NFL
Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in an AFC wild-card playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard. Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. The second-seeded Bills advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. The Steelers' season ended after they surged into the playoffs with wins in their final three games behind longtime backup quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead the resurgent Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 32-9 wild-card playoff victory over Jalen Hurts and the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs won for the sixth time in seven games to advance to a NFC divisional round matchup on the road next Sunday against the Detroit Lions. David Moore scored on a 44-yard reception in the first quarter. Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a TD that put the Bucs up 25-9 late in the third quarter. Mayfield also threw a 23-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin.
Bill Belichick signaled he’s ready to get back to coaching less than a week after parting with the New England Patriots, speaking with the Atlanta Falcons about their vacant position. The Falcons announced Monday night they have interviewed the 71-year-old Belichick, who left the Patriots on Thursday after 24 seasons and a record six Super Bowl championships. The fifth of those Super Bowls came nearly seven years ago against the Falcons in a game Atlanta led 28-3 in the third quarter before Tom Brady rallied the Patriots to a 34-28 overtime victory. The Falcons are seeking a successor to Arthur Smith, who was fired shortly after the conclusion of his third straight 7-10 season.
Jim Harbaugh has interviewed with the Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancy, a week after he led the University of Michigan to a national title. The Chargers announced Harbaugh’s interview on Monday without saying exactly when it took place. He is the eighth coaching candidate to interview with the Chargers, but his resume stands out from the rest. The 60-year-old Harbaugh has an 89-25 record in nine seasons coaching his alma mater. Before that, he went 44-19-1 in four seasons as San Francisco’s coach and took the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season.
From 10-1 to one-and-done, the Philadelphia Eagles’ collapse is complete. The defending NFC champions won’t be going back to the Super Bowl. They’re heading into a potentially turbulent offseason after an early vacation that few could’ve imagined heading into December. A 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card game on Monday night turns up the pressure on owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni. Despite a 34-17 regular-season record and three playoff appearances in three seasons, including coming up just short in the Super Bowl last year against Kansas City, the heat is on Sirianni.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills get a third shot at Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. This time, Buffalo gets to play at home. Mahomes will play his first road playoff game next Sunday night against the Bills, who advanced to the AFC divisional round with a 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. The other AFC divisional game will be the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens hosting the Houston Texans. In the NFC, Green Bay will play at San Francisco and Tampa Bay will play at Detroit.
Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams has formally entered the NFL draft. The Heisman Trophy winner is leaving USC after two prolific seasons. Williams is widely considered the favorite to be the No. 1 selection in the draft, which begins April 25. The Chicago Bears currently hold the top pick. Williams passed for 10,082 yards with 93 touchdowns and 14 interceptions during three collegiate seasons at Oklahoma and USC. He became the Trojans’ eighth Heisman Trophy winner in 2022 after following coach Lincoln Riley from Norman to the West Coast.
NBA
Paolo Banchero scored 20 points, Cole Anthony had 10 of his 15 in the fourth quarter and the Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks 98-94 on Monday to snap a three-game losing streak. Wendell Carter Jr. added 17 points for the Magic, going 7 for 11 off the bench in a strong return after missing five games with right knee tendinitis. The Magic took charge midway through the final period and grabbed the lead for good at 90-89 when Anthony tipped in a missed shot with 3:45 to play. Deuce McBride scored a career-high 20 points in a second straight start in place of Jalen Brunson, who has a bruised left calf.
Jimmy Butler returned after missing seven games with a sprained toe and scored 31 points, including two free throws with 11.8 seconds left in overtime to help the Miami Heat beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-95. Tyler Herro had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Bam Adebayo added 11 points and 20 rebounds in Miami’s third straight win. Mikal Bridges scored 26 points, and Cam Thomas added 23 for Brooklyn. The Nets lost their third straight and eight of the last nine games.
Jayson Tatum had 19 points and 14 rebounds, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White each scored 22 points and the Boston Celtics won their eighth straight meeting with Toronto, beating the Raptors 105-96. Kristaps Porzingis scored 15 points and Al Horford had 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics completed a four-game season sweep of their Atlantic Division rivals. RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Immanuel Quickley had 21 in the Raptors' fourth straight loss. Pascal Siakam scored 17 points and Scottie Barnes had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Joel Embiid returned from his latest injury to score 41 points and grab 10 rebounds and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 124-115 win over the Houston Rockets. Embiid had his 16th straight 30-10 game. Tyrese Maxey added 27 points for the Sixers. Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 19 points. Dillon Brooks scored 18. Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 17 straight games. He grabbed his 10th rebound in the fourth quarter and checked out for good with the Sixers up 114-94. Embiid made 12 of 21 shots and 16 of 17 free throws.
