NBA negotiators talking again in small groups

NEW YORK (AP) - With perhaps days left to avoid further damage to the NBA schedule, negotiators for owners and players are talking again in hopes of ending the lockout.

The sides returned Monday in small groups after taking a day off following talks Friday and Saturday. The weekend passed without the "enormous consequences'' Commissioner David Stern warned of without significant progress toward a new labor deal. But they would likely come this week without an agreement.

The sides will meet again Tuesday with their full bargaining committees, with perhaps some star players again invited. With the regular season scheduled to start Nov. 1, there is little time left before cancellations would become necessary, though Stern said there would be none Monday.