San Antonio Spurs forward Doug McDermott (knee) has been upgraded to available for Wednesday's game against the Dallas Mavericks. The veteran forward has missed each of the last three games while dealing with a lingering knee issue. Before the injury, McDermott was shooting the ball well, so the Spurs are hopeful that continues. It doesn't sound like the team plans to limit McDermott during his first game back. Devin Vassell and Keita Bates-Diop should lose playing time from the return of McDermott.

San Antonio Spurs small forward Doug McDermott (knee) suffered a knee injury in Tuesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He had an MRI after the game and it came back negative, but his knee is still swollen and the team expects him to miss the next three games with a targeted return date of November 3. McDermott started each of the team's first four games of the year and shot the ball well from outside. He averaged 11.5 points per game over the four-game stretch while hitting 45.5% of his three-point attempts (2.5 made threes per game). While the former Creighton star is out, Devin Vassell and Keita Bates-Diop should see increased playing time.

San Antonio Spurs small/power forward Doug McDermott had it working from long range during Saturday's defeat to the Bucks, shooting 7-for-11 from behind the arc en route to a 25-point showing. After combining to attempt just seven threes over his first two games as a starter with the Spurs, McDermott appeared much more comfortable his third time out. That McDermott got looks from deep with little resistance isn't entirely surprising -- Milwaukee allowed the third-most three-point field-goal attempts per game (38.6) last season. While he remains primarily a season-long categories league commodity due to his dependence on the three ball, McDermott's role in the starting five gives him some short-term appeal early in the season.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction. They went the wrong way. A season filled with defensive struggles, missed chances and locker room drama resulted Wednesday in the firing of Bjorkgren after only one season as coach. “This was my decision," said Pritchard, the Pacers' president of basketball operations. “This was a really tough decision, one that had a lot of thought behind it. I brought in my management team, something we didn’t do lightly.” Pritchard expected the 45-year-old coach, who spent the previous two seasons as Nick Nurse's top assistant in Toronto, to make an impact with his new-age approach and his creativity. When the hiring was announced in October, Pritchard acknowledged he was betting big on a young coach. It just didn't pay off. Indiana went 34-38 before finishing the season with an embarrassing 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament — a fitting end to an abysmal season. The Wizards averaged... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Pritchard hired Nate Bjorkgren to take the Indiana Pacers in a new direction. They wound up going the wrong way. After struggling defensively, missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons and amid reports of locker room drama, the Pacers pulled the plug Wednesday when Pritchard, their president of basketball operations, fired Bjorkgren as coach after just one season. “The 2020-21 season was not what any of us hoped or anticipated it would be, and our results on the court certainly did not meet the standards for what our organization and our fans have come to expect,” Pritchard said in a statement. Indiana went 34-38, finishing the season with an embarrassing 142-115 loss to Washington in the play-in tournament. The Pacers also produced their first losing season at home in 32 years, and at times the effort didn't appear to be there, either. A rash of injuries was part of the problem. Indiana's top scorer in 2019-20, T.J. Warren, suffered a season-ending... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard intends to stand pat — for now. He'd rather not break up the big-man tandem of Myles Turner, the NBA's blocks champion, and two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis. He hopes free agents Doug McDermott and NBA steals champ T.J. McConnell return. And he's not pulling the plug on coach Nate Bjorkgren. At least not yet. After missing the playoffs for the first time in six years and amid a tumultuous final month, Pritchard used a 45-minute, season-ending video call to explain why he's still evaluating the first-year coach's fate. “You don’t win 34 games with a decimated roster without doing some good things, too," Pritchard said. “But there are some things that we need to do better, he needs to do better. Right now, no decisions have been made. We’re not making a decision today We don’t make decisions in a vacuum, we take our time and to be honest with you, I’m being evaluated. I’m being evaluated every day." Pritchard's... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Now that the Indiana Pacers' long, injury-riddled season is over, the hard part begins. President of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard is embarking on yet another offseason filled with questions, the first being whether to keep coach Nate Bjorkgren. Pritchard hired the 45-year-old former Raptors assistant in October, hopeful he could forge tight bonds with players and implement a new philosophy to keep his team fresh for a long postseason run. It didn't work. Rumors of internal strife surfaced late in the season, which culminated with an embarrassing 142-115 season-ending loss at Washington. “Coach really did his best this year," guard Malcolm Brogdon said afterward. “Regardless of the reports, regardless of all the distractions and the noise, he continued to communicate with his players. He continued to work extremely hard for us and coach us the best he could, and we appreciated that. That’s what I just told him in the locker room: I appreciate him. I appreciate... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 109-106 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks, Doug McDermott scored 15 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game series in Miami. “We showed ourselves that we’re a good team and can win,” Holiday said. The Pacers erased a 103-98 Heat lead on Holiday’s conversions from beyond the arc. Malcolm Brogdon added another 3-pointer, increasing Indiana’s lead to 107-103. “There was still a lot of game left,” Holiday said of Indiana’s early overtime deficit. “This team has no quit.” Miami rallied from a 94-87 deficit in the final 4:26 of regulation and tied it at 98 on Jimmy Butler's first of two free with throws with 15 seconds remaining. Butler missed the second attempt. Caris LeVert missed on his go-ahead jumper with 2 seconds remaining in regulation for the Pacers.... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Justin Holiday scored 15 points and hit consecutive 3-pointers in overtime to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 109-106 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and five blocks, Doug McDermott scored 15 points and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who swept their two-game series in Miami. The Pacers erased a 103-98 Heat lead on Holiday’s conversions from beyond the arc. Malcolm Brogdon added another 3-pointer, increasing Indiana’s lead to 107-103. Miami rallied from a 94-87 deficit in the final 4:26 of regulation and tied it at 98 on Jimmy Butler's first of two free with throws with 15 seconds remaining. Butler missed the second attempt. Caris Levert missed on his go-ahead jumper with 2 seconds remaining in regulation for the Pacers. Bam Adebayo scored 29 points and Butler finished with 21 points for Miami, which has lost three straight. TIP-INS Pacers: Turner limped to the locker room late in the first quarter favoring... [More]

MIAMI (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting and the Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat 137-110 Friday night. The Pacers, who had lost eight of their last 10, were never threatened after building a double-digit lead late in the second quarter. Indiana finished with its highest scoring total ever against Miami, including the playoffs — topping the previous high of 127 in 1992. “The aggressive mode that the team was in, when they attacked they were relentless,” Indiana coach Nate Bjorkgren said. “I was pleased with the sharing but more pleased with the defensive end. I thought the communication and talking was very good on the defensive end, especially in the second half.” Domantas Sabonis had 13 points and 15 rebounds and T.J. McConnell finished with 16 points and 15 assists for the Pacers. Doug McDermott and Justin Holiday added 17 points each. The Pacers shot 20-of-36 on 3-pointers and Brogdon tied a career high with seven. “We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas this... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Pacers point guard Malcolm Brogdon will be out indefinitely with a torn left hip muscle, the team announced Saturday.He is listed as week to week.Brogdon left Wednesday's game at Milwaukee with a sore left hip, did not return and missed Friday's game at Chicago.It's yet another blow to the Pacers, who played without Doug McDermott (sore right big toe) on Friday and already have lost Jeremy Lamb with season-ending injuries to his left knee. Two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo also has missed four of the Pacers' last six games with lower back and right knee ailments.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic ignored those who doubted the Indiana Pacers last season.They're even more determined to prove them wrong in the playoffs.The veterans who helped the Pacers exceed expectations after losing Paul George in a trade and kept them together following Victor Oladipo's season-ending knee injury now insist they can help the Pacers overcome a 2-0 deficit against Boston."I think the biggest thing for us over the last couple of years is that we've always been a resilient team," Young said Thursday. "We continue to stay confident, continue to trust in one another, I think that helps put us in a better position to win games."It's a test they've faced, and passed, many times over the past 22 months.And every time, it seems the two soft-spoken forwards find themselves playing the calming role in the locker room."I can tell you we wouldn't be the No. 5 seed if not for those two guys," Doug McDermott said not long after the Pacers sang "Happy Birthday"... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana point guard Darren Collison made his position clear: The Pacers haven't done anything yet.Sure, they surprised everyone last season by posting a winning record, making the playoffs and forcing eventual Eastern Conference champion Cleveland to a seven-game series. They also think others around the league believe it could have been a fluke."I guess you'd kind of say we're still going under the radar," Collison said during the team's annual media day Monday. "People still think we haven't really accomplished anything yet, and we haven't, really. We made the playoffs, which is a good plus for a team that just got together. But at the same time, to have some success you've got to go further in the playoffs and I think that's where we're at right now."All-Star guard Victor Oladipo and promising center Myles Turner understand questions remain, too. Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has even heard similar sentiments expressed during chats with... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are making another run at DeAndre Jordan, three years after the center jilted them in free agency to stay with the Los Angeles Clippers.Jordan has opted out of the final year of that contract he signed with LA in 2015, and the Mavericks intend to pursue him as an unrestricted free agent, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.Dallas also intends to decline the $5 million club option on Dirk Nowitzki's contract and re-sign him once its salary structure is more settled, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the sides are not publicly commenting on moves ahead of free agency opening Sunday.The move on Nowitzki is designed to create more room under the salary cap, as were the decisions to rescind qualifying offers to shooting guard Doug McDermott and center Salah Mejri, making both unrestricted free agents.Jordan was set to make $24.1 million under the four-year, $87.6 million contract he signed to stay... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — Emmanuel Mudiay is headed to the New York Knicks, with Denver adding guard Devin Harris from Dallas on Thursday in a three-team deadline trade that the Nuggets hope will give them needed experience for a playoff push.The rebuilding Mavericks will get Doug McDermott from the Knicks, who are fading from postseason contention and just lost All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis to a season-ending knee injury.Mudiay was the No. 7 pick in the 2015 draft and former starter, but hasn't started a game this season and is averaging a career-worst 8.5 points in about 18 minutes per game.It was the second trade in as many days for the Knicks after Porzingis' injury. They sent Willy Hernangomez, voted to the All-Rookie first team last season, to Charlotte for two second-round picks and forward Johnny O'Bryant, who was waived.Harris was having another solid season in his second stint with the Mavericks, who traded up to get him with the fifth pick in the 2004 draft. He returned to Dallas in... [More]

