RICK CARLISLE

Victor Wembanyama’s NBA draft experience will be quite unlike last year’s No. 1 pick.

Ja Morant had 27 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 28 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a lackluster first half to defeat the Indiana Pacers 112-100.

The NBA went into Christmas with a night like none other.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 33 points and the Indiana Pacers opened a 30-point lead in the first half before holding off the slumping Boston Celtics 117-112 on Wednesday night.

Josh Richardson scored 27 points and Devin Vassell and Josh Richardson each had 23 as the San Antonio Spurs survived a frantic final minute flurry and beat the Indiana Pacers 137-134.

The last 12 months have been a transformative year in the NBA when it comes to diversity among coaches.

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.

Joel Embiid had 45 points and 13 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers made a franchise-record 17 3-pointers in the first half of a 131-122 victory over the Indiana Pacers that moved them into a tie with Boston atop the Atlantic Division.

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.

The Indiana Pacers are trading two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings in a 6-player deal.

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.

Pulling off a major move before the NBA trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed in principle to acquire guard Caris LeVert from Indiana.

Bill Fitch, who guided the Boston Celtics to one of their championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career, has died.

RJ Barrett scored 32 points, Mitchell Robinson had a season-high 19 and the New York Knicks snapped the Dallas Mavericks’ six-game winning streak with a 108-85 victory.

Another NBA head coach has entered the league's health and safety protocols.

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.

Domantas Sabonis scored 24 points and Myles Turner added 19 to lead the Indiana Pacers past struggling San Antonio 131-118.

Cam Reddish scored 20 points, Trae Young added 19 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 113-87 rout of the Mavericks to ruin the debut of Dallas coach Jason Kidd.

The Brooklyn Nets look like such a title favorite that James Harden felt the need for a reminder they aren’t a title team.

Ty Lue was seven when the San Diego Clippers packed up their basketballs and uniforms and moved the 120 miles up the freeway to Los Angeles after the 1983-84 season.

New Dallas coach Jason Kidd is already thinking of ways to tell Luka Doncic he has help on the roster.

The pandemic and vaccination rates were the talk of the NBA on media day Monday.

Luka Doncic has signed the richest contract in the history of the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic is making the Olympics look easy.

Jason Kidd is coming back to Dallas again, this time to replace the coach he won a championship with as the point guard of the Mavericks 10 years ago.

The Indiana Pacers have hired Rick Carlisle as their new coach, marking his second stint in charge of the team.

Rick Carlisle has stepped down as coach of the Dallas Mavericks, the second major departure for that franchise in as many days.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Marcus Morris added 23 and the Los Angeles Clippers finally won at home, finishing off the Dallas Mavericks 126-111 on Sunday in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series.

Kawhi Leonard tied his playoff career high with 45 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 104-97 on Friday night, forcing a Game 7 in the first postseason series in NBA history with the road team winning the first six games.

The Portland Trail Blazers and coach Terry Stotts are parting ways after nine seasons.

The NBA will have a new champion.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have combined to carry Los Angeles on the road again, and the Clippers are back in control of the first-round series with Dallas.

Luka Doncic scored 39 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 28 and the Dallas Mavericks again outshot the NBA’s best 3-point team in a 127-121 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Luka Doncic scored 31 points and the Dallas Mavericks outshot the NBA’s leading team from 3-point range, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 113-103 on Saturday in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Luka Doncic scored 24 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 113-109 to finish a season sweep.

Buddy Hield scored 27 points, Marvin Bagley III had 23 points and nine rebounds and Sacramento beat Dallas 111-99, giving the also-ran Kings a season sweep of the playoff-contending Mavericks.

The postgame routine between San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is almost always the same.

Luka Doncic had 18 points and 13 assists and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 17-point deficit for a 108-93 win over Los Angeles in Lakers star Anthony Davis’ second game back from a long injury absence.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George (13) attempts a layup as Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber (42) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 15, 2021, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)DALLAS – Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers answered a couple of low moments in their season — and kept rolling on the second night of back-to-backs. Leonard scored 22 points, Marcus Morris Sr. added 14 in a rare start and the Clippers beat the Dallas Mavericks 109-99 on Monday. The Clippers won for the second time in six games while Dallas lost for just the second time in its past seven. Paul George scored 15 as seven Clippers finished in double figures.

San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan (10) prepares to shoot as Dallas Mavericks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)DALLAS – Luka Doncic had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in his 33rd triple-double, Kristaps Porzingis had 28 points and 14 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks used a late run to pull away and beat the San Antonio Spurs 115-104 on Wednesday night. Before the game, coach Gregg Popovich announced that Aldridge, 35, in his sixth season in San Antonio, would no longer be with the team by mutual agreement. Mills added 14 points and Rudy Gay had 13 for San Antonio, which was outrebounded 51-30 and outscored 21-2 on second-chance points. Mavericks: Dallas changed its attendance policy coming out of the All-Star break and admitted about 3,500, an increase of about 1,000.

Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic walks off the court following the team's NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Dallas, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. It was the sixth game of the season of at least 30 points for Doncic, who turned 22 on Sunday. The second missed game of the season for Doncic was Dallas' last before the All-Star Game on Sunday in Atlanta. Carlisle said Doncic has been battling a back issue recently and has worn a heat massage belt in two recent practices. Ad“It's something he needs to take a game,” Carlisle said.

(AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)There was one difference during yet another multigame injury absence for Kristaps Porzingis with the Dallas Mavericks. Porzingis' right knee caused a 10-game absence earlier in his first Dallas season. Porzingis also missed half of the six games during a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in August. It will be almost two weeks between games for Porzingis if he plays against Brooklyn. AdHis defense has suffered, with Porzingis ranking near the bottom of the NBA in defensive efficiency while averaging 1.6 blocks per game.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)CHICAGO – The leadership of the National Basketball Coaches Association spoke out Wednesday about its “concern and level of disappointment” with the way the Minnesota Timberwolves went about their coaching change earlier this week. The statement came from NBCA president Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks and NBCA executive director David Fogel. Ad“There were other candidates, minority candidates we considered at this time,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said. “During this past offseason, we saw many NBA head coaching vacancies where teams led searches that were both diverse and transparent,” Fogel and Carlisle wrote in their statement.

Doncic scored a career-high 46 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 36 and the Mavericks overcame Williamson's career-best 36 points in a 143-130 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night. The Mavericks matched their season best with a fourth consecutive victory and beat the Pelicans for the fifth straight time. The Pelicans gave up a franchise-record 25 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. Mavericks: Dallas finished above 50% shooting for the third consecutive game while improving to 7-0 when scoring at least 120 points. MORE HISTORY FOR DONCICDoncic tied a franchise record shared by Mark Aguirre (1983-84) and Dirk Nowitzki (2005-06) with his 13th consecutive game of at least 25 points.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban relented Wednesday and the national anthem will be played before home games this season after the NBA reiterated its “longstanding league policy” to include the song. “With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” the league said. It's been quite a day.”The Mavericks released a statement from Cuban while acknowledging the club would return to playing the anthem. “We have no problem playing the national anthem at all,” Cuban said. “I stand for the national anthem.

Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic celebrates after sinking a three-point basket in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in Dallas, Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Luka Doncic couldn't top Stephen Curry's shoulder shimmy, or the second-best scoring night of the Golden State star's career. Doncic tied his career high with 42 points in a scoring duel with Curry, leading the Mavericks to an entertaining 134-132 win over the Warriors on Saturday. The duel between Curry and Doncic got going when they traded 3-pointers late in the first half. They did it again early in the second half, when Doncic hit another one after a Golden State turnover.

Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Richardson (0) defends against Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) in the first half during an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Dallas. Booker hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in his return and the Suns rallied past the Dallas Mavericks for the second straight game, winning 109-108 on Monday night. Booker finished with 24 points, 20 in the second half, and 31 minutes. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said his team was aware it had a foul to give on the Suns’ winning possession. “There’s not going to be any finger-pointing.”TIP-INSSuns: Ayton scored only two points in the second half.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SALT LAKE CITY – Playing without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell didn't slow down the Utah Jazz. Utah never trailed in a 116-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. The Jazz overwhelmed the Mavericks on both ends of the court on their way to their 10th straight victory and the NBA overall lead. Gobert’s dominance around the basket took Dallas out of it early and the Mavericks could never get back on track. The Jazz never let the Mavericks draw closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

The Wizards don't expect to have more than eight available on Friday because of a combination of the virus and injuries. Wizards coach Scott Brooks isn't expecting any of the six players who have tested positive back in the next few days at least, and Westbrook is still out with a leg injury. Portland is the 20th NBA team to have at least one game called off in the last two weeks. Memphis had its game at Minnesota last Friday called off after Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19. Players who test positive must undergo a battery of exams before being cleared to return to play, such as cardiac tests.

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.

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic reacts to a missed shot against the Denver Nuggets during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Denver. Doncic came within one rebound of his second straight triple-double, finishing with 38 points and 13 assists. Nikola Jokic scored 20 of his 38 points after halftime and grabbed 11 rebounds for Denver. It was a great shot. Denver got within three on a 3-pointer from Jokic, but Doncic scored four straight to ice it for the Mavericks.

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, shoots over Miami Heat's Tyler Herro (14) and Bam Adebayo, obscured, as Miami's Jimmy Butler (22) and Dallas' Dwight Powell watch during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 1, 2021, in Dallas. All rights reservedCHICAGO – Luka Doncic sat out the Dallas Mavericks' game Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls because of a left quadriceps contusion. Doncic was injured Friday night in the second quarter of a home victory over Miami Heat. “We don't think this is a long-term thing.”The 21-year-old Slovenian star is off to a relatively slow start this season. He's averaging 24.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists, shooting 43.2% overall and 16.1% on 3-pointers in five games.

