday that the NBA's leading scorer has a grade 2 strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.Harden was injured on a missed layup late in the fourth quarter of Houston's 148-142 double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. He said after the game that he didn't think the injury was serious, but the guard was walking with a pronounced limp.The Rockets have the second-best record in the Western Conference behind Golden State at 26-9, and Harden leads the NBA with his scoring average of 32.3 points per game. He also is averaging 9.1 assists, ranking third in the league.Harden, who has played every game this season, has been extremely durable during his career, missing just two games since the start of the 2014-15 season.

G James Harden scored 40 points in Sunday's 148-142 double overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He also exited the game with a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated before Wednesday's game at Orlando. Harden departed with 44.9 seconds left in the fourth, clutching his hamstring following a miss on a driving layup. He was listed as questionable for Sunday's game with a right foot contusion.

G James Harden scored 34 points while shooting 7 of 27 from the field, 5 of 15 from 3-point range and 15 of 15 from the free-throw line. Four of the foul shots came on one possession thanks to a pair of technical fouls.Harden also posted 10 assists.

G James Harden, who had scored 50-plus points in consecutive games, finished with 29. He was 7 of 18 from the floor including 3 of 11 from behind the 3-point line. Harden also had 14 assists."We had several chances, we just couldn't convert and we couldn't get stops when we needed to," Harden said.

G James Harden is having his minutes monitored closely with others injured, including G Chris Paul. In the 14 complete games Paul played upon his return from a knee injury, Harden averaged 35.3 minutes, which would represent his lowest total in six seasons with Houston. Harden logged 41 minutes on Friday with Paul out with a left abbuctor strain.

G James Harden passed Elvin Hayes (11,762) for fourth place in franchise history. Harden has scored 11,781 points over 425 games with Houston.

G James Harden chipped in 26 points, six rebounds and six assists and Monday's win over the Jazz.

NEW YORK -- Michael Beasley had 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field to lead six New York players in double figures as the Knicks spoiled Carmelo Anthony's return to Madison Square Garden with a 111-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.Anthony, who was with the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and ranks as the seventh-leading scorer in franchise history, finished with 12 points -- including zero in the second half -- on 5-of-18 shooting in his first game back in New York since being traded during the offseason for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round draft pick.Anthony received a mostly warm reception from the MSG crowd during a highlight video played during introductions. While there were loud cheers for Anthony, who averaged nearly 25 points during his nearly seven-year run but had little playoff success, there was also a smattering of boos.Heat 90, Clippers 85MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra became the Miami franchise leader for coaching victories in a... [More]

G James Harden disregarded right knee discomfort as Houston extended its NBA-leading winning streak to 13 games with a gritty 115-111 victory against the Milwaukee Bucks at Toyota Center.Harden played through pain after sustaining his injury Friday against San Antonio. Harden also had six rebounds and five assists.

G James Harden (28 points, seven rebounds, six assists) struggled with his shot, but the Spurs failed to keep him off the line, with Harden sinking 14 of 16 free throws to offset his 2-of-11 3-point shooting.

G James Harden scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and matched his career high of 17 assists. Harden matched the franchise record for assists in a half with 14 prior to the intermission. He also had 14 in the first half of the 2016-17 season opener against the Lakers. John Lucas had 14 in the second half at Milwaukee on Oct. 27, 1977.

G James Harden's career scoring high is 56 points. He had 48 points Saturday against the Trail Blazers.

MEXICO CITY -- Caris LeVert recorded his first career double-double with 21 points and 10 assists as the Brooklyn Nets rallied from a 16-point deficit and beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-95 on Thursday night at Ciudad de Mexico Arena.On the first anniversary of his NBA debut, LeVert saw extensive time at point guard because of Spencer Dinwiddie's foul trouble. In 30 minutes, Levert shot 6 of 10 and also played effective defense on Russell Westbrook down the stretch.Westbrook finished with 31 points but shot 10 of 27 from the field. He scored only five points in the fourth quarter and was also forced into a turnover by LeVert with 2:11 remaining.Oklahoma City missed three consecutive shots in a span of seven seconds, and LeVert iced Brooklyn's fourth win in six games by hitting four foul shots in the final 18 seconds.Lakers 107, 76ers 104PHILADELPHIA -- Brandon Ingram hit a 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second left to lift Los Angeles over Philadelphia.Ingram led the Lakers with 21... [More]

G James Harden has averaged 35.4 points in his last five games against Utah.

LOS ANGELES -- James Harden scored 36 points and handed out nine assists, and the Houston Rockets won their sixth consecutive road game with a 118-95 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.Houston has won all six road games in the streak by at least 15 points, setting an NBA record.Eric Gordon scored 22 points off the bench and Chris Paul finished with 21 points and six assists for the Rockets.Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and 12 rebounds off the bench to lead the Lakers, while Brandon Ingram had 18 points and nine rebounds.Warriors 123, Heat 95MIAMI -- Stephen Curry scored 30 points to lead Golden State to a win over Miami.The Warriors, who are 3-0 on their current road trip, also got 24 points from Kevin Durant and 19 from Klay Thompson. Curry, who scored 16 points in the first quarter, made 11 of 16 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.The Heat were led by point guard Goran Dragic, who broke a slump with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. In his three previous games,... [More]

G James Harden scored 36 points and handed out nine assists, and the Rockets set an NBA record by winning their sixth straight road game by at least 15 points.

G James Harden of the Rockets has been named the NBA's Western Conference Player of the Month for October-November. Harden leads the NBA in scoring (31.5 points) and assists (9.8) while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. Harden's Rockets (17-4) own the best record in the Western Conference despite playing most of the first six weeks without All-Star PG Chris Paul.

G James Harden scored 29 points Wednesday as Houston beat Indiana. The Rockets won 12 of 13 games in November and Harden finished with averages of 34.9 points, 10.1 assists and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 43.2 percent (67 of 155) from beyond the arc in those games