The stunning turnaround season for the Detroit Pistons ended Sunday night with a harsh reminder of how difficult the final step can be.
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each added 23 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 125-94 on Sunday night in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
James Harden scored a playoff-best 30 points and Donovan Mitchell had 21, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers come back from a nine-point deficit late in regulation and beat the Detroit Pistons 117-113 in overtime to take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
James Harden hit three clutch shots in the final two minutes, Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat Detroit 116-109 on Saturday to cut the Pistons’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Cade Cunningham had 25 points and 10 assists, Tobias Harris scored 21 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-97 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in their second-round series.
Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.
Jarrett Allen tied his playoff career high with 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 114-102 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 in his second game back from a torn right Achilles, lifting the Boston Celtics to a 109-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.
James Harden scores 23 points in his Cavaliers debut, helping Cleveland secure a 132-126 victory over Sacramento.
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, Jaylon Tyson had 20 and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a big third quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 129-99 and spoil LeBron James’ return to Northeast Ohio.
The NBA has fined the Cleveland Cavaliers $250,000 for violating the league’s player participation policy.
Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics has won the NBA’s sportsmanship award for the second time, making him the fifth player in league history to win that trophy in multiple years.
Cleveland left no doubt on its way to Round 2 — and finished off the most lopsided series in NBA playoff history.
Jarrett Allen scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed Miami its worst-ever playoff loss by topping the Heat 124-87 for a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers go into the NBA Playoffs as the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the highest-scoring offense during the regular season and one of the favorites for the championship.
Quenton Jackson scored 21 points, RayJ Dennis had seven in the second overtime and the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 126-118 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers after trailing by 23 points with 7:35 remaining in regulation.
Paolo Banchero scored 24 points, Franz Wagner added 22 and the Orlando Magic stunned Cleveland 108-103 to end the Cavaliers’ winning streak at 16 games.
Darius Garland scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for a 109-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, matching the longest winning streak in franchise history at 15.
Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for their 13th straight victory, 118-117 over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers bullied the New York Knicks from the start, winning 142-105 in a matchup of two of the East's best teams.
Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and the Boston Celtics showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a 112-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and eight assists in three quarters, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Cleveland Cavaliers 134-114 in a matchup of teams with the best records in the NBA.
Jarrett Allen scored 25 points, Evan Mobley added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Oklahoma City’s 15-game winning streak by beating the Thunder 129-122 in a marquee meeting between the NBA’s top two teams.
There are moments when Nikola Jokic does things on the court that seem to defy reason — almost magical.
Darius Garland scored 25 points, Ty Jerome matched his career-high with 24 in place of Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers stayed unbeaten with a 128-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 37 points, Darius Garland had 29 and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued one of the best starts in league history, improving to 14-0 with a 144-126 win over the Chicago Bulls in an NBA Cup game.
Kenny Atkinson couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the box score and stared at the record of his Cleveland Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 131-122 to open 9-0 for the first time in their 55-year NBA history.
Darius Garland scored 39 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 8-0 with a 116-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, wo played without injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss Monday night’s game against the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers with a strained adductor muscle, another early-season hiccup for the struggling Bucks.
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen has agreed to a three-year, $91 million contract extension with Cleveland.
The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season following their 4-1 series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to extend their season without star Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert, who were both ruled out prior to Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with Boston.
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Boston Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their East semifinal series.
Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell missed Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Monday with a left calf injury, a devastating loss that will make it even tougher for Cleveland to get back in the series.
Cavaliers forward Dean Wade made his playoff debut in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night after being sidelined the past two months with a strained right knee.
It took Donovan Mitchell’s magnificence, a historic comeback and plenty of grit for the Cavaliers to escape the first round.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen will miss Game 7 against Orlando with a painful rib injury that sidelined him for the final three games of the series.
Franz Wagner had 34 points and 13 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic held the Cleveland Cavaliers scoreless for a second-half stretch of almost seven minutes Saturday in a 112-89 victory that tied the Eastern Conference first-round series at 2-2.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jarrett Allen had 18 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic 97-83 in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Nick Smith Jr. scored a season-high 24 points and Steve Clifford won his coaching farewell as the Charlotte Hornets rallied to beat the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers 120-110.
