JALEN BRUNSON

Jalen Brunson scored 42 points, Julius Randle had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Knicks sent the Detroit Pistons to their franchise-record 16th consecutive loss with a 118-112 victory Thursday night.

Victor Wembanyama’s first game at Madison Square Garden was one of the worst of his young career, as the No. 1 draft pick managed just one basket in the first three quarters of the New York Knicks’ 126-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

James Harden scored 17 points in his first game of the season, but the Los Angeles Clippers fell too far behind with a rough start to the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks beat them 111-97.

USA Basketball is back atop the FIBA men’s world rankings even after failing to medal at the World Cup.

There will be no gold medal for the U.S. at this World Cup.

The opponent names will become more recognizable for USA Basketball now.

Another game, another blowout for the U.S. at the Basketball World Cup.

The United States is going to the second round of the Basketball World Cup.

There are some rising star players on this U.S. roster for the Basketball World Cup.

The U.S. World Cup basketball team got its first big test of the summer Sunday, and a perfect shooting night from Jalen Brunson helped ensure the Americans passed.

Anthony Edwards and Cam Johnson each scored 15 points, and USA Basketball used a 20-0 run in the second half on the way to rolling past Puerto Rico 117-74 on Monday night in the first World Cup tune-up game for the Americans.

Jalen Brunson could be on his honeymoon right now.

New York guard Josh Hart has given his commitment to USA Basketball to play in this summer’s World Cup, a person with knowledge of the decision said Sunday.

Jimmy Butler returned from his sprained ankle to score 28 points, Max Strus added 19 and the Miami Heat topped the New York Knicks 105-86 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have turned press conferences into press comedy.

Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and keyed the run the New York Knicks needed just in time to get by a Miami Heat team playing without Jimmy Butler, evening the Eastern Conference semifinals at a game apiece with a 111-105 victory.

Jimmy Butler was sidelined for the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks because of a sprained right ankle.

Jimmy Butler had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat kept rolling after barely reaching the postseason, beating the New York Knicks 108-101 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Tougher from start to finish, the New York Knicks bullied the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett added 21 and the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 in Game 5 to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory.

Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, RJ Barrett broke out of a slump with 19 and the New York Knicks rolled to a 2-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round playoff series with a 99-79 victory.

Darius Garland scored 32 points, 26 while setting an aggressive tone for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory over the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson shook off foul trouble and scored 21 of his 27 in the second half, and Julius Randle returned from an ankle injury to add 19 as the New York Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers 101-97 in Game 1.

Paolo Banchero’s 21 points included a 3 with 1:26 remaining and two free throws in the final seconds to help the Orlando Magic turn back the New York Knicks 111-106.

The Orlando Magic lost their Tuesday night matchup against the New York Knicks after Jalen Brunson scored 25 points and made the go-ahead basket with 1:13 left, and Julius Randle had 22 points with 14 rebounds

LeBron James moved within 89 points of breaking the NBA’s career scoring record and climbed into fourth place on the assists list, finishing with a triple-double in his return to Madison Square Garden as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks 129-123 on Tuesday night.

Brace yourself.

Luka Doncic had a franchise-record 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in a historic triple-double, including the tying basket off his intentionally missed free throw to force overtime as the Dallas Mavericks rallied for a wild 126-121 victory over the New York Knicks.

Jalen Brunson is missing his first Dallas reunion after the New York point guard was ruled out of a meeting with the Mavericks with a sore right hip.

Joel Embiid scored 35 points, James Harden had 29 points and 13 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers blew by the New York Knicks in the final quarter, extending their winning streak to eight games with a 119-112 victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, then Grayson Allen made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 30 seconds left after his superstar teammate fouled out to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-103 victory over the New York Knicks.

Luka Doncic scored 41 points in his NBA-leading fifth triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Golden State Warriors 116-113 in the first meeting of last season’s Western Conference finalists.

The timeline for Kemba Walker to contribute for the Dallas Mavericks is uncertain as the four-time All-Star joins a roster in need of playmaking help behind superstar Luka Doncic.

