PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has a hairline fracture in his left foot, the team said. McCollum will wear a walking boot and be reevaluated in four weeks. He was injured Saturday during a game against the Atlanta Hawks. McCollum was averaging a career-best 26.7 points, as well as five assists, per game when he got injured. McCollum's injury is the latest to befall the Blazers. Center Jusuf Nurkic fractured his wrist during a game last week against the Indiana Pacers and is out indefinitely. In his eighth NBA season, McCollum was first thought to have a sprain but the team said additional imaging showed a hairline fracture to the lateral cuneiform. It was unclear when he was injured but it appeared that Atlanta's Clint Capela stepped on his foot following a layup in the opening quarter. The Blazers went on to win the game 112-106. Rodney Hood took McCollum's place in Monday's game against the San Antonio Spurs, finishing with 21 points in Portland's 125-104 loss. Nurkic was averaging 9.8 points and 7.7. assists before he was injured. Enes Kanter has started in his absence. The Blazers are also missing forward Zach Collins, who is expected to be out several months after ankle surgery in December. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Always a wine connoisseur, CJ McCollum is now a wine maker, too. The Portland Trail Blazers guard has a signature wine coming out Tuesday, and apropos of Oregon, it's a pinot noir. McCollum Heritage 91 is the result of a partnership with Adelsheim Vineyard. “We’re in a bit of a jam because it’s a limited quantity, and demand is very high,” McCollum said. McCollum readied for the launch while recuperating from Portland's 51-day odyssey in the NBA bubble in Florida. The Blazers overperformed in the seeding games, going 6-2 and making the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. It was Portland's seventh straight trip to the playoffs, but it ended in five games in the first round against the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers. McCollum played the tournament with a fractured vertebra in his back. The 10th pick out of Lehigh in the 2013 draft, McCollum has averaged 18.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists over his career in Portland. This strange season he averaged 22.2 points, 4.2 rebounds... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers planned to get together Wednesday night to watch basketball, which is about all they've been able to do lately.Soon enough, they'll get to play it again.For now, their competition comes from video games. Their superstar player is also adept at those, as coach Frank Vogel revealed when asked what he's learned about LeBron James that surprised him most.“I would say how good he is at Madden football,” Vogel said. “I think they’ve been playing a lot of Madden football, our group has, and I hear he’s very good.” James won't be able to show his skills on the basketball court again until Friday, when the Lakers conclude a lengthy layoff in the bubble. The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference has been waiting for its second-round opponent. Houston and Oklahoma City were playing their Game 7 on Wednesday, with the Lakers set to watch it during a team dinner.Starting Thursday, the Lakers can start working on a game plan for either James Harden,... [More]

The Portland Trail Blazers dealt with injuries all season, and the the loss of their biggest star topped it off in the playoffs.While the year was unusual for all of sports because of coronavirus, the Trail Blazers made it to the NBA playoffs for the seventh straight season. Upstart Portland was knocked out of the first round by the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in five games. “It was an interesting season with a lot of different obstacles that we faced. We signed Hall of Famer (Carmelo Anthony), we had coronavirus hit, so many things going on around the world with social injustice, protesting, all those things," guard CJ McCollum said. "We had some games postponed, came back, more injuries. But all in all I think we fought and gave ourselves a chance."All-Star guard Damian Lillard had already departed the so-called bubble in Florida with a right knee injury when Portland took the floor for the elimination game Sunday night. While the Blazers mounted a scrappy effort against the Lakers,... [More]

