Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

Robin Lopez and Frank Mason III both scored 14 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks over the Chicago Bulls 122-112 in preseason action on Monday night.Milwaukee didn't play most of its major contributors, including last year's league Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game that most of them had a good scrimmage on Sunday so he didn't want to play them in what was essentially a back-to-back stretch.All five of the Bucks' starters scored in double figures. Brook Lopez scored 13 points, Sterling Brown added 12 points and nine rebounds and Wesley Matthews scored 10.Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 16 points. Lauri Markkanen added 14 points, making 4 of 8 of his 3-point attempts.PELICANS 133, HAWKS 109Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Zion Williamson scored 16, including several highlight-reel dunks.Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft, threw down his first preseason dunk, a tomahawk... [More]

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — Free agency was only a few hours old when the New York Knicks acknowledged their fans' disappointment.Three months later, the Knicks have changed their tune.Not only was free agency a success, they say, but fans are going to forget about who the Knicks didn't get because they're going to love who they did."These are guys that our fans are going to like, the toughness that they bring every day when they come to the court to play for the Knicks," team President Steve Mills said Monday.The Knicks signed seven new players in free agency, adding Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock. But by that time, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had already committed to Brooklyn in the early hours of free agency, and Mills released a statement that night saying he understood that fans could be disappointed but that the team remained confident in its plans.And though the Knicks had enough money to afford two top free... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have finalized contracts with Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock, two of their offseason additions.The forwards join Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton and Wayne Ellington as free agents who the Knicks hope will improve what was the NBA's worst team last season.Morris averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 75 games last season for Boston, his fifth straight season scoring more than 10 points per game.Bullock averaged 11.3 points while playing for Detroit and the Los Angeles Lakers.Terms of the deals announced Tuesday were not disclosed.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Pelicans have reached an agreement in principle to make former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin New Orleans' new executive vice president of basketball operations, three people familiar with the situation said Friday.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because contract negotiations are ongoing and no announcement has been made.Griffin will take over for former Pelicans general manger Dell Demps, who was fired in the middle of his ninth season with the club — a few weeks after All-Star Anthony Davis' trade request in late January.Griffin's agreement to join New Orleans, which was first reported by ESPN, puts him at the center of the club's effort to find the best deal for Davis. Griffin also could decide the fate of Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, who has two years left on his contract.The 45-year-old Griffin was the Cavaliers' GM from 2014 to 2017, during which LeBron James returned from Miami to Cleveland and the Cavs... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — A grinning Anthony Davis emerged from the Pelicans' weight room holding one of his white No. 23 game jerseys and tossed it over the shoulder of guard Jrue Holiday, mumbling, "so you won't forget about me," as he walked away.While Davis made his share of good memories during seven seasons — and six All-Star selections — in New Orleans, the Pelicans will be eager to forget the lame-duck, unceremonious manner in which his tenure with the club ended.A new era is on the horizon and the Pelicans appear eager to see it begin."Really excited," Holiday asserted when asked to share his thoughts about what has the making of a busy offseason for the Pelicans, who appear to be on the cusp of hiring a new general manager. "Obviously with opportunities in this offseason to resign guys or pickup new guys, to see what happens with the future with upper management, everything's up in the air."Plagued by injuries to key players, the Pelicans were struggling to stay in striking distance... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say guard Jrue Holiday has been diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain that is expected to sideline him at least a week.The club says the injury was confirmed by an MRI on Thursday, a day after Holiday played 32 minutes and scored 16 points in New Orleans' 114-104 loss to Utah.Holiday has been the Pelicans' second-leading scorer this season, averaging 21.2 points to go with 7.7 assists, five rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in 67 games. He also is New Orleans' top perimeter defender.Holiday and forward Julius Randle have been the Pelicans' most productive players since Anthony Davis demanded a trade in late January and subsequently had his playing time scaled back.Ian Clark and E'Twaun Moore are among the players who could play more in Holiday's absence.The Pelicans host Toronto on Friday night.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis wore a dark blue Pelicans hoodie with the sleeves cut off and "New Orleans" printed in red letters across the chest.What he said after Friday's practice, however, left no doubt that his heart was somewhere else."I gave the city, organization, fans everything I feel like I could," said Davis, who is in his seventh NBA season and turns 26 on March 11. "I don't know how long I'm going to play this game. People's careers are short and I feel like it's my time to move on."The All-Star forward and center, who recently informed New Orleans he would like to be traded, said his intention remains to play for the Pelicans as long as he is healthy and under contract with them.Whether that happens remains in doubt.