PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have started an investigation into tweets linked in a report to team president Bryan Colangelo that criticized Sixers players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, among other NBA figures.The Sixers said Wednesday: "The allegations are serious and we have commenced an independent investigation into the matter. We will report the results of that investigation as soon as it is concluded."The burner accounts also took aim at former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to a report by The Ringer .The website asked the team about five Twitter accounts it suspected Colangelo was operating. He said in a statement he used one of the accounts to monitor the NBA industry and other current events, but he was "not familiar with any of the other accounts" brought to his attention and he didn't know who was "behind them or what their motives may be in using them."Embiid, the 24-year-old All-Star center, tweeted that he didn't believe the report.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

ATLANTA (AP) — A basketball player who just finished his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks has been arrested on a drunken driving charge in Oregon.Eugene police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin tells news outlets an officer pulled over 22-year-old Tyler Dorsey for driving without lights early Saturday. The officer spotted an open container of alcohol on the floor of the passenger's side.He was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants, driving without lights and having an open alcoholic beverage container and was released after posting $590 bail. It's unclear whether he has a lawyer.Dorsey was drafted by the Hawks last April, following his sophomore year at the University of Oregon.The Hawks said in a statement that they're still gathering information and won't comment further at this time.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers team president Bryan Colangelo is denying a report connecting the executive to Twitter accounts that criticized Sixers players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, among other NBA figures.The accounts also took aim at former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to a report by The Ringer.The website asked the team about five Twitter accounts it suspected Colangelo was operating. He said in a statement he used one of the accounts to monitor the NBA industry and other current events, but he was "not familiar with any of the other accounts" brought to his attention and he didn't know who was "behind them or what their motives may be in using them."Embiid told ESPN on Tuesday night that Colangelo called him and denied the article. The 24-year-old center also tweeted that he didn't believe the story."That would just be insane," he wrote.Yahoo Sports reported... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers team president Bryan Colangelo is denying a report connecting the executive to Twitter accounts that criticized Sixers players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, among other NBA figures.The accounts also took aim at former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to a report by The Ringer.The Ringer asked the team about five Twitter accounts it suspected Colangelo was operating. He said in a statement he used one of the accounts to monitor the NBA industry and other current events, but he was "not familiar with any of the other accounts" brought to his attention and he didn't know who was "behind them or what their motives may be in using them."Embiid told ESPN on Tuesday night that Colangelo called him and denied the story. Yahoo Sports reported Colangelo was standing by his statement to The Ringer. A message was left by The Associated Press seeking comment from the Sixers.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love's arms are lined with finger-nail scratches, discolored bruises and abrasions, hard-earned mementos from months battling under the basket against other NBA big men.Some of the surface wounds are healing, some are fresh.Other marks are hidden.On the eve of his fourth straight NBA Finals with Cleveland, and while recovering from a concussion suffered last week against Boston, Love has persisted and prevailed during a season in which he revealed dealing with anxiety and panic attacks for much of his life.It's been an emotionally straining — but ultimately rewarding — journey for the 29-year-old All-Star, who laughed when told it feels like he's been with the Cavaliers much longer than four seasons."I've been through enough for a guy who has been here for 12 years," he told the AP following a recent practice. "It's been well worth it."Love, though, has had to pay a price for his new-found peace.Almost since the moment he arrived in a trade from Minnesota in 2014... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo is denying a report connecting the executive to Twitter accounts that criticized Sixers players Joel Embiid and Markelle Fultz, among other NBA figures.The accounts also took aim at former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri and former Sixers players Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, according to a report by The Ringer.The Ringer asked the team about five Twitter accounts it suspected the GM was operating. Colangelo said in a statement that he used one of the accounts to monitor the NBA industry and other current events, but he was "not familiar with any of the other accounts" brought to his attention and he didn't know who was "behind them or what their motives may be in using them."Embiid told ESPN on Tuesday night that Colangelo called him and denied the story. Yahoo Sports reported Colangelo was standing by his statement to The Ringer. A message was left by The Associated Press seeking comment from the Sixers.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers will continue to put their trust in coach Brett Brown.Brown, who took the 76ers from 10 wins to the third seed in the Eastern Conference in just two seasons, has agreed to a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2021-2022 season.A person familiar with the situation confirmed the deal to The Associated Press. The person spoke Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been officially announced.Brown had one year left on his contract. The extension is a sign the franchise believes he's still the right coach to lead the Sixers into Eastern Conference contention.The Sixers won 52 games this season and beat Miami in the first round of the playoffs before they were eliminated in the conference semis by Boston.Under Brown's watch, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have blossomed into two of the top young players in the league. Brown was hired as the Sixers were about to undergo their rebuilding process that became known... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers will continue to put their trust in coach Brett Brown.Brown, who took the 76ers from 10 wins to the third seed in the Eastern Conference in just two seasons, has agreed to a three-year contract extension that runs through the 2021-2022 season.A person familiar with the situation confirmed the deal to The Associated Press. The person spoke Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been officially announced.Brown had one year left on his contract. The extension is a sign the franchise believes he's still the right coach to lead the Sixers into Eastern Conference contention.The Sixers won 52 games this season and beat Miami in the first round of the playoffs before they were eliminated in the conference semis by Boston.Under Brown's watch, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have blossomed into two of the top young players in the league. Brown was hired as the Sixers were about to undergo their rebuilding process that became known as "The Process." The 76ers won 19, 18 and 10 games in each of Brown's first three seasons. The Sixers won 28 games in 2016-17 and made the first playoffs this season for the first time since 2012.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets were up by 14 in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors when they started missing from 3-point range. They shot themselves all the way from prime position to advance to the NBA Finals to the end of a solid season.James Harden was the first to miss. Eric Gordon soon bricked one, and P.J. Tucker did the same. It was miss after miss after miss as the cold streak stretched to nine by halftime. There were 14 more in the third quarter in a surprising performance for a team that relied on the 3 all season. By the time Tucker connected with about 6 1/2 minutes left, the Rockets had missed an NBA-record 27 straight 3-pointers and the Warriors were on their way to a 101-92 victory.Though Gordon believes the result would have been different if Houston had Chris Paul for the last two games of the Western Conference finals, saying: "if he was out there, we'd have been playing on Thursday," the rest of the Rockets agreed that even the nine-time All-Star... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just about everything the Ball family does gets attention, and LiAngelo Ball's pre-draft workout with the Lakers on Tuesday was no exception.About two dozen members of the media watched Ball's final drills while Magic Johnson and Lakers coach Luke Walton looked on. Lakers guard Lonzo Ball, LiAngelo's older brother, was there for the workout as well."I feel like it went good," the younger Ball said. "It's always fun being in here doing things I want to get better at. It was a good workout."LaVar Ball has been outspoken about his desire for all three of his sons — Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo, the youngest — to play for the Lakers. The Lakers have the 25th pick in the first round next month, though LiAngelo Ball's draft prospects are uncertain. He wasn't even scheduled to be a starter at UCLA before leaving the program after being indefinitely suspended for an international incident last year in China. He also had a stint with the professional Lithuanian team Vytautas."It... [More]

If there is a glaring hole on Golden State's championship resume, it's that the Warriors have never gone back-to-back.That will change.The Warriors are about to win their second straight NBA championship and their third in the last four seasons — all of them coming at the expense of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won't have enough even if LeBron James plays to the absolute utmost of his capabilities. The Warriors have home-court advantage, and have three of the best four players who will appear in the series.They're just too good to lose.If they were going to lose, it would have been in the Western Conference finals against the Houston Rockets. Houston was a team that was built for one purpose — beating the Warriors. And the Rockets might have done it, too, had Chris Paul's hamstring not popped in the final seconds of Game 5 and forced him to the sideline for the rest of the series.Golden State rallied in both Game 6 and Game 7, as Paul looked on helplessly. Yes, the Warriors caught a huge... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — The Golden State Warriors, so used to making things look easy, overcame one of their toughest tests to return to the NBA Finals.They climbed out of huge holes in the last two games of the Western Conference finals to beat Houston, but may have to play in the first half the way they have after halftime if they hope to knock off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and repeat as champions."They played a great series, they made us work for everything ... I'm just proud of the way we battled," Klay Thompson said. "We've been through a lot with this team, and believe it or not, it's not all success with the Warriors.""We've got our bumps throughout the season," he continued. "But to get to this point again, we earned it."Without Andre Iguodala again, the Warriors shook off another terrible first half in Game 7 on Monday night to rally for a 101-92 victory that made them the fifth team in NBA history to advance to the finals in four straight seasons.Golden State trailed by... [More]

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston's Chris Paul has been ruled out for Game 7 of the Western Conference finals against Golden State because of a strained right hamstring.Coach Mike D'Antoni says: "Everybody came to the same conclusion. There's no way." The nine-time All-Star got hurt late in the fourth quarter of Game 5 and missed the Rockets' 115-86 loss on Saturday.The Rockets are trying to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1995 against a Golden State team that hopes to reach the finals for the fourth straight season.D'Antoni says they made the decision because: "He couldn't explode. He couldn't push off of it."

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — Danny Ainge tore apart the team that made the Eastern Conference finals last year, and then put together a new roster that came one victory from playing for an NBA title.This summer may present him with an even bigger challenge: standing pat.With Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving coming back from injuries to join fellow All-Star Al Horford and young stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics general manager doesn't really need to do much to give the NBA's most-decorated franchise a chance at its 18th title.And that's not really in Ainge's nature."I like this group of guys," he said Monday, a day after the Celtics lost Game 7 of the conference finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. "We're not looking to make changes, other than a handful of tweaks."But he also said: "You never know what opportunities will present themselves."The Celtics finished with the No. 1 seed in the East in 2017, but the five-game loss to the Cavaliers in the conference finals reinforced... [More]

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — Celtics general manager Danny Ainge says point guard Kyrie Irving was unable to attend Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals because he was recovering from nasal surgery.Ainge said on Monday that Irving had a deviated septum. The injury occurred in November when he was hit in the face by teammate Aron Baynes. Irving wore a mask while healing from the facial fracture.Irving has not played since March because of a knee injury. But his absence on the Boston bench was noted when the Celtics played his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.Ainge joked: "I don't think he wanted to be seen in public and ruin his movie career."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

HOUSTON (AP) — When the Golden State Warriors lost Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to the Rockets on Thursday night to send them to the brink of elimination they vowed to be back in Houston for Game 7.After a resounding win in Game 6 that's exactly where the defending champions are, preparing for a winner-take-all game Monday night for a spot in the NBA Finals."It's going to be fun," Stephen Curry said. "It's what you play for, to be in a situation where you're one win away from going to the finals. Pressure both ways because of how big the moment is, and you've got to want it."The Warriors trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half Saturday night before using a splendid second half to roll to a 115-86 victory. Curry knows that if the Warriors hope to return to the finals for the fourth straight year they'll have to get off to a better start in Game 7."I guarantee if we start the game out like we did (Saturday) and they jump out to the lead, it's going to be 10 times harder... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Klay Thompson flashed back to a night he left the arena still in uniform, furious about his forgettable performance against Denver.It used to be he struggled to shake off a bad night, or even a bad start to a game.Now, he just keeps shooting. Whenever he feels like it, from wherever. No conscience. A hand or two in his face, no matter."I was not always like this. I used to be so hard on myself, especially early in my career," Thompson said. "... I learned, as I get older, if you play with passion, you play hard, and you leave the game saying I gave everything I have tonight in those 48 minutes, you can live with the result."The Warriors' season lives on largely thanks to Thompson's shooting touch. Golden State is one win from a fourth straight NBA Finals, headed back to Houston for Monday night's Game 7.He came through with the defending champions' season on the line in another do-or-die Game 6, just as he did two years ago at Oklahoma City. This time he scored 35... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rockets star Chris Paul is receiving treatment "around the clock" on his injured right hamstring and coach Mike D'Antoni hopes it will only be a matter of days before he is healthy enough to play again.The timeline remained unclear whether Paul might be fine to play a possible Game 7 if the Rockets lost Saturday night's Game 6 and had to return to Houston to face the Golden State Warriors again Monday night. Eric Gordon started in Paul's place Saturday at Oracle Arena."I think he'll play as soon as he can," D'Antoni said before the game Saturday. "It's just not a question of trying to outsmart. He's going to play. As soon as he's able to walk and run, he'll do it. There was no shot at it today."Golden State forward Andre Iguodala was out for a third straight game this series after he sustained a bone bruise in his left knee during Game 3. Coach Steve Kerr said Iguodala continues to have pain when running, so he's still listed as day to day."It's a bone bruise, and... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James and the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers won't get any sympathy from the Celtics when they return to Boston for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.Already laboring to reach his eighth straight NBA Finals with a supporting crew made mostly of cast-offs and throw-ins, James lost the only other All-Star on the roster on Saturday when Kevin Love was declared out for the series finale with a concussion.Now, in what could be his final game in a Cleveland uniform — again — James will have to do it largely on his own.In Boston, where the Celtics are perfect so far this postseason.And in a series where the road team hasn't really even come close."There's something different about LeBron, period," Cleveland forward Larry Nance Jr. said after James scored 46 with 11 rebounds and nine assists on Friday night to send the series to a decisive seventh game. "I think (coach Tyronn Lue) said it best: 'We're going into a Game 7 with the baddest dude on the planet on our team.'... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kevin Love won't be able to help LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Game 7 against the Celtics.Love was placed in the NBA's concussion protocol and the All-Star forward will miss Sunday's series finale of the Eastern Conference finals, a personal blow and yet another challenge for Cleveland to overcome.The Cavaliers said Love, who inadvertently bashed heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum in the first quarter of Game 6, experienced concussion-like symptoms Saturday before the team's flight to Boston.Moments before the Cavs sent a news release updating Love's status, coach Tyronn Lue held a confusing teleconference during which he said the 29-year-old was still being evaluated and there was a possibility he could play.However, like everything else in this erratic, convoluted season for Cleveland, things changed quickly.Now, the Cavs will be without their second-leading scorer and top rebounder as they try to win their fourth straight conference title against a younger team... [More]