DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets woke up out of first place in the Western Conference for the first time in 2019.Arriving at work on Wednesday, a stark reminder of just why awaited: Watching the footage of Golden State hitting 21 3-pointers.It wasn't fun viewing.The playoff-contending Nuggets learned a hard truth in a 142-111 loss to the Warriors in which they allowed an NBA-record 51-point first quarter and all those 3-pointers: They still have plenty of work to do."This was not a blame day," coach Michael Malone said after a lively practice that followed the film session. "This was not anything of the sort. It was to watch film, to learn from it, to get better."If we want to be the team we all talk about being, we have to learn from this."In a playoff-like atmosphere Tuesday and in front of a capacity crowd at the Pepsi Center, the Nuggets couldn't raise their game .On the other side, the occasion brought out the best in the Warriors."We don't have that level yet," said Malone, whose... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — LeBron James has been cleared to practice with the Los Angeles Lakers after they return from their upcoming two-game road trip.The Lakers gave the latest update on James' groin injury Wednesday.James strained his groin on Christmas. He will have missed 13 consecutive games by the time Los Angeles returns from the road this weekend, matching the most games ever missed in one season by the four-time NBA MVP.The Lakers only say James will "progress towards a return to game play" after he rejoins practice next week.He will be sidelined for at least four weeks, the longest stretch he has been out in his 16-season NBA career.The Lakers (24-21) beat Chicago on Tuesday to improve to 4-7 without James.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization.Sabah newspaper says the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office had also prepared an extradition request for the NBA player. Officials at the prosecutor's office could not be reached by The Associated Press for comment.Kanter, who didn't go with the Knicks this week for their game in London because he feared he could be killed over his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responded on Twitter that the Turkish government could not present "any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing.""I don't even have a parking ticket in the U.S.," he wrote Wednesday.Kanter has been an outspoken critic of Erdogan, and his Turkish passport was revoked in 2017.This time, Sabah says prosecutors are seeking an Interpol "Red Notice" citing Kanter's ties to exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for a failed... [More]

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization.Sabah newspaper says the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office had also prepared an extradition request for the NBA player. Officials at the prosecutor's office could not be reached by The Associated Press for comment.Kanter, who didn't go with the Knicks this week for their game in London because he feared he could be killed over his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, responded on Twitter that the Turkish government could not present "any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing.""I don't even have a parking ticket in the U.S.," he wrote Wednesday.Kanter has been an outspoken critic of Erdogan, and his Turkish passport was revoked in 2017.This time, Sabah says prosecutors are seeking an Interpol "Red Notice" citing Kanter's ties to exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for a failed... [More]

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization.Sabah newspaper says the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office had also prepared an extradition request for the NBA player. Officials at the prosecutor's office could not be reached for comment.Sabah says prosecutors are seeking an Interpol "Red Notice" citing Kanter's ties to Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for a failed coup in 2016, and accusing him of providing financial support to his group.Earlier this month, Kanter refused to travel to London for a regular-season NBA game, saying he feared he could be assassinated for his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Kanter's Turkish passport was revoked in 2017.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NBA teams piled up the points like they hadn't done in 35 years.Three teams scored 140 points Tuesday night, with the Golden State Warriors setting an NBA record by pouring in 51 during the first quarter of their victory over Denver.The Warriors went on to a 142-111 win that moved them ahead of the Nuggets into first place in the Western Conference."They made a lot of shots, to be honest," Denver's Nikola Jokic said. "They played really good basketball at a high level."And that wasn't even the biggest total of the night.Philadelphia and Atlanta also surpassed 140.The league said it was the first time three teams scored 140 on the same night since Jan. 7, 1984, when the Warriors (154), Nuggets (141) and Knicks (140) reached the mark."Tonight the shots just kept falling," said Atlanta's Trae Young, who was referring to the Hawks' game but could have been talking about a few of them. "When you see the ball go in like we did tonight, I think it just keeps rolling."Philadelphia went for 149... [More]