A person with knowledge of the agreement says the Dallas Mavericks are close to a deal with four-time All-Star guard Kemba Walker.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists, becoming the first player since Michael Jordan to score at least 25 points in his team’s first 12 games, and the Brooklyn Nets routed the New York Knicks 112-85 after making Jacque Vaughn their head coach.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists as the Milwaukee Bucks remained unbeaten with a 119-108 victory over the New York Knicks.

Julius Randle had 25 points and 12 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 21 points and the New York Knicks kept No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic winless with a 115-102 victory.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Damion Lee made a go-ahead baseline jumper with 9.7 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns rallied from 22 points down in the third quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-105 on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.

Free agency opens Thursday in the NBA.

Luka Doncic had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks avoided being swept with a 119-109 victory over Golden State in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

When the NBA playoffs take the TV court even the most popular shows find the competition tough.

Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Andrew Wiggins added 27 while posterizing Luka Doncic on a dunk and the Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-100 for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Stephen Curry had 21 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, Golden State’s defense held Luka Doncic in check, and the Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-87 for a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

The NBA’s long regular season can be tedious, but make no mistake, it matters.

Luka Doncic scored 33 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 113-86 on Thursday night to force a Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks took advantage of foul trouble for Chris Paul to beat the Phoenix Suns 111-101 on Sunday, evening the Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

Luka Doncic had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defensive pressure to get back in their Western Conference semifinal series with Phoenix, beating the Suns 103-94.

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are the top seeds in the playoffs and at the moment, they look like it coming off impressive performances.

Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson each scored 24 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 98-96 on Thursday night in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds in his first home playoff game coming off a calf injury and the Dallas Mavericks routed the Utah Jazz 102-77 for a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Rudy Gobert gave Utah the lead with an alley-oop dunk with 11.0 seconds left and the Jazz held off the Dallas Mavericks 100-99 on Saturday in Game 4 to tie the first-round series.

Scoring has rarely looked so difficult for Kevin Durant.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points playing with a bruised back and the Dallas Mavericks — without the injured Luka Doncic — beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

The Dallas Mavericks are buying time to get Luka Doncic involved in their first-round series against Utah after winning Game 2 at home without their star.

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 41 points, Maxi Kleber had 25 with eight of Dallas’ playoff-record 22 made 3-pointers and the Mavericks won Game 2 against Utah 110-104 to even the first-round series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after halftime, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Utah Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory over Dallas.

Luka Doncic won’t play for the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of their playoff series against Utah because of the calf injury the All-Star guard suffered in the regular-season finale.

Luka Doncic strained his left calf in Dallas’ 130-120 win over San Antonio in what turned out to be a meaningless regular-season finale, putting the superstar’s status in question for the playoff-bound Mavericks.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and matched a season high with 15 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-112.

Spencer Dinwiddie made a 3-pointer at the buzzer against his former team, giving the Dallas Mavericks a 113-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Dorian Finney-Smith hit a 3-pointer from the right corner with 3.3 seconds left and the Dallas Mavericks, playing without All-Star guard Luka Doncic, overcame a 19-point deficit for the second time this week to beat the Sacramento Kings 114-113 on Saturday.

Luka Doncic had 49 points and 15 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks never trailed in a 125-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night, their sixth victory in seven games.

Luka Doncic scored 28 of his career-high 51 points in the first quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-105.

Franz Wagner scored 18 points, including the tiebreaking layup with 54 seconds remaining, and the Orlando Magic beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-108 on Sunday.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 12 of his 19 points in the first quarter of his first game in two weeks and the Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 108-92 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Luka Doncic had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and the Dallas Mavericks used a second-half rally to rout Memphis 112-85 on Friday night, ending the Grizzlies’ winning streak at 11 games.

RJ Barrett scored 32 points, Mitchell Robinson had a season-high 19 and the New York Knicks snapped the Dallas Mavericks’ six-game winning streak with a 108-85 victory.

Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Dallas Mavericks celebrated before a ceremony to retire Dirk Nowitzki’s number by beating cold-shooting Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 99-82 on Wednesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and the Utah Jazz beat the COVID-19-depleted Dallas Mavericks 120-116.

Rookie Austin Reaves swished a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in overtime to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 107-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 30 points, Luka Dončić had 26 in his return to the Dallas lineup, and the Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 in overtime.

Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker each scored 19 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 14 assists and the Phoenix Suns ran their winning streak to 11, rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-104 on Friday night.

Cam Reddish scored 20 points, Trae Young added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 113-87 rout of the Mavericks to ruin the debut of Dallas coach Jason Kidd.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, Paul George added 29 and the Los Angeles Clippers spoiled Luka Doncic’s home playoff debut, beating the Dallas Mavericks 118-108 to get back in the first-round playoff series.

Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, the only player to come off the bench and score 40 points in a game this season, was announced Monday as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

Luka Doncic scored 24 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-109 to finish a season sweep.

Buddy Hield scored 27 points, Marvin Bagley III had 23 points and nine rebounds and Sacramento beat Dallas 111-99, giving the also-ran Kings a season sweep of the playoff-contending Mavericks.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Luka Doncic had 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Kristaps Porzingis played a nearly flawless second half and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 130-124 on Monday night. Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half as the Mavericks broke open a close game. Nikola Vucevic had 29 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, who dropped their fourth straight. “I just thought we’d be better defensively, and that was the difference in the game,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. AdTIP INSMavericks: Doncic led Dallas in points, rebounds and assists for the 11th time this season.

Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis (6) shoots against Brooklyn Nets forward Jeff Green (8) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)NEW YORK – Luka Doncic scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 18 in his return from injury and the Dallas Mavericks snapped the Brooklyn Nets' eight-game winning streak with a 115-98 victory Saturday night. James Harden had 29 points for the Nets, but only four after halftime while playing as Brooklyn's solo superstar. Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left hamstring strain and Kyrie Irving rested his surgically repaired right shoulder. Dallas put it away with 12 straight points early in the fourth, making it 106-84 and soon after Harden was removed for good.

Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen (24) shoots over Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)DALLAS – Lauri Markkanen had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Garrett Temple scored 15 of his season-high 21 points in the second quarter and the Chicago Bulls ended a four-game losing streak with a 117-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Markkanen, in his second game back after missing seven games because of COVID-19 protocols, was 10 of 19 from the field while recording season highs in points and rebounds. Mavericks: Dallas travel to the Raptors' temporary home in Tampa, Florida, on Monday in the second back-to-back of the season. The Mavericks lost at Chicago in the first game of their other back-to-back before winning at Houston.

The league's general managers met Monday to discuss the virus situation, with involvement from the National Basketball Players Association. The Celtics would have been without seven players for virus-related issues for that game. Another three Heat players are on the injury list, raising the question if they will have the eight required players to start games. The two new postponements means four games so far have been called off due to virus-related matters. Philadelphia played at home against Denver on Saturday with seven players — eight were available — because of a combination of virus issues and injuries.

DALLAS – Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 36 points, Trey Burke did the same with 29 and Luka Doncic had another triple-double as the short-handed Dallas Mavericks beat the Orlando Magic 112-98 on Saturday night. There were some times that it was just chaotic.”TIP-INSMagic: F Evan Fournier missed his fifth straight game with back spasms. ROLLER-COASTER QUARTERDoncic capped a roller-coaster third quarter by beating the buzzer with a long 3-pointer for an 85-75 lead. Mavericks: Dallas finishes a two-game homestand against New Orleans on Monday. The Mavericks swept the four-game season series in 2019-20, the first time they've done that in six years.

The people say one was because of a positive test for COVID-19 and the other two for contact tracing protocols. On the women’s side, the Cavaliers remain in COVID-19 protocols and haven’t played since Dec. 13 with four straight games postponed. LSU will visit Mississippi on Saturday night after both teams had their originally scheduled games postponed. ___Defender Matthijs De Ligt is the third Juventus player to test positive for COVID-19 in a week. ___The Georgia State men’s basketball team postponed games against Troy on Friday and Saturday and paused all team activities following multiple positive COVID-19 tests.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives on Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Phoenix. At least for the first game, the Suns' revamped backcourt performed almost exactly as hoped. Booker scored 22 points, Mikal Bridges added 18 and Phoenix edged the Dallas Mavericks 106-102 on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams. “I like guys who are willing to take the shots,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. Luka Doncic cut the Suns' lead to three with a dunk but after a Booker miss, Bridges grabbed the offensive rebound and Phoenix closed out the victory.