NBA
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points to help the Celtics win their seventh game in a row. Boston took advantage of the absence of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to beating the Milwaukee Bucks 122-119. Payton Pritchard added 19 points and six rebounds off the bench for Boston. He scored 10 points in the second quarter — as many as Milwaukee had as a team. He also grabbed four rebounds in the second, including an offensive board he took away from Brook Lopez. Lopez is a full foot taller. Damian Lillard scored 32 and Bobby Portis had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks.
Grayson Allen scored 32 points and tied a career high with nine 3-pointers, leading the Phoenix Suns to a 115-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Allen made 10 of 17 shots from the field, including 9 of 15 from long range. He’s made at least eight 3-pointers in seven games this season, which is second in the NBA behind Golden State’s Stephen Curry. Kevin Durant added 22 points for the Suns while Devin Booker had 18 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Philadelphia was led by Kelly Oubre Jr. with 18 points.
Pascal Siakam had 25 points and eight rebounds, Tyrese Haliburton added 20 points and nine assists and the Indiana Pacers routed the short-handed Detroit Pistons 122-103 on Wednesday night. Aaron Nesmith added 14 points as the Pacers (39-31) swept the four-game season series from the Pistons. The game was the first on Indiana’s five-game road trip. Cade Cunningham had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight. The Pistons played without starting forwards Ausur Thompson (blood clots) and Isaiah Stewart (hamstring), who were each ruled out for the season on Wednesday.
Terry Rozier scored nine points in the final 1:24, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds on the clock, lifting the Miami Heat to a 107-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rozier converted a 4-point play before sinking a 26 footer that gave Miami a 105-102 lead. After Georges Niang made two free throws for the Cavaliers, Rozier followed with two of his own with 2.8 seconds remaining. Jimmy Butler scored 30 points and Rozier finished with 24. Jarrett Allen had 25 points and 20 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Domantas Sabonis had 13 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for his 24th triple-double of the season, De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points and the Sacramento Kings routed the short-handed Raptors 123-89. Toronto’s season-worst losing streak was extended to eight. Sabonis has recorded at least a double-double in 51 consecutive games. Malik Monk scored 17 points and Harrison Barnes added 16 as the Kings won their second straight and fourth of five. Gary Trent Jr. scored 18 points and Ochai Agbaji and Jordan Nwora each had 13 for the Raptors. Toronto is 1-9 in March.
Chet Holmgren scored 35 points and tied a career high with 14 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Utah Jazz 119-107. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half for the Thunder, who have the best record in the Western Conference at 48-20. Alexander became the 13th player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in 50 games. Collin Sexton had 25 points for Utah, which played without injured players Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson — two of the team’s top three scorers. The Thunder took control midway through the fourth with a 20-4 run.
Paul George scored 27 points, James Harden had 19 points and 14 assists and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 116-103. The victory gave the Clippers a one-game lead over the New Orleans Pelicans for the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Scoot Henderson had 18 points and five assists for Portland and fellow rookie Kris Murray had a season-high 17 points.
Stephen Curry reached 300 3-pointers for an NBA-record fifth season and scored 14 points with four 3s, one of seven players in double figures as the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 137-116. Jonathan Kuminga scored 26 points, Andrew Wiggins added 22 and 10 rebounds and Klay Thompson 23 points off the bench. Chris Paul dished out a season-best 14 assists — matching the second-most by a reserve this season — in the team’s 30th game with at least 30 assists. They finished with 43. GG Jackson II scored 35 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 28 for Memphis.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff revealed he received threats from gamblers last season and reported it to the NBA. Speaking before the Cavs game against Miami, Bickerstaff said gamblers got his telephone number and sent him "crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff.” Bickerstaff said he told security and that the gambler was located. With sports gambling growing in the U.S., Bickerstaff, who is in his fourth full season with the Cavaliers, said his job has become more challenging. He said more should be done to protect players, coaches and others in the game.
