ERIK SPOELSTRA

Grant Hill will be back for another stint as managing director of the U.S. senior men's national basketball team.

LeBron James didn’t need another Olympic experience to complete some missing box on his resume or add to a legacy that was secured long, long ago.

The Boston Celtics ran away from the rest of the NBA in the regular season.

Tyler Herro hit six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics and tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

The Boston Celtics had almost no trouble at all with the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs this season, going 35-4 against those squads.

Tyler Herro scored 24 points and was an assist shy of a triple-double, rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 21 points and the Miami Heat grabbed the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, running away from the Chicago Bulls 112-91 in a play-in tournament elimination game.

The results are in: Jimmy Butler is out.

All four teams in the finales of the NBA play-in tournament on Friday night are dealing with injury issues.

Orlando blew out Milwaukee, Indiana blew out Atlanta, Philadelphia blew out Brooklyn and Miami blew out Toronto.

Contrary to popular belief, there has been some defense played in the NBA this season.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Boston Celtics withstood a late rally to beat the Miami Heat 110-106.

There are few surprises in USA Basketball’s men’s player pool for the Paris Olympics that was announced Tuesday, with most of the big names like LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant on the list.

Erik Spoelstra was hosting a clinic in the Philippines this past summer while the Miami Heat coach was there as an assistant with USA Basketball for the World Cup.

Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat have agreed on a long-term contract extension.

Erik Spoelstra was part of 12 Christmas games as a staff member, assistant coach or head coach in his first 20 seasons with the Miami Heat.

Say this for the NBA.

LeBron James couldn’t help but notice the new floor in Miami on Monday, the one with the word “Culture” splashed across midcourt and with team president Pat Riley’s long mantra painted in each of the lanes.

Victor Wembanyama's rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs is set to begin.

After a summer where the Miami Heat were hoping to land Damian Lillard, the reigning Eastern Conference champions reported for training camp on Monday with a familiar refrain in mind.

The World Cup is over.

Erik Spoelstra has never lived in the Philippines so returning as an assistant coach for USA Basketball at the World Cup this summer is not, technically, a homecoming for the Miami Heat coach.

Maximizing player rest and limiting travel demands were again part of the NBA’s formula for the coming regular season.

There are some rising star players on this U.S. roster for the Basketball World Cup.

Tyronn Lue has waited a long time for this trip.

Everything from the history books to the way they’ve played through most of the postseason suggests the Denver Nuggets are on the verge of capturing their first NBA title in 47 years in the league.

The Denver Nuggets have shown a lot of poise in their first NBA Finals.

Erik Spoelstra has preached about the value of adversity for months, not shying away from saying that it helped the Miami Heat get to these NBA Finals.

The Denver Nuggets' playoff run has been fueled by the two-man game of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Nuggets rookie Christian Braun gets high praise from coach Michael Malone, and his star teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray also rave about the rookie.

For the Miami Heat, shooting at Denver’s 5,280 feet of mile-high altitude during Game 1 of the NBA Finals wasn’t a problem.

The NBA Finals will end in six games.

Cancel that flight plan, Denver.

Gabe Vincent scored a career-high 29 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat are now just one win from the NBA Finals after rolling past the Boston Celtics 128-102 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference title series.

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals is Sunday night.

As much as this latest Eastern Conference finals pairing between the Heat and Celtics is a matchup that will lean heavily on stars like Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum, Game 1 proved it also will be a clash of Boston's rookie coach Joe Mazzulla and Miami's Erik Spoelstra.

Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Denver’s Michael Malone are two of the four NBA coaches to have spent at least eight years with their current team.

Inside the Miami Heat locker room Erik Spoelstra stepped onto the NBA championship logo on the center of the floor and gathered his team around him.

Jimmy Butler scored 24 points, Bam Adebayo added 23 and the Miami Heat are headed back to the Eastern Conference finals after topping the New York Knicks 96-92.

Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and added 10 assists, Bam Adebayo finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Miami Heat moved a win away from their third trip to the Eastern Conference finals in the last four years by topping the New York Knicks 109-101.

NBA playoff scoring leader Jimmy Butler was with the Miami Heat for their film session Thursday.

Jimmy Butler is different.

They brawled in 1997.

Jimmy Butler scored 42 points and the Miami Heat staged a second straight stunning fourth-quarter rally before winning 128-126 in overtime at Milwaukee in Game 5 to cap an upset of the top-seeded Bucks in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Win Game 1, lose Game 2, win Game 3.

Anthony Davis scared Los Angeles Lakers fans by grabbing at his right shoulder and saying he couldn’t move his arm.

Max Strus and Jimmy Butler scored 31 points apiece, and the Miami Heat got into the playoffs by rallying in the final minutes to beat the Chicago Bulls 102-91 in an Eastern Conference play-in game Friday night.

Chicago played at Miami and Oklahoma City was in Minnesota to open this NBA season.

Getting to the play-in tournament probably wasn’t the goal of any team when training camps opened back in September.

Mikal Bridges scored a career-high 45 points, including 15 in a row for Brooklyn to break open a game that had been close for 3 1/2 quarters, and the Nets beat the Miami Heat 116-105 on in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.

The outrage, frustration, sadness and anger over the killing of Tyre Nichols was evident around the NBA on Friday.

After losing 57 games a season ago, the Indiana Pacers are a.

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics topped the Miami Heat 111-104 on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

LeBron James has just one player left to catch in his pursuit of the NBA's all-time scoring record.

Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat have agreed on a four-year contract extension that could be worth $130 million, a person with knowledge says.

Tim Cone has won 24 championships as a basketball coach in the Philippines.

