NBA
Cam Thomas scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer for the lead in the final minute, and the Brooklyn Nets defeated New Orleans 107-105 to extend the Pelicans’ losing streak to five games. Cameron Johnson and Noah Clowney each scored 15 points and Dennis Schroder scored 14 for the Nets, who snapped a two-game skid. Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 24 points. But he scored just 2 points on a pair of free throws in the second half. Rookie center Yves Missi had 17 points and 11 rebounds for career highs in both categories. Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III played for the first time this season and scored 12 points.
Victor Wembanyama had 34 points and 14 rebounds, Chris Paul added 12 points and 11 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 116-96 victory over the Sacramento Kings. De’Aron Fox scored 24 points, Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 12 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan added 21 points for Sacramento.
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama had another monstrous outing that put him in the record books among some impressive company. Wembanyama had 34 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and three blocks as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-96 on Monday night. It was Wembanyama’s 82nd career game, giving the 7-foot-3 No. 1 pick in 2023 from France a full season of games played. And with his outstanding performance, Wembanyama joined Oscar Robertson, Kareer Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Blake Griffin and Sidney Wicks as the only players in league history with 1,700 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in their first 82 games
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 36 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls 119-113 to become the eighth NBA team to begin a season with 12 straight wins. Darius Garland scored 17 points for Cleveland, and Evan Mobley had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers scored at least 110 points for the 11th time. Garland rolled in a layup with 24 seconds left, and Mitchell made two free throws to help close it out. Zach LaVine scored 26 points for Chicago, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Coby White and Nicola Vucevic each had 20 points.
Alperen Sengun scored 27 points for a second straight game and added 17 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 107-92 win over the Washington Wizards. Sengun hit 12 of 19 shots and added three blocks. Jalen Green scored 18 points, Amen Thompson had 13, and Jabari Smith Jr. and Aaron Holiday each added 11. Washington forward Kyle Kuzma returned from a five-game absence due to a right groin strain and led Washington with 18 points on 7-for-18 shooting in 24 minutes. Jordan Poole had 11 points and eight turnovers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 45 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Clippers 134-128 in their first game this season without Chet Holmgren. Holmgren will miss at least eight weeks with a pelvic fracture after a hard fall during Sunday’s loss to Golden State. The 7-foot-1 forward/center had been one of the league’s most efficient scorers and top shot blockers. Gilgeous-Alexander picked up the slack by making 13 of 21 field goals and 15 of 16 free throws. Norman Powell scored 31 points for the Clippers, but he fouled out with 1:32 left.
NBA
Joel Embiid is expected to make his season debut tonight for the Philadelphia 76ers. Embiid has not played this season because of what the Sixers called left knee management. Embiid also just finished serving a three-game suspension levied by the NBA for shoving a member of the media. The 76ers are 2-7 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference headed into Tuesday's game against the New York Knicks. Embiid and fellow All-Stars Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have yet to play a game together this season because of injuries and suspension. The 76ers take on the New York Knicks at 7:30 tonight at home.
NHL
Buffalo Sabres leading scorer Tage Thompson left Monday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. Thompson, who scored his 11th goal of the season in the first period of the Sabres 7-5 loss, played one shift of the second period before he left the game. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff did not have an update on his condition following the game. Thompson has 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points this season. Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson also left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury. There was no update on his status after the game.
Matvei Michkov had a goal and an assist, and then scored in the shootout to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Michkov returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch for two consecutive games. Travis Konecny and Erik Johnson also scored for the Flyers, who had lost three of four. Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist for the Sharks. William Eklund and Barclay Goodrow also scored in regulation for San Jose.
Miro Heiskanen scored two of Dallas’ six first-period goals, and the Stars beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-1. Mason Marchment had a goal and four assists for Dallas, which had dropped three of four. Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists. The Stars scored six first-period goals for the second time in franchise history, and the first since March 1971 when they were the Minnesota North Stars. Marchment, Duchene, Seguin and rookie Logan Stankoven also scored during the team’s fast start.
