Semih Erden

DENVER - The Celtics overhauled their bench yesterday with a flurry of unexpected trades, the most prominent being a deal that sent popular workhorse center Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City along with guard Nate Robinson for small forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic, and the Clippers' first-round pick in 2012, which the Thunder owned. The Celtics then shipped rookies Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to Cleveland for a second-round pick in 2013 (Minnesota's). Finally, they sent Marquis Daniels, who bruised his spinal cord Feb. 6 against Orlando, to Sacramento for cash considerations and...

Antawn Jamison scored 32 points and rookie Kyrie Irving led Cleveland's comeback from a 17-point deficit with 17 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Cavaliers to a 101-100 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Alonzo Gee, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, put the Cavaliers ahead for good, 97-95, by rebounding his own miss with a dunk with 25.4 seconds left. Irving, who scored 25 points, and Gee combined for 30 of Cleveland's 35 points in the fourth quarter.

WALTHAM — In a perfect world, Celtics coach Doc Rivers would walk into the office of the team president Danny Ainge, tell him how much he likes that Kyrie Irving or that Derrick Williams, and Ainge would have them both gift-wrapped and ready to play long minutes next year. Then Rivers would ask for the best available free agent. Or better yet, for Dwight Howard in a trade. “Coaches never stop wanting,’’ Rivers said. “We want to get the best player in free agency, we want to get the No. 1 draft pick.’’ The problem?

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games with a concussion, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-87 win Wednesday night over the reeling Indiana Pacers, who dropped their fifth straight. Irving played for the first time since Feb. 7, when he banged his head following a collision in Miami. The 19-year-old rookie was only cleared to play in the morning by Cavs doctors, who followed the NBA's new guidelines on head injuries during his recovery. Irving made the Cavs more complete, but they're still without center Anderson Varejao, sidelined...

Antawn Jamison scored 32 points and rookie Kyrie Irving led Cleveland's comeback from a 17-point deficit with 17 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Cavaliers to a 101-100 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night. Alonzo Gee, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, put the Cavaliers ahead for good, 97-95, by rebounding his own miss with a dunk with 25.4 seconds left. Irving, who scored 25 points, and Gee combined for 30 of Cleveland's 35 points in the fourth quarter.

The last time the Celtics had the 25th pick in the NBA draft, there was reason to be excited. The 2004 draft had names — Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson — and it had depth. The Celtics were looking to cash in with three first-round picks (Nos. 15, 24, 25), using them to retool a team that had sneaked into the playoffs with 36 wins. They used the 15th pick on Al Jefferson, a player with easily apparent upside. At No. 24 they took Delonte West, followed by Tony Allen, two players they had targeted all along, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said...

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing three games with a concussion, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 98-87 win Wednesday night over the reeling Indiana Pacers, who dropped their fifth straight. Irving played for the first time since Feb. 7, when he banged his head following a collision in Miami. The 19-year-old rookie was only cleared to play in the morning by Cavs doctors, who followed the NBA's new guidelines on head injuries during his recovery. Irving made the Cavs more complete, but they're still without center Anderson...

By Frank Dell'Apa, Globe Staff CLEVELAND -- Brandon Bass returns to the Celtics' lineup after sustaining a knee injury Feb. 10. Chris Wilcox (adductor) also returns after missing part of the Celtics' visit to Dallas and their last game against Oklahoma City. This will be the first time Celtic point guard Rajon Rondo is matched against Cleveland's Kyrie Irving. Rondo missed the teams' two matchups this season, Irving scoring 44 points. Anderson Varejao, who had 38 points and 29 rebounds in two games against the Celtics this season, is out with a broken wrist.

Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and veteran Antawn Jamison had 19, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 115-101 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night. Cleveland continued its strong 3-point shooting, making 10 of 21 from behind the arc. The Cavaliers made 16 of 26 attempts from 3-point range Sunday, falling one short of the team record in a 98-82 home win over New Jersey. Back-to-back 3s by Daniel Gibson gave the Cavaliers a 103-86 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

ISTANBUL — Kevin Durant is unlike many of America’s biggest basketball stars. He couldn’t wait to wear the red, white, and blue this summer. Especially on Sept. 11. With a special memorial message on his sneakers, Durant carried the United States into the gold-medal game at the World Championships, scoring a US-record 38 points yesterday in an 89-74 semifinal victory over Lithuania. “I just wanted to remember everybody back in the States, everybody that was affected by 9/11,’’ Durant said.

DENVER - The Celtics overhauled their bench yesterday with a flurry of unexpected trades, the most prominent being a deal that sent popular workhorse center Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City along with guard Nate Robinson for small forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic, and the Clippers' first-round pick in 2012, which the Thunder owned. The Celtics then shipped rookies Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to Cleveland for a second-round pick in 2013 (Minnesota's). Finally, they sent Marquis Daniels, who bruised his spinal cord Feb. 6 against Orlando, to Sacramento for cash considerations and...

WALTHAM — In a perfect world, Celtics coach Doc Rivers would walk into the office of the team president Danny Ainge, tell him how much he likes that Kyrie Irving or that Derrick Williams, and Ainge would have them both gift-wrapped and ready to play long minutes next year. Then Rivers would ask for the best available free agent. Or better yet, for Dwight Howard in a trade. “Coaches never stop wanting,’’ Rivers said. “We want to get the best player in free agency, we want to get the No. 1 draft pick.’’ The problem?

The last time the Celtics had the 25th pick in the NBA draft, there was reason to be excited. The 2004 draft had names — Dwight Howard, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson — and it had depth. The Celtics were looking to cash in with three first-round picks (Nos. 15, 24, 25), using them to retool a team that had sneaked into the playoffs with 36 wins. They used the 15th pick on Al Jefferson, a player with easily apparent upside. At No. 24 they took Delonte West, followed by Tony Allen, two players they had targeted all along, Celtics president of basketball...

LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and eight rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers got off to a slow start but pulled away to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-78 on Sunday night. Wesley Matthews added 24 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 24. Kyrie Irving, the top pick in last June's NBA draft, had 21 points — 11 in the third quarter. Antawn Jamison, who was Cleveland's top scorer going into the game, made a 3-pointer for his only basket of the game, but had 11 rebounds.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points and the short-handed Atlanta Hawks rolled to a 103-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. Atlanta had only 10 players available, but took an early lead that it never relinquished. The Hawks built a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter and answered Cleveland's only run late in the period to win going away. Alonzo Gee matched a career high with 20 points to lead Cleveland, which has lost three straight. Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 19 points and had 10 assists for his first career double-double.