NBA
Steph Curry scored 29 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 28 and the Golden State Warriors shook off a poor start to beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-98. The Warriors were coming off an overtime loss Saturday in Atlanta despite 60 points and 10 3-pointers from Curry, and looked as if they hadn’t regained their energy when this game started. Golden State was just 2 for 11 on 3-pointers and committed 10 turnovers that led to 15 points while being held to 43 points in the first half. But they outscored the Nets 66-49 in the second half, even while going just 4 for 22 from behind the arc in the game — with all the makes by Curry.
Kyrie Irving had 23 points and eight assists and Luka Doncic scored 19 points in one of the duo’s rare games together to lead the Dallas Mavericks past the Philadelphia 76ers 118-102. Josh Green scored 20 points for the Mavericks. Doncic and Irving have played together in just 23 of Dallas' 50 games this season. The Sixers dropped to 4-11 this season without two-time scoring champion Joel Embiid. Embiid is set for surgery this week to address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Sixers with 19 points.
Anthony Davis had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to defeat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 124-118. D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points and LeBron James added 26 points for the Lakers, who finished 4-2 on their road trip to build some much-needed momentum before the upcoming All-Star break. Miles Bridges had a career-high 41 points and rookie Brandon Miller chipped in with 33 points for the Hornets, who have lost eight straight games.
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points, Max Strus added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings 136-110 for their sixth straight win and 14th in 15 games. The Cavs are a league-best 19-4 since Dec. 16 and they have climbed to No. 2 overall in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland matched a season high with 23 3-pointers in winning its ninth straight home game. Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists for his 15th triple-double this season, tying him with Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the league lead. The Kings went 5-2 on a season-long trip.
Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers finished off a long road trip in style with a 149-144 win over the Atlanta Hawks. James Harden had 30 points and 10 assists, and Paul George scored 18 for Los Angeles. Trae Young, the Eastern Conference player of the week, had 25 points and De’Andre Hunter matched a season high with 27 off the bench for the Hawks, who had won four in a row. The Clippers went 6-1 on a 13-day road trip and improved to 26-5 since Nov. 30.
Brandon Ingram highlighted a season-high 41-point outburst with a career-high eight 3-pointers, and the New Orleans Pelicans routed the struggling Toronto Raptors 138-100. Ingram ended his night by hitting five straight 3s at the end of the third quarter and went to the bench smiling widely as he soaked in a prolonged standing ovation. CJ McCollum scored 20 points. He accounted for six of New Orleans’ 19 made 3-pointers. Zion Williamson added 16 points for the Pelicans, who won their third straight while dropping the Raptors to their eighth loss in nine games. Raptors rookie Gradey Dick had a season-high 22 points.
NHL
Alexis Lafreniere scored 1:53 into overtime and the New York Rangers rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 2-1. Artemi Panarin also scored and Jonathan Quick stopped 31 shots to help the Rangers get their second straight win. Nathan MacKinnon scored for the Avalanche, who had won three straight. Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves against his former team. In the extra period, Mika Zibanejad slid the puck to Lafreniere, who whipped it past Georgiev for his 13th goal of the season.
Former Toronto forward Pierre Engvall returned to score late and lift the New York Islanders over the Maple Leafs 3-2. Kyle MacLean and Mathew Barzal also scored for the Islanders. Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 35 saves. The win evened new Islanders head coach Patrick Roy’s record at 2-2-1. Captain John Tavares and Mitch Marner scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves in his fourth consecutive start as Toronto outshot the visitors 37-29.
NFL
The Philadelphia Eagles will be the host team for the NFL’s first regular-season game in Brazil on Friday, Sept. 6. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game during his news conference at the Super Bowl site in Las Vegas on Monday. It will be the first Friday game on the NFL's opening weekend in 54 years. The Eagles will play at Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo against an opponent to be named. It will be one of five international games in 2024.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says his father is “doing good” after his arrest for driving while intoxicated. Mahomes was otherwise tight-lipped about the situation while speaking at Super Bowl opening night on Monday, calling it “a family matter.” Mahomes will try to lead the Chiefs to their second straight title and third in five seasons when they play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. This Kansas City’s fourth Super Bowl appearance over that span. Mahomes has had to deal with periodic distractions involving his family members, including a recent sexual battery charge against his younger brother, Jackson Mahomes.
One night after Taylor Swift earned her fourth career Grammy for album of the year, her boyfriend was feeling pressure to secure his own triumph in the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce said Monday night he told Swift he needs to “bring home some hardware.” Kelce spoke in glowing terms about Swift at Allegiant Stadium, where the Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He says he's gotten to listen to parts of Swift's upcoming album, “Tortured Poets Department,” which is due out April 19. Kelce calls Swift's new music “unbelievable.”
Brock Purdy went overtime on Super Bowl opening night. The San Francisco 49ers’ second-year quarterback began by saying he’s ready to spoil Taylor Swift’s trip to Las Vegas and finished by remaining at the microphone to answer questions for several minutes after Monday’s media extravaganza concluded. Purdy gave thoughtful answers, posed for pictures and even signed an autograph while taking questions for about 65 minutes. He said “yes” when asked if he was willing to disappoint Swift, the pop superstar and the girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Purdy also said he couldn't name the 16 quarterbacks picked ahead of him in the 2022 draft.
Dan Quinn’s work as Washington Commanders coach is already well underway. He and new general manager Adam Peters have hired Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator and Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator. The team announced the moves Monday after reaching agreements with Kingsbury and Whitt over the weekend. There’s plenty more to do quickly to fill out the coaching staff that will not include Eric Bieniemy. Then the fun part begins with tons of cap space to spend in free agency, the second pick in the draft and, of course, the pursuit of a new quarterback.
NHL
The police chief in London, Ontario, has issued a public apology to a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by members of Canada's 2018 world junior team. Five of them have been charged with sexual assault, including four who are currently on NHL rosters. Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and former NHL player Alex Formenton are facing charges. All are on leave from their teams. Defense attorneys say their clients are not guilty. The next scheduled court appearance is April 30.
SOCCER
Look for Lionel Messi to play in Tokyo when Inter Miami faces Japanese club Vissel Kobe. The friendly is set for Wednesday. Don’t look for another public-relations disaster as happened on Sunday when Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain sat on the bench for the entire match against a selection of players from the Hong Kong league, angering thousands of fans who demanded refunds. Messi told media in Tokyo “that I feel very good compared to a few days ago” and suggested it was likely he would play. He says "I still don’t know if I will be able to or not. But I feel much better and I really want to be able to do it.”
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
A National Labor Relations Board regional official has decided that Dartmouth basketball players are employees of the school, clearing the way for an election that would create the first-ever labor union for NCAA athletes. All 15 members of the Dartmouth men’s basketball team signed a petition in September asking to join a union, which already includes other employees at the Ivy League school in Hanover, New Hampshire. The school can appeal the decision to the national board. Unionizing would allow the players to negotiate not only over salary but working conditions, including practice hours and travel.
Tylor Perry scored eight of his 26 points in overtime and Kansas State beat No. 4 Kansas 75-70 in the 300th matchup of their heated rivalry. Perry’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left gave the Wildcats a 70-66 lead. Hunter Dickinson’s basket trimmed it to 70-68, but Perry’s two free throws extended the margin back to four. Dajuan Harris Jr. cut it to 72-70 with two free throws before Kevin McCullar Jr. missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Kansas with 22 seconds remaining. Arthur Kaluma sank a pair of foul shots and Perry added another one to seal it, ending Kansas State’s four-game losing streak. Cam Carter had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Kansas State. Dickinson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Kansas.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is nearing 1,200 career wins. He already has 11 national championships with the school that hired him in 1985. Auriemma turns 70 next month and has kept any retirement plans close to the vest. But 1,200 wins is the next milestone. Former Duke and Army coach men's Mike Krzyzewski is next with 1,203 wins. Stanford women's coach Tara VanDerveer set the mark last month when she passed Krzyzewski and currently has 1,206 wins. Auriemma is among the last of his breed of valued, empowered championship coaches still recruiting, still grinding out the work in hope of that next championship run.
© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