Captain Mikael Backlund had a goal and assist to lead the Calgary Flames to a gritty 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Jonathan Huberdeau with his team-leading sixth goal and Kevin Rooney, into an empty net, also scored for Calgary. Trevor Moore scored the lone goal for Los Angeles, which lost in regulation for just the second time in the last seven. Rookie netminder Dustin Wolf made 28. He was 2:31 away from his first NHL shutout when Moore scored with the goalie pulled. Darcy Kuemper, who faced 27 shots, was saddled with the loss.
Samuel Girard stole the puck and scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway 2:47 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 3-2. Girard was mobbed by teammates on the ice after beating Juuse Saros with a shot into the corner of the net. Fellow Colorado defenseman Devon Toews also got his first goal of the season, and Mikko Rantanen also scored. Both goaltenders were stellar down the stretch and into overtime. Alexandar Georgiev and Saros each made 29 saves. Luke Evangelista and Colton Sissons scored for the Predators, who opened a five-game trip. Nathan MacKinnon had an assist on Rantanen’s goal to give him at least a point in 15 of 16 games this season.
Jordan Martinook scored for the fourth game in a row and the Carolina Hurricanes handed the Vegas Golden Knights their first home loss with a 5-2 victory. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Eric Robinson and Jordan Staal each had a goal and an assist. Tyson Jost scored the other Hurricanes goal, and Martin Necas extended his point streak to 10 games with a first-period assist. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 31 shots. Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist for Vegas. Ivan Barbashev scored the other Golden Knights goal.
NFL
The Miami Dolphins snapped their three-game losing streak with a gritty 23-15 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Tyreek Hill caught a short touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa while playing through a wrist injury, and rookie Malik Washington rushed 18 yards for his first NFL touchdown on the opening possession of a much-needed turnaround game for the beleaguered Dolphins. Matthew Stafford passed for 293 yards and rookie Joshua Karty made five field goals for the Rams, whose three-game winning streak ended with a dramatic offensive regression. The Rams failed to score a TD for only the eighth time in coach Sean McVay’s eight seasons.
MLB
Police say Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been arrested for his involvement in an armed altercation in a parking lot in the Dominican Republic countryside. A police spokesman told The Associated Press it happened 116 miles west of Santo Domingo in San Juan de la Maguana. Franco was arrested Sunday. Another man and a woman were also detained. Police said two firearms were seized and didn't say whether there were injuries. The 23-year-old Franco is scheduled to go to trial Dec. 12 in the northern province of Puerto Plata in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone is bothered a little by criticism of his team’s defense from Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly and defended New York’s fielding following a World Series of mistakes and mental errors. Boone says “it’s a story that blew up too much and understandably we had a really, really tough inning." New York wasted a five-run lead in Game 5 of the World Series, making two errors and a mental mistake. Boone spoke during a Zoom news conference three days after the Yankees exercised his 2025 option.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for his first National League MVP award after winning the AL honor twice, joined among the top three in NL voting by New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is a finalist for his second AL MVP in three seasons, joined by Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto. Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels. He didn’t pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million deal with the Dodgers.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
John Robinson has died at 89. The veteran football coach enjoyed many years of success at the University of Southern California and with the Los Angeles Rams. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame after his two successful tenures with the Trojans. Robinson also became the winningest coach in Rams history during his nine-year tenure with the NFL club. Robinson never had a losing record at USC, winning five conference titles and four Rose Bowls. He moved to the Rams in 1983 and reached the playoffs in six of his first seven seasons, advancing to two NFC championship games.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas remained atop the first Associated Press men’s college basketball poll of the regular season after winning a matchup of basketball bluebloods. Gonzaga rose to No. 4 and Auburn to No. 5 after impressive opening-week wins. The Jayhawks received 44 of 62 first-place votes after a home win against North Carolina. That kept them ahead of Alabama and two-time reigning national champion UConn in an unchanged 1-2-3 setting. No. 21 Ohio State and No. 22 St. John's were the two new additions to the poll. Texas and UCLA fell out from the preseason AP Top 25.
South Carolina is a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after a pair of victories to kick off its national championship repeat bid. The top eight teams in the first regular-season rankings remained unchanged with UConn, USC, Texas and UCLA next after South Carolina. LSU and Iowa State followed the Bruins. Oklahoma was ninth and Kansas State 10th. Stanford and Oregon entered the Top 25 at No. 24 and 25, respectively.
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