One year has completely changed Matt Painter’s perspective. Last October, the Purdue coach went into games expecting to have the best team on the court. This year, he’s content knowing he has the best player on the court. Yes, it’s a different way of thinking for Painter, who takes pride in building his program around teamwork rather than individual stars. ...

HIGHLIGHTS: Jerami Grant gets his own rebound, goes up for the dunk | Boston Celtics at OKC Thunder

HIGHLIGHTS: Russell Westbrook to Steven Adams Ally-Oop | Boston Celtics at OKC Thunder

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 34 of his 41 points in the second half, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Orlando Magic 128-114 on Thursday night. CJ McCollum had 22 for the Trail Blazers and Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Ross had 21 ...

The Bucks have won four games this season, but analyst Steve Novak thinks Wednesday’s win over Philly was their “best game as a group.”

PHOENIX — In his fourth game, LeBron James finally got his first victory as a Los Angeles Laker. James flirted with what would have been his 74th career triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter of a 131-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. “It feels great,” he said. ...

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden is dealing with tightness in his left hamstring that forced him to leave Houston’s loss to Utah in the fourth quarter. Harden scored 29 points Wednesday night in the 100-89 defeat that dropped the Rockets to 1-3 before heading to the locker room with just more than five minutes remaining. “Just felt tightness in my ...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Stephen Curry appreciated the freedom from coach Steve Kerr to shoot from wherever he darn well pleased, no distance off limits. On this night, Curry could get away with anything. He was feeling it. “It is nice to turn around and not hear your coach on the sideline chewing you out,” Curry said. “I’d like to ...

Skip Bayless is known to speak his mind. And, on Wednesday’s edition of ‘Undisputed’, the co-host lit into Chris Paul of the Rockets for his role in the brawl with Rajon Rondo and the Lakers. Chris Paul’s pristine image is one of the most overprotected images in the history of the NBA. More @Undisputed, now on FS1 https://t.co/zMGhqr00Cj — Skip ...

NBA scoring is up. Way up. At this pace, that won’t change anytime soon. Through the first eight full days of this season — obviously, a small sample size — NBA teams are averaging 113.4 points per game, the highest rate in 49 years. Teams are averaging 91 field-goal attempts per game, up five shots from last season, and the ...