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry declined to be pinned down on the matter."We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Gentry said.Davis has missed six games since spraining his left index finger at Portland on Jan. 18."Obviously, it's a tough situation, but... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis wore a blue Pelicans practice jersey with the word "New Orleans," printed in red letters across the chest.What he said after Friday's practice, however, left no doubt that his heart was somewhere else."I gave the city, organization, fans everything I feel like I could," said Davis, who is in his seventh NBA season and turns 26 on March 11. "I don't know how long I'm going to play this game. People's careers are short and I feel like it's my time to move on."The All-Star forward and center, who recently informed New Orleans he would like to be traded, said his intention remains to play for the Pelicans as long as he is healthy and under contract with them.Whether that happens remains in doubt.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry declined to be pinned down on the matter."We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Gentry said.Davis has missed six games since spraining his left index finger at Portland on Jan. 18."Obviously, it's a tough situation, but my intention... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis feels like he's given the New Orleans Pelicans all he can and that his time to move on has come."I don't know how long I'm going to play this game," said Davis, who turns 26 on March 11. "People's careers are short and I feel like it's my time to move on."The All-Star forward and center, who recently informed New Orleans he would like to be traded, said Friday that his intention remains to play for New Orleans as long as he is healthy and under contract with the Pelicans."Obviously, it's a tough situation, but my intention is to still play and when I'm able to play I'm going to suit up," said Davis, who has missed six games with a sprained left index finger since his injury occurred at Portland on Jan. 18.While Davis and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James share an agent, Davis said he has never provided New Orleans a list of preferred destinations and added that where he winds up is "on the Pelicans.""I never gave them a timetable, never gave them a... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis says he feels like it's his time now, that he's given all he can to the Pelicans and that he is ready to move on.The All-Star has informed New Orleans he would like to be traded but said Friday that his intention is to play as long as he is a member of the Pelicans organization.Davis, who has been sidelined with a sprained left index finger, says "obviously it's a tough situation but my intention is to still play and when I'm able to play I'm going to suit up."The Pelicans are mulling over what to do with six-time All-Star and several other prominent players as the NBA's trade deadline approaches.Davis, forward Julius Randle, forward Nikola Mirotic, guard E'Twaun Moore and guard Elfrid Payton have not played since Davis's agent made public on Monday his client's desire to be traded.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have ruled forward Anthony Davis out of the lineup for Saturday night's game against the Utah Jazz because of a right elbow sprain.Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry says David hurt his elbow during Friday night's 117-115 victory over Brooklyn. He played with the injury for the rest of the game, even making a victory-clinching steal of an inbound pass in the final seconds.But lingering soreness has led Davis to sit out against Utah as the Pelicans try to improve on their 4-0 start to the season.Julius Randle will start in place of Davis, marking the first starting lineup change of the young season. It's the first start with New Orleans for Randle, who was signed as a free agent in July.Davis has averaged 27.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks through New Orleans' first four games.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Losing All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to injury in the middle of last season helped Pelicans general manager Dell Demps decide on roster moves this summer, particularly after Cousins chose to bolt in free agency.Demps had a chance to see the Pelicans coalesce around fellow All-Star Anthony Davis and a faster-paced style as they rallied to finish sixth in the Western Conference and sweep third-seeded Portland in the first round of the playoffs."It was fun to watch as the guys were playing fast and sharing the ball and flying all over the place," Demps said. "When you feel like you've established an identity that has had success, you want to continue along those lines."We feel like we've established ourselves from a defensive standpoint and an offensive standpoint," he added. "We're going to defend. We're going to play fast. We're going to move the ball and we're going to play for each other."To help fill the void left by Cousins, Demps brought in former Lakers forward Julius... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say center Jahlil Okafor has been diagnosed with a sprained right ankle and is expected to miss one or two weeks.The injury occurred in the fourth quarter of the Pelicans' preseason opener at Chicago on Sunday.The 6-foot-11 Okafor was drafted third overall out of Duke by Philadelphia in 2015. But his production fell considerably last season from the nearly 15 points and six rebounds he averaged during his first two seasons with the 76ers.He appeared in only two games with Philadelphia last season before being traded to Brooklyn, where he played about 13 minutes per game as a reserve, averaging 6.4 points.In August, he signed a two-year contract with New Orleans that includes a team option in the second year. The Pelicans hope he can provide depth to a front court led by Anthony Davis, Julius Randle and Nikola Mirotic.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young just might make the Atlanta Hawks fun to watch this season.The rookie point guard flashed some dazzling ball-handling skills in his preseason debut, keeping his teammates and fans involved in the action while he is on the floor.Atlanta is not expected to win many games this season, but Young will likely win over his teammates and more than a few fans."His greatest skill is he can facilitate and he can find guys," first-year coach Lloyd Pierce said. "When you have a player with the ability to do that, to find guys in creative ways, he's fun to play with."In his preseason debut Monday night, Young provided a glimpse of what Hawks fans can expect this year.Some good:On one play he bounced a pass off the backboard and later wrapped on around a defender on the baseline to assist on uncontested dunks.Some not so good: It was far from a perfect night as Young missed 10 of his first 11 attempts from the field.But he seemed to get a pass on his shooting — for now.The seamless... [More]

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis swatted away the notion that his decision to hire new representation meant he was setting the stage for a change of scenery.With three seasons left on his contract and five All-Star nods to his name, Davis' leverage to control where he plays is growing. So when he recently left the Wasserman agency that negotiated his current contract and joined Klutch Sports, which also represents Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, it begged questions about the reasons for the switch.The move also stoked paranoia in New Orleans, the city Chris Paul left in his prime shortly after he changed agents.But Davis said the move was aimed primarily at helping him become the "the most dominant player in the league.""It was just for where I am right now in my career — what I'm trying to do — I thought the change was necessary," Davis said Monday, when the Pelicans held media day on the eve of training camp. "That's all it was."Increasingly, agencies representing athletes are... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Two people familiar with the situation say free-agent center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to a two-year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.The people spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been announced. They say the contract includes a team option in Year 2.Philadelphia made 6-foot-11 Okafor the third overall pick out of Duke in the 2015 NBA draft. But Okafor's production fell considerably last season from the nearly 15 points and six rebounds he averaged through his first two seasons with the 76ers.He appeared in only two games with Philadelphia last season before being traded to Brooklyn, where he played about 13 minutes per game as a reserve, averaging 6.4 points.Okafor joins projected starter Julius Randle among the new centers the Pelicans have acquired since DeMarcus Cousins' departure in free agency for Golden State.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says free-agent center Jahlil Okafor has agreed to join the New Orleans Pelicans.The person spoke to The Associated Press Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been announced.Philadelphia made Okafor the third overall pick out of Duke in the 2015 NBA draft. But Okafor's production fell considerably last season from the nearly 15 points and six rebounds he averaged through his first two seasons with the 76ers.He appeared in only two games with Philadelphia last season before being traded to Brooklyn, where he played about 13 minutes per game as a reserve, averaging 6.4 points.The Pelicans have been seeking depth at center following DeMarcus Cousins' departure in free agency for Golden State.Recently acquired Julius Randle is expected to start at center. Anthony Davis also plays center in stints, but primarily plays power forward.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Whether the Pelicans are better off with Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton than they were with DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo remains to be seen.All general manager Dell Demps could do on Friday, as he sat between his two new players, was offer assurances that New Orleans All-Star Anthony Davis was an ardent advocate for signing Randle and suggest that the "two-way" abilities of Payton and Randle give the Pelicans a promising opportunity to build on a formula that served them well late last season."When we finished the season last year, we felt like found a rhythm, found an identity," Demps said, alluding to the playoff push and first-round sweep of Portland that the Pelicans pulled off without Cousins, who was rehabilitating his torn left Achilles tendon."We feel like the team's improved," Demps said. "On paper, everything looks really good. But, obviously, we have to do it on the court."Before Cousins spurned New Orleans in favor of a one-year, reported $5.3 million... [More]

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — Rob Pelinka says the Los Angeles Lakers aren't trying to beat the Golden State Warriors at their own game.Instead, they're building a team around LeBron James to do something different.Pelinka spoke publicly Wednesday for the first time since the Lakers' remarkable offseason overhaul began, and the irrepressibly optimistic former agent radiated excitement about the future for a team that hasn't made the playoffs in five seasons."To get the commitment from LeBron James to come to the Lakers for four years was really the culmination of everything we've been working towards," Pelinka said. "When LeBron chose to come here, it was the ultimate validation for the moves we've made and what we've been building since we started."The longest postseason drought in franchise history could be finished after James chose the Lakers in free agency. The club also added veterans Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee and Lance Stephenson alongside their young core while parting ways with Julius... [More]