Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio produced another impressive outing off the bench in Wednesday's loss to Washington, notching a team-high 20 points with five rebounds and five assists in 28 minutes. He bagged a pair of steals as well and had three turnovers while shooting 6-for-15 from the field and 7-for-8 at the line. Rubio, who was 1-for-5 from deep on Wednesday, entered the contest after scoring a career-high 37 points in a win over New York. He's really turned back the clock in recent outings and there's even more potential for him to perform well with Collin Sexton (knee) unavailable. Rubio will be a busy man starting from Friday with three games in four nights.

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio had a special night at the Madison Square Garden on Sunday, scoring a career-high 37 points in 31 minutes off the bench. He shot an amazing 8-for-9 from downtown and was 13-for-19 overall from the field with a 3-for-3 record at the line. Rubio's dominant performance also included 10 assists with three rebounds, one steal and four turnovers. This was a spectacular performance and came just a few nights after Rubio had a zero-point dud. Coming off the bench, he's not in a great spot to put up good numbers night in night out, but he's been fairly solid so far this season with 13.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Cleveland's next matchup against a Washington team that has limited point guards to below 40 percent shooting doesn't look very promising for Rubio.

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio ran the show as the team beat Atlanta on Saturday 101-95. He produced a team-high 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting and had eight assists with six rebounds and one steal. Rubio went 3-for-7 from downtown and recorded three turnovers in 35 minutes. Some seem to forget that this guy is a magician with the ball, and he's now getting the chance to show it again in Cleveland. Rubio is currently starting with Darius Garland (ankle) on the shelf, which makes him an attractive DFS option and a good piece in season-long formats as well.

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ricky Rubio has been shifted into the starting five for Friday's game against Charlotte, taking the place of the injured Darius Garland (ankle). Rubio excelled off the bench in the season opener Wednesday, logging a double-double 25 minutes. Maybe most encouraging for fantasy managers is that Rubio knocked down three triples in that game as well, which could be an indication of an expanded offensive arsenal. He will get a decent DFS bump Friday due to what can be presumed to be a minutes increase, but his ceiling remains capped in the long-term due to the Cavs' desire to help Garland and Collin Sexton grow into their roles as the starting backcourt.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have agreed to acquire veteran guard Ricky Rubio in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday night before the NBA draft. Cleveland is sending small forward Taurean Prince, cash and a second-round pick in 2022 to the Timberwolves for the 30-year-old Rubio, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the NBA has to approve the trade. The deal is happening as Rubio is in Tokyo playing on Spain's Olympic team. The Cavs struggled without a veteran backup point guard last season as Matthew Dellavedova was sidelined with a concussion. Rubio is entering the final season of the $51 million, three-year contract he signed with Phoenix. He was acquired by the Timberwolves on draft day 2020 to give the team some more backcourt experience and depth, but his return to Minnesota to rejoin the team that drafted him as a teenager from Spain in 2009 at No. 5 overall was a bit of... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Chris Paul is a little uncomfortable with the notion that he comes to the Phoenix Suns as a wise veteran player who can impart his knowledge to the next generation of stars. Sure, he knows he's in his mid-30s and time isn't going backward. Yes, he's ready to pair with Devin Booker, who just turned 24 and is one of the game's top young scorers. And certainly, after 15 years, 1,020 regular-season games and 109 postseason games, he's learned a few things along the way. But just because he's got a Ph.D. in NBA basketball doesn't mean he's coming to the desert to be a professor. “I'm not James Naismith by no means,” Paul said grinning. “It's fun for me. First things first, I'm not just coming here to teach everybody. I'm (Booker's) teammate. We're here to hoop, we're here to compete and that's the way I approach this.” Paul, 35, showed he can still play at a high level last season in Oklahoma City, making his 10th All-Star team while averaging 17.6 points and 6.7 assists per game.... [More]

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired veteran forward Ed Davis from the New York Knicks for Jacob Evans III, Omari Spellman and a 2026 second-round draft pick in a trade finalized Tuesday. The 31-year-old Davis has played in 668 regular-season games, with 96 starts, for six NBA teams. He has averaged 6.3 points and 6.6 rebounds during his career. The 6-foot-9 Davis was drafted 13th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Raptors. He'll help fill an opening at power forward created by the departure of James Johnson in the draft-night deal that brought point guard Ricky Rubio back to the Timberwolves. Evans and Spellman played sparingly for Minnesota last season after coming with headliner D'Angelo Russell from Golden State in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Warriors. ___ More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired veteran forward Ed Davis from the New York Knicks for Jacob Evans III, Omari Spellman and a 2026 second-round draft pick in a trade finalized Tuesday. The 31-year-old Davis has played in 668 regular-season games, with 96 starts, for six NBA teams. He has averaged 6.3 points and 6.6 rebounds during his career. The 6-foot-9 Davis was drafted 13th overall in 2010 by the Toronto Raptors. He'll help fill an opening at power forward created by the departure of James Johnson in the draft-night deal that brought point guard Ricky Rubio back to the Timberwolves. Evans and Spellman played sparingly for Minnesota last season after coming with headliner D'Angelo Russell from Golden State in the trade that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Warriors. ___ More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder bolstered their frontcourt during the NBA draft on Wednesday night, acquiring Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski in a trade with Minnesota. The Timberwolves selected Pokusevski with the 17th pick, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations said they had agreed to send the choice to Oklahoma City in exchange for the 25th and 28th overall selections and point guard Ricky Rubio. The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced. Deals involving players can’t be finalized until free agency officially begins on Sunday for salary cap purposes. Pokusevski, 18, is listed at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds. He represented Serbia at the 2018 FIBA U-17 World Championship and the 2019 FIBA U-18 European Championship. He played for Olympiacos' second-division team in Greece last season and averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. It has been a busy month for the Thunder. Last... [More]

Chris Paul holds a $44 million option for the 2021-22 season, a massive payday that may have kept some teams from trying to trade for the All-Star point guard. The Phoenix Suns weren’t deterred. They have a pair of All-Stars in their backcourt now, with hopes the duo of Paul and Devin Booker — one of the league’s most dynamic young scorers — will be enough to get the franchise back to the postseason for the first time since 2010. The trade sending Paul to the Suns from Oklahoma City was completed Monday night, a blockbuster to start what could be a wild few days of NBA transactions before training camps begin next month. The particulars: The Suns get Paul and forward Abdel Nader, while the Thunder get Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a protected 2022 first-round pick. “We are excited to welcome Chris Paul and Abdel Nader to Phoenix,” Suns general manager James Jones said. “Chris’ leadership and competitive approach to the game will have an immeasurable impact on... [More]

All-Star guard Chris Paul is being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Phoenix Suns, where he'll play alongside one of the league's most dynamic young scorers in fellow All-Star Devin Booker, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday. The Thunder are acquiring Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Jalen Lecque, Ty Jerome and a first-round pick that will be conveyed sometime between 2022 and 2025, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized by the league. Rubio reacted to the trade news with a tweet: “... what a business," he wrote. It is a huge leap for the Suns, who went 8-0 inside the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World in a frantic, but futile, quest to make the playoffs. Paul is owed about $41 million for this season and has a $44 million player option for next season, which was too much of an impediment for other teams that considered acquiring him last summer. The Suns, however, deemed it worth... [More]

All-Star guard Chris Paul is being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Phoenix Suns, where he'll play alongside one of the league's most dynamic young scorers in fellow All-Star Devin Booker, a person with knowledge of the situation said Monday. The Thunder are acquiring Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Jalen Lecque, Ty Jerome and a first-round pick that will be conveyed sometime between 2022 and 2025, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized by the league. Rubio reacted to the trade news with a tweet: “... what a business," he wrote. It is a huge leap for the Suns, who went 8-0 inside the NBA's restart bubble at Walt Disney World in a frantic, but futile, quest to make the playoffs. Paul is owed about $41 million for this season and has a $44 million player option for next season, which was too much of an impediment for other teams that considered acquiring him last summer. The Suns, however, deemed it worth... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Coach Monty Williams could sense a few eye rolls earlier this summer when the Phoenix Suns and their extremely mediocre 26-39 record were invited to the NBA's bubble.A few months later, the Suns are the talk of the league after winning all eight games in Florida and nearly making a run all the way to the playoffs.“I think we've gained the respect of the league and that's huge,” Williams said. “It's huge for us as an organization. It's huge for us as a team. There was some sentiment before this that we didn't belong. I think we changed that sentiment.”The Suns won't be in the playoffs for a 10th straight season after the Portland Trail Blazers edged the Brooklyn Nets 134-133 on Thursday night to clinch the final spot in the Western Conference play-in series. But for Phoenix, it's hard not to be encouraged by its 8-0 run in the bubble.“We took tremendous strides in so many different ways,” All-Star guard Devin Booker said. “Other than just basketball, too. We became closer... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker has produced the kind of all-around numbers for the past few seasons that suggest he should be an NBA All-Star. He usually commands the respect of opposing defenses like an All-Star. His teammates and coach believe there is no doubt that he's an All-Star.Yet the fifth-year Phoenix Suns guard has never been an All-Star.That could change fairly soon. The 23-year-old looks like he'll be caught in quite a battle for the final spots in the Western Conference when the reserves are announced next week. The league's coaches will likely have several good players to choose from, including Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Brandon Ingram.If he makes it, Booker would be the Suns' first All-Star since Steve Nash in 2012. “I've said it for a couple years — my main focus is to turn around this franchise and get to the playoffs,” Booker said. “Obviously, (being an All-Star is) an individual goal of mine. I feel like I've played at that level.... [More]

