NBA
Mikal Bridges had 28 points, six assists and five rebounds, and the New York Knicks snapped the Memphis Grizzlies’ six-game winning streak with a resounding 143-106 win last night. Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson had 20 points and six assists for the Knicks, who scored 143 points for the second straight game and won their fourth straight. New York (31-16) won for the 16th time in its past 22 games. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 21 points for Memphis. The Grizzlies fell for just the fourth time in 18 games against Eastern Conference opponents.
Domantas Sabonis had 21 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists in his seventh triple-double of the season, De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points and the Sacramento Kings beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-96 on Monday night. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points and Malik Monk finished with 16 for the Kings, who snapped a two-game losing streak. D’Angelo Russell had 19 points and Tosan Evboumwan chipped in 15 off the bench for the short-handed Nets, who have lost eight consecutive games.
Amen Thompson hit a game-winning floater with 0.7 seconds left and finished with 33 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the Boston Celtics. Dillon Brooks shot 10 of 15 from 3-point range and led Houston with 36 points. The Rockets won for the ninth time in 11 games. Jaylen Brown had 28 points for the Celtics, and Jayson Tatum added 19 after a scoreless first half. Luke Kornet had 18 and Kristaps Porzingis scored 17 to go with eight rebounds. Rockets leading scorer Jalen Green was held to 12 points.
Darius Garland scored 22 points, Donovan Mitchell added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a season-high, three-game losing streak with a 110-91 win over the Detroit Pistons. Cleveland ended its mini slump with an 11th straight win over Detroit. The Cavs are 22-3 at home. They also improved to 2-0 against former coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who guided Cleveland into the playoffs the past two seasons. However, Bickerstaff was fired following last year’s postseason exit before being hired by the Pistons. Jarrett Allen had 15 points and Evan Mobley 14 rebounds for Cleveland. Cade Cunningham scored 22 and Malik Beasley 19 to pace Detroit.
Anthony Davis had 42 points and 23 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers used a huge first quarter from the All-Star center to build a 23-point lead before beating the Charlotte Hornets 112-107 on Monday night for their fourth straight win. LeBron James had 22 points and Austin Reaves chipped in with 17 points for the Lakers, who never trailed. Miles Bridges had 26 points for the Hornets, who lost LaMelo Ball in the second quarter to a left ankle injury after he stepped on Jarred Vanderbilt’s foot as he back-peddled down the court after draining a 3-point jumper off one foot. Davis had 21 points in the first quarter on 9-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 23 points in the first quarter, matching a Dallas record by hitting seven 3-pointers in the period, and the Mavericks breezed past the NBA-worst Washington Wizards 130-108. Thompson equaled the Mavericks record for 3s in any quarter, set in February 2022 by Luka Doncic. Thompson owns the NBA record for 3s in a quarter with nine. Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 20 points to match a career high for the Mavericks. Bilal Coulibaly scored 16 points for the Wizards, who finished a six-game trip with their 14th consecutive loss.
Nikola Vucevic had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Chicago Bulls handed the Denver Nuggets their second straight loss with a 129-121 victory. Zach LaVine scored 21 points and Lonzo Ball had 18 for Chicago, which had lost seven of eight. Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points. The Bulls went 24 for 53 from 3-point range and had seven players score in double figures. Denver wasted another impressive performance by Nikola Jokic, who had 33 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds in his sixth triple-double in his last seven games.
Tyler Herro scored 30 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 26 and the Miami Heat erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter before beating the Orlando Magic 125-119 in double overtime. Adebayo had 10 rebounds and nine assists, Herro had 12 assists and eight rebounds, and Kel’el Ware finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Miami — which played hours after Jimmy Butler was suspended yet again. Franz Wagner had 29 points for Orlando, which got 17 apiece from Paolo Banchero and Tristan da Silva. The Magic were outscored 9-3 in the second overtime.
