News for Kevin Durant - 2019 9 Category, $200 Cap, 4G/4F/2C

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Thu Jan 24 201919:48James, Antetokounmpo picked as All-Star captains
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]
Thu Jan 24 201919:28James, Antetokounmpo picked as All-Star captains
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]
Mon Jan 21 201904:14NBA players, coaches appreciate chance to play on MLK Day
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant cherishes the opportunity to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by playing basketball on the holiday that celebrates the civil rights leader."What MLK meant to the nation and just his message around the world. Still to this day his message has touched so many people," Durant said. "It's a good opportunity to play on that day. For us it just means a lot. We carry so much. Each one of us has different journeys throughout life and for us to meet at this point to come out and play a game so special on such a special day, hopefully it brings more people together."There will be another full slate of NBA games with 22 of the league's 30 teams playing on Monday. Knicks coach David Fizdale appreciates how the NBA gives so many teams the chance to play on MLK Day — unlike the more limited schedule on Christmas."The NBA is just ahead of everything. Adam Silver and those guys just really have a progressive attitude about being inclusive, they understand our history,... [More]
Sat Jan 19 201905:33Boogie Cousins overcomes nerves in 1st game with Warriors
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins was nervous. His stomach felt tight and filled with butterflies. He grabbed his phone and fired off texts to family and friends. He talked to his brother and sister.Golden State coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors reassured Cousins it wasn't just about Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.It's about the rest of his career.Making his Warriors debut after being sidelined for nearly a year, the big man called Boogie scored 14 points before fouling out of a 112-94 victory."It's been a long journey," Cousins said. "This was probably one of the best days of my life being back on the floor playing the game that I love."After missing his first shot, Cousins announced his presence with a one-handed slam off Kevin Durant's bounce pass for the Warriors' first basket."It was like poetry," teammate Stephen Curry said.Cousins was called for two fouls in the first three minutes and sat down."I'm just glad to know I can still dunk," he said.... [More]
Sat Jan 19 201903:33Boogie Cousins overcomes nerves in 1st game with Warriors
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins was nervous. His stomach felt tight and filled with butterflies. He grabbed his phone and fired off texts to family and friends. He talked to his brother and sister.Golden State coach Steve Kerr and the rest of the Warriors reassured Cousins it wasn't just about Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.It's about the rest of his career.Making his Warriors debut after being sidelined for nearly a year, the big man called Boogie scored 14 points before fouling out of a 112-94 victory."It's been a long journey," Cousins said. "This was probably one of the best days of my life being back on the floor playing the game that I love."After missing his first shot, Cousins announced his presence with a one-handed slam off Kevin Durant's bounce pass for the Warriors' first basket."It was like poetry," teammate Stephen Curry said.Cousins was called for two fouls in the first three minutes and sat down."I'm just glad to know I can still dunk," he said.... [More]
Wed Jan 16 201918:45Nuggets regroup after blowout home loss to Warriors
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]
Tue Jan 15 201922:39Warriors score NBA-record 51 points in 1st quarter
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
Mon Jan 14 201903:29All-Star vote process meant to stop Zaza may stop Wade again
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]
Thu Jan 10 201918:07DeMarcus Cousins will start when he returns with Warriors
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins will start immediately for coach Steve Kerr when the All-Star center makes his long-awaited Warriors debut in about a week following a lengthy recovery from surgery on a torn left Achilles tendon.Cousins has targeted Golden State's game Jan. 18 at the Clippers as his return date and first game of the season, though Kerr said it could even be sooner if all continues going well — perhaps even against his former New Orleans team at home next Wednesday."The idea is we have to give ourselves a little leeway," Kerr said Thursday. "That Clipper game is sort of the one we've targeted but we should give ourselves some leeway on either side, because we have to see how the next week goes. I suppose it's a possibility that it could be New Orleans, maybe there's a possibility it's whoever's after the Clippers ... Lakers. That's the range that we're looking at."The coaching staff has spent the past couple of weeks more intensely planning for Cousins' return and... [More]
Mon Jan 7 201905:48After further review, the NBA needs to change its policy
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]
Mon Dec 24 201813:03NBA's Christmas lineup headlined by LeBron vs. Warriors
There's no NBA Finals rematch this year on Christmas. Not technically, anyway. It's LeBron James vs. the Golden State Warriors for the fourth consecutive year on Dec. 25, though James will be wearing a Los Angeles Lakers uniform this time.It was a predictable matchup.It isn't, however, a break from tradition.That's one of the biggest misnomers about the NBA and the schedule. An NBA Finals rematch is not common, not the norm, not a guarantee for the last two teams that were standing the previous season. The league has crowned a champion every year since 1947, and the tradition of Christmas Day games started later that same year. (They've been an annual fixture since, with the exception of 1998, when a lockout didn't allow that season to begin until February.)But there have been only nine NBA Finals rematches on Dec. 25. The recent Golden State-Cleveland history may make it seem like more.James has been in five Finals rematches on Christmas, all since 2011: Miami vs. Dallas that year, Oklahoma... [More]
Mon Dec 24 201802:13NBA's Christmas lineup headlined by LeBron vs Warriors
There's no NBA Finals rematch this year on Christmas. Not technically, anyway. It's LeBron James vs. the Golden State Warriors for the fourth consecutive year on Dec. 25, though James will be wearing a Los Angeles Lakers uniform this time.It was a predictable matchup.It isn't, however, a break from tradition.That's one of the biggest misnomers about the NBA and the schedule. An NBA Finals rematch is not common, not the norm, not a guarantee for the last two teams that were standing the previous season. The league has crowned a champion every year since 1947, and the tradition of Christmas Day games started later that same year. (They've been an annual fixture since, with the exception of 1998, when a lockout didn't allow that season to begin until February.)But there have been only nine NBA Finals rematches on Dec. 25. The recent Golden State-Cleveland history may make it seem like more.James has been in five Finals rematches on Christmas, all since 2011: Miami vs. Dallas that year, Oklahoma... [More]
Mon Dec 10 201822:22Draymond Green back in lineup for Golden State
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Draymond Green returned to the Golden State Warriors' starting lineup for Monday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after sitting out the previous 11 with a right toe injury.The Warriors went 6-5 without Green, but coach Steve Kerr expects his team to pick up the pace with the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year back in the lineup."I would think the game would get faster and we should be better defensively with Draymond out there," Kerr said. "Hopefully we can get some stops and Draymond can push the ball in transition. That's something we have done for many years, so it would be nice to see."A three-time All-Star, Green was on the court 35 minutes before tip-off wearing white headphones and a blue sweatshirt while working on his 3-point shot.It was Green's second game back since serving a one-game suspension handed down by Golden State for his dust-up with teammate Kevin Durant. The two got into a heated argument at the end of regulation in a 121-116 overtime road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 12.__More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Mon Dec 10 201807:11Raptors go west, Kawhi back to Oracle where so much changed
So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]
Mon Dec 10 201803:21Raptors go west, Kawhi back to Oracle where so much changed
So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]
Mon Dec 3 201802:17Vince Carter enjoying his decision to go to Atlanta
Vince Carter could have gone anywhere.To a contender, to chase a ring. To retirement, because he has nothing left to prove. To television, which seems like it will be his next vocation whenever his playing days end.Instead, he chose Atlanta — a young team, a rebuilding team, a team that probably has minimal chance of making the playoffs.And he's happy."I'm with a great bunch of guys," Carter said. "I enjoy helping young guys who want to learn, who are willing to be coached and let you coach them and ask questions. It's a small thing, but it's a major thing — because if you're asking questions, that means you're trying to learn and grow. And these guys are all great."He's the NBA's oldest active player, someone who turns 42 next month. When he was drafted in June 1998, neither Trae Young nor Kevin Huerter had been born yet. And they're the starting backcourt for the Hawks this season, Carter's 21st in the league, with Atlanta being the eighth team he's played with.Carter talked with Dwyane... [More]
Thu Nov 22 201810:24JaVale McGee flourishing in opportunity with LeBron, Lakers
There was a two-season stretch during which JaVale McGee scored a total of 141 points. He was a target of jokes, wildly misunderstood by many in the NBA, almost an afterthought of sorts whose career seemed to be closer to flaming out than taking off.And in those darkest days, McGee kept asking himself the same question."Is it over?"The answer now is obvious: No, it wasn't over. Fast forward, and it may just be getting started.He's living the life that few in the NBA get to experience. He's teamed up with the best players of this generation — Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James. He's won two championships, part of Golden State's back-to-back titles over the last two seasons. And now he's the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers, getting a chance to play big minutes and put up numbers for the first time in nearly a decade.In his 11th season, McGee has basically gotten a basketball rebirth."I played against him in the last two NBA Finals and I wanted him on this team because I... [More]
Mon Nov 19 201802:22Drama, the long ball center of early season NBA intrigue
There has been some early tinkering to lineups, a few hiccups and lots of drama to start the NBA season.None of the league's final four teams from last season — Boston, Cleveland, Houston, Golden State — look like locks to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy this time.The addition of Carmelo Anthony to the Rockets' roster produced more thorns than fruit, and now he is out.In Boston, the Celtics are having early trouble trying to figure out how best to use their overflowing mix of young and veteran talent following the return of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward from injuries.And Cleveland has gotten off to a predictable slow start to the post-LeBron James' era, but few expected the total collapse by the Cavaliers.However, there is no drama like championship drama and the defending champion Warriors suddenly look more like the cast of a reality series than a harmonious lineup rolling along and vying for a third straight championship.Draymond's Green public outburst at Kevin Durant during the Warriors'... [More]
Sat Nov 17 201821:12Curry speaks on Warriors' issues, as Green sidelined again
DALLAS (AP) — Golden State's Stephen Curry knows that the rift between teammates Kevin Durant and Draymond Green might be viewed by outsiders as something that can doom the Warriors this season.To them, he has a message."That's not going to happen," Curry said.Curry spoke publicly Saturday night for the first time about the testy exchange between Durant and Green — they went at each other late in what became an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Monday night, and the fallout has been a major talking point around the NBA since — and lauded both players for the way they're handing the situation."I think the way we've handled it as a team, the way Draymond's handled it, the way KD's handled it, it's been nothing but professionalism," Curry said.Green is getting the weekend off; the Warriors held him out of their game in Dallas on Saturday because of an ongoing issue with a toe on his right foot, and he isn't expected to play when the two-time defending NBA champions visit San Antonio... [More]
Sat Nov 17 201817:32Warriors' Green out against Mavericks with sprained toe
DALLAS (AP) — Golden State's Draymond Green will miss the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night with a recurrence of a right toe injury.It will be the second time in three games that Green has been sidelined. The volatile forward was suspended for a game by the team following a testy exchange with Kevin Durant at the end of regulation in an overtime loss at the Los Angeles Clippers.Green was suspended for the Warriors' win at home against Atlanta before returning in a loss at Houston. Green has already missed two games with a right toe sprain after getting injured against Memphis on Nov. 5.Golden State also will be without star guard Stephen Curry for the fifth straight game. Curry has a strained left groin.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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