Jamal Murray erupted for 43 points and Russell Westbrook chipped in 21 in his return from a foot injury, sparking the Nuggets’ 131-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night that gave Denver a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Aaron Gordon slammed down Nikola Jokic’s miss as time expired to lift the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Clippers 101-99 on Saturday to tie their playoff series 2-2.

James Harden scored 50 points, his 24th career 50-point game and first with the Clippers, as Los Angeles beat the Detroit Pistons 123-115.

Ben Simmons has opened a new chapter with the Los Angeles Clippers, practicing with the team for the first time after being waived by the Brooklyn Nets.

Toronto Raptors star Scottie Barnes will be sidelined indefinitely after he broke the middle finger on his left hand during the first half of Friday night’s loss to Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 25 points and eight assists, Klay Thompson scored 24, and the Golden State Warriors won in their first game back after the death of assistant coach Dejan Milojević last week, beating the Atlanta Hawks 134-112.

The Golden State Warriors returned to the court for the first time since losing their beloved assistant coach Dejan Milojević last week in Salt Lake City.

Bogdan Bogdanovic did not remember much about the game, even though the Atlanta Hawks won a thriller with a basket at the buzzer.

Trae Young scored 41 points, then fed Dejounte Murray for a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds left to give the Atlanta Hawks a 120-119 victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday night in a regular-season game in Mexico City.

Playing and coaching in the Basketball World Cup this summer seems as though it helped plenty of people get ready for the NBA season.

German basketball is having a great summer.

No Nikola Jokic, no problem.

Serbia was more than happy to help Lithuania repeat some odd history.

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

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the Atlanta Hawks 97-94.

Trae Young hit a floater in the lane with 4.4 seconds left and the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat top-seeded Miami 111-110 on Friday night, cutting the Heat’s series lead to 2-1.

Jimmy Butler scored a playoff career-high 45 points, including a personal 7-0 run in the final moments, and the Miami Heat held off the Atlanta Hawks 115-105 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Tuesday night.

Duncan Robinson set a Miami playoff record with eight 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat forced Trae Young into matching the worst-shooting game of his career on the way to a 115-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series Sunday.

Trae Young scored 32 of his 38 points in the second half and the Atlanta Hawks overcame losing center Clint Capela to a knee injury to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-101 in the play-in and earn the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 playoff seed.

The Cavaliers are getting a second shot at getting into the playoffs.

Trae Young bounced back from a sluggish start to score 24 points and De’Andre Hunter led a third-quarter surge that carried the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-103 play-in rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points while extending an NBA-record streak, and the Eastern Conference-leading Chicago Bulls squeezed by the Atlanta Hawks 112-108.

Trae Young scored 30 points and the struggling Atlanta Hawks rallied for a 121-114 victory over thee Milwaukee Bucks to snap a 10-game home losing streak.

The Los Angeles Lakers held off the Atlanta Hawks 134-118 for their first four-game winning streak of the season.

Anfernee Simons had a career-high 43 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame an NBA season-best 56 points by Atlanta’s Trae Young, snapping a four-game losing streak in a 136-131 win over the Hawks.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, including a go-ahead jumper midway through the fourth quarter, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-105.

Brook Lopez scored a playoff career-high 33 points and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence and beat the Atlanta Hawks 123-112 on Thursday to regain the lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Milwaukee Bucks overhauled their roster during the offseason to put more star power around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Atlanta Hawks proved they are more than a one-man team, shaking off Trae Young’s absence with a freak injury to even the Eastern Conference finals at two wins apiece with a 110-88 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a two-time MVP.

The Atlanta Hawks are following a familiar playoff script in their Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Khris Middleton ordinarily wouldn’t be thinking about anything right now other than what the Milwaukee Bucks are trying to accomplish in the NBA playoffs.

Trae Young and the inexperienced Atlanta Hawks seemingly aren’t feeling the pressure of playoff basketball as they try to give this franchise its first title in over six decades.

There's more than a berth in the NBA Finals for the winner of the improbable matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks-Atlanta Hawks.

John Collins is set to play a key role for the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Philadelphia 76ers have not played like a top seed in the East against the Atlanta Hawks.

Seth Curry hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points and the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinal series by beating the Atlanta Hawks 104-99 on Friday night.

Trae Young overcame a cold start to score 25 points, including a floater that gave Atlanta the lead with 1:17 remaining, and the Hawks rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-100.

Doc Rivers isn’t revealing his plan for replacing Danny Green in the Philadelphia 76ers’ lineup.

Joel Embiid scored 27 points and the Philadelphia 76ers rode a dominant third quarter to a 127-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks and a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The Atlanta Hawks’ recent home success provides good reason for optimism in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Trae Young scored 35 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-124 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Joel Embiid’s status for Game 1 of Philadelphia’s playoff series against Atlanta is still unknown because of a knee injury.

Trae Young put the finishing touches on his impressive first playoff series with 36 points and nine assists, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the New York Knicks 103-89 in Game 5.

Trae Young scored 27 points, John Collins added 22 despite a smack to the lip and the Hawks frustrated Julius Randle and the New York Knicks once again.

Shaking off a spitting incident at Madison Square Garden, Trae Young dazzled in the first home playoff game of his career.

