Happy New Year, NBA.
The 72nd regular season starts Tuesday night, when Boston heads to Cleveland and Houston goes to Golden State. Fans in Cleveland will boo Kyrie Irving, fans in Oakland will cheer the Warriors' latest championship banner, and the march toward April will finally be underway.
FILE - This Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016 file photo shows Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, left, and Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry battling for a loose ball in the second half of an NBA basketball game, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
The offseason was loaded with changes. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George went to Oklahoma City, Gordon Hayward and Irving went to Boston, Isaiah Thomas got sent to Cleveland, Jimmy Butler is now in Minnesota and Paul Millsap calls Denver home. That's seven All-Stars who moved, a record for an NBA offseason.
Every coach who started last season will start this season. That's an NBA first.
Here's 10 things to know about the NBA season that is finally here:
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks with San Antonio Spurs forward Joffrey Lauvergne (77) in the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Houston Rockets Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
10. QUICK STARTERS
San Antonio, Toronto and Miami will likely start 1-0 — because under current management, San Antonio, Toronto and Miami almost always start 1-0. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is 18-2 on opening night, Raptors coach Dwane Casey is 7-1 and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is 7-2. Spoelstra has started 1-0 in each of the last six seasons, the longest such run in the NBA. A coach in need of a 1-0 start? Try New Orleans' Alvin Gentry. He's dropped five straight openers and is 2-9 on opening night. Brooklyn, Orlando, Milwaukee and Utah have the league's longest current opening-night losing streaks, starting 0-1 in each of the last four seasons.
9. FROM DISTANCE
Last season was the third straight where the NBA's team single-season 3-point record fell, starting with Houston (933 in 2014-15), Golden State (1,077 in 2015-16) and Houston again (1,181 from 2016-17). Between the Rockets, Cleveland, Boston and the Warriors, four of the five highest single-season 3-point totals in history came last season. Don't expect the 3-ball to go away anytime soon, either.
8. LEBRON'S MARKS
LeBron James' list of milestones is about to get longer. He comes into this season 1,213 points shy of becoming the seventh NBA player to reach 30,000, meaning it should happen by about the All-Star break barring any extended absence. He's also on pace to eclipse the 8,000-rebound and 8,000-assist marks this season. The only other player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 6,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists is Kobe Bryant. James already has all those numbers, and counting.
7. WHERE'S THE DEFENSE?
In 2014-15, half the league — 15 teams — held opponents under 100 points per game. Two seasons later, San Antonio and Utah were the only teams that managed the feat. The league's planned crackdown on traveling this season might help, but it'll be interesting to see if defensive numbers improve in this era of 3-point-reliant, pace-and-space basketball.
6. MAYBE MINNESOTA
Think about this, with apologies to fans in the Pacific Northwest: There have been more NBA playoff games in Seattle over the last 13 years than in Minneapolis. This will finally be the year that changes. The Timberwolves, who last reached the postseason in 2004, should return this spring even in a loaded Western Conference with Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and new addition Jimmy Butler leading the way.
Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey directs the team during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Chicago Bulls Friday, Oct. 13, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)
5. SPURS CHASE HISTORY
If the Spurs win 41 games this season — a safe bet — it'll be the 21st consecutive season where San Antonio finishes the regular season at .500 or better. That would tie the NBA mark in that department, matching the feat set by the Utah Jazz from 1983-84 to 2003-04. The Spurs set a record for consecutive winning seasons last year with their 20th. (Utah was 41-41 in 1984-85.)
4. DIRK'S LONGEVITY
Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki enters this season 31 games away from passing Kevin Willis for No. 6 on the NBA's all-time list. At 48,673 minutes, he's also within striking distance of No. 5 Elvin Hayes (50,000), No. 4 Jason Kidd (50,111) and No. 3 Kevin Garnett (50,418).
3. STEPH WATCH
Stephen Curry will have just turned 30 when this regular season ends. And by then, he legitimately could be No. 3 on the NBA's all-time 3-point list. Curry starts this season No. 10, and at his current pace will pass Ray Allen for the top spot sometime in the 2019-2020 season.
2. NEW DEADLINE
No longer will the All-Star Game be overshadowed by talk of who's getting moved where (like last year, when DeMarcus Cousins was traded to the Pelicans while players were still in locker rooms in New Orleans immediately after the game). The trade deadline will now be 10 days before the All-Star break, so this season that means Feb. 8.
1. AND THE WINNER IS ...
How can anyone pick against Golden State right now? The Warriors will get their third title in four years, which is the easiest prediction possible. So we'll finish this with some probably less-than-chalk picks: LeBron James is going to reclaim the MVP award, the Rockets will have a game where they connect 30 times from 3-point range and Charlotte's Steve Clifford will be coach of the year.
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic called out to his coaches during a flurry of 3-pointers from James Harden.
The Mavericks superstar and NBA scoring champion wanted to defend the star guard of the Los Angeles Clippers.
It's suddenly defense first in Dallas.
Doncic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and the defensive-minded Mavericks had a chippy 101-90 victory over the Clippers on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.
The Mavs rode the same defense that gave them home-court advantage with a Game 2 victory in LA, and won in Dallas three years after losing all three first-round games on their floor in a seven-game loss to the Clippers. Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
“I think we all see that when we’re on the defensive side, there’s a different look in everybody’s eyes,” said rookie center Dereck Lively II, who had all 13 of his points in the first half as the Mavs got their lob game going with 10 dunks before the break. “It’s like being aggressive and being the aggressor even though they have the ball.”
Daniel Gafford, Lively's tag-team partner as a dunker and rim protector, had an emphatic block of a dunk attempt by Paul George early in the fourth quarter while Dallas was taking control for good in a game with five technical fouls, a flagrant foul and two ejections.
Harden scored 21 points for the Clippers, but just seven after halftime, while fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact.
Norman Powell also had 21, and Ivica Zubac had 19 points and eight rebounds. But the Clippers had 19 turnovers and the Mavericks had seven blocks — three of them from Gafford and two from Lively.
George dealt with foul trouble and finished with seven points, five rebounds, five assists — and five fouls.
Leonard never looked comfortable in his second game back after missing nine games with right knee inflammation and had nine points and nine rebounds.
“It just didn’t respond the way we wanted after the first game,” Leonard said about his surgically repaired knee. “But we’re going to get it right. Time will tell. We’re doing all the right things.”
Kyrie Irving picked up his fourth foul early in the second half before scoring 19 of his 21 points in the final 13-plus minutes, including eight in the final 1:18 of the third quarter. Doncic's co-star was instrumental in Dallas rebuilding an 18-point lead that had been cut to six.
An already testy game reached a boiling point midway through the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him.
Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington also was called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terance Mann.
Westbrook, who in the first half got a flagrant 1 foul for excessive contact when fouling Josh Green on a breakaway, and Washington were ejected.
Westbrook, who missed all seven shots and scored one point, drew the ire of the crowd one other time when he bowled over Doncic after Zubac was called for a foul as Doncic went up for a shot. Officials reviewed the play but ruled Westbrook's contact incidental.
“We’ve got to channel our aggression in other ways,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “It’s getting chippy. I like the physicality. I like the tough possessions. I like all of that. But we’ve got to make sure we’re not getting the technical fouls, we’re not getting thrown out of the game, because everybody’s important.”
Doncic, who briefly left the court after limping off while grabbing his right knee in the first quarter, was just 7 of 25 from the field and 3 of 14 from 3-point range.
But Dallas held George and Westbrook to a combined 1 of 10 from deep, while Leonard didn't even have a 3 attempt among just seven shots in 25 minutes.
“He’s trying to find his way back,” Lue said. “We’re just managing it. Just being smart, making sure we do it right by Kawhi and seeing how he feels and just kind of gauge it from there.”
Harden scored 12 of his 14 first-half points with four 3-pointers in a three-minute span starting in the final second of the first quarter. He didn’t score again until the final minute of the third as the Clippers finished with 19 turnovers while also losing their composure.
“We’re all competing for each inch to find a way to win,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “This series is going to be more mental as it goes on just because of the physicality. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Dallas Mavericks' Josh Green is defended by Los Angeles Clippers' Russell Westbrook, right, on a shot attempt during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. Westbrook was called for a flagrant foul on the play. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (0) comes away with a steal from Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, left, during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden drives to the basket as Dallas Mavericks' Dereck Lively II (2) defends during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) goes for a dunk between Los Angeles Clippers' Ivica Zubac (40) and Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first half of Game 2 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic slowly walks off the court with a staff member during the first half of Game 2 of the team's NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers in Dallas, Friday, April 26, 2024. Doncic continued playing in the half. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Clippers' James Harden (1) works around Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington, left, defends as Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard (2) works to the basket during the first half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, works against Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Dallas, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Los Angeles Clippers' Terance Mann, right, is held back, by referee Justin Van Duyne (64), after an altercation with Dallas Mavericks during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Dallas, Friday, April 26, 2024. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (77) is fouled by Los Angeles Clippers' Russell Westbrook, right, during the second half of Game 2 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Dallas, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
