Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton (hamstring) is reportedly feeling good heading into the 2021-22 season, crediting his offseason fitness regimen. The veteran agreed to a $32 million deal a few weeks ago to keep him with the team for the next two years. When available, the 30-year-old veteran has been a relatively reliable fantasy option, most recently finishing the 2020 campaign by averaging 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and shooting 38 percent from deep. However, injuries have plagued the veteran, including a hamstring strain that relegated him to only 56 games during the regular season and three in the playoffs. Still, the 30-year-old should remain on the fantasy radar, although managers should anticipate some absences moving ahead.

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets' season came to an ignominious end with Jamal Murray looking on from the bench and newly crowned league MVP Nikola Jokic watching from the locker room. The Phoenix Suns completed their second-round sweep with a 125-118 win Sunday night in Denver, holding off an inspired effort by the Nuggets following Jokic's stunning third-quarter ejection. Long have the Nuggets chafed at the lack of respect and calls that Jokic gets, particularly this season as the 7-foot Serbian blossomed into the NBA's runaway best player. Frustration boiled over 48 hours after Jokic humbly accepted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy that he dedicated to his teammates, coaches, trainers, front office and family. Infuriated at no whistle for the contact on his one-handed runner that bounced off the rim with the Nuggets down seven late in the third quarter, Jokic gestured at the official before racing to Cameron Payne, whom he swatted across the face as he took a hard swipe at the ball. That... [More]

Four NHL teams have overcome 3-0 deficits in a best-of-seven playoff series, including the 1942 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs. The Boston Red Sox pulled off MLB's only such comeback against the New York Yankees in 2004. The Denver Nuggets are the 143rd NBA team to go down 3-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series and nobody's ever overcome such a daunting deficit to win four straight. The Nuggets say their only aim is to send the series back to Phoenix with a win in Game 4 Sunday night in Denver. “The last thing I want to see is the Phoenix Suns pushing a broom across our home court,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Friday night after Denver's 116-102 loss to the Suns. Malone has said all along the Nuggets could show growth this season after losing a year ago to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. “We have had a tremendous season, tremendous. I said going into this year you can't judge a season by the end result. ... But the one thing I don't want is for us just to go... [More]

Four NHL teams have overcome 3-0 deficits in a best-of-seven playoff series, including the 1942 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Maple Leafs. The Boston Red Sox pulled off MLB's only such comeback against the New York Yankees in 2004. The Denver Nuggets are the 143rd NBA team to go down 3-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series and nobody's ever overcome such a daunting deficit to win four straight. The Nuggets say their only aim is to send the series back to Phoenix with a win in Game 4 Sunday night in Denver. “The last thing I want to see is the Phoenix Suns pushing a broom across our home court,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Friday night after Denver's 116-102 loss to the Suns. Malone has said all along the Nuggets could show growth this season after losing a year ago to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. “We have had a tremendous season, tremendous. I said going into this year you can't judge a season by the end result. ... But the one thing I don't want is for us just to go... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — John Collins already has seen what playoff success has done to raise the hometown excitement for the Atlanta Hawks. Collins is eager for the opportunity to build more enthusiasm now that the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers has shifted to Atlanta. With the series tied 1-1, Game 3 will be played on Friday. There is less heading into Friday's Game 3 matchup between Phoenix and Denver. The Suns hold a 2-0 lead over the Nuggets in their Western Conference semifinal in a series that Phoenix seems to be in total control. In Atlanta, the Hawks announced a sellout on Thursday for Game 3 and said only a few seats remain for Monday's Game 4. The Hawks have won 13 consecutive home games, the longest active streak in the NBA. The streak includes two home wins as Atlanta beat the New York Knicks in five games in the first round. Collins said he found evidence of Atlanta's playoff fever at his neighborhood gas station. “I go into the same gas... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — On their respective ways to the NBA Finals last season, there was one important element missing for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. No fans were there. That changes for last year’s finalists on Thursday night, when the Lakers play host to Phoenix and the Heat return home to face Milwaukee in a pair of Round 1, Game 3 matchups. Those are two of the three games on Thursday’s slate, the other being Denver heading to Portland for a Game 3 contest. Portland and the Lakers are going home having taken away home-court advantage from higher-seeded opponents in their respective series by getting splits of the first two games, at third-seeded Denver and second-seeded Phoenix. Miami is limping home, the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference down 2-0 against the third-seeded Bucks and after getting simply blown out in Game 2. Heat fans can get a shot in the arm — literally. The Moderna vaccine will be available if any of the expected 17,000 fans want to begin the process of getting... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — On their respective ways to the NBA Finals last season, there was one important element missing for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. No fans were there. That changes for last year’s finalists on Thursday night, when the Lakers play host to Phoenix and the Heat return home to face Milwaukee in a pair of Round 1, Game 3 matchups. Those are two of the three games on Thursday’s slate, the other being Denver heading to Portland for a Game 3 contest. Portland and the Lakers are going home having taken away home-court advantage from higher-seeded opponents in their respective series by getting splits of the first two games, at third-seeded Denver and second-seeded Phoenix. Miami is limping home, the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference down 2-0 against the third-seeded Bucks and after getting simply blown out in Game 2. Heat fans can get a shot in the arm — literally. The Moderna vaccine will be available if any of the expected 17,000 fans want to begin the process of getting... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have extended the deal for guard Austin Rivers through the rest of the season. Rivers has averaged 6.2 points, two assists and 1.2 steals since signing a 10-day contract on April 20. Rivers is helping fill the void left by Jamal Murray, who is out for the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee on April 12. Denver also is currently without guards Monte Morris and Will Barton due to hamstring injuries. Both are expected to return this season. The 28-year-old Rivers has averaged 9.1 points and 2.3 assists over 579 career games with New Orleans, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington, Houston, New York and Denver. Rivers was originally drafted 10th overall by New Orleans in 2012 after a season at Duke. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets made another aggressive move at the trade deadline by acquiring forward Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic. The Nuggets officially announced the deal for Gordon late Thursday night. In exchange, the Magic receive veteran shooting guard Gary Harris, rookie R.J. Hampton and a future first-round draft pick. Denver also is receiving forward Gary Clark as part of the trade package. Earlier in the day, the Nuggets acquired backup center JaVale McGee from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaiah Hartenstein and two second-round picks. The 25-year-old Gordon averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Magic this season. He was the fourth overall pick by Orlando in the 2014 draft. Gordon could find himself in the running to be in Denver's starting rotation — possibly in place of veteran Paul Millsap. He would join a lineup that includes Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, Will Barton and All-Star big man Nikola Jokic as the Nuggets chase after their first... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets made another aggressive move at the trade deadline by acquiring forward Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said Thursday. In exchange, the Magic receive veteran shooting guard Gary Harris, rookie R.J. Hampton and a first-round draft pick, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was still pending NBA approval. Denver also is receiving forward Gary Clark as part of the trade package. Earlier in the day, the Nuggets acquired backup center JaVale McGee from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Isaiah Hartenstein and two second-round picks. The 25-year-old Gordon averaged 14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Magic this season. He was the fourth overall pick by Orlando in the 2014 draft. Gordon could find himself in the running to be in Denver's starting rotation — possibly in place of veteran Paul Millsap. He would join a lineup that includes Michael... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 27 points and eight assists to help the Boston Celtics withstand a 43-point night from Nikola Jokic and beat the Denver Nuggets 112-99 on Tuesday. Jayson Tatum added 21 points and eight assists as Boston bounced back following two anemic performances in back-to-back losses to Detroit and Washington — the Eastern Conference’s bottom two teams. “We just lost two bad ones. I think it was obvious we needed a win tonight,” Brown said. “We needed to come out with some energy. And for the most part we did.” It was Jokic’s third 40-point game of the season. Jamal Murray added 25 points but Denver had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Celtics led by as many as 15 in the first half and took an 11-point edge into the fourth quarter. Denver briefly got within seven points, but couldn’t string together a run down the stretch. “I think the energy was there. We just need to be a little bit smarter maybe,” Jokic said. The Nuggets were extremely short-handed playing... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 27 points and eight assists to help the Boston Celtics withstand a 43-point night from Nikola Jokic and beat the Denver Nuggets 112-99 on Tuesday. Jayson Tatum added 21 points and eight assists to help Boston bounce back following two anemic performances in back-to-back losses to Detroit and Washington — the Eastern Conference’s bottom two teams. It was Jokic’s third 40-point game of the season. Jamal Murray added 25 points but Denver had its three-game winning streak snapped. The Celtics led by as many as 15 in the first half and took an 11-point edge into the fourth quarter. Denver briefly got within seven points, but couldn’t string together a run down the stretch. The Nuggets were extremely short-handed playing without five rotation players, including Paul Millsap (left knee sprain) and Monte Morris (right shoulder strain). It left Jokic to pick up the offensive load and he did his best, scoring 15 of the Nuggets’ first 18 points. But that couldn’t offset... [More]

DENVER (AP) — With bags on his back, Nikola Jokic playfully swerved his way through the crowd of family and friends gathered at the airport terminal. The Denver Nuggets finally returned home after their longer-than-many-anticipated stay inside the NBA bubble. Arriving with them, a new reputation — the comeback crew. The Nuggets overcame a pair of 3-1 series deficits in advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009. Their extended stay at Disney in Florida ended when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers sent them packing after Game 5. Still, they accomplished something historical in becoming only the third team in the U.S. major pro sports to rally from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs. They joined the 1985 Kansas City Royals and 2003 Minnesota Wild. “People around this country, around the world, who were watching the playoffs, this group of guys, you would be hard-pressed to find a better story coming out of this bubble,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Meyers Leonard was bent forward at the waist, standing a few feet away from Miami coach Erik Spoelstra on the Heat sideline, screaming with every bit of the volume that his deep and booming voice can generate. This is his role right now for the Heat. His only role. Leonard is in a tough spot these days; a full-time starter during the regular season, he is now out of the rotation as the Heat have made their run to the Eastern Conference finals. It is a bitter pill for him to swallow — yet to his credit, he hasn’t acted the least bit bitter about his current reality. “My team knows this, and our coaching staff knows this,” Leonard told The Associated Press. “I would do anything to be out there. And I’d be lying if I said that I’m not competitive as hell. I wish I was impacting the game on the floor. I’m not, but as a person and as a player, I want what’s best for everybody.” So for now, the 7-foot, 260-pound, chiseled center is the tallest, strongest and best-paid... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Doc Rivers is fully aware of the adage that says the hardest games to win in the NBA are the ones where one team can end another’s season.He’d like to amend that theory.“Just winning a game in the NBA is hard,” the Los Angeles Clippers’ coach said.For the Clippers, winning a game at this point in the season has been impossible — forever. The franchise that spent decades best described as woebegone has never reached the conference finals, now 0-6 in games where they could clinch a spot in that round after losing to Denver in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal series.Game 6 is Sunday, when the Clippers will once again try to get to a level of the playoffs that they’ve never reached before. They’ll take a 3-2 series lead into the matchup, after wasting a 15-point second-half lead and falling 111-105 to the Nuggets in Game 5.“We gave a game up,” Clippers forward Paul George said. “Game 6, we’ve got to come in and put them away. That’s the emphasis in... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Luka Doncic and Jamal Murray have put on some of the best shows in the bubble.Without another one Sunday, their shows may be over.With their teams facing elimination, Doncic and Murray might be down to their final day at Disney when they play the two Game 6s in the Western Conference.Dallas trails the Los Angeles Clippers 3-2, the same deficit Denver faces against Utah. But the Mavericks appear to be in the tougher predicament.Not only are they playing again without Kristaps Porzingis, but they have to slow down a No. 2-seeded Clippers team that crushed them 154-111 in Game 5 on Tuesday after Paul George snapped out of a prolonged slump.The Clippers were then one of the teams that expressed frustrations the next night at the leaguewide meeting that followed the three game postponements, but eventually decided they wanted to stay and play. “We’re obviously fully committed to winning a championship here,” George said, “but we just want everything to be basically... [More]

If the NBA playoffs resume, Denver and Dallas will face elimination games.The Nuggets have staved off elimination once and when and if their series with the Utah Jazz resumes — it's scheduled for Thursday, though that now seems very questionable — they will have to do it again. So will the Dallas Mavericks, down 3-2 to the Los Angeles Clippers.Players boycotted Wednesday's three scheduled games in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Wisconsin who was apparently shot in the back by police while his three children looked on. Players were meeting Wednesday night to determine next steps.The Nuggets rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to beat Utah in Game 5 on Tuesday and extend that series, while the Clippers got the biggest win in their playoff history — a 43-point romp over Dallas to take a 3-2 lead in that matchup, two nights after Luka Doncic made a gamewinning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 4.“Game 4 is the ultimate high and (Game 5) is the ultimate low,”... [More]

One after the other, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell turned in record book-worthy performances on the same court at Disney.In different series. And in different fashions, too.But the two young players have their opponents sharing a similar dilemma: How to stop them? Or at least, slow them down.Doncic and the seventh-seeded Dallas Mavericks are tied at two games apiece with the Los Angeles Clippers heading into Game 5 on Tuesday in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The dynamic Doncic made sure of that with a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer in overtime Sunday to cap another triple-double. Adding even more to the intrigue was this: His step-back shot was on a left ankle so tender he was a game-time decision.Not to be outdone in the nightcap, Mitchell erupted for 51 points in Game 4 to give the sixth-seeded Utah Jazz a 3-1 lead over Denver. It was just enough to hold off the Nuggets and Jamal Murray, who went for 50 points. Mitchell “is playing out of this world right now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks will work around the clock on Luka Doncic, hoping he can be healthy enough to play Sunday.The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets can tell them all about how hard the playoffs are without star guards.Doncic hopes to make a quick recovery, and the 76ers and Nets look to avoid quick exits heading into Game 4 of their series.Doncic sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of Dallas' 130-122 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. He came back in the fourth but wasn't moving well and eventually left for good.The Mavericks were hoping to get him an MRI exam Saturday and planning to keep him off the court all day. Coach Rick Carlisle said Doncic would likely be a game-time decision.“Obviously, we know the nature of the game. Sometimes injuries happen,” Dallas guard Trey Burke said. “If he can’t go, guys have got to be ready to play, step up and we’ve got to have the same mentality going out there and that’s to win.”The Mavs beat... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Anyone not giving the Toronto Raptors much of a chance to repeat as NBA champions without Kawhi Leonard might want to reconsider.The Raptors have played mostly under the radar this season, yet earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They are the only No. 1 or 2 seed not to get upset in the first two games of the first round of the postseason.Fred VanVleet, Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam have the Raptors with a 2-0 lead over the Brooklyn Nets entering Game 3 Friday.Their battle-tested playoff experience was on display Wednesday when the Raptors trailed for most of the game but rallied to take a lead in the fourth quarter and then held on to beat the Nets 104-99.“There is no situation we haven’t been in before,” VanVleet said.Raptors coach Nick Nurse called it a “gut it out” win on a night when the Raptors struggled with the Nets continuously switching on defense.In the end, the Raptors found a way to win as they have all season, going with a... [More]