CLEVELAND (AP) — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich hopes LeBron James never stops speaking up.Long an admirer of Cleveland's superstar, Popovich praised James for his activism and for being a role model to "millions" of kids. Popovich also defended James' right to speak after he was recently criticized by Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, who said the NBA's most high-profile player should "shut up and dribble" after he criticized President Donald Trump."To me, when I heard about that, it was just an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about and when and where to do it," Popovich said before the Spurs faced James and the Cavaliers. "It's just ludicrous, but to not have a feel for who this guy is."I mean, think about when he came into public view, how young was he? And to this day he hasn't missed a step, he hasn't fallen off the ledge and he's been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich hopes LeBron James never stops speaking up.Long an admirer of Cleveland's superstar, Popovich praised James for his activism and for being a role model to "millions" of kids. Popovich also defended James' right to speak after he was recently criticized by Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, who said the NBA's most high-profile player should "shut up and dribble" after he criticized President Donald Trump."To me, when I heard about that, it was just an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about and when and where to do it," Popovich said before the Spurs faced James and the Cavaliers. "It's just ludicrous, but to not have a feel for who this guy is."I mean, think about when he came into public view, how young was he? And to this day he hasn't missed a step, he hasn't fallen off the ledge and he's been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich hopes LeBron James never stops speaking up.Long an admirer of Cleveland's superstar, Popovich praised James for his activism and for being a role model to "millions" of kids. Popovich also defended James' right to speak after he was recently criticized by Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham, who said the NBA's most high-profile player should "shut up and dribble" after he criticized President Donald Trump."To me, when I heard about that, it was just an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try and tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about and when and where to do it," Popovich said before the Spurs faced James and the Cavaliers. "It's just ludicrous, but to not have a feel for who this guy is."I mean, think about when he came into public view, how young was he? And to this day he hasn't missed a step, he hasn't fallen off the ledge and he's been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids... [More]

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — LeBron James says leave the NBA playoffs alone.The Cavaliers superstar said Wednesday he disagrees with a potential proposal to re-seed the 16 teams in the playoffs regardless of conference. The league has always had teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences compete separately in the postseason with the respective conference winners meeting in the NBA Finals.Commissioner Adam Silver recently floated a proposal where the 16 teams would be seeded regardless of their conference.James disagrees with the concept, mostly because it "changes the landscape of the history of the game." The three-time champion, who has played in seven straight Finals, noted that there have been junctures where one conference has dominated, but in the long run there has been balance."It's cool to mess around with the All-Star Game, we proved you can do that," said James, who picked an All-Star team this year under a new format. "But let's not get too crazy about the playoffs."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Golden State and Cleveland are used to looking down at the rest of the NBA, though it's Houston and Toronto enjoying that view at the All-Star break.The Rockets and Raptors are the conference leaders and will try to keep rolling when play resumes. Houston has won 10 straight to edge past the Warriors, and Toronto is two games up in the East after seven consecutive wins.So, are the Raptors the best team in the East?"I don't know. The record says we are, but for me to sit here and say we are the best team — we have confidence, but I'm not going to sit here and say we are the best team," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "Right now, we're No. 1. The numbers say that."Houston coach Mike D'Antoni says the Rockets like being in the Warriors' spot, but don't talk about them — for now."Nobody's ready for that yet," he said. "So as we go forward we'll see what we got, but yeah, we would love to be the No. 1 team without a doubt."___While Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the idea of revamping the... [More]

LeBron James had a trophy in his hands and a smile on his face.That was Sunday at the All-Star Game, when James again rose above the NBA's best in winning a game and MVP honors.What he really wants is to be celebrating in the postseason, not midseason.The NBA's sprint to the finish begins Thursday with James riding high but starting again from back in the pack as Cleveland tries to catch Toronto and Boston in the Eastern Conference."We just added four new guys before the break, and we have a lot of work to do," James said. "So I really don't like to think that too far ahead. But obviously winning championships is what it's all about. That's what this league is all about and hopefully at the end of the road then I have the Cavs there to actually compete for one, to be in a finals representing the East."The Golden State Warriors are also in the unusual position of pursuers, after red-hot Houston passed them for the league's best record with 10 straight wins leading into the All-Star break.... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry would love to be an NBA All-Star Game captain again next year, especially since the game will be in his hometown of Charlotte.LeBron James would be OK with someone else taking his place, depending on who the top two vote-getters are, although his draft prowess led to Team LeBron beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night .And there's a definite appetite for the NBA to televise the captains' draft rather than conduct it clandestinely like it was this year."Televise it," said DeMar DeRozan of Team Stephen. "Give the people what they want to see. I think everybody wants to see it. At the end of the day, every single person that gets picked, you are an All-Star, so it doesn't matter where you really go, so I think televise it."Players raved about the new format of having captains draft the teams rather than the traditional format of East vs. West.And James finally revealed his draft order: Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, his former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Curry would love to be an NBA All-Star Game captain again next year, especially since the game will be in his hometown of Charlotte.LeBron James would be OK with someone else taking his place, depending on who the top two vote-getters are, although his draft prowess led to Team LeBron beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night .And there's a definite appetite for the NBA to televise the captains' draft rather than conduct it clandestinely like it was this year."Televise it," said DeMar DeRozan of Team Stephen. "Give the people what they want to see. I think everybody wants to see it. At the end of the day, every single person that gets picked, you are an All-Star, so it doesn't matter where you really go, so I think televise it."Players raved about the new format of having captains draft the teams rather than the traditional format of East vs. West.And James finally revealed his draft order: Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, his former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and Kevin Durant swarmed all over Stephen Curry in the final seconds, preventing the NBA's best shooter from finding even a patch of open air to launch a tying 3-pointer.Defense? In an All-Star Game?That was just one of the many exciting surprises created by a big change to the league's midseason showcase. After James and Curry got to draft their own teams, this exhibition really seemed to matter to basketball's best.And LeBron picked a winner.James scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds to play, winning his third All-Star Game MVP award while his team rallied to win an uncommonly entertaining edition of the event, beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night.For the first time in 67 All-Star games, the league abandoned the traditional East-West format used since 1951, instead allowing the two captains to pick their sides. That twist turned a sometimes staid event into the world's richest pickup game, and the intrigue was reflected on... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James picked a winner in the NBA All-Star Game.James scored 29 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 34.5 seconds to play, winning his third All-Star Game MVP award while his hand-picked team rallied to win an uncommonly entertaining showcase, beating Team Stephen 148-145 Sunday night.For the first time in the 67 editions of the All-Star Game, the league abandoned the traditional East-West format used since 1951 and allowed team captains James and Stephen Curry to choose their own rosters.That twist turned a sometimes staid event into the world's richest pickup game, and the intrigue was reflected on the Staples Center court, where a real basketball game broke out.LeBron's team even won an All-Star game with defense: On the final possession, James and Kevin Durant blanketed Curry, preventing the 3-point-shooting superstar from getting off a potential tying shot."I think myself and Stephen took it upon ourselves when we took on this format that we had to change... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):8:20 p.m.LeBron James made a go-ahead, finger-roll layup with 34.5 seconds left and finished with a game-high 29 points to lead Team LeBron to a 148-145 victory against Team Stephen in the NBA All-Star Game.James, who was named the All-Star game MVP for the third time, gave his team a 146-145 lead with the layup and Russell Westbrook added a layup to complete the scoring."We got stops when we needed to," Westbrook said after the game.Indeed.Team Stephen couldn't get a good look for a tying 3 at the buzzer as both teams played with more effort than in recent years.In a departure from the traditional East vs. West format, Stephen Curry and LeBron James picked the teams. The players seemed to enjoy the new format. While there were the usual fancy passes and slam dunks, there was also a lot more defense — blocks, traps that lead to turnovers were all part of this showcase.Damian... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):7:45 p.m.Stephen Curry hit one of his signature 3-point shots with 27.7 seconds left in the third quarter to give his team a 112-109 lead over Team LeBron in the NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center.Curry finally broke into double figures with 11 points. Karl Anthony-Towns leads Team Steph with 17 points.LeBron James leads his team with 19 points.With the new format of the teams being picked by captains James and Curry, the players seem much more into it than in the past games, which have been largely devoid of defense.The final score of this game won't come anywhere near last year's game, when the Western Conference beat the Eastern Conference 192-182 behind Anthony Davis' All-Star Game record of 52 points.After the halftime show by N.E.R.D. and Pharrell Williams, injured Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks chatted with Jerry West and Bill Russell, who were... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):6:40 p.m.LeBron James is heating up but his team trails Team Stephen 78-76 at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center.James has scored 15 points. He had a big dunk and a 3-pointer to help pull his team within one point, but then Team Stephen opened another big lead. Team LeBron closed the gap again on 3-pointers by Paul George and Victor Oladipo.Stephen Curry had a slow start, going scoreless in the first quarter, and finally got his first points with a 3-pointer with 3:16 before halftime to push the lead to 67-58.Klay Thompson has 15 points for Team Stephen, all on 3-pointers.James and Curry are the captains and picked the teams in an attempt to freshen up the game.Anthony Davis of New Orleans wore a DeMarcus Cousins jersey in the first quarter to honor his injured teammate, but then switched back to his own No. 23 jersey in the second quarter.___6:10... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):6:10 p.m.Team Stephen took a 42-31 lead over Team LeBron after the first quarter of the new-look NBA All-Star Game.Rather than the traditional East vs. West matchup, the teams were picked by captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry.The players seemed to be giving more effort than in most All-Star Games, but the play wasn't always better. However, players did seem to be actually playing some defense.Karl Anthony-Towns of Minnesota led Team Stephen with 11 points while Anthony Davis of New Orleans had six for Team LeBron.Davis wore the jersey of Pelicans teammate DeMarcus Cousins, who was voted to start but then suffered a season-ending injury.___5:40 p.m.First, there were elaborate pregame introductions by Kevin Hart, and then the Canadian national anthem by the Barenaked Ladies and the American national anthem by Fergie.Then it was time for the NBA All-Star Game... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):5:40 p.m.First, there were elaborate pregame introductions by Kevin Hart, and then the Canadian national anthem by the Barenaked Ladies and the American national anthem by Fergie.Then it was time for the NBA All-Star Game between Team LeBron and Team Stephen at Staples Center.LeBron James has started his 14th straight NBA All-Star Game, breaking a tie with Bob Cousy for the longest streak in league history. James is one behind Kobe Bryant for the most overall.Two intriguing subplots with Team LeBron are that James is teaming up again with Kyrie Irving, the Boston guard who campaigned to leave James' side in Cleveland last summer; and Russell Westbrook is once again teammates with Kevin Durant, who ditched him in Oklahoma City in 2016 to win a championship in Oakland last year. The final starter on Team LeBron is Anthony Davis of New Orleans.James' original roster... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):4:30 p.m.The U.S. men's basketball team tuned up for its upcoming World Cup qualifiers by beating Mexico 88-67 in the NBA G League International Challenge.The event replaced the traditional G League All-Star Game. The Americans are using G League players in the World Cup qualifiers, so the game gave them extra preparation while they continue training for a pair of games later this month.Aaron Harrison and Xavier Silas each scored 13 points for coach Jeff Van Gundy's team, which played under the name NBA G League USA.The Americans are preparing to play Puerto Rico and Cuba in Santa Cruz, California, home of the Golden State Warriors' G League affiliate. They are 2-0 in qualifying thus far.Luke Martinez scored 22 points for Mexico.____2:05 p.m.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver doubled down on his support of players speaking out on social and political issues, opening his... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James says he will not stick to sports.The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar reiterated his determination to speak out on social issues and the nation's political climate Saturday during his media availability for the NBA All-Star Game."I will not just shut up and dribble," James said. "I get to sit up here and talk about what's really important."James spoke publicly after Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized the three-time NBA champion for his recent comments about social issues. James previously responded with an Instagram post containing similar sentiments."We will definitely not shut up and dribble," James said. "I will definitely not do that. I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don't have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they're in."James made the initial public comments in question during a recent video segment on Uninterrupted, a platform co-founded... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on NBA All-Star Saturday (all times local):7:30 p.m.Rookie Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz put on a show in the slam dunk contest to cap off NBA All-Star Saturday.Mitchell edged Larry Nance Jr. by two points, sealing his victory with a close approximation of the 360-degree spin dunk that Vince Carter used to win the 2000 contest."I wanted this so badly," Mitchell said. "This is one of my favorite events of All-Star weekend. To not only be in it, but to win it, it's crazy."Before making his winning dunk, Mitchell peeled off his Jazz jersey and wore a vintage Carter jersey from the Toronto Raptors.Mitchell — three inches shorter than the 6-foot-6 Carter — needed a score of 47 to beat Nance, and he got a 48 from the five judges: DJ Khaled, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Rock and Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Lisa Leslie.Nance, who was trying to win the contest 34 years after his father won it, had earned a perfect 50 with a dunk off a double alley-oop off the glass.Mitchell... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NBA's All-Star version of a pickup game is taking center stage in Hollywood.The 67th version of the All-Star Game on Sunday night features teams picked by captains LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Dispensing with the usual East vs. West format, the league is creating a new look to its annual showcase with teams picked regardless of geography.That's how Curry and Golden State teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will be going against Kevin Durant, and how James will play alongside Oklahoma City duo Russell Westbrook and Paul George.Boston teammates Kyrie Irving and Al Horford are on opposing teams. Irving is on the same team as James, several months after Irving broke up their Cleveland partnership by forcing a trade.___More AP basketball: www.apnews.com/tags/NBAbasketball

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest from Sunday's NBA All-Star Game and events around the league's annual showcase (all times local):2:05 p.m.NBA Commissioner Adam Silver doubled down on his support of players speaking out on social and political issues, opening his comments at the Legends Brunch by thanking the veterans for setting the tone for current players."Bill Russell was recognized before, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, I could go down the list of so many others here who created that tradition for the players in the NBA, who gave them the safety and comfort to speak out on issues that are important to them as they do today," Silver said Sunday."I'm so proud of that legacy," added the commissioner, who praised the current players on Saturday . "So thank you to all of the people in this room."The issue of players publicly speaking out on various issues surfaced during All-Star weekend after Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized three-time NBA champion LeBron James for his recent comments. James... [More]