The Dallas Mavericks released J.J. Barea on Thursday, turning loose the last piece of the franchise's 2011 championship team to give the veteran guard a chance to continue his playing career. Barea said he had heard from other organizations since news of his release broke, but declined to be specific. I might be back here in Dallas playing. Nelson said the Mavericks want to bring Barea back in another capacity when his playing career is over. “He was a huge part of that championship,” Nelson said.

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 2020, file photo, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich reacts during the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. For NBA coaches, masks are required this season. Suit jackets or sport coats will not be required but coaches wont be able to wear the short-sleeved shirts that most donned for games in the bubble, either. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool, File)MIAMI – For NBA coaches, masks are required this season. “That’s why I continued to wear masks during the playoffs, during the finals, even when we were not required to wear them during our media sessions,” Spoelstra told The Associated Press. The league, with limited exceptions, also will require coaches to wear masks “at all times” inside their team facility, while traveling and during practices.

Montrezl Harrell added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who set a franchise record for points in a playoff game. Los Angeles can clinch the series on Thursday. Leonard scored 22 points and Paul George scored 18 to help Los Angeles take a 76-52 lead at halftime. TIP-INSMavericks: Doncic was issued a technical foul in the second quarter. ... Hardaway and Los Angeles' Marcus Morris were called for double technicals in the second quarter.

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points adn Porzingis finished with 14, along with Seth Curry. The Clippers knocked around Doncic, the 21-year-old superstar who led the NBA in triple-doubles, whenever they could. The Clippers swarmed Doncic from the outset, forcing him into three turnovers in the first two minutes while racing to a 10-0 lead. Morris was eager to grab the ball and ended up grabbing Doncic, who sought to push his way free. Clippers: Reserve Montrezl Harrell returned after leaving the team for his grandmother's death and had six points in 15 minutes.

Doncic is out for wins, not stats, and the Dallas Mavericks weren't good enough to get one in the opener of their series against the Los Angeles Clippers. They climbed back from a dismal start caused in part by Doncic's carelessness, but ended up losing 118-110 on Monday night. Both players were hit with technical fouls and because it was Porzingis' second of the game, he was automatically ejected. Doncic bettered John Williamson's 38 points in 1979 for most in an NBA playoff debut and was the first 21-year-old to score 40 since LeBron James in 2006. "I thought as good as he played tonight, we could have limited some of the stuff.

For the first time since 1990, the Dallas Mavericks are going to the playoffs without Dirk Nowitzki on the roster. The German great retired after last season, officially passing the torch as leader of the Mavs to Doncic the Slovene who nearly averaged a 30-point triple-double in just his second NBA season. So, no, he hasnt seen what the NBA playoffs are like. Behind Doncic, they only assembled the greatest year in NBA history in terms of offensive efficiency. He can make those incredible plays.And now Doncic gets the chance to make those plays on the NBAs best stage: The playoffs.

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 34 points for the Bucks, who have already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Doncic's final assist was a between-the-legs pass to Maxi Kleber for a three-point play and a 133-128 lead. The foul that sent Doncic to the line was originally called as the sixth on Antetokounmpo. Middleton's three-point play with 1.9 seconds left in the half put Milwaukee up 71-62. Mavericks: Play Utah on Monday.

Scoring numbers are soaring inside the NBAs bubble, where the restarted season is happening at Walt Disney World. Games on average have seen nine points more than what had been the norm this season. There was a six-game NBA schedule on Feb. 21, 1988, and all the teams playing that night scored at least 110 points. That hadnt happened, on a day of five or more games, again in the NBA until July 31 the second day of bubble games. And the fact that, you know, the skill sets of NBA players are increasing exponentially by the month.

(AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. The first exhibition games of the NBA restart will go a little more quickly than usual. The NBA is tweaking the rules for those initial matchups, going with 10-minute quarters instead of the usual 12 minutes. Plans call for all 33 exhibitions to be televised by some combination of local TV, national TV, NBA TV or NBA League Pass. The Heat and Jazz will not play in a seeding game and couldnt meet in a game that counts at Disney until the NBA Finals. I think the vast majority of the 22 teams will approach it the same way.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

If the four-month NBA shutdown had a silver lining, its that a lot of ailing players got well. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)Practice facilities in the NBA have been open for a couple of months, with one major element missing from them. That changes starting Thursday, when the first handful of teams at the Disney complex will be permitted to have full-fledged practices again. Most NBA coaches DAntoni, Budenholzer, Dallas Rick Carlisle and more are going into this believing that plans have to be flexible. And, you know, were looking forward to wrapping this up and getting on that plane.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports