MIKAL BRIDGES

When the NBA season begins, it’s pretty easy to anticipate who will take center stage.

USA Basketball is back atop the FIBA men’s world rankings even after failing to medal at the World Cup.

The World Cup is over.

The U.S. played the bronze-medal game short-handed, and Canada sent the Americans home from the World Cup empty-handed.

There will be no gold medal for the U.S. at this World Cup.

The United States is headed to the medal round of the Basketball World Cup after bouncing back from its first loss of the tournament in emphatic fashion.

The U.S. got its first real test of the Basketball World Cup and found a way to remain unbeaten.

The United States is going to the second round of the Basketball World Cup.

Anthony Edwards scored 21 points, Cameron Johnson added 13 and USA Basketball never trailed Friday in a 108-86 win over Greece in a World Cup tune-up game for both teams.

Anthony Edwards and Cam Johnson each scored 15 points, and USA Basketball used a 20-0 run in the second half on the way to rolling past Puerto Rico 117-74 on Monday night in the first World Cup tune-up game for the Americans.

Joel Embiid, limping throughout the game and perhaps lucky not to have been ejected for kicking a Nets player in the groin area, blocked a potential tying basket with 8.8 seconds left and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Brooklyn 102-97 to take a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

James Harden hit seven 3-pointers and had 23 points and 13 assists, NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid scored 26 points and the Philadelphia 76ers pushed back Mikal Bridges and the Brooklyn Nets in a 121-101 Game 1 victory.

Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges kept his ironman streak alive, starting his 83rd game of the season before committing a foul and immediately checking out of the game.

The Phoenix Suns say Kevin Durant has a left ankle sprain after slipping on the floor during pregame warmups on Wednesday and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.

Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant slipped on the floor during pregame warmups and was ruled out Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of left ankle soreness.

Mikal Bridges scored 38 points and the Brooklyn Nets overcame a 28-point deficit to stun the Boston Celtics 115-105 on Friday night.

New team, same Kevin Durant.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 15 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 15 games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 118-104.

Kevin Durant is expected to make his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Trae Young sank a buzzer-beating jumper over Spencer Dinwiddie to score 34 points and lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 129-127 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Kevin Durant watched the Phoenix Suns from afar over the past few years, admiring the budding nucleus of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton.

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.

Jalen Brunson scored 40 points, Josh Hart added a season-high 27 in his second game with his new team and the New York Knicks snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets with a 124-106 victory.

James Harden isn’t surprised Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wanted out of Brooklyn, having tired quickly of the “dysfunction” he saw in his brief time with the Nets and asking out.

First it was Kyrie Irving to Dallas.

Kevin Durant’s time in Brooklyn ended Thursday when the Nets traded him to the Phoenix Suns as part of a four-team deal.

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic will miss a game at Utah after spraining his left ankle against Phoenix in the opener of the two-game trip.

Mikal Bridges had 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists and the undermanned Suns dominated in Stephen Curry’s return from injury as Phoenix beat the Golden State Warriors for a third time this season, 125-113 on Tuesday night to snap a season-worst six-game skid.

Nikola Jokic had another monster triple-double, Aaron Gordon threw down a pivotal dunk that stood up after a review in overtime and the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 128-125 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Cameron Payne scored a career-high 29 points, Devin Booker added 27 and the Phoenix Suns easily overcame Stephen Curry’s 50-point night to beat the Golden State Warriors 130-119 on Wednesday.

Jerami Grant scored a season-high 30 points, including a baseline jumper at the buzzer, to lift the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers over the Phoenix Suns 108-106.

Devin Booker scored 34 points, Deandre Ayton added 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 134-105 on Tuesday night in a game that featured Klay Thompson’s first career ejection and seven technical fouls.

Damian Lillard scored 41 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns 113-111 in overtime Friday night for their second straight victory to open the season.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Damion Lee made a go-ahead baseline jumper with 9.7 seconds left and the Phoenix Suns rallied from 22 points down in the third quarter to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-105 on Wednesday in the season opener for both teams.

Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics was the leading vote-getter for the All-Defensive first team, with Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns joining him as the other guard.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 110-80 night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Luka Doncic had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defensive pressure to get back in their Western Conference semifinal series with Phoenix, beating the Suns 103-94.

Deandre Ayton scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 23 and the top-seeded Phoenix Suns rolled to a 121-114 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Mikal Bridges scored 31 points, Chris Paul added 22 points and 11 assists and the top-seeded Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-97 to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference first-round series.

Brandon Ingram scored 16 of his 30 points in the third quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns — playing with injured star Devin Booker — 118-103 in Game 4 on Sunday night to tie the first-round series.

Chris Paul scored 19 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns overcame Devin Booker’s absence to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 114-111 on Friday night in Game 3 of the first-round series.

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

Brandon Ingram scored 37 points, CJ McCollum added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the top-seeded Phoenix Suns 125-114 in Game 2, evening the series in their Western Conference first-round matchup.

Boston’s Marcus Smart is the first guard in over a quarter-century to win the NBA defensive player of the year award.

Chris Paul scored 19 of his 30 points during a brilliant fourth-quarter shooting display and the Phoenix Suns beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-99 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

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

The Phoenix Suns have many reasons to be confident they can make another deep playoff run.

It lasted 174 days, required the usage of more players than any season in history primarily because of the ongoing challenge of playing through a pandemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases go all the way down to the final moments.

Joel Embiid is about to make history.

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.

Devin Booker scored 32 points and the Phoenix Suns won their franchise-record 63rd game of the season, beating a Lakers team minus LeBron James 121-110 to eliminate Los Angeles from the playoff race.

Devin Booker’s two free throws with 34.2 seconds left put Phoenix ahead, Draymond Green traveled to turn it over before Chris Paul made a short jumper, and the NBA-best Phoenix Suns held off the Golden State Warriors 107-103 in a furious finish between Western Conference rivals.

Chris Paul returned from a broken thumb sooner than expected when the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns faced the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

Deandre Ayton scored a career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns surged past trash-talking Minnesota 125-116.

Landry Shamet made a 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in overtime moments after missing an open look beyond the arc and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Sacramento Kings 127-124 on Sunday.

Devin Booker scored 36 points,ikal Bridges added 26 and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets 129-112 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory.

Devin Booker scored 30 points, Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 16 rebounds and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns routed the Los Angeles Lakers 140-111 on Sunday night.

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.

Cam Johnson banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to finish with a career-high 38 points and give the Phoenix Suns a wild 115-114 victory over the New York Knicks on Friday night.

Devin Booker had 25 points, 12 assists and a career-high six steals to help the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-104 on Thursday night.

Devin Booker scored 24 points, Deandre Ayton added 23 and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to seven games, rallying after Chris Paul was ejected to beat the Houston Rockets 124-121 on Wednesday night.

Deandre Ayton scored 27 points, Mikal Bridges added 18 and the Phoenix Suns beat Milwaukee 131-107 in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals won by the Bucks.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, and Chris Paul had 16 points and 12 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 114-109 win over the Philadelphia on 76ers.

Devin Booker scored 38 points, and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns hung on to beat the Chicago Bulls 127-124.

Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 16 rebounds in an efficient 24 minutes and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns rebounded from a streak-ending loss to beat the short-handed Washington Wizards 95-80 on Saturday night.

Trae Young scored 43 points and led Atlanta’s flurry of 3-pointers as the surging Hawks beat Phoenix 124-115 on Thursday night to end the Suns’ 11-game winning streak.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Mikal Bridges added a season-high 27 and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 11 games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 121-111 on Tuesday night.

Devin Booker scored 28 points, Mikal Bridges added a season-high 26 and the Phoenix Suns overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win their 10th straight game, beating the San Antonio Spurs 115-110 on Sunday night.

Devin Booker scored 24 points, Jalen Smith tied a career high with 19 points and 12 rebounds and the short-handed Phoenix Suns hammered the Charlotte Hornets 133-99.

