LOS ANGELES (AP) — Red roses adorned the courtside seats where Kobe and Gianna Bryant sat at the last Los Angeles Lakers game they attended. On the overhead video board, photos of Bryant in action for the Lakers alternated with those of the other seven people who were killed alongside him and his 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash.Friday night at Staples Center was unlike any other.Longtime public address announcer Lawrence Tanter introduced the entire Lakers lineup the same way: “From Lower Merion High School, No. 8, Kobe Bryant.”In a ceremony before the Lakers' first game since the crash on Sunday, Usher stood at center court of the darkened arena in front of No. 8 and No. 24 yellow rose arrangements to sing “Amazing Grace.” Cellist Ben Hong from the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed while video of Bryant talking about his life and career played.Fans interrupted the silence with chants of “Kobe! Kobe!" and “MVP! MVP!”Boyz II Men, from Bryant's hometown of Philadelphia, sang the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Red roses adorned the courtside seats where Kobe and Gianna Bryant sat at the last Los Angeles Lakers game they attended. On the overhead video board, photos of Bryant in action for the Lakers alternated with those of the other seven people who were killed alongside him and his 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash.Friday night at Staples Center was unlike any other.Longtime public address announcer Lawrence Tanter introduced the entire Lakers lineup the same way: “From Lower Merion High School, No. 8, Kobe Bryant.”In a ceremony before the Lakers' first game since the crash on Sunday, Usher stood at center court of the darkened arena in front of No. 8 and No. 24 yellow rose arrangements to sing “Amazing Grace.” Cellist Ben Hong from the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed while video of Bryant talking about his life and career played.Fans interrupted the silence at times with chants of “Kobe!" and “MVP.”Boyz II Men, from Bryant's hometown of Philadelphia, sang the... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers ended practice with a few somber, almost plaintive laughs. As they left the court, they all passed under the oversized 8 and 24 outlined in white on the black wall above the door to their locker room.Anthony Davis and several other Lakers paused and looked up at Kobe Bryant's two retired numbers for a moment before they moved forward.The Lakers are still grieving and mourning Bryant's death Sunday in a helicopter crash along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others. Los Angeles' players and coaches returned to work Wednesday at their training complex with a determination to keep Bryant and the victims in their thoughts while getting on with the business of basketball and life.“We want to represent what Kobe was about, more than anything,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve always wanted to make him proud, and that’s not going to be any different now.”Vogel, who joined the Lakers eight months ago, was the only person to speak to the... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers ended practice with a few somber, almost plaintive laughs. As they left the court, they all passed under the oversized 8 and 24 outlined in white on the black wall above the door to their locker room.Anthony Davis and several other Lakers paused and looked up at Kobe Bryant's two retired numbers for a moment before they moved forward.The Lakers are still grieving and mourning Bryant's death Sunday in a helicopter crash along with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others. Los Angeles' players and coaches returned to work Wednesday at their training complex with a determination to keep Bryant and the victims in their thoughts while getting on with the business of basketball and life.“We want to represent what Kobe was about, more than anything,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve always wanted to make him proud, and that’s not going to be any different now.”Vogel, who joined the Lakers eight months ago, was the only person to speak to the... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NBA has postponed the Los Angeles Lakers' next game against the Clippers on Tuesday night after the deaths of retired superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash.The league announced the decision in a statement Monday, saying it “was made out of respect for the Lakers organization.”The Lakers learned about the crash while flying home from an East Coast road trip Sunday. LeBron James and several other players appeared to be visibly affected by the news when they got off the plane.James made his first public comments Monday night in an Instagram post including several photos of himself with Bryant. The four-time NBA MVP and 16-time All-Star said he was “heartbroken and devastated,” and had been crying repeatedly while trying to write about Bryant.James, who joined the Lakers last season, said the two spoke by phone Sunday morning after James passed Bryant for third place on the NBA's career scoring list Saturday night.“Didn’t think for... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NBA has postponed the Los Angeles Lakers' next game against the Clippers on Tuesday night after the deaths of retired superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash.The league announced the decision in a statement Monday, saying it “was made out of respect for the Lakers organization.”Bryant's helicopter crashed Sunday, and the Lakers learned about it while flying home from an East Coast road trip. LeBron James and several other players appeared to be visibly affected by the news when they got off the plane.The Lakers organization hasn't made a public statement about Bryant's death, choosing to mourn in private. The 16-time NBA champion franchise made grief counselors available to employees Monday after the loss of Bryant, who spent his entire 20-year NBA career with the Lakers.Lakers owner Jeanie Buss was quite close to Bryant, and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka was Bryant's agent during his playing career.Dwight Howard is the only... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic is set to be the youngest All-Star starter since LeBron James, yet another link between the Dallas sensation and the player he grew up admiring, even when he was already playing pro ball as a 16-year-old in Spain.Now the 20-year-old Doncic waits to see who James, as the leading vote-getter, will take with the No. 1 pick before the other captain — Doncic's fellow European and 2019 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee — gets to choose.“No, I don't think I will be,” the 2019 Rookie of the Year said with a laugh when asked if he thought he would be the top choice by the Los Angeles Lakers star.All that matters for the Mavericks is that Doncic was at the top of their draft board in 2018, and the trade up two spots to get the third overall pick ended up involving two players getting All-Star starts in their second seasons. Atlanta's Trae Young was one of the five Eastern Conference players to get voted in.Doncic leads the NBA with 12 triple-doubles — two more than... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.“For me, it's always a blessing just being part of All-Star weekend," James told TNT on Thursday night.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are chosen.James is a starter for the 16th time, an NBA record. Being a 16-time All-Star also puts him third... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — It’ll be an All-Star rematch: Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks will be the captains for the NBA All-Star Game, just as they were last season. They earned the captaincies by being the top overall votegetters from the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively.The other starters for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago: Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, James Harden of the Houston Rockets, Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker of the Boston Celtics and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.James, as the leading overall vote-getter, will have the top pick when he and Antetokounmpo pick their teams; Antetokounmpo will pick first in the second round, when the reserves are chosen.James is a starter for the 16th time, an NBA record. Being a 16-time All-Star also puts him third... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James still leads Luka Doncic in the race to become the leading Western Conference vote-getter and one of the two captains for next month’s All-Star Game, the NBA announced Thursday.James had 4,747,887 votes in the latest returns of fan voting, currently making the Los Angeles Lakers’ star the top overall vote-getter. Doncic has 4,598,323, good enough for the Dallas Mavericks guard to lead the Western Conference backcourt voting but 149,564 ballots behind James.The only other player with a reasonable chance of overtaking James or Doncic for the top West voting spot would be Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who has 4,412,619 votes. No other player in the West had topped the 3 million mark through the NBA’s most recent update.Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks remains the Eastern Conference voting leader, with 4,474,107 votes -- roughly 2 million more than Toronto’s Pascal Siakam.Captaincy for the game is given to the starter with the most votes from each conference;... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed the Lakers' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.Lakers coach Frank Vogel said James has a chest cold. Officially, the team said he has flu-like symptoms. James is averaging 25.4 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 8.7 rebounds and has helped the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. He played on Friday night and had 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Vogel said the performance was especially impressive because James struggled with breathing throughout.Davis, who leads the Lakers with 27.1 points per game, missed his second straight game with a gluteus maximus contusion. Danny Green also sat out with a sore right hip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Rajon Rondo moved into the starting lineup and Kyle Kuzma got his third start of the season.The short-handed Lakers faced a Thunder team that has won 11 of 13 games and rolled past the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LeBron James will miss the Lakers' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday with an illness.Lakers coach Frank Vogel said James has a chest cold. Officially, the team said he has flu-like symptoms. James is averaging 25.4 points, a league-leading 10.7 assists and 8.7 rebounds and has helped the Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference. He played on Friday night and had 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Vogel said the performance was especially impressive because James struggled with breathing throughout.Vogel said forward Anthony Davis, who leads the Lakers with 27.1 points per game, is a game-time decision with a gluteus maximus contusion. He also missed the game against Dallas.Vogel also said guard Danny Green will sit out with a sore right hip. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Rajon Rondo will start in the slots vacated by James and Green.The short-handed Lakers face a Thunder team that has won 11 of 13 games and rolled past the Houston Rockets on Thursday night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Pelinka was given the title of vice president of basketball operations by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, almost three years after the former agent was hired as general manager.The Lakers made the announcement before the team's game in Dallas.Pelinka joined the Lakers in March 2017 and has overseen the free agent signing of LeBron James and the blockbuster trade this past offseason that brought in Anthony Davis.The 50-year-old Pelinka took on a more significant role with Magic Johnson's surprising resignation as president basketball operations on the final day of the regular season last spring.Pelinka had been an agent for almost 20 years when the Lakers hired him in the middle of a franchise-worst six-year run of missing the playoffs. With the best record in the Western Conference, LA is all but assured of ending that skid.“I’m extremely pleased with the work Rob has done in order to put this franchise in a position for success,” owner Jeanie Buss said. Pelinka was a member of Michigan's 1989 national championship team before getting his undergraduate and law degrees there.