Max Strus drilled a 59-footer as time expired, his fifth made 3-pointer in the final four minutes, to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a wild 121-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 45 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 111-102 on Thursday in the NBA’s third regular-season game in Paris.
Hours before finding out his likely destination in the NBA, Victor Wembanyama drew a star-studded crowd in his last regular-season game in France and delivered another game-winning performance in the fourth quarter.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets took the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 in the play-in opener.
Kevin Love made eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers took the No. 8 play-in spot — and a matchup against Brooklyn — with a 133-115 win over Milwaukee.
LeBron James scored 38 points, notched another triple-double and sparked memories of his time in Cleveland, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 131-120 win over the Cavaliers.
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.
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.
Darius Garland strengthened his All-Star case with 22 points and 12 assists, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 114-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets, who began a stretch without injured superstar Kevin Durant.
A person familiar with the decision tells AP that Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman has been rewarded for the team’s turnaround with a contract extension and new job title.
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.
Devin Booker scored 35 points, Chris Paul had 12 assists and made four free throws in the final 8.8 seconds the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 14 games, holding off the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-1115.
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.
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Russell Westbrook got his first triple-double since passing Oscar Robertson and becoming the NBA's career leader earlier in the week and Washington beat Cleveland 120-105 to clinch a spot in the East play-in tournament.
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Stephen Curry scored 33 points — topping 30 for a career-best ninth consecutive game — as the Golden State Warriors pulled away for a 119-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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FILE - In this Feb 5, 2021, file photo, Cleveland Cavaliers' Andre Drummond drives the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)LOS ANGELES – Andre Drummond is joining the Los Angeles Lakers for the playoff push. The Lakers announced the signing of the two-time All-Star center less than an hour before Sunday night's game against the Orlando Magic. AdThe Lakers currently rank ninth in the NBA in rebounds per game (45.1), but just 17th in offensive rebounds (9.6). Ad___AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Los Angeles contributed to this report___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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Andre Drummond didn't move. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)CLEVELAND – Center Andre Drummond is now a free agent and can sign with a contending team after reaching a buyout with the Cavaliers. Drummond, who hasn't played since mid-February, began negotiating terms of the buyout with the Cavs on Thursday after the club didn't trade the 27-year-old before the deadline. The agreement ends a partnership that became awkward when the Cavs benched Drummond to give young center Jarrett Allen more playing time. Drummond twice made the playoffs with the Pistons, who selected him with the ninth overall pick in 2012.
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USA Basketball is a step closer to choosing the team that will play in this summer’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, releasing the names Thursday of 57 players who are part of the pool to fill the squad. It’s also already drawing major interest from some NBA stars who have yet to taste Olympic gold. USA Basketball will pare the list to a 12-person Olympic team by early summer. Jordan, who now plays for Brooklyn, is also a newcomer to the pool even though he was on the 2016 Olympic team. “But for USA Basketball to receive the commitment of so many outstanding players remains an indicator of the great honor of representing your country means to these men.”
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Denver Nuggets' Jamal Murray (27) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers' Cedi Osman (16) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Feb. 19, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)CLEVELAND – Not himself of late, Jamal Murray got a lecture from Nuggets coach Michael Malone about being more aggressive and not passing up open shots. Following the game, Murray was unaware that he had done something unique. “With the exception of Murray, we took some steps in the right direction,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. They made their first 12 shots, opened a 22-point lead in the second half and then let Murray close out the Cavs.
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Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap, left, fights for position for a rebound with Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)CLEVELAND – Andre Drummond is on the trade block — and the bench. Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the decision to sit Drummond, one of the NBA's leading rebounders at 13.5 per game, was difficult. Drummond will continue to stay on the sideline while the team tries to find a trade partner. But with the NBA's focus on shooting 3-pointers, a player like Drummond — a prototypical center — can be viewed as a liability.
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Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving (11) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers' Taurean Prince (12) during double overtime of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Cleveland. Sexton scored 15 points in the second OT — most of them over Irving — for the Cavs, who outplayed the Nets all night. Before the game, Nets first-year coach Steve Nash admitted being “curious” about how his trio of superstars would align on the floor. In the second quarter, Sexton ran back on defense and cleanly flicked the ball away from Durant as he was going in on a breakaway dunk. Irving's return to the Nets was also just his second game in Cleveland since he was traded by the Cavs after the 2017 season.
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