METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins figure they've proved they can co-exist to spectacular and prolific effect.Both big men have been named All-Star starters, giving them hope they'll be paired together beyond this season, which is Cousins' last under contract."First time I've ever been in an All-Star game with a teammate," the 6-foot-11 Cousins noted after practice on Friday, one day after All-Star starters were announced. "This is big for the entire city, the organization and just our team moving forward. It kind of shows what this combo has the potential to have."The 6-10 Davis, who was the Pelicans' lone All-Star last season, sounded equally pleased by the results a decision by New Orleans to counter the trend of guard-heavy "small ball" by pairing dynamic big men who can dominate inside, handle the ball and shoot with range."The biggest question was, was it going to work? I think we just proved that it is and it can work," Davis said. "We feel like we complement... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunder coach Billy Donovan can't pinpoint the best thing about Paul George.Oklahoma City's versatile forward averages just over 20 points per game, leads the league in steals and is third in 3-point goals while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc."I think that's what makes him the player he is," Donovan said. "There's a lot of players in the league that are great offensive players, but they're not great defensive players. I think arguably, it would be hard to make a case either way of what end of the floor he's better on, offense or defense, because he's that special."George believes he's having an All-Star season in first year with Oklahoma City after being traded from the Indiana Pacers. There have been challenges as he has tried to fit in with superstars Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony and it's still unclear where he will play next season because of his upcoming free agency.Still, he has remained focused enough to be a top-notch performer. As he has found... [More]

Semi Ojeleye, Cedi Osman and Royce O'Neale have never started in an NBA game. Cameron Payne last played in April. Matt Costello has scored two points in his NBA career.They're not stars.Yet somehow, someone in an NBA locker room apparently thought they should start in this year's All-Star Game.Only 10 players will start in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, but 249 players — roughly half the league — were listed on at least one ballot in the player portion of the All-Star selection process. And while some of the results might suggest not everyone took it seriously, making the list seemed to leave Philadelphia's Amir Johnson genuinely moved."That's pretty cool, man," Johnson said Thursday night when told that he got a vote. "That shows you how together we are. ... It's just everybody against the world. It's us against everybody."So guys like Ojeleye, Osman, O'Neale, Payne and Costello all got a vote from at least one player. Andre Iguodala, a recent NBA Finals MVP, did not.The league is trying a new... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Team LeBron against Team Stephen is the NBA's new All-Star matchup.LeBron James and Stephen Curry will go head-to-head again, this time as captains who pick teams for the revamped NBA All-Star Game.James and Curry received the most votes from fans in their conferences Thursday night and will draft from a pool of the rest of the NBA's best for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles."Captain huh? Really Appreciate all the votes from the fans, media and players!" Curry wrote on Twitter .James will pick first as the player who received the most fan votes. He will make his 14th All-Star Game start, one behind Kobe Bryant for the most in league history.He could start his team with Kevin Durant, who teamed with Curry to beat James and the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Or maybe he could go with Kyrie Irving, a former All-Star Game MVP who asked to be traded away from Cleveland last summer and has led Boston to the best record in the East.Perhaps it will be Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo,... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James never imagined the view from 30,000 — points.Now in his 15th season, James needs 41 points to become the seventh NBA player — and youngest — to reach 30,000 career points, a mark he couldn't have fathomed when he began his career.James is on the verge of joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292), Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and Dirk Nowitzki (30,808) on the select list of scorers."I'm joining elite company," James said Thursday as the Cavaliers prepared to host the Orlando Magic. "When I walk into the 30,000-point club they're going to look at me like, 'What are you doing here?' I ain't supposed to be there."James, who turned 33 on Dec. 30, will surpass Bryant as the fastest player to hit 30,000. Bryant was 34 years and 104 days old when he hit the mark.But as he approaches more history, James isn't in any rush. While 41 points is reachable for him in any game, James would prefer to join the... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Bell has left Golden State's game against Chicago with a sprained left ankle.Bell got hurt when he challenged Robin Lopez's dunk on the Bulls' first possession. Bell stayed down for a while and then was helped to his feet. He tried to put pressure on his leg and grimaced before he opted for a wheelchair ride off the court.X-rays were negative, and the team announced Bell will have an MRI on Thursday.The NBA champion Warriors already were without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala for Wednesday night's game. Green is dealing with right shoulder soreness, and Iguodala has a bruised left calf.The 23-year-old Bell was selected by the Bulls in the second round of the June draft and then dealt to the Warriors for financial considerations. He made his first career start against Chicago on Nov. 24 and blocked six shots in the Warriors' 143-94 victory.___More AP basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NEW YORK (AP) — Kawhi Leonard is headed back to the sidelines, and he'll stay there until his leg is ready.The San Antonio Spurs decided to shut their All-Star forward down Wednesday, saying Leonard would be out indefinitely as he continues his recovery from injury."We didn't feel he was ready. His confidence level wasn't there, so we decided to give it some more time," coach Gregg Popovich said before the Spurs played the Brooklyn Nets.Leonard has played in just nine games after missing the beginning of the season because of right quadriceps tendinopathy. He also was sidelined briefly because of a shoulder injury.Popovich said Leonard hadn't sustained another injury, but also didn't seem confident in his ability to play at the level that had him finishing third in the voting for NBA MVP last season."He didn't reinjure it or anything but he was having pain, but not right after games, but maybe the next day at noon or that kind of thing and so the pain wasn't dissipating," Popovich said.... [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

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked in London last week about fining misbehaving players, and even he acknowledged the penalties aren't much of a deterrent."More symbolic than anything," Silver said.It might be time for the league to change that.At least based on what's happened in the NBA the past couple days. The postgame locker-room incident that involved some players from the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday — the holiday celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., no less — was a bad look for the league, as was the wild swing that Orlando's Arron Afflalo threw at Minnesota's Nemanja Bjelica on Tuesday.The James Johnson-Serge Ibaka dustup during the Miami-Toronto game last week earned those players one-game suspensions that cost them a total of about $300,000. Utah's Rodney Hood might have been lucky to have been fined only $35,000 for slapping a phone out of a fan's hand. Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry were probably smart to just talk about taking their... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Every student in the Los Angeles Unified School District who needs an eye exam and glasses will be getting them in a partnership with the L.A. Clippers Foundation.The team, along with owner Steve Ballmer and star Blake Griffin, announced Tuesday that over the next two years LAUSD students in kindergarten through 12th grade will be provided free exams and glasses.Of the district's over 600,000 students, an estimated 15 to 20 percent need glasses, but don't have them in part because their families are low income and have difficulty finding affordable vision care."I truly believe in this program," Griffin said. "If you get behind in first grade, then you're behind every grade from then on."Griffin says he was inspired to join the team's efforts because his older brother Taylor struggled with poor vision as a child. Taylor Griffin accompanied his brother to Lovelia P. Flournoy Elementary in south Los Angeles on Tuesday."I was always so jealous that he got to wear glasses... [More]

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]

NEW YORK (AP) — Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for publicly criticizing the league's officiating.The punishment was announced Tuesday by Kiki VanDeWeghe, the league's executive vice president for basketball operations.DeRozan made his remarks after the Raptors' 127-125 loss to Golden State on Saturday in Toronto.He was fuming in part about a scramble for a loose ball that went out of bounds next to the Warriors' bench. After a video review, Golden State was awarded possession with three seconds left. Stephen Curry was fouled and made a pair of free throws before Fred VanVleet hit a buzzer-beating 3.DeRozan said after the loss that "It's frustrating being out there feeling like you're playing 5-on-8. Some of those calls were terrible, period."___More NBA basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Hornets coach Steve Clifford has battled headaches for the past two years.But when the pain became so intense before a Charlotte home game last December it frightened him, and he couldn't ignore the problem any longer.The 56-year-old Clifford walked away from the Hornets that day to undergo medical testing on his brain and get his life in order. Results revealed no internal problems, but the doctor's diagnosis was one other workaholic professional and college coaches may want to pay attention to: Clifford was suffering from severe sleep deprivation. And, if he didn't do something about it, the condition was only going to get worse.Clifford returned to practice Tuesday after six weeks off, feeling refreshed.He'll be back on the sideline Wednesday night following a 21-game absence when the Hornets host the Washington Wizards, the start of a five-game home stand."It was a scary thing," Clifford told The Associated Press of the ordeal.Doctors determined that more than... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In his lone college season at Washington, guard Markelle Fultz shot better than 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. He showed so much promise that the Philadelphia 76ers traded up to take him with the No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft.Now the 19-year-old's shooting stroke is so ugly and ineffective he remains sidelined even as he regains his health following a right shoulder injury."I'm old, and I've never experienced anything like this," Sixers coach Brett Brown said Monday of Fultz's lost shot. "I really haven't."Fultz missed his 36th straight game on Monday, a 117-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors, a day after reporters saw him awkwardly push the ball from his chest while badly missing 3-point attempts at the end of practice.Fultz, who didn't speak to reporters, is a long way from teaming with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and making the Sixers a contender after a lengthy rebuild."The organization will help him reclaim the reason he... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have signed guard Trey Burke, a former lottery pick who had been playing with their G League team.Burke was averaging 26.6 points for Westchester, second in the league when he was called up Sunday.The point guard was the No. 9 overall selection in the 2013 NBA draft and was voted to the 2013-14 NBA All-Rookie first team while playing for Utah. He has averaged 10.6 points and 3.6 assists in 267 career games with the Jazz and Washington.Coach Jeff Hornacek says he isn't sure when Burke will get his first opportunity with the Knicks, who have Jarrett Jack as their starting point guard and rookie Frank Ntilikina as their backup.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