It’s halftime.The midway point of the NBA regular season arrives this week -- there are 1,230 games between October and April, and after Thursday night’s slate goes into the books 618 games will have been played with 612 left to go.Making statistical judgments after a few games, or even a few weeks, isn’t the wisest thing. But with 50% of the season done, it seems like appropriate enough of a sample size to point out a few trends.3’S, AGAINThe league records for 3-pointers made and attempted are going to get broken for the eighth consecutive year. But the growth rate in that department seems to be slowing down.First, the numbers: NBA teams combined to make 27,955 3-pointers last season and attempt 78,742, both of which are records. That was an increase of 8.3% on makes from 2017-18 and an increase of 10.4% on attempts.This year, the league is on pace to make more than 29,000 3-pointers and attempt nearly 83,000 of them. Both would be records, of course, but the increases over last season... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker is playing some of the best basketball of his career and starting center Deandre Ayton is back in the lineup after missing a long stretch because of a suspension and an ankle injury.But the Phoenix Suns are still struggling to win basketball games.It's been a frustrating month for a franchise that's hungry to get back to the playoffs after a nine-year absence, which is the second-longest current drought in the NBA. The Suns have dropped 11 of their past 14 games and now have a 14-23 record, which ranks 13th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference.“Coach always says that everything you want is on the other side of hard,” Booker said. “I think we're in the middle of that right now.”The team's toughest loss might have been the last one on Tuesday, when the Suns fell 114-103 to the Sacramento Kings. Phoenix had a 21-point lead late in the third quarter before coughing up the advantage and losing its second straight game at home.“It feels bad when you lose games... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Kelly Oubre Jr. was ready for a low-key night on the town with friends and family to celebrate his birthday, dressed head to toe in black with a jacket, shirt, pants and shoes.His work was already done and the results were exactly what he wanted. The new 24-year-old had just poured in 24 points to help the Phoenix Suns top the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-109 on Monday.“It's easy to get lost in the sauce when it comes to the emotions of the game,” Oubre said. “It's my birthday, definitely wanted to win, so I just wanted to go out there and do everything I possibly could to get the win.”Devin Booker led the Suns with 26 points, Oubre shot 8 of 15 from the field and Ricky Rubio finished with 16 points and 14 assists. The Suns won at home for the first time since Nov. 14, snapping a four-game losing streak at Talking Stick Resort Arena.Dario Saric added 20 points for Phoenix. Rubio has dished out at least 13 assists in three straight games and had only one turnover on Monday.“You... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 26 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 24 on his 24th birthday and the Phoenix Suns rolled to a 125-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.Oubre shot 8 of 15 from the field and made all six free throws, while Ricky Rubio finished with 16 points and 14 assists. The Suns won at home for the first time since Nov. 14, snapping a four-game losing streak at Talking Stick Resort Arena.Dario Saric added 20 points for Phoenix. Rubio has had at least 13 assists in three straight games.Minnesota lost its fifth in a row. The Timberwolves were led by Karl Anthony-Towns, who scored 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He shot 12 of 18 from the field.Andrew Wiggins added 23 points and Jeff Teague had 16 off the bench.Phoenix trailed by three at halftime but rallied for a 94-85 advantage at the end of the third quarter. The Suns pushed that margin to 12 early in the fourth after Rubio's 3-pointer.The Timberwolves made a few small runs in the final period but... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — First-year Phoenix coach Monty Williams is the epitome of stoic, with a coaching and news conference demeanor that ranges from subdued to serious to slightly bemused. He preaches consistency from day to day and month to month, painstakingly discussing how he plans to build this program the right way.So in the aftermath of Monday's thrilling 114-109 win over the previously undefeated Philadelphia 76ers, the 48-year-old was trying to stay grounded, launching into another answer about how his team had to stay steady and improve each day.Then something weird happened: The facade cracked.Even Williams had to acknowledge this winning run of basketball was pretty darn cool."This is a huge win," Williams said. "This is great for the fans, it's great for our city."Two weeks into the season, Phoenix (5-2) is one of the NBA's surprise stories, beating some of the league's top teams like the 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers after finishing last season with a 19-63 record.The Suns have... [More]

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have the unenviable task of trying to gain ground in the NBA's Western Conference, which is once again home to several of the league's powerhouse teams.There's a young nucleus already in place. Guard Devin Booker and forward Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 overall pick one year ago, are back after productive seasons. The frustration was that the big numbers didn't lead to much winning — the Suns were last in the West with a 19-63 record.Suns general manager James Jones said it is his job to find some talent to help Booker and Ayton. In his mind, the mission has been accomplished."We just wanted to get some good players, and we've done that," Jones said during media day Monday. "We've added some maturity and we have a good mix of people."The Suns signed point guard Ricky Rubio and Frank Kaminsky. They acquired rookie Cameron Johnson and veteran Aron Baynes in trades and re-signed Kelly Oubre Jr. after he had an impressive run with the Suns last season following his... [More]