JOSH HART

Jimmy Butler returned from his sprained ankle to score 28 points, Max Strus added 19 and the Miami Heat topped the New York Knicks 105-86 to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart have turned press conferences into press comedy.

Jalen Brunson scored 30 points and keyed the run the New York Knicks needed just in time to get by a Miami Heat team playing without Jimmy Butler, evening the Eastern Conference semifinals at a game apiece with a 111-105 victory.

Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory.

Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, RJ Barrett broke out of a slump with 19 and the New York Knicks rolled to a 2-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round playoff series with a 99-79 victory.

Jalen Brunson shook off foul trouble and scored 21 of his 27 in the second half, and Julius Randle returned from an ankle injury to add 19 as the New York Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers 101-97 in Game 1.

Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Josh Hart added a season-high 27 in his second game with his new team and the New York Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets with a 124-106 victory.

Anfernee Simons had 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, and the Portland Trail Blazers won their fourth straight game to start the season with a 135-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired guard CJ McCollum from the Portland Trail Blazers as part of a seven-player trade.

Justin Lewis buried a 3 from the top of the arc with 11.5 seconds left to send Marquette to a 57-54 win over No. 11 Villanova.

Collin Gillespie hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Justin Moore scored 15 points to lead No. 14 Villanova to an 82-42 win over Butler.

Devonte Graham’s 61-foot heave at the buzzer lifted the New Orleans Pelicans to a 113-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

DeMar DeRozan scored 11 of his team-high 32 points in the final 7:40 and made all 12 of his free throws in the San Antonio Spurs’ 110-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night.

The NBA says the rate of players needing to miss games because of injuries is down from last season and within the normal range for what the league has seen over the last five seasons.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 36 points, Zion Williamson had 27 points and nine rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 128-111 on Tuesday night. Ingram helped keep the Pelicans comfortably in front with 17 points in the third quarter, showcasing his mid-range repertoire of pull-ups, fades and turnaround jumpers. Pelicans guard Josh Hart — like Ingram an ex-Laker who was part of the trade that sent Anthony Davis to Los Angeles — grabbed 15 rebounds to go with five steals. ... Steven Adams had 12 points and seven rebounds.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket over Utah Jazz forward Georges Niang, left, and center Rudy Gobert, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Monday, March 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – Zion Williamson had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans held off a late Utah charge to beat the NBA-leading Jazz 129-124 on Monday night. Williamson scored 15 points and added a pair of assists in the quarter. ... Utah had its highest scoring second quarter of the season with 41 points ... Utah shot 45.5% (46 of 101), including 17 of 43 from 3-point range. Pelicans: Hart scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz got off to a tough start. Then Donovan Mitchell and company pushed their way right past the New Orleans Pelicans. Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points, and the Jazz rallied to beat the Pelicans 129-118 on Thursday night for their seventh straight win. Ingram made all six of his shots, including four 3s, as the Pelicans tallied 43 points in the first quarter. Both Mitchell (21 points) and Ingram (20 points) posted season highs for a first half.

The league's general managers met Monday to discuss the virus situation, with involvement from the National Basketball Players Association. The Celtics would have been without seven players for virus-related issues for that game. Another three Heat players are on the injury list, raising the question if they will have the eight required players to start games. The two new postponements means four games so far have been called off due to virus-related matters. Philadelphia played at home against Denver on Saturday with seven players — eight were available — because of a combination of virus issues and injuries.

(Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 11 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans held on for a 98-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night. Zion Williamson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, scoring about half of his points on dunks. Lonzo Ball had 16 points and five steals, and Josh Hart had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Keldon Johnson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Dejounte Murray had 13 points, but also turned the ball over six times. The Spurs were playing their second game in two nights after beating Toronto in San Antonio on Saturday night.

New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Bledsoe (5) dribbles against Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach)MIAMI – Erik Spoelstra remained perfect on Christmas, and a record-tying show from Duncan Robinson helped him stay that way. Robinson made seven 3-pointers — tying the most on Christmas ever — and scored 23 points, and the Heat beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-98 to start the NBA’s holiday quintupleheader Friday. Spoelstra moved to 8-0 on Christmas as coach of the Heat. COMING HOMEVeteran ref John Goble was crew chief and got to be home for Christmas; he’s a Miami native.

Van Gundy agreed to a four-year contract, according to one of the people who spoke Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced. Van Gundy has a track record of bridging that gap between knowledge and talent with younger players in his previous coaching stops. “There is a lot of teaching to do to bring these guys along,” Van Gundy said Tuesday during a formal introduction via video conference because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the Pelicans, Van Gundy said, he saw ownership that had won a championship in a major professional sport, even if it was the NFL. Van Gundy called Williamson and Ingram “two of the most unique young guys in the entire league.”“There's just a lot to build around there,” he added.

He scored 13 points in just more than 15 minutes, highlighted by a couple alley-oop dunks, one on a nearly half-court lob from Lonzo Ball. But Williamson checked out for good with 7:19 left in the fourth quarter and watched the tense finish from the sideline. Thats all it is.Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points for Utah and helped lead a second-half comeback, while Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each added 20. When Jordan has space on the floor to work, hes really difficult to guard," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. The Jazz went 8 of 34 from 3-point range but scored 54 points in the paint and went 24 of 28 on foul shots.

FILE - In this March 4, 2020, file photo, New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson shoots free throws prior to an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas. Pelicans rookie Williamson says he feels like he is in good shape as he prepares to help lead New Orleans' eight-game push to make the NBA playoffs. (AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)NEW ORLEANS Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson credits his mothers wisdom with helping him manage lifes unanticipated twists and inevitable assortment of successes and setbacks. The last 12 months have been a different experience, Williamson said Thursday, projecting his typically affable, smiling, easy-going manner during a video conference at the New Orleans Pelicans practice headquarters. Williamson was praised by teammates and coaches for an unselfishness that has allowed other players like Pelicans leading scorer Brandon Ingram to continue to flourish.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) shoots against San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl (25) in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020. – Zion Williamson scored the final point of his first NBA regular season game as a packed and standing crowd belted out chants of “M-V-P!”Then the NBA's No. With Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sending double-teams at Williamson, the rookie struggled to find his shot during the first three quarters. Williamson came into the game knowing his playing time would be limited — even though he started. Pelicans: Jrue Holiday scored 12 points.