DENVER (AP) — The celebration will be short-lived for the Denver Nuggets after winning a playoff series for the first time in a decade.After all, Portland awaits.The Nuggets knocked off San Antonio 90-86 in Game 7 on Saturday night to move on to the Western Conference semifinals.A mere hours after their big win — their first series victory since 2009 — the second-seeded Nuggets host a rested Trail Blazers team. Game 1 is Monday, with Game 2 on Wednesday before shifting to Portland. The Blazers have had a few days off after beating Oklahoma City in five games."I've learned over the years you take your accomplishments and you celebrate them. Tonight, celebrate," Nuggets forward Paul Millsap said. "This is a big accomplishment for this team, big accomplishment for this organization. You've got to celebrate it. A lot of people didn't give us a chance to win."On Sunday afternoon, it's back to the business of basketball. Denver was 3-1 against the Blazers in the regular season."It's the next... [More]

DENVER (AP) — No stranger to the weight that accompanies Game 7s , DeMar DeRozan offered one overly basic reminder to his team."Us versus them," the San Antonio guard said.DeRozan's point : It's not his team playing a hostile crowd when the Spurs face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center in the first-round series finale Saturday.Still, the second-seeded Nuggets went a league-best 34-7 at home in the regular season behind all that noise."Go out there and play free, play smart," said DeRozan, whose team forced a winner-moves-on scenario with a 120-103 victory Thursday in San Antonio. "We can't get caught up in the crowd."The Spurs are packing enough outfits for a week's worth of travel — just in case. Should they win, it's off to Portland to start the Western Conference semifinals. Should they lose, the offseason begins."We're not going to pack for no reason," Spurs forward Rudy Gay said. "If I'm going to pack my clothes, I'm going to use them."That's the sort of swagger the Spurs bring to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — No stranger to the weight that accompanies Game 7s , DeMar DeRozan offered one overly basic reminder to his team."Us versus them," the San Antonio guard said.DeRozan's point : It's not his team playing a hostile crowd when the Spurs face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center in the first-round series finale Saturday.Still, the second-seeded Nuggets went a league-best 34-7 at home in the regular season behind all that noise."Go out there and play free, play smart," said DeRozan, whose team forced a winner-moves-on scenario with a 120-103 victory Thursday in San Antonio. "We can't get caught up in the crowd."The Spurs are packing enough outfits for a week's worth of travel — just in case. Should they win, it's off to Portland to start the Western Conference semifinals. Should they lose, the offseason begins."We're not going to pack for no reason," Spurs forward Rudy Gay said. "If I'm going to pack my clothes, I'm going to use them."That's the sort of swagger the Spurs bring to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets ended their six-year playoff drought in style.After spending most of the season jockeying with the juggernaut Golden State Warriors for top billing in the West, the Nuggets fended off Portland and Houston to earn the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and will face the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.Game 1 is Saturday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets posted the NBA's best home record (34-7), including a thrilling 99-95 win over Minnesota in the finale that gave them a 12-1 record on the second night of back-to-backs.More importantly, it locked down the coveted No. 2 seed that ensures the Nuggets won't have to face Golden State, Utah or Houston — against whom they were a combined 3-8 this season — until the conference finals, should they get that far.It won't be easy.The novice Nuggets have just three players with playoff experience — Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee and Will Barton — and the Spurs are making their 22nd straight playoff... [More]

DETROIT (AP) — Denver forward Paul Millsap is missing Monday night's game at Detroit because of right ankle soreness.Gary Harris is also out with a right adductor strain, and Jamal Murray is out with a left ankle sprain. The Nuggets have won six straight and are tied with Golden State for the top spot in the Western Conference.Millsap went scoreless in 20:55 in Denver's win at Minnesota on Saturday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets woke up out of first place in the Western Conference for the first time in 2019.Arriving at work on Wednesday, a stark reminder of just why awaited: Watching the footage of Golden State hitting 21 3-pointers.It wasn't fun viewing.The playoff-contending Nuggets learned a hard truth in a 142-111 loss to the Warriors in which they allowed an NBA-record 51-point first quarter and all those 3-pointers: They still have plenty of work to do."This was not a blame day," coach Michael Malone said after a lively practice that followed the film session. "This was not anything of the sort. It was to watch film, to learn from it, to get better."If we want to be the team we all talk about being, we have to learn from this."In a playoff-like atmosphere Tuesday and in front of a capacity crowd at the Pepsi Center, the Nuggets couldn't raise their game .On the other side, the occasion brought out the best in the Warriors."We don't have that level yet," said Malone, whose... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic is happiest when he's simply dribbling the ball up the floor. Or so the Denver Nuggets big man has been told."My godfather," Jokic said , "is always telling me, 'You look so happy when you're dribbling. You don't even need to shoot or pass it. Just punt it into the stands.'"Now that would be something new for Jokic. Or just keep doing what he's doing.Led by Jokic's All-Star-level play, the Nuggets are out front in the Western Conference at the halfway mark of the season. They ride a 12-game home win streak into their showdown Tuesday against Golden State — the team everyone figured would be leading the West."We're doing good right now," Jokic said.At 29-13, the Nuggets are tied for their best NBA start in franchise history with a 1976-77 squad that featured David Thompson and Dan Issel. This also marks the latest in a season the team has led the conference since March 16, 1977.It's a tenuous lead, though, and just a half-game ahead of the Warriors (29-14), who've... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic considers himself a point guard who just so happens to be trapped in a center's 250-pound frame."I'm telling that to everybody," the Denver Nuggets standout said. "But nobody believes in that except me."It's as good a description as any for the hard-to-label and even harder-to-stop play of the 7-footer nicknamed Joker.He doesn't exactly have the most athletic look or leap out of the gym, but he's elevated the Western Conference-leading Nuggets to new heights this season. Jokic is in line to become Denver's first All-Star since Carmelo Anthony in 2010-11 and is being mentioned in the MVP conversation.Jokic shrugs off all the attention. He's just an unassuming big man doing uncommon things on the court so often it's becoming common."A 7-2 Magic Johnson," Knicks coach David Fizdale said as he over-inflated Jokic's height in comparing him to the Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer. "He's as good of a passer as any guard in the league. He can shoot 3s. But his ball handling... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets have waived veteran guard Nick Young with several players starting to return to health.The team announced the move Sunday on its Twitter account.Young was signed earlier this month with the Nuggets missing several starters because of injuries. Forward Paul Millsap returned following a broken big toe in Saturday's win in Phoenix. Guard Will Barton (hip/core surgery) and guard Gary Harris (hip) are inching closer to a return as well.The 33-year-old Young played in four games with Denver and averaged 2.3 points. Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly thanked Young for his contributions. Connelly says in a statement that Young "immediately fit in with our group and did everything that was asked of him."___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DENVER (AP) — The topic: Denver leading the Western Conference and whether teams are starting to take the Nuggets more seriously.The look from Nikola Jokic: Nearly expressionless. The Joker doesn't jest about this subject."To be honest, I don't really care," Jokic said . "Because we know that we're good."Denver is missing three starters and still boasts a percentage points lead over Golden State in the conference standings . This marks the latest into a season the Nuggets have been leading the conference since December 18, 1984.The Nuggets have swagger, confidence and Jokic, the big Serbian center/forward/guard who's blossoming into one of the league's most hard-to-defend players."A lot of people just think we are on a hot run right now," said forward Torrey Craig, whose team has won 10 of 12 heading into Tuesday's game against Dallas. "They don't really believe in us. But I think we have started to open a lot of eyes. We just have to realize how we win."Grind it out? They can do that.... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The banged-up Denver Nuggets have signed veteran guard Nick Young under the injury hardship relief exception granted by the NBA.Young spent last season with Golden State, where he appeared in 80 games and averaged 7.3 points. He's also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia and Washington over his 11-year career. Young was the 16th overall pick by the Wizards in 2007.Denver hosts Memphis on Monday without Gary Harris (hip), Paul Millsap (broken toe) and Will Barton (hip/core muscle surgery). Jamal Murray is questionable with a bruised right shin.On Monday, the team also waived guard Brandon Goodwin. He was signed Nov. 29 under the injury hardship relief exception. Goodwin didn't appear in a game for Denver.___For more AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]

So much changed after Kawhi Leonard crashed to the Oracle Arena floor on May 14, 2017.The San Antonio Spurs had a 23-point lead on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals when Leonard departed with 26 points, poised to take away home-court advantage in the series between teams who won more than 60 games.Leonard injured his ankle when he landed on Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot, and things were never the same again for the Spurs or Leonard. The Spurs couldn't hold on to win that game or any other in the series without their All-Star forward, whose ankle injury would be followed by a lingering thigh injury that would limit him to just nine games the following season and strain relations between the team and player. Leonard was ultimately granted his desire to leave San Antonio when he was traded to Toronto in the offseason.If Leonard doesn't go down, maybe the Spurs win that game, maybe the series and maybe another championship. Maybe Leonard wouldn't have wanted... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The debates have been so lively inside the Denver Nuggets locker room recently that coach Michael Malone wanders in to make sure everything's all right.Just the enthusiasm of guard Isaiah Thomas bubbling to the surface. He's turning up the intensity with his booming voice in what's been a rather quiet room.Think he's chatty now, wait until he's fully cleared after undergoing hip surgery in March. That's when he will do his real talking — with his play.Thomas hopes to provide another spark to a Nuggets team that hasn't reached the postseason since 2012-13. Last season, the team went down to the wire, with the Nuggets losing out on the No. 8 seed to Minnesota in the final game — a stinging 112-106 overtime defeat."We just have to be more consistent and take things more serious and I think that's what I'm here for," said Thomas, who signed a $2 million, one-year deal in the offseason to prove his hip is healthy and worth a more lucrative contract. "I'm not saying I'm the guy... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly says contract extensions for center Nikola Jokic and guard Will Barton are among his offseason priorities and he hinted coach Michael Malone might be in line for one, too.The Nuggets have increased their win totals from 30 to 40 to 46 under Malone but they extended their playoff drought to five years when they lost in overtime at Minnesota in the season finale this week."This is the most confident I've been in our core group since I've been here," said Connelly, who's been in his post in Denver since 2013. "I think we have the makings of a team that can enjoy sustainably high levels of success."I think there's going to be some pretty interesting financial decisions we'll make this offseason."Jokic was drafted in the second round in 2014 and signed a three-year, $4 million deal a year later. The Nuggets have a $1.6 million fourth-year option, which they can decline this summer and instead give Jokic a max contract.While that would crimp... [More]

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic only had a basic outline of his offseason plans: Rest, work out in Denver, return home to Serbia and rest some more.It's not more elaborate since the Nuggets big man figured he'd be working for a while longer.The Nuggets won six more games than a year ago and yet finished in the same position — a spot out of the playoffs. This season even came down to a winner-take-all scenario in Minnesota, where the Nuggets came up short in overtime to miss out on the playoffs for a fifth straight season."I'm not mad. I'm not sad, because I think we played good," Jokic said Thursday. "We're not making the playoffs because we were not focused the whole season, every game."Still, the Nuggets won six straight down the stretch to climb into contention for a spot, before losing to the Timberwolves in a spirited game."If we play with that sense of urgency that we did at the end, then we wouldn't have even been in this position," Will Barton said. "It's all a part of growing."Veteran... [More]

F Paul Millsap (left wrist ligament) remains sidelined for the Nuggets.

F Paul Millsap (left wrist surgery) has his hand in a hard cast, but he expects to be back working out with the team soon. "He's definitely getting better," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "We're hoping against hope that maybe by the end of this (six-game road) trip he can help out on the floor."

F Paul Millsap opted for surgery to correct a left wrist ligament injury and will be sidelined for at least three months. Millsap, who sustained the injury Sunday against the Lakers, signed a 3-year, $90 million deal with the Nuggets on July 13.

F Paul Millsap has been diagnosed with a left wrist ligament injury, the team announced Wednesday. Millsap could miss three months due to surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Vertical first reported that Millsap would need surgery and be sidelined indefinitely. The Nuggets announced in their press release that "additional evaluation and consultation is ongoing to determine the best course of medical care."