NEW YORK (AP) — Washington Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Saturday for making inappropriate contact with a game official.Thomas received a technical foul and was ejected early in the Wizards’ 122-103 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.Thomas was tied up along the sideline by Portland's Carmelo Anthony. As Thomas broke away from Anthony, he made contact with referee Marat Kogut, who stumbled into the crowd. Thomas received a two-game suspension after walking into the stands to confront two fans following a timeout in Philadelphia on Dec. 21.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George won't play for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Memphis Grizzlies because of left hamstring tightness.The team ruled him out before Saturday's day game at Staples Center. Coach Doc Rivers says it's possible George could return Sunday against the New York Knicks in the second game of a back-to-back, also a day game. After that, the Clippers are idle until hosting Golden State next Friday.George got hurt during a 126-112 win over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. He finished with 12 points before leaving late in the second quarter and didn't return.Also sitting out Saturday was guard Patrick Beverley, who missed his third straight game with a sprained right wrist. Rivers said he is close to returning.It's been that kind of a season so far for the Clippers, who've had their full roster healthy and available for just one game. Injuries and load management, primarily involving Kawhi Leonard, have forced Rivers to juggle lineups, which has hampered developing team chemistry.“I tell you why I think it hurts the most, the continuity that we need to be a champion, to me, is hard to work on or even have because you don't have time (together),” Rivers said. "I'm not worried about it yet, but it is actually on my mind for sure."___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Suns forward Frank Kaminsky III is out of the lineup indefinitely because of a stress fracture in his right knee.The team announced the extent of the injury on Saturday, saying the 26-year-old will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Kaminsky hasn't played in the team's past three games.The 7-foot Kaminsky has averaged 11 points and 4.9 rebounds this season, appearing in 32 games while starting 13. He played a big role during starting center Deandre Ayton's 25-game suspension earlier in the season.Phoenix has a 14-21 record and hosts Memphis on Sunday night.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Heat went cold in the fourth quarter Friday night, matching the lowest point total for a quarter by an NBA team in more than two years.Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Orlando Magic held Miami to six points over the final 12 minutes on their way to a 105-85 victory."They shut down the paint, they shut down our layups, shut down a lot of the things we're used to getting and shut down our normal threes," Miami coach Eric Spoelstra said. "There was a possession when they must have run us off five straight 3s on their close-outs and did a tremendous job with making multiple efforts, and we weren't really doing that on the other end. They deserved to get that win." Miami shot 3 for 19 from the field and missed all 10 3-point shots while committing six turnovers in the period.The last team team to score only six points in a quarter was Portland against Toronto in October 2017.Jimmy Butler had 23 points and 10 rebounds... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Orlando Magic shut down the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter in a 105-85 victory Friday night.Miami scored only six points in the fourth quarter, going 3 for 19 from the field. Jimmy Butler had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.Aaron Gordon had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, and Evan Fournier scored 15 points despite spending most of the game in foul trouble.One day after holding the Toronto Raptors to 6-of-42 shooting from 3-point range in a victory at Miami, the Heat shot 7 for 37 from long range and 37.5% overall.After Vucevic and Gordon combined for three 3-pointers in quick succession to give the Magic to a 67-49 lead early in the third quarter, the Heat responded with a 14-3 run. Meyers Leonard then hit pair of 3-pointers to cut Orlando's lead to four.But Miami wet scoreless for more than 3 1/2 minutes at the outset of the fourth quarter, missing five shots... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have waived swingman David Nwaba, who was lost for the season recently because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon.The move Friday frees up a roster spot for a Nets team that has lost a season-high four straight games while playing without injured starters Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert.The Nets are listing LeVert as probable to play Saturday against Toronto following right thumb surgery. He has missed the last 24 games.Nwaba was injured Dec. 19 in a loss at San Antonio and underwent surgery the next day in New York.He averaged 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games after signing with the Nets in July. The Nets also waived forward Henry Ellenson, who was on a two-way contract and had spent more time with their G League affiliate.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets have waived swingman David Nwaba, who was lost for the season recently because of a ruptured right Achilles tendon.The move Friday frees up a roster spot for a Nets team that has lost a season-high four straight games while playing without injured starters Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert.Nwaba was injured Dec. 19 in a loss at San Antonio and underwent surgery the next day in New York.He averaged 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games after signing with the Nets in July.

Dallas’ Luka Doncic received more fan votes than any other player in the opening week of balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.The NBA released the first voting totals on Thursday and Doncic has received 1,073,957 -- 599 more than Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the only other player to top the million-vote mark so far, putting him well on his way to what would be a 16th consecutive All-Star appearance.James, Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard are the runaway leaders in the Western Conference frontcourt. Doncic and Houston’s James Harden also are off to enormous leads in the West guards race.In the East, Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam are the leaders for the three starting frontcourt spots. Atlanta’s Trae Young has gotten the most votes so far in the East guard race, about 11,000 ahead of Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving. Boston’s Kemba Walker is 450 votes back of Irving.Other... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Jazz answered a big run with one of their own and withstood a final push down the stretch to walk away with another victory. Those are adding up for Utah.Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and the surging Jazz held off the Chicago Bulls 102-98 on Thursday night.The Jazz went on a 24-4 run in the third quarter to grab a nine-point lead and emerged with their 10th win in 12 games after Chicago tied it in the closing minutes.Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert each scored 17 for Utah. Mitchell hit two free throws with 19 seconds remaining, and Gobert had 12 rebounds. The Jazz also got big contributions from their bench, with their reserves outscoring the Bulls' 36-23.“Everybody did a little something in a given time to help us win the game," coach Quin Snyder said. "And that's how you win on the road and that's how you win close games.”Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points and Lauri Markkanen scored 18. Wendell Carter Jr. added 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Bulls lost for... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 19 points and the surging Utah Jazz held off the Chicago Bulls 102-98 on Thursday night.The Jazz went on a 24-4 run in the third quarter to grab a nine-point lead and came away with their 10th win in 12 games after Chicago tied it in the closing minutes.Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert each scored 17 for Utah. Mitchell hit two free throws with 19 seconds remaining, and Gobert had 12 rebounds.Zach LaVine led Chicago with 26 points and Lauri Markkanen scored 18. Wendell Carter Jr. added 18 points and 13 rebounds but the Bulls lost for the third time in four games.The Jazz led 96-88 in the closing minutes before Chicago scored eight straight, tying it on LaVine's 3 with 1:43 remaining. Bogdanovic hit two free throws and Gobert drove for a dunk to make it a four-point game, before Carter made two free throws for Chicago with 47 seconds remaining.After Mitchell missed a 3, LaVine missed on a wild drive. The Jazz got the rebound, and Mitchell hit two free... [More]

