NBA:
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Jaylen Brown had 19 in his return from missing eight games with an injury and the Boston Celtics coasted by Houston 108-90, sending the Rockets to their 15th straight loss on Monday night. Dennis Schroder added 18 points for Boston, which has won three straight and eight of 11. Al Horford had 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was Tatum’s fourth straight game with 30 or more points.
In other Monday NBA action:
Tyrese Maxey had 24 points and the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers beat Sacramento 102-94, spoiling Alvin Gentry’s debut as interim Kings coach. Shake Milton scored 16 points and Matisse Thybulle added 15, helping the Sixers to their second win in eight games. Andre Drummond had nine points and 23 rebounds. De’Aaron Fox had 23 points and Buddy Hield scored 21 for the Kings. Gentry was promoted to interim coach after the Kings fired Luke Walton on Sunday.
Jrue Holiday scored 18 points and the Milwaukee Bucks grabbed their biggest halftime lead in franchise history on their way to a 123-92 blowout of the Orlando Magic on Monday. The Bucks’ 77-36 lead at the break also was Orlando’s biggest halftime deficit ever. Milwaukee’s previous largest halftime lead was a 78-40 advantage over Detroit on Dec. 26, 1978. The Bucks won that game 143-84. Milwaukee eventually built the margin to 51 and became the first team to lead a game by at least 50 points this season.
Kevin Durant returned to Brooklyn’s lineup and scored 27 points, James Harden added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-112. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Nets, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 10 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves extended their winning streak to four with a 110-96 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. Jarred Vanderbilt matched his season high with 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Willy Hernangomez led New Orleans with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Terry Rozier scored a season-high 32 points and hit his eighth three-pointer of the game with 12.9 seconds left as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Washington Wizards 109-103 on Monday night. LaMelo Ball had 28 points and 13 rebounds to help Charlotte win its last six of seven.
Trae Young scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half, Clint Capela finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks closed a perfect five-game homestand with a 113-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. Thunder rookie Josh Giddey had with 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Luguentz Dort added 15 points.
Domantas Sabonis scored 21 points, Malcolm Brogdon added 16 more, and the Indiana Pacers routed the Chicago Bulls 109-77 on Monday night. Myles Turner also scored 12 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in Indiana’s second straight win. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 18 points, while Zach LaVine scored 17.
Ja Morant scored 32 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies and Jaren Jackson Jr. knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with six seconds left as the Grizzlies defeated the Utah Jazz 119-118 on Monday night. The Grizzlies are now 9-8 on the season, while the Jazz moved to 11-6.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has been suspended for one game and Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart was suspended two games for their roles in an ugly incident during Sunday’s Lakers-Pistons game.
The NBA announced the suspensions Monday, and both will affect games today. James will not play when the Lakers visit Madison Square Garden to play the New York Knicks. Stewart will miss the Pistons’ home game against Miami today and their game at Milwaukee on Wednesday. It is the first suspension in the 19-year career of James, who has won four NBA titles with three teams.
The league says Stewart was disciplined for “escalating an on-court altercation by repeatedly and aggressively pursuing ... James in an unsportsmanlike manner.” It says James merited the suspension “for recklessly hitting Stewart in the face and initiating an on-court altercation.”
NFL:
Tom Brady threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Giants 30-10.
The Super Bowl champion Buccaneers snapped a two-game losing streak as Brady avoided dropping three in a row for the first time since 2002. Daniel Jones threw a TD pass to left tackle Andrew Thomas and the Giants stayed close for one half before unraveling. Down 17-10, the Giants drove to the Buccaneers 25 on the opening drive of the third quarter before Jones was pressured and threw incomplete on fourth-and-1. Jones threw two interceptions and was sacked twice.
Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III received a stern talking-to from a Las Vegas judge but was allowed to remain on house arrest with a continuous alcohol monitor on one ankle and a GPS monitor on the other following a fatal crash he’s accused of causing by driving drunk.
