NFL
A person familiar with the decision says former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones is signing with the Minnesota Vikings. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the agreement hasn’t been finalized. Jones will join Minnesota’s practice squad less than a week after the Giants released the former No. 6 overall draft pick. Sam Darnold has helped the Vikings start 9-2. Jones joins Nick Mullens and Brett Rypien in Minnesota’s quarterback room. Rookie first-round pick J.J. McCarthy had season-ending knee surgery in August and a second procedure on his knee earlier this month.
NBA
Tyrese Martin scored a career-high 30 points, Dennis Schroder added 29 and the injury-depleted Brooklyn Nets beat the Phoenix Suns 127-117. The Nets have won four of their last five games. The Suns have lost seven of nine. Martin shot 10 of 13 from the field, including 8 for 10 from 3-point range, in his best NBA performance by a wide margin. He had scored just 33 points in 21 career games before Wednesday. Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points. Kevin Durant had 30 points against his former team, but also seven turnovers.
Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks improved to 4-1 this season without superstar Luka Doncic, beating the New York Knicks 129-114. Jalen Brunson tied his season high with 37 points for New York in his second game in Dallas against his former team. Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 14 rebounds. OG Anunoby was limited to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting two nights after getting a career-high 40. Doncic missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained right wrist.
Jalen Green scored a season-high 41 points, Alperen Sengun added 22 points and 14 rebounds and the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 122-115 in overtime. Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points, including 28 in the second half, in the loss for Philadelphia, which played without Paul George and Joel Embiid and fell to 3-14. Maxey, who tied the game with three free throws with just over 11 seconds left, was held scoreless in overtime. Amen Thompson had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Guerschon Yabusele had 22 for the Sixers.
James Harden scored a season-high 43 points in 32 minutes to help the Los Angeles Clippers romp to a 121-96 victory over Washington, handing the struggling Wizards their 13th consecutive defeat. Harden hit seven 3-pointers, had 23 points in the first quarter and eclipsed his previous season high of 29 by halftime. The 10-time All-Star posted his highest point total since scoring 44 at Detroit on March 26, 2021, despite exiting the game at the end of the third. Ivica Zubac added 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won six of seven. It was Los Angeles’ second-largest margin of victory this season, after opening a four-game trip with a 26-point win at Philadelphia two games ago.
Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 31 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 24 on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range to help the Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 133-119. Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 21 points and Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Magic raced out to an early lead and led by 13 after the first quarter and by as many as 27 points on the way to their fourth straight win and 10th in their last 11 games. Orlando’s defense struggled in stretches, but still forced 18 turnovers and recorded eight blocks and 10 steals.
Tyler Herro scored 27 points, Duncan Robinson added 22 points with six 3-pointers and the Miami Heat held on to defeat the Charlotte Hornets 98-94. Bam Adebayo had 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Heat, who bounced back from a 106-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in an NBA Cup game on Tuesday night. LaMelo Ball had 32 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost five of their last six. Brandon Miller had 21 points and rookie Tidjane Salaun scored a career-high 17 points. The Hornets rallied from 20 points down to take the lead when Salaun drilled a corner 3 with 42 seconds left.
Pascal Siakam matched a season high with 29 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 28 and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers overcame a sluggish first half to defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 121-114. Bennedict Mathurin added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana. The Pacers led by 11 entering the final quarter and fended off a Trail Blazers rally. Haliburton scored 12 points and Siakam nine down the stretch for their third consecutive victory. Anfernee Simons led Portland with 30 points, including six 3-pointers. Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe each had 17.
Trae Young had a career-high 22 assists — the most in the NBA this season — and scored 20 points as the Atlanta Hawks handed Cleveland just its second loss this season, beating the Cavaliers 135-124. The Cavs fell to 17-2 and lost for the first time in 11 home games. De'Andre Hunter added 26 points and Jalen Johnson 22 for the Hawks, who made all the big plays down the stretch. Rookie Zaccharie Risacher scored 17. Donovan Mitchell scored 30 and Evan Mobley added 22 and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which was trying to become the first team to start 18-1 or better.
Ochai Agbaji and Jamison Battle each scored 24 points, and the Toronto Raptors won on the road for the first time this season, 119-93 over the hapless New Orleans Pelicans. Djounte Murray returned from a fractured left hand that sidelined him for 17 games but looked rusty. He finished with 14 points, but missed all seven of his first-half shots. The Pelicans lost their sixth straight game and 15th out of 17. CJ McCollum led New Orleans with 19 points. RJ Barrett had 22 points and 11 assists for Toronto, which came in 0-10 on the road. Toronto made 21 3s and Battle made 6 of 8.
