OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Optimistic as always, Stephen Curry is ready to prove Steve Kerr wrong and return from a left knee injury for the first round of the playoffs.Not that it's entirely up to him. Kerr on Sunday ruled out the two-time MVP for the best-of-seven Western Conference first round. The Warriors are expected to be the No. 2 seed."There's no way he's playing in the first round," Kerr said.An MRI exam Saturday showed a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament and the team said Curry would be re-evaluated in three weeks — that would be April 14 and a possible Game 1 of the playoffs for Golden State.On Sunday, Curry limped up a couple of stairs to the podium for his news conference but didn't need crutches, saying, "It's nice that I'm walking and not limited with crutches or anything like that, so that's a positive."Based on what I've been told, three weeks is a good kind of benchmark to re-evaluate and re-assess kind of where I'm at in my progress and whatnot, so mentally... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry will miss at least three weeks with a sprained left knee, meaning the Golden State Warriors will be without their do-everything point guard and second-leading scorer for the rest of the regular season.Curry could be back at the start of the playoffs next month if all goes well in rehabbing his latest injury. An MRI on Saturday showed a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament and the team said Curry would be re-evaluated in three weeks — that would be April 14 and a possible Game 1 of the playoffs for Golden State.The two-time MVP had returned from a six-game absence after his latest right ankle injury Friday night only to injure his left knee. In the third quarter of a victory against Atlanta, center JaVale McGee fell into him. Curry hobbled off the court grimacing, sat on the bench and put his head down.The defending champions were already without their three other All-Stars: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Green is likely to... [More]

The NBA playoffs start in three weeks. Whether Boston's Kyrie Irving and Golden State's Stephen Curry will be ready when the postseason starts seems doubtful, at best.The Celtics said that Irving will need at least three and possibly as many as six weeks to recover from a procedure performed to relieve irritation on his left knee Saturday, that news coming almost simultaneously with the word that Curry has a Grade 2 sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.The Warriors said Curry will be evaluated again in three weeks.Based on those timetables, it would appear that both the Celtics and Warriors will not only be without their All-Star point guards for the rest of the regular season — but very easily could still be without them for Game 1s of their respective first-round matchups."It could be a lot worse," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters just before Curry's MRI results were revealed. "You think about some of the other guys in the league that have suffered injuries... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry will miss at least three weeks because of a sprained left knee, meaning he is out for the rest of the regular season for the Golden State Warriors.He could be back for around the start of the playoffs next month if all goes well in rehabbing his latest injury.An MRI on Saturday showed a Grade 2 sprain of his medial collateral ligament and the team says Curry would be re-evaluated in three weeks — that would be April 14 and a possible Game 1 of the playoffs.The two-time MVP had returned from a six-game absence with a right ankle injury Friday night only to injure his left knee in the third quarter of a victory against Atlanta when center JaVale McGee fell into him.The defending champions were already without their three other All-Stars: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.Curry scored 29 points before his knee injury, which coach Steve Kerr called, "kind of a strange, cruel twist of fate."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry has been medically cleared to resume full practice beginning Wednesday with the hope he can return from his latest right ankle injury later in the week.Curry was re-evaluated Tuesday as scheduled and the Warriors said the two-time MVP is making good progress. Golden State hosts Atlanta on Friday, so if all goes well Curry could be back for that game or Sunday's home matchup with Utah.He rolled his ankle driving for a layup in the first quarter of a win against the Spurs on March 8 and has missed the last six games. He had already missed 11 games in December with the sprained right ankle, which he injured again March 2 at Atlanta but played with it.Meanwhile, Splash Brother Klay Thompson was scheduled to be re-examined Thursday as he works back from a fractured right thumb.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant will miss at least two weeks with a fractured rib on his right side, joining fellow All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the injury list for the defending champion Golden State Warriors.An MRI exam Friday for the NBA Finals MVP revealed the incomplete fracture, and the Warriors said Durant would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Durant said he got hit in the ribs at Minnesota last Sunday and initially thought it was just a bruise, but he was sore the next couple of days. He played Wednesday night against the Lakers and felt it again when he hustled to close out on the wing and "felt something stretch and pull.""It was a little sore the next couple of days but not something I was worried about," Durant said.He worked out Thursday and it took him longer to loosen up. By Friday morning, he experienced significant discomfort. It's an injury Durant has never had previously."Hopefully it gets better in the next week or so and see what happens," said Durant,... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant will miss at least two weeks with a fractured rib on his right side, joining fellow All-Stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on the injury list for the defending champion Golden State Warriors.An MRI exam Friday revealed the incomplete fracture and the Warriors said Durant would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Durant said he got hit in the ribs at Minnesota last Sunday and initially thought it was just a bruise but he was sore the next couple of days. He played Wednesday night against the Lakers and felt it again when he hustled to close out on the wing and "felt something stretch and pull."Curry missed his fourth straight game Friday after re-injuring his troublesome right ankle. He will be re-evaluated Tuesday, while Thompson has a fractured right thumb and will be examined again next Thursday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry wanted nothing more than to play on his milestone 30th birthday, a home game against the Lakers on Wednesday night.The two-time MVP is doing his best to see the big picture and realize health is No. 1 over earning the No. 1 seed. The playoffs are a month away and he plans to be in top form to lead another special Golden State run."I've been through this countless times but I feel very confident in the approach that we're taking to get to as close to 100 percent as possible going into the stretch run of the regular season and then obviously the playoffs," Curry said after his team's shootaround Wednesday. "I would obviously love to be out there playing every game down the stretch, to be out there with my squad. At this point there's enough time. Not just me, we have a bunch of guys banged up, that we all can prioritize health and understand that we need to all be ready to go."Curry will miss at least the next four games for the ailing defending champions... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry wanted nothing more than to play on his milestone 30th birthday, a home game against the Lakers on Wednesday night.The two-time MVP is doing his best to see the big picture and realize health is No. 1 over earning the No. 1 seed. The playoffs are a month away and he plans to be in top form to lead another special Golden State run."I've been through this countless times but I feel very confident in the approach that we're taking to get to as close to 100 percent as possible going into the stretch run of the regular season and then obviously the playoffs," Curry said after his team's shootaround Wednesday. "I would obviously love to be out there playing every game down the stretch, to be out there with my squad. At this point there's enough time. Not just me, we have a bunch of guys banged up, that we all can prioritize health and understand that we need to all be ready to go."Curry will miss at least the next four games for the ailing defending champions... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry wanted nothing more than to play on his milestone 30th birthday, a home game against the Lakers on Wednesday night.The two-time MVP is doing his best to see the big picture, though. The playoffs are a month away and he plans to be in top form to lead another special Golden State run."I've been through this countless times but I feel very confident in the approach that we're taking to get to as close to 100 percent as possible going into the stretch run of the regular season and then obviously the playoffs," Curry said after his team's shootaround Wednesday. "I would obviously love to be out there playing every game down the stretch, to be out there with my squad. At this point there's enough time, not just me, we have a bunch of guys banged up, that we all can prioritize health and understand that we need to all be ready to go."Curry will miss at least the next four games for the ailing defending champions as he heals from his latest right ankle injury,... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are heading to Washington, just not to the White House.The traditional champions' invitation was never granted from President Donald Trump — and it appeared the Warriors might have declined it, anyway. So they plan to spend their day in the city with local children Tuesday."We're doing a great thing anyways," All-Star Klay Thompson said Monday, after the Warriors beat the New York Knicks in the opener of a road trip."The White House is a great honor but there's extenuating circumstances that we felt that we're not comfortable doing. We're not going to politicize anything, we're just going to hang out with some kids, take them to an African-American museum and hopefully teach them things we learned along the way and life lessons, and we'll still be getting some great memories."Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry had said he did not want to go to the White House last September and Trump then made it clear he wasn't welcome, sending a tweet that read :... [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]

PHOENIX (AP) — After Devin Booker hoisted the trophy for winning the 3-point shooting title over All-Star weekend, he said he was bringing it home for the Phoenix Suns fans .They can use any good news they can get.The losses are mounting yet again for the young team, with the talented Booker — mature and poised beyond his years — a beacon of hope that someday things will turn around and the Suns will be the exciting, vibrant franchise they once were.Booker is 12th in the NBA in scoring at 24.2 points per game but, in the talent-laden West, he didn't make the All-Star Game.It didn't help his chances that the Suns are tied with Atlanta for the league's worst record (18-41).Instead, he was one of the 3-point contestants, and won it with a record 28 points in the final round, making 20 of 25 shots, to defeat 2016 champion Klay Thompson."It feels really good," Booker said afterward. "I wanted to go out there and make a name for myself."He wants, he said, to be the best shooter in the game.The... [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]