NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Payton Pritchard had 27 points, and the Boston Celtics used a big second half to roll past the Detroit Pistons 123-99. Pritchard finished with seven 3-pointers to continue to build his early case for Sixth Man of the Year honors. Derrick White added 23 points and also had seven 3s help the Celtics win for the fourth time in five games. Boston connected on 20 3s for the night and led by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter. Six Celtics reached double figures. Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 16 rebounds and five assists and the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 114-104 on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory. Tyler Herro led Miami with 23 points, Nikola Jovic added 14 and Jimmy Butler and Dru Smith each had 11. Gradey Dick scored 22 points, and Jake Poetl added 16 for the Raptors. Team scoring leader RJ Barrett had a triple-double with 13 points — on 5-of-18 shooting — and 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Toronto is 1-12 on the road.
Domantas Sabonas scored a season-high 32 points and matched a season-high with 20 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings beat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-109. DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points, while De’Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray each added 18 points for the Kings, who’ve now won three straight and four of five. CJ McCollum hit a season-high six 3s and scored a game-high 36 points for New Orleans. Trey Murphy III scored 21 points for New Orleans, but just five after the first quarter. Dejounte Murray finished with 20 points for the Pelicans, who’ve lost 21 of their last 24 games. Sacramento sealed the victory when Malik Monk blocked Murray's shot in the final seconds and Sabonis rebounded.
Dick Vitale said he’s cancer-free after his fourth bout with the disease in just over three years. The 85-year-old ESPN college basketball analyst posted Thursday on X that he got the news after a morning scan, saying: “SANTA CLAUS came early as Dr Rick Brown called & said that my PET SCAN at 7 AM came back CLEAN OF CANCER !” Vitale posted on X. “OMG thanks so much to ALL of YOU for your (prayers). Yes I’m cutting the nets down baby it’s my National Championship!” Vitale had surgery in the summer to remove cancerous lymph nodes from his neck. The Basketball Hall of Famer was previously treated for melanoma and lymphoma, and had radiation treatments last year for vocal cord cancer.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4. Dennis Cholowski, Bo Horvat, and Max Tsyplakov also scored for New York, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had three assists. Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves as the Islanders improved to 3-2-1 in their last six games. Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice, Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist, and T.J. Brodie scored his first goal of the season for Chicago, which has lost six of its last seven. Arvid Soderblom made 14 saves for Chicago before he was replaced by Drew Commesso, making his NHL debut, at 7:58 of the third period. Commesso finished with two saves.
Oliver Bjorkstrand scored twice and Philipp Grubauer made 33 saves as the Seattle Kraken beat the Boston Bruins 5-1. Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn also scored for the Kraken. Jared McCann had an empty-net goal and an assist, and Shane Wright added two assists. Brad Marchand scored on a penalty shot for Boston in the second period. Seattle jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the first. Bjorkstrand scored on a power play 24 seconds into the game, just eight seconds after David Pastrnak took a double minor for high-sticking. Schwartz backhanded the puck over goalie Joonas Korpisalo about five minutes later. Bjorkstrand has 14 points in his last 11 games.
Jack Hughes scored the go-ahead goal and added two assists and the New Jersey Devils ended the Los Angeles Kings’ six-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory. Hughes snapped his 12th goal of the season past Kings goaltender David Rittich with 7:02 left in the third period to give the Devils their first lead. Ondrej Palat and Brett Pesce also scored for New Jersey, which won for the first time in three games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 12 shots for New Jersey, and Rittich made 23 saves for the Kings.
Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL-leading 21st goal and had three assists to send the Edmonton Oilers past the Minnesota Wild 7-1 for their fourth consecutive victory. Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Troy Stecher and Derek Ryan also scored as the Oilers stopped a six-game losing streak at Minnesota. The skid spanned nearly five years. Edmonton handed Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson his first loss in six starts. He gave up five goals in two periods. Freddy Gaudreau had a power-play goal for Minnesota. The Wild dropped behind Washington for the league’s best record.
