Warriors put 38-game home win streak on line vs. Spurs

Even with that NBA-record 24-0 start, Stephen Curry and Co. can't shake the San Antonio Spurs.
Now, the defending champion Golden State Warriors finally get to face the team chasing them in the Western Conference in a Monday night showdown anticipated for months pitting the past two NBA title teams.
"That's going to be one of the fun things about this game is that we haven't played them yet. It's already almost February. It's a strange schedule," Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after practice Sunday. "Win or lose, both teams will really benefit from playing against each other."
Pals Kerr and Gregg Popovich spoke by phone Thursday night once Kerr's return from a lengthy leave of absence following back surgery had been set, and just in time to face mentor Popovich and red-hot San Antonio.

NBA All-Star 2016 Complete Schedule of Events

Thursday, Feb. 11
All times Eastern (ET)
• 6:30 p.m. | NBA GameTime (from Toronto) | NBA TV
• 8 p.m. | Pelicans vs. Thunder | TNT
• 10:30 p.m. | Inside the NBA presented by Kia | TNT
• 11:30 p.m. | NBA GameTime (from Toronto) | NBA TV

Verizon Slam Dunk

What: Verizon Slam Dunk
When: Feb. 13 | All-Star Saturday Night | 8:30 p.m. ET | (4th Event)
Where: Air Canada Centre
TV: TNT
Participants: TBD
The Verizon Slam Dunk is the centerpiece of All-Star Saturday Night and one of the most anticipated events of the season. Which high-flyer will take the crown at NBA All-Star 2016?
This year's participants will be announced soon.

USA Basketball 30 finalists for 2016 Olympic

The group of 30 players vying for one of the 12 spots on the U.S. Men’s Senior National team that will compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio is filled with plenty of familiar faces.

From program stalwarts LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis — all multiple-time gold medal winners in either the Olympics of FIBA World Cup competition — and a legion of other NBA All-Stars, they will all be in the mix for one of those roster spots.

In fact, the real news is not the players who will compete for spot on the roster for Rio, but the players who will not be involved in the process.

Retiring Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced over the weekend that he would not pursue a spot on the team. Earlier this season he said he would keep open the possibility of finishing his playing career in the Olympics, a move USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo endorsed.

Bryant won gold alongside James, Anthony, Durant and Davis at the Olympics in London in 2012.

Nuggets extend contract of GM Tim Connelly

The Denver Nuggets signed general manager Tim Connelly and assistant general manager Arturas Karnisovas to multi-year contract extensions Tuesday.

The team announced the deals, which include extensions for the rest of the front office staff.

Connelly is also the executive vice president of basketball operations and was hired in 2013 to replace Masai Ujiri, who left to lead the Toronto Raptors.

"We're excited and honored by this opportunity to continue what we have started here in Denver," Connelly said in a statement. "We have a locker room full of dedicated players and staff led by head coach Michael Malone."

Connelly has turned over the roster since taking over. Only three players remain from the team that went 57-25 in 2012-13 before being upset by Golden State in the first round in coach George Karl's last season.

Silver to headline forum on health, wellness

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will headline a forum next week to discuss solutions for better health and wellness.

The "Total Health Forum" will be held Jan. 28 in Washington, where former NBA and WNBA players will join Silver, U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy and Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson.

Kristaps Porzingis tweeted about meeting the crying kid from draft night

Remember when the Knicks drafted Kristaps Porzingis and a crying, young fan became the symbol of the pick? Remember when many actually thought Porzingis wouldn't be what he's become?

It feels so long ago that much of the basketball community drenched itself in the fear of the unknown, but now that the fans have actually gotten to know him, things have changed. Now, there are no more crying kids. There are screaming ones, chanting ones, enthusiastic ones.

Inside the matchup: Warriors-Cavaliers

The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers play Monday night for the second time since the Warriors’ win in last season's NBA Finals.

Golden State won the first matchup this season, 89-83, on Christmas Day. The 89 points are a season low for the Warriors and the 83-point outing is Cleveland’s second-lowest of the season.

Here is a look inside that low-scoring matchup.

Celtics' Crowder accuses Wizards coach of cursing

Boston forward Jae Crowder says Washington coach Randy Wittman used profanity toward him, leading to Crowder's technical foul during the Celtics' victory over the Wizards on Saturday night.

Crowder made a layup with 3.9 seconds remaining to help Boston to a 119-117 victory.

Earlier in the final minute, referee Tony Brothers whistled him for a technical for arguing while standing in the blocks awaiting John Wall's free throws.

NBA fines Grizzlies' Barnes for inappropriate comments

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes $35,000 for making "inappropriate public comments" condoning violence.

The fine was announced Sunday, a day after Memphis beat the Knicks 103-95 in the teams' first meeting since the league suspended Barnes for two games for fighting with New York coach Derek Fisher in October.

Bulls' Noah future in doubt following left shoulder injury

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Joakim Noah likely has played his last game this season. Now the question is whether the two-time All-Star has played his last game for the Chicago Bulls.

Noah dislocated his left shoulder Friday and will undergo surgery. The team estimates the recovery period at four to six months, which means his season is probably over.

The 30-year-old Noah also is in the final year of a five-year, $60 million contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Before the injury, there was talk the team would explore dealing the eight-year veteran before the trade deadline.

Warriors-Cavs tops Martin Luther King Day lineup

Today's NBA lineup for Martin Luther King Day doesn't come with fancy wrapping paper, roasted turkey and all the other bells and whistles that surround the Christmas Day games. But it should.

With 10 games on the schedule (including four national TV games and a Finals rematch to start a TNT doubleheader) MLK Day should at least be billed as "the second" national basketball holiday.

Here's what you need to know about each of today's matchups:

An all-time great? Hold off bit on that accolade for Curry

 

Ahead of the likes of Isiah Thomas, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Clyde Frazier and a litany of other all-time great NBA point guards and some -- Tiny Archibald, Gary Payton, Tony Parker and so many more -- who didn't even make the top 10?

That's a lofty position for reigning the Kia MVP (and this season's frontrunner) Stephen Curry, who could very well be in the early stages of a career that could see him climb that list of all-time greats one day.

2016 All-Star Celebrity Game

 

Grammy® Award-winning artist and Toronto Raptors Global Ambassador Drake and four-time NBA All-Star Celebrity Game MVP and actor Kevin Hart will face off as head coaches of the Canada and USA teams, respectively, at NBA All-Star Celebrity Game 2016 on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN from Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

Nowitzki vs. Olajuwon: Who is NBA's top foreign player

 

For the second consecutive season, all 30 NBA teams feature at least one international player. It's also the second straight season opening night rosters featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories. But there's one international player that stands above the rest, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki is in the midst of his 18th season, all with the Mavericks. He's the franchise leader in points, rebounds, field goals, three-pointers and games played. His status as the greatest player in Dallas history has been cemented with an exclamation point, winning the 2011 NBA title. The German recently surpassed Shaquille O'Neal for sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, which leads many to wonder: Is Nowitzki the greatest international player in NBA history?

Daily Fantasy, Jan. 15: Five players to watch on Friday

The season-ending loss of guard Eric Bledsoe has more or less put an end to Phoenix's playoff hopes. It has also allowed the Suns to see what their younger players can do and no youngster has benefited more than Booker. Since Jan. 29 (when Bledsoe went out), Booker ranks second on the team in scoring (14.9 points), field-goal attempts and 3-point attempts and is third in minutes. A matchup tonight with the Boston Celtics (7:30 ET, NBA League Pass) puts him up against a top-flight perimeter defender in Avery Bradley.

How an early experience with fame helped shape DeMar DeRozan’s grinding work ethic

DeMar DeRozan was exposed to the lush life well before he ever became a Toronto Raptor or made his first million. As a teenager on an AAU team sponsored by hip-hop mogul Percy "Master P" Miller, DeRozan fostered a still-close relationship with Miller's son, rapper/actor Romeo, and would spend weekends at the Miller home, surrounded by a level of opulence that belied his modest existence back home in Compton, Calif.

Visits to shopping malls with Romeo usually ended with a swarm of fans trailing them every step of the way. DeRozan got to sit in on video and movie shoots. He learned about the work required to earn and maintain celebrity – and decided that the chase for fame would never outpace the drive to succeed.

“I got to see both worlds. You see that lifestyle early on and you realize, ‘This is what it is?’ ” DeRozan told Yahoo Sports. “I already had my mindset when I had nothing. It’s cool to have all that, but it’s all about the work and the grind to get to that.”

MLB rumors roundup: Will Cespedes drop his price?

The market for Yoenis Cespedes may finally be heating up, assuming the free-agent outfielder is willing to drastically drop his price.

Earlier in the offseason, Cespedes was reportedly seeking a deal in the neighborhood of six years and $120 million. That type of market has yet to materialize, and bargain hunters are trying to make a move.

The New York Mets struck gold last season with a July deadline deal for Cespedes, who hit 17 homers with a .942 OPS in 57 games and carried the franchise to its first postseason berth in nearly a decade.

While a return to Queens remains unlikely, the Mets have "been in contact with his representatives in case his contract demands fall in line with the team’s thinking,” reports Matt Ehalt of the Record. Meanwhile, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported that the Mets are “willing to talk” if Cespedes is willing to take a one-year deal, knowing full well that is unrealistic.

Bulls' Noah returns from left shoulder injury

Bulls center Joakim Noah returned from a shoulder injury on Monday night against Washington, providing another option for coach Fred Hoiberg heading into a busy stretch.

Noah sprained his left shoulder in the third quarter of a 105-102 loss to Brooklyn on Dec. 21. The 6-foot-11 reserve missed nine straight games before he entered with 4:33 left in the first quarter against the Wizards, drawing a big cheer from the crowd at the United Center.

The chase for 73 wins

In the 1995-96 season, the Chicago Bulls accomplished what no team had done before or since -- winning 70 games and finishing the season with a history-making 72-10 record.

Winning 18 games in a row in one stretch, the Bulls also led the league in scoring at 105.2 ppg, were third in defense at 92.9 ppg for a spectacular +12.2 point differential. They lost only two home games all season, and they won more road games, 33, than any team in NBA history.

In the playoffs they lost just one game en route to the NBA Finals, sweeping Miami, beating New York in five and sweeping Orlando. In the NBA Finals they raced to a 3-0 lead over the Seattle SuperSonics, dropped a pair of games in Seattle and then used their stifling defense to close out the series with an 87-75 win in Game 6.