NBA
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Philadelphia 76ers held the New York Knicks to the lowest point total in the NBA this season, winning 79-73 last night in the ugly opener of a two-game series. Less than two months after Joel Embiid scored 70 points by himself to set a 76ers franchise record, it appeared for a while that neither team might get that many Sunday. Philadelphia led 37-31 at halftime, the lowest-scoring first half in an NBA game since Portland led Detroit 34-31 on March 30, 2019, in a game the Pistons won 99-90. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 19 points but shot just 6 for 22.
Cam Thomas scored 29 points in 31 minutes, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and the Brooklyn Nets pulled away to beat the injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers 120-101 on Sunday night. Dennis Schroder added 17 points and eight assists, and Nic Claxton had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn, which built a 26-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Nets only trailed for 1:41 in the game, all early in the third period. Georges Niang scored 20 points and Jarrett Allen had 15 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which fell a half-game behind Milwaukee into third place in the Eastern Conference. Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell missed his sixth straight game because of soreness in his left knee.
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 124-117. Damian Lillard scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter. He hit seven 3-pointers overall. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists as the Bucks rebounded from back-to-back losses to Golden State and the Lakers by outlasting the Clippers, who played without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. James Harden had 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and 11 assists for Los Angeles. The Clippers already were without Russell Westbrook, who broke his hand March 1.
Trey Murphy III had 28 points off the bench to help the New Orleans Pelicans complete a perfect three-game road trip with a 116-103 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Zion Williamson had 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans, who have won four straight overall and snapped the Hawks’ three-game winning streak. Murphy was 6 for 13 from 3-point range and also had seven rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 25 points. Dejounte Murray finished with 23 points and 11 assists one game after tying a career high with 41 points.
Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points and the Washington Wizards held on to beat the Miami Heat 110-108 for their second win in a row after ending a 16-game skid. Corey Kispert finished with 22 points, Deni Avdija added 16 and Tyus Jones had 12 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who got their first road victory since Jan. 29, ending an eight-game skid away from home. Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, while Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier and Bam Adebayo each finished with 16 for the Heat, who lost their third straight and fell to eighth in the East.
Fred VanVleet scored 22 points, Jalen Green added 19 and the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 112-104. The Rockets may have lost leading scorer Alperen Sengun to a right knee and ankle injury when he landed awkwardly while challenging a shot by the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis with under a minute to play in the fourth. Sengun appeared to be in immediate distress and he left the court in a wheelchair after several minutes on the baseline, with his hands covering his face. The 21-year-old Sengun had 14 points prior to the injury. The Rockets have won four of five as they look to make a push toward a spot in the play-in tournament. Houston is now 4 1/2 games back of the 10th seed in the Western Conference. Sabonis led the Kings with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam each scored 20 points and the Indiana Pacers beat Orlando 111-97 on Sunday night to close within a game of the Magic in the Eastern Conference standings. T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin each added 17 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith had 16. Paolo Banchero had 19 points for Orlando, Cole Anthony added 16 and Wendell Carter had 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Magic have dropped two in a row for the first time since Jan. 22-26.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and six assists in three quarters and the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled past the Memphis Grizzlies 124-93. Rookie Cason Wallace scored a season-high 23 points, Josh Giddey had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Lu Dort scored 14 points and made all four of his 3-point tries for the Thunder. Oklahoma City won its third straight to stay at the top of the Western Conference standings. Rookie GG Jackson II scored a season-high 30 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 16 for the Grizzlies.
D’Angelo Russell scored 21 of his season-high 44 points in the fourth quarter and hit a go-ahead jumper with 5.9 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame LeBron James’ injury absence for a 123-122 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Spencer Dinwiddie blocked Damian Lillard’s step-back jumper right before the buzzer to preserve a stirring win for the Lakers while James sat out to rest his sore left ankle. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists. Lillard scored eight of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, but the Bucks couldn’t hang on in their second consecutive loss.
NHL
Kyle Palmieri reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth time in his career, Bo Horvat extended his goal streak to three games, and the New York Islanders moved into a playoff position with their sixth straight win, a 6-1 rout of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night. The top line of Horvat, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal combined for six points as the Islanders moved into the Eastern Conference’s second and final wild card. Casey Cizikas, Pierre Engvall and Cal Clutterbuck also found the net for New York. Semyon Varlamov stopped 22 shots. Anaheim’s Alex Killorn extended his goal streak to four games. Lukas Dostal made 13 saves.
Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists and Darnell Nurse scored twice in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers eased past the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0. Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game losing streak by shutting down the struggling Penguins. A day after having his 13-game point streak ended in a loss to Buffalo, McDavid had his 118th game with three or more points. Calvin Pickard made 41 saves for the Oilers. Tristan Jarry stopped 38 shots for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have dropped six of seven.
Minnesota pulled its goaltender in overtime and Matt Boldy scored to lift the Wild to a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators. Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury skated off 3:30 into OT, giving Minnesota a 4-on-3 advantage. Seconds later, Boldy got a pass from Mats Zuccarello and beat Predators goalie Juuse Saros for his 24th goal. Nashville’s Ryan O’Reilly scored a power-play goal with 2:02 remaining in regulation, helping the Predators avoid what would have been their first regulation loss since Feb. 15. Nashville is 10-0-2 in its last 12 games.
Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and two assists to help the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Calgary Flames 7-2 on Sunday. Jalen Chatfield, Brent Burns, Seth Jarvis, Jordan Martinook and Teuvo Teravainen also scored for Carolina. Jordan Staal and Jesperi Kotkaniemi each added two assists for the Hurricanes. Dryden Hunt and Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames, who have lost three of their past four games. Dan Vladar made 33 saves for Calgary. Frederik Andersen, in his second start in four days, made 17 saves for the Hurricanes.
