NBA

AP Sports WriterPelicans, Davis, enter offseason encouraged, yet unsatisfiedBy BRETT MARTELNEW ORLEANS (AP) Anthony Davis wasn't willing to call the New Orleans Pelicans' season a success.Not that Davis dismissed the determination, grit and growing chemistry the Pelicans showed in the way they adjusted to a season-ending injury to...

AP Basketball WriterFinally: Warriors-Rockets is the series everyone wantedBy TIM REYNOLDSThe buildup for this series truly began in February, with some pointed comments from Golden State's Draymond Green.Or in October, when Houston won at Golden State on ring night.Or in June, when the Rockets landed Chris Paul.Whenever it started,...

AP Basketball WriterRaptors' Dwane Casey voted by peers as NBA coach of the yearBy TIM REYNOLDSThe Toronto Raptors' Dwane Casey was the NBA's best coach this season, according to his fellow NBA coaches.Casey was announced Wednesday as the coach-of-the-year selection by the National Basketball Coaches Association. The award, named...

AP Sports WriterAP source: Cavs won't discipline Hood for refusal to playBy TOM WITHERSCLEVELAND (AP) Rodney Hood's playoff problems now extend to off the court.Hood, who has seen his role reduced during his first postseason with Cleveland, will not be fined or suspended for refusing to enter Monday...

AP Sports WriterAP source: Cavs not disciplining Hood for not entering gameBy TOM WITHERSCLEVELAND (AP) A person familiar with the situation says the Cleveland Cavaliers will not fine or suspend forward Rodney Hood for refusing to enter Game 4 against Toronto.The Athletic first reported that Hood declined coach...

AP Sports WriterSweep, sleep: Cavs oust Raptors, wait for East finals foeBy TOM WITHERSCLEVELAND (AP) Their doubters are dropping off as quickly as the competition.Only one team has advanced to the conference finals in these NBA playoffs, and it's the same squad that looked vulnerable during a chaotic...

Associated PressTimberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson resignsBy AMY FORLITIMINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson abruptly resigned Tuesday and the team said he had fallen short of meeting its ''high standards of conduct'' amid reports he had acted improperly toward women.The Timberwolves announced Brunson's resignation in a...

Associated PressRaptors' Casey on hot seat after third playoff loss to CavsBy IAN HARRISONTORONTO (AP) To DeMar DeRozan, regular-season and playoff basketball are as different as checkers and chess.In LeBron James, DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors keep running into the ultimate grandmaster. Their inability to beat him might...

AP Sports WriterPistons have decisions to make in post-Van Gundy eraBy NOAH TRISTERDETROIT (AP) When the Detroit Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy in 2014, owner Tom Gores called it the most important decision his organization had made.Van Gundy didn't make it to the end of his five-year contract,...

Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson resignsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Rick Brunson has resigned amid reports that women had accused him of improper conduct.The Timberwolves announced Brunson's resignation Tuesday in a one-sentence statement, but did not provide a reason for his departure. The Star Tribune, citing a...

AP Basketball WriterIn Fizdale, Knicks get coach LeBron likes and players praiseBy BRIAN MAHONEYNEW YORK (AP) The more Knicks management asked about David Fizdale, the more they heard how much players respect him.It can't hurt that one of them is LeBron James.And while Knicks fans can dream of...

Thompson, Nored to assist Van Gundy on US basketball teamCOLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) John Thompson III and coach Ronald Nored of the G League's Long Island Nets will assist Jeff Van Gundy in the U.S. basketball team's next two rounds of World Cup qualifying.USA Basketball announced Tuesday that...