Cooper Flagg is starting to settle into his new reality.

These are the NBA playoffs of survival, where not even the stars are safe.

Rick Welts was there, 40 years to the date earlier, when the NBA draft lottery got started.

Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA’s sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.

Ty Jerome had to wait five years to play in his first NBA playoff game.

Luka Doncic has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2 1/2 months now, and he’s feeling fairly comfortable in his new home.

The fifth full season of the NBA’s play-in tournament starts Tuesday.

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving had surgery on the torn ACL in his left knee, starting a process of recovery that’s likely to continue into next season.

Former Dallas Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban says he wouldn’t have traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers without receiving much more in return.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points to bring his career total over 20,000, Damian Lillard added 34 points and Kevin Porter Jr. had a triple-double as the surging Milwaukee Bucks trounced the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 137-107 The 30-year-old Antetokounmpo has scored 20,010 career points.

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd took issue with media speculation that Kyrie Irving’s heavy workload over the last month led to the nine-time All-Star’s season-ending knee injury.

Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.

KKyrie Irving suffered a left knee sprain and shot free throws for the Mavericks before leaving the floor in obvious pain late in the first quarter of Dallas' 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

The verdicts were mixed, as would be expected.

The winning total last year: 211 points.

This will be an actual All-Star matchup.

There was a conversation that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had with Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic during last year’s All-Star Game that went viral, since microphones picked up the exchange.

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.

Anthony Davis is out at least through the All-Star break after sustaining a groin injury in his debut with the Dallas Mavericks following the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Atlanta guard Trae Young is headed to the NBA All-Star Game after all.

Anthony Davis expects to make his debut for the Dallas Mavericks in their first home game since the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Joel Embiid had 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his first action in a month to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 118-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, who fell to 0-2 since trading star Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

LeBron James says he spent two days in disbelief after the Los Angeles Lakers traded away Anthony Davis, his close friend and teammate for the past 5 1/2 years.

Anthony Davis gave up a $6 million bonus as part of the seismic trade that brought him to the Dallas Mavericks and sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a rare swap of superstars.

Two people with knowledge of the deal say the Dallas Mavericks are acquiring Caleb Martin in a trade with Philadelphia that sends Quentin Grimes to the 76ers.

Luka Doncic came to the NBA in 2018 calling LeBron James his idol.

The Cavaliers ran up the score on the undermanned, overmatched Mavericks.

Luka Doncic has been traded by the reigning Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis.

NBA coaches are obviously convinced: Victor Wembanyama is one of the league’s very best players.

At this point, there is no Victor Wembanyama in this season’s NBA rookie class.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie and P.

Dallas guard Kyrie Irving is expected to miss one to two weeks with a bulging disk in his back, and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said a timeline for his return was not immediately known.

Doug Christie took over as the interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings amid a season-long losing streak, fans booing the team off their home court and questions surrounding the decision to fire Mike Brown, who led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in 16 years in 2023.

The Los Angeles Lakers have traded guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton.

A person with knowledge of the injury says Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic will be out about a month before being re-evaluated for a calf injury sustained in a Christmas Day loss to Minnesota.

Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 105-99 Christmas Day victory over Dallas after Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic left the game with a strained left calf.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal.

Luka Doncic has a right wrist sprain that will sideline the Dallas Mavericks star on a three-game road trip starting Friday night in Denver.

Klay Thompson has set a Dallas record for 3-pointers in a debut with six as the Mavericks beat San Antonio in his first game after 13 seasons with Golden State.

For DeMar DeRozan, this path toward improved mental health started with writing a tweet.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic injured a calf during preseason practice and will be re-evaluated in a week.

Klay Thompson walked through the Dallas Mavericks’ facility in his new uniform for the first time.

The NBA has expanded the permissible scope of coach’s challenge reviews on some out-of-bounds plays, saying Tuesday that if a foul should have been called on the play it now can be assessed shortly after the fact.

Kyrie Irving has a broken left hand that required surgery after getting injured in an offseason workout.

Klay Thompson believes he could be the missing piece for the Dallas Mavericks after leaving his longtime NBA home in Golden State.

A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that the Dallas Mavericks are trading Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round draft picks to the Detroit Pistons for Quentin Grimes.

Kyrie Irving sounds as if he wants to stay in Dallas in the long term after the Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the NBA Finals.

Dallas needed Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to be at their best in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

The Boston Celtics’ catastrophic performance in Game 4 of the NBA Finals gave them a chance to clinch their unprecedented 18th championship under the banners already hanging in the TD Garden rafters.

For the Dallas Mavericks and the Edmonton Oilers, the comeback efforts are just beginning and still have very long ways to go.

The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.