Colin Blackwell got his first career hat trick and Connor Bedard had two goals and an assist, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 7-4 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. It was Chicago’s highest scoring game of the season. The last-place Blackhawks improved to 3-13-3 in their last 19 games, including a 5-2 win at the Coyotes on Tuesday. Seth Jones had a career-high four assists for Chicago, and Ryan Donato had a goal and an assist. Tyler Johnson also scored. Clayton Keller had two goals for Arizona, running his team-best total to 25 on the season. Nick Schmaltz had a goal and two assists against his first NHL team, and Dylan Guenther also scored.
NFL
A person familiar with the details told The Associated Press that quarterback Russell Wilson has agreed to sign a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Sunday night because the contract hasn’t been finalized and added Wilson will receive the veteran’s minimum of $1.21 million while the Denver Broncos pay the remainder of his $39 million salary. Wilson posted his intentions on X, formerly known as Twitter. He was 11-19 in two seasons with the Broncos.
The San Francisco 49ers are planning to cut their longest tenured player by releasing defensive tackle Arik Armstead in a salary cap move. A person informed of the team’s decision said Armstead will be released and hit the open market after the start of the new league year on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the move. Bleacher Report first reported that the Niners planned to release Armstead.
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press that quarterback Baker Mayfield is staying with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after agreeing to a three-year contract worth up to $115 million. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement, which includes $50 million guaranteed, has not been finalized. Mayfield has played with four different teams over the past three seasons. He resurrected his career in 2023, joining the Bucs on a one-year contract after Tom Brady retired and leading the team to a third consecutive NFC South title. The agreement comes two days after Tampa Bay finalized a two-year, $52 million deal with receiver Mike Evans.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UConn 58 Marquette 29
Paige Bueckers scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead No. 9 UConn to a 58-29 win over Marquette on Sunday in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Ice Brady, making just her second start, added 10 points for short-handed Huskies (28-5) who had just seven available players after losing star center Aaliyah Edwards to a facial injury after she was struck in the nose in the win over Providence on Saturday. Injuries had already put five other players out for the season. Liza Karlen had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead Marquette (23-8), which made just 12 baskets on 54 shots (22%) and did not score in the fourth quarter. UConn never trailed in the game.
South Carolina forward Kamilla Cardoso was one of six players ejected from the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game after she shoved LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson to the floor late in the fourth quarter. Gamecocks guard MiLaysia Fulwiley had stolen the ball from Johnson, who wrapped her up and was called for an intentional foul. Johnson bumped South Carolina’s Ashlyn Watkins while heading to her bench, and then the 6-foot-7 Cardoso rushed in and pushed the 5-10 Johnson to the ground. In all, four South Carolina players were ejected and the Gamecocks had six remaining. LSU was left with only five players after two were disqualified. Cardoso apologized in a social media post after the game.
Caitlin Clark overcame a cold start to score 30 of her 34 points after halftime in third-ranked Iowa's rally past Nebraska 94-89 in overtime to win a third straight Big Ten Tournament. Hannah Stuelke finished with 25 points and nine rebounds for the Hawkeyes after they trailed by 13 points in the first half. Their superstar Clark missed all nine of her 3-point attempts in the first half. She hit a 3 with 51 seconds left in overtime to give Iowa the lead for good. Alexis Markowski had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Nebraska.
GOLF
Scottie Scheffler is the best in golf from tee to green. He was hot with the putter at Bay Hill and the result was predictable. Scheffler demolished a strong field to win by five shots. It's the largest margin at the Arnold Palmer Invitational since Tiger Woods in 2012. Scheffler shot a 66 in the final round while playing in the last group. That was the best score by two shots on Sunday. U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark had a 70 and was runner-up. Shane Lowry shot 72 and finished third. Lowry started the final round tied for the lead with Scheffler.
NASCAR
Christopher Bell surged into the lead when Martin Truex Jr. was forced to pit and pulled away for an emotional NASCAR Cup Series win at Phoenix Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s victory comes on the heels of a pair of heartbreaks in the desert. Two years ago, JGR vice chairman Coy Gibbs was found dead in his hotel room following his son Ty’s Xfinity season championship. Bell made it to the Cup Series championship four in November, but a broken rotor spoiled his championship hopes in the season finale at Phoenix. Bell’s win in the No. 20 Toyota also ended Chevrolet’s perfect start to the season after winning the first three races. He is the eighth winner in as many races at Phoenix Raceway’s mile tri-oval.
INDYCAR
Team Penske silenced recent criticism aimed at series leadership by dominating the IndyCar season-opening race with a Josef Newgarden win from the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing broke up the Penske rout with a second-place finish, but Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Will Power finished third and fourth. The Penske trio finished ahead of every Andretti Global driver two days after team owner Michael Andretti called on Roger Penske to sell the IndyCar Series if he’s not willing to increase his investments in promotion and marketing. Colton Herta in fifth was the highest-finishing driver for Andretti.
CONCACAF WOMEN’S GOLD CUP
Lindsey Horan scored on a header in first-half stoppage time and the United States beat Brazil 1-0 on Sunday to win the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. The United States lifted the trophy despite being stunned by a loss to Mexico in the group stage of the tournament. It was the first women’s Gold Cup, with the event created to bring teams in the region more meaningful competition. It was the fourth time that the United States faced Brazil in a tournament final. The Americans also won the previous three, including the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. The game drew a sellout crowd of 31,528 to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, a record crowd for a CONCACAF women’s match.
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