LAURI MARKKANEN

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Portland’s Damian Lillard had to have known they were going to the All-Star Game.

Damian Lillard scored 60 points on 71.4% shooting from the field in Portland's 134-124 win vs. Utah.

Damian Lillard scored a season-high 60 points, hitting nine 3-pointers, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 134-124 on Wednesday night.

Donovan Mitchell had 46 points in his return to Utah, but the Jazz rallied late behind Jordan Clarkson to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-114.

Just weeks ago, the Golden State Warriors might not have pulled off a win like this without their superstars on the court. Jordan Poole scored 26 points and converted a key layup with 1:27 left and the undermanned Warriors rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 112-107 on Wednesday night. Ty Jerome hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:18 to play after his own steal, then made a key rebound to help set up Donte DiVincenzo’s 3 the next time down as Golden State got another big performance from the reserves.

Ric Bucher takes a microscopic look at an NBA season that has been defined solely by its unpredictability.

Jordan Clarkson scored 23 points, reserve Collin Sexton added 22 and the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers 110-102.

Lauri Markkanen had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 20 points and the Utah Jazz continued their remarkable start to the season with a 130-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Injuries to Pelicans stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram took some of the luster off of New Orleans promising start to the regular season.

The Cavaliers are back in the Eastern Conference title hunt.

Trae Young scored 32 of his 38 points in the second half and the Atlanta Hawks overcame losing center Clint Capela to a knee injury to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-101 in the play-in and earn the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 playoff seed.

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

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.

Cade Cunningham hit four free throws in the final 46 seconds to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 106-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

DETROIT -- Coming out of the All-Star break the Detroit Pistons wanted to start the final 24 games locked in. In Thursday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Pistons appeared focused at times but poor choices and sloppy play down the stretch threatened their win. Detroit led by 11 after Rodney McGruder hit a three in front of the Cavaliers bench with 5:45 remaining in the game. But Cavs big man Lauri Markkanen, who ended the night with 22 points, made sure the Pistons felt his return to action. Hamidou Diallo scored 21 points off the bench and had six rebounds, while Grant and Marvin Bagley III each scored 16 points.

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.

Once Ricky Rubio was lost for the season with a knee injury, the Cleveland Cavaliers knew it would take someone special to take his spot.

The NBA has postponed the Chicago Bulls’ next two games, with 10 of the team’s players in the league’s health and safety protocols.

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.

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.

The NBA has raised the level of urgency regarding getting booster shots against the coronavirus.

A person familiar with the trade tells The Associated Press that the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire restricted free agent forward Lauri Markkanen from Chicago in a three-way trade.

Lauri Markkanen was in search of a new team. The Cavaliers needed to add another outside shooter. The Cavaliers have agreed to acquire Markkanen, a restricted free agent forward from Chicago in a three-way trade that will send forward Larry Nance Jr. from Cleveland to Portland, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press on Friday.

Almost four weeks into NBA free agency, Lauri Markkanen doesn't have a new home, and his options are running out.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points while playing with Kevin Durant and James Harden for the first time in three months, leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 105-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Jerami Grant #9 of the Detroit Pistons drives against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena on December 28, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)CHICAGO – Zach LaVine scored 37 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102 Wednesday night on short notice. The Bulls and Pistons were then scheduled to play each other, instead. Jerami Grant scored a career-high 43 points for the Pistons, who cooled off after a strong start. TIP-INSPistons: Detroit scored 11 points off 13 Chicago turnovers … F Sekou Doumbouya missed his third straight game with a concussion.

Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen (24) shoots over Dallas Mavericks center Willie Cauley-Stein (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)DALLAS – Lauri Markkanen had 29 points and 10 rebounds, Garrett Temple scored 15 of his season-high 21 points in the second quarter and the Chicago Bulls ended a four-game losing streak with a 117-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Markkanen, in his second game back after missing seven games because of COVID-19 protocols, was 10 of 19 from the field while recording season highs in points and rebounds. Mavericks: Dallas travel to the Raptors' temporary home in Tampa, Florida, on Monday in the second back-to-back of the season. The Mavericks lost at Chicago in the first game of their other back-to-back before winning at Houston.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) shoots between Chicago Bulls guard Garrett Temple (17) and forward Lauri Markkanen during overtime of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)OKLAHOMA CITY – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a career-high 33 points and 10 assists to help Oklahoma City beat the Chicago Bulls and former Thunder coach Billy Donovan 127-125 in overtime Friday night. Donovan knew all too well how good Oklahoma City can be under challenging circumstances. ... Oklahoma City scored 19 points off Chicago's nine turnovers in the third quarter. ... Oklahoma City shot 56% in the third quarter and outscored the Bulls 37-27.

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) drives against Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III (44) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020, in Boston. Irving scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals helping the Nets rout the Celtics 113-89 Friday night in the final preseason game for both teams. There were no fans in the new Boston Garden on Friday night, and his introduction was greeted with a faint, fake cheer. Precious Achiuwa scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Heat, while Bam Adebayo scored 13 points and Tyler Herro scored 10. McCollum led the Blazers with 26 points on 8-of-20 shooting and Gary Trent Jr. added 18 points in the loss.

CHICAGO – The Chicago Bulls weren't on Billy Donovan's radar when he and the Oklahoma City Thunder parted ways after five successful seasons. So this kind of came out of left field for me.”The Bulls introduced Donovan as their coach on Thursday, two days after they announced they landed arguably the most attractive candidate on the market to help turn around a struggling team with new management. Donovan met in person with Karnisovas and Marc Eversley for 5 1/2 hours to get the process in gear. And when Donovan accepted the job, Karnisovas said, “I could not stop smiling.”Hiring Donovan was a rare big and bold move for the Bulls. Donovan said he was “taken aback” by Karnisovas' vision and is looking forward to “working hand in hand” with him.