Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff have had convincing third-round wins at the Australian Open. The third-seeded Pegula was a quarterfinalist the past two years at Melbourne Park. She needed 65 minutes for a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Marta Kostyuk. Seventh-seeded Gauff beat Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last 16. Top-seeded Iga Swiatek beat Cristina Bucsa, a qualifier from Spain, 6-0, 6-1 in 55 minutes. Last year’s finalist Danielle Collins of the U.S. was beaten 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 by Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Andy Murray and Thanasi Kokkinakis have played deep into the night at the Australian Open until Murray emerged with a five-set victory that ended just after 4 a.m. They began playing on Thursday and finished on Friday at Margaret Court Arena before hundreds of enthusiastic spectators who remained. It was the second consecutive five-setter this week for three-time major champion Murray. The 35-year-old from Britain has an artificial hip. Kokkinakis is a 26-year-old from Australia who is ranked 159th and has never been past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament.
NBA
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points with a career-high 19 rebounds to help the Celtics pull away from Golden State in an NBA Finals rematch and beat the Warriors 121-118. Jaylen Brown had 16 points and nine rebounds. He made a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Horford had 20 points, 10 boards and three blocked shots for the Celtics. They lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals in six games and then lost a fourth straight game to them in their first regular-season matchup in December. Stephen Curry scored 29 points for the defending champions.
Mikal Bridges scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton had 24 points and 14 rebounds and the Phoenix Suns held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-112 on Thursday night. Brooklyn fought back from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to make things tight in the final minute. Kyrie Irving — who scored 21 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter — hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 113-110 with 10.9 seconds remaining, After the Suns hit a free throw, Nic Claxton’s dunk with 7.4 seconds made it 114-112, but that’s as close as the Nets would get to taking the lead. Brooklyn has lost four straight. The Suns snapped a three-game losing streak.
Joel Embiid scored 32 points and the Philadelphia 76ers stretched their winning streak to four games, all on the road, with a 105-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. James Harden added 16 points and 14 assists for the Sixers, who led by as many as 26 points before holding off a late Portland rally. Damian Lillard had 25 points and 11 assists for the Blazers and Jerami Grant scored 24 points against his former team. Currently on a five-game western road trip, the 76ers have won the first four games. Philadelphia has won eight of 10 games this month, building on an eight-game winning streak in December.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and French President Emmanuel Macron met this week in Paris to talk about ways they can help one another grow the game in France and beyond. The meeting comes with good timing given that French star Victor Wembanyama is about to enter the NBA and the Paris Olympics are about 18 months away. Silver also said the NBA wants to play in Paris again next year. And before that happens, the league is still working with players on a new labor deal. There's also plans coming together to celebrate LeBron James becoming the NBA scoring leader, which could happen in the coming weeks.
NHL
Dylan Cozens scored 12 seconds into overtime, and the Buffalo Sabres beat the New York Islanders 3-2. Alex Tuch and Victor Olofsson also scored for Buffalo, which had dropped five of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 24 stops. Cozens beat Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin on a breakaway after Rasmus Dahlin’s floating pass sprung him for his 15th goal of the season. Brock Nelson and Matt Martin scored for New York, and Sorokin made 42 saves. The Islanders have lost seven of the past eight games.
Jeremy Swayman made 31 saves to help the Boston Bruins beat the New York Rangers 3-1 for their eighth victory in nine games. Pavel Zacha, Patrice Bergeron and Connor Clifton scored for NHL-leading Boston, which improved to 15-1-3 in its last 19 games. Brad Marchand and David Krejci each had two assists. Swayman was working on a shutout before New York defenseman Ben Harpur scored with 4:23 left. The goaltender improved to 6-0-2 in his last eight starts.
Ryan Donato had two goals and an assist for Seattle, and Andre Burakovsky scored 1:10 into overtime to give the Kraken a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Donato powered Seattle to an early 2-0 lead, but New Jersey rallied. Erik Haula’s short-handed breakaway goal at 6:04 of the third period tied it at 2. Brandon Tanev put the Kraken in front again at 7:51, but New Jersey forced overtime with another late goal. Nico Hischier jabbed the rebound off Jack Hughes’ shot past Seattle goalie Martin Jones with 1:14 left, capping an extended flurry of activity around the net after the Devils pulled goalie Mackenzie Blackwell.
Chicago beat Philadelphia 4-1.
Florida beat Montreal 6-2.
NFL
Byron Leftwich is out as offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are shaking up their coaching staff after finishing with the only losing record Tom Brady has had in more than two decades as a NFL starter. The 43-year-old Leftwich was fired Thursday, three days after the Bucs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys and just two years removed from helping Brady win a record seventh Super Bowl in the quarterback’s first season with Tampa Bay. Five other assistant coaches were dismissed, too, while three others have decided to retire.
For Kyle Shanahan, the chance to coach the San Francisco 49ers against the Dallas Cowboys in a playoff game is a throwback to when that rivalry was the biggest in football. Shanahan’s formative years were spent watching his father, Mike, as offensive coordinator in San Francisco battling the Cowboys in three straight NFC title games. After the rivalry went dormant for more than a quarter-century as the proud franchises rarely enjoyed success at the same time, it is having a rebirth with San Francisco set to take on Dallas for the second straight postseason when they meet Sunday in the divisional round.
A family spokesman for Damar Hamlin tells The Associated Press the Buffalo Bills safety still faces a long rehabilitation despite enjoying a remarkable recovery some three weeks after having to be resuscitated on the field during a game in Cincinnati. Jordon Rooney says Hamlin still requires oxygen and is having his heart monitored regularly to ensure there are no setbacks or after effects. Rooney provided the update to emphasize Hamlin still faces hurdles since being discharged from Buffalo General Medical Center on Jan. 11, and began making regular visits to the Bills facility this week.
NFL PLAYOFFS - Divisional Round
Saturday, Jan. 21
The Jaguars are at the Chiefs at 4:30 p.m. on NBC.
The NY Giants are at the Eagles at 8:15 p.m. on Fox.
Sunday, Jan. 22
The Bengals are at the Bills at 3 p.m. on CBS.
The Dallas Cowboys are at the San Francisco 49ers at 6:30 p.m. on Fox.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Cam Shelton banked in a go-ahead runner with 13 seconds left and Loyola Marymount snapped No. 6 Gonzaga’s 75-game home winning streak with a 68-67 victory. The home streak for the Bulldogs was tied with Long Beach State (from 1968-74) for the eighth-longest in Division I history. Shelton scored 27 points to lead the Lions, who hadn’t won in Spokane since 1991 and had lost 25 straight overall to the Zags. Gonzaga had won 93 straight games against unranked opponents with 69 of those coming at home. Gonzaga’s streak of 36 straight wins in the month of January also ended.
SOCCER
Grimacing in pain from his bruised cheekbone Cristiano Ronaldo steadied himself before scoring from the penalty spot for his first goal in Saudi Arabia against a Paris Saint-Germain team featuring old foe Lionel Messi. Messi had already scored early in Thursday’s exhibition game when Ronaldo was flattened by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas after about 30 minutes in Riyadh. Ronaldo’s cheekbone was bright apple red but he was all smiles after netting his second goal. Messi’s Qatari-backed PSG won 5-4 against a combined XI of Saudi Arabian teams Al Nassr and Al Hilal, captained by Al Nassr’s new signing Ronaldo. Although his team lost Ronaldo edged perhaps the final instalment of Ronaldo vs. Messi as one of the greatest rivalries in soccer history resumed in an unusual location.
PGA-AmEx
PGA Tour rookie Davis Thompson shot a career-low 10-under 62 at La Quinta on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead over Jon Rahm and four others after the first round of The American Express. The 23-year-old Thompson got off to a brilliant start by birdieing three of the first four holes and then making eagle on both par-5s on the front nine, Nos. 5 and 6. He made the turn in 8-under 28, the lowest front-nine score at La Quinta. Rahm shot 64 at La Quinta, one of three courses being used fo the first three rounds. The fourth-ranked Rahm won two weeks ago at Kapalua.
NCAA-HARBAUGH
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told NCAA investigators in multiple meetings this week that he will not agree to an unethical conduct charge, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the investigation have not been shared publicly. Michigan announced two weeks ago that it received notice from the NCAA that the governing body is looking into potential rules infractions in the Wolverines football program.
The College Athlete Protection Act
A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require schools that play major college sports to pay some athletes as much as $25,000 annually. The bill also calls for schools to pay some post-college medical expenses for athletes and to guarantee athletic scholarships for six years. The College Athlete Protection Act is sponsored by Assembly member Chris Holden, who is a former San Diego State basketball player. The bill is the type of state-level legislation the NCAA is looking to federal lawmakers to preempt.