Jimmy Butler was suspended by the Miami Heat. Again. Butler had been expected to play for the Heat against the Orlando Magic on Monday night, after completing his second suspension of the month. But he was suspended for a third time basically just as the second one was ending. He was previously suspended from Miami’s most recent two games after missing a team flight to Milwaukee last week. Butler has missed 15 of Miami’s last 20 games, including 10 of the last 13 because of the suspensions. He is expected to miss at least five more games.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and Julius Randle added 20 to help the Minnesota Timberwolves hold off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 100-92. DeAndre Hunter had a career-high 35 points and Keaton Wallace added 13 for the Hawks. Atlanta played without leading scorer and NBA assist leader Trae Young and starters Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson because of injuries. Rudy Gobert had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves. Minnesota had nine turnovers and five field goals in the third quarter as Hunter and the Hawks closed a 17-point halftime gap to six.
Klay Thompson scored 21 of his 23 points in the first quarter, matching a Dallas record by hitting seven 3-pointers in the period, and the Mavericks breezed past the NBA-worst Washington Wizards 130-108. Thompson equaled the Mavericks record for 3s in any quarter, set in February 2022 by Luka Doncic. Thompson owns the NBA record for 3s in a quarter with nine. Olivier-Maxence Prosper scored 20 points to match a career high for the Mavericks. Bilal Coulibaly scored 16 points for the Wizards, who finished a six-game trip with their 14th consecutive loss.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard each scored 35 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 125-110 victory over the Utah Jazz. Antetokounmpo also had 18 rebounds and seven assists, powering the Bucks to their ninth victory in 11 games. Lillard added eight assists, and Khris Middleton provided 22 points off the bench. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 19 points and nine rebounds. Collin Sexton scored 19 and Brice Sensabaugh had 17.
Devin Booker scored 26 points, Kevin Durant added 24 and the surging Phoenix Suns survived a late scare for a 111-109 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. The Suns had a 103-90 lead with 5:06 left after Durant’s 3-pointer, but the Clippers went on a late 10-0 run, cutting the deficit to 107-106 on Norman Powell’s short jumper with 40.4 seconds left. Phoenix’s Grayson Allen made two free throws with 10 seconds left for a 111-107 advantage, which was enough to close out the win. The Clippers were led by Ivica Zubac’s 25 points and 16 rebounds. James Harden added 24 points and 10 assists while Powell scored 23.
NHL
Bobby Brink, Joel Farabee and Garnet Hathaway scored to help the Philadelphia Flyers built)d a three-goal lead and they held on to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2. Scott Laughton had a goal and an assist to help the Flyers snap a two-game losing streak and win the opener of a home-and-home set. Travis Konecny and Rasmus Ristolainen each had two assists, and Samuel Ersson stopped 31 shots in Philadelphia’s fourth straight home win. Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier scored for New Jersey, which has lost both meetings with Philadelphia this season. The teams meet again in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Marco Kasper scored twice, Lucas Raymond had a goal and three assists, and the Detroit Red Wings rallied to beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2. Elmer Soderblom scored his first goal of the season and Alex DeBrincat also scored as Detroit erased a 2-0 first-period deficit. Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots to improve to 8-1 in January. Quinton Byfield and Kevil Fiala scored for the Kings, and Darcy Kuemper had 23 saves.
Conor Garland had two goals, and J.T. Miller and Pius Suter also scored to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-2. Tyler Myers added an empty-net goal, and Kevin Lankinen made 24 saves for the Canucks. Dylan Holloway and Colton Parayko scored for St. Louis, which has lost three straight for the third time this season. Jordan Binnington gave up three goals on 18 shots before being pulled midway through the second period. Joel Hofer made 10 saves in relief.
Connor McDavid and Corey Perry scored in the second period and the Edmonton Oilers rallied to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 for their third straight win. Mattias Ekholm had a goal and an assist, and Mattias Janmark also scored for the Oilers. who have won 11 of 14 and oved back into first place in the Pacific Division — one point ahead of idle Vegas. Calvin Pickard had 26 saves. Eeli Tolvanen and Vince Dunn scored for the Kraken who led 2-1 after one period but lost for the second time in three games. Joey Daccord stopped 27 shots.
Macklin Celebrini scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Yaroslav Askarov stopped a penalty shot and the San Jose Sharks beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 to snap a six-game losing streak. Celebrini received a pass from Tyler Toffoli in the slot and converted for his 16th goal of the season to give the Sharks the lead in the third. Askarov then stopped Drew O’Connor on a penalty shot for the most important of his 32 saves, delivering San Jose a much-needed win. Sidney Crosby had scored for Pittsburgh just 24 seconds into the third period to tie the game.
NFL
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs accomplished a feat that had never been done before: Getting back to the NFL’s championship game following back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Next up is the rare championship three-peat that hasn’t been accomplished in the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball in more than 20 years. The most recent team in those four leagues to win three straight championships was the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the 2000-02 NBA Finals.
Brian Schottenheimer says he's “ready” to be coach of the Dallas Cowboys after a long career as an NFL assistant. The son of late NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer says he has had previous opportunities to pursue head coaching jobs but didn't think he was ready. The younger Schottenheimer's chance with the Cowboys comes after 25 years in the league with a handful of college seasons as well. The 51-year-old is the 10th coach in the history of the storied franchise. He's the seventh hired by owner Jerry Jones since the last time the Cowboys reached an NFC championship game 29 years ago.
Aaron Glenn had no doubts about where he wanted to go once the New York Jets’ head-coaching job became available. Home sweet NFL home. Once a key player as a first-round draft pick for the franchise, Glenn will lead the Jets from the sideline after interviewing with three other teams in recent weeks. With the recent hirings of Glenn and Mike Vrabel by the New England Patriots, the NFL has five coaches who once played for the teams they’re now leading. They join Houston’s DeMeco Ryans, Detroit’s Dan Campbell and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh.
SOCCER
Saudi Arabia club Al-Hilal says it has reached an agreement with Brazilian striker Neymar to terminate his contract by mutual consent. The deal was due to expire in the middle of the year. The club said in a statement published on X that it “expresses its thanks and appreciation to Neymar for what he has provided throughout his career with Al-Hilal.” The 32-year-old barely played for the Saudi club after he joined from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023 for 90 million euros ($94 million). Neymar was sidelined for more than a year due to an ACL injury he picked playing for Brazil only months after he joined Al-Hilal.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Caleb Love hit a tying heave from beyond halfcourt at the end of regulation and made two more 3-pointers in overtime, finishing with 22 points and lifting Arizona to an 86-75 win over No. 3 Iowa State. The Cyclones appeared to be in control when Joshua Jefferson hit one of two free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining, but they left too much time on the clock. Love, who was 1 for 10 on 3s at that point, took a couple of dribbles and banked in his shot from behind the midcourt logo, sending a roar through McKale Center. Love then hit two corner 3s in overtime to key Arizona’s first win over a top-5 opponent as an unranked team since beating No. 3 UCLA in 1979.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said freshman big man Khaman Maluach was OK after vomiting on the court during the second half of Monday night’s win against North Carolina State. The 7-foot-2 Maluach was standing just outside the lane near the baseline behind N.C. State's Brandon Huntley-Hatfield when he turned and was sick with 4:21 left. Maluach sat briefly on the court before laying on his back while team medical staff tended to him. Maluach was alert the entire time and eventually was helped up to walk slowly off the court before leaving the bench for the rest of the game.
Florida coach Todd Golden cleared in Title IX investigation regarding sexual harassment allegations
The University of Florida has cleared men’s basketball coach Todd Golden following a four-month Title IX investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and stalking. The school released a statement Monday saying no evidence was found and it ended its investigation. It comes amid No. 5 Florida’s best season in a decade, with the Gators winning 18 of their first 20 games. The complaint against Golden accused him of sending photos and videos of his genitalia, making unwanted sexual advances on Instagram and requesting sexual favors. The Independent Florida Alligator first reported the allegations in early November.
Auburn is the unanimous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the second consecutive week. The top five was unchanged with Duke at No. 2, followed by Iowa State, Alabama and Florida. Texas Tech and Vanderbilt are in the Top 25 for the first time this season at the expense of Michigan and West Virginia. UConn fell to No. 25 but managed to extend its poll streak to 52 consecutive weeks.
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