The New York Giants have hired Dave Gettleman as their new general manager and will introduce him at a news conference Friday.
The 66-year-old Gettleman spent 15 years in the Giants front office before becoming Carolina's GM from 2013-2016. He replaces Jerry Reese, who was fired earlier this month after 11 seasons at the helm.
One of Gettleman's first orders of business will be to hire a new coach. Interim coach Steve Spagnuolo is 0-3 since replacing Ben McAdoo, who was dismissed with Reese on Dec. 4.
Big Blue hauls a pitiful 2-13 record into the season finale against the Redskins.
NBA-SCHEDULE
The Boston Celtics won a matchup of NBA division leaders, but they needed a 26-point comeback to do it.
Al Horford nailed a hook shot with 3.7 seconds left to complete the Celtics' rally from a 26-point deficit in a 99-98 victory over the Rockets. Boston never led until Horford scored the last of his nine points.
Kyrie Irving scored 26 and Jayson Tatum finished with 19 to help the Celts improve to 29-10.
Rockets guard James Harden scored a game-high 34 points and had 10 assists but was called for two offensive fouls on Marcus Smart in the closing seconds. Eric Gordon scored 24 points for Houston, which shot 25 percent in the second half of its fourth straight loss since a 14-game winning streak.
Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:
— LaMarcus Aldridge dropped in 25 points and the Spurs improved to 17-2 at home by downing the slumping Knicks 119-107. Pau Gasol added 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for San Antonio, which held Kawhi Leonard out of the game after he played a season-high 26 minutes on Tuesday.
— The Timberwolves had won five straight before blowing a 20-point lead in a 102-96 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 for the Bucks.
— Shabazz Napier scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the fourth quarter and CJ McCollum had a game-high 34 points as the Trail Blazers won at home for the first time in seven tries, 114-110 over the sputtering 76ers. The Sixers led by 18 in the third period before going down for the 10th time in 12 games.
— The Magic's nine-game skid is over after they allowed just 25 percent shootout while outscoring Detroit 25-16 in the fourth quarter of a 102-89 triumph over the Pistons. Elfrid Payton had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, while Evan Fournier added 17 points.
NBA-PACERS-POYTHRESS
Pacers forward Alex Poythress has more job security after signing a new contract that will end his two-way designation.
Poythress started the season shuttling between the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the G League and the Pacers. But after watching him in 11 games, Indiana decided to keep Poythress with the NBA team. He's averaging 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-BOWLS
The college football bowl matchups got better yesterday as three of the four games involved a clash of ranked teams.
Kenny Hill passed for two touchdowns, ran for another and even caught one as 15th-ranked TCU rallied from an early 21-3 deficit to beat 15th-ranked Stanford 39-37 in the Alamo Bowl. Cole Bunce's 33-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play won it for the 11-3 Horned Frogs. Heisman Trophy finalist Bryce Love ran for 145 yards, including a 69-yard scoring burst for the Cardinal.
No. 18 Michigan State used Brian Lewerke 213 yards and three touchdowns to batter No. 21 Washington State 42-17 in the Holiday Bowl. LJ Scott ran for 110 yards and two scores to help the Spartans end up 10-3 following a 3-9 campaign. Lewerke also ran for 73 yards and hit Cody White for a pair of TDs.
Mason Rudolph threw for 351 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading 17th-ranked Oklahoma State to a 30-21 triumph over No. 22 Virginia Tech in the Camping World Bowl. James Washington caught five passes for 126 yards, giving him a school-record 4,472 for his career. Justice Hill ran for 120 yards and another score for the 10-3 Cowboys, who have won 10 games in each of the last three seasons.
Navy pulled off a lopsided victory in the Military Bowl as backup quarterback Zach Abey ran for five touchdowns in a 49-7 laugher over Virginia. Malcolm Perry ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in the third quarter with a foot injury. The Midshipmen racked up 452 yards rushing and blanked the Cavaliers after Joe Reed took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a TD.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-NEBRASKA
Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee is forfeiting his final year of eligibility and will enter the NFL draft.
Lee transferred from Tulane and was the Huskers' starter in 2017. He completed 57.5 percent of his passes for 3,143 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
NFL-NEWS
Other news from around the NFL:
— Browns Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas says he has not yet decided whether to continue playing. Thomas played in just seven games in 2017 before tearing a triceps and undergoing season-ending surgery.
— Saints rookie running back Alvin Kamara says the NFL has fined him just over $6,000 for wearing Christmas-themed red cleats with white trim during last Sunday's victory over Atlanta. Kamara says it was worth it and says he's hoping to parlay publicity from his banned holiday cleats into a fundraiser to help supply athletic footwear to children whose families struggle to afford it.
— The Saints have placed edge pass rusher Hau'oli Kikaha on injured reserve, ending his season. New Orleans filled his spot on the roster by bringing back Kasim Edebali, who spent the previous three seasons with the club.
— The Bills have activated safety Colt Anderson after he missed the past 11 weeks with a broken forearm. The Bills opened a roster spot for Anderson by releasing safety Trae Elston.
— Jordy Nelson missed a second day of practice with a shoulder injury, leaving his availability in the Packers' already short-handed receiving group in doubt for Green Bay's season finale against Detroit on Sunday.
— New York Jets running back Matt Forte says he has been playing on one good leg since the team's bye week last month but has no intentions of calling it a career.
25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULE
No. 23 Seton Hall was a winner in its Big East Conference opener, knocking off a fellow top-25 school.
