SOCCER
Toko Koga scored early in the second half and Japan held on to beat the United States 2-1 on Wednesday night for the SheBelieves Cup title. It was the U.S. team’s first loss under coach Emma Hayes, who took over the squad last May. The Americans had not lost a match since last February when they fell 2-0 to Mexico in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup.
NBA
Jalen Brunson had 34 points and seven assists, Mikal Bridges scored 28 points and the New York Knicks held off the Philadelphia 76ers 110-105. OG Anunoby had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Josh Hart added seven points, 17 rebounds and four assists for the Knicks, who won for the fourth time in six games and 11th time in their last 15. Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points for Philadelphia, which lost its ninth straight. Paul George had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, Chet Holmgren had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder rebounded from a stunning collapse with a game-changing blitz in the fourth quarter to beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-121. Aaron Wiggins added 24 points for the Thunder, who were playing for the first time since their 131-128 loss to Minnesota on Monday, when they led by 24 points in the fourth quarter. They had some of the same defensive woes in this one and trailed by 18. But then they unleased an 18-0 run on the Nets in the fourth quarter. Day’Ron Sharpe scored a career-high 25 points for the Nets.
Malik Beasley scored 26 points, Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 11 assists and the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 117-97 on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the NBA’s hottest teams. The Pistons (33-26) won their eighth straight and ended a 12-game losing streak against Boston, two nights after stopping a 10-game skid against the Los Angeles Clippers. Jayson Tatum scored 27 points for Boston, and Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each had 18. Boston (42-17) had won six straight and 10 of 11. Jalen Duren added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons had a 49-33 rebounding edge.
Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 11 assists to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 111-91 on Wednesday night. Haliburton was 12 of 15 from the field, going 7 of 9 from 3-point range. Myles Turner added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Pascal Siakam had 15 points. Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points for Toronto. RJ Barrett and Jonathan Mogbo each had 16. Haliburton scored 17 points in the first half to lead Indiana to a 51-41 lead. Toronto played without Scottie Barnes because if a left hip contusion. He played Tuesday night against Boston.
Shaedon Sharpe threw down a vicious one-handed slam that was immediately hailed as one of the best dunks of the season, part of a career-best 36-point performance that carried the Portland Trail Blazers to a 129-121 win over the Washington Wizards. Sharpe shot 13 of 26 from the floor and and converted all four of his free throws inside the final minute. Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson each added 16 points for Portland. Jordan Poole scored 24 points for NBA-worst Washington.
Tyler Herro scored 24 points and added 10 assists, Duncan Robinson scored 24 points off the bench and the Miami Heat shot a season-best 59% in a 131-109 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Davion Mitchell made all five of his 3-point tries and scored 20 for the Heat, who got 20 points and nine rebounds from Bam Adebayo. Miami made 23 3-pointers, one shy of the franchise record. The Heat had 39 assists on 45 field goals. Dyson Daniels scored 18 for Atlanta, while Trae Young and Caris LeVert each had 17 for the Hawks.
James Harden made seven 3-pointers and scored 30 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 122-117. Kawhi Leonard had 17 points and eight rebounds after missing back-to-back games because of a sore left foot. Amir Coffey scored 20, and Los Angeles got back to winning after losing three in a row. Derrick Jones Jr. added 16 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic made 4 of 5 3s and finished with 14 points, helping the sixth-place Clippers move a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the Western Conference. Zach Collins set season highs with 21 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 21 points and 12 assists.
Keegan Murray scored a season-high 26 points and Zach LaVine added 22 to lift the hot-shooting Sacramento Kings to a 118-101 win over the Utah Jazz. Murray made five 3-pointers, LaVine had four and Keon Ellis returned to the court to make three 3s as the Kings made 15 of 36 from beyond the arc. Walker Kessler had a season-high 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Jazz and KJ Martin had his best game since arriving in Utah at the trade deadline with 16 points. The Jazz have lost four of their last five.
Shaedon Sharpe has been one of the NBA’s most gifted young dunk artists since he was selected seventh overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he reached a new level on Wednesday night — possibly literally. Sharpe’s vicious one-handed slam over the unfortunately placed Justin Champagnie was immediately hailed as one of the best in the NBA this season. He called it the best of his career, and it was part of an all-around career night in Portland’s 129-121 win over Washington Wizards. The 21-year-old Sharpe led Portland with a career-high 36 points.
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Nathan MacKinnon had two power-play goals and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 22 shots against his former team and the Colorado Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Wednesday night. Artturi Lehkonen, Casey Mittelstadt and Logan O’Connor added goals to help the Avalanche snap a two-game skid. Colorado scored three times in a 4:04 span in the third. Blackwood continues to come up big when he faces the Devils, improving to 2-0 over three starts and allowing just one goal. He was selected by New Jersey in the second round of the 2015 draft. Jake Allen finished with 31 saves as the Devils fell to 1-1 on their five-game trip. Jack Hughes cut it to 2-1 with 11:32 remaining.
Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves and the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets ran their franchise-record winning streak to 11 games, beating the Ottawa Senators 4-1 on Wednesday night. Hellebuyck made his second straight straight since starring for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off. The NHL victory leader improved to 36-7-2, helping the Jets get to 42-14-3 overall and 19-9-0 on the road. Cole Perfetti and Mason Appleton opened the scoring for the Jets, Kyle Connor added his 31st goal of the season and Mark Scheifele had an empty-netter for his 33rd. Connor and Scheifele also had assists. Thomas Chabot scored for Ottawa, and Linus Ullmark stopped 35 shots. The Senators have lost five straight.
Conor Garland scored his second goal of the game at 4:28 of overtime to give the Vancouver Canucks a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. Garland — who had a power-play goal in the second period — lofted a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle under the blocker of goalie David Rittich for his 16th goal of the season. Nils Hoglander also scored and Kevin Lankinen stopped 24 shots to help the Canucks move past Calgary into the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Adrian Kempe and Warren Foegele scored in the third period for the Kings, who trailed 2-0 after two periods. Rittich made 14 saves.
MLB
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will make his first spring training appearance of the year on Friday night. That will be against his old team, the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani will be the designated hitter. Roberts has not given a timetable for Ohtani’s return to the pitching mound other than to say he hopes it would be “sooner than later”. Roberts has ruled Ohtani out for the season-opening series in Tokyo on March 18-19 after Ohtani injured his left shoulder sliding into second base during the World Series.
NFL
The NFL is considering changing overtime rules in the regular season to decrease the advantage for teams who win the coin toss. League executive Troy Vincent said the competition committee agrees overtime rules need to be addressed. Receiving the ball first has become more of an advantage than pre-2011, when overtime was sudden death. Both teams currently have an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless a touchdown is scored on the first possession. The rules are different in the playoffs. Also, the NFL plans to use its virtual measuring system to determine first downs in 2025, although officials will still spot the ball by hand.
Pass rusher Abdul Carter says he should be the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft. Carter made his comments Wednesday at the NFL's annual scouting combine in Indianapolis, the first day prospects spoke with reporters. The former Penn State star is likely to be the first or second defensive player selected in April's draft. But he's got competition to go No. 1. Quarterbacks Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are clearly in the mix as is Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, who is listed as a cornerback but could play receiver too. ESPN reported Wednesday night that tests earlier in the day revealed Carter has a stress reaction in his right foot.
NFL draft prospect Mike Green says he transferred from Virginia to Marshall after being accused of sexual assault for the second time. The second-team All-America edge rusher told reporters Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine that he also was accused of sexual assault in high school, adding he was never charged and insisting he did nothing wrong. Green played in six games for the Cavaliers during the 2021 season and did not appear on the field the following year. The Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year had 17 sacks last season, the most in major college football.
The Miami Dolphins are the top-ranked team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, for the second consecutive season in the NFL Players Association report card. The Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers round out the top five in the third annual NLPA report card released Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine. The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were the bottom five. JC Tretter, the NFLPA’s chief strategy officer, said 1,695 players responded to the survey, an average of 52 players per team and 77% of the union’s membership. The report cards were compiled between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20.
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Syracuse 74 NC State 60
UConn 93 Georgetown 79
Tre Holloman hadn’t even reached the “M” logo at midcourt when he jumped off one foot and let the ball fly. Somehow, it stayed on line before dropping through the hoop with a swish that reverberated across the Big Ten. Holloman's shot from some 65 feet away gave No. 8 Michigan State a 58-55 victory over No. 16 Maryland. The buzzer beater also gave the Spartans a half-game lead over Michigan atop the Big Ten. The Terrapins had a chance to win with the shot clock off. But after Ja'Kobi Gillespie missed a 3-pointer, there was just enough time for one final Michigan State heave.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
UMass 61 George Washington University 55
RJ Luis Jr. scored 24 points and No. 7 St. John’s clinched a share of its first Big East regular-season title in 33 years by beating Butler 76-70. Kadary Richmond had 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Red Storm, who set a school record with their 16th conference win of the season. They secured the program's sixth Big East regular-season championship and can wrap up an outright league crown Saturday with a victory over Seton Hall at Madison Square Garden or a Creighton loss at Xavier. The only outright Big East regular-season title for St. John’s came in 1985 on the way to a Final Four appearance.
Four New Orleans players who’ve been suspended since late January are under investigation for possible NCAA violations related to sports gambling, a person familiar with the situation said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Wednesday because university officials have stated only that the suspensions relate to unspecified violations of team rules. Privateers players James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent have not played since late January. The revelations come days after Fresno State suspended two men’s basketball players and dismissed a third amid reports that program is the subject of gambling investigations. The news also has overshadowed the Privateers' appointment of rapper Percy “Master P” Miller to spearhead NIL-related efforts.
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