ATLANTA (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers were missing three starters for Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks. Kawhi Leonard wasn't playing because of left knee injury management, while Patrick Beverly was sidelined after leaving the previous night's victory at Dallas with a groin injury. Paul George was out for the seventh straight game with a left hamstring strain. The Hawks also were without their best player. Trae Young, averaging 29.2 points, was sidelined with a right thigh contusion.Lou Williams and Terance Mann started for the Clippers in place of Leonard and Beverly. Recently acquired Jeff Teague got the nod at point guard for the Hawks.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — With a big night against Golden State, Damian Lillard signaled that he's asserting himself at a crucial point of the Trail Blazers' season. And where Lillard goes, the Blazers tend to follow. “There comes a time in the season where everybody's tired, everybody's worn out, everybody's physically and mentally drained," he said. "The players got to go out there and make their minds up, are we going to do this or not? And I think we're just, as a team, getting closer to that time. We've got to leave it all out there. We've got to go take it.”Lillard had a franchise-best 61 points — including 11 3-pointers — this week in Portland's 129-124 overtime victory over the Warriors.It was the most points for a player in the NBA this season, and it broke Lillard's own franchise record of 60 points set earlier this season against Brooklyn. Afterward, a flood of admirers ranging from reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic to Washington Redskins running back Adrian Peterson recognized... [More]

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers center Ante Zizic is sidelined indefinitely after experiencing dizziness and other vertigo-like symptoms.The team said Wednesday that Zizic, who has missed Cleveland's past five games, has been diagnosed with a vestibular condition. The 23-year-old Croatian has been nauseous and dizzy and the Cavs are going to rest him to further evaluate his symptoms. He's averaging 4.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 games this season, his third with Cleveland.Also, the Cavs said rookie swingman Dylan Windler had successful surgery Tuesday on a lower leg stress reaction. Windler was initially diagnosed with the injury before training camp opened in October. He was close to joining the Cavs after playing for the Canton Charge in the NBA's G League before suffering a setback.The No. 26 overall pick last year from Belmont is out of the remainder of this season.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks forward Dwight Powell will miss the rest of the season with a torn right Achilles tendon, a blow to a team contending for a playoff spot for the first time in four years.The club confirmed Wednesday the diagnosis it had feared after Powell was injured in the first quarter of a 110-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Powell is exploring his options on surgery.The 28-year-old Powell went down with a non-contact injury with 2:57 left in the first quarter Tuesday night. He was helped to the locker room while putting no weight on his right leg. The injury came on the same night 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis returned after missing 10 games because of a sore right knee. Powell averaged 13 points on 71% shooting in the games Porzingis missed and was proving to be an effective sidekick. They usually started together when healthy.Powell, in his sixth season in the NBA, has averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds a game in 39 previous games. He had increased... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets will be without backup center Mason Plumlee indefinitely after he suffered a right foot injury.The Nuggets announced Wednesday that Plumlee will be reevaluated in two to four weeks. Plumlee injured a bone in his foot during a game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves on Monday. He rolled his right ankle in the second quarter, but returned in the third. It's a blow to a Nuggets team that's already missing starters Paul Millsap (bruised knee), Gary Harris (strained right adductor muscle) and Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle).Plumlee is averaging 7.4 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Nuggets, who are near the top of the Western Conference standings.___More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/NBA

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas center Dwight Powell sustained what the Mavericks fear is a “severe” injury to his right Achilles tendon in a 110-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.Coach Rick Carlisle said the club would wait on an MRI exam to determine the extent of the injury, but said the injury was “feared to be severe.”Powell went down with a non-contact injury with 2:57 left in the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room while putting no weight on his right leg. Teammate J.J. Barea — who tore his right Achilles tendon last season — was distraught as Powell was taken off the court.“It doesn’t get much tougher than this, if it ends up being what we fear it might,” Carlisle said. “But he will be back, regardless. There’s just some guys you just know, they have a level of resourcefulness, a level of fight in them. Barea’s one of them. Powell’s another. He’ll be back.” Teammate Luka Doncic summed up a somber Mavericks' locker room in talking about Powell's presence on the... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas center Dwight Powell sustained what the Mavericks fear is a “severe” injury to his right Achilles tendon in a 110-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.Coach Rick Carlisle said the club would wait on an MRI exam to determine the extent of the injury, but said the injury was “feared to be severe.”Powell went down with a non-contact injury with 2:57 left in the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room while putting no weight on his right leg. Teammate J.J. Barea — who tore his right Achilles tendon last season — was distraught as Powell was taken off the court.“It doesn’t get much tougher than this, if it ends up being what we fear it might,” Carlisle said. “But he will be back, regardless. There’s just some guys you just know, they have a level of resourcefulness, a level of fight in them. Barea’s one of them. Powell’s another. He’ll be back.” The injury came on the same night 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis returned after missing 10 games... [More]