The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks have restored some sense of normalcy to these anything-but-normal NBA playoffs.The top-seeded teams in the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, lost their openers and are now looking to take control of their series. The Lakers could pull ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and the Bucks could take the lead on the pesky Orlando Magic.Lakers forward LeBron James has been around too long to get too worked up about one loss. He was confident the Lakers would recover from their Game 1 setback, and they looked much like their pre-pandemic selves in beating the Trail Blazers 111-88 on Thursday. “I know what we’re capable of,” he said. “I know how we’re built. I don’t compare us to anyone. I compare us to us.”The Lakers were fully aware of the challenge they would face against from the talented Blazers entering the series, led by All-Star guard Damian Lillard.“This team was in the conference finals last year,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The Lakers and Bucks exited practice Wednesday to palm trees around them and sunny skies overhead.The weather is good at Walt Disney World. The service is great. The setting seems ideal.For the best NBA teams, it's anything but.The top-four seeds in each conference should be playing in their arenas right now, with home-court advantage in the first two games of their playoff series. They'd have their fans screaming during the action and in many cases families waiting at home afterward.Boy, do some of them miss that at the moment.“If's definitely a difference. You can feel it,” Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton said. "There's times where we really depended on our crowd last year and during the season this year to kind of pull us out of our struggle or whatever it was. And here, there is none of that."We have to bring it every single night. We can't rely on our crowd, our fans to give us that energy. We have to bring it ourselves."Milwaukee and Los Angeles, the No.... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Damian Lillard has no shortage of motivation.There’s the painful kind, the kind that comes from dealing with the death three months ago of a cousin who was very close to him. There’s the made-up variety, stemming from the belief he shared Tuesday night that people who cover the league don’t respect his work. There’s the silly stuff, like a back-and-forth on social media with other NBA players.And then there’s probably the biggest sort — his want to get the Portland Trail Blazers back to the playoffs.He topped a 51-point performance on Sunday by offering a 61-point performance on Tuesday, doing all that with the Blazers’ postseason fate still not secure and knowing that any loss would put a sizable dent in those playoff hopes. He’s the 12th player in NBA history to have consecutive 50-point games, and just the second — joining only Wilt Chamberlain — to have three 60-point games in a season.“Couldn’t have been a better time for that type of game,” Lillard said... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 33 points, teaming with Damian Lillard for 11 of Portland's 16 in overtime, and the Trail Blazers pulled out a desperately needed victory to resume their season by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 140-135 on Friday.Lillard finished with 29 points and nine assists as the Trail Blazers boosted their hopes for a seventh consecutive playoff appearance. Carmelo Anthony added 21 points as Portland moved within 2 1/2 games of the Grizzlies for the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference.“Everybody knew how important that game was," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “This is playoff basketball from us and we have that pressure and you can’t shy away from it.”McCollum started fast, scoring 19 points in the first half, and finished strong with two crucial 3-pointers in overtime. The first one to open the extra period gave Portland the lead for good, and he added six assists.Jaren Jackson Jr. had 33 points and rookie Ja Morant added 22 points and 11 assists... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — There's a big difference between comfort and complacency for Damian Lillard.Yes, the Portland Trail Blazers return all five starters from a team that finished third in the Western Conference. So there's a level of ease among the players.But their season went sideways in the first round of the playoffs, when Portland was swept by New Orleans. Lillard said the Blazers have to guard against allowing that to happen again."I don't see how we could be complacent about anything," he said. "I think it's a level of comfort with each other we've you know been teammates for a few years now we know each other pretty well so I think there is comfort. But I don't think we're in a position to be complacent."And certainly this is true in the loaded West, with the defending champion Warriors, talented Rockets, as the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.The Blazers went 49-33 last season and secured the third seed in the conference, earning a trip to the playoffs for the fifth straight... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trail Blazers head into fall camp still stinging from last season's first-round playoff sweep by New Orleans.The trick now is not to overcorrect."You run the risk of overreacting to defeats, and maybe being blinded by victories," coach Terry Stotts said. "I think it's important that we learn from it, I don't want our team to forget about it. I don't want our team to forget about the feeling we had, not just after the series was over, but what we had to live through over the summer, and keep that edge. Hopefully, we use it as a learning experience."Portland returns the nucleus — Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic — of a team that went 49-33 last season. Apart from the early postseason exit, it was mostly considered a success.Boosted by a 13-game winning streak that started with a victory over the Golden State Warriors just before the All-Star break, the Blazers secured the third seed in the Western Conference. They clinched the Northwest Division title... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Another late-season surge, another first-round exit.The Portland Trail Blazers head into the offseason with plenty of questions, with speculation that big changes could be ahead. Minutes after the Blazers were swept by the New Orleans Pelicans in the opening round, Blazers coach Terry Stotts was already addressing how Portland gets better going forward.Stotts said he has confidence that Portland President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey will keep the team pointed in the right direction."It's tough to evaluate after a playoff loss," Stotts said. "We had a good regular season. We did a lot of positive things in the regular season, but ultimately you're defined by the postseason. I think it's still a little early right now to say what direction we're going to go and what needs to be done moving forward, but one thing is that Neil is really good."Portland made it to the playoffs for the fifth straight year after finishing the season 49-33 and winning the Northwest... [More]

