TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard isn't quite back up to speed after missing most of last season.That's just fine with the Toronto Raptors. They are plenty happy with the way Leonard is playing right now.Leonard had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Serge Ibaka added 21 points and the Raptors beat the …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kelly Olynyk certainly wasn't counting on Dwyane Wade to miss. When Wade did, Olynyk was in the perfect spot.Olynyk grabbed the rebound off Wade's errant turnaround jumper and layed in the go-ahead basket with 0.2 seconds left Thursday night, lifting the Miami Heat to a …

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics will need time to figure out how to get the most out of their loaded roster this season.It didn't stop them from picking up their first victory on a night they celebrated the official return of their two biggest stars.Jayson Tatum had 23 points and nine rebounds, …

Opening night last year delivered a good forecast of how the NBA season would turn out.Cleveland edged Boston in the opening game before Houston ruined Golden State's championship ring celebration with a victory over the Warriors in the nightcap.Those teams ended up as the last four standing in …

BOSTON (AP) — The band is back together in Boston.Or, at least, it's healthy again.Hopes were high for the Celtics going into last season thanks to a revamped roster that included All-Star additions Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.Everything changed five minutes into the season with …

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brett Brown made the bold decree that the Philadelphia 76ers would be "star hunting " this summer.Hope the Sixers coach made some nice trips to the local observatory.The only stars the Sixers saw this summer were the ones that passed them by on the way to joining other …

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has fined Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and forward Aron Baynes and Cleveland Cavaliers forward J.R. Smith for an on-court shoving match in their exhibition game.NBA discipline boss Kiki VanDeWeghe fined Smart $25,000 for escalating the altercation and Smith …

Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward's preseasons ended early.And they weren't alone around the NBA on Saturday, either.The Boston Celtics left the biggest two stars on their roster — both of whom are coming off serious injuries, and now apparently dealing with far more minor ones — out …

BOSTON (AP) — Boston point guard Kyrie Irving says he intends to re-sign with the Celtics next summer.At a fan event at TD Garden on Thursday , Irving told the crowd, "If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here."Irving signed a five-year, $94 million deal with Cleveland prior …

BOSTON (AP) — Kyrie Irving offered a simple message to science teachers Monday."I'm sorry," the Boston Celtics star said.And with that, Irving made clear that he regrets publicly saying that the Earth is flat.Speaking Monday at the Forbes Under 30 summit in Boston, the flat-Earth topic that …

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Gordon Hayward finally returned to the court, and Kyrie Irving got to play at North Carolina.Hayward scored 10 points in his first game in nearly a year for the Boston Celtics, who fell to the Charlotte Hornets 104-97 on Friday night — the opening night of …

CANTON, Mass. (AP) — Last summer, new Boston Celtics arrivals Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward beamed just imagining what it would be like to share the court together.Those dreams lasted all of five minutes before Hayward was lost for the season to a gruesome leg injury on the opening night …

The Latest on NBA media day from around the league on Monday (all times Eastern):5:05 p.m.Doc Rivers says he's always been political, he just doesn't talk about it much.But the Los Angeles Clippers coach is urging his players who are eligible to vote in next month's midterm elections to do so, …

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics were in sunny Los Angeles, it was another sub-zero winter day back in Boston, and Gordon Hayward was stuck in rehab, shooting baskets from a chair and picking up marbles with his toes to work his surgically repaired ankle back into shape."The hardest part of the …

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird said he's taking a break from the team following charges that he choked and kicked his girlfriend and prevented her from leaving his apartment.In a statement Thursday, the 24-year-old Bird apologized to his teammates and fans for creating an …

BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird (all times local):4:20 p.m.Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird says he's taking some time off as he deals with his health and domestic violence charges involving an alleged assault of his girlfriend.Bird says in a statement issued …

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics guard Jabari Bird is facing several charges following a domestic incident in which a victim was injured, police said.Bird, a second-round draft choice of the Celtics in 2017, signed a two-year contract with the team this summer after splitting his rookie season …

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Lefty Driesell had the crowd laughing. Dino Radja fought back tears. Blue Devils and Tar Heels brought their rivalry to the Basketball Hall of Fame, and Ray Allen made a peace offering to his spurned Celtics teammates.And they did it with an assist from three of …

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — The latest on the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony (all times local):10:25 p.m.Ray Allen gave a shoutout to former Celtics teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in his Hall of Fame induction speech.He called his teammates from the 2008 NBA champions …

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks have signed guard R.J. Hunter, bringing him back to the city where he was a college star playing for his father.The Hawks announced the signing Friday.Hunter was a first-round pick of the Boston Celtics in 2015 but has yet to make much of an impact while also …