NBA

HOUSTON – Coach Kevin McHale has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Houston Rockets.

CLEVELAND – Anderson Varejao’s season has ended, dealing a major blow to the Cavaliers’ NBA title hopes.

TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that forward Bruno Caboclo has been assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – John Wall is fast and flashy, a showman who practices 360-degree layups and then pulls them off in games.

SAN ANTONIO – Russell Westbrook smiled as he walked off the court in San Antonio, blowing a kiss to a spectator and waving at the few Oklahoma City Thunder fans in attendance.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Golden State Warriors shot as dreadfully in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers did in the first. As a result, the team with the NBA’s best record absorbed its fifth loss of the season and second at Staples Center in three days.

DALLAS – Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki has passed Elvin Hayes for eighth place on the NBA’s career scoring list and 10th on the combined NBA-ABA list.

SAN FRANCISCO – A high school basketball tournament on the Northern California coast has become the latest flashpoint in the ongoing protests over police killings of unarmed black men after a school was disinvited because of concerns its players would wear T-shirts printed with the words “I Can’t Breathe” during warmups.

PORTLAND, Ore. – While LaMarcus Aldridge may not have been at his best physically, he did have the advantage of being well-rested when the Trail Blazers took the Raptors to overtime.

BOSTON – Toronto Maple Leafs coach Randy Caryle tried showing his team what it needed to correct during its recent slump.

CLEVELAND – LeBron James’ homecoming season has hit a hurdle.