BOSTON — Brad Stevens says he wasn’t close to leaving the Boston Celtics for the coaching job at Indiana University.

In fact, he says he never received an offer.

“I was never offered a package. That’s all news to me. Secondly, I wasn’t going to leave anyways,” Stevens said before Boston hosted Chicago on Monday. “I was never offered that. I don’t know where that came from.”

ESPN reported earlier this week that Indiana was prepared to offer the 44-year-old Stevens a seven-year contract worth $70 million. A native of Indiana who took Butler to back-to-back NCAA championship game appearances in 2010 and 2011, Stevens was a top candidate for the Hoosiers job after Archie Miller was fired last month. Former NBA coach Mike Woodson was hired on March 28.

“This place has been so good to our family, so good to me, and we owe them – especially in the middle of a very trying time and a very trying season,” Stevens said.

He said whether it was an open college or another NBA job, he believes he owes it to those who hired him in 2013 to be the Celtics coach “to stay the course.”

“I don’t know how long I’m going to coach. I don’t know how long I’m going to coach in the NBA. I don’t know how long they’ll want me to coach in the NBA,” Stevens said. “I am thrilled to be the Celtics head coach and it is a great challenge and a great responsibility.”

Stevens is 349-272 in his eighth season with the Celtics. He’s taken Boston to the playoffs in six of those seasons, taking it to the Eastern Conference finals twice. He has a 37-36 overall record in the postseason.

ROCKETS: Houston says that guard Sterling Brown was assaulted by unknown individuals after the team arrived in Miami late Sunday night, suffering cuts to his face. Brown was not playing Monday against the Heat, though the team said that was because of a recent knee injury that has kept him out for a total of five games and not the altercation.

“Last night, Sterling Brown was the victim of an assault,” the Rockets announced in a statement issued Monday evening. “He had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants. He suffered facial lacerations but will make a full recovery.”

The team did not divulge any other details. It was not immediately known if any incident reports were filed with police.

Brown sued officials in Milwaukee after getting taken to the ground, shocked with a Taser and arrested during an encounter surrounding a parking violation with police in 2018, contending in that lawsuit that police used excessive force and targeted him because he is Black.

Brown illegally parked in a disabled spot outside a store and was talking with a group of officers while waiting for his citation when the situation escalated. He did not immediately remove his hands from his pockets, as ordered, and officers used a stun gun. Brown and the city agreed on a settlement where he would receive $750,000 plus an admission from the city that his civil rights were violated was agreed to last November.

NETS: Brooklyn forward Kevin Durant will not play Tuesday when the Nets visit the New Orleans Pelicans because of a left thigh contusion.

It will be Durant’s 34th missed game this season. He has appeared in 24, the latest of those being Sunday in Miami. He had to leave that game after four minutes because of the thigh issue, and Brooklyn went on to lose 109-107. Brooklyn has also ruled out James Harden again because of his right hamstring injury.

HORNETS: Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball has been cleared to return to individual basketball activity by doctors after having a cast removed from his right wrist.

It’s unclear at this point when he’ll be ready to play in a game. Ball sustained a fractured right wrist during the Hornets’ March 20 game against the Los Angeles Clippers and has not played since. Ball underwent further evaluation on his wrist Monday by Dr. Michelle Carlson of The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. The cast was removed and a CT scan confirmed the wrist has healed.

Ball, the No. 3 overall selection in last year’s NBA draft, was among the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year honors prior to the injury. He won Eastern Conference rookie of the month three times and is averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.59 steals in 41 contests.

CLIPPERS: Los Angeles signed guard Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day contract. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in two games with Cleveland this season. He also played 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League.

Ferrell has also played for Brooklyn, Dallas and Sacramento during his NBA career, averaging 7.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

The Clippers earlier signed forward Malik Fitts to a 10-day deal after he played for their G League entry in nearby Ontario.

FREE AGENCY: The NBA said Monday that this summer’s free agency period will begin Aug. 2. That timeframe, shortly after the end of the NBA Finals and then the NBA draft, is consistent with what would occur in a normal year. The last possible date for the NBA Finals is July 22, and the draft will take place on July 29.

