JOSH GREEN

“This is an escape, where we can just let loose and be ourselves like we were when we were boys.”

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and the Utah Jazz beat the COVID-19-depleted Dallas Mavericks 120-116.

The mayor of Honolulu says the city will soon require patrons of restaurants, bars, museums, theaters and other establishments to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test for COVID-19.

Across the country, more anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns.

Arizona coach Sean Miller reacts to a play during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Colorado, Monday, Dec. 28, 2020, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 88-74. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona men's basketball program has self-imposed a one-year postseason ban related to its long-running NCAA rules infractions case. “I understand and fully support the University’s decision to self-impose a one-year post season ban on our men’s basketball program," Miller said in a statement. ___AP College Basketball writer John Marshall contributed to this story. ___More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points for the Mavs, who kept up their dominance in the second half, too. Paul George led the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers with 15 points before sitting out the second half. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and nine rebounds over three quarters of the team's first loss. He scored as many points (13) as the Clippers in the first quarter. They swept the Mavs last season, winning all three meetings as the visiting team, including a first-round playoff victory.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) drives on Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)PHOENIX – Devin Booker scored 22 points, Mikal Bridges added 18 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. Luka Doncic cut the Suns' lead to three with a dunk but after a Booker miss, Bridges grabbed the offensive rebound and Phoenix closed out the victory. Suns: Forward Dario Saric, who missed all four of the Suns preseason games, sat out the opener with a sore right quad ... In 39 games last season with the Suns, Kaminsky averaged 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds.

We can’t take another hit.”___MIAMI - Florida has reported a slight uptick in daily confirmed COVID-19 cases, adding 3,449 to its total caseload on Friday. There were 3,861 new coronavirus cases reported in Wisconsin on Friday, breaking the previous record set just a day earlier of 3,747. The report, released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looks at coronavirus-associated deaths reported between May 1 and August 31. The deaths reported Friday include 10 women and eight men, all in their 60s or older. With 222 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, Spain’s total has reached 33,775.

After a summer marked by a surge of coronavirus cases in Hawaii, officials plan to reboot the tourism based economy later this month despite concerns about the state's pre-travel testing program. But others view the pre-travel testing plan as the best way to add a layer of protection while kickstarting the economy. As part of the plan, Hawaii is partnering with several U.S. mainland pharmacies and airlines for testing. He has also proposed implementing a voluntary surveillance testing program that would screen a percentage of arriving passengers who are in high-risk groups. “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t reopen until we had a vaccine," said John DeFries, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

David Ige said Wednesday that starting Oct. 15, travelers arriving from out of state may bypass a 14-day quarantine requirement if they test negative for COVID-19. Travelers will have to take the test within 72 hours before their flight arrives in the islands. Earlier this year Ige planned to start a pre-travel testing program on Aug. 1 only to have to postpone it as COVID-19 cases spiked on the U.S. mainland and in Hawaii. Hawaii leaders are hopeful that pre-travel testing will encourage people to return to a Hawaii in a way that keeps residents safe. “I want to emphasize that this pre-travel testing will allow us to add a greater element of safety for travel into our state,” Ige said at a news conference.