Max Pacioretty had two goals and an assist and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. William Nylander also scored and John Tavares had two assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won two straight. Anthony Stolalrz started in goal and stopped seven before leaving due to a lower-body injury. Joseph Woll took over to start the second period and had 19 saves. Jackson LaCombe had a goal and an assist, Frank Vatrano also scored and Ryan Strome had two assists for the Ducks in their fifth straight loss. Lukas Dostal finished with 30 saves.
Bryan Rust scored three goals and the Pittsburgh Penguins scored six times in the third period to rout the Montreal Canadiens 9-2. Rust scored twice in the second period and again midway through the third for his sixth career hat trick. Rickard Rakell had two goals and two assists for Pittsburgh. Kris Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Matt Nieto and Noel Acciari also scored in the third as fans at Bell Centre booed and left early. Sidney Crosby had three assists to reach 1,026 in his career, all with the Penguins. Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored for Montreal, which wrapped up a 3-2 homestand.
Aliaksei Protas scored his second goal of the night 2:23 into overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Protas had scored 31 seconds into the third period to tie a game that featured terrific performances from both goaltenders. The OT goal was the 11th of the season for Protas. Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves for the Capitals, including three during a lengthy possession by Columbus to start the overtime period. Jet Greaves stopped 35 shots in his 11th NHL game and first start this season.
Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Utah, which improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games. Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 11th goal of the season for Colorado, and Scott Wedgewood had 19 saves in his first home start with the Avalanche since coming over in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 30. The Avalanche snapped a three-game win streak.
Ivan Barbashev scored at 3:47 of overtime to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Barbashev beat Connor Hellebuyck on the blocker side after a Winnipeg turnover for his 14th goal of the season. Vegas has won four in a row to improve to 19-7-3. Keegan Kolesar and Victor Olofsson also scored for the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore had two assists, and Adin Hill made 18 saves. Nikita Chibrikov and Josh Morrissey scored for Winnipeg, and Hellebuyck stopped 33 shots. The Jets dropped to 21-9-1.
Ryan O’Reilly scored two of three Nashville goals within a three-minute span midway through the second period as the Predators snapped an eight-game losing streak that tied a franchise record and beat the Dallas Stars 4-1. O’Reilly also assisted on Zachary L’Heureux’s empty-net goal. Tommy Novak scored for the Predators, whose eight wins this season are the fewest in the NHL. Justus Annunen made 37 saves for his first win in two starts with Nashville after being acquired Nov. 30 from the Colorado Avalanche. Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel scored in his NHL debut for Dallas, which had a four-game home winning streak snapped. Jake Oettinger stopped 22 shots, losing at American Airlines Center for the first time in 11 starts this season.
Leon Draisaitl scored his NHL-leading 21st goal and had three assists to send the Edmonton Oilers past the Minnesota Wild 7-1 for their fourth consecutive victory. Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Troy Stecher and Derek Ryan also scored as the Oilers stopped a six-game losing streak at Minnesota. The skid spanned nearly five years. Edmonton handed Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson his first loss in six starts. He gave up five goals in two periods. Freddy Gaudreau had a power-play goal for Minnesota. The Wild dropped behind Washington for the league’s best record.
Dylan Guenther had two goals and an assist and the Utah Hockey Club beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-1. Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kevin Stenlund also scored for Utah, which improved to 3-0-1 in its last four games. Karel Vejmelka stopped 22 shots. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 11th goal of the season for Colorado, and Scott Wedgewood had 19 saves in his first home start with the Avalanche since coming over in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 30. The Avalanche snapped a three-game win streak.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and five assists, Jake Guentzel scored a hat trick and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Calgary Flames 8-3. Brayden Point had a goal and three assists and Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Conor Geekie also scored for Tampa Bay, which was without captain Victor Hedman with a lower-body injury. Jonathan Huberdeau had a goal and an assist, and Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary also scored for Calgary.
Carson Soucy and Danton Heinen scored in the first period, Kevin Lankinen stopped 27 shots for his third shutout of the season, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Florida Panthers 4-0. Jake DeBrusk and Brock Boeser also scored and Max Sasson, Teddy Blueger, Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller each had two assists for the Canucks. Lankinen’s shutout was the sixth of his NHL career. Sergei Bobrovsky made 15 saves for the Panthers, who were 6-0-1 in their last seven games and lost in regulation for the first time since Nov. 25. Florida was shut out for the first time this season.
