The NBA has fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $250,000 for violating the league’s player participation policy.

Milwaukee Bucks All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo could be sidelined for a while after he left the second quarter of Monday night’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a left groin strain.

NBA general managers overwhelmingly expect the Oklahoma City Thunder to be the league's first repeat champion in nearly a decade.

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only players to appear on every MVP ballot this season.

Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, the defensive player of the year this season, was also the top vote-getter for the NBA’s All-Defensive team that was revealed on Thursday.

The case for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was simple.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 31 points, Pascal Siakam added 21 and the Indiana Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 114-105 victory over Cleveland, eliminating the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games.

Sam Presti of the Oklahoma City Thunder was announced Tuesday as the NBA’s executive of the year, the reward for building that team into a juggernaut that won a league-best 68 games this season.

Kenny Atkinson’s biggest concern going into Cleveland’s Eastern Conference semifinal series against Indiana was trying to match up against the Pacers’ quick-tempo offense.

Kenny Atkinson went through a winless preseason with the Cleveland Cavaliers and wondered if his team would be any good.

Tyrese Haliburton made a go-ahead 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter that sparked a decisive burst for the Indiana Pacers, who stunned the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 121-112 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA’s sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.

Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels has been voted the NBA’s most improved player.

The San Antonio Spurs have back-to-back rookie of the year award winners.

Cleveland left no doubt on its way to Round 2 — and finished off the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.

Jarrett Allen scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed Miami its worst-ever playoff loss by topping the Heat 124-87 for a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Evan Mobley said his goal coming into the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers was to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 121-112 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Boston’s Jayson Tatum have been the driving forces for their teams throughout the season.

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

Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers go into the NBA Playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the highest-scoring offense during the regular season and one of the favorites for the championship.

Quenton Jackson scored 21 points, RayJ Dennis had seven in the second overtime and the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 126-118 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers after trailing by 23 points with 7:35 remaining in regulation.

Darius Garland scored 28 points, Evan Mobley had 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 135-113 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Paolo Banchero scored 24 points, Franz Wagner added 22 and the Orlando Magic stunned Cleveland 108-103 to end the Cavaliers’ winning streak at 16 games.

Darius Garland scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 109-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, matching the longest winning streak in franchise history at 15.

Max Strus had 17 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-100 for their 14th consecutive victory.

Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for their 13th straight victory, 118-117 over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Darius Garland had 10 assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived some sloppiness in the final two minutes to win their 12th straight game, 112-107 over the banged-up Miami Heat.

Once the whistles stopped blowing, Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome cried foul.

With Celtics fans in a frenzy throughout TD Garden after the Boston Celtics blitzed to a 25-3 lead over the Cavaliers in the final matchup of Eastern Conference frontrunners, Cleveland star Donovan Mitchell didn’t panic.

Donovan Mitchell had 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers bullied the New York Knicks from the start, winning 142-105 in a matchup of two of the East's best teams.

The winning total last year: 211 points.

Victor Wembanyama and Chris Paul made history on All-Star Saturday night.

Mac McClung pulled off four perfect dunks for an unprecedented NBA dunk contest three-peat.

There are six first-time All-Stars set to play in Sunday's NBA midseason showcase in San Francisco.

LeBron James got drafted No. 1 again.

Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and the Boston Celtics showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a 112-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

The Cavaliers ran up the score on the undermanned, overmatched Mavericks.

The NBA All-Stars have been selected.

NBA coaches are obviously convinced: Victor Wembanyama is one of the league’s very best players.

At this point, there is no Victor Wembanyama in this season’s NBA rookie class.

Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine rebounds and the Indiana Pacers ended NBA-leading Cleveland’s winning streak at 12 games, beating the Cavaliers 108-93 on Sunday night.

Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak by beating the Thunder 129-122 in a marquee meeting between the NBA’s top two teams.

The defending NBA champions held off the league’s hottest team, with Jayson Tatum scoring 33 points and adding 12 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 120-117 victory over Cleveland and hand the Cavaliers their first loss after 15 straight wins to open the season.

Darius Garland scored 25 points, Ty Jerome matched his career-high with 24 in place of Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers stayed unbeaten with a 128-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets.

The floor and ball both looked different.

Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 37 points, Darius Garland had 29 and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued one of the best starts in league history, improving to 14-0 with a 144-126 win over the Chicago Bulls in an NBA Cup game.

Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls 119-113 to become the eighth NBA team to begin a season with 12 straight wins.

Evan Mobley had 23 points and 16 rebounds, and Donovan Mitchell scored 22 as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 105-100 win over the Brooklyn Nets, becoming the 12th team in NBA history to start a season 11-0.

Kenny Atkinson couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the box score and stared at the record of his Cleveland Cavaliers.

Darius Garland scored 27 points and Evan Mobley had 23 as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Golden State Warriors 136-117, extending their franchise-best start to 10-0 this season.

Darius Garland scored 39 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with a 116-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, wo played without injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen has agreed to a three-year, $91 million contract extension with Cleveland.

