NBA:
The Miami Heat tied a team record for 3-pointers while ending their three-game home losing streak.
Caleb Martin hit 6 of 8 from downtown and scored a career-high 28 points as the Heat beat the Bucks, 113-104. Kyle Lowry had 22 points and 13 assists for Miami, which drained 22 3-pointers.
The Heat took the lead for good with nine unanswered points in the final 55 seconds of the third quarter.
Jrue Holliday scored 27 points and Khris Middleton finished with 20 points for the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo had just 15 points as Miami limited him to 4-of-13 from the field.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
The Warriors were 114-104 winners over the Trail Blazers behind Stephen Curry, who scored 22 points and moved within nine 3-pointers of tying Ray Allen’s career record. Draymond Green had 10 rebounds, eight assists and five points as Golden State improved to a league-best 21-4.
Rookie Brandon Boston Jr. had career highs of 27 points and five 3-pointers in sparking the Clippers to a 114-111 victory over the Celtics. Marcus Morris added 20 points to help Los Angeles withstand Jayson Tatum’s 29 points and 10 rebounds.
Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and the sharp-shooting Jazz earned their fifth straight win by slamming the Timberwolves, 126-104. Mitchell made 14 of 23 shots and Utah connected for 25 3-pointers, two shy of their season high set last Friday against Boston.
The Rockets have won seven straight since a 15-game skid after Eric Gordon delivered 21 points before his ejection in the fourth quarter of a 114-104 decision over the Nets. James Harden had 25 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Nets on a night when NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge both sat out for rest.
Nikola Jokic scored 11 of his season-high 39 points in overtime to push the Nuggets past the Pelicans, 120-114. Jokic also had 11 assists, grabbed 11 boards and helped Denver turn 25 New Orleans turnovers into 31 points.
Luka Doncic scored 26 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 19 in the Mavericks’ first win in four games, 104-96. Reggie Bullock added 15 for Dallas, which surpassed 100 points for only the second time in six games and ended a five-game winning streak by Memphis.
Darius Garland had 24 points and six assists in Cleveland’s fifth win in seven games, a 115-92 thrashing of the Bulls. Rookie Evan Mobley shot 8 of 11 and finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and a season-high five blocks in the rout.
Joel Embiid dropped in 32 points and Seth Curry added 23 as the 76ers beat the Hornets for the second time in three days, 110-106. Gordon Hayward had a season-high 31 points and seven assists for the Hornets, who played without five rotational players including last year’s NBA rookie of the year LaMelo Ball due to NBA health and safety protocols.
Kyle Kuzma drained a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left in overtime to send the Wizards past the Pistons, 119-116. Kuzma finished with 26 points and Bradley Beal added 25 for the Wizards, who blew a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter before sending Detroit to its 10th consecutive loss.
The Pacers coasted to a 122-102 win over the Knicks as Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Myles Turner had 22. Indiana seized control with a 15-2 run in the opening quarter and shot 60% through the first half.
The Thunder pulled out a 110-109 win over the Raptors on Mike Muscala’s 3-pointer with nine seconds to play. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 26 points in the third quarter of Oklahoma City’s second straight win since an eight-game losing streak.
De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting in the Kings' season-high third straight win, 142-130 against the Magic. Tyrese Haliburton added 18 points and matched his career high with 11 assists for his third NBA double-double and second this season.
NBA:
Atlanta Hawks forward Solomon Hill is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a torn hamstring.
Hill slipped and did a split in Sunday’s loss to Charlotte causing him to be scheduled for surgery. The Hawks already are playing without starting small forward De’Andre Hunter, who is recovering from surgery on his right wrist.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
The West Virginia men’s basketball team is 8-1 after knocking off a ranked opponent.
Taz Sherman scored 23 points and West Virginia held on for a 56-53 victory over No. 15 UConn. Sean McNeil added 16 points for the Mountaineers, who held the Huskies to a season low in scoring.
West Virginia won despite going 12 of 27 from the line.
Also on the top-25 men’s basketball schedule:
Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona in a 94-65 romp over Wyoming. Kerr Kriisa added 17 points to help the Wildcats move to 8-0.
Gabe Brown, Malik Hall and Tyson Walker scored 15 points apiece for 19th-ranked Michigan State in a 75-67 victory over Minnesota. Brown had three 3-pointers as the Spartans went 10 for 21 from long range against a Gophers team that entered the game with the best 3-point defense in the nation.
Colin Castleton had a career-high 26 points and eight rebounds as No. 20 Florida ripped North Florida, 85-55 to end a two-game skid. Myreon Jones added 14 points to help the Gators bounce back from Monday’s stunning loss to previously-winless Texas Southern.
No. 21 Ohio State escaped with an 85-74 win over Towson as Kyle Young scored 18 points and Justin Ahrens had 16 points on five 3-pointers.
Johnny Davis provided 23 points and No. 22 Wisconsin stormed back from 22 down to beat Indiana, 64-59.
Alex Barcello scored 17 points while Te’Jon Lucas added 14 with six assists to lead 24th-rated BYU to an 82-71 victory over Utah State.
Marist outscored Binghamton, 64-51, and West Virginia held off UConn, 56-53. On the women’s side, Rhode Island crushed Hartford, 84-49, Boston College held off UMass, 66-60, Vermont outscored Dartmouth, 64-46, Vanderbilt defeated UAlbany, 52-41 and Syracuse bested Cornell, 85-55.
NFL:
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow says his injured pinky finger on his throwing hand won’t keep him out of Sunday’s game against San Francisco.
The finger was dislocated last Sunday when the second-year quarterback was hit on a strip-sack on the Bengals’ first possession against the Chargers. Burrow hasn’t thrown since then and won’t until at least Thursday.
In other NFL news:
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says the off week has assisted him in his recovery from a toe injury, though it’s still painful enough to keep the reigning MVP from practicing. Rodgers wasn’t on the practice field Wednesday as the 9-3 Packers prepared for their Sunday night home game with the 4-8 Bears.
Justin Fields is set to return to the Bears’ lineup. Coach Matt Nagy says the prized rookie quarterback will start when the team visits the Green Bay Packers this week after missing the past two games because of broken ribs.
Washington has put pass rusher Montez Sweat on the NFL’s COVID-19 reserve list. Sweat was expected to return to practice this week and play against the Cowboys on Sunday after missing the past four games with a broken jaw.
The Seahawks will spend the rest of the season without starting strong safety Jamal Adams due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Adams is expected to undergo surgery Thursday for the injury incurred during the first half of the Seahawks’ win over San Francisco.
Giants coach Joe Judge said starting quarterback Daniel Jones was seen by a neck specialist in California on Monday and has not been cleared for contact. Recently signed quarterback Jake Fromm took most of the snaps for the Giants as the team practiced at the University of Arizona for Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Chargers.
Alabama authorities are investigating after former Saints player Glenn Foster Jr. died in custody. He was arrested following a high-speed chase that resulted in his arrest and then a scuffle involving officers in the jail where he was being held.
Former Bills special teams standout Mark Pike has died at 57 following a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Buffalo Bills announced Pike died after his condition worsened as a result of COVID-19 followed by a bout with pneumonia.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Fresno State is bringing back Jeff Tedford for a second stint as coach after Kalen DeBoer left to take over at Washington.
Tedford returns to the team he coached to a 26-14 record from 2017-19, leading his alma mater to double-digit wins his first two seasons. He captured the division in both those seasons and the Mountain West Conference championship in 2018, one year before stepping down for health reasons.
NHL:
The Colorado Avalanche had no trouble ending the New York Rangers’ seven-game winning streak.
The Blueshirts were 17-4-3 before surrendering five goals in the second period of a 7-3 loss to the Avs. Logan O’Connor scored twice in a 22-second span of the period before Mikko Rantanen finished with two goals.
Nathan MacKinnon, Nazem Kadri and Alex Newhook added goals for the Avalanche, who are 8-2-1 in their last 11 contests.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
J.T. Miller scored the shootout winner, giving the Canucks a 2-1 victory over the visiting Bruins. Bo Horvat also scored in the shootout and Brock Boeser tallied in regulation as Vancouver improved to 2-0 under new coach Bruce Boudreau.
Mark Stone had two goals and Max Pacioretty netted the winner as the Golden Knights defeated the Stars, 5-4. Dallas carried a two-goal lead into the third period but ended a seven-game winning streak.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves and the Devils snapped a four-game skid while sending the reeling Flyers to their 10th straight loss, 3-0. Jesper Bratt scored 5 ½ minutes into the second and assisted on a power-play goal by rookie Dawson Mercer later in the period.
Jake Guentzel’s scorching start for the Pittsburgh Penguins has come to an abrupt halt. The team says the star forward is “week to week” with an upper-body injury.
Coach Mike Sullivan did not go into detail about how or when Guentzel was hurt. Guentzel left the ice briefly in the first period of a victory over Seattle on Monday night, though he returned and finished with two goals and an assist.
Guentzel is riding a 13-game point streak and has 15 goals and 12 assists on the season.
Also around the NHL:
Mark Giordano has rejoined the Kraken at practice after 10 days in a Florida hotel following a positive COVID-19 test. Giordano tested positive on Nov. 26 as Seattle was beginning a road trip at Tampa Bay.
Blackhawks forward Jujhar Khaira spent the night in a hospital after he was leveled by Jacob Trouba during a 6-2 loss to the Rangers. The Hawks cited the NHL’s concussion protocol when they placed Khaira on injured reserve later on Wednesday.
GOLF:
Tiger Woods will be returning to competition next week with 12-year-old son Charlie in the PNC Championship.
It will be his first competition since his right leg was badly damaged in a car crash 10 months ago. Doctors said he shattered the tibia and fibula bones in his right leg in multiple locations.
TENNIS:
Serena Williams has confirmed that she won’t be playing in the Australian Open.
The Australian Open’s website says the seven-time women’s singles champion will not compete in the season-opening major in January “following advice from her medical team.”
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.
OLYMPICS:
Canada is joining the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns.
The announcement Wednesday came after the White House, the Australian government and the UK government confirmed diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Olympics in February to protest Chinese human rights abuses. The diplomatic moves do not affect their athletes’ ability to compete in the Winter Games.
China has vowed to react with “firm countermeasures.”
In other Olympics-related news:
German luger and two-time defending women’s Olympic champ Natalie Geisenberger is considering skipping the Beijing Games because of her dissatisfaction with the way athletes were treated by Chinese officials when training there earlier this season.
Minnesota Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve will be the next USA Basketball women’s coach. Reeve has been an assistant on the last two Olympic women’s teams.
COLLEGE ATHLETICS:
Miami is hiring Dan Radakovich as its athletic director, luring him away from Clemson after nearly a decade of enormous success there. That’s according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school was still finalizing an agreement.
The 63-year-old Radakovich will replace Blake James, who Miami let go two days after the Hurricanes’ football team lost to Florida State last month.