Payton Pritchard came off the bench and changed games for the Boston Celtics this season.

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.

Ben Simmons has been waived by the Brooklyn Nets after the team agreed to a buyout with the last remaining link to a failed era of building around All-Stars.

Jalen Brunson scored nine of his season-high 55 points in overtime and Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the New York Knicks extended their season-long winning streak to seven games in a 136-132 win over the Washington Wizards.

Anfernee Simons scored 24 points, including a key floater with 17.1 seconds left, and the Trail Blazers spoiled former teammate Damian Lillard’s return to Portland with a 119-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jrue Holiday has been traded to the Boston Celtics.

Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before.

Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, including 20 after halftime, and the Miami Heat rallied in the second half to beat the Boston Celtics 123-116 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic now knows how Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid felt during two previous NBA award seasons.

Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 23 and the Boston Celtics spoiled Joel Embiid’s MVP coronation, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-102 Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics rolled past the Philadelphia 76ers 121-87, spoiling the return of reigning league MVP Joel Embiid.

James Harden matched his playoff career high with 45 points and hit a go-ahead, step-back 3-pointer over Al Horford with 8.7 seconds left as the Philadelphia 76ers rallied without Joel Embiid to beat the Boston Celtics 119-115 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

The Boston Celtics asked Malcolm Brogdon to learn a new role.

Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 41 points and had 12 rebounds and the Boston Celtics won their fourth straight game, holding off the New Orleans Pelicans 125-114 on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points, Malcolm Brogdon added 16 off the bench and the Boston Celtics embarrassed the sloppy Phoenix Suns 125-98 on Wednesday night.

Kyrie Irving’s relationship with Nike is officially over, the shoe and athletic apparel maker said Monday, a move that came a month after the company suspended the Brooklyn guard as part of the fallout over his tweeting a link to a film containing antisemitic material.

DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, Zach LaVine added 22 and the Chicago Bulls stopped Boston’s nine-game win streak, beating the Celtics 121-107.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points to lead a balanced Boston attack and the East-leading Celtics stretched their winning streak to eight with a 126-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 35 points and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 126-117 in the opening game of the NBA regular season.

Joel Embiid made his closing argument for MVP votes and all but wrapped up the NBA scoring title as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Indiana Pacers 133-120.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points in his first game for Washington, and the Wizards beat the Indiana Pacers 133-123.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 50 points, two off his career best, and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks past the skidding Indiana Pacers 128-119.

Cedi Osman scored 22 points and Kevin Love had 19 as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from 20 down to beat Indiana 98-85, shortly after agreeing to acquire shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers.

The Charlotte Hornets broke the franchise’s single-game scoring record on Wednesday night and notched the highest point total in the NBA this season in their 158-126 rout of the Indiana Pacers.

The Indiana Pacers increased the pressure on Lakers coach Frank Vogel with a 111-104 victory over Los Angeles.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 12 rebounds and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Indiana Pacers 112-94 on Friday night.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and sparked Brooklyn to a big rally in the second half of his season debut, Kevin Durant had 39 and the Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 129-121.

Stephen Curry finished one 3-pointer shy of the NBA career record on Monday night, making five 3-pointers and scoring 26 points to help the Golden State Warriors rally late for a 102-100 win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors canceled their Thursday practices, citing an abundance of caution because of COVID-19 protocols.

LeBron James made the tiebreaking 3-pointer in overtime and followed with a back-breaking 3 in his return from the first suspension of his career to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat Indiana 124-116 on Wednesday night.

Tyler Herro led all scorers with 30 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Russell Westbrook nearly had a triple-double and Bradley Beal scored 25 points in just 29 minutes to help the Washington Wizards reach the NBA playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed by overwhelming the Indiana Pacers 142-115 in the play-in round.

Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, and the short-handed Indiana Pacers routed the Charlotte Hornets 144-117 in the Eastern Conference’s first play-in game.

The Indiana Pacers will be without starting forward Caris LeVert when they face the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA's first play-in game.

Russell Westbrook had more triple-doubles than almost any trio of NBA players, free-throw shooting was better than ever and 3-point shooting was more prolific than ever once again.

Anthony Davis scored 28 points and LeBron James returned after a six-game absence to score 24 Saturday to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 122-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Domantas Sabonis had his ninth triple-double of the season and Caris LeVert added 24 points to help Indiana rally past Philadelphia 103-94, ending the 76ers eight-game winning streak.

Russell Westbrook had the third game in NBA history with 20-plus rebounds and 20-plus assists, and the surging Washington Wizards moved closer to Indiana in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.

Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double in the first half and the Indiana Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 152-95 in the largest home loss in NBA history.

Kevin Durant scored a season-high 42 points, including 22 in the third quarter, and the Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets glided to a 130-113 victory over the struggling Indiana Pacers.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points before leaving the game with a sprained ankle in the third quarter, and the NBA-leading Utah Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 119-111.