NHL
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 56th and 57th goals of the season to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 7-3 rout of the Washington Capitals. Matthews also had three assists to match his career high with five points in a game. Alex Ovechkin scored twice to get to 845 and move 50 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record. The Capitals' winning streak ended at three. Washington failed to move back into a playoff position and sits one point back of Detroit for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Logan Stankoven scored in the second period to help the Dallas Stars beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 on Wednesday night. The Stars extended their home points streak against the Coyotes to 19 games at 18-0-1. They last lost at home to the then-Phoenix Coyotes in regulation on Feb. 7, 2012. Jason Robertson had a goal and an assist, Craig Smith also scored, Nils Lundqvist had two assists and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves. Dallas, Winnipeg and Colorado all have 93 points atop the Central Division. The Jets have played 68 games, the Avalanche 69 and the Stars 70. Clayton Keller and John Leonard scored for Arizona, and Connor Ingram stopped 28 shots.
The Los Angeles Kings routed the Minnesota Wild 6-0. Captain Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist while recording his 1,200th career point, and David Rittich made 30 saves in his third shutout of the season. Viktor Arvidsson had his first goal of the season and an assist in his return from a monthlong injury absence for the Kings. Kopitar became the 52nd player in NHL history to score 1,200 points when he assisted on Kevin Fiala's early goal. Minnesota's Marc-Andre Fleury allowed five goals on 16 shots before getting pulled. Fleury’s teammates deflected two of the goals past him in a comprehensively ugly effort by the Wild.
MLB
Shohei Ohtani’s RBI single capped a four-run eighth-inning rally in his Dodgers debut, and Los Angeles beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 in the season opener. The game turned when a routine grounder went through the webbing of first baseman Jake Cronenworth. Ohtani went 2 for 5 in his first game since leaving the Los Angeles Angels for a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers. A crowd of 15,952 was on hand to watch at the Gocheok Sky Dome for Major League Baseball’s first game in South Korea.
Game two of the Seoul Series between the Dodgers and Padres was underway when this report went to air.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani's interpreter and close friend Ippei Mizuhara has been fired by the Los Angeles Dodgers following allegations of illegal gambling and theft from the Japanese star. Ohtani is playing in Seoul, South Korea, this week in a two-game series with the San Diego Padres to open the major league baseball season. Mizuhara was seen regularly chatting with Ohtani, who was the Dodgers’ designated hitter, seemingly discussing his at-bats over a tablet computer during Wednesday's game. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said a different interpreter would be used and he said he did not know Mizuhara's whereabouts.
Agent Scott Boras defended himself and the leadership of the Major League Baseball Players Association against a faction pushing for a change in the union’s lead negotiator. Boras says: “When you have inexperienced people who haven’t been doing this for a long time, they make statements that are just not supported by facts. During an online meeting Monday, players pushed for union executive director Tony Clark to remove deputy executive director Bruce Meyer, who led talks for the 2022 collective bargaining agreement. Some in the group pushing for change want to replace Meyer with Harry Marino, who helped minor leaguers organize.
NFL
Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton is wanted on a Florida domestic violence warrant. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday asked for tips to help find him. Authorities said on the X social media platform that the warrant is for domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The sheriff’s office said Sutton may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a Florida license plate. No other information was immediately provided. It wasn’t clear if Sutton has a lawyer to speak for him and the team declined to comment. An email message sent to Sutton’s agent was not immediately returned.
The NFL competition committee is proposing a rule to penalize so-called “hip-drop” tackles and a radical change to kickoffs to add more returns without compromising safety. The proposals will be presented to owners at the league meetings later this month, with 24 out of 32 votes needed for approval. The committee didn’t propose any rule changes to limit the use of the “tush push” quarterback sneak that has been so successful for the Philadelphia Eagles the past few seasons or any change to the rule giving the defensive team a touchback if the team with the ball fumbles through the end zone.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Siena College has fired men’s basketball coach Carm Maciariello after one of the worst seasons in Saints history. The private college in Loudonville announced the move today with two years left on his contract. Maciariello coached Siena to a 4-28 finish this year and a 68-72 record over five seasons. The 2001 Siena graduate got off to a good start, bringing Siena to a conference title in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. But he never reached the NCAA tournament, and the team struggled mightily in conference play over the past two seasons. Siena says it’s launching a national search for its next coach.