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks lost starting center Dwight Powell to a right Achilles tendon injury in the first quarter of their game Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.Powell went down with a non-contact injury with 2:57 left in the first quarter. He was helped to the locker room putting no weight on his right leg. The team later announced Powell had an Achilles tendon injury and he was out for the game.Powell’s teammate J.J. Barea – who tore his right Achilles tendon last season – was distraught as Powell was taken off the court.Powell, in his sixth season in the NBA, has averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds a game in 39 previous games. He had increased his scoring average over each of his first five seasons. Powell has played all but five of his 371 career games for the Mavericks, arriving from Boston in a five-player trade in December 2014 that also brought point guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo’s style clashed with coach Rick Carlisle, but Powell’s energy and productivity in the paint has made him a Carlisle favorite.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis was back in the lineup for Dallas against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night after missing 10 games with right knee soreness.The 7-foot-3 forward was expected to return almost a week ago in Sacramento, but was a late scratch when knee soreness returned during warm-ups. Porzingis missed another game because he was also dealing with an illness.The 24-year-old Latvian has paired with fellow European Luka Doncic to get the Mavericks back in playoff contention after Dallas missed the postseason the past three years. It's the longest playoff drought for the franchise in 20 years.Porzingis entered the game against the Clippers second on the team to Doncic in scoring and rebounding at 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.Porzingis is in his first season with Dallas after getting traded by the New York Knicks almost a year ago while still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Porzingis sustained that injury in February 2018, just after he was named to the All-Star team.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Zion Williamson opened with a joke — about himself.A monthslong recovery from arthroscopic knee surgery is finally behind the New Orleans Pelicans rookie and top overall draft choice. And when Williamson discussed the long wait for his highly anticipated NBA regular-season debut on Wednesday night against San Antonio, he poked fun at himself for apparently dozing off while sitting on the bench during a couple of recent games.“If ya’ll saw me meditating on the sidelines, it’s been very difficult,” Williamson said with a grin. “But it’s finally here. I finally get to go back out there.”The whole league and basketball fans around the world seem to be as excited as he is.The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Williamson has been an internet sensation since video clips were posted of his imposing frame barreling downcourt and soaring to the hoop for rim-rattling dunks as a high school player in Spartanburg, South Carolina.The hype surrounding him only accelerated when he starred at Duke,... [More]

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired veteran forward Trevor Ariza from the Sacramento Kings. Portland also gets Wenyen Gabriel and Caleb Swanigan from the Kings in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two second-round draft picks. Ariza, a 15-year NBA veteran who was on the Lakers' 2009 NBA championship team, has averaged 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds with the Kings this season. He has also played with New York, Orlando, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix over his career, averaging 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 1,043 games. Gabriel has played in 11 games this season with an average of 1.7 points, while also playing for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. Swanigan was originally selected by the Blazers with the 26th overall pick in the 2017 draft.Bazemore, acquired by the Blazers in the offseason, made 21 starts this season and averaged 7.9 points and four rebounds. Tolliver, who also signed with the Blazers in the offseason, played in 33 games with nine starts and averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds. The deal was first acknowledged by the players involved over the weekend, but was not made official until Tuesday.

