CLEVELAND -- The win total is growing quickly, and so is the Cavaliers' confidence.

At 8-0 so far, they are the only unbeaten team left in the Eastern Conference. And at this point, they might as well win them all.

"That's the plan," center Jarrett Allen said with a wide smile.

The Cavs kept their unblemished record intact Monday night with a 116-114 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, who pushed Cleveland to the limit despite playing without injured two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Darius Garland scored 39 points to pace the Cavs, outdueling Bucks star Damian Lillard in the final minutes as the point guards put on a dazzling display of shotmaking to the delight of another rocking crowd inside Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

"It was amazing," said Garland, who made 7 of 11 3-pointers, including a go-ahead trey with 45 seconds left that put the Cavs up 113-111. "I grew up watching Dame. It was super cool playing some one-on-one basketball."

It has been team ball that has gotten Cleveland off to its pristine start.

With the triumph, the Cavs matched the best start in franchise history, equaling the 1976-77 squad that went 8-0 before finishing 43-39 under coach Bill Fitch.

"We're not doing that," All-Star Donovan Mitchell said, cutting off a reporter who mentioned the franchise record for fear of jinxing the team's early run. "I did know that. It's great. Obviously, you want to enjoy the little things on the road, and it's great to have that. But at the end of the day, it's been eight games."

Maybe so, but the Cavs have won them all under first-year coach Kenny Atkinson, and they've done it with a new catalyst emerging almost every night.

"We've won in so many different ways," said Mitchell, who signed a three-year contract extension with the Cavs this summer. "That's been more impressive to me than the eight wins, just how we've done it. We've had blowouts. We've had close games. We've come back. Every night, it's somebody new."

Atkinson has been willing to go deep in his bench almost every game. Although he was missing starter Dean Wade and top reserve Caris LeVert against the Bucks because of injuries, the coach used 10 players, including rookie Luke Travers, who appeared in just his second game.

"It just shows the belief in the group, from top to bottom," said Mitchell, who beat the Bucks on Saturday with a jumper in the final second. "And the belief we have in each other."

The Cavs know the first loss will come at some point, and it's unlikely they'll threaten the NBA record held by the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who opened 24-0. But they're having fun, and nothing is more fun than winning.

"We're all just locked in," Garland said.

WASHINGTON -- Stephen Curry scored 24 points in 24 minutes in his return from an ankle injury to help Golden State win its fourth straight game with a 125-112 victory over the Washington Wizards.

After sitting out the previous three games because of a strained left peroneal in his ankle, Curry made 7 of 15 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, to go with six assists to help the Warriors improve to 6-1.

Curry said afterward his ankle felt good and that his minutes restriction should be increased when the Warriors have a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Wednesday.

"That's why this was important to get through this game," Curry said. "Where I could play aggressively, but it wasn't stretching to too many minutes.

"But the rest of this road trip is tough. We got three tough teams, and we want to keep building momentum so I'm sure I'll play more, but I feel good enough to do it."

After facing the Celtics, the Warriors play at Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Curry started the game against the Wizards but came off the bench to start the second half so the Warriors could play him in six-minute stretches at the end of the third and fourth quarters.

"Steph was great," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "The main thing, he just looked like he was moving really well and looked strong and played a great game in his 24 minutes."

Curry injured his ankle in a loss to the Clippers on Oct. 27. He initially rolled his ankle, came out of the game before trying to play again and tweaking it again.

"I've been through plenty of those episodes, and I know whether it's something I can play on or not," Curry said. "I made a misjudgment on that one. The adrenaline got the best of me, but thankfully it was only a little over a week and I feel good now."

DETROIT -- The Los Angeles Lakers' perfect 3-0 start to the season already seems like a longtime ago.

Monday's 115-103 loss to the Pistons dropped L.A. to 4-3 overall and 1-3 on their current five-game road trip. Making matters worse, Anthony Davis, who scored 37 against Detroit to up his lead-leading average to 32.6 points per game, had his left foot examined after aggravating a left foot injury in the fourth quarter.

