NBA
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 21 points and the New York Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 121-106 on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup. New York went 4-0 in East Group A and will host Atlanta on Dec. 11. Orlando (3-1) advanced as the East wild card and will travel to Milwaukee. Mikal Bridges had 19 points and Josh Hart added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have won their last three games and eight of their last 10. Franz Wagner finished with 30 points for the Magic, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Paul George scored 29 points, Tyrese Maxey had eight of his 21 points in the final 30 seconds and the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 110-104 to earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Philadelphia finished 2-2 in NBA Cup Group A play, while Charlotte was 0-4. Neither team advanced out of pool play. Jared McCain added 17 points off the bench and Kelly Oubre chipped in with 14 for Philadelphia (5-14). Brandon Miller had 34 points, and Nick Richards had a strong outing in his second game back from injury with 22 points and 14 rebounds as Charlotte finished its homestand 0-5.
Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Wizards 118-87, extending Washington’s losing streak to 15. Sam Merrill and Georges Niang each scored 14 points off the bench for Cleveland, which has the best record in the NBA at 19-3 and is 12-1 at home. The 31-point win was the Cavaliers’ largest of the season. Cleveland point guard Darius Garland had 12 points before leaving with a head injury in the third quarter. Jonas Valanciunas, Jordan Poole and rookie Bub Carrington scored 13 points to lead Washington in the final NBA Cup game for both teams.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points and Damian Lillard had 27, lifting the surging Milwaukee Bucks to a 128-107 win over the Detroit Pistons and into the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The Bucks have won seven straight and nine of 10. They won East Group B with a 4-0 record. Detroit was eliminated from the NBA Cup after dropping to 3-1 in the tournament. Cade Cunningham scored 23 and Tobias Harris had 16 for the Pistons. Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. had 16 points, and Bobby Portis and Taurean Prince each scored 14.
Scottie Barnes scored a career-high 35 points, RJ Barrett added 29 and the Toronto Raptors never trailed in a 122-111 win over the Pacers that extended Indiana’s road losing streak to seven. Jakob Poeltl had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Ochai Agbaji scored 13 points for the Raptors, who led by 24 points in the third quarter. Barnes shot 13 for 20 and had nine assists and six rebounds. His previous scoring high was 32 points, set twice. Tyrese Haliburton scored 30 points for the Pacers. Indiana hasn't won away from home since beating Dallas on Nov. 4.
Jalen Williams scored 28 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 133-106 on Tuesday night en route to the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Isaiah Joe had 19 points and fellow reserve Aaron Wiggins finished with 16 as the Thunder closed out West Group B play at 3-1. They won the group when Phoenix beat San Antonio 104-93 later Tuesday. Alexander, selected as Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday, scored 15 points after halftime. Oklahoma City twice led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
Luka Doncic had 37 points and 12 rebounds, Spencer Dinwiddie and P.J. Washington Jr. hit clutch 3-pointers in the final two minutes, and the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 on Tuesday night and advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The Mavericks needed a win and help on the final night of group play to earn the West wild-card spot. They will face the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Washington scored 18 points, Dereck Lively II had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Dinwiddie scored 16 for the Mavericks, who have won a season-high five consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
Jalen Williams scored 28 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 133-106 on Tuesday night en route to the NBA Cup quarterfinals. Isaiah Joe had 19 points and fellow reserve Aaron Wiggins finished with 16 as the Thunder closed out West Group B play at 3-1. They won the group when Phoenix beat San Antonio 104-93 later Tuesday. Alexander, selected as Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday, scored 15 points after halftime. Oklahoma City twice led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 10 rebounds and five steals to rally the Denver Nuggets to a 119-115 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Jokic fell four assists shy of his NBA-leading ninth triple-double of the season. The reigning league MVP remained tied with Magic Johnson for the third-most triple-doubles in NBA history with 138. Michael Porter Jr. added 22 points and Aaron Gordon had 15 points and nine rebounds for Denver. The loss was the fifth in a row for Golden State following a 12-3 start and means the Warriors will travel to Houston next week for the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
Norman Powell scored 30 points, James Harden had 23 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 127-105 on Tuesday night. Amir Coffey scored 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Derrick Jones Jr. added 15 for Clippers. Los Angeles shot 55.3% from the field and was 19 of 37 (51.4%) from 3-point range en route to a season high in points. DeAndre Ayton scored 16 points and Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija each had 15 for Portland. The Clippers and Trail Blazers each finished 2-2 in NBA Cup West Group A play. Neither team advanced out of pool play.
Domantas Sabonis scored 27 points and Sacramento made 15 straight shots from the field to beat Houston 120-111 and deny the Rockets the top seed in the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The shooting spree by the Kings turned an eight-point deficit late in the second quarter into a 12-point lead midway through the third to give the Kings their only win in four NBA Cup games. The Rockets won their first three games in the NBA Cup and could have clinched the top seed in the West with a win over the Kings.
NHL
Patrik Laine scored in his highly anticipated Montreal debut, Nick Suzuki scored in overtime, and the Canadiens beat the New York Islanders 2-1. Laine, playing his first regular-season game in nearly a year, opened the scoring on the power play 7:23 into the second period. Suzuki scored at 2:39 of overtime, following up his own rebound. Sam Montembeault stopped 30 shots. Anders Lee scored for New York, which lost for the fourth time in its last five games. Ilya Sorokin made 25 saves.
Artturi Lehkonen scored with 4:22 left, and the Colorado Avalanche overcame a four-goal deficit in a 5-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres. Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and added an assist in an outing the Avalanche scored four third-period goals. Joel Kiviranta and Logan O’Connor also scored for the Avalanche. Backup goalie Scott Wedgewood stopped all 22 shots he faced taking over after starter Alexander Georgiev allowed four goals on eight shots through the first 11:49. Tage Thompson scored twice for Buffalo, which dropped to 0-3-1 in its past four.
Pavel Zacha scored 2:15 into overtime and the Boston Bruins rallied to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. Zacha one-timed a pass from David Pastrnak past Ville Husso for the winner. Justin Brazeau and Nikita Zadorov also scored for the Bruins, and Joonas Korpisalo finished with 25 saves. Lucas Raymond scored twice for Detroit and surpassed 200 career points. Simon Edvinsson had a pair of assists and Husso stopped 32 shots as the Red Wings lost their third straight.
Yanni Gourde and Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist each and the Seattle Kraken snapped a three-game skid, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2. Gourde’s wrist shot at 10:48 in the third period broke a 2-2 tie. Brandon Tanev and Eeli Tolvanen also scored for Seattle and Matty Beniers added two assists. Joey Daccord stopped 15 shots. Eric Robinson and Martin Necas scored for the Hurricanes, who lost their third straight. Necas added an assist to improve his team-leading point total to 39. The Hurricanes finished with a season-low 16 shots. Pyotr Kochetkov made 24 saves.
William Eklund scored 39 seconds into overtime, Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves and the San Jose Sharks ended the Washington Capitals’ winning streak at four by beating them 2-1. The Capitals lost for the first time since Nov. 23 and fell to 4-2-1 since captain and leading goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin was sidelined by a broken left fibula. Macklin Celebrini had an assist on Eklund's power-play goal in OT to extend his point streak to five games.
Bryan Rust scored 1:31 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins avoided another late collapse by beating the Florida Panthers 5-4 in overtime. The Penguins had let a three-goal third-period lead evaporate when Florida’s Sam Bennett, Adam Boqvist and Matthew Tkachuk scored within a 4:32 span to pull the Panthers even at 4. Rust, however, extended Pittsburgh’s winning streak to four by flipping a wrist shot from the right by Spencer Knight for his eighth goal of the season.
Kirill Kaprizov scored with 23.4 seconds left in overtime and the Minnesota Wild rallied to beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 for their sixth victory in eight games. Frederick Gaudreau and Jake Middleton also scored for Minnesota, and Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves. The Wild improved to 17-4-4, giving them an NHL-best 38 points. Quinn Hughes and Jake DeBrusk scored for Vancouver, and Elias Pettersson had two assists. Kevin Lankinen made 26 saves but lost for the first time in 11 road starts.
Jordan Kyrou scored twice and Dylan Holloway had a goal and assist to help lift the St. Louis Blues to a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Robert Thomas also had an empty-net goal for the Blues, who are on a four-game point streak. Kyrou and Holloway gave the Blues a 2-0 lead and scored 39 seconds apart during four-on-four play. Joel Hofer made 22 saves for St. Louis, and Hellebuyck stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced for the Jets.
Rasmus Andersson and Kevin Bahl scored power-play goals and Calgary beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-0 Tuesday night after the Flames honored the late Johnny Gaudreau with a pregame tribute. Dan Vladar had a 16-save shutout, Yegor Sharangovich scored into an empty net and Mikael Backlund had two assists for Calgary. Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins stopped 19 of 21 shots.
The Calgary Flames paid tribute to longtime star Johnny Gaudreau before their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, months after the All-Star was killed while biking on a New Jersey road this summer. Known as “Johnny Hockey,” Gaudreau played the first eight of his 10 full seasons with Calgary, where he developed into one of the NHL’s top players. He spent his last two seasons with the Blue Jackets. Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were killed on Aug. 29 when police said they were struck by a suspected drunken driver. Calgary hosted several members of the Gaudreau family on Tuesday night, including Johnny’s father, his wife Meredith and their two children, and his sisters.
Ivan Barbashev scored on a rush midway through the second period and Adin Hill made 28 saves as the Vegas Golden Knights shut out Edmonton 1-0 to end the Oilers’ three-game win streak. Leon Draisaitl’s backward pass went right to Barbashev to initiate the breakaway. He attempted to pass to teammate Jack Eichel on a two-on-one rush when the puck bounced off Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard right back to Barbashev, who then scored. Hill recorded his second shutout this season and the ninth of his career. He is 5-0-1 over his past six starts.
SOCCER
Alyssa Naeher made two critical saves in her final match for the United States, Lynn Williams scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and the Americans beat the Netherlands 2-1. The U.S., which won its fifth Olympic gold medal in France this summer, wrapped up the year on a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Americans were coming off a scoreless draw with England on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Naeher, a Connecticut native, announced two weeks ago that the European matches would be her last. The 36-year-old goalkeeper played in 115 games for the U.S., with 111 starts, 89 wins and 69 shutouts.
MLB
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms with left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman on a one-year deal worth $10.75 million. The deal is pending a physical. The move gives the Red Sox an option at closer with incumbent Kenley Jansen on the free agent market. The seven-time All-Star has a 2.63 ERA with 1,246 strikeouts in his 15-season career with seven teams. His 335 saves is 16th in baseball history. The Red Sox bullpen was one of the worst in the league last year, blowing 31 saves while posting a 4.39 ERA.
Juan Soto is starting to drop teams from negotiations ahead of baseball's winter meetings next week. Likely to approach or set a record contract, the free agent slugger has met with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Soto's agent, Scott Boras, says the outfielder has “begun the process of eliminating teams” but he doesn't think a decision is “imminent” in the near future. A four-time All-Star, Soto finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .288 with 41 homers, 109 RBIs and 129 walks this year to help the Yankees reach the World Series. He has a .285 career batting average with 201 homers, 592 RBIs and 769 walks.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell says it was a really easy decision to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Joining a team that includes two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani influenced the left-hander too. Snell was introduced Tuesday at Dodger Stadium after signing a $182 million, five-year deal last weekend. Snell has known Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman since he was 18. Friedman says all conversations the front office has had since the World Series ended last month involved Snell, who was 2-2 against the Dodgers during his career.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Miami’s playoff hopes took a nosedive while Alabama’s got a boost in the last rankings before the College Football Playoff bracket is set next weekend. The Hurricanes moved down six spots to No. 12 after suffering their second loss of the season. They are one spot behind the Crimson Tide, who won last week and moved up two spots to No. 11. Alabama is projected as the last team in and the fourth from the Southeastern Conference. Oregon stayed at No. 1 for the fifth straight week and will head into Saturday’s Big Ten title game as the only undefeated team in big-time college football.
Chauncey Wiggins scored 12 points and Ian Schieffelin had 11 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Clemson shut down No. 4 Kentucky for a 70-66 victory in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Tigers improved to 8-1 and handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season. It's the second straight season in which Clemson has defeated a top-5 opponent, after beating No. 3 North Carolina 80-76 in January. Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 17 points.
Athletic directors at Iowa State and SMU are in a turf war over the latest College Football Playoff rankings, leading to a “stay off my lawn” moment on social media. Cyclones AD Jamie Pollard tweeted at his SMU counterpart Rick Hart suggesting the Mustangs' eighth ranking was inflated because of its less-than-brutal schedule and said, “looks like your lawn may be artificial.” Hart responded by saying Iowa State's schedule wasn't so hot either. And, he said, “stay off my lawn.”
Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended by the NFL without pay for three games for repeated violations of player safety rules following his hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence, which led to a concussion. Al-Shaair’s punishment was announced by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan. In his letter to Al-Shaair, he noted that he has had multiple offenses for personal fouls and sportsmanship-related rules violations in recent seasons. Runyan says “video shows you striking the head/neck area of Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence after he clearly goes down in a feet-first slide.”
Texas A&M signed the nation’s top-ranked class three years ago believing it had built a potential national title contender. Plenty of players from that heralded 2022 class could indeed be participating in the first 12-team College Football Playoff this month. They just won’t be doing it for the Aggies. Texas A&M represents perhaps the clearest example of how recruiting and roster construction have changed in the era of loosened transfer restrictions. Coaches must assemble high school classes without always knowing which of their own players are transferring and what players from other schools could be available through the portal.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Tennessee 96 Syracuse 70
Brown 60 Vermont 53
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UConn 88 Holy Cross 52
HORSE RACING
The New York Racing Association is adding dates to the Saratoga Race Course schedule for the second straight year but says the changes are temporary. Announcing its 2025 schedule today/Tuesday, NYRA says the track will now open for five days in June to host the Belmont Stakes beginning June 4th. That’s an additional racing day from this year’s running of the third leg of the Triple Crown. The Belmont is being run upstate on June 7th while Belmont Park undergoes a half-a-billion dollar renovation. In addition, The Spa will open for a four-day racing festival July 3rd around Independence Day — another event typically held at Belmont Park. The extra dates come before the traditional 40-day meet at Saratoga begins July 10th. The summer meet runs through Labor Day on September 1st.
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