NBA notebook: Suns win lottery for No. 1 pick in NBA draft

1 pick in next month's NBA draft via the
lottery held Tuesday in Chicago.

The Suns, an NBA-worst 21-61 this season, had the highest odds at the No. 1
pick at 25 percent entering the drawing. The Sacramento Kings, with an 18.3
percent chance to select in the top three, will pick second, and the Atlanta
Hawks (42.6 percent at top three) will make the No. 3 pick.

The Memphis Grizzlies (55.8 percent at top three) and Dallas Mavericks (42.6
percent) were bounced from the top three with the drawing. They will pick
fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Suns will pick No. 1 overall in the draft for the first time in franchise
history. The draft will be held June 21 at Barclays Center in New York.

--Milwaukee Bucks ownership is meeting with two finalists, Mike Budenholzer
and Ettore Messina, in their search for the team's next head coach, according
to an ESPN report.

Budenholzer reportedly remains the front-runner for the job, but he is also
still in talks with the Toronto Raptors, who dismissed Dwane Casey last week
after seven years with the team. However, Messina "has gathered significant
momentum" during the interview process.

Budenholzer, 48, was the 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year but was released from
his contract with the Atlanta Hawks at the end of this regular season to
pursue other opportunities. Messina, 58, has served as a San Antonio Spurs
assistant since 2014 after a successful career coaching international
basketball, including the Italian national team.

--Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry understands he's a primary target
for James Harden when the Houston Rockets have the ball, and he seems to be
just fine with that.

Houston was committed to that approach in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series
on Monday, as Harden racked up 41 points while repeatedly going after Curry.
Despite the tactical effectiveness, the Warriors stole home-court advantage.

"If that's the game plan they want to stick with, my job is just to make it as
tough as possible," Curry said. "You've got two great scorers over there in
[Chris Paul] and James. You know how they get shots off in isolation-type
situations, and they're tough to stop. So I'm going to get scored on; they're
going to get scored on. There's going to be a lot of back-and-forth."

--Field Level Media