NFL
Four days after losing 3-0, the Las Vegas Raiders set a franchise scoring record with a 63-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders scored 42 points by halftime. They didn’t let the Chargers cross midfield until the third quarter. It was the most points for the Raiders, beating out their 59-14 victory at Denver in 2010. The Raiders led 42-0 at halftime, just three points shy of the NFL record for halftime margin that was set in 2009 when the New England Patriots led Tennessee 45-0. The halftime deficit was the biggest in Chargers history.
Los Angeles Chargers defensive leader Khalil Mack said he didn’t have his unit ready after Thursday’s historic 63-21 loss to their AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders. In an even bigger statement, he made it clear the team still believes in coach Brandon Staley. Now it’s a matter of whether or not team owner Dean Spanos believes in the guy who is well on his way to his worst record since taking over in 2021 after the Chargers allowed more than 57 points for the first time in franchise history. Staley thinks he still deserves to coach the team.
Joe Flacco’s officially signed and sealed with Cleveland. Flacco got a one-year, $4.05 million contract from the Browns, who brought in the veteran quarterback last month while in emergency mode after losing starter Deshaun Watson for the season with a right shoulder injury. Flacco’s deal means the 38-year-old moves from the practice squad to the active roster. And while it was more procedural than anything, it assures he’ll be with the Browns as they try to clinch a playoff spot. The team elevated Flacco from the practice squad in each of the past two weeks for starts.
NBA
Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 22 and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-107 to improve to 12-0 at home. Facing the Cavaliers for the second consecutive game at TD Garden after a victory on Tuesday, Boston won for the sixth time in seven games overall. Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 and Derrick White 14 for the Celtics, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference. All five starters scored in double figures. Donovan Mitchell paced Cleveland with 31 points, and Caris LeVert finished with 26. The Cavaliers have lost three straight.
Nikola Jokic became the first NBA player with at least 10 triple-doubles in seven straight seasons as the Denver Nuggets beat the Brooklyn Nets 124-101 for their third consecutive win. Jokic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his 115th career triple-double during the regular season. Denver also was bolstered by the return of Jamal Murray, who missed Tuesday’s game at Chicago with ankle soreness. He scored 16 points, and Peyton Watson added 18 for the defending champion Nuggets. Playing the second of back-to-back games on the road, the Nets were missing Dennis Smith Jr., who did not make the trip while continuing to recover from an upper-back injury. They were led by Spencer Dinwiddie’s 17 points, with Cam Thomas adding 13.
Coby White scored 26 points, and the Chicago Bulls ran out to a huge lead before hanging on to beat the Miami Heat 124-116. Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls. White had 11 assists and seven rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points for Chicago, and DeMar DeRozan had 23. The Bulls started the game on a 33-8 run and never trailed. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 22 for Miami.
Naz Reid scored 19 of his season-high 27 points in the first half, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and a season-high 17 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves shook off an early 15-point deficit to beat Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks 119-101. The Wolves avoided their first losing streak of the season and matched Boston for the NBA’s best record at 18-5. Doncic had 39 points and 13 rebounds for the Mavericks, who had won four in a row. It was the ninth consecutive game with at least 30 points for Doncic.
Collin Sexton scored 27 points, Simone Fonteccio had 24 and the Utah Jazz beat the struggling Portland Trail Blazers 122-114. Talen Horton-Tucker added 23 points for the short-handed Jazz, who led by 33 in the second half despite playing without All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Keyonte George. Fonteccio shot 7 of 8 from the field, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range. Rookie guard Scoot Henderson had a career-high 23 points and 10 assists to lead the Trail Blazers, who lost their fifth straight. Rookie forward Toumani Camara also set a career best with 18 points, and Portland got 14 points and nine rebounds from Deandre Ayton, who missed the previous three games with a knee injury.
De’Aaron Fox scored 41 points and the Sacramento Kings beat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-123. Oklahoma City wasted a stellar performance by Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 43 points, nine assists and six rebounds. The Kings led by 14 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Thunder cut the deficit to two with a 13-2 run. Fox and Keegan Murray answered with late baskets, and Sacramento stepped up its defense down the stretch. It was the third 40-point performance this season for Fox, who also had seven assists and three rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in three quarters and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Sacramento Kings 119-99. The Clippers won their fifth in a row. Paul George dived on the floor for a loose ball in the first half and didn't play in the second because of a sore left groin. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue says George could have returned. Leonard has scored 106 points in his last three games. James Harden added 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help the Clippers sweep a back-to-back for the first time this season. Keegan Murray led Sacramento with 17 points. The Kings had their two-game winning streak snapped.
The Golden State Warriors believe Draymond Green needs help to curb his long history of rough play. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. is hopeful an indefinite suspension provides enough time for their star forward to make real progress. Dunleavy says the team is satisfied with the NBA’s latest punishment for Green, the four-time NBA champion who was banned indefinitely Wednesday after hitting Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face. The suspension was the sixth of Green’s career and his fourth in 2023. Dunleavy repeatedly said the Warriors will “help” Green during his absence, but didn’t provide specifics.
James Harden scored his 25,000th career point in the Los Angeles Clippers' sixth straight victory. They beat the Golden State Warriors 121-113 with Harden racking up 28 points, 15 assists and seven rebounds. Kawhi Leonard added 28 points. Klay Thompson scored a season-high 30 while hitting eight 3-pointers for Golden State, which went 0-3 on its road trip and has lost 12 of 16 overall. Stephen Curry had 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting as the Warriors began another potentially lengthy stint without Draymond Green, who is suspended indefinitely after smacking Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies have been counting down the days until the two-time All-Star’s 25-game suspension ends. The point guard suspended for flashing a gun on social media twice in the span of three months has posted an hourglass emoji a couple times. Morant will speak Friday to the media for the first time since a first-round playoff loss. His season debut will be Tuesday night in New Orleans. Morant returns to one of the NBA's worst teams instead of the Grizzlies who earned the No. 2 seed in the West the past two seasons. And it's up to Morant to prove the undisclosed steps required of him actually made a difference.
Two-time ABA champion and three-time NBA All-Star George McGinnis has died. He was 73. McGinnis was considered one of the best prep players to play in the basketball-rich state of Indiana. He spent two seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers, earning third team All-American honors in the only season he actually played. McGinnis then became one of the first underclassmen to play professional basketball, joining the Indiana Pacers in 1971. He also played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets before finishing his 11-year career back with the Pacers. He was the ABA's 1974-75 MVP and a three-time ABA All-Star.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Bobby Brink scored the deciding goal in the shootout and also tallied one in regulation to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals. Brink came from a sharp angle in the shootout, then deked past Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren before the easy finish into the empty net. Sean Couturier also scored in the shootout for the Flyers, who have won five of six. Owen Tippett and Joel Farabee netted goals in regulation for Philadelphia. Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson each had a goal and an assist, and Connor McMichael also scored in regulation for the Capitals.
Kent Johnson scored his second goal of the game at 3:26 of overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 6-5 victory over Toronto on Thursday night after the Maple Leafs overcame a five-goal deficit in the third period. Patrik Laine, Justin Danforth, Yegor Chinakhov and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for Columbus and Elvis Merzlikins made 43 saves. Auston Matthews scored Toronto’s final two goals to break a tie for the NHL lead with 23. William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Jake McCabe also scored and Ilya Samsonov stopped 29 shots to help Toronto run its points streak to eight at 5-0-3. Matthews scored on a one-timer from Nylander with 1:15 remaining, then netted another with 44.4 seconds left on a one-timer from Nylander.
Jordan Staal broke a tie midway through the second period and the Carolina Hurricanes held off the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Thursday night. Jack Drury also scored for Carolina and Pyotr Kochetkov made 25 saves. The Hurricanes finished off a six-game trip with consecutive victories after dropping the first four. Michael Rasmussen scored for Detroit in the second period for his 100th career point. Ville Husso stopped 36 shots for the Red Wings. They have lost four of five. A fortunate carom allowed the Hurricanes to regain the advantage with 8:12 left in the second. Brett Pesce dumped the puck into Detroit’s zone. Husso strayed from the crease to retrieve the puck, but it took an odd bounce and Staal tapped it in.
Kent Johnson scored his second goal of the game at 3:26 of overtime to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 6-5 victory over Toronto on Thursday night after the Maple Leafs overcame a five-goal deficit in the third period. Patrik Laine, Justin Danforth, Yegor Chinakhov and Johnny Gaudreau also scored for Columbus and Elvis Merzlikins made 43 saves. Auston Matthews scored Toronto’s final two goals to break a tie for the NHL lead with 23. William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Jake McCabe also scored and Ilya Samsonov stopped 29 shots to help Toronto run its points streak to eight at 5-0-3. Matthews scored on a one-timer from Nylander with 1:15 remaining, then netted another with 44.4 seconds left on a one-timer from Nylander.
Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy scored in the shootout to lift the Minnesota Wild over the Calgary Flames 3-2. Boldy and Marco Rossi scored in regulation for Minnesota, which is now 6-2 since John Hynes took over as coach for Dean Evason. Filip Gustavsson stopped 36 shots in goal for the Wild. Yegor Sharangovich and Blake Coleman scored while Dan Vladar made 30 saves for the Flames, who are 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Sharangovich also had a goal in the shootout, but Gustavsson stopped Nazem Kadri as the fourth shooter to preserve the win.
Steven Stamkos scored four goals for the first time in his career, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 53 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat Edmonton 7-4 on Thursday night to end the Oilers’ winning streak at eight. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists to push his NHL-leading points total to 50. Tyler Motte and Anthony Cirelli also scored to help Tampa Bay improve to 14-12-5 with its fourth victory in six games. Darnell Nurse, Connor McDavid, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored for Edmonton. The Oilers fell to 13-13-1, falling a victory short of matching the longest winning streak in franchise history.
Thatcher Demko made 36 saves after Vancouver added former star goalie Roberto Luongo to its Ring of Honor in a pregame ceremony and the Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 4-0 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory. Demko had his third shutout of the season and sixth in the NHL. Dakota Joshua scored twice, Brock Boeser had his 22nd and Andrei Kuzmenko added a goal. Vancouver improved to 20-9-1, going 4-1-0 on a five-game homestand. Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 saves for Florida in the first two periods, and Anthony Stolarz stopped the lone shot he faced in the third. The Panthers dropped to 17-10-2, also falling 4-0 at Seattle on Tuesday night. Luongo is now part of Florida’s’ front office.
MLB
A person familiar with the agreement tells The Associated Press the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a tentative trade with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire right-hander Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot for pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonny Deluca. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade is subject to the Dodgers and Glasnow agreeing to a new contract. The teams have until 11 a.m. EST on Sunday to complete the trade under a window granted by the commissioner’s office. Glasnow went 10-7 with a 3.53 ERA for the Rays last season.
Shohei Ohtani opened his first news conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers by dodging questions about whether he had a second Tommy John surgery. He says: “It was a procedure. I’m not sure what it was called.” Speaking to media for the first time since Aug. 9, he also refused to say what other teams he negotiated with before the agreement last weekend on a record $700 million, 10-year contract. Ohtani wore a navy business suit with a white shirt and blue tie, took off the jacket and put on a Dodgers home jersey with No. 17.
Clayton Kershaw said he is recovering well after recent shoulder surgery and has yet to decide where and when to sign his next contract. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is a free agent after signing one-year contracts each of the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 35-year-old left-hander is still in the process of deciding his next move. Kershaw calls new Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani “a unique, unique talent” and says he's eager to see the two-time AL MVP resume pitching in 2025.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UAlbany faces South Dakota State in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals at 7 tonight in Brookings, South Dakota.
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