The Portland Trail Blazers fought their way through a pressure-packed playoff race to earn home-court advantage in a series, then lost it in one game.The Toronto Raptors know that problem all too well, so they want to take advantage of playing from ahead for a change.They try for their first 2-0 playoff series lead ever Tuesday night against Washington, while the Trail Blazers try to even things up in against the New Orleans Pelicans.Boston and Milwaukee play the other Game 2 on Tuesday after the Celtics pulled out a 113-107 overtime victory on Sunday.The No. 3 Trail Blazers were the highest-seeded team to lose so far, falling 97-95 on Saturday. Anthony Davis was dominant, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were slow-starting, and the Pelicans got a couple big defensive plays down the stretch from Jrue Holiday to hold on after the Blazers nearly came back from a 19-point deficit."I think it puts some pressure on us," Lillard said. "You know, you come in with home court, the first two games... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Rajon Rondo is healthy and he's locked in.That's good news for the New Orleans Pelicans, not so much for the Portland Trail Blazers. When Rondo is locked in during the postseason, the 6-foot-1 guard who won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics has shown he can be a tough out.Over the course of his career, Rondo has averaged 10.5 points, 8.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Comparatively in the playoffs, he has averaged 14.3 points, 9.2 assists and six rebounds per game.Not that he is buying into the Playoff Rondo hype, however."There's a lot of factors into that. I don't think you can break it down as simple as one or two things," Rondo said after practice Monday. "The interview would probably be too long for me to break it down completely. It's a matter of me being healthy, minutes, my teammates trusting me, my coaching staff trusting me."I think we, as a team, we're playing pretty good under pressure."They are indeed.Rondo dished out 17 assists in Game 1 of the series,... [More]

The Portland Trail Blazers fought their way through a pressure-packed playoff race to earn home-court advantage in a series, then lost it in one game.The Toronto Raptors know that problem all too well, so they want to take advantage of playing from ahead for a change.They try for their first 2-0 playoff series lead ever Tuesday night against Washington, while the Trail Blazers try to even things up in against the New Orleans Pelicans.Boston and Milwaukee play the other Game 2 on Tuesday after the Celtics pulled out a 113-107 overtime victory on Sunday.The No. 3 Trail Blazers were the highest-seeded team to lose so far, falling 97-95 on Saturday. Anthony Davis was dominant, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were slow-starting, and the Pelicans got a couple big defensive plays down the stretch from Jrue Holiday to hold on after the Blazers nearly came back from a 19-point deficit."I think it puts some pressure on us," Lillard said. "You know, you come in with home court, the first two games... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland's Damian Lillard says he likes the first-round matchup against the Pelicans, but in almost the same breath he lists the reasons why New Orleans is dangerous.After splitting their four regular-season meetings, the third-seeded Blazers and sixth-seeded Pelicans open the playoffs Saturday night at the Moda Center."They stole one from us here, and we felt like that was a game that we should have had. We had a bad third quarter," Lillard said. "But they have Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Rondo, E'Twaun Moore, they've got a lot of guys that make them a dangerous team."The Blazers won the season's first meeting with New Orleans, 103-93, back in October. But two months later the Pelicans beat the Blazers 123-116 in Portland without Davis. DeMarcus Cousins had 38 points and New Orleans extended its lead to as many as 18 points in the third quarter.The Pelicans lost Cousins for the season because of an Achilles injury in January, and many thought the team's playoff hopes... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trail Blazers have enjoyed post-All-Star break revivals the past two seasons.Those late-season rallies will no doubt be an ongoing theme in the congested Western Conference playoff race once Portland resumes play on Friday in Utah."I mean, I think that's in the back of our minds. We know that we're usually a better team in the second half of the season," Portland guard Damian Lillard said. "We can't just go into it saying, 'All right, we're always good at this part of the season.' I think mentally we have to understand how close of a race it is and that we've got to be sharp all the way through."Portland is 32-26 at the break, tied for sixth in the West, which is better off than it was last season at the same point.But the Blazers are one of five teams in the West with 26 losses. The Warriors and Houston Rockets sit comfortably atop the standings with the next eight teams jostling for position.The Blazers headed into the All-Star Game with a 123-117 victory over... [More]

