NBA
Joel Embiid scored a franchise-record 70 points, the most in the NBA this season, to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 133-123 victory over the San Antonio Spurs last night. Embiid also set a career high with 18 rebounds. He was 24 of 41 from the field, including 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and made 21 of 23 free throws. He broke Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers record of 68 points, set on Dec. 16, 1967, with a layup with 1:41 to play. Chamberlain was playing for the Philadelphia Warriors when he set the NBA record with 100 points.
Jayson Tatum had 38 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 35 and the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 119-110. The NBA-leading Celtics were never in much trouble because their All-Star pair was more efficient on the second night of a back-to-back than the Dallas duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving after four days off. Tatum and Brown combined to go 24 of 43 from the field while Doncic and Irving were 21 of 50. Doncic had a triple-double with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. Irving scored 23.
Sam Merrill scored 20 of his 26 points in the first half, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won their eighth straight game, 126-99 over the Orlando Magic. Donovan Mitchell added 25 points and 13 assists for the Cavaliers, who shot 20 for 38 from 3-point range. Cleveland never trailed and led by 36 points midway through the fourth quarter. The Cavs’ win streak is one short of the NBA’s longest this season, and all of it has been accomplished without Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, the team’s second- and third-leading scorers. Paolo Banchero had 18 points and six assists for the Magic.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double and Khris Middleton added 26 points as the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away late and beat the Detroit Pistons 122-113. Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists as the Bucks won for the fifth time in six games. Brook Lopez finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Marcus Sasser led the Pistons with 23 points, and fellow reserve Isaiah Stewart had 19 points and eight rebounds. Jaden Ivey led the starters with 17 points as Detroit lost to Milwaukee for the second time in three nights.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 16 of his 27 points in the first quarter, Luke Kennard added a season-high 19 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies won their fourth straight north of the border, beating the slumping Toronto Raptors 108-100. Vince Williams Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Santi Aldama scored 10 points before leaving because of a sore right knee as the short-handed Grizzlies won for the second time in their past six games. Jackson finished with a career-high six steals, all in the first quarter. RJ Barrett scored 29 points for Toronto, and Scottie Barnes had 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a franchise-record 62 points, including 44 in the first half, but the Charlotte Hornets erased an 18-point deficit and stunned the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-125 on Monday night. Towns managed just four points on 2-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when the Timberwolves were outscored 36-18. He thought he was fouled on a drive to the basket in the closing seconds and Minnesota trailing by one, then was short on a 3-point attempt on the final possession. Miles Bridges scored 28 points and Brandon Miller had 27 for the Hornets. Leaky Black ripped the ball away from Towns on his way to the basket to preserve the Hornets’ 10th victory of the season.
Kevin Durant hit a contested 17-foot jumper with 1.6 seconds left to help the Phoenix Suns erase a 23-point deficit and stun the Chicago Bulls 115-113. The Suns have won six straight. Durant finished with 43 points, eight assists and six rebounds, one night after scoring 40 in a win over the Pacers. Bradley Beal scored 18 and Devin Booker added 16. Coby White led the Bulls with 26 points. DeMar DeRozan added 21 and Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes scored 32 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 122-107 to snap a four-game losing streak. The Hawks were without All-Star guard Trae Young, who suffered a concussion in Saturday’s loss to Cleveland. It was Barnes’ second 30-point game of the season and his first since opening night against Utah when he scored 33. Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and 21 rebounds for his 25th straight double-double, tying Oscar Robertson for the second-longest streak in franchise history. Robertson owns the record at 29 in a row. Keegan Murray added 13 points and Malik Monk had 13 points and eight assists. Dejounte Murray had 35 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18.
Joel Embiid scored 70 in Philadelphia. Karl-Anthony Towns had 62 in Minnesota. Mark it down: Jan. 22, 2024 was a day unlike almost any other in NBA history. On the 18th anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game for the Los Angeles Lakers — the second-best scoring game in NBA history — Embiid and Towns put on a scoring show of their own with a pair of career-high, franchise-record efforts.
NHL
Charlie Coyle scored the tiebreaking goal late in the opening period and Boston’s tight defense carried the Bruins to their fifth straight victory, 4-1 over the Winnipeg Jets in a matchup of top NHL teams. Jake DeBrusk and Jakub Lauko also scored as Boston improved to 10-1-3 in its last 14 games. Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for the Bruins, who lead the Eastern Conference with 67 points. Vladislav Namestnikov scored for the Jets, who lead the Central Division with 64 points. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 17 shots. Winnipeg had given up three goals or fewer in 34 straight games, one short of the modern NHL record set by the 2015 Minnesota Wild.
Tyler Toffoli scored 2:35 into overtime to complete his second hat trick of the season as the New Jersey Devils rallied to beat the Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 (in overtime). Curtis Lazar had two goals and Nico Hischier also scored for the Devils, who had lost three of four. Simon Nemec and Nathan Bastian each had two assists, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 28 shots. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Nicolas Roy added a goal and two assists for Vegas. Pavel Dorofeyev and Chandler Stephenson also scored for the Golden Knights. Logan Thompson finished with 32 saves. The Devils trailed 5-3 late in the second period before Toffoli scored with 16 seconds remaining and Lazar got his second of the night at 9:14 of the third to tie the score.
Lawson Crouse scored a bizarre goal in the third period, Connor Ingram stopped 25 shots and the Arizona Coyotes ended an 11-game losing streak to the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-2 win. Crouse was credited with a goal on a delayed penalty by the Coyotes when Evgeni Malkin mishandled a pass from Kris Letang and the puck trickled into the empty net. Crouse was the last Arizona player to touch the puck and earned the power-play goal that put the Coyotes up 4-2. The gaffe marred Sidney Crosby’s 577th career goal, which tied him with Mark Recchi for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
Carter Verhaeghe scored a goal and added an assist to give the Florida Panthers a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday night. Sam Reinhart scored and Brandon Montour and Matthew Tkachuk added empty-net goals for Florida, which snapped a four-game losing streak. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Sam Bennett added three assists. Jeremy Lauzon scored and Juuse Saros made 34 saves for the Predators, who have lost three of four.
Thatcher Demko stopped 31 shots for his fifth shutout of the season as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0. Pius Suter and Quinn Hughes scored and Andrei Kuzmenko had two assists to help Vancouver get its third straight win. Demko, who got his seventh straight win and ninth in his last 10 starts, got his eighth career shutout. Petr Mrazek had 27 saves for Chicago, which was coming off a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Islanders on Friday night and has won consecutive games just once this season.
Fabian Zetterlund scored the first goal of the game and the clinching goal in a shootout to lift the San Jose Sharks over the slumping Los Angeles Kings 4-3. William Eklund and Justin Bailey also scored in regulation for the NHL-worst Sharks, who earned their first road win against a Western Conference opponent this season and won their second consecutive game overall. Logan Couture and Zetterlund converted in the shootout. Kaapo Kahkonen made 44 saves and denied both Los Angeles shooters in the tiebreaker. Drew Doughty, Trevor Moore and Quinton Byfield scored for the Kings, who have lost 11 of 13. David Rittich stopped 24 shots. Byfield also had an assist, and Kevin Fiala had two assists.
NFL
The Tennessee Titans have agreed to hire Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as their head coach. That's according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn't been finalized. Callahan replaces Mike Vrabel, who was fired on Jan. 9 after six seasons. The 39-year-old Callahan had a virtual interview with Tennessee on Jan. 12, the first of 10 candidates to speak to the team. The Titans interviewed Callahan in person on Monday and decided to hire him. Callahan has been the Bengals' offensive coordinator since 2019.
The Baltimore Ravens are trying to reach their first Super Bowl in 11 years. The last team standing in the way is the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs will be in town Sunday for the AFC championship game. That means a showdown with Patrick Mahomes and a stout Kansas City defense. And yes, the Ravens will have to contend with Travis Kelce — the tight end whose romance with Taylor Swift has brought the pop superstar to NFL games around the country this season. Baltimore beat Houston 34-10 on Saturday.
The AP Top 25 had another week of upheaval, with teams bouncing around like kernels in a popcorn maker. The same two teams remain at the top amid the poll turmoil. Reigning national champion Connecticut stayed No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, receiving 44 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 Purdue had 17 first-place votes. A loss by Kansas jumbled the rest of the top five. No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Tennessee all moved up a spot by sweeping two games each last week. No. 25 New Mexico moved into the rankings for the first time this season after a pair of wins.
The Detroit Lions have agreed to a deal with three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz. That's according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the signing. Ertz caught the go-ahead touchdown in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win over New England six years ago. He also set a record for catches by a tight end in a season with 116 in 2018. The Lions were lacking depth at tight end behind Sam LaPorta after injuries to Brock Wright and James Mitchell.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The visual of one of the nation’s most popular athletes knocked to the floor after a fan who was staring at her phone collided with her while storming the court was a stark reminder of the dangers athletes face when crowds get out of control. Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was shaken up but not injured in the collision, which occurred Sunday as she headed toward the locker room with teammates following a 100-92 loss to then-No. 18 Ohio State in Columbus. It was the second time in less than two weeks that fans have stormed the court at the end of a Big Ten game.
Kansas State has its best ranking in 21 years after the Wildcats moved up to fourth in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll. The Wildcats, who climbed three spots, were last ranked this high in 2003. South Carolina remains the unanimous choice at No. 1 in the poll, receiving all 35 votes from a national media panel. The Gamecocks cruised to easy wins over Kentucky and Texas A&M. There was some shifting in the top 10, with UCLA moving back up to No. 2 after beating Colorado on the road. The Buffaloes remained in the third spot. Iowa dropped to fifth after falling in overtime to Ohio State.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN
U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff is into the semifinals of the Australian Open after beating Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 6-2 in an error-strewn match at Melbourne Park. The American saved two set points as she came from 5-1 down to win the opener but needed a deciding set to claim victory after three hours, eight minutes. She will play either defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals on Thursday. Men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic is in action later, taking on Taylor Fritz for a place in the semifinals.
PGA TOUR
Nick Dunlap is the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour. Now he has to decide whether to turn pro. Dunlap already was scheduled to play the next PGA Tour stop at Torrey Pines for the Farmers Insurance Open. But he chose to withdraw. He says in a statement he's going home to Alabama after what he describes as a life changing 24 hours. To turn pro means Dunlap is eligible for every major but the British Open and seven $20 million events. If he stays amateur, he gets in every major but the PGA Championship.
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