NFL
Joshua Karty kicked four field goals and the Los Angeles Rams survived a slugfest a week after winning a shootout, beating the San Francisco 49ers 12-6 in a key game in the NFC West race. Four days after beating Josh Allen and Buffalo 44-42 in the NFL’s highest scoring game of the season, the Rams outlasted the 49ers on a rainy night to move within a half-game of division leading Seattle. San Francisco led 6-3 headed into the fourth quarter but came up short, dealing a major blow to the dwindling playoff hopes for the defending NFC champion 49ers.
San Francisco linebacker De’Vondre Campbell refused to enter the game in the third quarter after losing his starting job when Dre Greenlaw returned from an injury. Campbell played 90% of defensive snaps for the 49ers but was benched after Greenlaw came back for his first game since tearing his left Achilles tendon in last season’s Super Bowl. When Greenlaw left with soreness in the third quarter Thursday night against the Rams, Campbell told the coaches he didn't want to play and left the field. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he has never seen that before and the team will “figure out something” on how to deal with it going forward.
Deebo Samuel called for the ball more often this week on social media. When the ball came his way at a big spot in the game for San Francisco, Samuel ended up dropping it in a key play in a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams that just about doomed the playoff hopes for the 49ers. Samuel ended the night with three catches on seven targets for 16 yards and two rushes for 3 yards as he was held to less than 30 yards from scrimmage for a fifth straight game in the lowest scoring game for San Francisco since coach Kyle Shanahan's first game in 2017.
DARTS
Luke Littler is a kebab-eating, Xbox-playing darts player who grabbed the attention of Britain and beyond this time last year by reaching the final of the world championship as a 16-year-old. Littler returns to darts' biggest tournament 12 months later as a winner of 10 events around the world, ranked No. 4 in the world, with around $1.3 million in prize money and 1.3 million followers on Instagram. “Luke The Nuke” still lives at home with his parents but is one of the most recognizable sports stars in his country. Google says he was the third most-searched person in Britain in 2024. Experts say his earnings potential is huge. More kids around the world are starting to play darts because of the Littler effect.
MLB
The New York Mets wanted Juan Soto to know his future with them could be set in stone. When the free agent outfielder traveled to owner Steve Cohen’s house in Beverly Hills, California, for a presentation last month, the team unveiled a video that included an image of a future Soto statue outside Citi Field, next to the one erected of franchise great Tom Seaver. Soto put on a New York Mets jersey and cap for the first time Thursday after his record $765 million, 15-year contract was finalized and talked about what made the difference in his decision.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
New North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick said he had long been interested in coaching in the college ranks. But it had never worked out until now, as he takes over the Tar Heels program. Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles during a 24-year run there that ended last year. Belichick's five-year deal pays him $10 million in base and supplemental salary per year. It is guaranteed only for the first three years, including for buyout purposes. There is also up to $3.5 million in annual bonuses.
Bill Belichick is already the most decorated coach in NFL history. His next challenge is college football after he agreed to a five-year deal to coach at North Carolina. The reaction around the NFL ranged from excitement at seeing him back on the sideline to disbelief. Some of his former players believe his skill set will work at any level. Others caution that the players he brings into UNC should prepare to have their limits tested.
Colorado two-way standout Travis Hunter is The Associated Press college football player of the year. Hunter received 26 of the 43 votes from a panel of AP Top 25 voters. Boise State tailback Ashton Jeanty finished second with 16 votes, and Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo received one vote. A throwback player who rarely left the field, Hunter had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns as a receiver. He had four interceptions and 11 passes defensed as a shutdown corner. Hunter helped the the 20th-ranked Buffaloes to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Alamo Bowl against BYU.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Hannah Hidalgo had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and No. 8 Notre Dame handed second-ranked UConn its first loss with a 79-68 victory Thursday night. Olivia Miles toughed out an early ankle injury to score 16 points and Liatu King also had 16 for the Fighting Irish (8-2). Paige Bueckers led the Huskies (8-1) with 25 points. Sarah Strong scored 14. Notre Dame forced UConn into 3-of-16 shooting from 3-point range, while the Fighting Irish were 10 for 18 behind the arc.
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