PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Carmelo Anthony is now set with the Portland Trail Blazers and starting over with jersey No. 00.Word that the 10-time All-Star had joined the team broke Thursday night, but the agreement was not formalized until Tuesday when he signed a nonguaranteed contract that goes through January. If he stays, the contract becomes guaranteed for the rest of the season.It was not immediately clear when he would start practicing or playing with the team. Portland plays at New Orleans on Tuesday night.Anthony hasn’t played since a 10-game stint with the Houston Rockets ended a little more than a year ago. But the Blazers hope there is enough game left in the 35-year-old forward to help them overcome a 5-9 start.“Carmelo is an established star in this league that will provide a respected presence in our locker room and a skill set at a position of need on the floor,” Neil Olshey, Portland’s president of basketball operations, said in a statement.Anthony but struggled at the end of... [More]

Carmelo Anthony is getting another shot in the NBA.The 10-time All-Star is returning to the league with the Portland Trail Blazers, a person with knowledge of the details said Thursday.Anthony hasn’t played since a short stint with the Houston Rockets ended a little more than a year ago after just 10 games. But the Blazers hope there is still enough game left in the 35-year-old forward to help them overcome a 4-8 start.Anthony’s deal with Portland was confirmed to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it has not been announced. It was first reported by ESPN.com, which said that Anthony would join the team on its upcoming road trip.Anthony is a three-time Olympic gold medalist but struggled at the end of his recent stops in Oklahoma City and Houston following 6 ½ seasons in New York. He continued to work out with NBA players, and his many friends and supporters insisted he was still good enough to play in the league.Now he will get a chance to prove it.“It’s about damn time!!”... [More]

A person familiar with the details says Carmelo Anthony is returning to the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers.The 10-time All-Star hasn’t played since a short stint with the Houston Rockets ended a little more than a year ago after just 10 games. But the Blazers hope there is still enough game left in the 35-year-old forward to help them overcome a 4-8 start.Anthony’s deal with Portland was confirmed to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because it has not been announced. It was first reported by ESPN.com, which said that Anthony would join the team on its upcoming road trip.Anthony is a three-time Olympic gold medalist but has struggled at the end of his recent stops in Oklahoma City and Houston following 6 ½ seasons in New York.Anthony was acquired by the Chicago Bulls from Houston on Jan. 21, with the intention of trading him before the deadline or letting him go. He averaged 13.4 points in 10 games with the Rockets last season, but hasn’t played since November... [More]

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins won't necessarily return from injuries in time to play for the Golden State Warriors during the Western Conference Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.Durant is likely to miss at least the first two games of the best-of-seven series beginning Tuesday night at Oracle Arena. Coach Steve Kerr said after practice Monday a more extensive update on Durant's status would come Thursday once his calf injury is re-evaluated.Reserve Portland guard Rodney Hood was listed as questionable for Game 1. The team said Monday an MRI exam showed a bone bruise from the third quarter of a 100-96 Game 7 win Sunday at Denver to clinch the West semifinals. Hood, who had to be helped off the court, has contributed key minutes off the bench to help Portland reach its first conference final since 2000.Durant, the two-time reigning NBA Finals MVP leading all postseason scorers, strained his right calf during the third quarter of Game 5 against the Rockets... [More]

Bravo, Portland.Bravo.Doing the right thing isn't easy in the NBA, where patience is a rare virtue. The Trail Blazers were swept in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. They got swept again in the first round last season. Portland had lost 10 consecutive playoff games going into this year. Ordinarily, that's a recipe for firings, trade demands and roster dismantling.Instead, the Blazers stayed the course.And their reward is a trip to the Western Conference final, starting Tuesday against two-time defending champion Golden State."It speaks to the character of our organization and what we've become," All-Star guard Damian Lillard said.The Blazers have become a model of consistency.They could have gone the other way. A lot of teams have gone the other way.Neil Olshey, the Blazers' general manager, took an uncommonly measured approach last season and kept Terry Stotts — currently the fourth-longest-tenured coach in the NBA. Lillard stayed committed and didn't stomp his feet or force a trade... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Portland guard/forward Rodney Hood remains hopeful he can play in the opening game of the Western Conference Finals after hyperextending his left knee.Hood left Game 7 on Sunday against Denver after colliding with Nuggets forward Torrey Craig on a screen in the third quarter. Hood stayed down on the floor, clutching at his left knee as trainers checked on him. Hood was helped into the locker room.He had six points in 20 minutes as the Trail Blazers beat the Nuggets 100-96 to advance."They checked my knee and everything was stable," Hood said. "Major relief."Game 1 of the conference finals is Tuesday night at Golden State."Day-by-day," Hood said. "Hopefully the pain goes down. Hopefully it's feeling better by Tuesday."In a Game 6 win at Portland, Hood had 25 points. Nuggets coach Michael Malone referred to him as the "MVP of the series."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — Portland guard/forward Rodney Hood hyperextended his left knee on a screen during the third quarter of Game 7 against Denver.His return Sunday is questionable.Hood was covering Nuggets guard Jamal Murray when he collided with Torrey Craig. Hood stayed down on the floor, clutching at his left knee as trainers checked on him. Hood was helped into the locker room. He has six points in 20 minutes.In a Game 6 win at Portland, Hood had 25 points. Nuggets coach Michael Malone referred to him as the "MVP of the series."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Denver and Toronto started this second round of the playoffs feeling great about their chances.And then things went bad.And then they bounced back.So now, going into a pair of big-time swing games on Tuesday night — Denver plays host to Portland, Toronto plays host to Philadelphia — the Nuggets and Raptors can either take a firm grip on their respective series or get themselves into pits of trouble that would be even deeper than the ones they were in a couple of days ago.Game 5s await. Blazers-Nuggets, tied 2-2. 76ers-Raptors, tied 2-2. Toronto and Denver both reclaimed home-court advantage with series-tying road wins on Sunday, and the task now is to keep that momentum going with very high stakes."You win a game, and you've got to play another one," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Monday. "To borrow a phrase that everybody uses, this is a grind. These things are grinders, and being even-keeled, professional, hard-working, tough mentality is what it needs on each game and each possession,... [More]

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets could use the kind of break everybody else is getting in the second round of the NBA playoffs.If anybody deserved some time off, it's the All-Star center who just played 65 minutes in a game.But there's no rest for the weary now. The Nuggets and Trail Blazers will be back on the court Sunday for Game 4, surely a little low on fuel after they tied an NBA record by playing four overtimes Friday night in Portland's 140-137 victory."Both teams are exhausted, so it's the same for them as it is for us," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "We will not use that as an excuse. We haven't used it all year long and we won't start using it now."The conference semifinal round is a series of starts and stops, where it's difficult for any team to build much momentum because there have been so many gaps between games.Philadelphia and Toronto, who have Game 4 of their series Sunday, play just twice in a seven-day span. In the other Eastern Conference semifinal, Milwaukee... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After he made his unforgettable 3-pointer at the buzzer to clinch Portland's first-round series over Oklahoma City, Damian Lillard was mobbed by his teammates.The television camera moved into the scrum, and Lillard looked directly into the lens. His expression was pure told-you-so."Obviously he can score the ball with the best of them. But Dame has a chip on his shoulder, and he has since the day he walked into this league," said Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. "Just the way he grinds, he played like a guy from Oakland with a chip on his shoulder and a guy who has been doubted forever."The doubters don't bother the 6-foot-3 Lillard. They seem to motivate him, fuel his hunger to prove them wrong.He enters the NBA conference semifinals on a roll, as confident as ever.And it's not just because of the 37-footer that eliminated the Thunder: He had 50 points in last Tuesday's deciding game, a 118-115 Game 5 victory that sent the Blazers through to the Western... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard is just going to assume that Portland won't have backcourt teammate CJ McCollum through the rest of the regular season so that the Trail Blazers can respond to his absence effectively.McCollum, who is averaging more than 21 points a game for Portland, has a strained left knee. He'll be re-evaluated next week, but at this point there's no timetable for his return.The injury comes at an inopportune time for the Blazers, who sit in fourth in the tight Western Conference standings with 12 games left to secure home-court advantage."Mentally, I don't want him to have to rush it," Lillard said about McCollum's return. "When he does come back I want him to be himself and be healthy, so in my mind, we're going to finish the regular season without him, maybe the last couple of games of the regular season. I think that's how I should think of it, knowing that we have to have a great effort for these last 12 games, planning on not having him out there."While the... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Center Enes Kanter has joined the Portland Trail Blazers.Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks along with Wesley Matthews following the trade deadline last week. Kanter announced Wednesday on Twitter that he had signed with the Blazers for the rest of the season. The deal was first reported by ESPN."I look forward to helping the Blazers achieve the ultimate goal of competing for a championship," he said on the post. "Excited to meet my new teammates, coaches, staff and most importantly the fans. It is a blessing to continue to compete at the highest level."Kanter was once a starter for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation altogether when the team — with the worst record in the league — turned its focus to younger players. The Knicks could not find a deal for Kanter before the deadline.The center from Turkey came to the Knicks from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade in September 2017 and averaged 14 points and 10.8 rebounds in 115 games over two seasons.... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Center Enes Kanter has joined the Portland Trail Blazers.Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks along with Wesley Matthews following the trade deadline last week. Kanter announced Wednesday on Twitter that he had signed with the Blazers for the rest of the season. The deal was first reported by ESPN."I look forward to helping the Blazers achieve the ultimate goal of competing for a championship," he said on the post. "Excited to meet my new teammates, coaches, staff and most importantly the fans. It is a blessing to continue to compete at the highest level."Kanter was once a starter for the Knicks but fell out of the rotation altogether when the team — with the worst record in the league — turned its focus to younger players. The Knicks could not find a deal for Kanter before the deadline.The center from Turkey came to the Knicks from Oklahoma City in the Carmelo Anthony trade in September 2017 and averaged 14 points and 10.8 rebounds in 115 games over two seasons. He had become frustrated after first losing his starting spot and then any spot at all in recent weeks.The Blazers previously made a four-year, $70 million offer for Kanter in 2015 when he was a restricted free agent, but the Thunder matched it.Kanter will play behind Portland's starting center Jusuf Nurkic in a strong second unit that includes Seth Curry, Jake Layman, Rodney Hood and Evan Turner.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Nik Stauskas has been in Cleveland for a week. He's finally getting a chance to wear a Cavaliers uniform.The Cavaliers have signed the well-traveled guard, who was traded three times and released last week, for the rest of the season.Stauskas was briefly with the Cavs, who acquired him from Portland in the deal for forward Rodney Hood. He never appeared in a game before Cleveland sent him two days later to Houston, which promptly traded Stauskas at the deadline to Indiana. The Pacers then waived the 25-year-old, allowing the rebuilding Cavs to scoop him up.And while being traded twice and then waived, Stauskas never left Cleveland."It's crazy," he said. "I flew to Cleveland. I was able to practice once with the team. I got traded to Houston, but no one ever booked me a flight to Houston. They were thinking they were still going to make some moves and I was possibly going to be traded again. So I stayed in Cleveland, got traded to Indiana, the same thing happened."Stauskas... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have signed well-traveled guard Nik Stauskas, who was traded three times and released last week, for the rest of the season.Stauskas was briefly with the Cavs, who acquired him from Portland in the deal for forward Rodney Hood. He never appeared in a game before Cleveland sent him two days later to Houston, which promptly traded Stauskas at the deadline to Indiana. The Pacers then waived the 25-year-old, allowing the rebuilding Cavs scooped him up.Stauskas averaged 6.1 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 44 games as a reserve for the Trail Blazers. He has also played for Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Sacramento, which selected him with the No. 8 overall pick in 2014.Cleveland, which recently welcomed back All-Star forward Kevin Love following foot surgery, is 11-45 going into Monday's game against the New York Knicks.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rodney Hood made minimal impact on the Cavaliers' postseason run last season. He'll get a chance to do more with Portland.Hood was traded Monday by the Cavaliers, who acquired guards Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin — and their expiring contracts — along with second-round picks in 2021 and 2023 from the Trail Blazers.Before the trade could be completed, the Cavaliers needed Hood to agree to the deal because he signed a one-year $3.4 million qualifying offer this summer. The 26-year-old waived his no-trade clause to join the Blazers, who are 32-20 and have the fourth best record in the Western Conference.Hood will give Portland some more scoring punch and can take some pressure off guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. He is averaging 12.2 points and 2.5 rebounds this season.The Cavaliers acquired Hood at the trade deadline from Utah last season, and they envisioned him being another scoring option to complement LeBron James and Kevin Love. However, the 6-foot-8 forward never... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have traded forward Rodney Hood to the Portland Trail Blazers.Cleveland is rebuilding and received guards Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin and a second-round pick in 2021 and 2023. The teams agreed to the deal Sunday and completed a conference call with the NBA on Monday.Hood was in his second season with the Cavs, who acquired him at the deadline in 2018. He signed a one-year, $3.4 million qualifying offer last summer.He'll give more scoring punch to the Trail Blazers, who are 32-20 and have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. Hood is averaging 12.2 points and 2.5 rebounds.The Cavs are collecting draft assets following a four-year run to the Finals. It's possible they'll deal Alec Burks or J.R. Smith before Thursday's deadline. Stauskas and Baldwin have expiring contracts.To make roster room, the Cavs released guard Kobi Simmons from his second 10-day contract.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Tristan Thompson and Rodney Hood will return for the Cleveland Cavaliers after missing time with injuries.The return of the two players will give a boost to the Cavaliers, who have the NBA's worst record (8-29) going into Wednesday night's game against the Miami Heat.Thompson has missed the last 10 games because of a sprained left foot. The 6-foot-10 forward is averaging a team-high 11.6 rebounds and is scoring 12 points a game.Hood has missed four games with a sore left Achilles tendon. He's averaging 12 points.Cleveland coach Larry Drew said forward Kevin Love, who had surgery on his left foot in November, will visit a doctor soon as he continues to rehab his injury. Drew said Love has begun shooting drills, but hasn't practiced. Love is expected to return in January.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Rodney Hood has re-signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.Hood joined the Cavaliers at the trade deadline last season, coming over from Utah. The 6-foot-8 Hood was offered a $3.4 million qualifying offer from Cleveland in June and agreed to sign it over the weekend.He'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.Hood made 11 starts and played in 21 regular-season games for Cleveland, averaging 10.8 points and 2.6 rebounds. In 17 playoff games, he averaged 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds as the Cavaliers made it to the Finals for the fourth year in a row.He began the postseason in coach Tyronn Lue's starting lineup but lost playing time and then caused some drama when he refused to enter a blowout win.Hood could have a larger role this season following LeBron James' departure as a free agent.___For more AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cavaliers have some clarity with one of their free agent forwards.No, not that one.While waiting to see if they're in LeBron James' plans, the Cavaliers intend to extend a $3.4 million qualifying offer to Rodney Hood, making him a restricted free agent and protecting the club if he receives any offers.The team will make the offer to Hood before Friday's deadline, said a person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the club is not publicly discussing its plans ahead of free agency starting Sunday.Cleveland.com first reported the Cavaliers' intentions with Hood.Also, the Cavs intend to pick up center Kendrick Perkins' $2.5 million non-guaranteed contract for next season, the person said. The move with Perkins, who signed at the end of the regular season but did not appear in any playoff games, is so the team can potentially use his salary slot in a trade.Perkins has had two stints with Cleveland.Meanwhile, James has until 11:59... [More]