Kyrie Irving’s personal 13-game losing streak against the Celtics is over.

Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night, fending off elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Al Horford has never been this close to winning an NBA championship.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics held off a furious Dallas rally to reach the brink of a record 18th championship with a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks for a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Kristaps Porzingis did not play for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals because of a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg suffered in the previous game.

The last 12 games where Kyrie Irving has played against the Boston Celtics have all ended with the same outcome.

Kristaps Porzingis has a dislocated tendon in his lower left leg but hasn’t been ruled out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Boston Celtics had the NBA Finals in mind when they went out and acquired Jrue Holiday.

Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum made up for a rough shooting night with 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

If Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving was hoping to quiet the Boston fans with a big game in the opener of the NBA Finals, it didn’t quite go that way.

The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics prepare to tip off the NBA Finals and the four biggest names in the series are looking at this moment through different lenses.

Luka Doncic didn’t stay up all night to watch NBA Finals games as a kid.

The Celtics are prohibitive favorites to win Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals and odds are on Boston to hoist what would be its record 18th championship banner.

Kyrie Irving was not making a threat, nor was he boasting, nor was he saying anything that would be considered outlandish.

Kyrie Irving returning to Boston.

Luka Doncic had a 20-point first quarter on his way to 36 points for his high this postseason, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-103 to breeze through the Western Conference finals in five games.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Dallas Mavericks 105-100 to avoid a sweep in the Western Conference finals.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have been the closers for the Dallas Mavericks, who have a chance to sweep Minnesota in the Western Conference finals.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving scored 33 points apiece and the Dallas Mavericks made all the big plays late again, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-107 for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Anthony Edwards had the ball for Minnesota with a two-point lead and threw the ball out of bounds with 13 seconds left against Dallas in the Western Conference finals.

Kyrie Irving injected a burst of energy into the Dallas Mavericks to begin the Western Conference finals with a furious flurry of drives to the basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Luka Doncic had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 108-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Karl-Anthony Towns has seen the payoff this spring for his commitment to and sacrifice for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are headed to the Western Conference finals in their first trip to the playoffs together.

P.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points, including a running left-hander in the lane in the final minute to help Dallas hold on, and the Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-101 for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Luka Doncic had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 to even their Western Conference semifinals series at one win apiece.

Lu Dort was the defensive catalyst as the Oklahoma City Thunder held Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points to help the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Dallas Mavericks 117-95 in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has signed a multi-year contract extension with the team.

Kyrie Irving's big second half has helped carry the Dallas Mavericks into the second round.

Luka Doncic had 28 points and 13 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 28 of 30 points in a second-half surge and the Dallas Mavericks advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 114-101 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Luka Doncic scored 20 of his 35 points in the second half and added 10 assists and seven rebounds, propelling the Dallas Mavericks to a 123-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 5 and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Paul George and James Harden each scored 33 points while playing key fourth-quarter roles to help the Los Angeles Clippers hold on after blowing a 31-point lead and beat the Dallas Mavericks 116-111.

Luka Doncic scored 32 points and the Dallas Mavericks overcame the return of Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard to beat Los Angeles 96-93 and tie their Western Conference first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

James Harden scored 28 points, Ivica Zubac had a double-double and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 109-97 to win their playoff series opener.

Less than two months ago, Joel Embiid scored 70 points in a game.

Luka Doncic became the first NBA player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles as the Dallas Mavericks pulled away in the second half and beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124.

Jayson Tatum made five 3-pointers and scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics overcame Luka Doncic’s second straight triple-double to beat the Dallas Mavericks 138-110 and extend their season-best winning streak to 10 games.

Max Strus drilled a 59-footer as time expired, his fifth made 3-pointer in the final four minutes, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a wild 121-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Luka Doncic scored 41 points, Kyrie Irving added 29 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Phoenix Suns 123-113.

Spencer Dinwiddie signed Saturday with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, finding a new team quickly after getting traded by the Brooklyn Nets.

Kyrie Irving is ready to leave the turbulent times in Brooklyn behind and focus on his future in Dallas.

Kyrie Irving scored 36 points in a dazzling return to Brooklyn exactly one year after he was traded to Dallas, leading the Mavericks to a 119-107 victory over the Nets.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points in his return to Brooklyn, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 136-120 victory over the Nets on Wednesday night.

Top one-and-done NBA prospects are making a big impact in their college team's AP Top 25 standing.

Luka Doncic scored 50 points to eclipse 10,000 for his career and had 14 assists, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to a 128-114 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 17 assists, Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a season-high 32 and the Dallas Mavericks beat Los Angeles 127-125.

Luka Doncic had 32 points and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 125-112 after Kyrie Irving injured his right foot.