The NBA commissioner pondered pausing this season when the virus numbers were at their worst for many teams.

A frustrated Bam Adebayo tore his jersey apart as he walked off the court after the final buzzer.

Heat guard Tyler Herro remained sidelined because of a strained left groin as Miami tries to stave off elimination in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Celtics' confidence is high after seizing a 3-2 Eastern Conference finals lead over top seed Miami.

The Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are as close as can be, heading back to Miami all tied up at two wins apiece.

The Celtics will be without center Robert Williams III will be out for Game 3 of their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Heat due to soreness and swelling in his left knee.

The Boston Celtics got outworked by the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals but returned the favor in Game 2.

Things have been working out just fine so far in this postseason for Jimmy Butler and the top-seeded Miami Heat.

Jimmy Butler scored 41 points, and the Miami Heat turned things around with a huge third quarter on the way to beating the shorthanded Boston Celtics 118-107 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night.

Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka and Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra have enormous respect for each other and a bond that stems from their shared history in the sport.

Bam Adebayo scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler had 22 points and 12 assists, and the Miami Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-103 on Wednesday night for a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Tyler Herro was told before the season began that he wouldn’t be in the Miami Heat starting lineup.

The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat are the top seeds in the playoffs and at the moment, they look like it coming off impressive performances.

In Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s mind, the injury situation with Joel Embiid doesn’t doom the Philadelphia 76ers.

Victor Oladipo scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved into the Eastern Conference semifinals by beating the Atlanta Hawks 97-94.

The road back to the NBA Finals has become bumpy for the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks.

These are Jimmy Butler’s three highest-scoring games in a Miami uniform: 40 points against Milwaukee, 40 points against the Los Angeles Lakers, 45 points against Atlanta.

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

Udonis Haslem started the Miami Heat postseason with an apology.

Devin Booker scored 23 points, Mikal Bridges added 21 and the Phoenix Suns shook off a slow start to beat the Miami Heat 111-90 on Wednesday night in a matchup of the NBA’s conference leaders.

Red Auerbach.

Jrue Holiday banked in a driving layup with 1.9 seconds left and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the final six minutes to beat the Miami Heat 120-119.

When the All-Star break ends, the stretch run begins.

Joel Embiid dominated with 40 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers overcame DeMar DeRozan’s season-high, 45-point game for Chicago to beat the Bulls 119-108 on Sunday.

Duncan Robinson scored 25 points while shooting 7 of 11 from 3-point range to lead four Miami players with 20 or more points in the Heat’s 110-96 victory over the New York Knicks.

Another G League referee was called up by the NBA to work a game Saturday as the league continued finding ways to play through the latest coronavirus outbreak.

The NBA has postponed Miami's game at San Antonio after a combination of injuries and positive COVID-19 tests left the Heat unable to meet the league’s requirement of having eight available players.

The NBA's virus numbers continue to rise.

The NBA’s Christmas message to its teams was a refrain it has been using for weeks: Get boosted.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been formally announced as the next coach of the U.S. men’s basketball team.

The fallout from the scuffle between reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Markieff Morris from the Miami Heat continues.

Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists before the NBA MVP was ejected for violently slamming his shoulder into Markieff Morris, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 113-96 on Monday night.

The NBA is welcoming their fans back with hopes everyone plays by the rules again.

Jamahl Mosley has agreed to become the new coach of the Orlando Magic.

One of the most beloved figures in Miami sports history has visited the site of a Florida condo building collapse.

Erik Spoelstra and Gregg Popovich have often spoken of how much they enjoy coaching against one another.

The Portland Trail Blazers and coach Terry Stotts are parting ways after nine seasons.

Just in time for the playoffs, the NBA has told its head coaches that they may choose to not wear masks during games if they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The postgame routine between San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra is almost always the same.

Erik Spoelstra got a milestone win, and it didn’t come easily.

Victor Oladipo got swept out of the first round of the playoffs last season by Miami, and when that series concluded he had no doubt the Heat would end up in the NBA Finals.

(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)LeBron James is becoming a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox. “It’s great to be with such a great group,” James said of FSG, with which he has had a relationship for a decade. The Red Sox are a historical franchise. AdAnd now, he’ll be linked to the Red Sox — the Yankees’ biggest rival. It’s something that inspires, something for others to marvel at.”The move only enhances James' business empire.

Vincent has also been a part-time starter for the Heat, and Miami was one of the teams concerned that those 50-game appearance limits on the active roster was fast approaching. Ad“We all appreciate that they see that each team is in a different place,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. The rule in past years has been that two-way players could spend 45 days with the NBA club and the rest of the time with a franchise’s G League team. But with a shortened G League season this year, and not all teams having clubs in that league this season, there were obvious reasons to change things. We are just glad that it was seen that way, objectively, because not everybody is in the same circumstance.”___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, right, tries to pass as Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021, in Los Angeles. The Heat even kept it together to pull out a win over the defending NBA champions despite a fourth quarter that nearly went wrong. Nunn scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler had 24 points and eight rebounds, and Miami held off the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94 Saturday night in an NBA Finals rematch. Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points while hitting four 3-pointers, and Montrezl Harrell had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. ... Goran Dragić missed his eighth straight game with a sprained left ankle.

(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)MIAMI – The first thing Derrick Rose did in his second stint with the New York Knicks was start handing out assists. Rose made his second Knicks debut Tuesday night in Miami, checking in with 3:27 left in the first quarter and doing so without even having gone through any sort of practice with the team. Rose won the 2011 NBA MVP award, capping his first season under Thibodeau and a 62-20 season for the Bulls. “I think he’s learned a lot about how to manage his body,” Thibodeau said. “I think he’s in great shape.