From Isaiah Thomas to Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose, the Cleveland Cavaliers loaded up on big names last summer.None will be there if the Cavaliers get back to the NBA Finals.In what felt like an unprecedented do-over for a contending team, the Cavaliers simply changed the pieces that weren't fitting for new ones on Thursday at the trade deadline.Fans who usually marvel at LeBron James were instead praising his general manager, as Koby Altman used a series of swaps to strengthen a sputtering team and leave open the possibility for more moves."They got better. They made the moves they wanted to make and I'm sure they're going to make it work over there," Golden State's Kevin Durant said. "It's fun for all the fans and the media to kind of see what's going on with the trade deadline."Cavs' fans probably had the most fun, and for good reason. Cleveland was the story Thursday .The Cavaliers acquired Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. in the deal with Los Angeles, which also got Channing Frye... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — Two people with knowledge of the situation say the Denver Nuggets have traded Emmanuel Mudiay to New York and acquired Devin Harris from Dallas in a three-team deal.The Mavericks will get Doug McDermott from New York, the people told The Associated Press on Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade could not be completed until it was approved by the NBA.It was first reported by ESPN.The move could help the Nuggets improve their point guard play as they chase a playoff spot. Mudiay was the No. 7 pick in the 2015 draft and former starter, but hasn't started a game this season and is averaging a career-worst 8.5 points in about 18 minutes per game.___AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in New York contributed to this report.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

The Oklahoma City Thunder officially acquired All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony from the New York Knicks on Monday.In exchange, the Knicks get center Enes Kanter, forward Doug McDermott and the Chicago Bulls' 2018 second-round draft pick from the Thunder.The deal was agreed to Saturday afternoon after Anthony waived his no-trade clause ahead of the NBA Media Day on Monday.The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Anthony, a 10-time All-Star and 14-year NBA veteran, joins the Thunder having appeared in 976 career games (all starts) while averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals."We are thrilled to welcome Carmelo to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. "In addition to his skill level, experience, and unique talents, Carmelo is another high character, professional player for our roster."The 33-year-old Anthony waived his no-trade clause and his $8.1 trade kicker to accommodate the deal. He has two years and $54 million left... [More]

The Chicago Bulls exercised their fourth-year contract option on forward Doug McDermott on Friday.The Bulls also picked up third-year options on guard Jerian Grant and forward Bobby Portis, keeping all three players in the fold for the 2017-18 season.McDermott, who was selected 11th overall in the 2014 draft out of Creighton, got off to a slow start and played only 36 games as a rookie but broke out last season under coach Fred Hoiberg. McDermott averaged 9.4 points on 45.2 percent shooting and connected on 42.5 percent of his 3-point attempts in 81 games -- four starts.McDermott managed five points on 2-of-5 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's season-opening win over the Boston Celtics.Grant was acquired as part of the trade with the New York Knicks over the summer that sent Derrick Rose away. The former All-American from Notre Dame averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 assists in 76 games -- six starts -- as a rookie for the Knicks last season.Portis found his way into Hoiberg's rotation during his 2015-16 rookie campaign and averaged seven points and 5.4 rebounds in 17.8 minutes.Grant was inactive while Portis did not get off the bench in Wednesday's opener.

The Chicago Bulls exercised contract options on swingman Tony Snell and forward Doug McDermott, the club announced on Friday.The moves keep both players under contract with the Bulls through the 2016-17 campaign.Chicago exercised its four-year option on Snell and its third-year option on McDermott.Snell is starting at small forward for the Bulls with Mike Dunleavy sidelined after back surgery.