Dallas’ Luka Doncic received fan votes than any other player in the opening week of balloting for the NBA All-Star Game.The NBA released the first voting totals on Thursday and Doncic has received 1,073,957 -- 599 more than Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is the only other player to top the million-vote mark so far, putting him well on his way to what would be a 16th consecutive All-Star appearance.James, Lakers teammate Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard are the runaway leaders in the Western Conference frontcourt. Doncic and Houston’s James Harden also are off to enormous leads in the West guards race.In the East, Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam are the leaders for the three starting frontcourt spots. Atlanta’s Trae Young has gotten the most votes so far in the East guard race, about 11,000 ahead of Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving. Boston’s Kemba Walker is 450 votes back of Irving.Other notables... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Nick Nurse has quite a few reasons to be thankful for David Stern.The coach of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors first encountered Stern around 20 years ago. Nurse, who was coaching in London, met Stern — then the NBA commissioner — through a mutual friend and remembers how fascinating it was to have conversations with him. Fast forward a few years, and Nurse had an idea to bring a team from what was then called the NBA Development League to his native Iowa.Stern and the NBA liked the idea. The Iowa team was born. Nurse was its first coach. The rest is history. And Nurse is one of countless people reflecting now on Stern’s impact, after the man who ran the NBA for 30 years died on Wednesday about three weeks following a brain hemorrhage.“There’s no denying how much he grew the game. He was the leader behind all that,” Nurse said. “Obviously, lots of important people play important roles there, but still, somebody’s got to lead that thing and he was doing that at a level that... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Sacramento Kings center Dewayne Dedmon has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for public comments about wanting a trade. The league made the announcement on Thursday, calling the comments detrimental to the NBA and its teams. He made the request in a recent interview with The Sacramento Bee. Before the Kings played the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, he talked about wanting a trade, saying “I would like to be traded. I haven’t been playing, so I would like to go somewhere where my talents are appreciated.”Under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, players cannot make public demands for a trade. The 30-year-old Dedmon signed a three-year, $40 million deal with the Kings in the offseason. Last season, the league fined then-New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis $50,000 after his agent made a public trade request.____More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Zion Williamson returned to practice with the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday for the first time since he had arthroscopic knee surgery shortly before the season.But the NBA's top overall draft choice out of Duke cannot yet say when he'll make his regular-season debut “I felt really good out there,” he said.Williamson, 6-foot-6 and 285 pounds, said he first must pass “assessments” by team medical staff before the decision can rest solely with him. “It will probably be one of those moments, where, just like when it came to my college decision, I woke up and I’ll just know,” Williamson said.Coach Alvin Gentry said Williamson participated fully in the on-court work, but the practice wasn't particularly strenuous. It was the last practice before New Orleans flew to Los Angeles to play the Lakers on Friday night.Gentry said Williamson is not expected to play on the two-game trip that includes a stop in Sacramento on Saturday. New Orleans plays at home on Monday night against... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — David Stern had basketball as a passion and law as a profession, one he figured he could return to if a job at the NBA didn’t work out.He never did.Instead he went to Europe, Asia and plenty of other places around the world, bringing with him a league that was previously an afterthought in the U.S. and turning it into a global powerhouse.Stern, who spent 30 years as the NBA’s longest-serving commissioner and one of the best in sports history, died Wednesday. He was 77.“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today,” Hall of Famer Michael Jordan said. “He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before.”Stern suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 12 and underwent emergency surgery. The league said he died with his wife, Dianne, and their family at his bedside.“The entire basketball community is heartbroken,” the National Basketball Players Association said.... [More]

Reaction from the basketball world and beyond to the death of former NBA Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday at age 77:“For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action. He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.” — Adam Silver, who followed Stern as commissioner.“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today. He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before. His vision and leadership provided me with the global stage that allowed me to succeed. David had a deep love for the game of basketball and demanded excellence from those around him — and I admired him for that.” — Michael Jordan.“David Stern... [More]

Reaction from the basketball world and beyond to the death of former NBA Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday at age 77:“For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action. He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.” — Adam Silver, who followed Stern as commissioner.“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today. He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before. His vision and leadership provided me with the global stage that allowed me to succeed. David had a deep love for the game of basketball and demanded excellence from those around him — and I admired him for that.” — Michael Jordan.“David Stern... [More]

Reaction from the basketball world and beyond to the death of former NBA Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday at age 77:“For 22 years, I had a courtside seat to watch David in action. He was a mentor and one of my dearest friends. We spent countless hours in the office, at arenas and on planes wherever the game would take us. Like every NBA legend, David had extraordinary talents, but with him it was always about the fundamentals — preparation, attention to detail, and hard work.” — Adam Silver, who followed Stern as commissioner.“Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today. He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before. His vision and leadership provided me with the global stage that allowed me to succeed. David had a deep love for the game of basketball and demanded excellence from those around him — and I admired him for that.” — Michael Jordan.“David Stern... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac hyperextended his left knee early in the first quarter Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. Isaac collided with Washington's Bradley Beal with 9:57 left in the first quarter and was taken off the court on a stretcher. The Magic say Isaac will have an MRI in Orlando on Thursday.Issac entered the game averaging 12.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.52 blocks.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Golden State guard D’Angelo Russell will not play against San Antonio on Tuesday night due to a right shoulder injury.Russell injured the shoulder in a collision with Dallas’ Luka Doncic during the third quarter of the Warriors' loss Saturday night. A stretcher was brought out as Russell remained on the court for several minutes, but he left the court on his own and later returned to the game.Russell traveled with the team to San Antonio but has not participated in any drills.“Not sure how long he’ll be out,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “He had a little neck pain when he woke up (Sunday). So, yesterday when we flew in, he did not practice, and he’ll sit out tonight and we will re-evaluate tomorrow.”The Warriors are also without starting center Willie Cauley-Stein, who did not travel with the team due to an undisclosed illness.