MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Grizzlies' rebuilding plan is ahead of even the most optimistic schedule,They have won more games before the All-Star break than predicted and currently hold the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings.“We had high hopes for what this group could become, and I think it's fair to say that this group has already exceeded I think any realistic expectations that anyone had internally or externally,” Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman said Monday. Kleiman talked to reporters Monday for the first time since the trade deadline. The Grizzlies are 3-1 in February and have won 14 of their last 18 and are 27-26 overall — a game above what most sports books expected this season.It's a quick turnaround from just over a year ago when Memphis was breaking up the final pieces of a group that set a franchise record with seven straight playoff appearances that ended in 2017.The Grizzlies traded center Marc Gasol to Toronto. Then controlling owner Robert Pera shook... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Timberwolves co-stars Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell have each purchased 1,000 tickets to the team's next home game for an online giveaway.The Timberwolves announced the promotion Monday in advance of hosting Charlotte on Wednesday night, which is expected to be Russell's first game at Target Center for Minnesota since he was acquired in a trade with Golden State on Thursday. The fifth-year guard did not play against Los Angeles because of a quadriceps injury on Saturday night, when the Timberwolves beat the Clippers 142-115 in front of a sellout crowd announced at 18,978.The complimentary tickets were available on the team's website with a limit of four per customer. Towns and Russell expressed gratitude to Timberwolves fans for their welcome of Russell after the trade, one of three deals the team struck last week in acquiring eight new players.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is out because of a sore left knee against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The Clippers have been monitoring the workload for Leonard, who will miss his 13th game of the season. Los Angeles is playing the second game of a back-to-back set after losing in Minnesota on Saturday.Leonard scored 28 points in 29 minutes against the Timberwolves, but the Clippers were routed 142-115. He's seventh in the league in scoring with 27.1 points per game.Patrick Beverley will miss his second straight game with a strained right groin. The Clippers (36-16) are third in the Western Conference and acquired Marcus Morris from New York on Thursday.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A slow start didn't help Giannis Antetokounmpo's shot at NBA history, but the Milwaukee Bucks are hardly a one-man show.Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the game, and the team with the league's best record never trailed Saturday night in a 111-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. It's the 13th time the Bucks have led from wire to wire this season.“It's nice to not trail ... but it doesn't really mean anything. We have to keep playing good basketball," Antetokounmpo said.“We were up 27 and they came back, cut the lead to 11. So it doesn't mean anything," the league's reigning MVP added. “We just try to take it quarter by quarter."Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists while also falling short of becoming the first player in league history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games.Antetokounmpo was originally listed with 19 points, but the NBA announced later Saturday... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A slow start didn't help Giannis Antetokounmpo's shot at NBA history, but the Milwaukee Bucks are hardly a one-man show.Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer less than 20 seconds into the game, and the team with the league's best record never trailed Saturday night in a 112-95 victory over the Orlando Magic. It's the 13th time the Bucks have led from wire to wire this season.“It's nice to not trail ... but it doesn't really mean anything. We have to keep playing good basketball," Antetokounmpo said.“We were up 27 and they came back, cut the lead to 11. So it doesn't mean anything," the league's reigning MVP added. “We just try to take it quarter by quarter."Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists while also falling short of becoming the first player in league history with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games.With Middleton, Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe picking up the slack, it didn't matter as... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers waived guard Isaiah Thomas on Saturday, two days after acquiring him as part of a three-team trade.The move had been expected since Thursday's deal with the Wizards and Knicks. Thomas has averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists during his career with seven NBA teams. The 31-year-old guard was drafted by Sacramento out of the University of Washington in 2011.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo nearly had a triple double with 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, helping the NBA-best Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 112-95 on Saturday night.The Bucks won for the 13th time in 14 games, improving the league’s best record to 45-7 and remaining on course to become just the third team to top 70 wins in a regular season.Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, fell short in a personal bid to become the first player with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in six consecutive games, scoring two points in the first quarter and finishing 6 of 17 from the field.Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with a stretch of five straight games with 30, 15 and 5, accomplishing it from Dec. 10-17, 1965, with the Philadelphia Warriors.Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 23 points, including 5 for 5 on 3-point attempts. Khris Middleton had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Eric Bledsoe finished with 18 points for the Bucks, who led by as many as 27 in the third... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Hornets waived former No. 2 overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 15-year NBA veteran Marvin Williams on Saturday.The 6-foot-6 Kidd-Gilchrist was selected behind Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis in the 2012 draft, but he found himself out of Charlotte's rotation this season under coach James Borrego. He has played in only 12 games, averaging four points.The 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist holds career averages of 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game during his eight seasons in Charlotte.However, Kidd-Gilchrist struggled with his shooting despite efforts to improve his form. He shot 47.5% from the field during his career and 28% from 3-point range.The Hornets finished 7-59 in the 2011-12 season but wound up with the second pick in the lottery. That allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to draft Davis, a perennial All-Star, with the first pick, which proved to be a devastating blow to the development of the Hornets' franchise.The 6-foot-8 Williams... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Toronto coach Nick Nurse keeps imploring the defending NBA champions to fix their flaws.The bigger challenge, right now, might be identifying those errors.Two days after rallying from a 19-point deficit to extend their franchise-record winning streak, the short-handed Raptors used another late charge to pull away from Indiana 115-106 on Friday night for their 13th consecutive victory.“I thought we were into it the whole 48 minutes," Nurse said. "I thought we were playing well enough to maybe get away. You know how those games come down to somebody hits a couple at one end, somebody misses a couple at the other and all of a sudden the game's over."Lately, the Raptors seem to have had all the answers.They've won without Marc Gasol and Norman Powell, two key players who are injured. They won Wednesday when it looked as though they didn't have a chance. And this time, they delivered the decisive final flurry without six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry.Lowry missed the final 14... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Serge Ibaka had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Fred VanVleet added 20 points Friday night, leading the Toronto Raptors past the Indiana Pacers 115-106 for their franchise-record 13th consecutive win.The Raptors haven't lost since Jan. 15 and beat the Pacers for the second time in three days, winning their first game in Indianapolis in 13 months.Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers. Victor Oladipo added 15 points and four assists in his first home start since returning from an injured right knee.Indiana has lost four straight and three in a row at home.Toronto took control with a 12-3 run late in the third quarter, using it to grab an 87-78 lead. But, after six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry left with what appeared to be an injured right shoulder or arm, the Pacers closed out the quarter by scoring five straight.Lowry did not return.Indiana got as close as 101-99 with 6:47 left, but Toronto pulled away with a 12-4 spurt spurt that made it 113-103... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In Brooklyn a couple of days back, Bob Myers realized something he has rarely seen as Golden State's general manager or even dating to his days as a busy sports agent: Nobody wanted to be traded from the NBA's worst team.“That's unprecedented,” Myers said Friday after dealing much of the Warriors roster this week.Golden State dealt D'Angelo Russell, Jacob Evans III and Omari Spellman to the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of Thursday's trade deadline for Andrew Wiggins and draft picks — Minneosta's first-rounder and second-rounder in 2021, unless the first-rounder is in the top three and then it would roll over to 2022.It was “somber” as Myers put it after Golden State opted to send so many players packing for new opportunities. He felt it. Coaches felt it. The young Warriors said heartfelt farewells, having built tight bonds by being thrown into the fire because of injuries to stars such as Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and following Kevin Durant's offseason... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Not yet finished with his fifth NBA season, D'Angelo Russell has landed with his fourth team.Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves sure don't want him to leave. “It’s surreal to really think that instead of us just talking on the phone or playing video games with each other and talking about how our teams are doing and everything, but now we’re getting to do this every day with each other,” Towns said.Russell was introduced at an open-to-the-public news conference Friday along with six other players acquired during the trading spree this week.“I’ve been seeing from a distance, and from close-up, the ship that Karl’s kind of been driving around here for years,” Russell said. “Players come and go from here. I take it they didn’t appreciate the situation here or whatever that may be, but watching from a distance I knew I could help Karl. I’ve never played with a dynamic big just like him.”President of basketball operations Gersson Rosas was hired May 1. He was... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have requested waivers on guard Gerald Green, whom they acquired from Houston as part of the 12-player, four-team trade with the Rockets, Timberwolves and Hawks earlier this week.Green has missed the entire season because of a foot injury in the preseason that required surgery. The 12-year veteran has played in 658 career games for eight NBA teams, posting averages of 9.7 points and 2.5 rebounds while playing 19.8 minutes a game.He was the 18th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2005 NBA draft out of Gulf Shores Academy High School in Houston.

MIAMI (AP) — In deciding whether to pursue a trade for Andre Iguodala, the Miami Heat went all-in on research. They talked to people who knew Iguodala. They watched what he did last season. They took a deep dive into the analytics.And they came to a determination.“He’s elite,” Heat President Pat Riley said.Simple as that. That’s why Iguodala is now in Heat colors, and a team that wasn’t even good enough to make the playoffs last season is thinking big as it gears up for a run at the 2020 postseason. Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill all joined the team for a game-day shootaround practice in Sacramento on Friday to get their first taste of what life with the Heat is like.“He's an elite defender, an elite team defender, elite assist-to-turnover percentage, he ranks up into the top of those areas that are real tangible,” Riley said. “You don't lose that in seven months. And probably it was a blessing in disguise that he didn't play for seven months.Iguodala last played an NBA game in... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Ed Stefanski needed only about a minute in his conference call before he said the word the Detroit Pistons have seemingly avoided for so long.“We were always discussing that we were going to have to probably rebuild here,” said Stefanski, a team executive. "We're in the middle of the pack. To me, that's not the place that we want to be in and where fans want to be in.”The Pistons have been hesitant to rebuild, but Stefanski said Friday that injuries and the team's performance made it the best option. Detroit traded Andre Drummond on Thursday to Cleveland, a team in the Pistons' own division. The return wasn't much. In exchange for a two-time All-Star center, Detroit received Brandon Knight, John Henson and a second-round draft pick in 2023.It's hard to view that as anything other than an attempt to remove a high-priced player from the roster and break up the core of a team that hasn't performed as hoped. The Pistons haven't won a playoff game since 2008. Drummond has put... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The victories have been scarce for the Cavaliers this season, overwhelmed by so many ugly losses, so many unwatchable moments.However, they're certain they won the NBA trading deadline. Landing two-time All- Star Andre Drummond is a huge get.“For what they gave up, it's a (blanking) steal,” said Tristan Thompson, using a profanity to emphasize his point.Unexpectedly, the Cavs finalized their trade for Drummond, the league's leading rebounder at 15.8 boards per game in the final hour before Thursday's deadline, completing a deal nobody had on their radar. Cleveland sent guard Brandon Knight, forward John Henson and one of its second-round draft picks in 2023 to the Detroit Pistons for the 26-year-old Drummond, one of the game's best all-around centers.“He plays extremely hard and has crazy production," Cavs star forward Kevin Love said Friday after practice. "It makes us competitive. We added an All-Star level player. He's a versatile big who can do a lot of things for us.”General... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have picked up guard Jordan McRae in a trade with Washington that became official Thursday night.In exchange, the Nuggets sent recently acquired guard Shabazz Napier to the Wizards.McRae averaged 12.9 points and 2.8 assists in 29 games for the Wizards this season. The 28-year-old out of Tennessee had surgery on his right ring finger in October. He's recently been dealing with a twisted left ankle.The 6-foot-5 McRae joins a Nuggets team that's off to a 36-16 start and currently sits in third place in the Western Conference. He provides back-court depth behind Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Gary Harris and Monte Morris. McRae has appeared in 115 games over four years with Washington, Cleveland and Phoenix. He was signed by the Wizards on a two-way deal on Sept. 10, 2018, before it was converted to a regular contract on April 9, 2019."Jordan was a great success story for our developmental program, with his hard work and dedication resulting in him earning a full-time... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers were expected to move a big man. Instead, they added another one.In the final hour before the NBA trading deadline, Cleveland acquired two-time All-Star center Andre Drummond from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forward John Henson, guard Brandon Knight and “the less favorable” of its two second-round draft picks in 2023.The teams made the deal official Thursday night after getting league approval.Cleveland needed to do something to save a season that's been worsening by the day. The Cavs are just 13-39 under first-year coach John Beilein and some recent blowout losses have raised concerns about the team's direction under general manager Koby Altman.But by landing Drummond, who leads the league in rebounding, the Cavs helped themselves in the short-term and positioned themselves for the future.The Cavs had been expected to be aggressive leading into the deadline and signs pointed to the team moving either star forward Kevin Love or center Tristan Thompson,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks completed their dramatic overhaul of their center position on Thursday by reacquiring Dewayne Dedmon from the Sacramento Kings and Skal Labissiere from the Portland Trail Blazers.The trades came one day after Atlanta acquired center Clint Capela from Houston.The Hawks didn't stop with Dedmon and Capela. The team added more help inside by acquiring Labissiere and cash from Portland in exchange for a conditional 2024 second-round pick.The Hawks had roster spots to fill after requesting waivers on center Nenê, who was acquired with Capela, and forward Chandler Parsons. Dedmon is returning to Atlanta, where he enjoyed his two most productive seasons, from 2017-19. The trade sent center Alex Len and forward Jabari Parker to Sacramento. The Kings also are giving the Hawks two second-round picks.“We are happy to welcome Dewayne back to Atlanta,” said Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk. “In his time with us, he developed into a reliable outside shooter and strong... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks plan to hire agent Leon Rose to take over their basketball operations, a person with knowledge of the details said.Rose will replace Steve Mills, who was fired as team president on Tuesday.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The plans were first reported by ESPN and SNY.The Knicks released a statement in which Madison Square Garden executive chairman James Dolan said he hoped to conclude the search for a new president quickly.“I am not selling, but I am determined to find the right leader for the Knicks who will ensure the long-term success of the team, just as we did with the hiring of Rangers President John Davidson," Dolan said.Rather than seek to hire an experienced team executive, the Knicks would be going with a model that has worked successfully for other NBA teams lately. The Golden State Warriors, with Bob Myers, and the Los Angeles Lakers, headed by Rob Pelinka, are both run by former... [More]