DONOVAN MITCHELL

Jalen Brunson scored 23 points, RJ Barrett added 21 and the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-95 in Game 5 to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2013.

Jalen Brunson scored 21 points, RJ Barrett broke out of a slump with 19 and the New York Knicks rolled to a 2-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first-round playoff series with a 99-79 victory.

Darius Garland scored 32 points, 26 while setting an aggressive tone for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory over the Knicks.

Jalen Brunson shook off foul trouble and scored 21 of his 27 in the second half, and Julius Randle returned from an ankle injury to add 19 as the New York Knicks welcomed Cleveland back to the NBA playoffs by holding off the Cavaliers 101-97 in Game 1.

The NBA regular season had no shortage of moments that stood out.

Philadelphia had the league's leader in points per game this season in Joel Embiid and assists per game in James Harden.

De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and the Sacramento Kings clinched their first playoff berth since 2006 with a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Five years felt like 50 for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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.

Damian Lillard set franchise and career highs with 71 points which tied for the most in the NBA this season and 13 3-pointers and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game losing streak with a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Jayson Tatum put on a record-setting show, and made Giannis Antetokounmpo look like a genius.

The 72nd NBA All-Star Game takes place Sunday night in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City’s hosting of this weekend’s NBA All-Star game for the first time in three decades is giving Utah another opportunity to try to change long-held notions that the state is odd or peculiar.

If so inclined, and if fellow captain LeBron James was to cooperate with his own selections, Giannis Antetokounmpo could pick Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Lauri Markkanen to play on his team Sunday night.

A fight broke out and punches were thrown during the game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks was suspended one game without pay by the NBA and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell fined $20,000 for their roles in an on-court incident on Thursday night.

Darius Garland scored 32 points shortly after being left off the All-Star team and carried Cleveland following Donovan Mitchell’s ejection, leading the Cavaliers to a 128-113 win over the slumping Memphis Grizzlies.

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was ejected in the third quarter against Memphis for throwing the ball at Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks after the players tangled under the basket.

Brace yourself.

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.

Donovan Mitchell sent the best game of his career to overtime with an incredible play.

In a season where big numbers have become the norm, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell put up the biggest numbers of all Monday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA season-high and franchise-record 71 points -- equaling the eighth-most in a game in history -- as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime.

Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers finally put together a complete game against Milwaukee, withstanding superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo’s season-high 45-point performance to beat the Bucks 114-106 on Wednesday night.

Anthony Edwards scored 25 points, D’Angelo Russell had 19 and the Minnesota Timberwolves survived a late scare and won their third straight game, 112-109 over the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

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.

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.

Darius Garland scored 29 points in his return after missing five games with an ugly eye injury and Donovan Mitchell added 25, leading Cleveland to a 114-113 overtime win over Boston.

Jacoby Brissett threw two touchdown passes, Nick Chubb ran for a score and the Cleveland Browns bounced back from their epic meltdown four days earlier to beat the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 29-17.

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.

Rudy Gobert has been traded by the Utah Jazz to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal said.

As the Utah Jazz spent time talking to candidates to become their next coach, Will Hardy quickly rose to the top of their list.

Quin Snyder resigned Sunday as coach of the Utah Jazz, ending an eight-year run where the team won nearly 60% of its games but never got past the second round of the playoffs.

Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson each scored 24 points and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 98-96 on Thursday night in Game 6 to wrap up the first-round series.

The Philadelphia 76ers were up 3-0 in their series against the Toronto Raptors just a few days ago.

Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds in his first home playoff game coming off a calf injury and the Dallas Mavericks routed the Utah Jazz 102-77 for a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Rudy Gobert gave Utah the lead with an alley-oop dunk with 11.0 seconds left and the Jazz held off the Dallas Mavericks 100-99 on Saturday in Game 4 to tie the first-round series.

Scoring has rarely looked so difficult for Kevin Durant.

Jalen Brunson scored 31 points playing with a bruised back and the Dallas Mavericks — without the injured Luka Doncic — beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 41 points, Maxi Kleber had 25 with eight of Dallas’ playoff-record 22 made 3-pointers and the Mavericks won Game 2 against Utah 110-104 to even the first-round series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 of his 32 points after halftime, Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 26 and the Utah Jazz opened the playoffs with a 99-93 victory over Dallas.

Devin Booker scored 33 points and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz 111-105 on Friday night.

Klay Thompson scored 36 points and the Golden State Warriors erased a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 111-107.

Gregg Popovich became the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history Friday night, getting his 1,336th victory when the San Antonio Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 104-102.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Utah Jazz stayed hot with a 118-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Steph Curry nearly upstaged LeBron James’ homecoming weekend by scoring 50 points with a mind-boggling shooting display to lead Team LeBron to a 163-160- win over Team Durant in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night.

