Luke Kennard scored a career playoff-high 27 points, LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers capitalized on Kevin Durant’s injury absence for a 107-98 victory over the Houston Rockets in the opener of their first-round playoff series.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant have faced each other in the playoffs three times, and the superstar with the superior supporting cast won a championship every time.

Stephen Curry limped away from the bench late in Golden State’s 104-100 loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night after bruising his right quadriceps.

Payton Pritchard scored 34 points and the Boston Celtics swept consecutive home games against the Charlotte Hornets with a 93-86 victory despite blowing a 21-point first-half lead in a regular-season ending matchup of all reserves.

The Los Angeles Lakers are acquiring center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets in a trade for rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and two draft picks, a person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press.

The Charlotte Hornets traded backup center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick to the Phoenix Suns for guard Josh Okogie and three second-round draft picks on Wednesday night.

As soon as it left his hands, Julius Randle knew his winning 3-pointer was going in.

Devin Booker scored a go-ahead layup with 4:51 remaining followed by a 3-pointer on the way to 32 points, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 108-104 on in a back-and-forth season opener for the Pacific Division powerhouses.

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for making improper contact in the stands with Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.

Kawhi Leonard won’t play for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Phoenix Suns in Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points, Malcolm Brogdon added 16 off the bench and the Boston Celtics embarrassed the sloppy Phoenix Suns 125-98 on Wednesday night.

The Phoenix Suns are bringing back most of their star players in an effort to win an elusive NBA title.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 12 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves got a big boost from their bench in a 118-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Josh Okogie, left, drives around Cleveland Cavaliers' Larry Nance Jr. (22) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)CLEVELAND – Cavaliers versatile forward Larry Nance Jr. could miss six weeks with a broken left hand, a tough blow for a Cleveland team sliding after a strong start. Nance, who has missed recent games with a sprained right wrist, broke the fourth metacarpal in his hand during the first quarter of Saturday night's 124-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The team did not say if Nance will need surgery. He can play down low and on the perimeter and Nance, who is in his fourth season with Cleveland, ranks second in the league with 1.9 steals per game.

George Floyd was killed less than three miles from the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play, so this global unrest over racial relations and justice hit awfully close to home for the team. (Brian Peterson/Star Tribune via AP)MINNEAPOLIS Eric Kendricks woke up distressed shortly after George Floyd was killed just a few miles from the stadium where the Minnesota Vikings play. Commissioner Roger Goodell issued an apology the day after for not listening earlier and encouraged players to speak up and peacefully protest. For the Vikings, like their fellow Twin Cities sports figures, the death of Floyd hit close to home. Timberwolves guard D'Angelo Russell marched with protesters in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, where the death of Breonna Taylor has also stirred uprising.