BOSTON (AP) — Lakers star LeBron James took in his son's high school game in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon before returning to Boston to face the Celtics. “It's truly a blessing, and I didn't mind going down to Springfield to check the game out,” James said after the Celtics beat the Lakers 139-107. “The only bad thing is I took two L's. The James gang took two L's today. But there's always better days.”During the high school game, a fan sitting in one of the first few rows was seen throwing something at Bronny James as he waited to inbound the ball. According to a video retweeted by the elder James, the referee noticed and hesitated before resuming the game.“I didn't see it until I got here, actually. I was on the complete opposite end of the floor,” James said at his locker in the TD Garden. “I did see the referee stop the game or stop the inbounds and the cop go (up into the stands), but I didn’t know what happened until the video evidence was showed to me when I got... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Lakers star LeBron James took in his son's high school game in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Monday afternoon before returning to Boston to face the Celtics. “It's truly a blessing, and I didn't mind going down to Springfield to check the game out,” James said after the Celtics beat the Lakers 139-107. “The only bad thing is I took two L's. The James gang took two L's today. But there's always better days.”During the high school game, a fan sitting in one of the first few rows was seen throwing something at Bronny James as he waited to inbound the ball. According to a video retweeted by the elder James, the referee noticed and hesitated before resuming the game.“I didn't see it until I got here, actually. I was on the complete opposite end of the floor,” James said at his locker in the TD Garden. “I did see the referee stop the game or stop the inbounds and the cop go (up into the stands), but I didn’t know what happened until the video evidence was showed to me when I got... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Chandler Parsons' attorneys say the Atlanta Hawks forward suffered “severe and permanent injuries" in a car wreck last week that could jeopardize his career.Attorneys John Morgan and Nick Panagakis of the firm Morgan & Morgan say the injuries Parsons suffered in Wednesday's crash include a traumatic brain injury, disk herniation and a torn labrum. Parsons was leaving practice when he was hit by a driver who the attorneys say was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.Sgt. John Chafee of the Atlanta Police Department told The Associated Press that the police report was not available Monday because the public affairs unit was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday.The Hawks said last week that Parsons suffered a concussion and whiplash. The team has added “associated disk injury” to his list of injuries.Parsons remains in the concussion protocol and was not with the team for Monday's game against Toronto. He was not on the bench for the team's... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Chandler Parsons' attorneys say the Atlanta Hawks forward suffered “severe and permanent injuries" in a car wreck last week that could jeopardize his career.Attorneys John Morgan and Nick Panagakis of the firm Morgan & Morgan say the injuries Parsons suffered in Wednesday's crash include a traumatic brain injury, disk herniation and a torn labrum. Parsons was leaving practice when hit by a driver, who the attorneys say was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.Sgt. John Chafee of the Atlanta Police Department told The Associated Press that the police report was not available Monday because the public affairs unit was closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday.The Hawks said last week that Parsons suffered a concussion and whiplash. The team has added “associated disk injury” to his list of injuries.Parsons remains in the concussion protocol and was not with the team for Monday's game against Toronto. He was not on the bench for the team's last... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Nets guard Kyrie Irving is missing Brooklyn's game against Philadelphia because of right hamstring tightness.Coach Kenny Atkinson said Irving was feeling soreness Sunday and then was checked again Monday before the team decided the All-Star point guard wouldn't play.Atkinson said the Nets were choosing to be cautious because they didn't want to risk losing Irving for the long term.Irving missed 26 games with a right shoulder injury before returning on Jan. 12 against Atlanta. He is averaging 26.5 points in his first season in Brooklyn.Garrett Temple moved into the starting lineup alongside Spencer Dinwiddie.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

DALLAS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis stopped short of saying he was ready to return from a right knee issue that has sidelined him for 10 games because the Dallas Mavericks forward was a late scratch the last time he thought he was close.The 7-foot-3 Latvian also says he has recovered from an illness that helped extend the longer-than-expected absence, another example of the caution Dallas has shown since trading for Porzingis when he was still recovering from a major left knee injury.Porzingis went through practice with no limitations Sunday, making him optimistic about returning Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. He thought he would play at Sacramento last Wednesday, but soreness in the right knee resurfaced.“We’ll probably go that way of being cautious again, not to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to play,’ and all of a sudden something happens,” Porzingis said. “The way I’m feeling, I don’t see why there should be any hurdles. But you never know.”The Mavericks acquired Porzingis from the New... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague, who finished with 15 points and seven assists in 25 minutes in a 136-103 loss to Detroit, kept a home... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague kept a home in the metropolitan Atlanta area, even after getting dealt from the Hawks, whom he helped advance... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Jeff Teague says he couldn't be happier to be back with his adopted hometown team.Teague, in his 11th NBA season, was hoping to return to his original club as a free agent this summer, but a trade from Minnesota two days ago landed him back with the Atlanta Hawks earlier than expected. No longer a starter, Teague entered Saturday's game against the Detroit Pistons midway through the first quarter to a modest standing ovation, playing alongside fellow point guard Trae Young, the NBA's third-leading scorer. The Hawks' plan, though, is to mostly use Teague as Young's primary backup.“I always wanted to come back," Teague said. "Those things just kind of run through your head. I looked at their team, their need and things like that. I thought they might need me, a backup veteran that can help a little bit and try to help lead the guys. I thought that would be my role.”Teague kept a home in the metropolitan Atlanta area, even after getting dealt from the Hawks, whom he helped advance... [More]