CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Devin Booker is ready to take on the Curry brothers.The Phoenix Suns guard will look to defend his NBA All-Star 3-point championship from a year ago against brothers Stephen and Seth Curry on Feb. 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Stephen Curry, who plays for the Golden State Warriors, won the event in 2015 while brother Seth, who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers, is competing in his first 3-point contest.Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Portland's Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Toronto's Danny Green, Brooklyn's Joe Harris and Sacramento's Buddy Hield round out the 10-player field.The 3-point contest will held on the same night as the dunk contest and the skills challenge at the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets.The dunk contest features Charlotte's Miles Bridges, Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo, Atlanta's John Collins and New York Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr.The skill challenge includes first-time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokic... [More]

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns will look to defend his 3-point contest title at the NBA All-Star game against brothers Stephen and Seth Curry on Feb. 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina.Charlotte's Kemba Walker, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, Portland's Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Toronto's Danny Green, Brooklyn's Joe Harris and Sacramento's Buddy Hield round out the 10-player field.The dunk contest features Charlotte's Miles Bridges, Oklahoma City's Hamidou Diallo, Atlanta's John Collins and New York Knicks' Dennis Smith Jr.The skill challenge includes first-time NBA All-Stars Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Nikola Vucevic of the Magic and Luka Doncic of the Mavericks. Atlanta's Trae Young, Memphis' Mike Conley, Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox, Los Angele Lakers' Kyle Kuzma and Boston's Jayson Tatum will also compete.___More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/NBA and www.twitter.com/AP_Sports

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.It's the sixth consecutive All-Star nod for Davis. The Pelicans aren't sure if he'll play for them again, though there's also no guarantee that he gets traded by next week either."That's something that will obviously have to be discussed about what's best for him and what's best for our team," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's... [More]

New Orleans has an All-Star for the sixth straight year.That is, unless he gets traded first.Pelicans standout Anthony Davis — only three days removed from having his trade request made known publicly — was one of the 14 players announced Thursday as reserves for the All-Star Game in Charlotte. Davis wants to be swapped out of New Orleans by the Feb. 7 trade deadline, so it remains unclear if his uniform for the All-Star contest on Feb. 17 will bear a Pelicans logo or not.The other Western Conference reserves were Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook, Denver's Nikola Jokic, Portland's Damian Lillard, Golden State's Klay Thompson, San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns.Indiana's Victor Oladipo was selected as one of the Eastern Conference reserves, even though his season is over because of injury. The other reserves from the East were Toronto's Kyle Lowry, Milwaukee's Khris Middleton, Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Washington's Bradley Beal, Detroit's Blake Griffin... [More]

This play midway through the fourth quarter of James Harden's historic effort at Madison Square Garden was largely reminiscent of what the Houston Rockets' offense has looked like lately:He got the ball.He kept it for 16 seconds.He dribbled it 21 times.He shot.He scored.What Harden has done in his last five games — 261 points, 52.2 points per game, zero assisted by a teammate — is astounding by any measure. He's averaged 43.1 points in his last 21 games, keeping Houston in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. The Rockets have alternated wins and losses in each of their last 10 games, despite Harden's greatness of late.Earlier this month, Houston guard Austin Rivers described the Rockets' playbook like this to Sports Illustrated: "James Harden. Just get the (bleep) out of his way. Let him do the heavy lifting."That philosophy should be coming to an end before long.Rockets point guard Chris Paul will be back soon from his latest tale of hamstring woe, maybe even as early as Friday... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — James Harden had a game for the history books.That's good and bad.Harden scored 38 points Sunday night in Houston's 116-109 loss in Orlando, marking the 16th consecutive time that he's scored at least 30 or more points — matching Kobe Bryant for the league's longest such streak since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976-77.But Harden also was 1 for 17 from 3-point range, tying the league's single-game record for most misses from beyond the arc."They just didn't go in," Harden shrugged afterward.Damon Stoudamire was 5 for 21 from 3-point range for Portland against Golden State on April 15, 2005. Until Sunday, that was the only time a player had missed 16 3s in a game.The NBA's greatest shooters have had awful nights from 3-point range — Dennis Scott once went 2 for 17, Ray Allen once went 1 for 14, Stephen Curry has an 0 for 11 game on his resume. Harden went 0 for 11 from deep in Game 5 of last year's Western Conference finals against Golden State, and has been 0 for 10 on three... [More]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican fans have waited a lifetime for the opportunity to watch their favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, in their homeland. But hardly anyone envisioned that they'd get to see the current version of the team that will face the Orlando Magic on Thursday night amid reports of turmoil in the locker room under new coach Jim Boylen.Playing South of the Border for the first time in their history, the Bulls (6-22) are the main attraction in a country where the franchise in considered the second-most popular among local fans. Many of them fell in love with the team when Michael Jordan led the Bulls to six championships in the 90s.But these Bulls arrived in Mexico after losing nine of their last 10 games, and with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA. The terrible start led to the firing of coach Fred Hoiberg, who was replaced by his assistant, Boylen, who is off to a rough start.After a win over Oklahoma City on Friday and a 56-point loss to... [More]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican fans have waited a lifetime for the opportunity to watch their favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, in their homeland. But hardly anyone envisioned that they'd get to see the current version of the team that will face the Orlando Magic on Thursday night amid reports of turmoil in the locker room under new coach Jim Boylen.Playing South of the Border for the first time in their history, the Bulls (6-22) are the main attraction in a country where the franchise in considered the second-most popular among local fans. Many of them fell in love with the team when Michael Jordan led the Bulls to six championships in the 90s.But these Bulls arrived in Mexico after losing nine of their last 10 games, and with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and second-worst in the NBA. The terrible start led to the firing of coach Fred Hoiberg, who was replaced by his assistant, Boylen, who is off to a rough start.After a win over Oklahoma City on Friday and a 56-point loss to... [More]

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — First-year Magic coach Steve Clifford is aware that the most consistent them about his new NBA team over the last few years has been losing.Consider this: Four head coaches and dozens of players have come and gone since Nikola Vucevic arrived in Orlando six years ago in a four-team trade.The 7-foot center has been one of the positive constants, averaging 15.6 points and 10.5 rebounds in 405 games with the Magic. But Vucevic has never been in a playoff game, and this season could be his final shot in Orlando."Trade rumors have been part of my last three years and I've kind of grown used to it," Vucevic said. "I know it's the last year (of his contract) but I also don't focus on that. If you focus on things you can't control, it doesn't really work out for you."Vucevic prefers to focus on the young help he will have this season in the frontcourt.Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba, the Magic's first-round picks in the last two drafts, are the centerpieces of the team's new... [More]

The Orlando Magic will play a pair of regular-season games in Mexico City in December.The Magic will host the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 13 then play the Utah Jazz on Dec. 15. It is the third straight year that the Arena Ciudad de Mexico has hosted the NBA.Both games are designated as home games for the Magic.This is Orlando's second visit to Mexico City. The last was in 2012 for a preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans. Center Nikola Vucevic is the only current player who was on the roster for that game.The Bulls are playing their first-ever regular-season game outside of the United States and Canada.The Jazz have played four times in Mexico, but the last visit was in 2003 when Utah beat the Dallas Mavericks 90-85.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Frank Vogel was brought to Orlando two years ago with hopes he could get the Magic back to the playoffs, and stop the spinning of the revolving door to their coaches' office.Neither of those things happened.Vogel was fired by the Magic on Thursday about 10 hours after the team wrapped up a 25-57 season, its sixth consecutive losing year. Vogel, who had one year left on his contract, went 54-110 in his two years with Orlando.The Magic haven't been to the playoffs since Stan Van Gundy's final season with the team in 2012. Vogel, who had some successful years coaching the Indiana Pacers before going to Orlando, simply didn't have the roster to change that."I have nothing but the utmost respect for Frank Vogel as a coach and a person," said Magic basketball operations president Jeff Weltman, who met with Vogel to deliver the news. "I know he'll be a head coach again shortly."Weltman didn't give a timetable for finding a new coach."We just have to find that right guy," he said.Clearly, another... [More]

Frank Vogel was brought to Orlando two years ago with hopes he could get the Magic back to the playoffs, and stop the spinning of the revolving door to their coaches' office.Neither of those things happened.Vogel was fired by the Magic on Thursday about 10 hours after the team wrapped up a 25-57 season, its sixth consecutive losing year. Vogel, who had one year left on his contract, went 54-110 in his two years with Orlando.The Magic haven't been to the playoffs since Stan Van Gundy's final season with the team in 2012. Vogel, who had some successful years coaching the Indiana Pacers before going to Orlando, simply didn't have the roster to change that."We would like to thank Frank for his contributions to the Orlando Magic," Magic basketball operations president Jeff Weltman said. "We appreciate the sacrifices he made as head coach and certainly wish him and his family well going forward."Vogel told his players after Wednesday's season-ending win over playoff-bound Washington he was planning... [More]

C Nikola Vucevic (broken left hand) had surgery and likely will miss two months.

C Nikola Vucevic suffered a fractured left index finger midway through the first quarter Saturday. The team announced he will be sidelined indefinitely.

C Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic left Saturday night's game against the Washington Wizards with a broken bone in his left hand and will be sidelined six to eight weeks, ESPN reported, based on sources. X-rays showed a fractured first metacarpal on Vucevic's left hand. The injury occurred with approximately seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Vucevic is the team's third-leading scorer at 17.8 points per game and its leading rebounder at 9.6 rebounds per game.

C Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's loss to the Bulls.

C Nikola Vucevic supplied 24 points and 14 rebounds Sunday in the Magic's loss at Detroit. Vucevic notched a double-double by halftime, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds.

LOS ANGELES -- James Harden scored 36 points and handed out nine assists, and the Houston Rockets won their sixth consecutive road game with a 118-95 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.Houston has won all six road games in the streak by at least 15 points, setting an NBA record.Eric Gordon scored 22 points off the bench and Chris Paul finished with 21 points and six assists for the Rockets.Kyle Kuzma had 22 points and 12 rebounds off the bench to lead the Lakers, while Brandon Ingram had 18 points and nine rebounds.Warriors 123, Heat 95MIAMI -- Stephen Curry scored 30 points to lead Golden State to a win over Miami.The Warriors, who are 3-0 on their current road trip, also got 24 points from Kevin Durant and 19 from Klay Thompson. Curry, who scored 16 points in the first quarter, made 11 of 16 shots from the floor, including 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.The Heat were led by point guard Goran Dragic, who broke a slump with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. In his three previous games,... [More]

C Nikola Vucevic had 34 points to lead five players in double figures against New York. Vucevic had 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, when the Magic staved off a late Knicks rally. "I was just being aggressive whenever I got a good look at the basket," Vucevic said.