Marcus Smart scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 131-111 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Smart was 8 of 12 from the field, including 7 of 11 from outside the arc. Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jake LaRavia finished with 19 points apiece, Pippen adding seven rebounds while hitting 9 of 12 shots as Memphis won its fourth straight. LaRavia missed only one of his nine shots. Marcus Sasser led the Pistons with 22 points, while Simone Fontecchio had 18. Jaden Ivey finished with 17 points.
Malik Monk had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, De’Aaron Fox added 26 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings rode a gritty performance underneath both baskets to a 115-104 victory against the scuffling Minnesota Timberwolves. Monk and Fox combined to outscore the Timberwolves 17-2 over the final five minutes. Domantas Sabonis had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Sacramento snapped a four-game losing streak. Led by Sabonis, Sacramento outscored Minnesota 64-36 in the paint. The Kings also had 12 offensive rebounds to four for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 29 points but went 9 for 24 from the field. The Timberwolves have lost four in a row and seven of nine.
Anthony Davis had 19 points and 14 rebounds, LeBron James finished with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-101. Rookie Dalton Knecht had 20 pointson 4-for-10 shooting from long distance as the Lakers snapped a three-game skid. Victor Wembanyama had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs had their four-game winning streak ended. Harrison Barnes added 19 points and Julian Champagnie scored 18.
Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 122-103 victory over the Utah Jazz. Jokic scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the first quarter alone to rally Denver from an early 12-point deficit. Jamal Murray added 22 points, eight assists and four steals for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Christian Braun finished with 18 points and seven boards. Collin Sexton led the Jazz with 26 points. Keyonte George scored 23, including five 3-pointers. Walker Kessler chipped in with 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Utah played without injured starters Lauri Markkanen and John Collins.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Jalen Williams exited late in the first half with a right eye injury and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Curry-less Golden State Warriors 105-101. Andrew Wiggins made it a one-point game on a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. After Gilgeous-Alexander missed a free throw at the other end, Wiggins was blocked by Luguentz Dort on a game-tying layup. Kuminga led the Warriors with 19 points.
NHL
Filip Gustavsson made 39 saves and Kirill Kaprizov scored to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves for Buffalo, which failed to win four in a row for the third time this season. The shutout was Gustavsson’s second of the season. Minnesota improved to a league best 10-1-3 on the road this season.
Pavel Zacha and Brad Marchand each scored twice and Jonas Korpisalo made 21 saves as the Boston Bruins defeated the New York Islanders 6-3. Zacha’s tip-in at 10:48 of the third period snapped a 3-all tie. Zacha scored again, his fifth of the season, at 13:23 to give the Bruins a two-goal lead. Morgan Geekie and Nikita Zadorov also scored for Boston, which was coming off a 2-0 home loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night. David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm each had three assists. Brock Nelson scored twice and added an assist for the Islanders, who lost their second straight. They are 1-4-1 in their last six games. Maxim Tsyplakov also scored for New York.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake scored 2:07 apart midway through the third period, and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied to beat the New York Rangers 4-3. Jack Drury and Seth Jarvis also scored as the Hurricanes won their ninth straight at home. Martin Necas had two assists to take over the NHL points lead and Spencer Martin made 20 saves. The Hurricanes’ latest win came two nights after they scored five goals in the third period to beat Dallas. Jonny Brodzinski, Brett Berard and Adam Edstrom scored for the Rangers, who have lost four straight. Igor Shesterkin stopped 26 shots.
Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots for the 16th shutout of his career and set the St. Louis franchise record with his 152nd victory as the Blues beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0. Binnington’s franchise record win came in the 298th game of his NHL career and moved him past Mike Liut. Dylan Holloway had two goals and Robert Thomas scored nine seconds into the game for the Blues. Justin Faulk, Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad and Jake Neighbours recorded assists.
Sean Couturier scored at 2:31 of overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost also scored and Aleksei Kolosov made 25 saves for the Flyers, who have won two of three. Roman Josi and Ryan O’Reilly scored and Juuse Saros made 21 saves for the Predators, who have lost three of four. Kolosov improved to 2-4-0 on the season. With the Predators leading 2-1 late in the third, Frost tied it with 11.4 seconds remaining on a redirection to send the game to overtime.
Bryan Rust had two goals and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4. Blake Lizotte scored after missing five games with a concussion, while Kevin Hayes had a power-play goal and Rickard Rakell also scored for Pittsburgh. Erik Karlsson had three assists, while Sidney Crosby had two as the Penguins built a 4-1 lead through one period. Tristan Jarry stopped 25 shots for the Penguins. The Canucks trailed 5-2 entering the third period before Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson cut it to a one-goal deficit. Pius Suter and Aatu Raty also scored for the Canucks. Arturs Silovs made 18 saves.
Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe had power-play goals, Sam Reinhart had a short-handed score and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 for only their second win in eight games. Mackie Samoskevich also scored for Florida, Sam Bennett got an empty-net goal and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 shots for the Panthers. Verhaeghe also had two assists. Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leads, who lost for the second time in the last nine games and saw their lead in the Atlantic Division over Florida cut to one point.
Tom Wilson scored a power-play goal with 3:26 left in regulation to lift the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night. With Anthony Cirelli in the box for a high-sticking, double-minor penalty with 4:03 left, Wilson tipped a Jakob Chychrun shot for the winning goal. Aliaksei Protas scored shorthanded while Andrew Mangiapane, Dylan Strome and John Carlson scored for Washington, which has won six straight on the road. Charlie Lindgren finished with 24 saves. Brayden Point registered his fifth career hat trick for Tampa Bay while Michael Eyssimont also scored for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots.
Nick Suzuki scored 44 seconds into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3, snapping a two-game skid. Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist, Cole Caufield added a power-play goal and Emil Heineman also scored. Cayden Primeau made 21 saves for Montreal. Mathieu Olivier and Yegor Chinakhov scored for Columbus. Zach Werenski had a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight. Elvis Merzlikins made 19 saves. Columbus squandered the lead twice as its three-game win streak ended.
Lucas Raymond scored a power play goal at 3:35 of overtime and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames 2-1. Alex DeBrincat scored a first-period power play goal and also assisted on Raymond’s game-winner for Detroit. Cam Talbot made 24 saves in the Red Wings’ third victory in four games. Connor Zary’s power play goal with 2:48 remaining tied the score and Dan Vladar made 25 saves for Calgary, which has lost two straight following a four-game winning streak. In the extra period, Raymond skated into the slot and snapped a shot past Vladar as the Red Wings beat the Flames for the fifth straight time.
Taylor Hall scored his fifth career hat trick, Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen and Louis Crevier also scored, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars 6-2 on Wednesday night for their second win in three games. Hall’s game-opening goal 17 seconds in set the tone. Bedard’s goal was his first in 13 games. After he scored on a wrist shot from the right circle, he lifted his head toward the roof in relief. Petr Mrazek turned back 25 shots in collecting his seventh win of the season. Colin Blackwell and Matt Duchene scored for Dallas.
David Rittich made 13 saves in his 100th career victory, and captain Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala scored in the Los Angeles Kings’ 4-1 victory over the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets. Adrian Kempe added an empty-net goal, and Alex Laferriere had two assists for the Kings, who improved to 7-2-1 at home. Gabriel Vilardi scored against his former team for the Jets, who have lost four of seven since their 15-1-0 start to the season. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 30 shots in the fourth game on Winnipeg’s six-game trip.
John Gibson made a season-high 42 saves and Alex Killorn scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the second period as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-2. Killorn, Cutter Gauthier and Trevor Zegras each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who had dropped eight straight against Seattle. They rebounded from a 3-2 loss to the Kraken at home Monday night. Frank Vatrano and Brett Leason scored in the first period for Anaheim. Seattle erased the 2-0 deficit on goals from Eeli Tolvanen in the first and Oliver Bjorkstrand in the second. Killorn put the Ducks ahead for good with a wrist shot at 10:02 of the second.
Valeri Nichushkin scored the only goal in a five-round shootout and also scored Colorado’s only goal in regulation as the Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1. Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves through overtime and five more in the shootout as Colorado won for the seventh time in nine games. Pavel Dorofeyev gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 13:09 of the second period but Nichushkin tied it 33 seconds later with an unassisted goal. Adin Hill made 33 saves and three more in the shootout until Nichushkin beat him to end the game.
