CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game (all times local):9:50 p.m.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points and Team Giannis leads Team LeBron 133-124 after three quarters even though Kawhi Leonard is closing in on the record for most 3-pointers in an All-Star Game.The teams tied 41-all in the third quarter, after Team LeBron matched an All-Star scoring record while taking the first quarter 53-41 and Team Giannis bounced back in the second 51-30.The first team to reach 157 points will win the game.Rudy Gobert scored 21 points in all and 12 in the quarter, including a a tying alley-oop dunk off a feed from Trae Young in the closing seconds. Russell Westbrook then missed a runner at the buzzer for Team LeBron.Leonard has 28 points and is 8 for 13 on 3-pointers. He needs one from beyond the arc to tie Paul George's All-Star record in 2016.8:50 p.m.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 14 points and Team Giannis took the second quarter 51-30 after dropping the opener even though... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game (all times local):8:50 p.m.Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 14 points and Team Giannis took the second quarter 51-30 after dropping the opener even though Kawhi Leonard closed in on the record for most 3-pointers in an All-Star Game.After Team LeBron matched an All-Star record for scoring while winning the first quarter 53-41, Team Giannis returned the favor in the second.Antetokounmpo, the reigning league MVP, threw down dunk after dunk and ended the half with 20 points in all. And Trae Young nailed a shot from just inside halfcourt as the second quarter ended.Leonard, meanwhile, combined to score 25 and nail 7 of 10 3-pointers in the half. He needs two 3's to tie Paul George's All-Star record in 2016.Team Giannis holds a 92-83 lead over Team LeBron at the half.8:15 p.m.Kawhi Leonard scored 12 points and Team LeBron matched an All-Star Game record for scoring in a quarter, beating Team Giannis 53-41 in the opening period.A four-time... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game (all times local):8:15 p.m.Kawhi Leonard scored 12 points and Team LeBron matched an All-Star Game record for scoring in a quarter, beating Team Giannis 53-41 in the opening period.A four-time All-Star, Leonard made all four 3-pointers — the only shots he attempted. Chicago product Anthony Davis scored nine. LeBron James added seven points as his team became the fourth to score 53 in an All-Star quarter.Miami's Bam Adebayo led the team picked by Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo with eight points.The league announced major changes to the All-Star format last month, turning quarters into mini-games.The score was reset to 0-0 prior to the second quarterThe game also has a charity component, with the winner of each of the first three quarters earning $100,000 for a Chicago-based community organization. The money gets rolled over if there's a tie, and the overall winner also earns $200,000 for its group.Team LeBron is playing for... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Davis knows smooth. He has been making basketball look easy for years, from his early days in his native Chicago all the way through to NBA stardom.When it comes to his seemingly effortless transition to life with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis makes it sound as if it's no big deal. After all, smooth is what he does.“(It's been) very natural. I think team chemistry is very good,” Davis told The Associated Press ahead of a special All-Star Game for the 6-foot-10 forward. “We've been able to do some major things in the first half of the year, and it's only going to get better.”Davis has teamed with LeBron James to give Los Angeles one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, leading the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 41-12 record at the break. Davis is averaging a team-high 26.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, shooting almost 52% from the field.In his first seven seasons with New Orleans, just making the playoffs was a big question for Davis this time of year. Now it's all... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Davis knows smooth. He has been making basketball look easy for years, from his early days in his native Chicago all the way through to NBA stardom.When it comes to his seemingly effortless transition to life with the Los Angeles Lakers, Davis makes it sound as if it's no big deal. After all, smooth is what he does.“(It's been) very natural. I think team chemistry is very good,” Davis told The Associated Press ahead of a special seventh All-Star Game for the 6-foot-10 forward. “We've been able to do some major things in the first half of the year, and it's only going to get better.”Davis has teamed with LeBron James to give Los Angeles one of the best 1-2 punches in the league, leading the Lakers to a Western Conference-best 41-12 record at the break. Davis is averaging a team-high 26.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, shooting almost 52% from the field.In his first seven seasons with New Orleans, just making the playoffs was a big question for Davis this time of year. Now... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The NBA is headquartered in New York. Anthony Davis, one of the game’s biggest names, plays in Los Angeles.Both, unquestionably, are world-class cities.But in Davis’ eyes, they both pale to his hometown. And this weekend, the Chicago native believes the eyes of the basketball world are where they belong -- on his city.“Chicago basketball,” the Lakers’ forward said. “There is nothing like Chicago basketball.”Chicago is called the Second City, though no one from Chicago believes that the city is second to any other city on the planet -- particularly those who represent the city in the NBA. L.A. has the glitz and glamour of the Lakers and now the Clippers, New York has the tradition of Madison Square Garden and possibly the best-known outdoor court in the world at Rucker Park, but Chicago guys scoff at the notion that the game means more anyplace else.That’s why hosting All-Star weekend, with the events beginning in earnest Friday, is a badge of honor for Chicago. It’s been... [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]

Anthony Davis is LeBron James’ teammate in Los Angeles, and they’ll be teammates at the All-Star Game in Chicago as well.James took his fellow Lakers All-Star with the No. 1 overall pick of the Feb. 16 game’s draft on Thursday, as he matched wits with fellow captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks for the second consecutive year.James is looking to go 3-0 as an All-Star captain, after his team beat the one picked by Golden State’s Stephen Curry in 2018 and topped the one Antetokounmpo selected last year as well. James had the No. 1 overall pick for this year’s first round, the starters’ round — since he received the most overall votes from fans.And Davis, predictably, was the pick.“I know you’re all surprised,” James said.Antetokounmpo made Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, “my African brother,” he said, his first pick. James stayed with the LA theme by taking the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard with the third overall pick, and Antetokounmpo stayed with African-born players by selecting... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James has only been a part of the Los Angeles Lakers for 19 months. The West Coast is a late stop on an NBA odyssey that already yielded rings, trophies and innumerable indelible moments in Cleveland and Miami.Yet when this venerated franchise needed a leader to honor a legend during one of the most traumatic times in its history, James took the microphone and stood alone in a golden spotlight at Staples Center on Friday night.Five days after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, the simple eloquence of James' words left most of the arena cheering through tears.In just four minutes, LeBron's speech captured the melancholy mood of a city while suggesting it's both possible and necessary to move on after unthinkable tragedy.“As I look around this arena, we’re all grieving,” James said. "We’re all hurt. We’re all heartbroken. But when we’re going through things like this, the best thing you can do is lean on the shoulders of your family.”Cleveland might be James'... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James wiped his eyes as the national anthem ended. Wearing Kobe Bryant's No. 24 jersey, James wrapped teammate Anthony Davis, in a No. 8 jersey, in an embrace.The Lakers' two current superstars were back on the court Friday night for the team's first game since Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash five days earlier.“Everybody was emotional,” James said after the Lakers lost to Portland 127-119.Davis, who scored 37 points, added, “We wanted to make him proud.”Portland's Damian Lillard had 48 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a Kobe-like performance. “I don't think anybody walks away from this moment and this situation a winner,” Lillard said. “The memories that we'll take away from it was just sad and just tough.”James paid tribute by wearing an oversized jersey, finger sleeve, wristbands and Bryant's shoes.“Just showing that appreciation and love he gave us way before he knew us,” said James, who had 22... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James wiped his eyes as the national anthem ended. Wearing Kobe Bryant's No. 24 jersey, James wrapped teammate Anthony Davis, in a No. 8 jersey, in an embrace.The Lakers' two current superstars were back on the court Friday night for the team's first game since Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash five days earlier.James took center court in a pregame ceremony and read the names of the crash victims, ending with Bryant. He told the Staples Center crowd he had remarks prepared and pulled a piece of paper from his sweatpants. But then James tossed it to the floor.“Laker Nation, I would be selling you short if I read off this (expletive), so I'm going to go straight from the heart,” he said.“The first thing comes to mind is all about family. As I look around this arena, we're all breathing, hurt and heartbroken,” James said. “The best thing you can do is lean on the shoulders of your family.”He recalled watching... [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 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]