The New York Knicks will sell tickets only to fully vaccinated fans if they reach the second round of the playoffs.

Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Julius Randle shook off a miserable first half to lead a third-quarter turnaround and the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-92 in Game 2 to to tie the series.

Trae Young made a runner in the lane with 0.9 seconds left to give the Atlanta Hawks a 107-105 victory over the New York Knicks in a thrilling postseason return for both teams.

The Atlanta Hawks spent three miserable years totally rebuilding their team, all with the idea of finally making a big move this season.

Clint Capela scored 18 points to lead seven scorers in double figures and the Atlanta Hawks pulled away late to overcome Devin Booker’s 30 points and beat the Phoenix Suns 135-103.

Julius Randle had 40 points and 10 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 137-127 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) shoots over Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges (25) and forward Jae Crowder (99) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)PHOENIX – Devin Booker scored 21 points, Dario Saric added 20 and the Phoenix Suns held on in the final minutes to beat the Atlanta Hawks 117-110 on Tuesday night. The Suns have won six of their past seven games, while the Hawks have dropped four of five. Ayton finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 12 points and eight assists. AdThe Hawks trailed by 12 points at halftime, but cut the Suns' advantage to 89-85 by the end of the third quarter.

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)CHARLOTTE, N.C. – LaMelo Ball isn't wasting any time making an impact in the NBA. “I know that's supposed to happen.”Ball replaced Markelle Fultz as the youngest NBA player to record a triple-double by 177 days. He became only the fifth rookie in NBA history to record a triple-double and the first Hornets player to do it coming off the bench. Hornets: Charlotte came in leading the league in assists and had 27 against the Hawks.

The trade fizzled as the NBA announced it was investigating whether the move had been agreed upon earlier than league rules allow. Bogdanovic, a restricted free agent, ended up signing with Atlanta when Sacramento chose to not match the Hawks’ four-year, $72 million offer sheet. Ilyasova was waived, but DiVincenzo and Wilson remain with the Bucks. NBA officials said they took into account several factors in the decision: the Bucks’ cooperation with the investigation; the Bucks ultimately not signing Bogdanovic; and the lack of evidence of an impermissible early agreement on contract terms. "We were fully cooperative with the league and we look forward to our season beginning on Wednesday,” the Bucks said Monday in a statement.

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant (7) passes during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in New York. Durant played just under 24 minutes as Brooklyn beat the Washington Wizards 119-114 on Sunday night in its preseason opener. Durant scored 11 points on 3-for-3 shooting during that stretch while Irving scored 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting to help the Nets take a 30-18 lead. Late in the first half, Irving threw a long pass to Durant, whose reverse layup gave the Nets a 58-35 lead. Danilo Gallinari added 17 points and De’Andre Hunter added 15 for Atlanta, which made 17 3-pointers.

For the first time in his long career, Rondo is the oldest guy on the team. “To be honest, I’ve been doing that for the last five or six years of my career,” Rondo said. I've been working to understand young talent, understand the (collective bargaining agreement). This is a young team with so much upside and versatility. ... We're on the the upswing for great things here in the city of Atlanta.”His future career can wait.

The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks, the person told The Associated Press. The Pelicans are getting Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and a package of future first-round draft picks from the Bucks, the person told The Associated Press. The trade of Holiday was the second blockbuster involving a point guard since the league allowed transactions to begin again Monday. Holiday is due to earn $25.4 million this season and holds a $26.3 million player option for next season. And it’s now almost certain that the Bucks will have to fill out their roster for this season with several minimum-salary players, since they’ll owe about $86 million to just Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday this season.

The other six clubs exit World Disney World the same way as tourists who normally pack the place. Now its back to the real world, and the real world in 2020 is an unsettling place. Uncertainty awaits at the end of every season for teams that miss the playoffs. The coronavirus pandemic forces teams to wonder whether they will be safe, and when or where they might be back together again. NBA teams have been shielded for a little while, but the Pelicans, Kings and Wizards, and soon more teams, have lost that now.

The Kings shot 54%. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each scored 24 points for the Pelicans. JJ Redick scored 18 points and Jrue Holiday added 17 for the Pelicans, who shot 57%. The Kings pulled even with the Pelicans in the standings and now are 2 1/2 games behind eighth-place Memphis with four games remaining. Kings: Shot 78% in the first quarter.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. The Orlando Magic got a big win and a big loss Sunday. But the Magic lost Jonathan Isaac again when he tore the ACL in his left knee, the same one he hurt Jan. 1 that kept him out until the restart. Terrence Ross scored 25 points as the Magic won a season-best fifth straight game going back to before the pandemic-forced shutdown in March. Orlando shot 52% for the game and matched a season high with 18 3 pointers while shooting 47% from long range. Magic: Play Indiana on Tuesday.

With the loss, Team USA can finish no better than seventh -- making it the worst finish for the country in international tournament history. The previous worst was finishing sixth in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. It also assured the US men won't medal at a major international competition for this first time since the 2002 FIBA World Championship. But the Americans did that without many of the biggest NBA stars, as several of the top players in the league opted out of playing for the FIBA World Cup this summer. Team USA's final game in this year's World Cup will take place Saturday against either Poland or the Czech Republic in Beijing.