NBA
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum had 21 and the Boston Celtics routed the Chicago Bulls 124-97 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament. The Celtics won a three-team tiebreaker with Orlando and Brooklyn via point differential to take Group C and earn the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. They will visit the No. 2 Indiana Pacers next week. The Celtics made a season-high 21 3-pointers, getting four each from Al Horford and Jrue Holiday. All five Boston starters scored in double figures.
Julius Randle had 25 points and 20 rebounds, RJ Barrett scored 16 points, and the New York Knicks advanced to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 115-91 victory over the Charlotte Hornets last night. The Knicks missed their chance to win Group B when the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Miami Heat to finish unbeaten in pool play. But the Knicks took the wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by tiebreaker because of their point differential in the preliminary round. The Knicks will visit the Bucks, the East’s No. 1 seed, either Monday or Tuesday. Reserves Immanuel Quickley scored 23 points and Josh Hart chipped in 17 as the New York bench outscored Charlotte’s 50-35.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 115-103 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night to win their third straight, but the Nets were knocked out of the NBA In-Season Tournament. Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Cameron Johnson and Royce O’Neale had 18 apiece, and Nic Claxton chipped in with 15. Brooklyn entered the last day of tournament group play needing to win by at least 15 points and for the Celtics to beat Chicago by less than 21 in order to clinch Group C and advance to the knockout round of the inaugural tournament. Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes had 17 each for the Raptors and Gary Trent Jr. finished with 15 off the bench. Dennis Schroder added 14, Chris Boucher contributed 13 and OG Anunoby had 10.
Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and a career-high 19 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers completed pool play in the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 128-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavs finished 3-1 and in second place in East Group A. They had to win to have any chance of capturing a wild-card entry, but needed four other teams to lose and fell short of advancing because of point differential tiebreakers. De’Andre Hunter scored 18 to lead the Hawks, who went 1-3 in the tourney. Trae Young added 13 on 3 of 14 shooting and had 10 assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 32 and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 131-124 on Tuesday night and clinch a home quarterfinal game in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Khris Middleton scored 17, Malik Beasley had 16 and Brook Lopez added 12 for the Bucks, who won East Group B with a 4-0 record.
Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves withstood an injury to Anthony Edwards to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 106-103 in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Edwards had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter. He landed hard on his right side during a dunk attempt and left the game in pain. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points on 13-for-22 shooting for the Thunder. His 37-foot try to tie at the buzzer was well off the mark.
Luka Doncic had 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Dallas Mavericks prevented the Houston Rockets from advancing to the quarterfinals of the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 121-115 victory on Tuesday night. Kyrie Irving added 22 of his 27 points in the second half for the Mavericks, who had already been eliminated. Their victory allowed the New Orleans Pelicans to win Group B in the Western Conference with a 3-1 record. The Mavericks, who trailed by nine points in the third quarter, grabbed the lead for good at 99-98 with 6:25 to play on a drive by Irving.
Malik Monk hit a fadeaway with 7 seconds left and the Sacramento Kings rallied late to beat the Golden State Warriors 124-123 to advance to the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament. The Kings won their group with a 4-0 record and will host New Orleans next week in the quarterfinals. Sacramento needed a win or a loss by 11 points or fewer but ended up with the victory thanks to a furious comeback fueled by two late turnovers by the Warriors. Sacramento won for the first time in three tries this season against Golden State.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points, Damian Lillard added 32 and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 131-124 on Tuesday night and clinch a home quarterfinal game in the NBA In-Season Tournament. Khris Middleton scored 17, Malik Beasley had 16 and Brook Lopez added 12 for the Bucks, who won East Group B with a 4-0 record. Bam Adebayo scored 31 points for the Heat, who got 21 from Kyle Lowry and 20 from Josh Richardson.
A person with knowledge of the talks says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is working on a deal to sell a majority stake in the NBA franchise to the family that runs the Las Vegas Sands casino company. The agreement would be in the valuation range of $3.5 billion and take weeks for the league to process. Cuban would retain control of basketball operations in the deal. The family of Miriam Adelson, widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has announced it's selling $2 billion of her shares to buy an unspecified professional sports team.
NHL
Curtis Lazar scored the winning goal with 23 seconds left and Akira Schmid made eight saves in relief as the New Jersey Devils rallied past the New York Islanders 5-4. Lazar slid a loose puck past Ilya Sorokin to complete a three-goal comeback by the Devils in the third period. New York led 4-2 entering the third before Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier scored to tie it. Hughes had two assists. Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer also scored for the Devils. Mathew Barzal and Cal Clutterbuck scored 1:16 apart in the second to put the Islanders ahead 3-2 before Jean-Gabriel Pageau gave them a two-goal cushion at 13:05. Bo Horvat also scored for the Islanders, who lost in regulation for the first time in seven games.
Michael Bunting had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1. Seth Jarvis and Brendan Lemieux also scored as the Hurricanes won for the fourth time in five games. Sebastian Aho had two assists and Pyotr Kochetkov made 27 saves. Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia. Lemieux snapped a 1-1 tie with 6:35 left in the second period. He capitalized on Scott Laughton’s turnover in front of Philadelphia’s net and shot past Flyers goalie Carter Hart.
Filip Forsberg scored 14 seconds into overtime to give the Nashville Predators their sixth straight victory, 3-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Michael McCarron scored twice and Juuse Saros made 29 saves for Nashville. Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust scored and Tristan Jarry made 23 saves for the Penguins, who have lost three of four. Forsberg skated the length of the ice and beat Jarry on the glove side for the game-winner. As Forsberg crossed the blue line, Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly collided with Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, creating space for Forsberg to skate into the slot.
Noah Gregor scored in regulation and the shootout, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 2-1. Back at home after a 2-1-1 trip, Toronto also got a solid performance from Joseph Woll. The goaltender made 38 saves in regulation and overtime. Kevin Stenlund scored for Florida, which picked up a fight-filled 5-0 victory in Ottawa on Monday. Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Frederick Gaudreau scored in the first period and the Minnesota Wild ended a seven-game slide by beating St. Louis 3-1 Tuesday. Matt Boldy added an insurance goal late and Filip Gustavsson made 21 saves for his first win in eight starts for Minnesota, playing its first game under coach John Hynes. Colton Parayko scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 34 shots for St. Louis.
Tyler Johnson and MacKenzie Entwistle scored in the second period, and the Chicago Blackhawks topped the Seattle Kraken 4-3. Jason Dickinson and Boris Katchouk also scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks held off the Kraken in the final minutes at the end of a difficult day. Chicago announced that it is cutting ties with Corey Perry after the veteran forward engaged in what the organization called unacceptable conduct. The team said in a statement that an internal investigation showed Perry acted in violation of his NHL Standard Player Contract and club policies “intended to promote professional and safe work environments.” Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist for Seattle in its second straight loss.
Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots to record his first shutout of the season, leading the Stars to a 2-0 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Forwards Tyler Seguin and Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas. Seguin put the game away late in the third period. He converted a pass from Mason Marchment, who flipped the puck over fallen defenseman Nate Schmidt and potted the puck into the empty side of the net. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 19 of 21 shots for Winnipeg, snapping his four-game winning streak. It was Winnipeg’s second consecutive loss.
Michael Carcone scored twice, Connor Ingram stopped 31 shots in his second straight strong performance and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1. The Coyotes beat reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas 2-0 on Saturday and backed it up with another strong performance against the Lightning. Ingram was sharp against one of the NHL’s highest-scoring teams after stopping 34 shots against Vegas. He also had his second assist this season and Travis Boyd scored his first goal of the season. Brayden Point scored and Jonas Johansson had 22 saves for the Lightning.
Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists and added the shootout winner as the Edmonton Oilers got a measure of revenge for last year’s second-round playoff loss to Vegas, defeating the Golden Knights 5-4 on Tuesday night. McDavid has recorded 12 points in his last three games. Sam Gagner, Mattias Janmark and Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers, who have won three in a row. Mark Stone, Michael Amadio, Ben Hutton and Keegan Kolesar scored for the Golden Knights, who have dropped three straight and lost five of their last six.
Brock Boeser scored twice to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1. Elias Pettersson snapped a third-period tie as Vancouver improved to 3-4 in its last seven games. Thatcher Demko stopped 30 shots. Ryan Strome scored for Anaheim, and John Gibson made 24 saves. The Ducks dropped their seventh straight game.
The Chicago Blackhawks say veteran Corey Perry engaged in unacceptable conduct and took a step toward terminating his contract. The Blackhawks say an internal investigation showed Perry acted in violation of his NHL contract and their club policies intended to promote a professional and safe working environment. Chicago put Perry on unconditional waivers and said his deal will be terminated as long as he clears. The team has not given any indication as to what Perry did to warrant being sent home last week.
NFL
Frank Reich paid the price for a roster that lacked talent. The Carolina Panthers are 1-10 for several reasons, including poor coaching. But Vince Lombardi couldn’t win with this team. The Panthers haven’t surrounded rookie quarterback Bryce Young with enough players to help him succeed. They have a weak offensive line and mediocre players at the skill positions. Firing Reich just 11 games into his first season was a desperate move for an owner known for being impatient. Since David Tepper bought the Panthers 5 1/2 years ago, he has gone through Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule and Reich. Add interim coaches Perry Fewell, Steve Wilks and now Chris Tabor. That gives Tepper more coaches than years in charge.
Suspended safety Kareem Jackson of the Denver Broncos says he's flying to New York on Wednesday to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss his latest suspension and what he calls the league's uneven enforcement of its player safety rules. Jackson said he's not sure what will come of the meeting because he doubts the league has answers as to how he can avoid future fines, flags and suspensions over the way he plays. Jackson has been suspended twice this season for a total of six games, costing him $837,000 in wages. He's also been ejected from two games and fined $89,670 for four illegal hits.
Running back Jonathan Taylor will have thumb surgery on Wednesday and hopes to return to the Indianapolis Colts in about three weeks, a person with knowledge of the injury has told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team has not yet made a formal announcement. Taylor apparently was injured during Sunday's 27-20 victory over Tampa Bay, but finished the game with 15 carries for 91 yards and a season-high two TDs. Zack Moss is expected to replace Taylor at Tennessee.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The four-team College Football Playoff is going out with the most crowded field of contenders and the most consequential championship weekend in the 10-year history of the system. Eight teams have at least a glimmer of hope to make the field. The penultimate CFP rankings were released Tuesday. Georgia remained No. 1. Michigan moved up a spot to second after beating Ohio State. Unbeaten Washington was third, followed by unbeaten Florida State. Oregon remained fifth, Ohio State slipped to No. 6, Texas was seventh and Alabama eighth. The field for the playoff will be announced Sunday.
Syracuse has hired Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown as its head coach, giving the Orange a highly regarded recruiter with roots in the Northeast. The 41-year-old Brown is a native of Camden, New Jersey. He spent the past two seasons at Georgia and has never been a head coach. Brown was part of a national championship team last season, and the top-ranked Bulldogs are preparing for a third straight Southeastern Conference championship game appearance Saturday. Dino Babers was fired by Syracuse nine days ago, one game short of completing his eighth season as the Orange’s coach and with one year left on his contract. He went 41-55.
GOLF
Tiger Woods sounds more optimistic about his golf schedule than the PGA Tour getting a deal finalized with Saudi Arabia on time. Woods is in the Bahamas for his first competition since ankle surgery in April. So much has happened since then. The tour struck a deal with the backers of LIV Golf. And Woods joined the tour's policy board. He says he was frustrated by being left in the dark on the Saudi deal and wants to make sure that doesn't happen again. As for his golf, Woods says an ideal scenario would be to play once a month.
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Sports Illustrated is the latest media company damaged by being less than forthcoming about who or what is writing its stories at the dawn of the artificial intelligence age. The website Futurism reported that the once-grand magazine used articles with “authors” who apparently don't exist, with photos generated by AI. The magazine denied claims that some articles themselves were AI-assisted, but has cut ties with a vendor it hired to produce the articles. The Gannett newspaper chain and the tech website CNET each had unsuccessful experiments with AI this past year and had kept readers in the dark about what they were doing.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Syracuse MBB 80 LSU 57
On the women’s side:
Merrimack 67 Siena WBB 64
Yale 61 Marist 45
BROADVIEW CENTER
The University at Albany’s renovated arena will open to the public for the first time tonight. Long known as SEFCU Arena, the new Broadview Center debuts with a game featuring the UAlbany men’s basketball team hosting Boston University. The arena first opened in 1992. Undergoing $12 million in upgrades, Broadview Center features a reoriented basketball court, seating upgrades, improved sight lines, and new hospitality areas. There are also new locker room and team facilities. The arena’s capacity is dropping from about 4,500 to 3,800. The Great Danes got a preview of the renovations earlier this month.
Future phases of the renovation project include upgrades to the adjacent P.E. building.
© 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