The Pirates roared back from a 13-point, second-half deficit to beat 25th-ranked Creighton 90-84. Khadeen Carrington hit a go-ahead layup with 2:05 remaining and finished with 18 points. Desi Rodriguez had a team-high 23 points for the 12-2 Pirates.
The Bluejays fell to 10-3 despite MKartin Kramelj, who had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The only other top-25 team in action Thursday was the No. 20 Gonzaga Bulldogs, who earned their 22nd consecutive West Coast Conference opener by drubbing Pacific 81-48. Rui Hachimura scored 19 points and Josh Perkins added 16 while the Zags held the Tigers to 33 percent shooting.
Local College Basketball Scores
On the Men’s side:
UAlbany topped Kent State 78 to 68.
Hartford beat Rutgers 60 to 58.
And on the Women’s side:
Fordham beat Hartford 69 to 44
Maine defeated Boston College 61 to 40.
Quinnipiac topped Siena 68 to 54.
Marist beat Rider 80 to 69.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL NEWS
Suspended North Carolina State guard Markell Johnson is facing a felony assault charge in his home state of Ohio.
According to a court document, Johnson was among four people indicted Dec. 5 in Cuyahoga County for causing "serious physical harm" to a male victim on or about Oct. 8.
Court records show Johnson has pleaded not guilty and posted $5,000 bond on Dec. 20.
The case was continued Thursday until the next pretrial hearing scheduled for Jan. 8.
In other college basketball news:
— Maryland forward Justin Jackson will miss the remainder of his sophomore season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder that will require surgery. Jackson had already missed three straight games and was showing few signs of improvement.
NHL-SCHEDULE
The Tampa Bay Lightning are threatening to turn the NHL's Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference races into runaways.
The Lightning are 27-7-2 after Steven Stamkos scored twice in their 10th victory in 11 games, 3-1 over Montreal. Brayden Point supplied the tiebreaking goal by beating Carey Price 30 seconds into the third period.
Nikita Kucherov set up the Lightning's first goal, giving him seven assists and 12 points during his eight-game point streak.
Brendan Gallagher scored and Carey Price stopped 31 shots for Montreal, which has lost seven of 10.
The league's second-best team is the expansion Golden Knights, who lead the Pacific Division with 52 points following a 3-2 overtime win at Los Angeles. David Perron scored 3 ½ minutes into the extra session to give Vegas a three-point lead over the second-place Kings.
Jonathan Marchessault and Brendan Leipsic also scored for the Knights, who are 25-9-2.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— The Capitals spotted the Bruins a 2-0 lead before Alex Ovechkin scored once in regulation and another in a shootout to lift Washington past Boston 4-3. Brett Connolly tied it with 8:38 left in the third period before the Caps ended a three-game losing streak.
— The Canucks stopped a four-game slide as Thomas Vanek collected five points on two goals and three assists in a 5-2 win against the Blackhawks. Rookie Brock Boeser added a goal and three assists, while linemate Sam Gagner scored twice and had three points.
— Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner scored during a 2 1/2 -minute span of the first period of the Maple Leafs's 7-4 rout of the Coyotes. Patrick Marleau scored twice in the second period to help Toronto improve to 2-1 on its five-game road trip.
— Timo Meier scored with eight minutes left in the third period before Joonas Donskoi provided the deciding shootout tally in the Sharks' 3-2 verdict over the Flames. Joe Pavelski scored in both regulation and the shootout.
— The Panthers picked up their fourth straight win as Derek MacKenzie scored a short-handed goal and Jonathan Huberdeau 4 1/2 minutes later in the second period of a 3-2 verdict over the Flyers. James Reimer stopped 29 shots and blanked Philadelphia until Scott Laughton beat him with 7 1/2 minutes left.
NHL-NEWS
Winnipeg Jets top-line center Mark Scheifele will miss 6 to 8 weeks with an upper-body injury.
Scheifele was hurt in Winnipeg's 4-3 win over Edmonton on Wednesday after taking a hit from the Oilers' Brandon Davidson.
Scheifele has 15 goals and 38 points in 38 games this season.
In other NHL news:
— Rangers forward Chris Kreider is sidelined indefinitely with a blood clot in his right arm. The 26-year-old Kreider scored 11 goals and 22 points in 37 games this season before leaving Wednesday's 1-0 shootout win over Washington.
— The NHL has suspended Senators defenseman Fredrik Claesson for two games for an illegal check to the head of Bruins forward Noel Acciari. Claesson will miss Friday's game against Columbus and Saturday's rematch with the Bruins.
MLB NEWS
A photographer is accusing Minnesota Twins utilityman Miguel Sano of grabbing her wrist and trying to kiss her and pull her through a door after a 2015 autograph session.
Betsy Bissen accused Sano on Thursday in a tweet, saying what he did amounted to assault. She said she had long been afraid to tell her story for fear of losing access to shoot Twins games. She says she screamed and resisted Sano until he gave up.
Sano denies the allegations.
WORLD CUP-WOMEN'S SLALOM
Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin mastered a tricky Austrian slalom course to cruise to her 36th career World Cup win.
Backed by a huge 1.14-second lead from the opening leg, the defending overall World Cup champion avoided risks and posted only the 11th-fastest time in the final run but still comfortably beat second-place Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 0.89 seconds.
The win stretched Shiffrin's lead in the overall standings to a massive 391 points over second-place Viktoria Rebensburg.
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