A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the Cleveland Cavaliers and forward Evan Mobley have agreed to a five-year, $224 million contract extension.

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Boston Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their East semifinal series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics 118-94 and tie their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Paolo Banchero’s first taste of the NBA playoffs ended bitterly.

Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points, Caris LeVert added 15 and the Cleveland Cavaliers avoided a potentially franchise-shifting loss by rallying for a 106-94 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 7.

The Cavs and Magic are going to the limit.

The Orlando Magic desperately want an opportunity to go back on the road.

Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s layup in the final seconds and the Cleveland Cavaliers survived a scare from Orlando, holding off Paolo Banchero and the Magic 104-103 in Game 5.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen had 18 reounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 97-83 in Game 1 of their playoff series.

Nick Smith Jr. scored a season-high 24 points and Steve Clifford won his coaching farewell as the Charlotte Hornets rallied to beat the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers 120-110.

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert believes All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell will sign a long-term contract to chase an NBA championship with Cleveland.

Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell could miss at least another week after breaking his nose in Cleveland’s loss at Houston last weekend.

Dean Wade made five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland won a replay review in the final second to stun Boston 105-104, ending the NBA-leading Celtics’ winning streak at 11 games.

Max Strus drilled a 59-footer as time expired, his fifth made 3-pointer in the final four minutes, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a wild 121-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Nobody blocked more shots per game, nor had better defensive numbers at the rim this season, than Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. And voters noticed.

Joel Embiid had 36 points and 18 rebounds and played the final 4:12 after initially being called for his sixth foul, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles star center Anthony Davis was forced to leave Los Angeles’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers after the first quarter and his teammates struggled without him in a 116-102 loss.

D’Angelo Russell had season highs of 30 points and 12 assists, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 129-124.

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and Darius Garland added 24 in the dynamic Cleveland backcourt’s return from injury absences, and the Cavaliers rolled past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 114-100 for their eighth consecutive victory.

The Cavaliers are back in the Eastern Conference title hunt.

A person familiar with the trade tells AP the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell in a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz.

Toronto forward Scottie Barnes has been voted NBA Rookie of the Year, edging Cleveland’s Evan Mobley in a close vote.

Nikola Jokic is a finalist to win a second straight NBA MVP award, along with two-time winner Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.

Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela missed the second half of the play-in game against Cleveland with a right knee hyperextension.

Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets took the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 in the play-in opener.

Kevin Love made eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers took the No. 8 play-in spot — and a matchup against Brooklyn — with a 133-115 win over Milwaukee.

Not since 1998 have the Cleveland Cavaliers made the playoffs without LeBron James.

There’s a clear-cut front-runner for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, and if you don’t know who it is, you must not be watching.

All-Star point guard Darius Garland had 24 points and 12 assists, Evan Mobley had his NBA rookie-high 20th double-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 113-109.

Joel Embiid had 35 points and 17 rebounds, James Harden scored 21 points and added 11 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-114.

Karl-Anthony Towns gave big men everywhere something to shoot for.

Giannis Antetokounmpo will team up with two of his brothers to compete in a revamped Skills Challenge during the NBA’s All-Star Saturday night.

A person familiar with the decision tells AP that Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has been rewarded for the team’s turnaround with a contract extension and new job title.

Cavaliers coach J.

Jaylen Brown scored 34 points and the Boston Celtics beat depleted Cleveland 111-101 on Wednesday night to end the Cavaliers’ winning streak at six.

Kyrie Irving’s return to the Brooklyn Nets is starting with a trip to the NBA’s health and safety protocols — and Kevin Durant is joining him.

Giannis Antetokounmpo came back from a two-game absence and scored 27 points on his 27th birthday to help the Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-104.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 12 assists and made four free throws in the final 8.8 seconds the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 14 games, holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-1115.

Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three straight 3-pointers, and the NBA-leading Golden State Warriors overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-89 on Thursday night.

Cade Cunningham is making a strong first impression on the NBA.

The Detroit Pistons selected Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

Cade Cunningham headlines the top prospects in Thursday's NBA draft in New York.

Evan Mobley made a quick impact with his athleticism and defense for Southern California.

The Trojans (25-7) clipped the high-flying Ducks with their length on the perimeter and 7-footer Evan Mobley in the middle. Oregon and USC have been a big part of the Pac-12's unexpected success in the Circle City. Oregon State and UCLA already advanced, so the showdown between the Ducks and Trojans meant a Pac-12 trio in the Elite Eight. USC had to reach back to the 2006-07 team with Nick Young and Taj Gibson for its last Sweet 16 ride. USC stretched the lead to 20 in the opening 3 1/2 minutes of the second half before the Ducks finally came to life.

(AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25. Makes sense they'd hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-America teams. The Bulldogs' Corey Kispert and the Bears' Jared Butler led the way with first-team nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. Just like the first- and second-team All-Americans, their teams also will be playing in the NCAA Tournament this week. ___AP Basketball Writer John Marshall and AP Sports Writers Michael Marot and Stephen Hawkins contributed to this report.