LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tyronn Lue is stepping into his new job as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers fully aware of the pressure to bring the first NBA championship to the long-suffering franchise. As if Lue needed a reminder, owner Steve Ballmer proclaimed, “My personality is all about winning.” It's been nearly two years since Lue worked as a head coach. He was fired in Cleveland after an 0-6 start to the 2018-19 season and used the down time to work on himself before joining Doc Rivers' staff in Los Angeles this past season. “I lost 35 pounds, changed my diet. That was the main thing, focus on myself," Lue said Wednesday via Zoom. "After Cleveland, I had the whole season to reflect on what I could have done better.” Now it’s Lue’s turn to try to take the Clippers where the franchise has never been before — beyond the second round of the playoffs. “I’m big on pressure,” he said. “If you don’t have pressure that means you don’t have a chance to win a championship. I want to be one of the greatest... [More]

Two people with knowledge of the situation say Stan Van Gundy has agreed to become the next coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, where he’ll get the chance to work with No. 1 overall draft pick Zion Williamson. Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, according to one of the people who spoke Wednesday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hiring had not been announced. In New Orleans, Van Gundy will replace Alvin Gentry, who was let go after the Pelicans missed this season’s playoffs. Part of the problem for the Pelicans this season was that Williamson missed most of the season; he averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 58% shooting, albeit in only 24 games. The Pelicans were 30-42 this past season. They have a promising young core with Williamson, Most Improved Player Brandon Ingram, Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, plus currently hold four picks in this year’s draft. Van Gundy spent parts of 12 seasons coaching Miami, Orlando and Detroit, winning... [More]

A person with knowledge of the situation says Tyronn Lue has agreed to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. Final terms were still being worked on, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press Thursday on condition of anonymity because no contract had been signed. Lue will replace Doc Rivers, who had coached the Clippers for the last seven seasons. Lue was on Rivers’ staff this season when the Clippers wasted a 3-1 lead over Denver and lost in the Western Conference semifinals. ESPN first reported the agreement between Lue and the Clippers, saying it was a five-year deal. Lue went 128-83 in parts of four seasons as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, taking over at the midpoint of the 2015-16 season and leading them to their first NBA title. He left the Cavs after six games of the 2018-19 season. That 2016 title team had LeBron James — who just led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2020 NBA title. Lue also was a candidate for other jobs this offseason, including in Houston and New Orleans. The Clippers — in the first season of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George playing together — went 49-23 this regular season, the fourth-best record in franchise history. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is stepping down on his own accord, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because the move hasn’t been announced. It was first reported by ESPN. The Rockets have made the playoffs 10 times since Morey was hired in May 2017, including the last eight seasons. Morey was responsible for the blockbuster trade that brought James Harden to Houston from Oklahoma City. The Rockets reached the Western Conference finals twice under Morey but were unable to win their first championship since the team captured consecutive titles in 1994-95. The move comes after coach Mike D’Antoni told the team he would not return after the Rockets lost to the Lakers in the conference semifinals. Morey caused an international uproar last year when he tweeted support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. Morey tweeted an image that said: “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.” His tweet was in reference to pro-democracy demonstrations in the semiautonomous Chinese territory that had been mired in escalating violence between protesters and law enforcement. The tweet caused businesses in China to cut ties with the Rockets and broadcasters there refused to air the team’s games this season. NBA telecasts in China, however, resumed during the recent NBA Finals.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic had their arms slung over the other’s shoulders as they walked out of the arena following the final game of Miami’s season, helping each other in the most painful of moments. That was the Heat way all year long. A bunch of strangers at the start of the season forged intense bonds over the next 12 months, and the result was a surprising run to the NBA Finals. Another Eastern Conference championship banner will be swaying in Miami soon, and there is no doubt that the Heat will enter next season — whenever it starts — believing that they’re among the favorites to win the 2021 NBA title. “This season has been a tremendous season for us, for me,” Dragic said. “We had a lot of bonds together. We go through good times, bad times, but we always stay together. And I think that that’s something that it’s really rare to find.” The Heat went from 10th in the East last season to second in the NBA this season, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — He went to Miami and became a champion. He went back to Cleveland and won another title. He went to Los Angeles and now the Lakers are back atop the basketball world. LeBron James, love him or hate him, is in his own category now. He has led three franchises to NBA titles, something nobody has ever done. His legacy was complete long before Sunday night, when the Los Angeles Lakers became NBA champions for the 17th time by beating the Miami Heat and winning the title to cap a season like none other, in a bubble like none other. But that legacy is just a bit shinier now. “I guess, as Frank Sinatra would say, I did it my way,” James said earlier in these playoffs. That’s not up for debate. He’s got four titles. He’s a four-time NBA Finals MVP, the second to win that many. He’s done it all with the NBA’s biggest target on his back, with every action and every word scrutinized and often criticized. James has become the epitome of the independent superstar athlete,... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz got backhanded compliments from NBC's Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on Sunday night for supposedly not knowing the 76ers had hired Doc Rivers as their coach. Eagles coach Doug Pederson, who knows how to win a championship in Philly, can’t wait to meet the newest member of the city’s coaching fraternity. “I’d love the chance to introduce myself and welcome him to Philadelphia,” Pederson said. Meet-and-greets with Rivers will mostly have to wait because of restrictions in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Rivers, hired last week as the 25th head coach in Sixers history, has spoken by phone with most of the players on a team that was swept out of the Eastern Conference playoffs in the first round. He told them he’s ready to win the franchise’s first NBA title since 1983. The Sixers have socially distanced themselves from the Larry O’Brien Trophy long enough — and Rivers has the experience of holding the trophy that goes to... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Doc Rivers used his voice as one of five Black coaches in the NBA to make some of his strongest statements condemning racial injustice. With playoff games postponed in the NBA bubble as teams grappled with how to deal with issues far more grave than basketball, it was Rivers who capsulized the gross inequities the Black community wrestles with on a daily basis. “We’re the ones getting killed,” Rivers said. “We’re the ones getting shot. We’re the ones that were denied to live in certain communities. We’ve been hung. We’ve been shot. And all you do is keep hearing about fear. It’s amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. And it’s just, it’s really so sad.” His activism was highlighted by the Philadelphia 76ers when they officially named Rivers the 25th coach in franchise history on Saturday. Rivers signed a reported a five-year deal. Rivers takes over after a seven-season run as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers — where he... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Doc Rivers takes over a team tasked not with leading a Process-type rebuild or massaging the egos of two talented — yet frustrating — All-Stars. He's in Philadelphia to bring accountability to an oft-apathetic roster — and win big. Rivers brings his NBA championship credibility to the 76ers to resuscitate a franchise that entered this season with title expectations and ended it with grim concerns over its bloated payroll, incompatible mix of talent, and doubts that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons can truly co-exist and lead the Sixers to their first title since 1983. Enter Rivers, the 58-year-old former NBA guard who coached the Boston Celtics to the championship in 2008 and another NBA Finals appearance in 2010. Just two days after he split with the Los Angeles Clippers, Rivers was in Philadelphia with ownership and general manager Elton Brand, and on Thursday he accepted the job to succeed Brett Brown. “Welcome to the city of Brotherly Love Coach @DocRivers !!!! Excited... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Michele Roberts planned on being in the NBA’s restart bubble at Walt Disney World for a few days. Three weeks, at the most. She never left. The executive director of the National Basketball Players Association will be in the bubble from start to finish, meaning she’ll be there when either the Los Angeles Lakers or Miami Heat get their hands on the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the conclusion of the NBA Finals that resume Friday night. Her reason for staying: Her realization of how much work that could be done on matters relating to social justice and the fight against racial inequality, along with the chance to connect with so many players individually on such a regular basis. “I wouldn’t trade having done this for the world,” Roberts said in an interview with The Associated Press. “You have a chance to interact at a level that I, through the last 6 1/2 years, have never had. We’ve had our meetings, around each other for a day and a half or two days, but this was... [More]

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — NBA star Chris Paul has enrolled in a historically Black college in North Carolina, where he will take a class and encourage students to get to the polls. The Oklahoma City guard has enrolled at Winston-Salem State, across town from Wake Forest, where he played for two seasons before going to the NBA, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. His parents also attended Winston-Salem State. “We are providing transportation to HBCU students to get the polls so we are working on that now,” Paul said recently on ESPN's “First Take,” adding that he's partnered with two other NBA players to help HBCU students get to the polls. During the NBA playoffs, Paul raised awareness of HBCU’s by wearing different shoes representing schools such as Winston-Salem State, North Carolina A&T and N.C. Central.

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum emerged as a bona fide star, Jaylen Brown showed he can be a consistent presence in the lineup and Kemba Walker helped the Celtics put the failed Kyrie Irving experiment behind them. But following their Eastern Conference finals loss to Miami, it’s clear there is still work to do in Boston after the Celtics squandered their best opportunity yet under coach Brad Stevens to make it to the NBA Finals. Stevens said he heads into the offseason lamenting only the outcome and not the effort by his players during the abnormal season. “My regret is not what we put in. My regret is not how we prepared or worked or how hard our guys worked or how committed they were to playing and staying together,” he said. “You look back at those first couple of games (against Miami) and it put us in a tough spot. I just think that ultimately we had our chances and we didn’t take advantage of it enough.” The Celtics returned from the COVID-19-caused hiatus and emerged as one of the hottest... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Doc Rivers says he’s out as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, though did not specify if he chose to leave on his own or if he was fired. Rivers announced in a statement posted to Twitter that he is not returning as coach. The move comes about two weeks after the Clippers wasted a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Rivers spent seven seasons with the Clippers, making the playoffs in six of them — major success for a once-woebegone franchise. This season's team, with the summer 2019 additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, was expected to compete for a championship. But losing three closeout opportunities to the Nuggets cost the Clippers a chance to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the West finals, and surely played a role in Rivers not remaining as coach. “When I took this job, my goals were to make this a winning basketball program, a free agent destination, and bring a championship to this organization,”... [More]

DENVER (AP) — With bags on his back, Nikola Jokic playfully swerved his way through the crowd of family and friends gathered at the airport terminal. The Denver Nuggets finally returned home after their longer-than-many-anticipated stay inside the NBA bubble. Arriving with them, a new reputation — the comeback crew. The Nuggets overcame a pair of 3-1 series deficits in advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009. Their extended stay at Disney in Florida ended when LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers sent them packing after Game 5. Still, they accomplished something historical in becoming only the third team in the U.S. major pro sports to rally from a pair of 3-1 deficits in the same playoffs. They joined the 1985 Kansas City Royals and 2003 Minnesota Wild. “People around this country, around the world, who were watching the playoffs, this group of guys, you would be hard-pressed to find a better story coming out of this bubble,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — It was June 30, 2019. The Miami Heat had an evening all planned out for their recruitment of free agent Jimmy Butler, down to every detail. They greeted him with music from Irish singer Dermot Kennedy, one of his favorites. A buffet dinner was set up, tables overlooking the water of Biscayne Bay. They had players-turned-executives Shane Battier and Alonzo Mourning there to talk about what it’s like to be part of the Heat. And then it was time to go inside, break into a smaller group, get down to business and give him the sales pitch. Butler never let Heat President Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra even get started. There was no need. He’d already picked Miami. He just hadn’t told them yet. “I was like, ‘I’m home,’” Butler said. The machinations of a sign-and-trade followed before things could be official, but just like that, the Heat had a new star and newfound hope. Season 1 of the Butler era in Miami will end on a stage that he’s never been before — the... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Bam Adebayo has not wanted much credit for anything this season, always deferring to others in the Miami Heat locker room when things are going well. Things didn’t go well Friday night. And Adebayo wanted — demanded, really — all the blame. His stat line — 13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists on 5-for-11 shooting — certainly didn’t look as abysmal as Adebayo made his effort sound after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals, when Miami fell apart in the third quarter and saw its series lead trimmed to 3-2 after a 121-108 loss to the Boston Celtics. But he didn’t like much of anything about his night and headed back to the hotel following the game vowing that he would find a way to be better in Game 6 on Sunday. “I put that game on me,” Adebayo said. “It’s not my teammates’ fault, it’s not my coaches’ fault. It’s me. I missed too many shots I should have made. Put that one on me.” No matter what the subject matter was within the handful of questions he... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Celtics forward Gordon Hayward and wife Robyn are parents for a fourth time. Robyn Hayward announced the birth of the couple's first son — Gordon Theodore Hayward — on Wednesday, a couple hours before the Celtics would face the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. Hayward had originally planned to leave the bubble for the birth, but remained with the Celtics. He got some unplanned time off earlier in Boston's postseason run because of a sprained ankle, and spent some of that with his wife and daughters before returning to the NBA campus. “I think his ankle’s fine right now," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said Wednesday after the birth was announced. “I don’t think he’s thought about it all afternoon obviously. ... Very, very happy to hear the news." Robyn Hayward said the baby — who was already wearing Celtics apparel Wednesday with his father's name and number on the back — will go by Theo, despite his father's preference that he go by GT. “Our little man is finally here!" she wrote. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Anthony Davis caught the ball deep on the left side with the Lakers losing and time about to run out. The shot Davis made to win Game 2 of the Western Conference finals was from nearly the same spot and situation as one he attempted in his team's last game before the NBA season was suspended. He missed that one, sending the Lakers to a 104-102 loss to Brooklyn on March 10, and was bummed about it for a few days. Not LeBron James, though. That moment just reinforced what he already believed about the All-Star forward the Lakers had acquired to play alongside him. “You’re not going to make them all, but the belief to just take it and live with the results is what it’s all about,” James said. Davis has been making plenty so far in the deepest postseason run of his career. He has been the dominant player in this series, where the Lakers have a 2-0 lead with Game 3 scheduled for Tuesday night. Davis followed his 37 points in Game 1 with 31 more on Sunday, including the Lakers' last 10. The No.... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Miami center Bam Adebayo went into the locker room at halftime of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals knowing that he wasn’t doing enough. He didn’t need to see video. Or talk to Heat teammates. Or check the stats. He only needed to think of his mother. “That first half wasn’t me and I had to reboot myself, man,” Adebayo said. “So, you ask yourself: Where do you come from and what’s your why? What’s your why? And for me, that’s my mom.” Marilyn Blount, this was for you. Adebayo nearly outscored the Boston Celtics by himself in the third quarter, the Heat turned the game around and went on to win 106-101 Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals — putting the kid who grew up in a single-wide trailer with a mom making something like $15,000 a year two wins away from the NBA Finals. Adebayo had four points at the half, and the Heat were down by 13. He had 17 in the second half, when Miami outscored Boston by 18. “Games are long and... [More]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Just about everyone had L.A. vs. L.A. written in for the Western Conference finals. Then along came the resilient Denver Nuggets, who crashed the party.Behind Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2009. They will face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers starting Friday in Game 1.But this was no ordinary road. The Nuggets fell behind 3-1 in their first-round series against Utah before bouncing back with three straight victories. Then they went down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Clippers in the second round before winning in Game 7 again.They made history, too, becoming the first NBA team to rally from a 3-1 series deficit twice in the same postseason. As expected, Denver is an underdog against the Lakers. Murray & Co. are used to it.“Everybody counts us out. It’s fun to silence everybody,” Murray said. “We love it.”The last time the Nuggets were in the conference finals they faced the Lakers as... [More]