NBA preseason wraps up, regular season starts Tuesday

From LeBron James' arrival in Los Angeles to Jimmy Butler's desire to leave Minnesota, it's been an eventful NBA preseason.

It was a rocky one for the Timberwolves, who spent most of it dealing with the Butler drama and finished it dealing with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in just 25 minutes of Milwaukee's 143-121 romp.

And it was a rough one for the Spurs, who lost three guards to injuries, including starting point guard Dejounte Murray for the season with a torn ACL.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, top, defends as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taj Gibson drives under the basket during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in Milwaukee. (AP PhotoMike Roemer)

Russell Westbrook (right knee) and Dirk Nowitzki (left ankle) couldn't even get on the floor, still recovering from surgeries. Nowitzki has already been ruled out by Dallas coach Rick Carlisle for the regular-season opener next week.

It's still unknown if Butler will be playing then — or for what team. He didn't travel with the Timberwolves on Friday to Milwaukee, with coach Tom Thibodeau saying he remained behind to work on his conditioning.

The preseason schedule wrapped up with 11 games, with the Lakers facing Golden State in San Jose, California in the last one. James sat out, as did Kevin Durant for the Warriors.

Orlando Magic's Evan Fournier (10) takes a pass from guard D.J. Augustin (14) during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (AP PhotoJohn Raoux)

The regular season begins Tuesday with Boston hosting Philadelphia, followed by Oklahoma City visiting defending champion Golden State.

NETS 113, KNICKS 107

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points, D'Angelo Russell had 18 points and eight assists, and the Nets held on for a split of the preseason series with the Knicks.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jeff Teague gets around the defense of Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon as he drives to the basket during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in Milwaukee. (AP PhotoMike Roemer)

Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points for the Knicks but departed with a sprained left wrist. The Knicks said X-rays were negative.

The teams meet again on Oct. 19 in the Nets' home opener.

NETS: Joe Harris scored 16 points and Caris LeVert had 14. ... The Nets were without starters Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (left groin strain), DeMarre Carroll (ankle) and Allen Crabbe (left ankle sprain). Coach Kenny Atkinson said Hollis-Jefferson, who didn't play in the preseason, played 5-on-5 earlier Friday and hoped the forward would be ready for opening night. Crabbe was hurt during the preseason, with Atkinson saying his injury was mild. ... G Shabazz Napier (right hamstring strain) has missed the entire preseason and Atkinson said there was no update on his condition.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard George Hill (3) drives around Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game, Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP PhotoCarlos Osorio)

KNICKS: Mario Hezonja scored 14 points and Noah Vonleh finished with 13. ... Luke Kornet made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Knicks cut a 21-point deficit down to four in the closing minutes. ... Ron Baker started at point guard, with coach David Fizdale saying he is still undecided who his starter on opening night would be at that position. ... Second-round pick Mitchell Robinson started at center after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle. ... Trey Burke hit from about midcourt at the buzzer to end the first quarter.

UP NEXT: Brooklyn (2-2) visits Detroit on Wednesday in its season opener. New York (3-2) hosts Atlanta the same night.

SPURS 100, MAGIC 81

Washington Wizards forward Devin Robinson (7) goes to the basket past Guangzhou Long-Lions center Yongpeng Zhang (33) during the second half of an NBA exhibition basketball game Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in Washington. (AP PhotoNick Wass)

DeMar DeRozan scored 20 points, nine coming from the line, LaMarcus Aldridge had 13 points and 15 rebound and the injury-riddled Spurs reached the century mark for the fourth time this preseason.

Evan Fournier led the Magic with 23 points.

SPURS: The injuries are adding up for the Spurs as Rudy Gay (heel) and Derrick White missed the game. White underwent an MRI examination Thursday that revealed a left plantar fascia tear. ... San Antonio held Orlando to 10 first-quarter points, and the Spurs led 40-30 at halftime as both teams shot less than 31 percent.

MAGIC: Orlando's first-round picks from the past two drafts played together for the first time as second-year forward Jonathan Isaac scored five points in 20 minutes and rookie center Mohamed Bamba added 15 points in 23 minutes.

