LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers made a huge decision.That meant Kawhi Leonard could finally make his.The Clippers will be landing Leonard as a free agent after they acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a massive trade for players and draft picks, a person familiar with the negotiations said.George will be traded for at least four first-round picks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity early Saturday because none of the moves have been finalized. And Leonard made his decision to sign with the Clippers after the team swung the deal to land George, the person said.ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said the Thunder were getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari from the Clippers.Leonard going to the Clippers means that for the first time, a reigning NBA Finals MVP will be changing teams before the following season. Leonard was also being pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, the... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers made a huge decision.That meant Kawhi Leonard could finally make his.The Clippers will be landing Leonard as a free agent after they acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a massive trade for players and draft picks, a person familiar with the negotiations said.George will be traded for at least four first-round picks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity early Saturday because none of the moves have been finalized. And Leonard made his decision to sign with the Clippers after the team swung the deal to land George, the person said.ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said the Thunder were getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari from the Clippers.Leonard going to the Clippers means that for the first time, a reigning NBA Finals MVP will be changing teams before the following season. Leonard was also being pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, the... [More]

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says the Los Angeles Clippers will be landing Kawhi Leonard as a free agent after they acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a massive trade for players and draft picks.George will be traded for at least four first-round picks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity early Saturday because none of the moves have been finalized. And Leonard made his decision to sign with the Clippers after the team swung the deal to land George, the person said.ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said the Thunder were getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari from the Clippers.Leonard going to the Clippers means that for the first time, a reigning NBA Finals MVP will be changing teams before the following season. Leonard was also being pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors, the team he led to last season's NBA title.The most the Clippers can offer Leonard... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder All-Star Paul George has had a procedure to repair a small labrum tear in his left shoulder.A Thunder spokesman made the announcement on Tuesday.George had surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder about a month ago. It was announced at that time that he would have the additional procedure at a later date. Both shoulders hampered him in the final two months of the season. His timetable for recovery remains the same — his status will be evaluated before the start of the upcoming season.George is a finalist for the NBA's Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards. He ranked second in the league with 28 points per game and led the league with 2.21 steals per contest.___Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder All-Stars Paul George and Russell Westbrook each underwent surgery on Tuesday.George had surgery for a partially torn tendon in his right shoulder and his status will be evaluated before the start of the 2019-20 season.George also will have surgery on a small labrum tear in his left shoulder in the coming weeks, the team said in a statement.Westbrook had two procedures. One was for a torn ligament in a finger on his left hand. The other was an elective arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. He is expected to return to basketball activities in approximately three weeks.Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the third straight season with 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game.Both players had their procedures in Los Angeles.ESPN was the first to report the surgeries.George ranked second in the league with 28 points per game this season, and he led the league with 2.21 steals per game. Both shoulders hampered him in the final two months of the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic got right to the point on his flourishing chemistry with teammate Jamal Murray .After all, he believes it's something to write home about."We are playing really good together," the versatile Denver Nuggets big man said . "He's a great basketball player, a great competitive guy and I just love to have him as a teammate."Did you write that down?"Write on! Or so the Nuggets are hoping.Jokic and Murray combined for 60 points in a 121-113 win over Portland on Monday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. That eclipsed the Blazers tandem of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard, who had 55 points. Game 2 is Wednesday at Pepsi Center.The Murray-to-Jokic, Jokic-to-Murray connection is quickly gaining steam as their pick-and-roll game gave the Blazers fits. It's a contrasting style to the one the Blazers faced in a first-round series with Oklahoma City, when they had to slow Paul George and Russell Westbrook.Paul Millsap said he's seen just about every defense employed... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder plan to keep coach Billy Donovan for a fifth year.Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Monday that he doesn't expect to switch coaches, despite Oklahoma City's third consecutive first-round playoff exit.Presti does expect Russell Westbrook to change, though. The All-Star point guard averaged a triple-double for the third straight season, but his image came under scrutiny after he collected a league-high 16 technical fouls that led to a one-game suspension, trash talked with Portland point guard Damian Lillard before losing the playoff series and refused to answer some of the media's questions."Would we prefer if he handled a few things differently? Sure," Presti said. "We've talked about that. I also think it would probably be worthy and noteworthy to establish the fact that he made some adjustments to that particular approach, and I think that's a sign of tremendous leadership and a sign that he is understanding that when he speaks, he... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — After a drama-filled and disappointing season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook remains as defiant as ever.The All-Star point guard averaged a triple-double for the third straight season and nearly averaged one in the playoffs. But Portland bounced the Thunder in five games, and Westbrook's poor shooting played a significant role in another first-round exit. He shot 36 percent from the floor during the series and made just 11 of 31 field goals in the deciding Game 5 loss.Don't expect the 30-year-old gunslinger to change his approach when teams back off, daring him to take a shot."There's no process," Westbrook said. "Shoot it. That's it."The emotional Westbrook has been at the center of the good — and the bad — this season for OKC.He got into a verbal altercation with fans in Utah, led the league with 16 technical fouls and was suspended a game for them, engaged in trash talking with Portland's Damian Lillard during the playoffs and responded during postgame... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — If Damian Lillard's series-clinching walkoff 3-pointer against the Thunder looked vaguely familiar, it's because he's done it before.His buzzer-beating 3 sent Houston packing back in 2014.It may have been from a different spot and against a different team, but it was the same Lillard — cool and confident. As a result, the Trail Blazers are into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in three seasons."That's Dame," teammate Zach Collins said afterward. "Besides the shot, that was one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. ... I think it will go down in the history books as that."Lillard finished with 50 points, including 10 3-pointers — capped by the legend-making 3 — in Portland's 118-115 victory over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night that ended the series in five games.Portland advances to the Western Conference semifinals to face the winner of the series between the Nuggets and San Antonio. Denver won 108-90 earlier Tuesday to take a 3-2 lead in... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The stars have been stars in these playoffs.Kyrie Irving has Boston on the cusp of sweeping away Indiana Pacers. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Golden State are coming off a game against the Los Angeles Clippers where the Warriors looked very much like the NBA champions again. Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook are going at each other big-time in the Portland-Oklahoma City series.And then there's Pascal Siakam.Toronto's surprise story is no surprise anymore.Siakam has been perhaps the biggest breakout player in these playoffs, adding to his breakout season for the Raptors — who lead the Orlando Magic 2-1 in their first-round matchup thanks largely to the 25-year-old from Cameroon and his 24.3 points and 10 rebounds per game in the series.It's easy to forget that Siakam only started playing organized basketball seven years ago."Seriously?" Raptors guard Danny Green asked, unaware of his teammate's unique background.Seriously.Raptors coach Nick Nurse was amused by... [More]

