NBA

AP Sports WriterCousins joins Davis, giving Pelicans powerful pair up frontBy BRETT MARTELNEW ORLEANS (AP) DeMarcus Cousins is on his way out of Sacramento - and right into an All-Star frontcourt pairing with Anthony Davis.The New Orleans Pelicans acquired Cousins in a five-player, two-draft pick deal with the...

All-Star game ratings are best since 2013NEW YORK (AP) The NBA All-Star game drew an average audience of 7.8 million viewers, making it the most-viewed All-Star broadcast since 2013.Turner Sports announced the numbers on Monday. The number of viewers peaked at 8.5 million and the total audience was...

AP Basketball WriterWelcome to NBA trade season, already underway in earnestBy TIM REYNOLDSNEW ORLEANS (AP) Jahlil Okafor viewed New Orleans during All-Star weekend with a different lens than usual, since he thought there was a chance it may have been his next home.That's life in the rumor mill.Welcome...

AP Sports WriterBig hit for Bulls, 'Benny's Day Off' connects onlineBy ANDREW SELIGMANCHICAGO (AP) Dancing on the roof, microphone in hand as he lip-synched to ''Twist and Shout,'' Benny the Bull was putting on quite a performance as his tricked-out black van rolled through downtown Chicago.It was not...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) It was the fourth quarter of the All-Star Game, and a few fans started yelling loudly enough for DeAndre Jordan to hear them from his spot on the Western Conference bench. Their cry: ''De-fense! De-fense!'' Jordan's shout back: ''No, no, no!'' The moment was both hilarious and fitting. Defense...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant played together for only 81 seconds in the All-Star Game, just one very early stint. It was enough for a signature highlight. A give-and-go - Westbrook to Durant, back to Westbrook for a dunk, rekindling their Oklahoma City magic for a moment -...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) The Sacramento Kings have agreed to trade DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Tyreke Evans, 2016 first-round draft pick Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and first- and second-round draft picks this summer, a person familiar with the situation said Sunday...

AP Sports WriterKings cut ties with Cousins, giving Pelicans dominant duoBy JOSH DUBOWSacramento general manager Vlade Divac headed into All-Star weekend convinced it was finally time to part ways with ultra-talented center DeMarcus Cousins.Befitting a franchise that appears headed to a 11th straight season without a playoff berth, the...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Carmelo Anthony was looking forward to being somewhere other than New Orleans this weekend. The New York Knicks' prolific scorer was certainly not suffering from All-Star envy when he was initially left off of this season's Eastern Conference roster. In fact, Anthony conceded after an All-Star practice...

>NEW ORLEANS (AP) The NBA is going back to Africa.The league and the National Basketball Players Association announced Saturday that NBA Africa Game 2017 will be held on Aug. 5 in Johannesburg. It's the second time the NBA is playing on the continent, after a sold-out event there in...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Kyrie Irving is the point guard for the world champions. Whether that's the round world or the flat world is not exactly clear. The Cleveland point guard made headlines in recent days when he questioned whether the Earth was round, first making the remarks on a podcast and...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Older, wiser and more aware of the world, LeBron James isn't afraid of letting his views known on politics or social issues or even the business of basketball. It wasn't always that way. But in his 14th season, with more NBA playing years in his rear-view mirror than...