HOUSTON -- Austin Rivers caught fire in the second half and, with some help from Lou Williams, shot the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers past the Houston Rockets 128-118 on Friday night at Toyota Center.Rivers scored 30 of his team-high 36 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the second half, drilling 5 of 10 3-pointers down the stretch to keep the injury-riddled Rockets (25-6) at bay.Williams, traded by Houston in the offseason as part of the blockbuster Chris Paul acquisition, scored 32 points. Rivers and Williams combined to shoot 13 for 24 from behind the arc to offset another breathtaking performance from Rockets guard James Harden, who posted his second consecutive 51-point outing.Harden finished 15 of 28 from the floor and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line while adding eight assists. Eric Gordon chipped in 28 points for Houston, which closed a season-long seven-game homestand with consecutive losses to the Los Angeles teams.Warriors 113, Lakers 106OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State regained... [More]

NEW YORK -- Michael Beasley had 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field to lead six New York players in double figures as the Knicks spoiled Carmelo Anthony's return to Madison Square Garden with a 111-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.Anthony, who was with the Knicks for nearly seven seasons and ranks as the seventh-leading scorer in franchise history, finished with 12 points -- including zero in the second half -- on 5-of-18 shooting in his first game back in New York since being traded during the offseason for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round draft pick.Anthony received a mostly warm reception from the MSG crowd during a highlight video played during introductions. While there were loud cheers for Anthony, who averaged nearly 25 points during his nearly seven-year run but had little playoff success, there was also a smattering of boos.Heat 90, Clippers 85MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra became the Miami franchise leader for coaching victories in a... [More]

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul George was held to 12 points in his return to Indiana, but Steven Adams scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 100-95 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday night.George was booed loudly when introduced and every time he touched the ball throughout the game. The four-time All-Star was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis after he told the Pacers he didn't plan to re-sign with the team following the 2017-18 season. George shot 3-of-14 on Wednesday.Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, despite shooting 3 of 17 from the field, delivered his ninth triple-double of the season with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.Oladipo led the Pacers with 19 points but shot 9 of 26 from the floor. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 for Indiana, and Thaddeus Young had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.Rockets 108, Hornets 96HOUSTON -- Chris Paul posted a season-high 31 points, Houston seized control with a 25-0 run... [More]

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 34 points and piled up 13 assists while serving as the Cavaliers' point guard in Cleveland's 119-112 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.Kevin Love added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Chicago. Jeff Green and Dwyane Wade came off the bench to score 16 and 11, respectively, for the Cavaliers.Justin Holiday paced the Bulls with 25 points. Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half and finished with five 3-pointers. Markkanen is the first rookie in league history to make 10 treys in his first three games.James usually handles the ball for Cleveland and is its assists leader on the season, but he played the point because Derrick Rose (sprained left ankle) was out and coach Tyronn Lue sought a bigger lineup.Magic 125, Nets 121ORLANDO, Fla. -- Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 41 points and hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to lead Orlando over Brooklyn.The Magic's... [More]