Basketball

NEW YORK (AP) — Nikola Jokic is a finalist to win a third straight NBA MVP award, with Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo the players who can stop him.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The New York Knicks couldn't land Donovan Mitchell last summer. They're getting him now. Just not in the way they hoped.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Forward Miles Bridges will need to serve a 10-game suspension once he signs a contract with an NBA team and returns to the league.

CLEVELAND (AP) — The New York Knicks could have star forward Julius Randle back for their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers after he missed the final two weeks of the regular season with a sprained left ankle.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Can it be 40 years since Maurice Cheeks dunked and punctuated the Philadelphia 76ers’ sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 1983 NBA championship? Forty years since Moses Malone predicted a four-game sweep? Forty years since

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam’s purchase of Marc Lasry’s 25% stake in the Milwaukee Bucks has received approval from the NBA’s board of governors.

The NBA fined the Dallas Mavericks $750,000 on Friday, saying the team engaged in “conduct detrimental to the league” by sitting out most of its key players against the Chicago Bulls on April 7 despite still having a chance to reach the postseason.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings have spent nearly four decades as California neighbors having never played a game with high significance.

For the Golden State Warriors, it’s a drive for five, as in five championships in nine years. It’s a similar thought for LeBron James, as the NBA’s all-time points leader is set to resume his quest for a fifth ring.

BOSTON (AP) — Joe Mazzulla has been navigating an opportunity he’s always wanted, but never expected to have this soon. Along the way, the Celtics coach hasn’t strayed too far from what put him in this position in the first place.