NBA
The Boston Celtics tied the NBA record by making 29 3-pointers in their victory over the New York Knicks. With the chance to break the record, the Celtics missed 13 straight 3s. The defending champions won 132-109 and tied the record set by Milwaukee in 2020. Jayson Tatum made 8 of 11 from long distance, Derrick White connected on six and Jaylen Brown made five as the Celtics opened a 35-point lead over New York on the night Boston raised its 18th championship banner to the rafters.
The Boston Celtics have raised Banner 18 to the rafters. The NBA’s most-decorated franchise celebrated its latest championship on Tuesday night in a ceremony before opening night against the New York Knicks. The players and staff also received their championship rings. Former Celtics such as Bob Cousy and Paul Pierce were also on hand. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games last spring to claim their 18th NBA title. That's the most of any franchise in the league.
LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together when they checked into the game together in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener. LeBron James is the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history, while his 20-year-old namesake son was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world’s top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team. Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were in attendance at the Lakers’ downtown arena to witness the same history they made in baseball.
LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 39-year-old superstar and his 20-year-old son played almost 2 1/2 minutes together late in the first half of Bronny’s NBA debut. They are the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team. LeBron scored 16 points, while Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds in a dominant performance for the Lakers. Anthony Edwards scored 27 points for Minnesota.
NHL
The New York Rangers scored on their first two shots on goal and cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. Filip Chytil led the Rangers with two goals, both on the power play. Mika Zibanejad, Jonny Brodzinski, Reilly Smith and Braden Schneider scored the other New York goals. Igor Shesterkin stopped 21 shots for the win. Nick Suzuki scored twice for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault started in goal for Montreal but was replaced by Cayden Primeau after giving up four goals on 10 shots. Primeau made 32 saves in relief.
Patrick Kane scored a first-period goal, Alex Lyon made 29 saves and the Detroit Red Wings held on to edge the New York Islanders 1-0. Kane scored his first goal of the season at 8:54 of the period with assists to Vladimir Tarasenko and J.T. Compher. The 31-year-old Lyon made eight saves in the first, 14 stops in the second and seven more in the third for his fourth career shutout. The Red Wings won their second straight. The Islanders were shut out for the third time in six games this season. Ilya Sorokin made 10 stops for the Islanders.
Peyton Krebs and Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive shots 83 seconds apart in the second period, and the Buffalo Sabres hung on for a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars after allowing two goals in the final 4:36. Tage Thompson’s goal, putting Buffalo up 3-0 at the 4:17 mark of the third period, stood up as the winner, and Alex Tuch added an empty-netter with 11 second left. Jake Oettinger stopped 21 shots in losing his first start of the season. Defenseman Thomas Harley spoiled Luukkonen’s shutout bid on a shot that tipped off the stick of Buffalo forward Jason Zucker.
Juuse Saros made 33 saves and the Nashville Predators ended their season-opening five-game losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins. Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist each while Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist also scored for the Predators, who entered the game as the only team in the NHL without a win. The shutout was the 25th of Saros’ career. Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves for Boston. O’Reilly scored the game’s first goal with 2:44 remaining in the opening period.
Nic Dowd and Andrew Mangiapane scored short-handed goals in the first period, Charlie Lindgren made 17 saves and the Washington Capitals won their fourth straight game since losing the opener with a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. Alex Ovechkin went scoreless one game after pulling within 40 goals of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record for goals. Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson also tallied goals for the Capitals. Travis Sanheim scored for Philadelphia, which lost its fifth straight.
Filip Gustavsson continued his sizzling start to the season by making 24 saves, Jake Middleton tied a career-best with three assists and the Minnesota Wild beat the Florida Panthers 5-1 on Tuesday night. Mats Zuccarello had his team-best fourth goal of the season for the Wild, who also got goals from Marcus Johansson, Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek. Sam Bennett got his fifth goal of the season for Florida. Matthew Tkachuk got an assist in his first game back after missing five with an illness.
Brandon Hagel had three goals for his second career hat trick, Victor Hedman scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New Jersey Devils 8-5. Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Janis Moser also scored to help the Lightning snap a two-game skid. Anthony Cirelli had four assists and Jonas Johansson stopped 28 shots. Timo Meier scored two goals and Jack Hughes, Nathan Bastian and Stefan Noessen each had one for the Devils, who have lost three of four (1-2-1) after winning four of their first five. Jake Allen finished with 29 saves.
Mathieu Olivier scored twice and Daniil Tarasov stopped 25 shots as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. Justin Danforth had a goal and two assists, Sean Monahan added a goal and an assist, and James van Riemsdyk and Kirill Marchenko also scored for Columbus Zach Werenski had two assists. Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson scored for Toronto, which has lost two of three. Dennis Hildeby finished with 32 saves.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner, recorded 27 saves to spark the undefeated WInnipeg Jets to a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. Scoring for the Jets were Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller and Kyle Connor. All three goals came in the second period. Cole Perfetti assisted on all three goals. Brandon Saad scored both goals for the Blues. Robert Thomas assisted on both goals.
Danton Heinen scored two of Vancouver’s four first-period goals, and the Canucks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 for their third straight win. J.T. Miller had a goal and two assists for the Canucks, who closed out a 3-1 trip. Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Pius Suter also scored, and Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves against his first NHL team. Heinen finished a pretty passing sequence 21 seconds into the game. He picked up his second goal of the season at 10:46, giving Vancouver a 3-1 lead. Taylor Hall, Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Chicago in its third loss in four games.
Joel Kiviranta and Nathan MacKinnon each scored in the second period to put Colorado ahead, and the Avalanche held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 3—2. Kiviranta also scored late in the first period to give Colorado the lead and Justus Annunen had 25 saves. Seattle’s Jared McCann tied it with 8:03 left in the second period with his milestone 100th goal with the Kraken. Kiviranta scored again three minutes later to put Colorado back in front, and MacKinnon made it a two-goal game with 8 seconds to go in the period. Ryker Evans scored Seattle’s second goal with 4 seconds left in the game, and Phillipp Grubauer had 25 saves.
Sebastian Aho scored the overtime winner and added an assist as the Carolina Hurricanes mounted a third-period comeback to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Martin Necas had a goal and two assists, while Shayne Gostisbehere scored for the fourth consecutive game and added an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won three of their last four. Connor McDavid had both goals for the Oilers, who have lost two straight.
Anton Forsberg made 31 saves, Drake Batherson scored his third goal in two games and the Ottawa Senators won their first road game of the season, 4-0 victory over the Utah Hockey Club. Batherson, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig and Brady Tkachuk all scored in the first period as the Senators earned their first road shutout since 2021. It was Utah’s first home loss. Utah’s Connor Ingram had five first-period saves before he was replaced in net by Karel Vejmelka, who made 14 stops. Batherson and Giroux scored less than 90 seconds apart for a 2-0 lead. Both were assisted by Nick Jensen.
Justin Kirkland scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout Tuesday night as the red-hot Calgary Flames prevailed 4-3 over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar scored in regulation for Calgary. Andersson also had an assist for the only multipoint night, and leads the Flames in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists). Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Noel Acciari scored for Pittsburgh, which opened a four-game Western Canada road trip.
Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson scored Anaheim’s first power-play goals of the season, Lukas Dostal made 27 saves and the Ducks kept San Jose winless with a 3-1 win over the Sharks. Alex Killorn added an empty-net goal and Cutter Gauthier had two assists for Anaheim. Mikael Granlund scored for San Jose, which fell to 0-5-2. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 37 shots and William Eklund and Jack Thompson each had an assist. The Ducks began the season 0 for 20 on the power play before Terry scored 6:56 into the second period with a man advantage.
Tomas Hertl had two goals and two assists as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-1. The victory snapped Vegas’ three-game losing skid, all during a recent road trip. The Golden Knights remained unbeaten at home this season. Mark Stone, Pavel Dorofeyev, Alexander Holtz and Ivan Brabashev also scored for Vegas, while Ilya Samsonov stopped 31 shots. Warren Foegele scored and David Rittich made 24 saves for the Kings, who were playing their seventh straight road game to open the season.
MLB
Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who inspired “Fernandomania” in the early 1980s, has died. He was 63. The Mexican-born phenom won the National League Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, when he helped the Dodgers win the World Series. His death comes as the Dodgers are preparing to open the World Series on Friday night at home against the New York Yankees. Valenzuela had left his job on the Dodgers' Spanish-language television broadcast in September without explanation. He was reported to have been hospitalized earlier this month. He was one of the most dominant players of his era and a wildly popular sports figure in the 1980s.
Jack Flaherty will start for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series opener against the New York Yankees. The right-hander opposes Gerrit Cole on Friday night at Dodger Stadium in a matchup of Los Angeles area natives. Flaherty is from Burbank and attended high school at Harvard-Westlake in Los Angeles. Cole is from the Orange County city of Tustin and pitched at UCLA. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start Game 2 on Saturday. The Dodgers also plan a bullpen game during the best-of-seven series. Flaherty dominated Game 1 of the NL Championship Series against the New York Mets and then struggled in Game 5.
Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run ball has sold at auction for nearly $4.4 million, a record high price not just for a baseball, but for any ball in any sport. Ohtani became the first player in baseball history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season, reaching the milestone on Sept. 19 when the Los Angeles Dodgers star hit his second of three homers against the Marlins. The auctioneer in a statement Wednesday said bids came in from around the world. No information about the winning bidder was disclosed. The auction has been overshadowed by the litigation over ownership of the ball.
SOCCER
Atlanta United eliminated CF Montreal 5-4 in a penalty-kick shootout on Tuesday night in the opening game of the MLS Cup playoffs after the two clubs played to a 2-2 draw. Atlanta won its second road playoff game in club history and the first since Nov. 4, 2018 at New York City FC. United will start a best-of-three series on Friday against Supporters’ Shield winner Miami, which is hosting a playoff game for the first time in club history. Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan denied Tom Pearce on Montreal’s second attempt in the shootout. Saba Lobjanidze sealed it for United. Atlanta led 2-0 at halftime before former United star Josef Martínez scored two second-half goals to tie it.
GOLF
Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson shot 78 to begin the second stage of LPGA qualifying. This comes amid reports of a letter signed by 275 female golfers. They want top organizations like the LPGA and USGA to repeal policies allowing people assigned male at birth to compete in women's events. The LPGA's policy allows for players who have had gender-affirming surgery after puberty. Golfweek reported earlier the LPGA commissioner is conducting a thorough review of the policy and will announce any update before the start of next season. Davidson was tied for 171st in the 194-player field. The top 35 and ties advance.
COLLEGE SPORTS
USC star JuJu Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers headline The Associated Press preseason All-America team that for the first time includes three sophomores in a clear sign of the young talent in a sport coming off a record year of fan interest. Watkins and Bueckers were unanimous choices. The duo was joined by Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame, Madison Booker of Texas and Kiki Iriafen of USC. Watkins, Hidalgo and Booker are all second-year players.
The location of a women’s volleyball match between Nevada and San Jose State on Saturday has been moved from Reno, Nevada, to San Jose, California. The schools announced the decision Tuesday in a joint statement. Before the venue change, a group of Nevada players recently issued a statement saying they will not take the floor for their home game against the Spartans. The Spartans have already seen four teams cancel games against them — Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State. None of the schools explicitly have said why it was forfeiting. Political figures from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah have weighed in and suggested the cancellations centered around protecting women’s sports.
NFL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin will undergo surgery on a dislocated left ankle. The procedure will likely sideline him for the rest of the regular season. Coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that the Bucs are holding out hope that Godwin might be able to return if Tampa Bay winds up playing deep into January. Tampa Bay also lost receiver Mike Evans to a hamstring injury in Monday night's loss to Baltimore. Evans is expected to miss the next three games before possibly returning after Tampa Bay’s bye week. Quarterback Baker Mayfield says the two receivers are the “heartbeat” of the team.
San Francisco 49ers star receiver Deebo Samuel has been released from the hospital after being treated for a bout of pneumonia. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Samuel was sent home after going to the hospital Sunday night following San Francisco’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Samuel reported being sick before the game against Kansas City but tried to play. He lasted four snaps before coming out for good. Doctors determined he had fluid in his lungs and he went to the hospital to be treated for symptoms of pneumonia.
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