The judge told Ruggs and his lawyers on Monday that she was “comfortable with a higher level of monitoring” after a hearing about a delay in Ruggs providing a remote breath-alcohol test with a hand-held device Nov. 13. Ruggs faces felony DUI charges that carry mandatory prison time if he’s convicted. The Raiders released Ruggs just hours after the crash.
In other NFL news:
Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Linval Joseph entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol on Monday following a positive test. He is the fifth Chargers defensive player over the past two weeks that has either tested positive or had to go on the reserve/COVID-19 list as a close contact. Joseph missed Sunday’s 41-37 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a shoulder injury and will be out for this week’s game at Denver because he is unvaccinated.
Denver Broncos general manager George Paton has gotten a jump-start on 2022 by signing two of his veteran wide receivers to contract extensions. Paton signed Tim Patrick to a three-year deal worth $10 million a season and on Monday he signed Courtland Sutton to a four-year deal worth about $15 million a season. That means the Broncos’ top four receivers are under contract through 2023.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Peyton Watson had 19 points, Johnny Juzang added 13 and No. 2 UCLA beat Bellarmine 75-62 in the Empire Classic.
Watson shot 9 of 12 and had four rebounds, easily outpacing his 3.3 points average through four games this season. David Singleton added 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Bruins, who will face No. 1 Gonzaga in a rematch of last season’s Final Four on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs won 93-90 in overtime on a buzzer-beater from Jalen Suggs.
In other T25 action:
No. 5 Duke beat The Citadel 107-81 after Bulldogs coach Duggar Baucom collapsed on the court early in the first half and was taken to a hospital. Baucom fell along the sideline barely a minute into the game and was taken to Duke University Hospital. The 61-year-old Baucom was conscious as he was helped out of the gym. Associate head coach Jack Castleberry took over on The Citadel’s bench.
TyTy Washington Jr. scored 20 points for the second straight game and No. 10 Kentucky beat Albany 86-61 for its fourth consecutive victory.
Fabian White Jr. scored 21 points and No. 12 Houston rode a dominating first half to a 70-52 win over Butler in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. The Cougars overwhelmed Butler early, scoring the game’s first 17 points while building a 21-point halftime lead. Next up for Houston is a semifinal matchup with Wisconsin.
Connor Vanover scored 14 points, Chris Lykes was perfect from the foul line down the stretch and No. 13 Arkansas survived after blowing most of an 18-point lead to beat Kansas State 72-64 in the Hall of Fame Classic. Kansas State will play No. 14 Illinois for third place.
Mike Saunders Jr. scored 20 points, Jeremiah Davenport added 19 and Cincinnati overcame an early 15-point deficit to blow out No. 14 Illinois 71-51 in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Bearcats will play the winner of No. 13 Arkansas and Kansas State on Tuesday night.
Meechie Johnson Jr. made a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left and Ohio State beat No. 21 Seton Hall 79-76 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Seton Hall guard Jamir Harris stole it and raced for a fast-break layup to tie it at 76 with 15.9 seconds left. Ohio State elected not to call a timeout and Johnson made his team’s 11th 3-pointer — from NBA range.
Colin Castleton scored 16 points, Tyree Appleby added 15 and No. 23 Florida handled California 80-60 in an opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Myreon Jones added 13 points for the Gators, who will meet Ohio State for the title on Wednesday.
NHL:
Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Buffalo Sabres 7-4.
Max Domi added a goal and two assists, and Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves fresh off a two-game West Coast trip to give the Blue Jackets their third victory in four games.
In other Monday NHL action:
Alexander Barabanov scored with 3:18 remaining in overtime and the San Jose Sharks handed Carolina its third loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Hurricanes. Kevin Labanc tied the game early in the third before Barabanov won just after a power play expired to give San Jose its second win in the past six games. Carolina had won four straight road games and 14 of 16 overall on the season before blowing a third-period lead to San Jose.
Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets past the Buffalo Sabres 7-4. Max Domi added a goal and two assists, and Joonas Korpisalo made 29 saves fresh off a two-game West Coast trip to give the Blue Jackets their third victory in four games.
Yakov Trenin scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and had an assist, Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist, and the Nashville Predators beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. Mikael Granlund also scored for the Predators, and Juuse Saros made 33 saves. Nashville stopped a two-game skid and handed Anaheim its second consecutive defeat.
Justin Faulk scored his 100th career goal to cap a quick three-goal outburst by St. Louis in the first period, and the Blues beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2. Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, Brandon Saad and Niko Mikkola also scored for the Blues, who entered with two wins in their previous 10 games. Jordan Binnington, who had lost six of his last seven starts, was sharp and made 32 saves.
Alex Newhook scored the go-ahead goal with 1:33 left, sending the Colorado Avalanche past the Ottawa Senators 7-5 for their fifth straight win. Zach Sanford got his first career hat trick for the Senators, but it wasn’t enough in their first game in a week. Ottawa hadn’t played since a 4-0 loss to Calgary on Nov. 14 and was unable to practice for five days due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
MLB:
The Boston Red Sox have picked up Alex Cora’s option for two more seasons. The club is rewarding its manager for taking it to the AL Championship Series in his first year back after serving his one-year sign-stealing suspension. Cora is now under contract through 2024.
A former infielder who was a member of Boston’s 2007 World Series championship team, Cora is 284-202 in three seasons as manager. In his first year, 2018, he led the club to a franchise-record 108 victories and a World Series title. He was let go a year later when he was identified as the ringleader in the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
In other MLB news:
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey and Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini have been named baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year Award winners. Posey was the National League winner. He sat out the 2020 season after twin girls adopted by he and his wife were born prematurely. Posey announced this month he was retiring after 12 seasons. Mancini took the American League prize. He missed the entire 2020 season while being treated for stage 3 colon cancer. They were selected in balloting by the 30 team beat reporters at MLB.com.
The Texas Rangers have acquired outfielders Billy McKinney and Zach Reks from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash. McKinney has appeared in the majors in each of the past four seasons, and played at least 37 games for three different teams in 2021. He hit nine homers over 116 games for Milwaukee, the New York Mets and the Dodgers. Reks, a left-handed hitter, made his big league debut this year and went 0-for-10 over six games for the Dodgers.
Speedy utility player Tyler Wade has been traded from the New York Yankees to the Los Angeles Angels for a player to be named or cash. Wade was designated for assignment Friday when the Yankees needed roster spots to protect prospects ahead of the winter meeting draft. The 26-year-old infielder and outfielder hit .268 with five RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 103 games last season. He has a .212 batting average with six homers and 33 RBIs over parts of five big league seasons.
The Cleveland Guardians are involved in a couple of deals. The Chicago Cubs have acquired outfielder Harold Ramirez from the Guardians for cash. The 27-year-old Ramirez batted .268 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 99 games for Cleveland last season. He was designated for assignment on Friday. And the Milwaukee Brewers acquired pitcher J.C. Mejia from the Guardians for a player to be named or cash. The 25-year-old right-hander owned a 1-7 record with an 8.25 ERA in 17 games this past season, including 11 starts.
David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, Tim Lincecum and Alex Rodriguez are among 13 first-time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joining 17 holdovers. Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens make their 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot along with Curt Schilling, who fell 16 votes shy of the necessary 75% in last year’s balloting.
Doug Jones, a five-time All-Star reliever who had his best success closing for the Cleveland Indians, has died. He was 64. Jones spent seven seasons with the Indians and ranks third on the club’s career saves list with 129. The club, which officially transitioned to Cleveland Guardians last week, said Monday it was “saddened by the loss of one of our organization’s all-time greats.” The team said Jones died in Arizona. A cause was not immediately known.
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