Adam Gaudette had two goals, including a late go-ahead score, Linus Ullmark made 36 saves and the Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks 4-3 with only 11 shots on goal. Gaudette tipped a hard pass by Stutzle past Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood with 4:12 left for his fourth goal in as many games. San Jose had tied the game earlier in the period on goals by Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Stutzle’s assist was his third of the game.
LIV GOLF
Scott O'Neil is set to become the next CEO of Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The Athletic is reporting the move for the former head of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. O'Neil recently was CEO of Merlin Entertainments. The company that owns resorts like Legoland announced O'Neil was leaving for a new opportunity. O'Neil would replace Greg Norman at LIV Golf. Sports Business Journal reported last month that Norman would move to a different role that has not been announced. Norman has been CEO of the rival golf league since it launched in 2022. The PGA Tour and Saudi backers are still negotiating an investment deal.
SOCCER
Liverpool stayed perfect in the Champions League. A 2-0 win at Anfield dumped title holder Real Madrid into an almost unbelievable 24th place in the 36-team standings. Liverpool's second half ghoals came from Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo, either side of Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappé having a penalty saved. Borussia Dortmund, is up to fourth place after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0. Monaco missed a chance to go second losing 3-2 at home to Benfica. The best comeback was at PSV Eindhoven. The home team trailed Shakhtar Donetsk by two goals in the 87th minute of a 3-2 win.
PSV Eindhoven was giving thanks to its United States internationals in the Champions League. Trailing 2-0 in the 87th minute at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, there seemed no way back for the Netherlands team in red and white striped jerseys until its American stars stepped up. They scored three goals in eight minutes for a memorable 3-2 win. Malik Tillman scored direct from a free kick taken out wide and a rifled shot from outside the penalty area. In the fifth minute of stoppage time Ricardo Pepi scored from a loose ball in the goalmouth.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Syracuse 82 Cornell 72
Vermont 78 Plattsburgh 55
UMass 62 Harvard 54
Dayton 85 UConn 67
Javon Small scored five of his 31 points in overtime and Tucker DeVries added key free throws late in regulation and finished with 16 points as West Virginia beat No. 3 Gonzaga 86-78 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Small’s layup with under 2 minutes left in OT gave West Virginia a 79-75 lead. After a Gonzaga miss, Sencire Harris hit two free throws to make it a six-point lead. With 27.1 seconds left, Harris made a steal and scored on a dunk for an eight-point lead, putting the game out of reach. Braden Huff scored 19 points and Khalif Battle 16 for Gonzaga (5-1).
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UAlbany 90 RPI 42
UConn 73 Ole Miss 60
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is not in panic mode, even if some of famous “Fams” are following her team's first loss in two seasons. The Gamecocks had won 85 of their previous 86 games, including a program record 43 in a row before falling to UCLA 77-62 this past Sunday. South Carolina slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the rankings while the Bruins took over the top spot. Still, it caught Staley by surprise that some supporters were worried about the November loss. Staley said the defending national champions are still finding their way.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Boise State advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West women's volleyball tournament by beating Utah State on Wednesday night. But the Broncos did not immediately say whether they would play Friday against San Jose State. San Jose State received six forfeit victories because of boycotts from Mountain West opponents. The Spartans are seeded second in the conference tournament and received a first-round bye. No. 6 seed Boise State forfeited both of its regular-season matches to the Spartans.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Alabama A&M linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. remains hospitalized with a head injury suffered in an October game, the school said hours after announcing that he had died. The athletic department sent out a retraction Wednesday on the status of Burnett, who was injured in a game against Alabama State on Oct. 26. The second statement said that the initial news of Burnett’s death came “from an immediate family member on Tuesday evening.” The school said a representative of UAB Hospital in Birmingham said that he “remains in stable condition.”
MMA
Two companies have cut ties with Conor McGregor after a civil court jury in Ireland ruled last week that he must pay nearly 250,000 Euros ($257,000) to a woman who accused the mixed martial arts fighter of raping her. Proximo Spirits, the owner of Irish whiskey brand Proper No. 12, will no longer feature McGregor’s name or image. Video game developer IO Interactive ended its collaboration with McGregor, who had played a character in a game. Nikita Hand said the Dec. 9, 2018, assault after a night of partying left her heavily bruised and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. McGregor said she fabricated the allegations after the two had consensual sex.
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