"I'll talk to my trainer and just kind of figure out what exactly is going on," Davis said after the game. "I've been managing it since this summer, honestly, and my goal for every game is to be on the floor. And I just kind of landed directly on the spot that's been killing me. So, we'll figure it out."

Davis has not been ruled out of the Lakers' game in Memphis on Wednesday to conclude the road trip, sources told ESPN. However, those sources cautioned, with the foot issue plaguing the All-Star big man from the end of last season through the Paris Olympics, it will truly be a day-to-day situation.

Davis caught an entry pass from LeBron James to score with 4:46 remaining in the game, drawing L.A. -- which trailed by as many as 20 in the first half -- within 103-96. But the bucket came with a consequence. When Davis planted his foot after jumping to catch the pass, the discomfort occurred and he winced in pain as he made his way back down the court on defense.

The Lakers called timeout 20 seconds later when James collected the rebound on a Tobias Harris miss and Davis immediately went to the floor, grabbing at the back of his left foot near the heel and receiving medical attention from his athletic trainer, Jon Ishop. Davis stayed in the game and scored on an alley-oop dunk from James on the next possession to cut Detroit's lead to five with 4:10 left, but the Pistons finished the game on a 12-5 run from there to close things out.

James, who finished with 20 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds while playing a season-high 40 minutes, was asked what Davis' potential absence could mean for L.A.

"I don't know," James said. "I'm going second by second."

While a reporter followed up, Davis -- who was standing next to where James was sitting -- chimed in to say, "He's not out," referring to himself.

James, hearing Davis, chose not to entertain the hypothetical.

"I don't play the 'if' game," James said. "We'll go off what AD says and see how he feels over the next couple of days and go from there. But it don't take a rocket scientist to know [the impact] if AD's in or out. C'mon."

While Davis' status may be in question, he made his opinion about his team's recent play crystal clear.

"We're just two different teams right now," Davis said. "One game we're this team who showcased it can be one of the better teams in the league. Then the next, we're this team who -- I don't even know who we are. So, we just got to be better. ... We got to put a full 48 [minutes] together and we can't continue to do this if we expect to do anything this season."

From the second half against the Toronto Raptors on Friday through the first half in Detroit on Monday, the Lakers were outscored 141-108 by two teams that failed to make the playoffs last season. It's the latest lull in a disappointing road trip that started with a loss in Phoenix, when L.A. failed to protect an 18-point lead.

Losing to the Suns caused several players to state their team goal not to lose two in a row all season, only to drop their very next game in Cleveland. Following the Cavs loss, Davis labeled the Toronto, Detroit and Memphis games all "must wins," another goal that was not met by this Lakers team trying to find its footing.

"We're all disappointed," Lakers coach JJ Redick said when asked about his team's demeanor after the game. "We're all disappointed."

LOS ANGELES -- In the wake of coach Gregg Popovich's indefinite absence from the San Antonio Spurs due to a health issue, point guard Chris Paul said the club wanted "to play hard and compete for Pop because he set a standard."

"You guys have seen it here for years. We all have," Paul said. "So, that's the thing that we want to try to focus on right now is going out there and playing. Because we know if we don't defend, we know we are going to hear about it."

Popovich, 75, suffered a health issue before Saturday's win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, and assistant Mitch Johnson -- who took over and guided the team to a 113-103 win -- will serve as the interim head coach indefinitely, starting Monday against the LA Clippers and continuing Wednesday in Houston, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

Johnson, 39, gave a statement during his pregame availability with reporters Monday, revealing that on Sunday he spoke with Popovich, who did not travel with the Spurs on their two-game trip.

"I just want to start off by saying that Pop's impact on our organization from the players that he's coached and the staff that's worked with him in the community of San Antonio," Johnson said. "It's hard to articulate or put into words, and if I tried it would not do it justice. He's been tremendous for me personally, and right now his health is the No. 1 priority. We support him in that 100 percent and I talked to him last night. He's in good spirits. He's OK, and we can't wait to have him back."

When asked about his message to the team as it moves forward without the longest-tenured head coach in all four of the U.S. professional sports leagues, Johnson said, "regularly scheduled programming."

"Just stay consistent with the messaging that we have had," he said. "He does so much empowerment and delegation when he is here. In a weird way it doesn't feel like I have to do something super outlandish. We have [assistants] Brett Brown, Matt Nielsen, who have been on the bench with me. We have a great staff and people that all have voices that Pop empowers to coach hard and to lead. So, I think it's just kind of continuing to do what we do. Obviously, these are big shoes to fill and we're going to do it as a group. The guys have been great, and the players have stepped up as well in that regard."

The team hasn't specified a timeline for when Popovich might return, and Johnson said he was "not at liberty" to discuss the situation.

Paul said none of the players have spoken to Popovich since his health issue, adding the team simply wants "to give him his space." Still, Paul said the Spurs can't help but notice Popovich's absence.

"There's certain things when you come into the arena. You know you're going to see this person, you're going to have these different routines," Paul said. "So, anytime something breaks up, the routine it's different, especially with someone like Pop. But I think the guys on our team, we're excited to go out and hoop and play. We know he's going to be watching. He's going to let us know what he sees. All the guys with our team, staff, everyone definitely misses him because he's Pop. So, there's a feeling when he's in the room that just calms everybody."

The NBA's career wins leader (1,390), which includes 170 playoff victories and five championships, Popovich is in his 29th season with the Spurs.

Popovich received a five-year, $80 million contract extension in July 2023, which increased his salary to $16 million per season, making him at the time the NBA's highest-paid coach. An Air Force Academy graduate and former U.S. Air Force officer, Popovich took over as head coach of the Spurs in 1996. He holds a postseason record of 170-114, which ranks No. 3 on the NBA's all-time playoff victories list behind Phil Jackson (229) and Pat Riley (171).

Popovich was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2023.

"I don't know what's going on, but I said prayers," Clippers coach Ty Lue said. "Hopefully he's well, has a speedy recovery. Pop's been so much to our game, to our coaches. Anytime we go to a coaches' meeting, he's the one that steps up and makes sure we get what we're suppose to get. Just everything he's done for the game. He speaks out on all the politics. He's one guy that we follow and we listen to. He's always got our back as well as the players. So, hopefully, he has a speedy recovery."

ATLANTA -- Braves reliever Joe Jiménez is expected to sit out much of the 2025 season and possibly all of it after surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee.

The team confirmed Monday night that Jiménez was likely to be sidelined approximately eight to 12 months after the operation last week.

Jiménez was expected to open next season as one of Atlanta's top setup men. The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 2.62 ERA with three saves in 2024. He established career highs by pitching 68 innings in 69 games.

The surgery came about a year after the Braves re-signed Jiménez to a $26 million, three-year contract on Nov. 2, 2023. Jiménez, who began his major league career by pitching six seasons for the Detroit Tigers, has been one of Atlanta's best relievers the past two seasons.

The Braves acquired Jiménez from Detroit in a trade before the 2023 season, sending two minor leaguers to the Tigers. He was an All-Star with Detroit in 2018.

SAN ANTONIO -- Left-hander Wandy Peralta exercised his $4.25 million option to remain with the San Diego Padres on Monday.

Gold Glove infielder Ha-Seong Kim declined his $8 million mutual option to become a free agent and will receive a $2 million buyout.

Peralta was guaranteed $16.5 million under what could be a four-year deal. He had a $3.35 million salary this season, and the deal included player options for $4.45 million in both 2026 and 2027.

The 33-year-old had a 3.99 ERA in 46 relief appearances this season. He was sidelined between July 9 and Sept. 4 by a left adductor strain.

Kim tore the labrum in his right shoulder on Aug. 18 and needed season-ending surgery. He hit .233 with 11 homers and 22 stolen bases in the final season of a $28 million, four-year contract.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says officers "acted within policy to protect themselves and nearby fans" during two altercations caught on camera during Saturday's Florida-Georgia game at EverBank Stadium.

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters released body-camera footage and details regarding two fights that resulted in viral videos from the rivalry game nicknamed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."

"In the first incident, the suspect was asked multiple times to leave and threatened the officers attempting to remove him," the sheriff's office said following a review Monday. "The suspect later grabbed one officer's firearm. In the second incident, three suspects were asked to leave due to aggressive behavior toward other fans. They then became combative with officers, with one individual grabbing an officer's face and holding onto his service belt."

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan called the videos "disturbing."

"While the use of force can appear intense, our investigation determined that the officers in both incidents acted within policy to protect themselves and nearby fans," the sheriff's office said.

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold was chosen Major League Baseball's executive of the year after constructing a roster that won a second straight National League Central title in the league's smallest market.

The award is voted on by executives from all 30 MLB teams before the postseason. Arnold is the first Brewers official to earn the honor.

Milwaukee went 93-69 and won the NL Central by 10 games after losing manager Craig Counsell to the division-rival Chicago Cubs in the offseason. The Brewers lost a three-game wild-card series to the New York Mets.

Arnold's major moves included promoting bench coach Pat Murphy to take over for Counsell as manager and signing young outfielder Jackson Chourio to an eight-year, $82 million contract before he'd played a game in the majors. Arnold also traded 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes for left-hander DL Hall and third baseman Joey Ortiz.

His acquisitions of Jared Koenig and Bryan Hudson solidified one of baseball's top bullpens. Arnold signed Rhys Hoskins to take over at first base and shored up Milwaukee's rotation by acquiring Aaron Civale and Frankie Montas.

Arnold, 45, joined the Brewers as vice president and assistant general manager in 2015. He was promoted to general manager in November 2020. When David Stearns stepped down as president of baseball operations after the 2022 season, Arnold took over for him.

SAN ANTONIO -- Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw declined his $10 million player option with the Los Angeles Dodgers, electing to become a free agent.

The MLB Players Association listed Kershaw as a free agent in a statement released Monday. The left-hander is still expected to re-sign with the Dodgers, his only big league team during his 17-year career.

The 36-year-old was hurt for much of last season, finishing with a 2-2 record and a 4.50 ERA over seven starts.

The Dodgers did exercise a $5 million option for infielder Miguel Rojas and a $3.5 million option for catcher Austin Barnes. Barnes is the second-longest tenured Dodgers player behind Kershaw, playing 10 seasons.

Rojas, 35, just finished one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, batting .283 with six homers and 36 RBIs. Barnes hit .264 with one homer and 11 RBIs.

Los Angeles also extended a $21.05 million qualifying offer to slugger Teoscar Hernandez, who hit a career-high 33 homers. Players have until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 to accept.

If Hernandez does, he will be under contract with the Dodgers for another season. If he declines and signs elsewhere, his new team must forfeit at least one draft pick and Los Angeles will receive at least one draft pick as compensation.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Stephanie White said she is thrilled about every aspect of returning to her home state for her second stint as Indiana Fever head coach. But the chance to work with the past two WNBA Rookie of the Year award winners, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, is an especially strong draw.

"You've got the point guard and the center ... you have the bookends that you want to build around," White said Monday at a news conference at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. "These two are the best. There's so many things they do well right now. And you saw the difference between the beginning of the season to the end of the season, and how much better they got with one another.

"When you think about the great point guards and post players that our game -- not just our league -- has seen, they are going to go down in history as the greatest. And I'm excited about the opportunity to work with them."

White, a star in high school in Indiana and in college at Purdue, played for the Fever for four seasons and was an assistant coach to Lin Dunn when they won the 2012 WNBA title. White was head coach of the Fever from 2015 to 2016. She has since coached in college at Vanderbilt and spent the past two seasons with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

White, who was initially announced as the Fever's new coach Friday, led Connecticut to a sweep of Indiana in the first round of the playoffs this year and went 3-1 against the Fever in the regular season.

"We know how much of a legend she is in Indiana," Clark said Monday. "I think that's really cool. Playing against her, I would say I felt like her teams always had the best scouts against us. I think that just speaks to her knowledge of the game and her way to analyze, and she clearly was on to something. Hopefully, in turn, now that she knows how to stop us, that should be a good way to know how to [help us] beat certain things as well."

Boston added, "There's nothing better than playing for a coach that you can already tell she's going to pour into us. She knows the talent that we have and I'm super-excited to get out on the court. You can feel the intensity already."

Clark, Boston and guard Lexie Hull attended the news conference along with new Indiana general manager Amber Cox and team president Kelly Krauskopf, who was the Fever's president from the organization's inception in 2000 until 2018, then worked with the Indiana Pacers before returning recently to the Fever.

The three players all had positive things to say about former coach Christie Sides, who was fired Oct. 27. Sides took over after the Fever's 5-31 season in 2022 and guided them to 13-27 and 20-20 records the past two years, including a return to the playoffs this season for the first time since 2016. But the players also praised White for what she can bring to the franchise.

White, 47, said her primary reasons for leaving the Sun were to be closer to her partner and four children in Nashville, Tennessee, which will remain her offseason home base, and the chance to come back to her home state and a Fever franchise that she said is like "part of my DNA."

Despite the Sun's success against the Fever this season, White said of Indiana, "They were always really scary for us, I think because of the way they could score the basketball. I was very concerned about pace and transition, 3-point shooting, the way they spread the floor.

"They're an exciting team to watch. I think offensively, we can be more creative, we can utilize more versatility, utilize certain players in different ways."

White joked that as a player, she didn't like to play defense, but it's been one of her strengths as a coach.

"We've got to get better on the defensive end of the floor," White said of the Fever, who were third this season in scoring average (85.0 PPG) but next-to-last in points allowed (87.7).

White has done a lot of television broadcasting work and got to know and talk with Clark through the Iowa Hawkeyes games she did. Like Clark, White was a guard as a player.

"It helps, No. 1, having a relationship," White said. "Seeing the ins and outs of what makes her unique and special. Watching her work, study, adjust ... watching her in shootarounds and practices, how coachable and competitive she is, how much she interacts with her teammates.

"The fact that I played this position, that I've been around this league for so long ... she's familiar with me, she knows what I'm about ... she understands how I see the game."

Both Boston and Hull will be playing in Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 league that launches an eight-week season in January with all its games in Miami. There has been much speculation about whether the league will be able to lure Clark, who has been noncommittal. Clark said Monday she had no deadline in her mind about deciding.

"We'll see," Clark said. "I don't know. Just taking it as it goes ... see if I want to play eventually."

Boston, who did a lot of college broadcasting work last season, said she will continue that along with playing in Unrivaled. White said she supports the players in whatever they want to do in the WNBA offseason, whether it's taking a break or playing elsewhere, be that overseas or in newer U.S.-based opportunities like Unrivaled or Athletes Unlimited.

"Everybody has a different cadence toward the offseason at different points in their career," White said. "I always think it's good to play. Coming back into training camp having played games vs. not ... if you haven't played, timing, rhythm, game shape -- all those things are tough to simulate just working out. I do think there is some value, but each player approaches it differently."

As for the Fever's approach to the offseason, Cox said they will be discussing which six players to protect from the Golden State Valkyries' expansion draft on Nov. 17 and looking toward free agency.

"Kelsey Mitchell is our top priority heading into free agency," Cox said of the longtime Fever guard who like Clark averaged 19.2 points this season. "She is a cornerstone of this franchise. She's been here seven seasons and had endured a lot, hasn't won a lot. I really want her to enjoy what is to come. She deserves that."

White said she knows there is still a lot of growth ahead for the Fever but thinks many of the pieces are in place for them to aim for the franchise's second championship.

"The future is so bright," White said. "Our ultimate goal is to hang another banner in the Fieldhouse."