NBA teams piled up the points like they hadn't done in 35 years.Three teams scored 140 points Tuesday night, with the Golden State Warriors setting an NBA record by pouring in 51 during the first quarter of their victory over Denver.The Warriors went on to a 142-111 win that moved them ahead of the Nuggets into first place in the Western Conference."They made a lot of shots, to be honest," Denver's Nikola Jokic said. "They played really good basketball at a high level."And that wasn't even the biggest total of the night.Philadelphia went for 149, with an 83-point first half, in a 42-point rout of Minnesota in the first meeting between the teams since the Jimmy Butler trade.Also, the Atlanta Hawks beat Oklahoma City 142-126.The league said it was the first time three teams scored 140 on the same night since Jan. 7, 1984 , when the Warriors (154), Nuggets (141) and Knicks (140) reached the mark.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The Golden State Warriors scored an NBA-record 51 points in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.Kevin Durant led the way with 17 points as the Warriors shot 76 percent from the field. The team hit 10 of 14 from 3-point range, with four from Stephen Curry and three each by Klay Thompson and Durant. The Warriors led 51-38 after the quarter.The old mark for an opening quarter was 50 points and accomplished by several teams. The last time it happened was also against Denver, when Phoenix erupted for 50 on Nov. 10, 1990.Golden State and Denver are the top two teams in the Western Conference.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks signed forward Bonzie Colson to a two-way contract Tuesday.The 6-foot-5 forward has spent the 2018-19 season with the Canton Charge of the NBA G League after going undrafted in last year's draft out of Notre Dame. In 23 games with the Charge, Colson averaged 15.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 blocks in 28.9 minutes per game. He also shot 49.1 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3-point range.The 23-year-old Colson played in 125 games (92 starts) with Notre Dame over four seasons.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Luke Walton began a wellness program for his Lakers coaching staff. Steve Kerr reached out to Steve Clifford after each spent significant time away from the sideline because of debilitating headaches and other symptoms.Coaches around the league are taking preventive measures to help deal with the grind and stresses of a long NBA season.That hasn't always been the case. Now, the NBA Coaches Association provides guidance to its members on everything from diet and exercise to sleep and mental health."Well, we're trying. We all are trying, we all are conscious of it," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think we're very good at it, honestly. I know I've tried. It's still very hard to accomplish. The game consumes us. It consumes me at least, and it should, if you love it. And it's just hard to turn off. It's important. We have to do it. We should have been doing it."After a late arrival in Bay Area last month, it was after 10 p.m. when Rivers had the team tissue... [More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Kings guard Iman Shumpert was stopped from going into Portland's locker room by arena and Trail Blazers security after Sacramento's 115-107 victory Monday night.Shumpert apparently was angry at Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, who set a hard screen in the second half."Some stuff needed to be between me and him, a conversation between two men," Shumpert said. "Some stuff happened out there that we needed to have a conversation about. That's it."Nurkic shrugged it off."I'm not going to worry about it," he said. "He's going into retirement soon. I'm not going to worry about a guy who's going into retirement soon."The 28-year-old Shumpert was called for a technical foul in the third quarter. He later was walked to the bench by a teammate after arguing with someone on Portland's bench.After the game, Shumpert tweeted : "I apologize to the fans if I made a scene. Wasn't my intention but this 2019 stuff is all about a 'story.' Don't let that distract you from this young Scores ball club getting a great victory against a tested Blazers team."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Luke Walton began a wellness program for his Lakers coaching staff. Steve Kerr reached out to Steve Clifford after each spent significant time away from the sideline because of debilitating headaches and other symptoms.Coaches around the league are taking preventive measures to help deal with the grind and stresses of a long NBA season.That hasn't always been the case. Now, the NBA Coaches Association provides guidance to its members on everything from diet and exercise to sleep and mental health."Well, we're trying. We all are trying, we all are conscious of it," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "I don't think we're very good at it, honestly. I know I've tried. It's still very hard to accomplish. The game consumes us. It consumes me at least, and it should, if you love it. And it's just hard to turn off. It's important. We have to do it. We should have been doing it."After a late arrival in Bay Area last month, it was after 10 p.m. when Rivers had the team tissue... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — In less than a month in Phoenix, Kelly Oubre Jr. is bringing energy, defense and scoring — not to mention style — to the perennial last-place Suns.Teammate Devin Booker said there's no use trying to top Oubre when it comes to the way he dresses away from the game."That's the fashion king, man," Booker said after the Suns practiced Monday. "I just stay out of the way."It's an aspect of life that Oubre takes seriously. He even served as an intern at Esquire magazine two summers ago.When did that sense of style begin?"Out of the womb, man," Oubre said. "I'm from New Orleans. Culture and just swag kind of runs in our blood out there."Oubre was 10 years old when Hurricane Katrina forced his family to make an abrupt move to the Houston area, even though they had nowhere to go."It was really tough," he said. "It was the toughest thing I've ever had to deal with in my life. Homeless, having to sleep in your car, hotels, things like that. But my dad, he pushed us through. He was a... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — About two months after Jimmy Butler initiated their breakup, the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to pay him a visit.Just one week after the ouster of basketball boss Tom Thibodeau , the Timberwolves have enough of their own issues to work through. They did their best to downplay the significance of Tuesday's game at Philadelphia that will pit them against Butler for the first time since the trade , but there are sure to be some raw emotions that night. The question is whether they'll stay bottled up."Philly's a really good team, one of the best teams in the East, so I feel like it'll be a great battle," Wolves guard Andrew Wiggins said Monday after practice, adding: "Jimmy, every game he plays hard. So it's not like he's going to play harder."The energy that Butler brought, of course, was never in doubt. The problem was how disruptive his presence became, after he requested a trade.Thibodeau tried to hang on to his hand-picked locker-room leader as long as he could,... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The NBA has cleared the Cleveland Cavaliers of any wrongdoing in their brief alliance with forward Patrick McCaw.At the urging of the Golden State Warriors, the league investigated Cleveland's signing of McCaw as a restricted free agent before releasing him. McCaw played two seasons with the defending champions but did not re-sign with them last summer. The Cavs signed him to a two-year, $6 million offer sheet last month the Warriors chose not to match.McCaw played in three games for the Cavs and was waived before his contract became guaranteed. He signed with Toronto last week.The league said Monday it found "no violation of the league's collective bargaining agreement, including the anti-circumvention rules."The Cavs could have forfeited a draft pick had they been found guilty of any offenses.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic is happiest when he's simply dribbling the ball up the floor. Or so the Denver Nuggets big man has been told."My godfather," Jokic said , "is always telling me, 'You look so happy when you're dribbling. You don't even need to shoot or pass it. Just punt it into the stands.'"Now that would be something new for Jokic. Or just keep doing what he's doing.Led by Jokic's All-Star-level play, the Nuggets are out front in the Western Conference at the halfway mark of the season. They ride a 12-game home win streak into their showdown Tuesday against Golden State — the team everyone figured would be leading the West."We're doing good right now," Jokic said.At 29-13, the Nuggets are tied for their best NBA start in franchise history with a 1976-77 squad that featured David Thompson and Dan Issel. This also marks the latest in a season the team has led the conference since March 16, 1977.It's a tenuous lead, though, and just a half-game ahead of the Warriors (29-14), who've... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving will sit out Boston's game against Brooklyn on Monday night because of a right quadriceps injury.Irving says he was hurt Saturday in a loss at Orlando. He adds he expects to return Wednesday against Toronto.The Celtics say guard Marcus Smart also is unavailable because of an illness.Boston has lost two consecutive games.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — James Harden had a game for the history books.That's good and bad.Harden scored 38 points Sunday night in Houston's 116-109 loss in Orlando, marking the 16th consecutive time that he's scored at least 30 or more points — matching Kobe Bryant for the league's longest such streak since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.But Harden also was 1 for 17 from 3-point range, tying the league's single-game record for most misses from beyond the arc."They just didn't go in," Harden shrugged afterward.Damon Stoudamire was 5 for 21 from 3-point range for Portland against Golden State on April 15, 2005. Until Sunday, that was the only time a player had missed 16 3s in a game.The NBA's greatest shooters have had awful nights from 3-point range — Dennis Scott once went 2 for 17, Ray Allen once went 1 for 14, Stephen Curry has an 0 for 11 game on his resume. Harden went 0 for 11 from deep in Game 5 of last year's Western Conference finals against Golden State, and has been 0 for 10 on three... [More]

