Josh Hart had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the New York Knicks beat the Washington Wizards 126-106 on Monday night for their eighth straight victory. It was the second game in three nights between the teams. On Saturday night, the Knicks (23-10) outlasted the Wizards 136-132 in overtime behind 55 points from Jalen Brunson. Jonas Valanciunas equaled his season high with 22 points for Washington (5-25). Alex Sarr and Malcolm Brogdon each had 18.
Joel Embiid had 37 points and nine rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 125-103 on Monday night. Tyrese Maxey added 23 points for the Sixers. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 15 points and eight steals, and Guerschon Yabusele had 16 points off the bench. Anfernee Simons led the Blazers with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Deni Avdija had 17 points but also 10 turnovers. Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara and Deandre Ayton each scored 12.
The Los Angeles Lakers have traded guard D’Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets for forward Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Shake Milton. The Lakers also sent forward Maxwell Lewis and three second-round draft picks to Brooklyn. Russell averaged a career-low 12.4 points per game for the Lakers this season in a diminished role under new coach JJ Redick. Finney-Smith is a steady 3-and-D wing who fills an obvious need for the Lakers. Russell is being traded by the Lakers to the Nets for the second time in his career. He also made the move in 2017.
LeBron James celebrated his 40th birthday by saying he could still play at an elite NBA level for another five to seven years if he wanted. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar also said Monday he has no intention of staying in basketball that long. James has always vowed to leave the game before his skills declined, but they've shown no signs of doing so as he joins the small group of NBA players to suit up past 40. James also said it's “kind of laughable, really," when he thinks about how he has lasted for a record-tying 22 seasons.
Russell Westbrook became the second player in NBA history to have a triple-double with zero turnovers and shoot 100% from the field and the free-throw line in the Denver Nuggets’ 132-121 win over the Utah Jazz. Westbrook finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 7 for 7 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line to join Domantas Sabonis in the history books. Nikola Jokic also had a triple-double with 36 points, 22 rebounds and 11 assists, and Jamal Murray had 10 assists to go along with 20 points. Jordan Clarkson scored 24 for the Jazz.
OT Chicago 115 Charlotte 108
L.A. Clippers 116 New Orleans 113
Cleveland 113 Golden State 95
Sacramento 110 Dallas 100
NHL
Florida 5 N-Y Rangers 3
Jesper Boqvist scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third, and the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers 5-3. Eetu Luostarinen, Aleksander Barkov and Mackie Samoskevich also scored for Florida, and Uvis Balinskis had two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves. Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren scored for New York, along with Chris Kreider. Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots, and Adam Fox got his 27th assist of the season. The Panthers stopped a two-game scoreless losing streak.
Winnipeg 3 Nashville 0
Seattle 5 Utah 2
NFL
Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and the Detroit Lions tuned up for their Week 18 division showdown against Minnesota by beating the San Francisco 49ers 40-34. Goff threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown in the final minute of the third quarter following the first of Kerby Joseph’s two second-half interceptions against Brock Purdy in a rematch of last season’s NFC title game won by San Francisco. That proved to be enough for the Lions to extend their franchise record for wins in a season as they beat the 49ers on the road for the first time since 1975.
The New York Giants lost by winning. A rare victory — 45-33 over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday — knocked the Giants out of control for the coveted No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. So much for Shedeur Sanders’ Giants-themed cleats unless New York trades up to get the Colorado quarterback. The Giants dropped from first to fourth in the draft order, with the Patriots moving up to No. 1. Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward won’t be around if New York has to settle for the fourth pick. That’s why Giants fans were angry after witnessing the team’s first win at MetLife Stadium this season.
The NFC’s No. 1 seed will come down to the final game of the regular season when the Detroit Lions host the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday night. The winner takes the NFC North and gets a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage until the Super Bowl. The loser becomes the No. 5 seed and must play on the road in the wild-card round. The Lions hold the tiebreaker if the teams enter with identical records and play to a tie. The Vikings held on for a 27-25 victory over the Green Bay Packers to set up the high-stakes showdown in Week 18.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation after a private jet carrying the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team nearly crossed a runway as another flight was taking off at Los Angeles International Airport. The plane operated by Key Lime Air was ordered by air traffic controllers to stop as a Delta aircraft took off Friday. No one was injured. Gonzaga was in Los Angeles for its game against UCLA on Saturday. Key Lime Air did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Los Angeles World Airports referred a media inquiry to the FAA, and a Delta spokesperson said there were no problems for its aircraft.
Six former Florida State basketball players are suing Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton and alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation. Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley filed suit Monday in Leon County Circuit Court. The former players allege Hamilton promised them the money from his “business partners.” The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a game against Duke. The suit says they ended up playing amid a guarantee they would be paid but never were. The university says it's still investigating but knows of “no unfulfilled commitments by FSU.”
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The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are here and six of the eight teams are no strangers to the big stage. Boise State and Arizona State are out to show they belong. They’re top-four seeds as conference champions and both are double-digit underdogs. The Broncos arrived for Tuesday's Fiesta Bowl wearing T-shirts saying “Please Count Us Out” in capital letters. Penn State is an 11-point favorite. Texas is a 12 1/2-point favorite against Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday. Other New Year's playoff games are Ohio State-Oregon in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame-Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Boise State has taken that long-awaited next step, earning a spot in the College Football Playoff for the first time, 17 years after a program-shifting win. Awaiting the No. 8 Broncos in the desert is another team that made a breakthrough. No. 5 Penn State also is in its first CFP playoff, shaking its can’t-win-the-big-game reputation with a victory over SMU. The prize in Tuesday's Fiesta Bowl: a trip to the CFP semifinals. Boise got here behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. The Nittany Lions earned their spot behind a stout defense and one of the nation's best tight ends in Tyler Warren.
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