OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Paul George has found his shot.Actually, the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star has been on a roll heading into the playoffs.In the five regular season games in April, he averaged 27.6 points and made 41 percent of his 3-pointers and 90 percent of his free throws. He closed the regular season with a 40-point outburst against Memphis.He kept it up in OKC's playoff opener, scoring 36 points and setting a Thunder playoff record with eight 3-pointers as Oklahoma City beat Utah 116-108 .It took George a minute to consistently take the scoring pressure off Russell Westbrook. He struggled on offense right after the All-Star break and said he couldn't find his shot."To his credit, when he was going through a little bit of that slump where he wasn't shooting the ball particularly well, he really put extra work in," Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. "I felt like he was really driven and focused to work his way through it."A couple of former OKC standouts are also thriving early in... [More]

Houston's Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green have both been suspended for two games for entering the Los Angeles Clippers' locker room after a game earlier this week to confront another player.The NBA announced the suspensions Wednesday.Ariza and Green went into the Clippers' locker room after a game Monday night in Los Angeles, one that was marred late by on-court chippiness. Ariza had been ejected from that game in the final moments, as was the Clippers' Blake Griffin.Speaking before the suspensions were announced Wednesday, Ariza said there were a "lot of different stories about what happened, none of them which were true."Ariza has started in all 40 of his appearances with the Rockets this season. Green has been with the Rockets for 10 games, all off the bench.___More AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The NBA has spoken to Clippers star Blake Griffin as well as other players from the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles as part of its investigation into late-game and postgame incidents involving the teams.Griffin confirmed Tuesday that he had been contacted by league officials."I've spoken to them," he said after attending a L.A. Clippers Foundation event at an elementary school. "I'm sure they've talked to everybody by now. We'll see what they come up with."Tempers boiled over Monday night late in the Clippers' 113-102 victory , to the point where several security guards were needed outside the Houston locker room afterward."I wouldn't call it pretty crazy," Griffin said. "In this day and age everything kind of gets blown a little bit out of proportion."Citing anonymous NBA sources, ESPN reported several Rockets players headed toward the Clippers' locker room afterward, seeking a confrontation, but were escorted away by security before anything got physical."We were exactly... [More]

F Trevor Ariza scored a season-high 26 points in Sunday's 128-122 double overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He made 6 of 10 3-point attempts.

F Trevor Ariza and G Eric Gordon scored 20 for Houston (25-7).

F Trevor Ariza and G James Harden co-engineered a third-quarter offensive surge, one derived largely from aggressive half-court defense, as the Rockets erased a 22-point, first-quarter deficit in their 117-102 victory over the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Toyota Center.Ariza, held scoreless in the first half, had 13 points by the 6:37 mark of the third, with his first 3-pointer giving Houston a 66-63 lead."When we really focus and lock in on defense, it always ignites our offense," said Ariza, who posted 16 points and a steal. "We always get fast-break opportunities, we always get easy buckets and the sooner we realize that, the better off we're going to be. It's going to be a lot better for us."

F Trevor Ariza finished with a season-high 25 points, hitting 7 of 10 3-pointers as the Rockets made 18 of 41 3s despite playing without a pair of their top marksmen, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson."Yeah, tonight was my night," Ariza said to a chorus of laughs. "Those guys are out, call on me. I'll get it right for you."

F Trevor Ariza had 20 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's loss to the Raptors.

F Trevor Ariza played almost 36 minutes Saturday and scored 10 points with seven rebounds and five assists after mssing two games with a midfoot sprain.

F Trevor Ariza scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds Thursday as the Rockets were eliminated by the Spurs in Game 6.

F Trevor Ariza scored 23 points, as the Rockets jumped on San Antonio in the opening minutes and rolled to a 126-99 victory at the AT&T Center.

F Trevor Ariza, G Eric Gordon and C Nene were all rested on Sunday.

F Trevor Ariza tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds to help the Rockets clinch the third seed in the Western Conference. He was one of three Rockets with double-doubles. "Those guys rebounded the ball excellent tonight," Harden said. "That's what we're going to need down the stretch. That helps our defense."

F Trevor Ariza and G Eric Gordon chipped in 24 points each, combining to go 10 of 17 from behind the arc. The Rockets (51-22) finished 20 of 39 on 3s, their NBA-record 10th game with 20 treys.

F Trevor Ariza scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the Rockets' blowout win over the Lakers on Wednesday.

F Trevor Ariza added three 3-pointers and 15 points.

F Trevor Ariza scored 20 points, 14 in the first quarter, during the Rockets' rout of the Magic on Tuesday.

F Trevor Ariza rebounded from a rough night and added 23 points. He tied a season high by hitting six 3s missing five of six Friday.

F Trevor Ariza had 13 points and hit 3 of 8 3-pointers Friday.

F Trevor Ariza and G Eric Gordon shot a combined 9 for 15 from behind the arc in totaling 37 points Friday.