The 10 things to know going into this NBA season

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.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Luka Doncic limped around the court, often grimacing as he played through a sprained right knee and a bloodied left knee.

His shooting stroke was unaffected. He had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Thursday night and even the Western Conference semifinals at one win apiece.

“I think that was one of the hardest games I’ve had to play,” Doncic said. “I’m battling out there trying to do my best to help the team win.”

The Thunder held Doncic to 19 points on 6-for-19 shooting in Game 1. He made 11 of 21 field goals in Game 2. Throughout, he had frequent conversations with the officials — enough to draw the ire of Thunder fans, who booed him and directed chants his way.

“That’s great for me," he said. “I love it.”

P.J. Washington added 29 points and 11 rebounds and made 7 of 11 3-pointers for the Mavericks. He averaged 12.9 points in the regular season.

“I thought P.J. set the tone," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "We played through him a little bit in the post and I think that sparked him. He was big for us tonight.”

Kyrie Irving added nine points and 11 assists for the No. 5-seeded Mavericks, who host Game 3 on Saturday after taking home-court advantage from the top-seeded Thunder.

Doncic expects the Thunder to be prepared.

“They have great players," Doncic said. "They have great chemistry, great team. And it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be a fight till the end. So, just much respect to Oklahoma (City), but it’s big time we won this game.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in the postseason and allowed more than 100 points for the first time in their six playoff games.

The Mavericks played with desperation, just like they did in the first round when they beat the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2 and took home court from them.

“I feel like it was a must-win game for us,” Washington said. “And those games, I feel like are where we play our best.”

Doncic made his first three shots and scored eight points in the first three minutes to help Dallas take a 13-2 lead. He scored 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the first quarter, but the Thunder had the play of the quarter. Oklahoma City inbounded from under the Dallas goal with 1.4 seconds left. Jaylin Williams threw it long for Chet Holmgren, who caught the ball while defended by two Mavericks in traffic, turned around and hit a long 2-point jumper to cut Dallas' lead to 36-32.

Dallas led 68-62 at halftime. Both teams made 25 of 47 shots before the break, but Dallas made 12 3s to Oklahoma City's six.

Oklahoma City tied it at 70 on a baseline jumper by Gilgeous-Alexander two minutes into the second half. Aaron Wiggins, who started the second half in place of Josh Giddey, scored from in close to give the Thunder a 72-71 lead, their first advantage of the game.

Dallas rallied, largely with Doncic resting. After he returned, his lob for a dunk by Derrick Jones Jr. put the Mavericks up 99-85 late in the third quarter, and they took a 99-89 lead into the fourth.

A powerful two-handed putback dunk by Williams cut Dallas' lead to 99-95, but the Mavericks responded. Doncic took advantage of a screen by Dereck Lively II and hit a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 104-95 with nine minutes remaining. The Thunder never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

“We’ve got a really good opponent that played really well tonight," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "We tried to scrap back into it. I thought our effort was really good tonight. I thought we tried to gear it up a couple different times. I thought where we left something to be desired was execution.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, right, shoots against Dallas Mavericks forward Tim Hardaway Jr. during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, right, shoots against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, right, works the floor against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) goes up for a shot against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins (21) during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) works the floor against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) works the floor against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the first half in Game 2 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Thursday, May 9, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)