LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has agreed to a contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. James' agency, Klutch Sports, confirmed the deal Wednesday during the first week of training camp for the NBA champions. The Lakers are still finalizing their new contract with Anthony Davis, who is also represented by Klutch CEO Rich Paul. The Los Angeles Times reported James’ extension is a two-year, $85 million deal through the 2022-23 season. The four-time NBA champion is getting the maximum deal to extend his tenure in Los Angeles, where he moved two seasons ago after his second stint with his hometown Cavaliers. James' previous contract ran only through the upcoming season with a player option for 2021-22, allowing the third-leading scorer in league history to become a free agent next summer if he chose. Instead, James reportedly committed to play through his 20th NBA season with the Lakers, where he moved in 2018 after title-winning tenures in Cleveland and Miami. James turns 36 years... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Posting the NBA’s best record once again couldn’t help the Milwaukee Bucks win a conference title, let alone a league championship.The top seed in the playoffs will spend the rest of the postseason wondering why it couldn’t ever regain its pre-hiatus form in the Disney bubble.Milwaukee was 53-12 when the coronavirus pandemic caused play to shut down for 4 ½ months. The Bucks went 8-10 after the season resumed in Florida, including a 4-1 loss in a best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Miami Heat.They never seemed to adapt to playing without fans as well as other teams did.“At the end of the day, every team went through that,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed all of Game 5 and most of Game 4 with a sprained right ankle. “It wasn’t just us. But maybe it affected us a little bit more.”Questions now turn to the future of Antetokounmpo, who won the MVP last season and is a finalist for the award this year. The 25-year-old forward’s contract is set to expire... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Posting the NBA’s best record once again couldn’t help the Milwaukee Bucks win a conference title, let alone a league championship.The top seed in the playoffs will spend the rest of the postseason wondering why it couldn’t ever regain its pre-hiatus form in the Disney bubble.Milwaukee was 53-12 when the coronavirus pandemic caused play to shut down for 4 ½ months. The Bucks went 8-10 after the season resumed in Florida, including a 4-1 loss in a best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Miami Heat.They never seemed to adapt to playing without fans as well as other teams did.“At the end of the day, every team went through that,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed all of Game 5 and most of Game 4 with a sprained right ankle. “It wasn’t just us. But maybe it affected us a little bit more.”Questions now turn to the future of Antetokounmpo, who won the MVP last season and is a finalist for the award this year. The 25-year-old forward’s contract is set to expire... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks will play another day.They’re waiting to see if reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will join them.It’s still a dire situation for the team that had the league's best regular-season record this season — they’re down 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Miami Heat, with another win-or-go-home test awaiting in Game 5 on Tuesday night. And they don’t know if Antetokounmpo, who sprained his right ankle in Game 3 and then again in Game 4, will be ready.“There’s hope,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’re not ruling him out, so I guess until he’s ruled out you have hope. He’s going to do everything he can to make himself available.”Also Tuesday: Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, with that matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets tied at a game apiece.Antetokounmpo was with the Bucks for their light practice Monday. He got treatment on the ankle, then left wearing a protective boot over his right... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks came to the arena and prepared for a game, just as they did three days earlier.This time, they played it.The rescheduled Game 5 of the Bucks' series against Orlando began Saturday as the NBA postseason resumed after a historic stoppage that players hope will bring change in their communities.“It was a moment in which the world needed and obviously we know this is going to be a long, ongoing process,” Bucks guard Wesley Matthews said. “But we’re in. We’re in the trenches and we’re in this fight for the long haul.”The teams were scheduled to play Wednesday afternoon, but the Bucks decided not to take the court to show their frustration over the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, along with other acts of racial injustice.That led to a two-day postponement of games that ended when players and owners agreed to expanded initiatives, many tied to increased voting awareness and opportunities, such as... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Milwaukee Bucks came to the arena and prepared for a game, just as they did three days earlier.This time, they played it.The rescheduled Game 5 of the Bucks' series against Orlando began Saturday as the NBA postseason resumed after a historic stoppage that players hope will bring change in their communities.“It was a moment in which the world needed and obviously we know this is going to be a long, ongoing process,” Bucks guard Wesley Matthews said. “But we’re in. We’re in the trenches and we’re in this fight for the long haul.”The teams were scheduled to play Wednesday afternoon, but the Bucks decided not to take the court to show their frustration over the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, along with other acts of racial injustice.That led to a two-day postponement of games that ended when players and owners agreed to expanded initiatives, many tied to increased voting awareness and opportunities, such as... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — All the Brooklyn Nets were missing Tuesday were their leaders in salary, points, points per game, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and 3-pointers. If that wasn’t enough, the feel-good story of Jamal Crawford’s return to the NBA lasted for about six minutes.And they won.The severely undermanned Nets beat Milwaukee 119-116 on Tuesday, temporarily delaying what will be the Bucks’ clinching of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Bucks didn’t use Brook Lopez or Wesley Matthews at all, plus didn’t play All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo or Khris Middleton after halftime, though it should be noted that the Nets were winning at intermission anyway.Who the Bucks played or didn’t play wasn’t all that relevant to the Nets. The walls of the temporary locker rooms at the Visa Athletic Center are paper thin and don’t hold sound, but the Nets probably didn’t mind the fact that anyone within 100 feet could have heard their raucous postgame celebration.“Very... [More]

It’s reasonable to think Milwaukee is not going to win all 21 of its remaining games, which means not all is lost for the Golden State Warriors this season.They’ll still be the only team in NBA history to win 73 games.The Warriors were a record 73-9 in the 2015-16 season, and the Bucks fell to 52-9 with their loss in Miami on Monday night. But there’s still a chance Milwaukee could be able to make a case as the most dominant team in league history in one regard — margin of victory.This season’s Bucks are outscoring teams by 12.26 points per game. That’s on pace to be second-best in NBA history, just a smidge behind the mark of 12.28 set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers — a team with a Hall of Fame coach in Bill Sharman, four Hall of Fame players in Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, and a player who would become a Hall of Fame coach in Pat Riley.And the Bucks are in that stratosphere.“We’ve still got a lot more basketball to play,” guard Wesley Matthews said.... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo and the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks made quick work of the Oklahoma City Thunder.Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 13 rebounds and Milwaukee surged to a 24-point lead in the second quarter in a 133-86 victory Friday night. The 47-point margin was the Bucks' largest of the season — and the Thunder’s worst of the season. “It feels good. It feels good seeing other guys going out there, playing hard and being up 40 points, sitting on the bench, relaxing, having fun," Antetokounmpo said. "Everyone is smiling. Games like these are always the best games. “We were extremely ready. We moved the ball. We were defending. We know that in the fourth quarter, they always come back to the game. We never relaxed.” Chris Paul scored 18 points for Oklahoma City.“We got a lot of really good looks, but our defense and our rebounding wasn’t much tonight,” Paul said. “It’s just an old-fashioned butt whooping.” Both teams were without their second-leading scorers. Bucks All-Star... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo and the NBA-leading Milwaukee made quick work of the Oklahoma City Thunder.Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 13 rebounds and Milwaukee Bucks surged to a 24-point lead in the second quarter in a 133-86 victory Friday night. The 47-point margin was the Bucks' largest of the season — and the Thunder’s worst of the season. “It feels good. It feels good seeing other guys going out there, playing hard and being up 40 points, sitting on the bench, relaxing, having fun," Antetokounmpo said. "Everyone is smiling. Games like these are always the best games. “We were extremely ready. We moved the ball. We were defending. We know that in the fourth quarter, they always come back to the game. We never relaxed.” Chris Paul scored 18 points for Oklahoma City.“We got a lot of really good looks, but our defense and our rebounding wasn’t much tonight,” Paul said. “It’s just an old-fashioned butt whooping.” Both teams were without their second-leading scorers. Bucks All-Star... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 13 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks surged to a 24-point lead in the second quarter in a 133-86 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.The 47-point loss was the Thunder’s worst of the season.Chris Paul scored 18 points for Oklahoma City.Both teams were without their second-leading scorers. Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton was a late scratch with a sore neck. An ankle injury kept Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari out.The Bucks had won four in a row and the Thunder had won five straight.The Bucks built their second-quarter lead behind 14 second-quarter points from Antetokounmpo, seven from Donte Divincenzo, who started in place of Middleton, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Wesley Matthews.A key moment occurred late in the second period.With Milwaukee leading, 54-43, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer got a technical foul after approaching a referee during a timeout with 3:43 left in the quarter. That was moments after Eric Bledsoe... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Expectations for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have never been higher.After leading the Bucks to a league-best 60 wins in the regular season and losing to the NBA champion Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals earlier this year, Antetokounmpo is putting his league MVP trophy on the shelf and focusing solely on taking Milwaukee to the next level."We gotta focus on ourselves, which is getting better each day, competing in practice so you can carry over to the game, and just build that winning culture, the great habits that we built last year," Antetokounmpo said. "If we do that, we're going to be one of the teams that will be the last one standing. That's our goal."Antetokounmpo, who is entering his seventh season with the Bucks, had the busiest offseason of this career. He had new press obligations after winning the MVP, launched his signature shoe with Nike, and played on the Greek national team in the FIBA World Cup. Somewhere along the way, Antetokounmpo... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Expectations for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks have never been higher.After leading the Bucks to a league-best 60 wins in the regular season and losing to the NBA champion Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals earlier this year, Antetokounmpo is putting his league MVP trophy on the shelf and focusing solely on taking Milwaukee to the next level."We gotta focus on ourselves, which is getting better each day, competing in practice so you can carry over to the game, and just build that winning culture, the great habits that we built last year," Antetokounmpo said. "If we do that, we're going to be one of the teams that will be the last one standing. That's our goal."Antetokounmpo, who is entering his seventh season with the Bucks, had the busiest offseason of this career. He had new press obligations after winning the MVP, launched his signature shoe with Nike, and played on the Greek national team in the FIBA World Cup. Somewhere along the way, Antetokounmpo... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — General manager Kevin Pritchard convinced himself the Indiana Pacers could contend for an Eastern Conference title by basically keeping the core rotation intact.Victor Oladipo's season-ending knee injury changed the whole equation.While the Pacers continued playing hard and won more often than many expected over the final two months, the absence of their All-Star guard prevented the Pacers from retaining one of the top four seeds or reaching the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014."Vic has been our closer for the last couple of years. To not have him on the court is big," point guard Darren Collison following Sunday's season-ending 110-106 loss to Boston. "Think about the playoffs he had last year and how amazing he was. Now, just imagine if we had that this year."It's hard not to.But even before Oladipo was wheeled off the court with a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee on Jan. 23, he struggled with a sore knee and it showed in the stats that were... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — When Victor Oladipo crashed to the floor in late January, the silence inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse was deafening.Teammates quietly expressed best wishes to their injured teammate as he was wheeled off the court on a stretcher. Fans wondered aloud if this was just another chapter in Indianapolis' injury curse that has claimed Peyton Manning, Paul George and Andrew Luck during the previous eight years. League insiders debated how far the Pacers would slide in the Eastern Conference standings.Somehow, after four consecutive losses, Indiana turned the page and won six of its next seven games heading into the All-Star break, still third in the East."We're just going out there and playing basketball," point guard Darren Collison said. "We're keeping the game simple and easy. Everybody is confident. It's getting closer to playoff basketball."After tinkering with his lineup for a few games, coach Nate McMillan settled on a rotation that looks remarkably similar to what he... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Center Enes Kanter has joined the Portland Trail Blazers.Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks along with Wesley Matthews following the trade deadline last week. Kanter announced Wednesday on Twitter that he had signed with the Blazers for the rest of the season. The deal was first reported by ESPN."I look forward to helping the Blazers achieve the ultimate goal of competing for a championship," he said on the post. "Excited to meet my new teammates, coaches, staff and most importantly the fans. It is a blessing to continue to compete at the highest level."Kanter was once a starter for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation altogether when the team — with the worst record in the league — turned its focus to younger players. The Knicks could not find a deal for Kanter before the deadline.The center from Turkey came to the Knicks from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade in September 2017 and averaged 14 points and 10.8 rebounds in 115 games over two seasons.... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Center Enes Kanter has joined the Portland Trail Blazers.Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks along with Wesley Matthews following the trade deadline last week. Kanter announced Wednesday on Twitter that he had signed with the Blazers for the rest of the season. The deal was first reported by ESPN."I look forward to helping the Blazers achieve the ultimate goal of competing for a championship," he said on the post. "Excited to meet my new teammates, coaches, staff and most importantly the fans. It is a blessing to continue to compete at the highest level."Kanter was once a starter for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation altogether when the team — with the worst record in the league — turned its focus to younger players. The Knicks could not find a deal for Kanter before the deadline.The center from Turkey came to the Knicks from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade in September 2017 and averaged 14 points and 10.8 rebounds in 115 games over two seasons. He had become frustrated after first losing his starting spot and then any spot at all in recent weeks.The Blazers previously made a four-year, $70 million offer for Kanter in 2015 when he was a restricted free agent, but the Thunder matched it.Kanter will play behind Portland's starting center Jusuf Nurkic in a strong second unit that includes Seth Curry, Jake Layman, Rodney Hood and Evan Turner.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Center Enes Kanter has joined the Portland Trail Blazers.Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks along with Wesley Matthews following the trade deadline last week. Kanter announced Wednesday on Twitter that he had signed with the Blazers for the rest of the season.Kanter was once a starter for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation altogether when the team — with the worst record in the league — turned its focus to younger players. The Knicks could not find a deal for Kanter before the deadline.The center from Turkey came to the Knicks from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade in September 2017 and averaged 14 points and 10.8 rebounds in 115 games over two seasons. He had become frustrated after first losing his starting spot and then any spot at all in recent weeks.