16 Grambling State 88 16 Montana State 81
10 Colorado 60 10 Boise State 53
Colorado faces 7-seed Florida and Grambling State will play top-seed Purdue Friday.
The women’s NCAA Tournament field is set and now the fun begins, with 68 teams trying to win the national championship. The Final Four will be in Cleveland. LSU ended a run of 10 straight national championships by No. 1 seeds. Look for that to be a one-year exception. Associated Press Basketball Writer Doug Feinberg is picking South Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford and UCLA to reach the Final Four. He also believes South Carolina will beat UCLA in the final to cap off the 10th unbeaten season in NCAA women's basketball history.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Vanderbilt 72 Columbia 68
Iyanna Moore scored 22 points, Sacha Washington had a double-double and Vanderbilt celebrated its return to the NCAA Tournament with a 72-68 win over Columbia in a battle of 12-seeds in the First Four on Wednesday night.
The Commodores (23-9), who are in their 28th NCAA Tournament but first since 2014, face fifth-seeded Baylor on Friday.
PRESBYTERIAN 49, SACRED HEART 42
Bryanna Brady added 12 points for Presbyterian (21-14), which had to beat three higher seeds in the Big South tourney to extend its season. Tilda Sjokvist, the Big South tourney MVP, had eight points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and a block. Although Sjokvist was 3-of-13 shooting, she had a clutch jumper with 1:18 to play for a 45-40 lead.
The Blue Hose face top-seed South Carolina Friday.
Purdue is back in the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 seed with the goal of regrouping from last year's shocking upset loss to Fairleigh Dickinson. The Boilermakers became the second top seed to lost to a No. 16 seed. The first was Virginia in 2018. The Cavaliers lost to UMBC but regrouped to win the championship a year later. The Cavaliers' journey offers a March Madness roadmap for the Boilermakers before their opener Friday. Former Virginia player Ty Jerome was part of that title winner. He says going through the loss together can make Purdue stronger for this year.
TENNIS
Tennis could be on the verge of massive structural change if one of two separate proposals formulated by the four Grand Slam tournaments and the WTA and ATP professional tours ends up moving forward. There is plenty of discussion happening now behind closed doors about the sport's future. Negotiations involve the various governing bodies, tournaments, players, agents and Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund. The idea set forth by the four majors would get rid of the current WTA-ATP structure and create a new Premier Tour for roughly 100 women and 100 men and a lower-level Contenders Tour for roughly 200 women and 200 men. All events would have women and men and pay equal prize money.
Andy Murray won another lengthy match with Matteo Berrettini, who appeared weary and leaned on his racket to keep his balance during Murray’s 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory Wednesday at the Miami Open. Playing his first match on the ATP Tour this season, Berrettini was serving with Murray leading 5-2 in the second set when he seemed to become dizzy, resting his racket on the court to hold himself up. He was visited by a medical attendant, who checked his blood pressure before play continued. Berrettini left the court after dropping that set but was able to finish the match, which last 2 hours, 49 minutes.
Aryna Sabalenka says her “heart is broken” by the death of Konstantin Koltsov, asking for privacy for herself and the family of the former Belarusian hockey player she had dated. Koltsov died Monday at 42 in Miami, days before the second-ranked Sabalenka was set to begin play in the Miami Open. Miami-Dade Police said the death was an apparent suicide and no foul play was suspected. The 25-year-old Sabalenka, also from Belarus, had a bye in the first round of the tournament. A tournament spokesman said Wednesday the plan is for Sabalenka to play against her good friend Paula Badosa on Friday.
FORMULA ONE
The wife of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says she has filed a criminal complaint in the French courts “in relation to statements made about me” by Formula 1’s governing body. Susie Wolff is an employee of F1’s management group as director of the all-female series F1 Academy. The FIA said in early December it was investigating the Wolffs following allegations of a conflict of interest and whether they have shared confidential information. The nine other F1 teams all denied lodging a complaint against the Wolffs and the FIA dropped the investigation within 48 hours.
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