Orlando returned to Florida with home-court advantage.Indiana and Oklahoma City are seeking some home-court magic.A trio of Game 3s in the NBA on Friday night — Toronto at Orlando, Boston at Indiana and Portland at Oklahoma City — have three very different story lines. The Magic got a split of their first two games with the Raptors, the Pacers are reeling after a late-game collapse in Game 2 left them trailing the Celtics 2-0, and the Thunder have seemed completely out of sorts as they've gotten into a 2-0 hole against the Trail Blazers."I still don't think we understand how good a team we can be when we play well," Magic coach Steve Clifford said.Indiana had a great chance at getting a split slip away late in Game 2 at Boston. The Pacers have now lost 16 of their last 24 games overall, are looking at a fourth consecutive first-round ouster and have never won a series after losing the first two games.Having said all that, the Celtics are leery of a letup."We know anything can happen in... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic ignored those who doubted the Indiana Pacers last season.They're even more determined to prove them wrong in the playoffs.The veterans who helped the Pacers exceed expectations after losing Paul George in a trade and kept them together following Victor Oladipo's season-ending knee injury now insist they can help the Pacers overcome a 2-0 deficit against Boston."I think the biggest thing for us over the last couple of years is that we've always been a resilient team," Young said Thursday. "We continue to stay confident, continue to trust in one another, I think that helps put us in a better position to win games."It's a test they've faced, and passed, many times over the past 22 months.And every time, it seems the two soft-spoken forwards find themselves playing the calming role in the locker room."I can tell you we wouldn't be the No. 5 seed if not for those two guys," Doug McDermott said not long after the Pacers sang "Happy Birthday"... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When Paul George has been rolling this season, so has Oklahoma City.The Thunder's All-Star forward has been off his game against Portland, and OKC has struggled against the Trail Blazers. Yes, George is averaging 26.5 points in their first-round playoff series, but he's making just 27 percent of his 3-pointers — down from 39 percent during the regular season.Much has been made of his shoulder issues, which he has been dealing with the past few months. George even missed the regular-season finale against Milwaukee after not being able to lift his arm.But George said Thursday his shoulder is not the issue, noting that he is pain-free."The first game it was just out of rhythm, trying to find shots," George said. "The second game, it was just knowing where shots were going to come from, knowing the space that I could get playing at the basket and taking advantage of where I can get to the rim. It'll be a great mix Game 3."The Thunder hope it is a great mix. They're down... [More]

Orlando returned to Florida with home-court advantage.Indiana and Oklahoma City are seeking some home-court magic.A trio of Game 3s in the NBA on Friday night — Toronto at Orlando, Boston at Indiana and Portland at Oklahoma City — have three very different story lines. The Magic got a split of their first two games with the Raptors, the Pacers are reeling after a late-game collapse in Game 2 left them trailing the Celtics 2-0, and the Thunder have seemed completely out of sorts as they've gotten into a 2-0 hole against the Trail Blazers."I still don't think we understand how good a team we can be when we play well," Magic coach Steve Clifford said.Indiana had a great chance at getting a split slip away late in Game 2 at Boston. The Pacers have now lost 16 of their last 24 games overall, are looking at a fourth consecutive first-round ouster and have never won a series after losing the first two games.Having said all that, the Celtics are leery of a letup."We know anything can happen in... [More]

Orlando had to fight until the final days of the regular season to get its postseason berth. Portland had to scramble down the stretch to replace a huge part of its success.And as is usually the case, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich had his team playing its best basketball at the end.The Magic, Trail Blazers and Spurs were playoff ready. That's why they're all taking 1-0 series leads into their respective Game 2s on Tuesday night — with Orlando at Toronto, San Antonio at Denver and Portland playing host to Oklahoma City.Orlando and San Antonio, both No. 7 seeds, won on the road and grabbed home-court advantage. But they both know what's coming when Denver and Toronto get fueled by desperation on Tuesday night."It's going to be a lot tougher," Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan said."We're going to get their best," Magic coach Steve Clifford said.It goes without saying that all the teams that are down 1-0 found ways to get better for Game 2. The same goes for the teams leading those series. Clifford... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Looking back on it now, the Trail Blazers were clearly smart to pick up Enes Kanter after he was waived by the New York Knicks.Kanter was brought aboard by Portland as insurance for the final stretch of the season, meant to back up starter Jusuf Nurkic.Then Nurkic broke his leg and Kanter was thrust into a starting role with his new team. After Portland's playoff-opening victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Damian Lillard dubbed the 6-foot-11 center the Blazers' MVP."He had a huge presence down the stretch and played a huge part in us winning this game," Lillard said after Portland's 104-99 victory Sunday.Kanter finished with 20 points and a career playoff-high 18 rebounds, and was effective on defense against the likes of Russell Westbrook and Paul George.It's been quite a journey from New York castoff to Portland playoff hero for the seven-year NBA veteran.Kanter, 26, was waived by the Knicks following the trade deadline. Once a starter, he fell out of the rotation... [More]

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Blake Griffin's tone was serious, befitting a man who has had one of the best seasons of his career — but now faces the same old questions about his health.Griffin's status for Detroit's first-round series against Milwaukee isn't clear at the moment, but after he sat out the Pistons' crucial regular-season finale at New York on Wednesday night, it's clear his left knee problems are a significant issue heading into the playoffs. Detroit plays Game 1 at top-seeded Milwaukee on Sunday night."We're taking this day by day," Griffin said Saturday. "I'm not looking forward to a day that's not here right now in front of me. I'll sit with our training staff, and whoever else needs to be in on that decision, and make that each day."It's a tough situation for any athlete to go through — leading your team through the regular season, only to have your playoff participation threatened by an injury. This is the time of year when players and teams want to be at full strength,... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder forward Paul George could miss Sunday's playoff opener at Portland with right shoulder soreness.Thunder coach Billy Donovan said Friday the All-Star is considered day-to-day.George finished second in the league with 28.0 points per game this season, and he led the league with 2.21 steals per contest. He shoots 39 percent from 3-point range and is the team's No. 3 rebounder.George hit the game-winning 3-pointer against Houston on Tuesday, but he aggravated a previous injury during the game and was in too much pain to play in the regular-season finale Wednesday at Milwaukee.George also missed games on Feb. 28, March 2 and March 3 with soreness in the right shoulder. He has had problems with his left shoulder, too, though the issues are unrelated.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI (AP) — The playoff field is largely set.The positioning, that's still anyone's guess.So even while some of what we could have had for drama over the final 2½ weeks of the NBA regular season won't materialize — LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are already out of the playoffs, robbing us of one potential story line — the races for seedings and home-court edges are almost certain now to go down to the final days of the season.Milwaukee has the edge over all other teams in the race for the No. 1 overall seed. Dwyane Wade's career still isn't guaranteed of going past Miami's regular-season finale in Brooklyn on April 10. Golden State, bidding for a third straight NBA championship and fourth in five years, still has a fight on its hands just to get the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference."We're ready to take on any challenger," Warriors forward Draymond Green said.There have been nights where that's looked like a very accurate statement. Others, not so much.The Warriors have lost... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for public criticism of the officiating.George made his comments to the media after the Thunder's 118-110 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night."We're getting scratched, clawed, held, shoved, and there's nothing for it," George said. "The officials just get to walk out and there's nothing that penalizes them for not officiating the game the right way."