Kyrie Irving scored 42 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 41 and the Dallas Mavericks split a two-game home set with New Orleans by beating the Pelicans 125-120. The second game in franchise history with two 40-point scorers came with superstar Luka Doncic missing his third consecutive game with a sprained ankle. Irving and Doncic had the other game in March. Zion Williamson scored 30 points but was 6 of 11 on free throws. One of the misses was with 17 seconds left when he had a chance to get New Orleans even after Dallas fouled him on purpose.
Alec Burks came off the bench and matched his career-high 34 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 129-117 victory over the Washington Wizards Monday. Burks hits 8 of 12 shots from 3-point range in helping the Pistons snap a seven-game losing streak and win for only the fourth time this season. Jalen Duren had 20 points and 19 rebounds and Jordan Ivey had 24 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Detroit. Tyus Jones had 22 points, seven assists, and six rebounds to lead Washington. Jordan Poole added 16 points and Deni Advija had 12.
Trae Young sank his first six 3-point attempts to spark Atlanta’s hot-shooting start and the Hawks bounced back from their worst offensive game of the season to beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-99. Young scored 36 points, passing 10,000 for his career, with 13 assists. Dejounte Murray, the former Spurs guard who has been discussed in trade deadline speculation, had 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio’s 7-foot-3 rookie, sparked the Spurs' second-half comeback attempt. Wembanyama had nine dunks while scoring 26 points with 13 rebounds.
Vince Williams Jr. scored 24, GG Jackson added a career-high 23 points and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Golden State Warriors 116-107 in the return of Draymond Green from his league suspension. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 18 points despite going 4 of 20 from the field. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, and Jonathan Kuminga finished with 20 and 11 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 16. Green, suspended by the league indefinitely after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face Dec. 12, played 23 minutes, scoring seven points.
Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, Jarrett Allen had 10 points and 14 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled away late for a 109-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Caris LeVert added 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists off the bench as the Cavaliers extended their longest winning streak of the season to five, despite blowing a 21-point lead in the second half. Coby White made two free throws early in the fourth quarter to put Chicago in front for the only time at 81-80, capping a 28-6 run that began after Cleveland went up 74-53 in the third. The Cavaliers immediately answered with 10 straight points, five by Mitchell on drives to the basket, and closed out the game on a 29-10 run.
Lauri Markkanen had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Collin Sexton scored a season-high 30 and the Utah Jazz routed the Indiana Pacers 132-105 for their sixth straight victory. Keyonte George had 19 points and Jordan Clarkson added 17 for the Jazz, who shot 55.6% and led wire-to-wire for just the second time this season. Utah has won nine straight at home by an average of 16.8 points. Buddy Hield scored 14 points, but just two after the first quarter, and Andrew Nembhard also had 14 for Indiana. The Pacers played their fourth game without point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is sidelined with a left hamstring injury.
Anthony Davis had 27 points and 15 rebounds, LeBron James scored 25 and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder’s four-game winning streak with a 112-105 victory. D’Angelo Russell had 14 points and seven assists as the Lakers held off the powerhouse Thunder in the fourth quarter for only their sixth victory in 18 games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 24 points in the first half while playing through a right knee sprain for the Thunder, who lost for only the fourth time in 16 games. Two of those defeats came against the Lakers.
Golden State forward Draymond Green has returned to action after missing 16 games as part of a league suspension for striking Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a Dec. 12 game. Green didn’t start the game, but entered with 6:10 left in the first quarter. His appearance drew a hearty set of boos from the Memphis faithful. Monday’s appearance was Green’s first action
NHL
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves and Casey Mittelstadt had three points to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-0 win against the San Jose Sharks. Luukkonen earned his second career shutout, and his second of the season, to give the Sabres their fifth win in eight games on Monday. Mittelstadt, Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway each scored for Buffalo. Kaapo Kahkonen made 32 saves for the Sharks, who have lost two in a row and 14 of their past 15 games.
Marc-Andre Fleury took sole possession of second place with his 552nd career win in the NHL, posting his 74th career shutout as the Minnesota Wild beat the New York Islanders 5-0. Joel Eriksson Ek scored twice, Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist, and Connor Dewar and Marcus Foligno also scored for the Wild. They'd gone 1-7-1 in their previous nine games. The 39-year-old Fleury passed Patrick Roy on the all-time list. Martin Brodeur holds the record with 691 wins. Fleury stopped 21 shots in his first shutout this season. Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves for the Islanders.
All-Star Jeremy Swayman stopped 31 shots for his third shoutout of the season. David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic scored to give the Boston Bruins a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Swayman improved to 2-0 since being announced as a selection through fan voting for the Feb. 3 All-Star Game in Toronto. Frederic’s empty-netter came with 78 seconds left when he out-dove a defender to tip the puck off the post and over the goal line. Nico Daws made 33 saves for New Jersey.
Owen Tippett scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:33 left, sending the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. The surging Flyers won their fourth straight and swept their three-game trip through Minnesota, Winnipeg and St. Louis. Philadelphia has won five of six overall. Tippett scored his 16th goal of the season on his 10th shot on goal in the game. Joel Farabee added an empty-netter with 53 seconds remaining. Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling also scored for the Flyers. Carter Hart made 28 saves to improve to 6-2-3 in his last 11 starts. Oskar Sundqvist and Brandon Saad scored for the Blues, who finished a 1-2-1 homestand. Joel Hofer made 38 saves.
Sidney Crosby scored twice, Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins ended the Seattle Kraken’s franchise-record nine-game winning streak with a 3-0 victory. Seattle, playing the fourth game of an East Coast road trip, mustered little against Pittsburgh as Jarry collected his fifth shutout of the season. Drew O’Connor also scored for the Penguins on Monday. The Kraken came in riding a month of occasionally spectacular play that’s vaulted them into the thick of the playoff chase in the loaded Western Conference as the season reaches its midpoint.
Kirill Marchenko scored in a shootout to lift the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks. After Marchenko slid the puck between Casey DeSmith’s pads in the fourth round of the shootout, Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins blocked Pius Suter’s shot to secure the win. Columbus rallied three times in regulation with Dmitri Voronkov’s second goal of game with 9:03 left in the third period forcing the overtime and shootout.
Alex Killorn got his second goal of the game 48 seconds into overtime and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Florida Panthers 5-4. Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg and Troy Terry also scored for the Ducks and John Gibson made 29 saves. Henrique and Killorn both snapped goal droughts of over 10 games. Sam Bennett scored twice for the Panthers. Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe also scored for Florida and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves.
Trevor Moore scored two goals and the Los Angeles Kings snapped an eight-game winless streak by beating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2. Phillip Danault, Alex Laferriere and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored in a four-goal third period for Los Angeles, which had gone 0-4-4 since beating San Jose on Dec. 27. David Rittich made 30 saves for the Kings in their fifth stop of a six-game trip. Jordan Martinook and Jack Drury scored for Carolina, which had secured a point in its previous eight games.
Mark Stone had his first regular-season hat trick and Logan Thompson made 34 saves to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Stone’s other hat trick was in the clinching Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in which the Knights beat the Florida Panthers 9-3. Jonathan Marchessault added an empty-net goal with 17.9 seconds left off a long pass from Alex Pietrangelo for his 18th goal this season. Chandler Stephenson and Pavel Dorofeyev each had two assists for the Knights. Luke Evangelista scored for the Panthers, and Juuse Saros made 26 stops.
Joel Armia scored late in the third period and the Montreal Canadiens edged the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 on Monday night. Cole Caufield had a goal and assist, Juraj Slafkovsky and Rafael Harvey-Pinard also scored and Nick Suzuki pitched in with two assists for Montreal. Jake Allen stopped 32 shots to snap a three-game Canadiens winless streak. Cale Makar — with a goal and two assists — Devon Toews and Ross Colton scored for Colorado, which had won 12 of its last 15 games. Alexandar Georgiev made 30 saves in Colorado’s net.
Marc-Andre Fleury has 552 wins for second place on the NHL's career list. Minnesota Wild players rushed to the crease for a group hug with the 39-year-old goalie after their 5-0 victory over the New York Islanders that pushed him past Patrick Roy. Martin Brodeur has the record with 691 wins. Fleury posted his first shutout of the season and the 74th of his career. He won two Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins and another one with the Vegas Golden Knights. He has not revealed if he'd like to play next season.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek survived an early test at the Australian Open when she beat former champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the first round. Kenin, the winner in 2020, served for the first set at 5-4 but Swiatek hit back to take it in the tiebreaker. The No. 1 seed then broke Kenin in the fifth game of the second set and pulled away for victory. Swiatek will face another tough second-round match against 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins, who beat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. American Sloane Stephens picked up her first win at the Australian Open since 2019 when she beat wild-card entry Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 6-1. Men’s No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz opens his title campaign later against Richard Gasquet.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Siena 93 Niagara 88
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