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SALT LAKE CITY — Encouraging Dejounte Murray to play with more offensive freedom is turning out to be a winning formula for the San Antonio Spurs. Murray had his second straight 20-point game, tallying 23 points and seven rebounds, to lead a balanced attack that helped the Spurs beat the …

OKLAHOMA CITY — Chris Paul lectured his teammates on the importance of handling their business after the All-Star break, then he showed them how to do it. Paul scored 29 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 113-101 on Friday night. The Thunder entered the night …

PHILADELPHIA — After putting up 39 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, Joel Embiid declared he is the best player in the world, and that the aggression with which he played against Brooklyn was a carryover from the way …

SAN FRANCISCO — Russell Westbrook vowed to better control his emotions down the stretch of the regular season. They sometimes get the better of him and he realizes he’s under the watchful eye of referees because of his reputation, but he won’t ever back down. James Harden had 29 points …

ATLANTA — Trae Young didn’t attribute his first 50-point game to confidence gained from his first All-Star start. Belief in himself has never been a problem for the high-scoring guard with a fondness for 30-foot jumpers. Young had a career-high 50 points and the Atlanta Hawks scored the last 10 …

The Brooklyn Nets had an incredible summer on the free agency front bringing in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but they’ve had little to show for it so far. Some of that was to be expected with Durant missing the entire season due to a torn Achilles tendon, but Irving has also had serious injury …

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns missed Wednesday night’s 115-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets with a left wrist injury, which could linger beyond the All-Star break.  “Exactly how long Towns will be out with a left wrist injury remains unknown, but it is expected that he will miss multiple games when the Wolves resume playing after …

SAN FRANCISCO — As the Rockets arrived at Chase Center for their first practice after the All-Star break, there was a bit of business to take care of before anyone could be stretching or sweating. General manager Daryl Morey climbed down off the bus with a fresh 10-day contract in …

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors star guard Stephen Curry still isn’t cleared to take contact in practice as he continues his rehab from a broken left hand. But as he gets closer to returning over the next few weeks, his teammates and coaches dropped a new nickname on him during Tuesday’s practice as …

After agreeing to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons, guard Reggie Jackson plans to sign with the LA Clippers upon clearing waivers, league sources told ESPN. Jackson had become the highest-impact player available in the buyout marketplace. Several contenders had interest in him, but his focus had been on the Clippers in the event …