NBA:
Kevin Durant scored 24 points, James Harden had 23 points and 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets beat Dallas 102-99, handing the Mavericks their fifth consecutive home loss.
The Eastern Conference-leading Nets erased a 17-point third-quarter deficit to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Luka Doncic scored 28 points but had another rough night from 3-point range except for the 30-footer he banked in just before the first-half buzzer.
Elsewhere in the league:
LeBron James scored 30 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 117-102 in the latest chapter of the NBA’s most storied rivalry. Russell Westbrook had 24 points and 11 assists, and Anthony Davis had 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who produced one of their best recent performances in their fourth victory in six games overall. Jayson Tatum scored 14 of his 34 points in an incredible first-quarter blitz for the Celtics, who dropped to 1-2 on their four-game West Coast trip. Boston and Los Angeles split their season series 1-1 for the fifth straight year.
R.J. Barrett made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points, and the New York Knicks snapped a three-game skid, beating the San Antonio Spurs 121-109. New York ended a seven-game losing streak at San Antonio. Alec Burks scored 18 points, Immanuel Quickley added 16 points and Julius Randle had 15 for the Knicks.
Chicago Bulls star DeMar DeRozan remains in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and did not accompany the team to Cleveland.
The Bulls play the Cavaliers on the road Wednesday. DeRozan entered the health and safety protocols a few hours before Monday’s win over the Denver Nuggets. The absence of the four-time All-Star is a blow for a team that was virtually tied with Brooklyn for the Eastern Conference lead entering Tuesday. The health and safety protocols require players to be sidelined at least 10 days or record two negative COVID-19 tests in a 24-hour period before they can resume basketball activities.
In other NBA news:
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been diagnosed with a collapsed right lung and will be sidelined indefinitely. McCollum was injured in the final quarter of the Blazers’ 145-117 loss to the Boston Celtics on Saturday. He was listed as probable with a rib contusion for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, but did not play in the 102-90 loss. The team says McCollum’s condition was revealed by a CT scan. He is averaging 20.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season.
NFL:
Browns tight end David Njoku was placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and could miss Sunday’s crucial matchup against AFC North-leading Baltimore.
Njoku leads Cleveland with 407 yards receiving and he scored the Browns’ only touchdown in a 16-10 loss to the Ravens on Nov. 28. The loss of Njoku would be a major blow to the Browns, who can’t afford another loss if they hope to make the playoffs. Plus, tight end Harrison Bryant is expected to miss Sunday’s game with a high ankle sprain. Austin Hooper is the only regular tight end currently available.
NHL:
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza has been suspended for six games without pay for kneeing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk.
In the third period of Sunday’s game between the Jets and Maple Leafs, Pionk had a knee-on-knee hit on Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin. Sandin skated off the ice after the hit on his right knee. Pionk received a two-game suspension for the hit on Monday. After the hit on Sandin, Spezza drove his left knee into the face of Pionk, who was without a stick and on his knees trying to clear a puck. Spezza will forfeit $22,500 in salary.
In other NHL news:
The Dallas Stars are sending goalie Ben Bishop on a conditioning assignment in the minor leagues as their former starter continues a long recovery from a knee injury. Bishop hasn’t played since the NHL’s playoff bubble in Canada in August 2020. Dallas could have trouble finding a spot for the 35-year-old after a stint with the Texas Stars of the AHL. Braden Holtby and Jake Oettinger have been the starters recently.
Roman Josi beat four Detroit defenders for a first-period goal, Ryan Johansen scored on a power play and the Nashville Predators beat the Red Wings 5-2.
The loss snapped Detroit’s five-game winning streak and its five-game home winning streak. Josi took a feed from Dante Fabbro as he sped into the Red Wings’ zone and skated 1-on-4 through the defense before beating Alex Nedeljkovic on the forehand. Nashville’s Nick Cousins, Eeli Tolvanen and Fabbro scored in the third period, and David Rittich stopped 14 shots. Detroit’s Michael Rasmussen also had a third-period goal.
Elsewhere in Tuesday action:
Tomas Hertl scored his fourth career hat trick and the San Jose Sharks used a three-goal barrage in the second period to beat the Calgary Flames 5-3. The Pacific Division-leading Flames broke out to a 3-1 lead early in the second before the Sharks responded with goals from Erik Karlsson, Logan Couture and Hertl to take the lead. Hertl sealed it with an empty-netter for his first hat trick since Jan. 22, 2019, against Washington. Dillon Dube, Johnny Gaudreau and Adam Ruzicka scored for the Flames.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira was stretchered off the ice after he was leveled by Jacob Trouba in the second period of the New York Rangers’ 6-2 victory. Artemi Panarin had two goals and two assists against his first NHL team, passing 500 career points and helping New York to its seventh straight win. Trouba, Chris Kreider, Kevin Rooney and Barclay Goodrow also scored, and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves. The Rangers also beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Saturday night in New York.
Cam Talbot made 38 saves against his former team and the Minnesota Wild shut down the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 for their seventh straight victory. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist. Marcus Foligno, Victor Rask and Dmitry Kulikov also scored for the Wild, who are off to the best start in franchise history with 37 points through 25 games. Jesse Puljujarvi scored for the Oilers, who have lost three in a row.
