China, Croatia fall in NBA summer league debuts

The Chinese and Croatian national teams both lost in their NBA Summer League debuts on Friday.

Both teams are competing with NBA teams in Las Vegas, marking the first time the league will feature two international teams. China previously played in the summer league in 2007.

The Miami Heat had no troubles with China, jumping out to a 34-point halftime lead and cruising to a 103-62 victory behind 23 points from Tyler Herro and 20 points from Nick Mayo. Miami held China to 26.7 percent shooting in the first half, and outrebounded the Chinese 25-15 before intermission.

China's Zhou Qi, right, tries to shoot as Miami Heat's Tyler Herro (14) and Kyle Alexander (74) defend during an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoSteve Marcus)

Kendrick Nunn added 15 points and Duncan Robinson 14 for Miami (1-0).

Zhelin Wang had 12 points and 14 rebounds for China (0-1), which shot just 23 percent from 3-point range.

Detroit (1-0) got seven 3-pointers and 26 points from Khyri Thomas and pulled away from Croatia in the fourth quarter for a 96-80 win. Svi Mykhailiuk from Ukraine added 17 points and five assists, and Todd Withers had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Pistons.

Miami Heat's Kyle Alexander (74) jumps to block a shot by China's Wang Zhelin (31) as China's Zhao Rui (1) watches during an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoSteve Marcus)

Croatia (0-1) was outrebounded 37-26.

76ERS 107, BUCKS 106

The 76ers (1-0) jumped out to 17-point lead at halftime and held on to beat the Bucks behind 19 points from Marial Shayok and 16 from Jalen Jones. Christ Koumadje had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven blocks in 14 minutes, an encouraging start for the 76ers' 7-foot-4 rookie center from Florida State.

China's Zhao Rui (1) drives toward the basket past Miami Heat's Kendrick Nunn (25) during an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoSteve Marcus)

The Bucks (0-1) got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Jock Landale, and Bonzie Colson chipped in with 22 points. Division II player of the year Daulton Hommes led the Bucks' fourth-quarter comeback, as the former Point Loma star scored 18 points of 6-of-8 shooting off the bench. But two late turnovers by the Bucks sealed their fate.

TIMBERWOLVES 85, CAVALIERS 75

Keita Bates-Diop scored 17 points and Kelan Murphy had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves (1-0). Josh Okogie added 14 points, making all 10 free throw attempts. Jarrett Culver, whose draft rights were acquired by Minnesota in a trade, isn't allowed to join the team until after Saturday when the trade is made official.

Miami Heat's Yante Maten (0) lays up the ball against China's Zhou Qi (15) during an NBA summer league basketball game Friday, July 5, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoSteve Marcus)

Dylan Windler, one of three first-round 2019 draft picks for the Cavaliers (0-1) on the roster, was 6 of 13 from the floor and had 15 points and eight rebounds. Cleveland's other two first-round picks, Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr., did not play while recovering from injuries.

Naz Mitrou-Long had 14 points for Cleveland (0-1).

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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Get ready for the 2026 Australian Open with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season on TV, who the defending champions are, what the schedule is and more:

Singles play begins next Sunday at 11 a.m. local time (7 p.m. Saturday EST) around the grounds, with the first match in Rod Laver Arena scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. Saturday EST).

— In the U.S.: ESPN and Tennis Channel

— Other countries are listed here

Madison Keys of the United States and Jannick Sinner of Italy won the 2025 singles trophies. Keys beat the No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 for her first Grand Slam trophy. Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 to successfully defend his title at Melbourne Park.

Sabalenka will be the top-seeded woman and Carlos Alcaraz the top-seeded man. They currently are ranked No. 1, and the tournament seedings usually follow the WTA and ATP rankings.

The Australian Open is played outdoors on hard courts at Melbourne Park, located along the Yarra River near downtown Melbourne. There are retractable roofs at Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena. Women play best-of-three-set matches with a first-to-10 tiebreaker at 6-all in the third; men play best-of-five with a tiebreaker at 6-all in the fifth. Like at the U.S. Open and French Open, there are night sessions. The tournament is staged each year around the last two weeks of January, during the school summer holidays Down Under.

The Australian Open is introducing “opening week” where the Melbourne Park precinct will be open to the public from the start of the qualifying tournament, and live music will be staged every night at Grand Slam Oval. Fans can watch open practice sesions in Rod Laver Arena to see some of the sport's biggest names preparing for the first major of the year. Organizers are also expanding the so-called 1 Point Slam in opening week, where 22 professional players and 10 amateurs get the chance to play for 1 million Australian dollars in prize money.

First round of qualifying for the men's and women's singles.

— Jan. 18-19-20: First Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 21-22: Second Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 23-24: Third Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 25-26: Fourth Round (Women and Men)

— Jan. 27-28: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)

— Jan. 29: Women’s Semifinals

— Jan. 30: Men’s Semifinals

— Jan. 31: Women’s Final

— Feb. 1: Men’s Final

— Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka describes the season schedule as “insane.”

— Coco Gauff adds some context on the “worst” fans

— Novak Djokovic is cutting ties with the Professional Tennis Players Association

— Venus Williams gets a wildcard entry for the Australian Open, at age 45

— Carlos Alcaraz ends his 7-year partnership with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

— The ATP is adding a heat rule like the one the women have had for 30 years

— Nick Kyrgios will do doubles time, but won't play singles at the Australian Open

Australian Open prize money has increased by 16% on last year to a record total in local currency of 111.5 million Australian dollars (US$75 million). That was up from 96.5 million Australian dollars in 2025. The women’s and men’s singles champions will win 4.15 million Australian dollars ($2.8 million), a 19% increase on last year.

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

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus waves to the crowd after winning the women's final match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3, at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)