The Milwaukee Bucks have fired coach Adrian Griffin after just 43 games despite having one of the league’s top records midway through his first season.

Former NBA head coach Terry Stotts’ return to the league as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant has reached a sudden conclusion a week before the start of the season.

The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson to be their next head coach, says a person familiar with the situation.

Damian Lillard says he has not requested a trade but wants the Portland Trail Blazers to be more urgent in their pursuit of a championship.

The Portland Trail Blazers went into damage-control mode while introducing Chauncey Billups as their new head coach.

Steve Clifford will not be back as coach of the Orlando Magic next season.

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

Nikola Jokic scored 38 points to overcome a 3-point shooting barrage from Damian Lillard and the Denver Nuggets evened the first-round series by beating the Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 in a chippy Game 2.

Damian Lillard scored 30 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-102 on Saturday night, moving closer to an outright playoff spot.

Carmelo Anthony looked like he was done just a couple of seasons ago.

CJ McCollum scored 29 points and the Portland Trail Blazers escaped with a 107-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, who missed three shots on their final possession.

(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)Devin Booker returned from the knee injury that kept him out of the All-Star Game to score 35 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-121 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory. Chris Paul added 19 points for Phoenix, and Mikal Bridges scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half. Second in the NBA behind the Utah Jazz, the Suns have won 14 of their last 16 games. Damian Lillard had 30 points for Portland, and Enes Kanter added 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Blazers won 127-117.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard shoots a 3-point basket over Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)PORTLAND, Ore. – Played tough by the Warriors all game, Damian Lillard needed to make something happen. Lillard hit a deep 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left to give the Portland Trail Blazers a hard-fought 108-106 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night. His 3-pointer gave Golden State a 101-96 lead with 3:57 remaining. He took a charge from Green, which prompted an unsuccessful challenge by Golden State, and Portland won its second straight after a four-game losing streak.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) goes for a layup in front of Dallas Mavericks center Kristaps Porzingis (6) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. Lillard hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute after a big Dallas rally, and the Trail Blazers held off Doncic and the Mavericks for a 121-118 victory Sunday night. Lillard connected on the go-ahead 3 after Doncic assisted on a tying 3-pointer from Dorian Finney-Smith after the Mavericks trailed by 13 midway through the fourth quarter. Mavericks: Doncic shared the previous club record of 13 straight games with at least 25 points with Mark Aguirre (1983-84) and Dirk Nowitzki (2005-06). The Mavericks and Pistons met just once during the coronavirus-interrupted season, with Dallas winning in Mexico City behind 41 points from Doncic.

Portland Trail Blazers' Rodney Hood, left, tries to dribble past Philadelphia 76ers' Seth Curry during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, in Philadelphia. Gary Trent Jr. scored 24 points and Enes Kanter had 17 points and 18 rebounds to lead the undermanned Trail Blazers to a 121-105 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night. Carmelo Anthony had 22 points and a Trail Blazers team with four starters missing led by as many as 29 points against the top team in the East. “But on both ends of the floor, the other guys did an amazing job today.”Joel Embiid scored 37 points for the Sixers. Throw in four players already out with injuries -- including Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) and McCollum (left foot) -- and the Trail Blazers were down to nine players.

San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan, right, drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers guard Rodney Hood, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. PORTLAND, Ore. – LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points, DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and 11 assists and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 125-104 on Monday. Rudy Gay and Patty Mills came off the bench for 21 points apiece as the Spurs reserves outscored Portland backups 59-24. Carmelo Anthony's basket with 2 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter gave the Trail Blazers an 80-78 lead. The Spurs took over from there, later using an 11-0 run for a 95-82 lead early in the fourth period.

James' layup gave Los Angeles the lead, and Kuzma added a pair of free throws and another layup to extend it to 84-78. After Danny Green's layup tied it again for Los Angeles, Lillard nailed a 3-pointer. The Blazers were able to stay in front throughout the third quarter, but the Lakers kept it close. The game was delayed for a time in the first half when the Lakers' rim got tilted and had to be adjusted. TIP INSTrail Blazers: Lillard had 48 points in Portland's 127-119 victory over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

Game days are marked by a morning shootaround, afternoon nap and then the actual contest in early evening. With 22 teams at Walt Disney World sharing facilities, things are on a precise schedule and that means its far from business as usual. Its just all the different times are a little different because we usually set our own times for practice, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. So, on game days, whether tip-off is early or late, the Raptors -- like every team in the bubble -- have at least some experience playing at that time and can set their body clocks accordingly. Stotts reference to tonight came in a pregame interview, at 11:19 a.m.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard marches alongside protesters towards downtown Portland on the Morrison Bridge, on June 4, 2020. Im going to have my PS3, my PS4. Im going to have my studio equipment, my mike, my laptop. Im going to have all my books. Im going to be in the room, chillin'.

PORTLAND, Ore. – With the trade deadline past and a playoff race ahead, the Portland Trail Blazers understood the importance of their game against the San Antonio Spurs. Trent’s points late were important as he hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as Portland rallied from a 92-86 deficit. San Antonio built a 10-point lead multiple times in the first half, but Portland stayed within reach on the strength of the play of Lillard (14 points) and McCollum (11 points), trailing 60-59 at halftime. TIP-INSSpurs: Thursday’s loss was the third straight for the Spurs, but Lyles having a big night was a bright spot for San Antonio. “It took me a little bit while longer than I expected to get comfortable (in San Antonio),” Lyles said.