Trevor Zegras flipped a pass over the net to set up the go-ahead goal, Anthony Stolarz made 25 saves and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-0. Zegras scooped the puck onto the blade of his stick behind the net and lobbed it over goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s head. Sonny Milano was waiting on the right edge of the crease and batted the feed past Luukkonen’s glove for his eighth goal 5:14 into the second period. Zegras leads rookies with 16 assists.
Martin Necas and Vincent Trocheck scored power-play goals, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Jaccob Slavin and Sebastian Aho each had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes. Nino Niederreiter had two assists. Frederik Andersen made 16 saves for Carolina, in the opener of a five-game road trip. Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for the Jets. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots as Winnipeg wrapped up a four-game homestand (2-2-0) .
Anders Leehad had two goals and the New York Islanders snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Oliver Wahlstrom, Kieffer Bellows and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for New York, which last won on Nov. 6. Ilya Sorokin stopped 30 shots. Josh Norris, Nick Holden and Alex Formenton scored for Ottawa, which had its three-game winning streak halted.
Ondrej Palat scored with 38 seconds left in the third period, giving the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Patrick Maroon and Corey Perry also scored for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 21 saves. Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman scored for Montreal. Jake Allen stopped 24 of 27 shots.
Pavel Buchnevich scored a wrap-around goal 53 seconds into overtime and the St. Louis Blues beat the Florida Panthers 4-3. The Blues earned a split in their back-to-back with Florida. Both games went to overtime.
Auston Matthews scored twice, defenseman Morgan Rielly set up four goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 to stop a two-game skid. Rielly set up power-play goals by William Nylander and John Tavares, and two more from Matthews. His second goal came seven seconds after Tavares put the Maple Leafs in front 4-1 late in the second period. Nick Ritchie scored his first goal in his 27th game with Toronto late in the first period. Jack Campbell made 28 saves for his NHL-leading 14th win.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Justin Moore scored 18 points and Collin Gillespie had 14 to lead No. 6 Villanova to a 67-53 win over Syracuse in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night.
Jermaine Samuels added 13 for the Wildcats in their 22nd win at Madison Square Garden since 2014. The Wildcats improved to 7-2. Jimmy Boehim led the Orange with 21 points and Joe Girard III had 11 for Syracuse, which is 5-4. The Wildcats have a Sweet 16 rematch with Baylor on Saturday. Baylor beat Villanova last March in the Sweet 16.
Ochai Agbaji scored 23 points, Christian Braun added 20 and eighth-ranked Kansas tuned up for this weekend’s return of the Border War with a 78-52 blowout of UTEP on Tuesday night. David McCormack and Mitch Lightfoot added eight points apiece for the Jayhawks, who led by 21 at halftime and weren’t threatened the rest of the way. Souley Boom had 18 points and Keonte Kennedy 11 for UTEP.
Oscar Tshiebwe scored 18 of his 23 points after halftime despite being in foul trouble, TyTy Washington Jr. added 14 points and both Wildcats keyed small runs to help No. 10 Kentucky top Southern 76-64 on Tuesday night for its seventh consecutive victory. game.
J.D. Notae recorded his first career double-double and No. 12 Arkansas rolled to a 86-66 win against Charlotte on Tuesday night in nonconference action. Notae finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Razorbacks took control of the game in the first half and never let up.
Terrence Shannon, Jr. had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Texas Tech continued its run of Jimmy V Classic upsets in an offensively anemic 57-52 overtime win over No. 13 Tennessee on Tuesday night. Tuesday’s game was classic in title only. Offense was hard to find at Madison Square Garden, where the Vols missed a whopping 34 of 40 3-pointers overall and shot only 27% overall in regulation from the floor.
Isaiah Mobley had a career-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 16 Southern California beat Eastern Kentucky 80-68. The Trojans improved to 9-0 overall, and they’re off to their best start since 2016-17 when they opened 14-0. Mobley hit a career-high five 3-pointers. Mobley hit a career-high five 3-pointers and his rebounds tied a career high. The Colonels dropped their fourth in a row and fell to 5-5 overall. They were led by Braxton Beverly with 16 points. The Colonels outscored USC 43-39 in the second half, when they hit five straight 3-pointers over the game’s closing minutes.
Yale defeated UAlbany, 71-52, Providence beat Vermont, 68-58, and Northeastern bested UMass, 82-76.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Former SMU star Eric Dickerson is happy to be going into the College Football Hall of Fame after all these years.
He has long given up caring if the honor came his way. Dickerson was part of the 2020 class that was inducted into the hall along with the 2021 class because of the pandemic. Dickerson says he is proud to represent his school. His association with a program that received the NCAA death penalty for various violations played a big part in him having to wait. He has been in the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1999.
TENNIS:
Serena Williams is missing from the entry list for next month’s Australian Open in a move that suggests the seven-time champion could skip the 2022 edition of the season-opening major.
Novak Djokovic is on the men’s entry list at No. 1 in a further indication that he’ll be playing at Melbourne Park despite Australia’s strict regulations requiring all players, officials and fans to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Djokovic has declined to comment on his vaccination status in recent months.
SWIMMING:
Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky were honored as male and female athletes of the year at USA Swimming’s annual Golden Goggle awards in Miami. Dressel repeated as athlete of the year after earning gold medals in the 50-meter freestyle, 100 free, and 100 butterfly at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ledecky earned two gold and two silver medals in Tokyo, becoming the most decorated female individual gold medalist in Olympic history.
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