The NBA changed the All-Star voting process two years ago, in part to prevent Zaza Pachulia being elected a starter.Instead, it might keep Dwyane Wade from being one — again. Luka Doncic and Derrick Rose, too.Entering the last full week of balloting, Wade would be in a good position for a farewell All-Star start under the old system, which was solely dependent on fan votes. He's running second among Eastern Conference guards, with a sizeable gap to No. 3 Kemba Walker after the second set of returns were released last week.Doncic is second among West forwards in a bid to start as a rookie, and Rose is ahead of MVP James Harden in the second spot in the West backcourt.But fan vote is now just 50 percent of the process, a change that was made after Pachulia was undeservedly nearly elected a starter through a huge overseas push in 2016. The players' vote and a media panel each account for 25 percent, and in its first year it did stop Pachulia, who would have been elected to start by fans in... [More]

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson is expected to miss at least two to four weeks because of a sprained left ankle.The Grizzlies announced Sunday that Anderson had a Grade 2 sprain. Anderson hurt the ankle Saturday in a 112-108 loss at Miami.Anderson has made 38 starts this year in his first season with the Grizzlies. He is averaging 7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 29.7 minutes.The 6-foot-9 Anderson received a four-year, $37.2 million deal with the Grizzlies as a restricted free agent last summer after spending his first four seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports