MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade has missed the playoffs only twice in his career, and the Miami Heat aren't exactly looking like a sure bet to get him one more trip to the postseason before retirement.And a struggling team has no relief in sight, either.The Heat play their next six contests on the road, a daunting stretch that starts Tuesday in Portland then moves to Sacramento, Golden State, Denver and Dallas in the last game before the All-Star break — then Philadelphia for the first game after the break. Entering Monday's games, four of those teams rank among the NBA's top 10 this season, and those six foes have a combined winning percentage of .610.All that comes with Miami currently having a tenuous grip, at best, on the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference — not at all helped by losing three home games in a four-day span last week."We've got to figure it out, man," said Wade, the 13-time All-Star in his 16th and final NBA season. "Like I tell the guys, it is not going to get any easier.... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade are both NBA champions, NBA Finals MVPs and longtime ambassadors for the game of basketball.And now, one more time, they're All-Stars.By special order of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Wade and Nowitzki were added Friday to the pool of players for the All-Star Game that will be played in Charlotte on Feb. 17. Each team will now have 13 players instead of the customary 12, and LeBron James — one of the captains — will be the one who decides which side Wade and Nowitzki will be joining.Wade said he reached out to Silver to thank him for the gesture."I appreciated my fans for voting for me, but I didn't want to be put in position to take a roster spot from someone who's getting their first opportunity to go to the All-Star Game or their second or third," Wade said. "I've had 12 chances at it. For the commissioner to create that opportunity for Dirk and myself, it's cool. I appreciate it more getting in this way, so I'll be there."Silver,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks traded away one star for the chance to sign two.If it works, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving bring the playoffs back to New York, it will have been the deal that finally got the Knicks moving toward the top after years of running in place.But if Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic turn into the frontcourt of the future in Dallas and the Knicks can't get anyone to take their money, basketball purgatory in New York could last a while longer.The Knicks entered themselves into the free agency game Thursday when they dealt Porzingis to the Mavericks in a move that helped open nearly $70 million more in salary cap space.The payoff could be enormous.Failure could take years to overcome, and the Knicks know that as well as anyone."That cap space don't mean nothing unless they get guys ... because you're going to have to sign somebody. And if you sign guys who aren't superstars, who are just good players, it's going to kill your franchise for the next 10-15 years,"... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade are both NBA champions, NBA Finals MVPs and longtime ambassadors for the game of basketball.And now, one more time, they're All-Stars.By special order of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Wade and Nowitzki were added Friday to the pool of players for the All-Star Game that will be played in Charlotte on Feb. 17. Each team will now have 13 players instead of the customary 12, and LeBron James — one of the captains — will be the one who decides which side Wade and Nowitzki will be joining."Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade embody the best of the NBA: remarkable skill, drive and professionalism as well as a deep devotion to strengthening their communities and growing the game around the world," Silver said. "As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs."Also Friday, Silver announced that Brooklyn's D'Angelo Russell will make his All-Star debut. Russell... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade are both NBA champions, NBA Finals MVPs and longtime ambassadors for the game of basketball.And now, one more time, they're All-Stars.By special order of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Wade and Nowitzki were added Friday to the pool of players for the All-Star Game that will be played in Charlotte on Feb. 17. Each team will now have 13 players instead of the customary 12, and LeBron James — one of the captains — will be the one who decides which side Wade and Nowitzki will be joining."Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade embody the best of the NBA: remarkable skill, drive and professionalism as well as a deep devotion to strengthening their communities and growing the game around the world," Silver said. "As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs."Also Friday, Silver announced that Brooklyn's D'Angelo Russell will make his All-Star debut. Russell... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks traded away one star for the chance to sign two.If it works, and Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving bring the playoffs back to New York, it will have been the deal that finally got the Knicks moving toward the top after years of running in place.But if Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic turn into the frontcourt of the future in Dallas and the Knicks can't get anyone to take their money, basketball purgatory in New York could last a while longer.The Knicks entered themselves into the free agency game Thursday when they dealt Porzingis to the Mavericks in a move that helped open nearly $70 million more in salary cap space.The payoff can be enormous.Failure can take years to overcome, and the Knicks know that as well as anyone."That cap space don't mean nothing unless they get guys ... because you're going to have to sign somebody. And if you sign guys who aren't superstars, who are just good players, it's going to kill your franchise for the next 10-15 years,"... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Miami's Dwyane Wade are both NBA champions, NBA Finals MVPs and longtime ambassadors for the game of basketball.And now, one more time, they're All-Stars.By special order of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Wade and Nowitzki were added Friday to the pool of players for the All-Star Game that will be played in Charlotte on Feb. 17. Each team will now have 13 players instead of the customary 12, and LeBron James — one of the captains — will be the one who decides which side Wade and Nowitzki will be joining."Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade embody the best of the NBA: remarkable skill, drive and professionalism as well as a deep devotion to strengthening their communities and growing the game around the world," Silver said. "As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs."Wade, who is retiring after 16 seasons, will be an All-Star for the 13th time. Nowitzki is heading... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki are going to the All-Star Game one more time, added Friday to the player pool by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.Wade and Nowitzki will be drafted by team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo in a newly added third round of the Feb. 7 draft for the Feb. 17 game in Charlotte.James and Antetokounmpo will draft starters first, then choose reserves, and then James will decide if he wants Wade or Nowitzki. Antetokounmpo's team will get the other as its 13th and final player.Silver says he did it because Wade and Nowitzki "embody the best of the NBA."Wade is now a 13-time All-Star and will be retiring at the end of his 16th season. Nowitzki is in his 21st season and has not said if he is retiring or not.

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Dwyane Wade considered ending his NBA career after last season. Carmelo Anthony was one of the people who told him he needed a proper goodbye.On Sunday, Wade's final lap around the league even brought Anthony back to Madison Square Garden.Anthony sat courtside at his former home to watch Wade help Miami beat the New York Knicks 106-97."I didn't know he was coming. I found out before the game. But it meant a lot, man. I am glad," Wade said."I talked to him this summer. We went out to dinner and I was contemplating retirement and Melo was one of the ones that was pushing me to come back and he was like, 'Flash, you can't go out like that. You got to come back and get that love, that last tour kind of.' And he was a big part of me making that decision. I am glad he came out (to) see me play in person, you know, maybe for the last time. So it's cool."Anthony spent 6½ seasons with the Knicks before they traded him to Oklahoma City in September 2017. He's still looking for a team... [More]

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is a captain and an All-Star starter — again.Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will choose his own teammates as the other captain.And Hornets guard Kemba Walker is about to make his first All-Star start, on his home floor in Charlotte.While there were perhaps mild surprises, there were no real stunners during Thursday night's unveiling of the starters for the NBA All-Star Game that will be played in Charlotte on Feb. 17. James and Antetokounmpo are captains, their perk for being the leading vote-getters out of the Western and Eastern Conferences, and nine of this year's 10 starters have been chosen to begin All-Star Games in the past.Walker is the lone exception, and broke into a smile when realizing he was a pick."It's kind of surreal," Walker told TNT during the broadcast to announce the starters.The starting guards from the East are Boston's Kyrie Irving and Walker. The East frontcourt picks were Antetokounmpo, Toronto's Kawhi Leonard... [More]

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks are the captains for this year's NBA All-Star Game.James and Antetokounmpo were the leading vote-getters from each conference, making them the players who will choose who plays on which team for the Feb. 17 matchup at Charlotte.They will draft their teams on Feb. 7. As the leading overall vote-getter, James will have the first pick — just as he did last year, when the captain's-choice format was used for the All-Star rosters for the first time.James extended his NBA record by being chosen as a starter for the 15th straight time. Antetokounmpo is now a three-time All-Star.The starting guards from the East are Boston's Kyrie Irving and Charlotte's Kemba Walker — who'll get to start on his home floor. The East frontcourt picks were Antetokounmpo, Toronto's Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. From the West, Stephen Curry and reigning NBA MVP James Harden were the picks at guard, with James, Golden... [More]

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks are the captains for this year's NBA All-Star Game.James and Antetokounmpo were the leading vote-getters from each conference, making them the players who will choose who plays on which team for the Feb. 17 matchup at Charlotte.They will draft their teams on Feb. 7. As the leading overall vote-getter, James will have the first pick — just as he did last year, when the captain's-choice format was used for the All-Star rosters for the first time.James extended his NBA record by being chosen as a starter for the 15th straight time. Antetokounmpo is now a three-time All-Star.The starting guards from the East are Boston's Kyrie Irving and Charlotte's Kemba Walker — who'll get to start on his home floor. The East frontcourt picks were Antetokounmpo, Toronto's Kawhi Leonard and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. From the West, Stephen Curry and reigning NBA MVP James Harden were the picks at guard, with James, Golden... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Oladipo's season is over. The Indiana Pacers intend to make sure his injury doesn't derail theirs, too.After learning the All-Star guard faces season-ending surgery for a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, Oladipo's teammates quickly banded together in hopes of surprising the NBA again."It's very, very tough to see this happen to a guy who is so positive and means so much to this team," co-captain Thaddeus Young said Thursday. "But we can't just go be sad. We have to go out and grind out wins and stay together through thick and thin."Young and his teammates demonstrated what that might look like Wednesday night after Oladipo crumpled to the ground awkwardly as he tried to defend an outlet pass against Toronto. He was taken off the court on a stretcher with 4:05 left in the first half. Team officials announced during the game it was a "serious injury" to his right knee but waited until Thursday's MRI to provide more details.Even without their leader, Indiana... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A win inside the building where as a skinny kid two decades ago Dwyane Wade dared to dream. Displays of love from the city where he was raised. Shows of love from the school where he became a national name. A surprise arrival by family members to cap a celebration that included ovation after ovation after ovation.This was Wade's weekend.It wasn't the last steps of Wade's final season as an NBA player, but what took place in Chicago on Saturday and Milwaukee on Sunday will be among the most memorable moments he cherishes during this yearlong commemoration of his basketball life. Chicago celebrated a native son who has never forgotten where he came from. Milwaukee and Marquette celebrated the hero of their Final Four team 16 years ago.Summing it all up in one word, Wade chose "perfect.""Having my last Chicago game, and then to follow it with Dwyane Wade Day at my college, for 'One Last Dance,' besides my last game in Miami this is the peak of it," Wade said after 15th-ranked... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Dwyane Wade's last dance went back to college.The Miami Heat guard — who has dubbed his 16th and final NBA season "One Last Dance" — was the guest of honor at Marquette's game against Providence on Sunday. Wade starred for the Golden Eagles during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, leading Marquette to the Final Four in his last year of college before he jumped to the NBA.It was part of a weekend celebration for Wade, who played for the final time in his hometown of Chicago on Saturday night when the Heat topped the Bulls. He and his family made the quick trip north to frosty Milwaukee, where students and fans donned gold T-shirts bearing his name and No. 3 on the back for "Dwyane Wade Day.""I think my younger self would be proud of me," Wade said.The big surprise came at halftime, when Marquette and some members of Wade's inner circle stunned him by having his two oldest sons and the nephew that he's raising come onto the court. Zaire Wade, his oldest, presented his father... [More]

BIRMINGHAM, Michigan (AP) — The Miami Heat have fined Dion Waiters an undisclosed amount for his expletive-laden comments about playing time earlier this week.Waiters made the comments to reporters from two South Florida newspapers after Miami's lopsided loss in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. The Heat were off Wednesday and announced the fine Thursday."We fined him and we addressed it as a team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.Waiters has played in five games this season, all as a reserve. He missed just over a full year while recovering from surgery to repair a long-problematic ankle, and has repeatedly said that being patient throughout the process is a challenge for him."Look, this is going to be very difficult for Dion," Spoelstra said. "I have empathy for everything he's gone through in the last year to get back to where he is right now. But this is not about him. This is only about the team and it's about winning."Miami is 21-21 this season, going into its game Friday at Detroit.Waiters... [More]

Imagine this: Kevin Durant is out of bounds by an enormous margin, all three referees somehow miss the obvious infraction and Golden State winds up getting a basket that it didn't deserve to take the lead with a few seconds remaining.It seemed implausible.That is, until it happened.When such a scene played out last week in the Houston-Golden State overtime thriller, James Harden kept a ton of egg from landing on the NBA's face when he connected on a 3-pointer to give the Rockets a win in a game they would have screamed bloody murder about otherwise. But what if he missed? Or worse, if a call that big got missed in Game 7 of the NBA Finals?"How do you miss that?" TNT analyst Reggie Miller mused while watching the Durant replay.An obvious question, with an obvious answer: It's time for a change.Everyone in the NBA replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey that night surely saw Durant standing out of bounds. But there is no mechanism for the replay crews to trigger a review of such a play — since,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwyane Wade made his 500th career 3-pointer in the third quarter to join Michael Jordan and LeBron James on an elite list.On a miserable shooting night for Miami — the Heat had missed 20 of their first 22 attempts beyond the arc — Wade joined Jordan and James as the only players in NBA history with at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 3s.The Heat, trying to win for the 13th time in their last 18 games, trailed Atlanta by 21 points late in the third Sunday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports