NBA
Joel Embiid had 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a sprained right ankle and Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Chicago Bulls 110-97 last night. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 16 points. Andre Drummond had 11 points, 17 rebounds for the Bulls. The 76ers returned home from a 2-2 road trip. Embiid missed all four games. One of the games was a 13-point loss to the Bulls on Saturday. Embiid's return instead meant another blowout win at home.
CJ McCollum scored 16 points, Herb Jones added 14 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans routed the Brooklyn Nets 112-85 for their third straight victory and eighth in 11 games. Jose Alvarado scored 13 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans. The Pelicans opened the game on a 9-0 run, never trailed and led by as many as 32 points. The Nets shot a season-worst 35.7% while losing their fourth straight. Brooklyn's Cam Thomas entered the game averaging a team-leading 22.4 points but missed all 11 of his shots and did not score. Cameron Johnson led the Nets with 17 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the NBA-leading Boston Celtics 127-123 for their fifth straight win and eighth in nine games. Josh Giddey added 23 points for the Thunder. Kristaps Porzingis scored 34 points and Jayson Tatum had 30 for the Celtics. Boston had won six straight and 11 of 12. During their recent stretch, the Thunder have beaten defending champion Denver twice, ended the Los Angeles’ Clippers win streak at nine, beaten Minnesota by 23 and now topped Boston.
Ja Morant had 26 points, 10 assists and a fourth-quarter dunk over Victor Wembanyama, Desmond Bane added 24 points and the Memphis Grizzlies used a second-half spurt to beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-98 on Tuesday night. Santi Aldama added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which snapped a three-game losing streak Wembanyama led the Spurs with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Morant brought the Memphis crowd to its feet with 9:11 left as he drove down the right side of the lane, cut left into the middle and dunked on the 7-foot-3 rookie from France, who leads the NBA in blocked shots.
Jamal Murray scored 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 22 as the Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 111-93. Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets sent the Hornets to their 11th straight loss. Two of those losses have come against the Nuggets in the last 1 1/2 weeks. Aaron Gordon, who suffered cuts to his hand and face when he was bitten by a dog on Christmas Day, had 10 points in his return for Denver. Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 26 points, and Nick Richards and Brandon Miller had 15 points apiece.
Stephen Curry scored 36 points and delivered on key plays in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors snap a three-game losing streak with a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry scored or set up 13 straight Warriors points in a four-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter that gave Golden State its first win in three tries on a seven-game homestand. Jonathan Kuminga added 19 points and Klay Thompson scored 15 for the Warriors. Paolo Banchero and 27 points and 12 rebounds and Franz Wagner added 25 points for Orlando.
NHL
Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play goal 32 seconds into overtime, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the New York Islanders 5-4 on Tuesday night. MacKinnon got the winner with a slapshot on a pass from Cale Makar, his 20th goal of the season. Valeri Nichushkin had two goals, Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist, and Devon Toews had a goal against his former team. Makar had three assists and Alexandar Georgiev had 18 saves for Colorado. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist and Ilya Sorokin had 23 saves in relief of Semyon Varlamov for the shorthanded Islanders. Pierre Engvall, Alexander Romanov and Simon Holmstrom also scored for the Islanders.
Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and Pyotr Kochetkov made 28 saves as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 6-1 on Tuesday for their fourth-straight win. Former Ranger Brady Skjei added three assists for the surging Hurricanes and Jack Drury, Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield and Michael Bunting also scored as Carolina improved to 7-1-3 in their last 11 games. Svechnikov has points in five straight games, including six goals. Chris Kreider scored the lone goal for the Rangers who lost their first game of 2024 after splitting two road games in Florida to conclude 2023.
James van Riemsdyk scored on a power play and added two assists, lifting the Boston Bruins over the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 and extending their win streak to four games. Kevin Shattenkirk, Danton Heinen and Trent Frederic added goals, and Linus Ullmark stopped 25 shots to win the rubber match in the team’s three-game season series. Kent Johnson scored and Spencer Martin stopped 23 shots for Columbus, which has lost two in a row and five of its last six. The Blue Jackets sit last in the Metropolitan Division.
Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists, and the Edmonton Oilers extended their win streak to six games with a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist for Edmonton, which improved to 14-3-0 in its last 17 games. Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists, and Leon Draisaitl also scored. Travis Konecny and Marc Staal scored for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six.
Alex Ovechkin scored a power-play goal during Washington’s fast start, and the Capitals beat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Ovechkin and Crosby faced off for the 67th time in the regular season. Crosby finished with a goal and an assist, but Washington held on after racing out to a 4-0 lead. It was the 10th time that Ovechkin and Crosby scored in the same game, and first since a Capitals win on Nov. 7, 2018. Martin Fehervary, Tom Wilson and Beck Malenstyn also scored for Washington, which had dropped four in a row. Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Morgan Barron scored in the third period, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 to extend their point streak to nine games. Winnipeg improved to 7-0-2 during the surge. The point streak matches a franchise record set in December 2005 by the Atlanta Thrashers. Neal Pionk and Alex Iafallo also scored for the Jets, and Vladislav Namestnikov contributed three assists. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for Tampa Bay, and Steven Stamkos also scored. The Lightning have lost three of their past four games.
Andrew Mangiapane and Jonathan Huberdeau scored first-period goals for Calgary, and Blake Coleman added an empty-netter as the Flames held on to beat the short-handed Minnesota Wild 3-1. Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves in net to earn the win. Pat Maroon put the Wild on the board with his first goal since Nov. 30 to make it 2-1 in the second. Minnesota remains without leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, who was injured Saturday against Winnipeg. Goalie Filip Gustavsson and forward Vinni Lettieri were both placed on injured reserve with lower-body injuries.
Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal an an assist, Juuse Saros made 21 saves and the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0. Luke Evangelista also scored for Nashville, which has won two straight and improved to 3-0 against Chicago this season. Arvid Soderblom made 33 saves for the Blackhawks, who have dropped five of six. Saros’ shutout was his second of the season and 22nd of his career. Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard was held without a point for just the second time in his last eight games.
Kaiden Guhle and Jordan Harris added to Montreal’s NHL-leading 30 goals from defensemen and Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots as the Canadiens held off the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Tuesday night. Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist and Cole Caufield also scored for the Canadiens. Wyatt Johnston had a goal and an assist while Jamie Benn and Jason Robertson also scored for the Stars. Scott Wedgewood made 14 saves. Dallas, coming off an eight-goal performance on Sunday night, scored its fastest opening goal of the season at 11 seconds but trailed 2-1 after one period.
Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk scored 42 seconds apart in the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-1. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves and Carter Verhaeghe and Gustav Forsling also scored for the Panthers, who have won five straight and nine of 13. Reinhart scored on a power play at 7:56 off the third period to break a 1-1 tie, and Tkachuk was credited with the goal at 8:38 when Arizona defenseman Michael Kesselring tipped the puck into the net from in front. Forsling scored an empty-net goal with 2:21 left. Alex Kerfoot scored a short-handed goal early in the third period for the Coyotes.
Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter each scored twice, and the Vancouver Canucks used a fast start to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-3. J.T. Miller and Ian Cole also scored for Vancouver, which led 5-0 after one. Thatcher Demko stopped 35 shots. Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals for Ottawa, and Claude Giroux had a goal and assist.
Toronto 3 Los Angeles 0
The Toronto Maple Leafs snapped their three-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. Martin Jones made 31 saves against his former team during his 30th career shutout, and William Nylander scored two goals. Calle Järnkrok also scored and Tyler Bertuzzi had two impressive assists for the Leafs, who began their three-game California road trip. Cam Talbot stopped 26 shots for the Kings, who have lost three straight for the first time this season. Los Angeles also has lost four of five at home after getting shut out for the first time this season.
Detroit 5 San Jose 3
David Perron scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the third period, including the winner with 1:30 left, and the Detroit Red Wings beat San Jose 5-3 to push the Sharks’ losing streak to nine games. Daniel Sprong and J.T. Compher also scored for Detroit. Lucas Raymond had three assists, and Michael Rasmussen added an empty-net goal with six seconds remaining. Alex Lyon stopped 24 shots. Fabian Zetterlund, Justin Bailey and Alexander Barabanov scored for the NHL-worst Sharks, who dropped 11 in a row to begin the season. Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves. The Red Wings had lost three of four and 10 of 13, but they started their three-game California swing on a positive note.
NFL
The NFL has fined Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper $300,000 for tossing a drink at fans in Jacksonville toward the end of a game on Sunday. The league called Tepper’s conduct “unacceptable” in a statement released Tuesday. Tepper’s reaction came after rookie quarterback Bryce Young threw an interception with less than three minutes to play in a 26-0 loss to the Jaguars. It wasn’t clear whether Tepper was reacting to something said to him or another loss for the NFL’s worst team. The Panthers are 2-14 and won’t even have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft because it was traded to Chicago for the top pick used to select Young.
Frank Ryan, the quarterback who led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964, has died. He was 87. Ryan was a three-time Pro Bowler during seven seasons with the Browns. His family said he died while being cared for at a nursing home in Connecticut. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The family said chronic traumatic encephalopathy may have played a role in the progression of the disease. Ryan donated his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center for study. After his playing career, Ryan, who earned a doctorate degree in mathematics from Rice, worked for the U.S. House of Representatives and helped develop the body’s first electronic voting system.
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens played their best football in the biggest games of the regular season. Now, they’ve got to do it in the playoffs. Jackson has been one of the NFL’s top players for several years, but the Ravens are just 1-3 in the playoffs with him. This season seems different. The Ravens have not only beaten the better teams, they’ve dominated them. Jackson boosted his chances for his second AP NFL MVP award with back-to-back sensational performances in lopsided wins over the 49ers and Dolphins to help the Ravens secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett says the coaching staff felt he wasn’t ready to play against Seattle, which is why he was inactive during Pittsburgh’s 30-23 win over the Seahawks. The second-year pro, who had right ankle surgery a month ago, denied online speculation that he told the coaching staff he didn’t want to suit up as a backup behind Mason Rudolph. Pickett, who is recovering from right ankle surgery in early December, is expected to be the primary backup behind Rudolph when Pittsburgh visits Baltimore in the regular-season finale.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The four-team playoff changed college football. Not just the postseason and crowning of a national champion that finally could be called undisputed. College Football Playoff 1.0 wraps up a 10-year run on Monday when No. 1 Michigan faces No. 2 Washington in the national championship game. The four-team CFP created a new standard for success — and failure — for conferences and schools. It helped the rich and powerful become more rich and powerful and further nationalized a sport with regional roots. It was an imperfect but necessary step in the evolution of the postseason that had unintended consequences.
The possibility of college teams using NFL-style communication technology has been viewed with a little more urgency in the aftermath of the Michigan sign-stealing scandal. This bowl season, teams have taken advantage of the opportunity to try out various devices. Maryland had access to coach-to-player communication technology in the Music City Bowl against Auburn. The Terrapins also had a chance to use sideline tablets showing video of previous plays. The communication technology is the more significant innovation in light of all the concerns about sign stealing. It’s been experimental this postseason and not available for playoff games. Some teams in other bowls decided to pass on using it.
MLB
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will have two opportunities to opt out of his record $325 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, although the timing is tied to his pitching elbow’s health.If Yamamoto has Tommy John surgery or is on the injured list for a right elbow injury for 134 consecutive service days from 2024-29, he would have the right to opt out after the 2031 and 2033 World Series, according to terms of the deal obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. If he avoids Tommy John surgery and doesn’t miss that much time with an elbow issue during that window, he can instead opt out after the 2029 and 2031 World Series. In the first scenario, the Dodgers also would gain a $10 million conditional option for 2036 with no buyout.
In MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Harvard 76 UAlbany 71
UVM 71 Brown 70
Duke 86 Syracuse 66
UConn 85 DePaul 56
Hartford 63 UNE 62
To WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UMass 76 Dayton 66
UNE 64 Hartford 61
Caitlin Clark hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, finishing with 40 points as No. 4 Iowa defeated Michigan State 76-73 on Tuesday. Clark, who was 14-of-34 from the field, went more than 14 minutes without a point in a stretch in the second and third quarters. But she was there at the end, taking a pass from Hannah Stuelke before hitting a 30-foot shot as the buzzer sounded. The Hawkeyes (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) extended their winning streak to 11 games behind Clark and Stuelke, who had 15 points. Michigan State (11-3, 1-2) had tied the game at 73 on DeeDee Hagemann’s layup with 22 seconds left
PGA TOUR
The start of a new year on the PGA Tour feels a lot like last year. The golf landscape is just as fractured. LIV Golf is not going anywhere after it lured away Masters champion Jon Rahm with the Saudi riches. The PGA Tour's commercial agreement with the backers of LIV Golf still has not been finalized. But there's golf to be played. Among the questions to contemplate for 2024 is which star might slump like Justin Thomas. Another is for the players who complain that there's a separate tour for the elite. Adam Schenk joined that group this year.
WORLD CUP
The Spanish player who was kissed on the lips by the soccer president after the Women’s World Cup final has appeared in court to testify in the sexual assault case against the former official. Jenni Hermoso was at the Madrid court to give her version of the kiss by Luis Rubiales following Spain’s victory over England in the final in Sydney in August. The incident sparked outrage across the soccer world and ignited one of the worst crises in the history of the sport in Spain. It also led to Rubiales' resignation despite his denial of wrongdoing.
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