Teams may begin negotiating with players at 6 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 2, and signings can be executed starting Aug. 6 at 12:01 p.m. Eastern. The NBA is hoping that the 2021-22 season will begin in October, as per usual, with plans of returning to the full 82-game schedule. This season’s 72-game slate began Dec. 22, delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and the lateness of the 2020 NBA Finals, which stretched into October.

MONDAY’S GAMES

WARRIORS 107, 76ERS 96: Stephen Curry hit 10 3-pointers and scored 49 points to extend his sizzling stretch as Golden State won in Philadelphia.

Curry’s 3 that tied the game at 86-all gave him 11 straight games with 30 or more points, topping Kobe Bryant for the most by any player 33 or older. Curry, who turned 33 last month, also has the longest 30-point game streak by a Warriors player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964. Curry had his fifth 40-point game in April and topped Bryant and Michael Jordan for most 40-point games in a month by a player 33 or older.

He buried 3s late in the fourth for leads of 91-90 and 96-92 to whisk the Warriors past the top team in the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid, who scored 28 for the 76ers, threw the ball away and Andrew Wiggins scored on the other end to put away the game.

The Sixers played without All-Star Ben Simmons (illness) and starting forward Tobias Harris (20.5 points; sore right knee).

SUNS 128, BUCKS 127 (OT): Devin Booker made a free throw with 0.3 seconds left after getting fouled on a jump shot to lift visiting Phoenix to an overtime victory over Milwaukee.

After Khris Middleton had tied the game on a 3-pointer with 22.1 seconds left, Jae Crowder inbounded a pass to Booker, who attempted to get free for a shot while getting hounded by Jrue Holiday. As Booker finally put up a shot from in front of Phoenix’s bench just before the buzzer, P.J. Tucker also approached him. Tucker was called for the foul.

Booker made the first free throw for his 24th point of the night amid a chorus of boos from the Milwaukee crowd. Booker missed the second shot, but the buzzer went off before the Bucks could put up any kind of shot.

Chris Paul had 22 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Suns, who were opening a five-game trip in which they play five of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference standings. Paul increased his career assist total to 10,145 to overtake Magic Johnson (10,141) for fifth place in NBA history.

PISTONS 109, CAVALIERS 105: Frank Jackson scored 20 points, including a tiebreaking baseline drive in the final minute, as Detroit beat visiting Cleveland.

Jackson was fouled on his basket with 29 seconds left. He missed the free throw but the Cavaliers couldn’t secure the rebound. Josh Jackson grabbed it and then scored to go up 107-103 with 16.5 seconds remaining, giving the Cavaliers their fifth loss in six games.

Collin Sexton scored 28 points and Darius Garland added 23 for the Cavaliers. The backcourt scored the final 20 points for Cleveland, which is fading in the race for the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference.

Saddiq Bey scored 20 points for the Pistons, who started three rookies and a second-year player making his first career start.

HEAT 113, ROCKETS 91: Kendrick Nunn scored a season-high 30 points, Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic each added 19 and Miami beat visiting Houston.

The Heat were playing without Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro – a trio that averages 55 points per game – and outscored Houston 59-36 after halftime.

Andre Iguodala scored 16 for Miami. Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood each scored 18 for the Rockets, who have dropped 33 of their last 37 games. John Wall scored 14 for Houston.

WIZARDS 119, THUNDER 107: Bradley Beal scored 30 points, Davis Bertans was made six 3-pointers in his return from paternity leave, and Washington won at home over Oklahoma City.

Bertans, who missed the previous two games while his wife gave birth to a son, finished with 21 points. The Wizards have won five straight, matching a season high, and seven of eight to claw back into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds for Washington. His 26th triple-double this season was only in doubt because of his dreadful shooting; Westbrook missed nine straight shots in the second half before a 3-pointer that gave the Wizards a nine-point lead with 3:47 left. He has 172 triple-doubles, closing in on Oscar Robertson’s record of 181.