The Minnesota Timberwolves have better size, depth, defense and chemistry than the Los Angeles Lakers and lead the first-round series 2-1.

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

It’s now reasonable to think that Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third in this season’s balloting for the NBA MVP award.

New York beating Detroit had become something of an NBA certainty, with the Knicks doing it 16 straight times over a span of five years.

Game 82 for every team in the NBA has arrived.

There are 15 games left in the regular season.

Trae Young made a 23-foot fadeaway with 1.6 seconds left and scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, lifting the Atlanta Hawks to a 132-130 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Jaden Ivey sustained what appeared to be a serious leg injury after scoring 22 points in the Detroit Pistons’ 105-96 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Jaden Ivey converted a four-point play with 3 seconds left and the Detroit Pistons rallied past the struggling Sacramento Kings 114-113.

Jaylen Brown had 28 points with nine assists and Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth victory in 10 games, a 130-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Erik Spoelstra is blaming himself for a “horrendous mistake” after calling a timeout the Miami Heat didn’t have with 1.1 seconds left in overtime.

Malik Beasley made a tiebreaking free throw with 1.1 seconds left in overtime after Miami was given a technical foul for calling a timeout when it had none left, and the Detroit Pistons edged the Heat 123-121 in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night.

Austin Reaves had a triple-double and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 37.8 seconds left in the second overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame the absence of LeBron James and rallied to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 128-124.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 13 rebounds to help the Milwaukee Bucks surge out of the All-Star break with a 112-107 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Doc Rivers won his 1,099th regular-season game to move into eighth place on the NBA’s list, Damian Lillard scored 26 points in his return from a two-game injury absence and the Milwaukee Bucks cruised past short-handed Charlotte 120-84 to send the Hornets to their 10th straight loss.

Damian Lillard swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime to give the Milwaukee Bucks a stunning 143-142 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis says he didn’t even bother getting a Christmas tree for his home this year.

Damian Lillard scored 33 points, Bobby Portis had a season-high 31 and the Milwaukee Bucks trounced Detroit 146-114 on Saturday to hand the Pistons their 23rd consecutive loss.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 32 and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 131-124 on Tuesday night and clinch a home quarterfinal game in the NBA In-Season Tournament.

Malik Beasley scored 25 points, Austin Reaves had 17 off the bench and the Los Angeles Lakers returned from the All-Star break with a 124-111 victory over the Golden State Warriors Thursday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Russell Westbrook to Utah and reacquiring guard D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota in a three-team, eight-player deal, a person with knowledge of the trade told The Associated Press.

Donovan Mitchell had 46 points in his return to Utah, but the Jazz rallied late behind Jordan Clarkson to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-114.

Tyler Herro made a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Miami Heat a 126-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

Joel Embiid scored a career-high 59 points, had 11 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-98 win over Utah Jazz.

Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, reserve Collin Sexton added 22 and the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-102.

Rudy Gobert has been traded by the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal said.

Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA’s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 10 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics coast to a 134-112 over the Minnesota Timberwolves and take over the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

Devin Booker scored 29 points, Chris Paul had a triple-double with 21 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns won their ninth straight game, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 134-124 on Friday night.

Stephen Curry rediscovered his 3-point touch after a rough shooting stretch and scored 29 points, Klay Thompson added 23 points, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-115.

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves blew out the depleted Los Angeles Lakers for a second time this season with a 110-92 victory.

Jayson Tatum scored a career-high 53 points including 18 in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch talks to Malik Beasley during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Malik Beasley has been suspended for 12 games without pay by the NBA for his recent guilty plea to a felony charge of threats of violence. The league announced Thursday the punishment, which will begin with Minnesota's game Saturday at Washington. Beasley, in his fifth NBA season, is averaging a career-best 20.5 points. As part of Beasley’s plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony fifth-degree drug possession charge.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley (5) dunks in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo, left, in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley was sentenced Tuesday to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to a felony charge of threats of violence for pointing a rifle at a family outside his home last fall. COVID-19 precautions could require the county to release him on electronic home monitoring for the duration of the sentence. Beasley approached their vehicle and pointed a rifle as he told them to leave. I humbly apologize for my actions.”As part of the conditions of the sentencing, Beasley was given three years of probation with no use of alcohol or drugs and completion of an anger management program.