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WAMC Sports Report 2/14/24: Tatum scores 41 points, Celtics beat Nets 118-110 for 5th straight win

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots against Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (28) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
Peter K. Afriyie/AP
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AP
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) shoots against Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith (28) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)

NBA

Jayson Tatum had 41 points and 14 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics won their fifth straight game by beating the Brooklyn Nets 118-110 in the opener of a home-and-home series. Jaylen Brown added 19 points for the Celtics, who improved to 42-12 and will host the Nets on Wednesday in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break. Tatum tied his career high for points in a first half with 31 and the Celtics led comfortably much of the way while playing without Kristaps Porzingis because of a lower back contusion. Coach Joe Mazzulla said Boston’s starting center could play Wednesday.

Jalen Williams scored 33 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 32 points and five assists and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 127-113. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 points during a five-minute stretch of the third quarter in which the Thunder took command of the game, which was played on the night the Magic retired the number Shaquille O’Neal's No. 32. Chet Holmgren had 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for Oklahoma City Paolo Banchero led the Magic with 23 points and 10 assists. Wendell Carter Jr. had 22 points and seven rebounds.

Nikola Jovic scored a career-high 24 points, Bam Adebayo had his second triple-double of the season and the Miami Heat rolled to a 123-97 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Adebayo finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. Duncan Robinson added 23 points and shot 6 of 8 from 3-point range for the Heat, who have won five of seven since a seven-game skid. Jimmy Butler missed a second straight game for the Heat following the death of a relative. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks but didn’t attempt a free throw all night.

Anthony Edwards had 41 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat Portland 121-109, handing the Trail Blazers their fifth straight loss. Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 15 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double. Karl-Anthony Towns, who had foul trouble early, finished with 13 points for the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves. Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Blazers. Anfernee Simons had 20 points. The teams play again on Thursday.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Devin Booker added 25 and the Phoenix Suns outlasted the Sacramento Kings 130-125. The Suns erased an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to take a 94-92 lead going into the fourth. Eric Gordon and the recently acquired Royce O’Neale hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the final period to push Phoenix ahead 103-94. The Kings fought back, tying it at 108 on a putback by Domantas Sabonis with 5:25 left, but the Suns eventually went back ahead. Sabonis had his third straight triple-double with 35 points, 18 rebounds and 12 assists. De’Aaron Fox scored 40 for Sacramento.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the NBA-worst Detroit Pistons 125-111 for their fifth win in six games. LeBron James had 25 points and eight assists, and Anthony Davis had 20 points and 14 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell scored 21 points and hit four 3-pointers for the Lakers, who have won 10 of 15 overall to move three games above .500 (29-26) for the first time since a week before Christmas. Spencer Dinwiddie had six points and seven assists in his debut with the Lakers, Ausar Thompson scored 19 points in the least impressive game of a strong road trip for Detroit, which beat Sacramento and Portland.

Shaquille O’Neal has become the first player to have his jersey number retired by the Orlando Magic. O'Neal's No. 32 was raised to the rafters on Tuesday. It was a day O'Neal thought would never come. He was drafted No. 1 overall by the Magic in 1992 and left Orlando after four seasons. He figured that would prevent him from being honored by the franchise. But the Magic had never retired a player's number and they decided their 35th anniversary season was the right time. O'Neal is the third player to have his jersey retired by three franchises, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Pete Maravich. The Lakers retired his no. 34, and his no. 32 was retired by the Miami Heat.

Golden State forward Draymond Green and Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic have continued their feud on social media, with Green calling Nurkic a “300-pound softy” three nights after the Warriors beat the Suns on Stephen Curry’s last-second 3-pointer. It’s the continuation of a back-and-forth that started in December, when Green hit Nurkic in the head and was suspended by the NBA. The players exchanged taunts throughout Saturday's game. Green said on his podcast Tuesday that Nurkic was “embarrassed” because he's “not good enough.” Nurkic fired back on X, saying Green shouldn't be “late for therapy.” Green then called Nurkic a “300-pound softy that can't finish games.”

NHL

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 33 shots for his fourth career shutout, and Jordan Greenway scored twice and added an assist to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 7-0 rout of the Los Angeles Kings. Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch had a goal and assist apiece in helping the Sabres snap a three-game home skid. The shutout was also Luukkonen’s fourth this season, the most in one year by a Sabres goalie since Ryan Miller had six in 2011-12. The Kings were flat and sloppy through most of an outing in which they provided little support for goalie David Rittich, who finished with 12 saves.

Tomas Tatar scored the lone goal in a shootout and the Seattle Kraken beat the New York Islanders 2-1. Matty Beniers scored in regulation, Philipp Grubauer made 26 saves and the Kraken snapped a three-game losing streak. Kyle Palmieri scored and Ilya Sorokin stopped 29 shots in New York’s second consecutive defeat. Tatar used a series of dekes and a forehand shot to beat Sorokin. Islanders forwards Oliver Wahlstrom, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal were all denied in the shootout.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 36 shots and three more in a shootout to lead the Tampa Bay Lighting to a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. Brayden Point scored the only goal of the shootout. Nikita Kucherov and Erik Cernak scored early to spot the Lightning a 2-0 lead just 21 minutes into the game. Brad Marchand had a pair of assists in his 1,000th career NHL game. All of them have been for Boston. Charlie McAvoy and James van Riemsdyk scored for the reigning Presidents Trophy-winning Bruins. They have the best record in the Eastern Conference despite losing three of their last four games.

Nico Hischier scored twice to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. Timo Meier and Jack Hughes also scored and Nico Daws made 30 saves for the Devils, winners of back-to-back games on consecutive nights. Ryan O’Reilly and Tommy Novak scored and Juuse Saros made 42 for Nashville Predators, losers of four of five. Roman Josi and Cody Glass each had two assists.

Bobby McMann registered the first hat trick of his NHL career as the short-handed Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Tuesday night. William Nylander had the other goal for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves. Alexey Toropchenko scored for St. Louis, which entered 7-1-0 over its last eight games. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots in defeat.

Nick Suzuki had two goals and an assist and the Montreal Canadiens cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Juraj Slafkovsky, who connected with Suzuki all night, had a goal and two assists for the first three-point game of his career. Jake Evans and Brandon Gignac — with his first NHL goal — also scored for the Canadiens. Cayden Primeau faced little action, making 13 saves. Lukas Dostal stopped 33 shots for Anaheim, which was shut out for the sixth time this season.

Brady Tkachuk recorded the second hat trick of his career to lead the Ottawa Senators to a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tkachuk scored twice on the power play, and Claude Giroux added a short-handed goal and two assists as Ottawa won its fourth straight. Ridly Greig and Erik Brannstrom also scored. Anton Forsberg made 36 saves. Dmitri Voronkov, Boone Jenner and Jack Roslovic scored for the Blue Jackets. Daniil Tarasov stopped 24 of 29 shots.

Colorado 6 Washington 3

Artturi Lehkonen had two goals and two assists to help the Colorado Avalanche snap a four-game losing streak by beating the Washington Capitals 6-3. Ross Colton also had a goal and an assist as his line with Lehkonen and Miles Wood led the way for Colorado. Devon Toews also scored for the Avalanche in their first victory on a lengthy road trip coming out of the NHL All-Star break. Alex Ovechkin extended his goal streak to six games by scoring on the power play. Ovechkin now has 14 goals this season and, at 835 in his career, is 59 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.

Dallas 4 Carolina 2

Jake Oettinger made 32 saves, Jason Robertson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Dallas Stars defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2. Roope Hintz and Mason Marchment also scored for the Stars, who are 6-1-0 in their last seven games. Matt Duchene had an empty-net goal and an assist. Oettinger, a first-time All-Star this season, earned his sixth straight win. Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist for the Hurricanes, who had a five-game road winning streak snapped. Jesper Fast also scored and Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 19 shots.

Vancouver 4 Chicago 2

Conor Garland scored twice, Dakota Joshua added a goal and and two assists and the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks beat the depleted Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Nils Hoglander connected for the third straight game as the Canucks improved to 36-12-6 and 78 points. Thatcher Demko made 21 saves. Vancouver hasn’t led the league this late in a season since 2012. Vancouver outshot league-worst Chicago 38-23, controlling the puck for extended runs in dealing the Blackhawks their seventh straight loss. Tyler Johnson scored late in the second period and rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski scored late in the third for Chicago.

Edmonton 8 Detroit 4

Connor McDavid had a career-high six assists to lead Edmonton to an 8-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night, the Oilers’ eighth straight home victory. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and Leon Draisaitl, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Dylan Holloway, Zach Hyman and Evander Kane also scored for the Oilers. Edmonton is one victory shy of matching their franchise record of nine home wins, done twice — in 2017 and 2022. Alex DeBrincat, Joe Veleno, Patrick Kane and David Perron scored for the Red Wings, who have lost two of their last three. Detroit is 10-3-2 since Jan. 1.

Morgan Rielly has been suspended five games for cross-checking Ridly Greig in the final seconds of a game over the weekend. The veteran Toronto defenseman took exception to the young Ottawa forward firing a slap shot into an empty net with 5.1 seconds left to make it 5-3 Senators. Rielly's absence is a major blow to the Maple Leafs as they try to hold on to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference without one of their most valuable players. Rielly skates over 24 minutes a game for Toronto and was one of the team's All-Star representatives.

NFL

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has heard the criticism that for some reason he is unable to win the big game. Those calls grew louder after a second Super Bowl loss in five seasons and Shanahan is as eager as anyone to quell them because it would mean he had won a title. The 49ers have just been unable to win the ultimate prize despite coming close in recent years, blowing late leads in two Super Bowls against Kansas City and losing two other times in the NFC title game.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid already was thinking about next season on Tuesday when he talked with a small group of reporters upon his return from the Super Bowl. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday for their second consecutive championship and third in five years. There is a celebratory parade through downtown Kansas City on Wednesday, capped by a rally at Union Station where hundreds of thousands of fans are expected. Reid plans to give his staff about a week off after that to recharge, then they will get back to work with the NFL's scouting combine beginning Feb. 27 in Indianapolis.

MLB

Police say a 45-year-old man has been arrested in the theft of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue found dismantled and burned in Kansas. Wichita police say Tuesday that Ricky Alderete was taken into custody in an unrelated case earlier this month and charged Monday. Police say the motive appeared to be financial and was unrelated to race. Thieves cut the bronze statue from its base at a Wichita park where a youth baseball league called League 42 plays. It is named after Robinson’s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947. Alderete's attorney in the public defender’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Veteran baseball broadcaster Jenny Cavnar is the new primary play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics, hired by NBC Sports California. Cavnar becomes the first woman to handle primary play-by-play duties in major league history — set to be the voice for most of the A’s games during the upcoming 2024 season. She has covered baseball for 17 of her 20 years in the media business, most recently calling Colorado Rockies games the past 12 years as a backup play-by-play announcer while also hosting pregame and postgame shows and regional coverage.

Japanese high school baseball star Rintaro Sasaki has signed a national letter of intent to play at Stanford in 2025. Sasaki will graduate in March from Hanamaki-Higashi High School, the school that produced major league star Shohei Ohtani. Sasaki hit a Japanese high school-record 140 home runs and was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the Nippon Professional Baseball draft, but decided to go to a U.S. college. Sasaki has walked twice as many times as he has struck out and has a career batting average of .413, with a .514 on-base percentage and .808 slugging percentage.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Two people with knowledge of the agreement say ESPN and the College Football Playoff have agreed to a six-year deal worth $1.3 billion annually that will allow the network to keep exclusive rights to the 12-team playoff through the 2031 season. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because a deal cannot be finalized until the CFP works through other outstanding issues regarding the format and revenue distribution. The Athletic first reported an agreement had been reached on those terms. ESPN declined to comment and CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock says negotiations are continuing.

GOLF

Golf had three big events over the past three days. Their identity was loud noise and the hype to match. Who would have guessed the tamest would be LIV Golf? It was a strange end of the week. The WM Phoenix Open got most of the attention for being out of control even by Phoenix standards. Organizers say weather contributed to fans congregating and causing congestion. Alcohol might have been a factor. Tiger Woods had a miniature rock concert in LA to announce his new brand. As for LIV? Dustin Johnson won and now the circuit goes to Saudi Arabia.

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Syracuse 86 North Carolina 79

© 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Alexander began his journalism career as a sports writer for Siena College's student paper The Promethean, and as a host for Siena's school radio station, WVCR-FM "The Saint." A Cubs fan, Alexander hosts the morning Sports Report in addition to producing Morning Edition. You can hear the sports reports over-the-air at 6:19 and 7:19 AM, and online on WAMC.org. He also speaks Spanish as a second language. To reach him, email ababbie@wamc.org, or call (518)-465-5233 x 190. You can also find him on Twitter/X: @ABabbieWAMC.