TORONTO (AP) — Stephen Curry is back in the starting lineup for Golden State's game against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.Curry re-sprained his troublesome right ankle before the Warriors lost to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. He also sat out Friday's win at Milwaukee.Curry missed 11 games in December with a similar injury but had averaged 35.2 points in five games since returning. The two-time MVP is averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds in 28 games for the defending NBA champions.Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, who injured his hip Friday, was available against Toronto while forward Omri Casspi missed his second straight game because of a sore lower back.

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks have waived Ramon Sessions, who opened the season as their starting point guard but has played little since.Sessions started the first three games, all losses, before the Knicks switched to fellow veteran Jarrett Jack. With lottery pick Frank Ntilikina as the backup, Sessions has largely been out of the rotation.He ended up averaging 3.7 points in 13 games after signing with the Knicks in August. General manager Scott Perry thanked Sessions on Saturday in announcing the move for "being a consummate professional and providing this team with veteran leadership."The well-traveled Sessions has averaged 10.4 points in 676 NBA games.

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Pistons have signed guard Dwight Buycks to a multiyear contract.The team did not announce terms of the deal Friday. Buycks was previously signed by the Pistons as a two-way player. He has appeared in eight games with Detroit this season, averaging 8.8 points, 2.4 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 15.1 minutes per game.Since point guard Reggie Jackson was sidelined Dec. 26 by an ankle injury , Buycks has been in the regular rotation. For his career, he has averaged 5.9 points in 28 NBA games for the Raptors, Lakers and Pistons.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

MIAMI (AP) — Dion Waiters of the Miami Heat thought surgery could wait.He changed his mind, and his season is over.The Heat announced Friday night that Waiters has decided to have surgery on his long-problematic left ankle. No timetable for his return was announced, though Waiters has previously said he was told it might take eight to 10 months to recover from such a procedure."We are confident this surgery will resolve all of the issues with the ankle," the Heat said in a statement. "This process will not just repair the ankle, but also kick-start a whole new reboot for Dion. A full recovery is expected."Waiters considered surgery last summer, deciding against it because he would not have been ready for the start of this season. He missed the final 13 games of last season, when Miami lost a tiebreaker for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The ankle still wasn't right when this season started, and when Waiters twisted it on Dec. 22 he thought he'd just miss a few games.Not... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Golden State star Stephen Curry won't play on Friday night against Milwaukee, the second straight game the sharpshooting guard will have been sidelined by a right ankle injury.Curry re-sprained the troublesome ankle before the Warriors' loss Wednesday night to the Los Angeles Clippers.Coach Steve Kerr said Curry lobbied to return Friday and felt good at shootaround, but that the ankle still wasn't well enough for him to play.The Warriors are beginning a five-game trip. Kerr said Curry will also be listed as questionable for the game Saturday night in Toronto.Golden State is getting Klay Thompson back on Friday night after the guard was rested against the Clippers.___For more NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball