NFL
Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller has turned himself in to police in a Dallas suburb after he was charged in a warrant with domestic violence against the mother of his children, who is pregnant. Dallas police confirmed that the 34-year-old Miller surrendered to police in the suburb of Glenn Heights to face a charge of third-degree felony assault of a pregnant woman. The offense is punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Police wrote in an affidavit that Miller twice put his hands on the neck of the woman, pulled out a chunk of her hair and threw her onto a couch. Miller did not return a text message seeking comment. He is free after posting bond.
Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes, and the Dallas Cowboys extended their home winning streak to 14 games by rallying for a 41-35 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Prescott’s 12-yard pass to Jake Ferguson put Dallas in front with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The Cowboys set up a rematch with NFC East rival Philadelphia by escaping what would have been their first loss since falling to the Eagles 28-23 to start November. Geno Smith threw three touchdown passes to D.K. Metcalf, including a 73-yarder, as the Seahawks got their offense going again. But Seattle couldn’t avoid a third consecutive loss to drop to .500.
Aaron Rodgers fully intends to play again this season for the New York Jets and he hasn’t ruled out being back on the field in a few weeks. The quarterback has been making a remarkably quick recovery since tearing his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets on Sept. 11. Rodgers spoke to local reporters Thursday and said he’s not yet close to being able to play. But he also left open the door for him to be back under center before his initial goal of Dec. 24, saying he plans to ramp up his practice activities next week.
NBA
Jalen Brunson scored 42 points, Julius Randle had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Knicks sent the Detroit Pistons to their franchise-record 16th consecutive loss with a 118-112 victory last night. The Pistons (2-17) completed a winless November, having not won a game since a victory over Chicago on Oct. 28 left them 2-1. RJ Barrett had 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 12, including two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch for the Knicks, who have won their last two games. Cade Cunningham scored 31 points and Killian Hayes chipped 23 in for the Pistons. They have also lost 13 in a row against the Knicks.
Terry Rozier had 37 points and 13 assists, and the short-handed Charlotte Hornets beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-128 on Thursday night. Miles Bridges added 23 points, Gordon Hayward chipped in 22 and Mark Williams had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Hornets (6-11) snapped their two-game losing streak despite playing without star guard LaMelo Ball and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller. Cam Thomas scored 26 points in his return from a sprained ankle and Mikal Bridges had 22 points and nine rebounds as Brooklyn’s three-game winning streak was snapped. Cam Johnson missed a 3-pointer that would have won it.
Shaedon Sharpe scored 29 points, rookie Duop Reath added a season-high 13 and the Portland Trail Blazers got their second straight impressive road win this week, 103-95 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Blazers came in just 5-12 overall and 3-7 away from home before rallying to stun the Cavs. On Monday, Portland won at Indiana. Sharpe went 11 of 15 from the field and added 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who scored 12 straight points in the fourth quarter to separate from the Cavs. Donovan Mitchell scored 23 and Evan Mobley 20 for the Cavs. Darius Garland had 15 points, but Cleveland's All-Star point guard was sloppy with the ball, committing eight turnovers.
Jimmy Butler scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half, and the Miami Heat overcame a career-high 44 points from Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton to beat the Pacers 142-132 on Thursday night. Rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 24 for the Heat, who trailed by 13 early and didn’t take the lead for the first time until early in the fourth. Butler added 10 rebounds, Josh Richardson scored 19 and Duncan Robinson added 16 for Miami, which snapped a three-game slide. A 28-6 Miami run in the fourth decided the game. Haliburton added 10 assists for the Pacers.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves weathered the absence of leading scorer Anthony Edwards to beat the Utah Jazz 101-90. The Wolves moved into a tie with Boston for the best record in the league at 14-4. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a season-high 20 points and Rudy Gobert had 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota. Simone Fontecchio led Utah with 16 points and five assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers 133-110. Gilgeous-Alexander made 11 of 18 field goals and 10 of 10 free throws. Jalen Williams scored 21 points and Chet Holmgren added 18 for the Thunder, who were coming off close losses to Philadelphia and Minnesota. Anthony Davis led Los Angeles with 31 points and 14 rebounds. James had 21 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers. He was a game-time decision with a left calf contusion. Oklahoma City shot 53.2% from the field and committed only nine turnovers.
Trae Young scored a season-high 45 points and drew a charge from Jeremy Sochan with 2.7 seconds left as the Atlanta Hawks handed the San Antonio Spurs their 13th straight loss with a 137-135 victory on Thursday night. Sochan matched his career high with 33 points and Victor Wembanyama had 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for San Antonio, but the Spurs remained without a win since Nov. 2. The Spurs fell to 3-15 to open the season for the first time since Dec. 8, 1996. That poor start led to the dismissal of Bob Hill by then general manager Gregg Popovich, who stepped in to start his current 28-year run as San Antonio’s coach.
Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 29 points, and the short-handed Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-113 in overtime. Alex Caruso nailed a buzzer-beating 3 at the end of regulation, and Chicago pulled off a surprise with stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan sidelined by injuries. The Bulls trailed 110-109 in overtime when Vucevic cut for a dunk with 2:28 remaining to start an eight-point run. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Brook Lopez scored 20, and Malik Beasley added 19 points. Damian Lillard scored 18, but the Bucks came up short after winning eight of nine.
Stephen Curry scored 26 points to go with eight assists and seven rebounds, and the undermanned Golden State Warriors held off the Los Angeles Clippers 120-114. Klay Thompson scored 10 straight during a key fourth-quarter stretch and finished with 22 points for the Warriors, who lost guards Chris Paul and Gary Payton II to injuries during a 124-123 loss Tuesday night at Sacramento when they blew a 24-point lead in the In-Season Tournament to miss advancing out of Group C. Forward Andrew Wiggins slammed his right index finger in a car door earlier Thursday and also couldn’t play.
NHL
Luke Hughes scored 28 seconds into overtime and Alexander Holtz, Jack Hughes and Tyler Toffoli scored in regulation, leading the New Jersey Devils to a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils closed it out on a quick rebound in OT after they coughed up a 3-1 lead over the final 5 minutes of regulation. Sean Walker gave the Flyers a shot when his fourth goal with 5 minutes left cut it to 3-2. Tyson Foerster tied it with 50.9 seconds left, recording their second power-play goal of the game after the Flyers entered with seven on the season. The Flyers fell to 0-10-1 when the other team scores first.
Mathew Barzal scored at 2:46 of overtime to lift the New York Islanders past Carolina, 5-4 on Thursday night after the Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho tied it with 2.5 second left in regulation. Barzal added three assists and Semyon Varlamov stopped 39 shots to help the Islanders win for the fourth time in six games. Kyle Palmieri, Pierre Engvall, Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom also scored for New York. Aho scored with goalie Pyotr Kochetkov off for an extra skater, beating Varlamov and the clock. Jalen Chatfield, Jordan Staal and Jack Drury added goals for Carolina. Kochetkov made 11 saves
Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours each scored twice, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-4. Kevin Hayes had a goal and an assist and Brandon Saad also scored for the Blues, who won for the fourth time in their last six games. Jordan Binnington made 41 saves for St. Louis, which improved to 5-0-0 against Eastern Conference teams this season. Rasmus Dahlin, Peyton Krebs and Zach Benson each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo. JJ Peterka also scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 14 saves.
Paval Zacha had a goal and an assist as the Boston Bruins snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk also scored. Jeremy Swayman, who was pulled during Monday’s 5-2 loss to Columbus, stopped all 28 shots he faced for his second shutout this season. David Pastrnak added two assists for the Bruins, who beat the NHL-worst Sharks for the 13th straight time. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves for San Jose, which won its previous two games.
Goalie Tristan Jarry scored an empty-net goal and made 39 saves in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-2 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 last night. Jarry stopped a dump-in and sent the puck end-to-end into the net with 1:08 left. Jeff Carter scored the go-ahead goal in the third period for the Penguins, who also got goals from Sidney Crosby and Drew O’Connor. Steven Stamkos and Tanner Jeannot scored for the Lightning. NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov had two assists to tie his career high with an eight-game points streak. He finished with a team-record 28 points (in 14 games) for the month of November.
J.T. Compher and Robby Fabbri scored twice each, helping the Detroit Red Wings rout the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. Connor Bedard set up Lukas Reichel for a tying goal in the first period, giving the rookie center a team-high 18 points in 21 games, but the Blackhawks couldn’t keep up at either end of the ice as they lost for the seventh time in nine games. Alex Lyon stopped 34 shots for the Red Wings, who have won four of five games to build momentum ahead of Patrick Kane’s expected debut with the team.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for his 11th victory of the season and the Florida Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-1 on Thursday night. Aleksander Barkov, Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and an assist and Sam Bennett and Oliver Ekman-Larsson also scored. The Panthers improved to 14-7-2, earning five out of six points in a three-game Canadian swing. Johnathan Kovacevic scored for Montreal, coming off a 4-2 victory in Columbus on Wednesday night. The Canadiens have lost four straight at home.
Mitch Marner had his second career hat trick and added the shootout winner in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night. Auston Matthews also scored in the shootout and had two assists to help Toronto improve to 12-6-3. Joseph Woll made 37 saves. Jared McCann scored twice for Seatttle. Eeli Tolvanen added a goal and Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots. Wearing a full shield and cage after taking a puck to the jaw against Florida on Tuesday night, Marner ended an eight-game goal drought with the offensive flurry. He also scored three goals against Detroit on Feb. 26, 2022.
Leon Draisaitl broke a tie on a power play with 2:13 left and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory. Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse tied at 1 with 6:49 to go with a straight-on shot from just inside the blue line that hit goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s glove and bounced into the net. Ryan McLeod capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 20 seconds left. Stuart Skinner made 25 saves to help Edmonton improve to 9-12-1. Cole Perfetti scored on a first-period power play for Winnipeg and Hellebuyck stopped 36 shots. The Jets have lost three straight to fall to 12-8-2.
Connor Dewar had a hat trick and added an assist, Filip Gustavsson made 26 saves and the Minnesota Wild routed Nashville 6-1 on Thursday night to end the Predators’ winning streak at six games. Prior to Thursday, Dewar had never had more than a goal and two points in an NHL game. He appeared to score a fourth goal with just over four minutes remaining, but it was taken away after the Predators challenged the play as offside. Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and an assist, and Jake Middleton and Pat Maroon also scored for the Wild. They have won both games under new coach John Hynes. Juuso Parssinen scored for Nashville.
Nazem Kadri scored at 1:01 of overtime to give the Calgary Flames a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. The puck deflected off Kadri as he drove toward the net on a play that was reviewed for goaltender interference. Calgary tied it with 2:41 remaining in regulation when defensemen MacKenzie Weeger lofted a shot from the blue line past screened goalie Scott Wedgewood.Fellow defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev also scored for Calgary and Jacob Markstrom assisted on the winner and made 13 saves. The Flames are 6-3-1 in their last 10. Mason Marchment twice for Dallas, the second on a penalty shot to give the Stars a 3-2 lead early in the third period. Thomas Harley also scored for Dallas.
Nick Bjugstad scored 4:39 into overtime and the Arizona Coyotes extended their win streak to a season-high three games with a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. Michael Carcone, Travis Boyd and Nick Schmaltz also scored for Arizona, and Connor Ingram had 28 saves. Bjugstad was slashed by Bowen Byram on a breakaway in overtime that was nearly a penalty shot. Seconds after the resulting power play expired, Bjugstad beat Alexandar Georgiev for his fifth goal of the season. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Miles Wood scored for the Avalanche, who had won seven of eight.
Jack Eichel had a goal and two assists in his 500th regular-season NHL game and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson and Brett Howden also scored to help the defending Stanley Cup champions stop a three-game slide in improving to 15-5-4. Adin Hill stopped all 16 shots he faced before leaving as a precaution for a lower-body injury. Logan Thompson took over in the third period, stopping five of six shots. Andrei Kuzmenko scored for Vancouver, and Thatcher Demko made 40 saves. The Canucks fell to 15-8-1.
Linemates Anthony Mantha and Connor McMichael each had a goal and an assist and the Washington Capitals beat Los Angeles 2-1 on Wednesday night to end the Kings’ winning streak at five games. Mantha had his third multi-point game of the season to tie Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome for the team lead. McMichael had his second multi-point game of the season. Aliaksei Protas added two assists and Charlie Lindgren stopped 37 shots to help the Capitals snap a two-game losing streak. Arthur Kaliyev scored for Los Angeles and Cam Talbot made 13 saves. The Kings lost for the first time in regulation this season when scoring first, dropping to 11-1-1.
Corey Perry says he has begun working with mental health and substance abuse experts to discuss his struggles with alcohol after the Chicago Blackhawks terminated his contract for engaging “in conduct that is unacceptable” and against team policies. Perry emailed a statement to The Associated Press and other outlets on Thursday apologizing for behavior he called inappropriate and wrong. Perry's agent confirmed his client sent the statement. The 38-year-old NHL veteran says he is embarrassed and hopes to regain the trust of those who believed in him throughout his career. Perry says he'll discuss his struggles with alcohol.
SOCCER
Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been hit with a billion dollar class-action lawsuit over his role in promoting cryptocurrency-related “non-fungible tokens,” or NFTs, issued by the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida Monday, accuses Ronaldo’s promotions of Binance of being “deceptive and unlawful.” Binance’s partnership with high-profile figures like Ronaldo, the plaintiffs claim, caused them to make costly and unsafe investments. Ronaldo launched his inaugural NFT “CR7” collection with Binance back in November 2022. Representatives for Ronaldo and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, did not immediately return The Associated Press’ requests for comment.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(13)FAU 83 Liberty 58
(15)Creighton 79 Oklahoma St. 65
(16)Texas 77 Texas St. 58
(25)Oklahoma 107 Ark.-Pine Bluff 86
The State University of New York College at Albany is holding a ribbon-cutting for its recently-reopened arena, now known as the Broadview Center. Saturday’s ceremony will be held during halftime of the women’s Albany Cup game against rival Siena College. The women’s match is set to start at 5 p.m, and the men will complete the doubleheader at 8 p.m. against Dartmouth.
Bronny James has been cleared by doctors for a full return to basketball four months after suffering a cardiac arrest. The Southern California freshman is expected to make his collegiate debut soon, with father LeBron James saying he wouldn’t miss it even if he has to skip a Lakers game. A James family spokesperson says the 19-year-old will have a final evaluation with USC staff this week and resume practice next week. He will be able to play in games “soon after." The Trojans play No. 11 Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Saturday. Their next home game is Dec. 10 against Long Beach State. He suffered a cardiac arrest in July during a workout.
LSU forward Angel Reese helped the Tigers beat Virginia Tech in her return from a four-game absence. Reese rejoined her teammates at practice this week as the seventh-ranked Tigers prepared to host the ninth-ranked Hokies. Her departure from the team stemmed from unspecified “locker room issues” that coach Kim Mulkey has said should remain a private internal matter. But Reese made some general references to her mental health and not wanting her behavior to be detrimental to the team.
Star Memphis basketball recruit Mikey Williams has pleaded guilty to one felony charge in a gun case, and one of his attorneys said he does not expect the 19-year-old to face jail time. Williams had faced nine felony counts and up to 30 years in prison stemming from a shooting at his home on March 17 in which no one was injured. Attorney Randy M. Grossman says Williams pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a criminal threat and to a special allegation of using a firearm during the threat. In exchange, the other eight counts were dismissed.
GOLF
Tiger Woods made a solid return to golf until he limped home in the Bahamas. That was more about his golf than his fused right ankle. Woods dropped four shots in a three-hole stretch toward the end and shot 75 in the Hero World Challenge. That left him eight shots behind leaders Brian Harman and Tony Finau. Woods' score was better than only two players in the 20-man field at Albany. He attributed his results to being rusty and lacking commitment. The big trouble came on the par-5 15th. He tried to punch out of a bush and made a double bogey.
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