NBA
Trae Young had 30 points, Onyeka Okongwu added a career-high 28 and the Atlanta Hawks opened the season with a 120-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Young sealed it with a pair of free throws with 2 seconds remaining. Okongwu made 11 of 12 shots from field and all six of his free throws to eclipse his previous best of 22 points. Cam Thomas led the Nets with 36 points, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a loss for Jordi Fernández in his NBA head coaching debut. Atlanta's Zaccharie Risacher, the first overall pick in the draft, made his first shot from 3-point range but finished with just 7 points.
Damian Lillard scored 30 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo added 25 and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 124-109 in the season opener for both teams. Lillard scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished with six 3-pointers, nine rebounds and five assists. Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia, which was without injured stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, who are sidelined due to knee injuries.
Myles Turner scored 20 points, Pascal Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin had 19 each and the Indiana Pacers rallied to beat Detroit 115-109 on Wednesday night, spoiling coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s Pistons debut. Detroit led by 12 points and was ahead after each of the first three quarters in a closely contested game with 13 lead changes and four ties, but couldn’t hang on for the win. The Pacers overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Pistons 33-19 in the quarter in the season-opening game for both teams. Cade Cunningham scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half for the Pistons.
Evan Mobley scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell had 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Toronto Raptors 136-106. Caris LeVert shot 8 for 9 and scored 19 points, and Jarrett Allen had 14 for the Cavs, whose biggest lead was 33. Cleveland won for the first time in five season-opening meetings with Toronto. Raptors forward Scottie Barnes shot 3 for 14 and scored nine points in a disappointing debut. Toronto turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 30 Cleveland points. Immanuel Quickley went down in the second quarter and didn't return due to a right pelvic contusion.
Paolo Banchero scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Franz Wagner scored 23 and the Orlando Magic rolled past the Miami Heat 116-97 in the opener for both teams. Gary Harris added 18 for Orlando, all on 3-pointers. The Magic were 18 of 49 from 3-point range. Terry Rozier scored 19 for Miami, which celebrated “Pat Riley Court” night with a halftime ceremony. Nikola Jovic scored 15 and Tyler Herro added 14 for the Heat. Orlando led by as many as 32 in the second half.
Brandon Ingram scored 33 points, icing the game with a baseline turnaround jumper with 1:46 to go. The New Orleans Pelicans overcame Zion Williamson’s absence to defeat the Chicago Bulls 123-111 in the regular season opener for both clubs. Newly-acquired point guard Dejounte Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Pelicans, but injured his left hand in the fourth quarter. CJ McCollum scored 23 for New Orleans. Williamson was ruled out shortly before the game because of an illness. Zach LaVine scored 27 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.
LaMelo Ball had 34 points and 11 assists in his return from an ankle injury and Grant Williams made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to give the Charlotte Hornets a 110-105 win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. Jalen Green made five quick points to tie it before Williams put the Hornets on top with his step-back 3 to make it 106-103. Ball, who was playing in his first regular-season game since Jan. 26, added two free throws after that to secure the victory.
Ja Morant had 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in his return to action to power the Memphis Grizzlies to a 126-124 victory over the Utah Jazz. Morant appeared in just nine games last season after serving a 25-game league suspension before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Santi Aldama scored 27 points, and Desmond Bane added 24 for the Grizzlies. Lauri Markkanen tallied 35 points and nine rebounds for Utah. Jordan Clarkson chipped in for 17 points and seven assists off the bench. Walker Kessler had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Jay Huff had 13 points.
Ja Morant’s ability to take over a game hasn’t diminished. Morant didn’t miss a beat in leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a 126-124 season-opening victory over the Utah Jazz. The two-time NBA all-star finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds in only 28 minutes. His performance comes on the heels of a 2023-24 season marred by controversy and injury. The NBA suspended him for the first 25 games. Then, after appearing in just nine games, Morant suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Morant started the 2024-25 season off on the right foot.
Stephen Curry had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before sitting for the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors opened the season with a 139-104 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. Buddy Hield had 22 points off the bench for the Warriors, who missed out on the playoffs last year. Portland was led by Scoot Henderson with 22 bench points. The Warriors led by as many as 37 points. Shaedon Sharpe missed the game with a shoulder injury.
Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Bradley Beal added 24 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Clippers 116-113 in overtime Wednesday night, spoiling Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome debut in the opener for both teams. James Harden had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. He had a chance to send it to double overtime, but missed the second of two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining. Jusuf Nurkic gave the Suns a three-point advantage with a pair of free throws. The Clippers had one last chance to send it to another extra session, but Grayson Allen forced a turnover near midcourt after the inbounds pass. Mike Budenholzer picked up the victory in his first game as Phoenix’s coach.
Joel Embiid’s absence from the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against Milwaukee is simply part of the team’s plan to keep the two-time NBA scoring champion on track for a healthy season. The 76ers hope Embiid will make it the playoffs healthy for the first time in his career. Embiid was ruled out against Milwaukee as part of what the Sixers call left knee management. The 2023 NBA MVP seems poised to sit out road games Friday at Toronto and Sunday at Indiana. Embiid was received plenty of criticism for sitting out opening night.
NHL
Connor McMichael scored twice and the Washington Capitals held on to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 for their fifth consecutive victory. Alex Ovechkin got his 855th NHL goal on an empty netter with 1:10 left. The Flyers clawed back from a four-goal deficit but have still lost six in a row since winning their season opener. Logan Thompson made 26 saves and fourth-line forwards Taylor Raddysh and Nic Dowd had the goals for the Capitals. Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov scored for Philadelphia
SOCCER
Ryan Gauld had a hat trick and added an assist to become the third player in league history with four goal contributions in an MLS playoff game, and the Vancouver Whitecaps knocked off the Portland Timbers 5-0. Vancouver matched the largest margin of victory in a postseason match in club history, joining a 5-0 victory against San Jose in 2017. The Whitecaps advance to a best-of-three series against top-seeded Los Angeles FC. Vancouver scored three goals in 11 minutes in the first half to take control. It was the most goals Vancouver scored in a game all season.
Premier League leader Liverpool moved level on points with Aston Villa at the top of the Champions League standings by extending its perfect record to three wins, and Manchester City set a new record for the most consecutive games undefeated in the history of the competition. Liverpool edged Leipzig 1-0 with a goal from Darwin Núñez. City routed Sparta Prague 5-0 with Erling Haaland scoring twice. Raphinha scored a hat trick as Barcelona finally beat Bayern Munich to end a series of six straight wins for the German team in their head-to-head that included a humiliating 8-2 loss for Barca in the quarterfinals in 2020.
NFL
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are acquiring three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams haven’t announced the trade. The Chiefs are sending a conditional fifth-round pick to the Titans, according to NFL Network. The 32-year-old Hopkins gives Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs another playmaker to help replace injured receiver Rashee Rice. Hopkins was in his second season with the Titans after spending his first seven in Arizona and three in Houston.
Bryce Young will start Sunday at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos after Andy Dalton sprained the thumb on his right throwing hand during a car crash in Charlotte. Panthers coach Dave Canales made the announcement Wednesday after practice. Dalton did not practice. Canales said there were no serious injuries in Tuesday's crash, and the 36-year-old Dalton will be listed as day to day. Canales said it’s possible that Dalton could be the team’s No. 2 quarterback on Sunday. Young was benched two games into the season after starting 0-2. Dalton has gone 1-4 as a starter since then, losing his last four starts.
Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels missed practice because of a rib injury. Daniels' status for Sunday against the Chicago Bears is uncertain. He is listed as week to week. Coach Dan Quinn said Daniels would still take part in meetings and expects to provide a further update following practice Friday. Veteran Marcus Mariota would start if Daniels is unable to play. Mariota replaced Daniels early in a 40-7 rout of Carolina that got the Commanders to 5-2 this season.
Tua Tagovailoa practiced Wednesday for the first time since suffering a concussion in Week 2, and the Dolphins are aiming for him to start Sunday against Arizona. Tagovailoa still needs to progress through the final stages of the NFL’s concussion protocol for that to happen, but he moved one step closer by returning to the practice field. Tagovailoa has met with numerous medical experts who specialize in brain and head injuries since being diagnosed with the third concussion of his NFL career on Sept. 12. The experts deemed it safe for him to return to football, coach Mike McDaniel said Monday.
MLB
These Yankees have minted a new vibe going into their first World Series since 2009. Baseball’s most tradition-bound team, with a grandiose granite-and-limestone stadium and pinstriped home uniforms that have hardly changed since 1936, has added a flamboyant flash to its accessories: Statue of Liberty green. It’s on cleats, chest protectors, batting gloves, wrist and elbow guards. This is one team happy to be told it looks like statues — at least sartorially. Judge is the Yankees’ ultimate influencer and if he goes green, the rest of the team follows.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
North Carolina State quarterback Grayson McCall has announced his retirement from football less than three weeks after a vicious hit knocked him out of a game for the second time this season. McCall was a sixth-year player who was a graduate transfer following five seasons at Coastal Carolina, where he threw for more than 10,000 yards and 88 touchdowns, but also had concussion issues. McCall was knocked out of the Sept. 14 game against Louisiana Tech and in his first game back left on a cart after taking a helmet-jarring hit in the first quarter against Wake Forest on Oct. 5.
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