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Pelinka was given the title of vice president of basketball operations by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, almost three years after the former agent was hired as general manager.The Lakers made the announcement before the team's game in Dallas.Pelinka joined the Lakers in March 2017 and has overseen the free agent signing of LeBron James and the blockbuster trade this past offseason that brought in Anthony Davis.The 50-year-old Pelinka took on a more significant role with Magic Johnson's surprising resignation as president basketball operations on the final day of the regular season last spring.Pelinka had been an agent for almost 20 years when the Lakers hired him in the middle of a franchise-worst six-year run of missing the playoffs. With the best record in the Western Conference, LA is all but assured of ending that skid.“I’m extremely pleased with the work Rob has done in order to put this franchise in a position for success,” owner Jeanie Buss said. Pelinka was a member of Michigan's 1989 national championship team before getting his undergraduate and law degrees there.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — Anthony Davis won't play against Dallas in the opener of a road back-to-back after the Los Angeles Lakers star bruised his buttocks against the New York Knicks.The team made the announcement several hours before the Lakers played at the Mavericks on Friday night.Davis was injured on a nasty fall in a 117-87 win over the Knicks in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. An MRI exam showed no major concerns, although Davis was extremely sore.Davis made the quick two-game trip that wraps up Saturday at Oklahoma City.Both leading men — LA's LeBron James and 20-year-old Dallas phenom Luka Doncic — will be without their star sidekicks for the final regular-season meeting. Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis has already been ruled out for the final two games of a six-game homestand because of a sore right knee. The 7-foot-3 is missing his sixth straight game and won't play against Philadelphia on Saturday either.Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has said Porzingis might return during a two-game trip to California next week.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

It could be a Team LeBron vs. Team Giannis rematch in the All-Star Game.LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has passed Dallas’ Luka Doncic for the overall and Western Conference lead in fan voting for the Feb. 16 game in Chicago, with about a week and a half left in the race. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the runaway leader in the Eastern Conference voting.The game’s captains -- James and Antetokounmpo held the jobs last year -- will be the All-Star starters who receive the most fan votes from his conference. James also was a captain the first time the format was used in 2018, then going up against a team picked by Golden State’s Stephen Curry.Team LeBron beat Team Giannis last year, 178-164. Team LeBron also won the inaugural edition of this All-Star setup, topping Team Stephen 148-145 in the 2018 game.James’ lead over Doncic was 82,001 votes, the NBA said on Thursday when releasing the second balloting update. James leads the West frontcourt voting with 3,359,871, ahead... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis plans to travel with the Los Angeles Lakers on their upcoming road trip after he bruised his buttocks in a nasty fall.The Lakers announced encouraging news about their six-time All-Star's health Wednesday, a day after he left their blowout win over New York with a scary injury.An MRI exam performed overnight on Davis showed no major concerns, and X-rays were negative. Davis was extremely sore, but his injuries appear to be only bruises.The NBA's sixth-leading scorer is expected to be listed as questionable when the Lakers open a two-game road trip Friday in Dallas.Davis was hurt when he fell hard on his back and tailbone after trying to block the shot of New York's Julius Randle in the third quarter of the Lakers' sixth straight win, 117-87 over the Knicks on Tuesday night.Davis pounded the court in pain and stayed down for about two minutes while his teammates gathered around him. He eventually rose with help and walked off the court slowly, but under his... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis left the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the New York Knicks in the third quarter Tuesday night after he bruised his lower back in a painful fall to the court.Davis was injured when he fell awkwardly while trying to block the shot of New York's Julius Randle. Davis pounded the court in obvious pain after his hard landing, and he stayed down for about two minutes in a hushed Staples Center.Davis eventually rose with help from his teammates, and he walked to the Lakers' dressing room slowly, but under his own power.Davis' agent, Rich Paul, emerged from the Lakers' locker room after the injury and said X-rays on Davis' back were negative, but the superstar is feeling sore. The Lakers described the injury as a bruised sacrum — the lower part of the spine near the tailbone.Davis, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, is the primary reason behind Los Angeles' swift rise to the top of the Western Conference.The six-time All-Star is averaging 27.7 points and 9.5 rebounds in his first season after the Lakers traded most of their young core to New Orleans for him.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — David Stern had been NBA commissioner for barely a year when the Knicks won the 1985 draft lottery, sending Patrick Ewing on the way to New York.Skeptics cried conspiracy, that the league rigged the result to bail out the faltering franchise in its largest market.Stern would shrug it off, knowing he wouldn't do anything illegal to help the Knicks, or any of the big boys.He did far more for the little guys.Cities like Sacramento and New Orleans needed Stern more, and his efforts helped them retain teams that might otherwise have been playing elsewhere.In New Orleans’ case, that even included running the organization at the same time as running a league."I used to think that he just showed up on draft day and shook hands, but then I got to work with him when I was in New Orleans when the NBA took over the Pelicans. I was amazed how much he did,” said Phoenix coach Monty Williams, who was coaching the team when the league stepped in to run it until new ownership could be found.Tributes... [More]