Devin Booker continued to distance himself from a hamstring injury that cost him seven games, scoring 24 points with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Phoenix Suns earned a 108-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Devin Booker had 16 points in his return to Phoenix’s lineup and the NBA-leading Suns set a season-scoring high in a 137-106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.

Deandre Ayton had 28 points and 13 rebounds in his return from a non-COVID-19 illness, and the Phoenix Suns held off the Portland Trail Blazers 111-107 in overtime.

Stephen Curry bounced back from one of the worst shooting nights of his career and scored 23 points, and the Golden State Warriors convincingly ended the Phoenix Suns’ 18-game winning streak, 118-96, on Friday night.

Devin Booker scored 30 points, Chris Paul had 22 and the Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 16 games with a 113-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

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.

Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker each scored 19 points, Chris Paul added 18 points and 14 assists and the Phoenix Suns ran their winning streak to 11, rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks 112-104 on Friday night.

Chris Paul scored his 20,000th career point on the way to 23 points and 14 assists, and Devin Booker added 22 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 115-105 victory over the winless Los Angeles Lakers.

Chris Paul took a risk this season deciding that a young, unproven Phoenix Suns team was worth joining in his pursuit of his first NBA championship.

Chris Paul’s feel-good story with the Phoenix Suns was denied the happy ending he craved.

The Phoenix Suns say they aren’t feeling sorry for themselves after squandering a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals and moving within one game of elimination.

When Devin Booker took his usual seat on the bench at the beginning of the second quarter, the Phoenix Suns lost their stranglehold on Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and his bum left knee bulldozed through the Phoenix Suns defense for most of Game 2, once again giving the Milwaukee Bucks more than they could have dreamed in these NBA Finals.

This version of the Phoenix Suns will be a case study for future NBA general managers on how to build a championship contending roster in a hurry.

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic was ejected for a flagrant foul in the third quarter of Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns.

Chris Paul had 17 points and 15 assists without a turnover, Devin Booker added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns routed the Denver Nuggets 123-98 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton had Guy Fieri leaping out of his courtside seat.

Chris Paul and his rejuvenated right shoulder scored 21 points and dished 11 assists, Mikal Bridges added 23 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 122-105 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Devin Booker scored 22 of his 47 points in a phenomenal first quarter, and the Phoenix Suns won their first playoff series since 2010, eliminating the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers with a 113-100 victory in Game 6.

Devin Booker scored 30 points after two quiet games and the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James to the locker room early, dismantling the Los Angeles Lakers 115-85 to take a 3-2 first-round series lead.

Chris Paul had 18 points and nine assists, Devin Booker and Jae Crowder added 17 points apiece and the Phoenix Suns evened their first-round series with a 100-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4.

Anthony Davis had 34 points and 11 rebounds, LeBron James added 21 points and nine assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers celebrated their first home playoff game in more than eight years with a 109-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Devin Booker scored 34 points, Deandre Ayton had 21 points and 16 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns won their first playoff game in 11 years, beating the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 in Game 1 on Sunday.

The Phoenix Suns got a tough draw in their return to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

Russell Westbrook had more triple-doubles than almost any trio of NBA players, free-throw shooting was better than ever and 3-point shooting was more prolific than ever once again.

Devin Booker hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the Phoenix Suns a 118-117 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anthony Davis had 42 points and 12 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers never trailed in a 123-110 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Clint Capela scored 18 points to lead seven scorers in double figures and the Atlanta Hawks pulled away late to overcome Devin Booker’s 30 points and beat the Phoenix Suns 135-103.

Devin Booker scored 31 points, Chris Paul had 23 and 16 assists and the Phoenix Suns stayed in step with Utah atop the Western Conference by outlasting the under-manned Cleveland Cavaliers 134-118 in overtime on for their fifth straight win.

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.

Devin Booker scored 33 points and the Phoenix Suns capped a grueling road trip with a 118-110 victory that snapped the New York Knicks’ nine-game winning streak.