UP NEXT: San Antonio (3-2) hosts Minnesota on Wednesday. Orlando (2-3) hosts Miami on Wednesday.

WIZARDS 140, LONG-LIONS 111

Rookie Devin Robinson scored 23 points, 15th overall pick Troy Brown Jr. added 21 and the Wizards spoiled Marreese Speights' 41-point outburst.

Speights was 13-of-27 shooting, with seven 3-pointers, for Chinese Basketball Association's Guangzhou Long-Lions. He also grabbed eight rebounds in 40 minutes.

LONG-LIONS: Speights, who won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015, scored 16 of his teams' 37 first-quarter points. He was 6 of 8 from the field to help the Long-Lions stay close at 38-37. He finished the half 7 of 10 for 20 points and he had 34 points at the end of the third quarter. ... The Long-Lions were 19 of 41 from 3-point range.

WIZARDS: Otto Porter Jr. and Ian Mahinmi each scored 11 points in the first quarter, and Washington took control in the second quarter — outscoring the Long-Lions 34-17. The Wizards shot 61 percent in the half, and broke the century mark in the third quarter, leading 107-85. ... Washington star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal did not play.

UP NEXT: Washington (4-1) hosts Miami on Thursday.

HORNETS 123, MAVERICKS 118

Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb each made three of Charlotte's 19 3-pointers.

Walker scored 13 points in 17 minutes, Lamb added 11 points and rookie Miles Bridges had 13 points and seven rebounds.

DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Luka Doncic also scored 18 for Dallas, which recently returned from two games in China.

HORNETS: Malik Monk banked in a 3-pointer from beyond midcourt just before the first-quarter buzzer to pull Charlotte within 35-29. The teams, who entered averaging 30-plus 3-point attempts, combined to make 11 3-pointers in the first quarter. The Hornets led 58-53 at halftime behind Walker's 13 points.

MAVERICKS: Jordan had 11 points and nine rebounds in 18 first-half minutes. Doncic made three 3-pointers in the half and scored 11 points.

UP NEXT: Charlotte (4-1) hosts Milwaukee on Wednesday. Dallas (2-2) plays at Phoenix on Wednesday.

PISTONS 129, CAVALIERS 110

Detroit's big men dominated in East Lansing. Blake Griffin scored 29 points, Andre Drummond added 21 and the Pistons made 21 3-pointers at Michigan State's Jack Breslin Student Events Center.

Rodney Hood led Cleveland with 21 points, 11 coming from the free-throw line.

PISTONS: Griffin and Reggie Jackson had eight points apiece in the first quarter as Detroit led 35-30. The Pistons extended it to 69-60 by halftime. Griffin had 19 points and five assists in 16 first-half minutes and Drummond added 16 points with six rebounds in 19 minutes. ... Ish Smith beat the third-quarter buzzer with a 3-ponter from the wing to extend Detroit's lead to 99-91.

CAVALIERS: George Hill added 14 points and Tristan Thompson had 13 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT: Detroit (2-3) host Brooklyn on Wednesday. Cleveland (2-2) plays at Toronto on Wednesday.

HEAT 119, HAWKS 113

Josh Richardson scored 24 points and the Heat rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit with a 66-point second half against visiting Atlanta. Miami won despite going 7 of 31 from 3-point range and committing 23 turnovers.

Jeremy Lin had 20 points off the bench for Atlanta, which had 24 turnovers.

HAWKS: First-round Trae Young pick Trae Young scored 11 points, making 2 of 3 from distance. He had five assists and two turnovers, finishing the preseason with 5 assists and 11 turnovers.

HEAT: Bam Adebayo, last year's No. 1 pick, had nine points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. 3 of 17 from 3 at half, down 13

UP NEXT: Atlanta (2-3) plays at New York on Wednesday. ... Miami (3-3) plays at Orlando on Wednesday.

NUGGETS 98, BULLS 93

Gary Harris scored 18 points and Jamal Murray added 17 as Denver won at Chicago. Nikola Jokic backed up the two second-year players with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

The Bulls closed within 88-87 with 4:09 to play as Jabari Parker, who scored 19 points, scored eight straight.

NUGGETS: Juan Hernangomez only had 3 points but it was his trey just before Parker's run that gave the Nuggets a nine-point lead. He also blocked Cristiano Felicio's layup attempt with 2:42 and the lead at two.

BULLS: Point guard Kris Dunn had two points, three assists and six turnovers in 22 minutes. Denver scored 20 points off turnovers, 19 in the first half. First-round draft pick Wendell Carter Jr. had 10 points and nine rebounds.

UP NEXT: Denver (4-1) plays at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. ... Chicago (2-3) plays at Philadelphia on Thursday.

ROCKETS 121, GRIZZLIES 103

James Harden scored 23 points and Chris Paul and Clint Capela had double-doubles as Houston cruised at Memphis. Paul had 14 points and 11 assists and Capela 12 points with13 rebounds. Seven players scored in double figures for Houston, which made 20 of 47 3-pointers.

First-round draft pick Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Rockets with 18 points in 21 minutes.

ROCKETS: Carmello Anthony was 3 for 10 in 26 minutes as a reserve. He had 10 points, making 3 of 6 from long range, and averaged 13 points on four games.

GRIZZLIES: Second-round pick Jevon Carter was scoreless in three minutes.

UP NEXT: Houston (4-1) hosts New Orleans on Wednesday. ... Memphis (2-3) plays at Indiana on Wednesday

BUCKS 143, TIMBERWOLVES 121

Giannis Antetokounmpo 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Milwaukee rolled at home. He had 14 points in the first quarter as the Bucks took a 43-27 lead and 28 at at the half when it was 84-53.

Taj Gibson had 21 points for the Timberwolves.

TIMBERWOLVES: In addition to missing Butler, Andrew Wiggins did not make the trip for personal reasons. First-round pick Josh Okogie scored 11 points, his high for the preseason. Second-round pick Keita Bates-Diop added eight points.

BUCKS: Went 25 of 38 from 3-point range with Khris Middleton, who had 22 points, going 5 of 8. First-round pick Donte DiVincenzo had five points, giving him 31 in four preseason games.

UP NEXT: Minnesota (1-4) plays at San Antonio on Wednesday. ... Milwaukee (3-1) plays at Charlotte on Wednesday.

TRAIL BLAZERS 118, KINGS 115

C.J. McCollum scored 21 points, Zach Collins had a double-double and Portland held off the Kings after Frank Mason III missed a runner as time ran out. Collins, a first-round pick last year, had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Reserves Meyers Leonard had 17 points and Nik Stauskas 15.

All five starters scored in double figures for Sacramento with Buddy Hield and Yogi Ferrell scoring 19 apiece and second overall pick Marvin Bagley III adding 15.

KINGS: Although it was a loss, it was a pretty good bounce back after a 132-93 loss at Utah on Thursday. ... Bagley averaged 14.2 points an 7.8 rebounds in five preseason games.

TRAIL BLAZERS: Damian Lillard went 2 for 10 from the field and scored seven points. ... First-round pick Anfernee Simons, expected to play in the D League, missed his only shot in five minutes of play but he had 26 points in the four previous games.

UP NEXT: Sacramento (2-4) hosts Utah on Wednesday night. ... Portland (3-2) hosts the Lakers on Thursday.

LAKERS 119, WARRIORS 105

Rookie Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk scored 22 points, Kyle Kuzma added 19 and the Lakers beat the Warriors for the second time in three nights.

Klay Thompson scored 21 points in the first half for the Warriors. Stephen Curry added 16 points. The duo combined for seven 3-pointers.

LAKERS: Rajon Rondo and LeBron James sat out. ... Mykhailiuk was 8 of 18 from the field and fellow rookie Johnathan Williams had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

WARRIORS: Every fan attending the game at the SAP Center in San Jose received a Kevin Durant San Jose Sharks-themed bobblehead. But he did not play. ... Curry scored all of his points in the first quarter when the Warriors built a 38-29 lead. Thompson had 14 in the second quarter when the lead reached 65-54 at halftime. Both sat out the second half.

UP NEXT: Los Angeles Lakers (3-3) play at Portland on Thursday. Golden State (1-4) hosts Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Koklesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)