LeBron James scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 14-point second half deficit to defeat the Utah Jazz 106-101 Wednesday night.

Kevin Durant wanted no part of James Harden on the day their partnership in Brooklyn ended.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points and Donovan Mitchell had 14 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Utah Jazz shut down Golden State in a 111-85 victory that snapped the Warriors’ nine-game winning streak.

Devin Booker and Chris Paul were chosen as reserves for the NBA All-Star Game, giving the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns two selections.

Devin Booker scored 33 points, Chris Paul had 15 of his a season-high 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 115-109 win over the short-handed Utah Jazz.

Jordan Poole scored 20 points to lead a balanced Golden State scoring attack, and the Warriors held off a late Utah rally to beat the Jazz 94-92.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 36 points and the Utah Jazz stretched their road winning streak to 10 games by beating the Denver Nuggets 115-109.

Stephen Curry scored 28 points and had nine assists to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 123-116 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

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

The mother of a 10-year-old Utah girl who died by suicide is speaking out about the bullying and racial harassment that her daughter endured.

The Western Conference has the best regular season team from last year in Utah.

The Los Angeles Clippers are the kings of the NBA's playoff comeback.

Terance Mann scored a career-high 39 points and the Los Angeles Clippers advanced to a conference final for the first time in the franchise’s 51-year history, beating the Utah Jazz 131-119 on Friday night.

Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell were in Utah’s starting lineup for Game 6 on Friday night, with the Jazz facing elimination in the second-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The NBA’s top playoff seeds, Philadelphia and Utah, are facing elimination.

Paul George had 37 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 119-111 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinals series.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic was the runaway MVP this season, which made it a virtual certainty that he would also be an All-NBA first-team selection.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George each scored 31 points — the second straight game they have both had over 30 points — and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Utah Jazz 118-104 in Game 4 Monday night to even their Western Conference second-round series at two games apiece.

Doc Rivers isn’t revealing his plan for replacing Danny Green in the Philadelphia 76ers’ lineup.

Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and 12 rebounds, Paul George added 31 points and the Los Angeles Clippers got back into their second-round series against the Utah Jazz with a 132-106 victory in Game 3 on Saturday night.

The Los Angeles Clippers find themselves in familiar territory — down 2-0 in their second straight playoff series and seeing one player outplay their two superstars.

Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points and the Utah Jazz forced nine straight misses down the stretch to outlast the Los Angeles Clippers 117-111 and take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 45 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 112-109 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half and the Utah Jazz advanced to the second round of the playoffs, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 126-110 on Wednesday night in Game 5.

Philadelphia, Utah and Atlanta can reach the second round.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, and the top-seeded Utah Jazz grabbed a 3-1 lead by holding off the Memphis Grizzlies 120-113.

Memphis Grizzlies’ fans cheered Mike Conley earlier this year when he finally earned All-Star recognition in his 14th season.

Donovan Mitchell scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and the top-seeded Utah Jazz beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-111 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

The New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz all say they have banned fans after incidents in their respective arenas.

Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points in his much-anticipated return from a sprained ankle and the Utah Jazz overcame Ja Morant’s franchise-record 47 points in a 141-129 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, tying the first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Doc Rivers can’t fathom criticism of Ben Simmons, especially after the three-time All-Star became just the sixth player in NBA history to have at least 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a playoff game.

The NBA playoffs should be entertaining, as they always are.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points to help the Utah Jazz beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 109-93.

Stephen Curry made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left moments after missing from deep, scoring 36 points to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Western Conference-leading Utah Jazz 119-116 on Monday night to keep hold of the eighth seed in the playoff race.

Devin Booker scored 31 points, Mikal Bridges added 18 and the Phoenix Suns pulled into a tie for the top spot in the Western Conference by beating the Utah Jazz 121-100 on Friday night.

D’Angelo Russell had a season-high seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 105-104.

Dennis Schröder hit the tying basket to force overtime and finished with 25 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Utah Jazz 127-115 in a game between short-handed teams.

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points before leaving the game with a sprained ankle in the third quarter, and the NBA-leading Utah Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 119-111.

Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points to lead the Utah Jazz to their 23rd straight home victory with a 122-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul added 29 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Utah Jazz 117-113 in overtime Wednesday night in an entertaining matchup between the top two teams in the NBA.

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives around Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris (12) in the first half during an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)SALT LAKE CITY – Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and the Utah Jazz routed the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 118-88 on Wednesday night. This matchup between Eastern and Western Conference contenders lost some luster when the Nets James Harden was scratched due to a sore neck. At halftime, the Jazz led 63-38 – the lowest scoring first half of the season for Brooklyn. Even with all their stars, the Nets have struggled defensively this season and relied on their supercharged offense to get their wins.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, shoots as Phoenix Suns forward Dario Saric defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)ATLANTA – It's the NBA All-Star Game almost no one seemed to want. "It’s the All-Star Game, so there’s going to be some shenanigans out there. Team LeBron will play on behalf of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, while Team Durant represents the United Negro College Fund. Trae Young, a starter in 2020, was snubbed this season despite averaging 26.4 points — the most of any player not selected for the All-Star Game.

1 overall pick on Antetokounmpo — the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP from Milwaukee — in the draft for Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. Kevin Durant, who will not play in the All-Star Game because of injury but still is the captain for Team Durant, took Brooklyn teammate Kyrie Irving with his first pick. This is the fourth year of the NBA's playing captain format for the All-Star Game. It’s the All-Star Game, so there’s going to be some shenanigans out there. AdTHE COACHESRivers, who played in one All-Star Game, is coaching the game for the third time.

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid, right, goes up for a shot against Utah Jazz's Bojan Bogdanovic, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Philadelphia. The game included four players who will be participating in Sunday’s All-Star game in Embiid and Simmons, and Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert of the Jazz. AdThe Jazz beat Philadelphia 134-123 on Feb. 15 in Utah when Embiid sat with a back injury. The 76ers couldn’t free their shooters for a tying 3, so Embiid stepped back and drained one himself with 5.9 seconds remaining. Mitchell had 33 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Jazz, who lost their second straight.

(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Phoenix’s Devin Booker have been 3-point champions at All-Star weekend before, and they’ll try to win that trophy again Sunday. The NBA revealed the 15 players Tuesday who will be taking part in the other on-court events besides the All-Star Game in Atlanta, with the overwhelming majority of them pulling double-duty between those competitions and the game itself. They’ll be joined by Portland’s Robert Covington, the only current NBA player who is a graduate of a historically Black college and university. It will be held at halftime of the All-Star Game, while the skills competition and 3-point contest will occur pregame. Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, San Antonio and Toronto have no one participating in All-Star night events.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket over Utah Jazz forward Georges Niang, left, and center Rudy Gobert, right, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Monday, March 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – Zion Williamson had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans held off a late Utah charge to beat the NBA-leading Jazz 129-124 on Monday night. Williamson scored 15 points and added a pair of assists in the quarter. ... Utah had its highest scoring second quarter of the season with 41 points ... Utah shot 45.5% (46 of 101), including 17 of 43 from 3-point range. Pelicans: Hart scored 13 points to go with seven rebounds.

Miami Heat forward Kelly Olynyk (9) goes to the basket as Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)MIAMI – The Miami Heat don't believe in statement wins. “A high-level game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “and we had some big plays down the stretch." Duncan Robinson scored 15 and Kendrick Nunn added 12 for the Heat, who held Utah to 29% shooting in the fourth quarter. It was the sixth game in Heat history in which both teams had at least 94 points through three quarters.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)Looking at individual stats reveals nothing about the Utah Jazz. “Nobody’s playing as well as the Utah Jazz in the NBA right now.”AdAt 26-6, the Jazz sit atop the NBA. The Jazz have made 544 3s, the most in NBA history by any team in its first 32 games. But with the way they're playing now, even Vogel concedes that the Jazz are doing a whole lot right. They’re playing like the best team in the league right now.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics in New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)New Orleans forward Zion Williamson now can be called an NBA All-Star, and only three others in the game’s 70-year history have gotten there at a younger age. Phoenix’s Chris Paul is an All-Star for the 11th time, and Brooklyn’s James Harden is one for the ninth consecutive year. The rest of the reserves include Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic from the Eastern Conference, along with the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George, Utah teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, and Portland’s Damian Lillard from the Western Conference. But this will be his first time in the All-Star Game itself.

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) dunks against the Charlotte Hornets in the second half during an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 22, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz enjoyed another record-breaking performance from long range Monday night in a 132-110 victory against the Hornets. The Jazz set their previous mark for 3s with 26 in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 5. Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball each scored 21 points to lead the Hornets. Jazz: Utah became the fastest team in NBA history to make 500 3-pointers in a season, reaching the milestone in just 31 games.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, right, celebrates with forward Kawhi Leonard during the second half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)LOS ANGELES – Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, reserve Lou Williams had 19 and the Los Angeles Clippers edged Utah 116-112 on Friday night, snapping the Jazz's nine-game winning streak. Los Angeles played without a center in the fourth, when Morris was added to the rotation and scored 10 points. “We got our guys back and we wanted to win this game,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. His pair of free throws sent Los Angeles into the fourth leading 79-75.