NBA
Cam Johnson returned from a five-game absence with a right ankle sprain and scored 24 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ 132-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Keon Johnson and Noah Clowney each added 20 for the Nets, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Scoot Henderson had a career-high 39 points, including eight 3-pointers, for the Blazers. Nets guard Ben Simmons, whose status was uncertain because of lower back injury management and a sore left knee, started and finished with five points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. He’ll sit out of today’s game at the Clippers.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Jalen Williams had 24 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-102 win over a Philadelphia 76ers team missing three All-Stars. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George sat out with injuries as the Sixers continued their slide down the Eastern Conference standings. The Thunder built a 21-point lead and have won 18 of 19 games headed into Thursday’s rematch against Cleveland in a matchup of teams with the best records in each conference. Justin Edwards led the 76ers with 25 points, and Jeff Dowtin Jr. had 18.
Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Indiana Pacers 127-117. Darius Garland scored 24 points and Evan Mobley added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and Bennedict Mathurin 19 for the Pacers, who had their six-game winning streak halted. Myles Turned added 17 points.
Trae Young scored a season-high 43 points and the Atlanta Hawks overcame Devin Booker’s 35 points to beat Phoenix 122-117 and snap the Suns’ three-game winning streak. Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 31 points in the third quarter for Phoenix, which lost for the 11th consecutive time in Atlanta. Durant added nine rebounds. The Suns are still looking for their first win in Atlanta since March 24, 2014. Atlanta’s Onyeka Okongwu scored 22 points and set a career high with 21 rebounds. Booker set a season high by making seven 3s.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 50th career triple-double as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Sacramento 130-115 on Tuesday to snap the Kings’ seven-game win streak. Antetokounmpo’s triple-double was his fifth of the season. The Bucks posted their highest point total of the season, never trailed and led by as many as 28 points. Domantas Sabonis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Sacramento. The Kings dropped to 7-2 under interim head coach Doug Christie.
Trey Murphy III scored 32 points and Zion Williamson added 21 as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Chicago Bulls 119-113. Williamson, in his third game since returning from a left hamstring strain and a one-game suspension, led the Pelicans in rebounds (seven) and assists (nine). Murphy shot 9 for 20 from the field — just 2 for 13 from 3-point distance — and was helped by hitting all 12 of his free throws. Zach LaVine, limited to two points in the first half, finished with 25 points for the Bulls.
Jamal Murray scored 32 of his season-high 45 points in the first half and led the Denver Nuggets to a 118-99 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Murray easily surpassed his previous season-best of 34 points, scored against Detroit on Dec. 28. Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 points and Nikola Jokic had 10 points and 14 rebounds in the win. Kyrie Irving was back in the lineup after missing five games with a lumbar back sprain. He finished with 11 points on 4-for-18 shooting for Dallas. Daniel Gafford scored 13 points and Naji Marshall had 11.
NHL
Leevi Merilainen made 24 saves for his second shutout in three games and the Ottawa Senators beat the New York Islanders 2-0. Adam Gaudette and Artem Zub scored as the Senators won their third straight and snapped New York’s three-game winning streak. Marcus Hogberg stopped 23 shots in his second consecutive start for New York, which dropped the opener of a seven-game homestand. Ilya Sorokin was available but didn’t play due to illness, and Semyon Varlamov is on injured reserve. Gaudette redirected a shot from Tyler Kleven past Hogberg at 8:42 of the first period. Zub scored his first of the season with a slap shot into an empty net in the closing minutes of the third.
Devon Toews scored 4:23 into overtime after Artturi Lehkonen tied the game late in regulation, and the Colorado Avalanche began a five-game homestand with a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers. It was the Avalanche’s 14th comeback win of the season. Lehkonen tied the score off a rebound with 1:13 remaining in the third period, and Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado. Cale Makar had an assist to reach 50 points for the fifth time in his career. It’s the most 50-point seasons by a defenseman in franchise history. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for the Avs.
David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Parker Wotherspoon scored his first NHL goal to help the Boston Bruins open a four-goal lead and hold on to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2. Jeremy Swayman made 43 saves for the Bruins. They have won back-to-back games after losing six in a row. Trent Frederic and Brad Marchand also scored to make it 4-0 after 26 minutes. Conor Geekie and Victor Hedman scored in the second period to cut a four-goal deficit in half. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 18 shots for Tampa Bay.
Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko scored in the shootout as the Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Zach Werenski scored twice for Columbus, including the game-tying goal with 4:37 remaining in regulation. The Blue Jackets earned their first win against Philadelphia in three matchups this season. Daniil Tarasov made 24 saves, helping the Blue Jackets earn a season-high fifth straight victory, their longest streak since the 2019-20 season. Bobby Brink and Owen Tippett scored for Philadelphia, while Ivan Fedotov stopped 27 shots. The Flyers saw their two-game win streak snapped.
Anton Lundell scored the shootout winner and Spencer Knight made 26 saves as the Florida Panthers downed the New Jersey Devils 2-1. After Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and New Jersey’s Paul Cotter traded goals to start the shootout, Lundell beat Devils netminder Jacob Markstrom in the third round to end New Jersey’s six-game home winning streak. Jesper Boqvist gave Florida a 1-0 lead 41 seconds into the third period. Boqvist played four seasons with the Devils after he was drafted by New Jersey in 2017. Devils captain Nico Hischier tied the contest at 2:27 of the third with his 20th goal. Markstrom made 27 saves.
Logan Thompson stopped all 19 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season to help the Washington Capitals beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-0. Thompson improved to 19-2-3 since joining the Capitals, who have won two in a row. Brandon Duhaime had a goal and an assist and John Carlson and Ethen Frank also scored for Washington. John Gibson made 22 saves for the Ducks, who lost for a fifth time in seven games.
William Eklund had a goal and two assists and the San Jose Sharks ended Detroit’s seven-game winning streak, beating the Red Wings 6-3. Nico Sturm scored a short-handed goal, and Jan Rutta, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Toffoli and Mario Ferraro added goals for San Jose, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves. Vladimir Tarasenko ended an 18-game scoreless drought with two goals for Detroit. Lucas Raymond also scored and Ville Husso stopped 18 shots.
Logan Stankoven had two goals and an assist to lead the Dallas Stars to a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1. Matt Duchene added a goal and two assists, and Mavrik Bourque also scored for Dallas, which bounced back with a victory after having its seven-game win streak halted against Ottawa on Sunday. Jake Oettinger made 27 saves. Auston Matthews scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll stopped 19 shots.
Jamie Oleksiak and Eeli Tolvanen scored 49 seconds apart in the third period to erase a one-goal deficit and rally the Seattle Kraken past the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Joey Daccord stopped 31 shots and assisted on Chandler Stephenson’s short-handed goal and Kaapo Kakko added an empty-netter as Seattle won for just the second time in seven games. Bryan Rust scored his 17th goal of the season for Pittsburgh. Philip Tomasino also scored but the Penguins lost in regulation for the first time this season when leading after two periods thanks to a couple of defensive
Radek Faksa scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, and the St. Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames 2-1. Faksa tipped in a shot by Tyler Tucker with 8:49 left. It was Faksa’s third goal of the season and first since Nov. 17. Colton Parayko also scored and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves as the Blues won their fifth straight against the Flames. St. Louis is 9-1-0 in its last 10 games against Calgary. Kevin Bahl scored and Dan Vladar made 23 saves for the Flames, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Kyle Connor scored a natural hat trick in the first period to spark the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night. Mark Scheifele, Neal Pionk and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and assist for the Jets, who are the first team to hit 30 wins this season. Gabriel Vilardi recorded three assists and Cole Perfetti added a pair to give him 100 NHL career points. Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves to pick up his league-leading 27th win of the season for Winnipeg. Nils Hoglander scored a third-period goal for the Canucks. Kevin Lankinen stopped 27 shots for Vancouver.
Steven Stamkos scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist, Justin Barron and Ryan O’Reilly also scored and Justus Annunen made 19 saves for the Predators, who snapped a two-game skid. Pavel Dorofeyev had his first career hat trick and Ilya Samsonov made 18 saves for Vegas, which has lost three of four.
Kirby Dach scored twice and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Utah Hockey Club 5-3 on Tuesday night. Mike Matheson, Patrik Laine and Cole Caufield also scored for Montreal, which has won eight of its last 10. Lane Hutson added three assists for Montreal, and Alexandre Carrier had two. Sam Montembeault finished with 22 saves. Logan Cooley, Josh Doan and Nick Bjugstad scored for Utah. Clayton Keller had two assists. Karel Vejmelka made 21 stops. John Marino, who had back surgery in October, made his Utah debut after missing 42 games. Utah acquired him from New Jersey in June.
Montreal Canadiens player Emil Heineman is expected to miss three to four weeks after being hit by a car while walking in downtown Salt Lake City a day before playing at the Utah Hockey Club. The team announced that the 23-year-old Swedish forward was out with an upper-body injury after being involved in a pedestrian accident. Salt Lake City police said officers responded at around 3 p.m. Monday and began an investigation. The Utah Highway Patrol also is looking into the accident. Police said Heineman did not show any signs of serious injuries and was being attended to by team doctors.
NFL
Mike Vrabel is in New England. Mike McCarthy is out in Dallas. The NFL coaching carousel is spinning slowly. The Jets, Saints and Bears got a head start in their searches because they fired coaches during the season. The Jaguars and Raiders joined the hunt last week. The Cowboys jumped in Monday so they have to wait to interview assistants on playoff teams because the first window passed. News that Deion Sanders and owner Jerry Jones have talked about the position quickly became a hot topic. Sanders has expressed his desire to stay at the University of Colorado, but is intrigued by the possibility of wearing the star again.
The Houston Texans have waived Diontae Johnson after the beleaguered receiver played just two games for them. Johnson had one reception for 12 yards in Houston’s wild-card playoff win over the Chargers on Saturday. He played four games for Baltimore after a trade from Carolina before being suspended for refusing to enter a game and then being released on Dec. 20. He has 4,726 yards receiving in a six-year career that started in Pittsburgh. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn't provide any details about why the Texans let him go, simply saying “it didn't work out.”
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin believes he's still capable of leading the team back to prominence. Tomlin says he's disappointed in how Pittsburgh's season ended after they were drubbed in the opening round by the Baltimore Ravens, their third first-round exit in four years. While there will likely be changes on the coaching staff, Tomlin doesn't not think the franchise is “stuck.” The Steelers will have plenty of questions to answer during the offseason, most notably at quarterback. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will be free agents in March. While Tomlin said the team is open to bringing them back, he added the Steelers will explore all options before moving forward.
TENNIS
Naomi Osaka is back in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 2022 and she got there with wins at the Australian Open over two women who blocked her path last year. Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won’t be repeating her surprising run to the Australian Open final after a second-round upset loss to No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund in his first tournament for 2025. Fifth-seeded Zheng lost last year's final to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris and finish runner-up at the WTA Finals in a breakout season. She had no answers for the 36-year-old Siegemund on Wednesday. Two-time defending champion Sabalenka won the last five games to overcome Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
GOLF
Tiger Woods isn’t sure what’s going to happen with next month’s Genesis Invitational, the PGA Tour event that he hosts in the fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He’s insisting there should be far bigger concerns. Woods said Tuesday night — after his debut in the TGL indoor golf league that he helped develop — that meetings about what will happen with the tournament are scheduled, but did not reveal any decisions or suggest that the event may be moved from Riviera Country Club.
Tiger Woods was the sixth and final player to emerge from the tunnel and onto the field of play for his TGL debut. No one announced his name. Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” blared and that was more than enough of an introduction for perhaps golf’s greatest player ever. It’s not like anyone inside SoFi Center at Palm Beach State College didn’t know who Woods was. Woods joined Kevin Kisner and Max Homa of Jupiter Links Golf Club to take on the Los Angeles Golf Club of Justin Rose, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala in the league's second match on Tuesday night. Los Angeles won the 15-hole match in a 12-1 rout.
WNBA
A man accused of felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark shouted “guilty as charged” in a courtroom on Tuesday. Fifty-five-year-old Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark. WISH-TV of Indianapolis reported that Lewis behaved “very erratically” in his first court appearance. Lewis received a no-contact order and the stay-away order sought by prosecutors that bars him from being within 500 feet of either of the two arenas where the Fever play their home games. The court filed a not guilty plea on Lewis' behalf.
NCAA
Stressing his own organization’s ability to pay out $1.2 billion over 10 years to help settle an industry-changing lawsuit, NCAA President Charlie Baker also urged Congress to pass legislation that could put college sports on a better path. Baker wants lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it harder to sue the organization, eliminate the possibility of players forming unions and bring the industry under the umbrella of one federal law instead of more than 30 that exist among the states.
SOCCER
Bayern Munich has signed 18-year-old American attacking midfielder Bajung Darboe from LAFC. Bayern says Darboe has signed a “long-term contract” and will join the German club's reserve team. Darboe says “a big dream has come true for me” by joining Bayern. Darboe was born in Gambia and has played twice for the United States under-17 team. He has also played for the reserve teams of LAFC and the Philadelphia Union.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Louisville 85 Syracuse 61
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