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon (7) shoots against Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)LOS ANGELES – Marcus Morris scored a season-high 20 points to lead seven players in double figures, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Indiana Pacers 129-96 on Sunday night for their first four-game winning streak of the season. “Guys are buying in and enjoying playing the game.”Doug McDermott led the Pacers with 23 points, making five 3-pointers. It was their fourth straight game with at least 15 3-pointers made, tying the longest such streak in franchise history. ... Williams missed his second straight game with a left hip injury.

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives against Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III (44) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Boston. Irving scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals helping the Nets rout the Celtics 113-89 Friday night in the final preseason game for both teams. There were no fans in the new Boston Garden on Friday night, and his introduction was greeted with a faint, fake cheer. Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo scored 13 points and Tyler Herro scored 10. McCollum led the Blazers with 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting and Gary Trent Jr. added 18 points in the loss.

The Heat pulled away in the closing minutes, long after the Pacers had lost star guard Victor Oladipo to an eye injury. 4 and 5 seeds, who were separated by a game in the standings in this pandemic-shortened season. Indiana went 6-2 in the seeding games and Miami was 3-5, with the teams splitting a pair of meetings. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points apiece for the Pacers, who will try to even the series on Thursday. Pacers: Oladipo's loss came after coach Nate McMillan said the guard was no longer playing with a minutes restriction.

That's when Harden got Houston going, cutting it to 106-104 on with a driving basket with 27 seconds to go. But after Victor Olidipo missed a 3-pointer, Turner tipped out the rebound to Justin Holliday with six seconds left. ... Malcolm Brogdon, who had 12 points in Monday's loss to Miami, sat out against Houston with a sore neck. Rockets: Russell Westbrook was diagnosed with a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg and will miss Friday's regular-season finale. Rockets: Play Philadelphia on Friday.

Warren scored 18 in the first quarter, one off the franchise record he tied in a bubble-opening win over Philadelphia a week ago, before getting held without a shot in the second quarter. TIP-INSLakers: After Justin Holliday opened the second quarter with a 3 that pushed the Pacers' lead to 13, the Lakers went on a 22-5 run for a 46-42 lead. James scored six straight points on layups to start the run and later hit a 3. Pacers: Indiana's JaKarr Sampson had back-to-back putback dunks in the first quarter to finish a run to a 32-17 lead. ... Aaron Holiday had seven points and matched James with a game-high seven assists.

I just wanted to be aggressive, do what I do best, Warren said. Tobias Harris scored 30 points for Philadelphia, and Ben Simmons had 19 points and 13 rebounds. But the leading trio for the Sixers wasn't enough to overcome Warren, who matched a franchise record with 19 points in the first quarter. He punished us tonight from the beginning of the game on.The Pacers got the restart-opening win without two starters. The Sixers were down 35-29 after the first and had eight turnovers, including two each from Embiid and Milton.

Oladipo's presence could give the Pacers a big boost when the season resumes, especially with starting guard Malcolm Brogdon also expected to be healthy. Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers president of basketball operations, and coach Nate McMillan both said they supported Oladipo, whose minutes were being closely monitored when the season was suspended in mid-March. When he returned in late January, Oladipo wasn't the same. But this is a different situation.Brogdon tore a muscle in his thigh March 4 and was listed as week to week. If Oladipo does play, McMillan may finally get to see just how good these Pacers could be.

Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. dunks the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels (6) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)MIAMI A person with knowledge of the situation says Miami forward Derrick Jones Jr. has tested positive for the coronavirus, a result that came in shortly after the Heat and other NBA teams began mandatory testing in preparation for next month's resumption of the season. A small number of NBA players publicly revealed Wednesday that they had tested positive, including Sacramento teammates Jabari Parker and Alex Len and Indiana's Malcolm Brogdon. All-Star Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has also tested positive, a person with knowledge of that situation told AP on Tuesday. ___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Indiana Pacers' Malcolm Brogdon drives past Milwaukee Bucks' Eric Bledsoe during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)INDIANAPOLIS Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon said Tuesday he has been quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus. I recently tested positive for the COVID virus and am currently in quarantine," the statement read. But with other NBA players voicing concerns about resuming the season amid the continuing protests, Brogdon had decided he would play. If Oladipo does play, the Pacers intend to be cautious with their star.

Thabo Sefolosha knows what its like to be a black man, on the ground, surrounded by police officers. People talk about a few rotten apples, Sefolosha said in an interview with The Associated Press. It changed me a lot, toward the way I see law enforcement in this country, Sefolosha said. Ill be happy to be with my teammates and reunited with basketball in general, Sefolosha said. I think its definitely time for change and that should be a priority for all of us.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports