NEW YORK (AP) — When Kristaps Porzingis crashed to the Madison Square Garden floor in pain on Feb. 6, 2018, it was soon clear that would be his final play of the season.Much harder to imagine was that it would be the final play of his Knicks career.Porzingis returns to the arena on Thursday for a nationally televised game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Knicks, who are already showing signs of the type of chaos that helped sour the star forward on the team in the first place.Though Porzingis enjoyed the city and the fans, the dark cloud under which the Knicks permanently reside was something he’s been glad to escape.“I remember when I was there the expectations were always high for us, and it’s a city hungry for success in basketball,” Porzingis said Wednesday. “And for them, for the fans and for the city to be going through this year after year, it’s got to be tough. And so it’s always a lot of pressure and when things are not going right immediately, there needs to be changes, and... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets' transformation from the shadows to the spotlight happened in just one night.Building a team that can live up to their new expectations is going to take much longer.Even with Kyrie Irving's terrific start, the Nets remain just what they were early last season: good enough to be in just about every game, but not yet good enough to win many of them.The Nets are just 2-4 and later this week begin a five-game road trip that includes difficult stops at Portland, Utah and Denver."We have three new starters and we're still working through getting on the same page. You say well, that's your job, to get it done. And we're working towards that. We're not there yet," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said.Though the Nets landed commitments from Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan on the opening night of free agency, they also lost a lot from a team that went 42-40 and reached the playoffs. All-Star D'Angelo Russell is gone along with what Atkinson counts as seven... [More]

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers did not get out of China unscathed.Davis will have tests Sunday to determine the full severity of a right thumb injury, which the Lakers have initially diagnosed as a sprain. He got hurt in the first quarter of the Lakers' 91-77 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Shenzhen in the finale of the NBA China Games series.Caris LeVert scored 22 points on 8 for 11 shooting for Brooklyn, which swept the two matchups between the clubs in China. Taurean Prince scored 14 for Brooklyn, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.Avery Bradley led the Lakers with 14 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11.The encouraging sign for the Lakers is that Davis — who has a history of being plagued by injuries throughout his career — continued to play for a few minutes after getting hurt while attempting to block a shot. He and LeBron James both shot 2 for 7 and scored six points apiece for the Lakers; James, like Davis, played the entire first quarter... [More]

Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers did not get out of China unscathed.Davis will have tests Sunday to determine the full severity of a right thumb injury, which the Lakers have initially diagnosed as a sprain. He got hurt in the first quarter of the Lakers' 91-77 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday at Shenzhen in the finale of the NBA China Games series.Caris LeVert scored 22 points on 8 for 11 shooting for Brooklyn, which swept the two matchups between the clubs in China. Taurean Prince scored 14 for Brooklyn, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds in 19 minutes.Avery Bradley led the Lakers with 14 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 11.The encouraging sign for the Lakers is that Davis — who has a history of being plagued by injuries throughout his career — continued to play for a few minutes after getting hurt while attempting to block a shot. He and LeBron James both shot 2 for 7 and scored six points apiece for the Lakers; James, like Davis, played the entire first quarter... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving won't allow anyone to rush Kevin Durant back to the court this time.Irving said Friday that Durant wasn't ready to play when he returned in the NBA Finals, where he was quickly injured again. Irving said his new teammate's health wasn't valued enough, and that won't be the case now that they are together on the Brooklyn Nets."We all know K was not ready to play in that environment. We all know that, whether people want to admit it or not," Irving said. "He was out 31 days and we put him on the national stage in the finals to end up selling a product that came before the person, Kevin. And now, I'm here to protect that."Durant injured a calf playing for Golden State during the second round of the playoffs and missed a little more than a month before returning for Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto. He lasted just 12 minutes before going down with a ruptured Achilles tendon that required surgery.The Nets expect Durant to miss the season, though Durant said he... [More]

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan agreed to deals with Brooklyn to start one of the wildest days in NBA free agent history.Al Horford went from Boston to the rival 76ers. Kemba Walker is a Celtic after eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets in a sign-and-trade for Terry Rozier. Khris Middleton (Milwaukee) and Tobias Harris (Philadelphia) agreed to big extensions.The Knicks missed out on the biggest targets before adding Julius Randle and Bobby Portis among their agreements with five players.All totaled, there were more than $3 billion in contracts in the first full day. The show goes on, with plenty more players available who could help change the complexion of the league for years to come.The list of remaining players includes:— SF Kawhi Leonard (unrestricted free agent, played with Toronto last season)Leonard is the premier free agent remaining. The two-time NBA Finals MVP led the Raptors to their first championship, averaging 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds in 24 playoff games.—... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — New York Knicks center DeAndre Jordan is listed in the starting lineup for Wednesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns.Jordan had missed the last five games with a sprained left ankle. He last played on Feb. 22.Jordan was acquired in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 31.Jordan is averaging 11.8 points and 12 rebounds in eight games with the Knicks this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — New York Knicks center DeAndre Jordan is out of the lineup for their game against the Los Angeles Clippers.Jordan will miss his fourth straight game Sunday after he sprained his left ankle in practice.Although he practiced Saturday, coach David Fizdale says he's not sure whether Jordan will play when the Knicks visit Sacramento on Monday in the second game of a back-to-back.Jordan is averaging 11.8 points and 12.0 rebounds in eight games with New York since being traded by Dallas on Jan. 31. He previously played 10 years with the Clippers.The Knicks are 2-1 since Jordan has been out.___More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — The Mavericks have waived Zach Randolph two days after acquiring the forward while sending Harrison Barnes to Sacramento in a trade designed to give Dallas salary-cap relief.Randolph and young forward Justin Jackson were sent to the Mavericks in a deal that came together while Barnes was playing for Dallas in a 99-93 win over Charlotte on Wednesday. Jackson was active for Friday night's game against Milwaukee.The 37-year-old Randolph never played for the Kings in his second season with them. He was a frequent Dallas foe during his eight seasons with Memphis. A day after the trade, Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said he didn't expect Randolph to play for the club.Randolph has averaged 16.6 points and 9.1 rebounds in 17 seasons with five teams.By trading Barnes, the Mavericks put themselves in position to acquire another front-line player to go with rookie sensation Luka Doncic and 2018 All-Star Kristaps Porzingis.Dallas traded for Porzingis last week in a seven-player deal with New York that starters Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and center DeAndre Jordan to the Knicks. Porzingis won't play this season as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained last February.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis won't play for the Mavericks this season while continuing his recovery from a knee injury after Dallas acquired the 2018 All-Star in a blockbuster trade with the New York Knicks.As for the next 20 years, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Monday he envisions Porzingis forming a Euro star pairing with 19-year-old rookie Luka Doncic even though the 7-foot-3 Latvian can become a restricted free agent after this season.It was Cuban's way of saying he expects the 23-year-old Porzingis to sign a long-term contract, sooner than later. And for anyone questioning the math, Cuban likes to talk about medical advances extending careers of players into their mid-40s.Cuban interrupted a question for Porzingis on whether the player once considered the cornerstone of the New York franchise planned to sign long term with Dallas."I can answer that for him," Cuban said. "Yes, he does."Asked if that was true, Porzingis said, "Yes.""Our goal is to keep them together for the next... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks were having their doubts, wondering if Kristaps Porzingis truly wanted to be part of the franchise.On Thursday, they say he made it clear he didn't.Once that happened, they decided to trade the All-Star forward who was thought to be one of the key players for their future."When he came in today, it was clear to us that it was time to pull the trigger on something," Knicks President Steve Mills said.That was a seven-player swap with the Dallas Mavericks that also netted New York two future first-round draft picks and possibly enough room to afford two top free agents this summer.Porzingis has been sidelined for nearly a year after tearing his left ACL. The Knicks said recently he would undergo testing during the middle of February that could have determined if he would be able to return this season.If it does, it will be in Dallas, where he can form an intriguing international frontcourt with rookie Luka Doncic. Both played professionally in Spain before... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks were having their doubts, wondering if Kristaps Porzingis truly wanted to be part of the franchise.On Thursday, they say he made it clear he didn't.Once that happened, they decided to trade the All-Star forward who was thought to be one of the key players for their future."When he came in today, it was clear to us that it was time to pull the trigger on something," Knicks President Steve Mills said.That was a seven-player swap with the Dallas Mavericks that also netted New York two future first-round draft picks and possibly enough room to afford two top free agents this summer.Porzingis has been sidelined for nearly a year after tearing his left ACL. The Knicks said recently he would undergo testing during the middle of February that could have determined if he would be able to return this season.If it does, it will be in Dallas, where he can form an intriguing international frontcourt with rookie Luka Doncic. Both played professionally in Spain before... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks were having their doubts, wondering if Kristaps Porzingis truly wanted to be part of the franchise.On Thursday, they say he made it clear he didn't.Once that happened, they decided to trade the All-Star forward who was thought to be one of the key players for their future."When he came in today, it was clear to us that it was time to pull the trigger on something," Knicks President Steve Mills said.That was a seven-player swap with the Dallas Mavericks that also netted New York two future first-round draft picks and possibly enough room to afford two top free agents this summer.Porzingis has been sidelined for nearly a year after tearing his left ACL. The Knicks said recently he would undergo testing during the middle of February that could have determined if he would be able to return this season.If it does, it will be in Dallas, where he can form an intriguing international frontcourt with rookie Luka Doncic. Both played professionally in Spain before... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, parting with the young All-Star forward as he recovers from a torn knee ligament.The Knicks acquired Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first-round picks in the deal Thursday, while also sending guards Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee to Dallas.The Knicks made the surprising move after saying Porzingis requested a trade earlier Thursday.The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft and once was expected to be the Knicks' franchise player for years. But they declined to give him a contract extension last summer, and now by trading him and Hardaway seem instead to be gearing up to pursue players in free agency.Hardaway has two more years and about $37 million left on his contract, and moving that was necessary if the Knicks were going to find a way to open the most cap space possible.New York (10-40) has the worst record in the NBA and is headed... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — People with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press that the New York Knicks have agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, parting with their young All-Star forward as he recovers from a torn knee ligament.The Knicks would acquire guard Dennis Smith Jr. and center DeAndre Jordan while also sending Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas. Other players would be added to the deal Thursday to make the salaries work.The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade was still being completed. It was first reported by ESPN.com.The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft and once was expected to be the Knicks' franchise player for years. But they declined to give him a contract extension last summer, and now by trading him and Hardaway seem instead to be gearing up to pursue players in free agency.Hardaway has two more years and about $37 million left on his contract, and moving that was necessary if the Knicks were going to find... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — People with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press that the New York Knicks have agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, parting with their young All-Star forward as he recovers from a torn knee ligament.The Knicks would acquire guard Dennis Smith Jr. and center DeAndre Jordan while also sending Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas. Other players would be added to the deal Thursday to make the salaries work.The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade was still being completed. It was first reported by ESPN.com.The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft and once was expected to be the Knicks' franchise player for years. But they declined to give him a contract extension last summer, and now by trading him and Hardaway seem instead to be gearing up to pursue players in free agency.New York (10-40) has the worst record in the NBA and is headed toward landing a high pick in the draft. Then the Knicks will be set... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — People with knowledge of the deal tell The Associated Press that the New York Knicks have agreed to trade Kristaps Porzingis to the Dallas Mavericks, parting with their young All-Star forward as he recovers from a torn knee ligament.The Knicks would acquire guard Dennis Smith Jr. and center DeAndre Jordan while also sending Tim Hardaway Jr. to Dallas. Other players would be added to the deal Thursday to make the salaries work.The people spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade was still being completed. It was first reported by ESPN.com.The 7-foot-3 Porzingis was the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft and once was expected to be the Knicks' franchise player for years. But they declined to give him a contract extension last summer, and now by trading him and Hardaway seem instead to be gearing up to pursue players in free agency.___AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

DALLAS (AP) — A matchup of the NBA's top two rebounders is on with Detroit's Andre Drummond returning against DeAndre Jordan and the Dallas Mavericks after the Pistons big man missed three games while in the concussion protocol.Drummond took a shot to the nose in a win over Miami a week ago and missed games against Sacramento, Washington and New Orleans. The visit to the Mavericks on Friday night wraps up a three-game trip.The 6-foot-11 Drummond leads the league at 14.9 rebounds per game. Jordan is second at 14.0 rebounds per game in his first season in Dallas after signing as a free agent. Drummond is third in the NBA with 36 double-doubles, and the 6-11 Jordan is tied for 11th with 29.Drummond left in the first quarter last Friday against the Heat after getting hit in the face by the arm of Miami's James Johnson. It did not appear to be intentional blow.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

With eight shopping days to Christmas, the NBA's decision to have Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Philadelphia's Joel Embiid in its holiday lineup is more than just sides in another hoop smorgasbord.It puts the spotlight on — and raises a question — about the MVP race, as in, who in the Eastern Conference is a legitimate contender. It's a question because the last East MVP, LeBron James going on six years ago, has moved West.Of course, the conversation has to include the biggest name to go the opposite direction this past offseason: Toronto's Kawhi Leonard, who forced his way out of San Antonio in a trade after missing most of last season with a mysterious leg injury."Oh yeah," first-year Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce declared about the East's MVP hopes."We missed Kawhi last year and the people that coached against him didn't for a reason," said Pierce, who was an assistant with the 76ers for Embiid's first two seasons. "He's a dominant two-way player. Antetokounmpo is unbelievable and... [More]

Under the former NBA schedule, the first month of the season would just be coming to a close this week.The earlier start that the league went to last year, with the regular season beginning two weeks sooner, means some teams are now already more than a quarter of the way through their 82-game schedules.The extra time doesn't make it any easier to explain things so far.The Clippers and Nuggets are up. Houston and Boston are down. Golden State has already been both, flying out to a fast start that quickly came to a halt after Stephen Curry was hurt.The restructured schedule, done to build in more opportunities for rest and fewer back-to-back games, trimmed the preseason and reduced the number of exhibition games, in some cases forcing coaches to continue tinkering around Thanksgiving when they'd prefer to be done with it by Halloween."Just like every team in the league, in November you're not going to be the same team as you are in April or May," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "So you... [More]