The Los Angeles Clippers are the latest NBA team to leave Philadelphia with a loss. The 76ers are a league-best 25-2 at home after Ben Simmons had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 110-103 victory over the Clippers.
Josh Richardson furnished 17 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to help the 76ers earn their third straight win. Joel Embiid finished with 26 points and Tobias Harris added 17 with 12 rebounds for Philadelphia. Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 30 points and reserve Landry Shamet scored 19 against his former team. The Clippers squandered a chance to tie Denver for second place in the Western Conference.
The Celtics' seven-game winning streak is over after James Harden poured in 42 points and Russell Westbrook added 36 in the Rockets' 116-105 victory against Boston. Danuel House added 14 points and nine boards to the victory. Gordon Hayward's 20 points led six Celtics in double-figures.
Zion Williamson scored a season-high 31 points in 28 minutes and the Pelicans used a dominant second half to hammer the Trail Blazers, 138-117. JJ Redick scored 20 and Josh Hart had 17 points for New Orleans, which trailed by as many as 16 in the first quarter notching a third straight victory.
The Spurs ended a five-game skid as LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 25 points and 14 rebounds in a 114-106 downing of the Thunder. Chris Paul had 31 points for Oklahoma City, which has lost two in a row since a 9-1 stretch.
Bradley Beal dropped in 30 points and Rui Hachimura added 20 as the Wizards won for the fourth time in six games, 126-114 over the Bulls. Zach LaVine scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls whittled an 18-point deficit down to six.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men’s college basketball, NC State took down Syracuse 79-74.
In women’s college basketball, Monmouth defeated Iona 56-50, and Marist beat Rider 63-58.
In men's top-25 basketball, Obi Toppin faced his little brother, Jacob, on a college court for the first time. The elder brother posted a double-double to help sixth-ranked Dayton improve to 22-2 overall and 11-0 in the Atlantic Ten. Obi scored 22 points and led an opening 17-point spurt in the Flyers' 81-67 victory against Rhode Island. Toppin also had 10 rebounds to help Dayton end the Rams' 10-game winning streak. Jalen Crutcher scored 21 points, and Trey Landers matched his career high with 14 rebounds. Fatts Russell had 19 points for Rhode Island, while Jacob Toppin added four.
Jalen Smith furnished 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had a game-saving block in the waning seconds of ninth-ranked Maryland's seventh consecutive win, 72-70 versus Nebraska. Eric Ayala also scored 16 for the Terrapins, who watched a 14-point lead dwindle to 71-70 until Smith swatted Cam Mack's potential go-ahead shot.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and 12th-ranked Kentucky rallied from its biggest halftime deficit of the season to beat Vanderbilt, 78-64. Immanuel Quickley had 18 points and the Wildcats came back from a nine-point hole at intermission before giving coach John Calipari his 400th victory at Kentucky.
Mike Watkins matched his season high with 19 points and Seth Lundy added a career-high 18 to help No. 13 Penn State beat Purdue 88-76. The Nittany Lions drained a season-high 14 3-pointers for their seventh consecutive victory that also snagged a nine-game losing streak in the series.
Xavier Tillman threw down a huge dunk at the buzzer to push Michigan State past 22nd-rated Illinois, 70-69.
Darius Days scored seven of his 20 points in the final five minutes as No. 25 LSU rallied for an 82-78 triumph over Missouri.
NHL
The Islanders blew a 3-0 lead before Ryan Pulock provided the tiebreaker with 41 seconds left in New York's fifth win in seven games, 5-3 against the Flyers. Jordan Eberle, Leo Komarov and Josh Bailey each had a goal and an assist as the Isles climbed within five points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals.
Chris Kreider scored twice and rookie Igor Shesterkin made 42 saves in the Rangers' fifth win in seven games, 4-1 at Winnipeg. Ryan Strome and Mika Zibanejad each had a goal and assist as New York ended the Jets' three-game winning streak.
The Sabres erased a pair of one-goal deficits before Sam Reinhart hit the net 57 seconds into the third period of Buffalo's 3-2 verdict over the Red Wings. Marcus Johansson had a goal and an assist to back Carter Hutton, who turned back 27 shots in the Sabres' third win in nine games.
Florida's fourth line of Mike Matheson, Mark Pysyk and Noel Acciari each scored and accounted for eight points as the Panthers beat the Devils, 5-3 to end a three-game skid. Frank Vatrano and Brett Connolly also tallied in Florida's second victory in seven games since the All-Star break.
The Tampa Bay Lightning extended their winning streak while inching closer to the NHL's overall lead. Yanni Gourde's goal 2:45 into overtime completed the Lightning's eighth consecutive win, 2-1 over the Penguins. Gourde's seventh goal of the season created a mob scene near the Pittsburgh net as Tampa Bay improved to 20-2-1 since Dec. 23. Mikhail Sergachev scored his ninth goal and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 35 shots to help the Bolts get within one point of the division-leading Bruins. Evgeni Malkin got his 18th goal for the Penguins, who climbed within three points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals.
The Avalanche have a five-game winning streak after Mikko Rantanen scored on a twirl move and Valeri Nichushkin notched a power-play goal in a 3-0 win against the Senators. Philipp Grubauer stopped 34 shots for his second shutout of the season, leaving Colorado in its first home game since Jan. 20.
NHL points leader Leon Draisaitl had a goal and three assists to send the Oilers to their second win in a row, 5-3 against the Blackhawks. Kailer Yamamoto had a pair of goals as Edmonton dealt Chicago its fourth straight loss.
Jamie Benn was credited with his sixth career hat trick and the Stars improved to 4-1-1 in their last six with a 4-1 verdict over the Hurricanes. Benn was awarded his third goal of the night when he was pulled down on the way to shooting at an empty net with 1:19 left.
The Maple Leafs pulled out a 3-2 win over the Coyotes on Kasperi Kapanen's goal 3:42 into overtime. Zach Hyman scored twice and Jack Campbell stopped 35 shots as Toronto won for the second time in five games.
Alex Stalock stopped 26 shots and Kevin Fiala provided a goal and two assists as the Wild blanked the Golden Knights. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jared Spurgeon and Zach Parise scored with the man advantage, giving Minnesota a league-high 15 power-play goals in 33 opportunities over its last 11 games.
In NHL news, the St. Louis Blues are monitoring the health of one of their veteran players. Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester had a cardiac episode during a play stoppage in the first period of the Blues' game against the Ducks in Anaheim. Bouwmeester appeared to be awake and alert as he was being transported out of the arena to a hospital. St. Louis' radio announcer Chris Kerber said during an interview with the team's flagship station that a defibrillator was used. The 36-year-old appeared to be grabbing a drink of water when he began to slowly fall. Emergency medical personnel rushed to the Blues bench before Bouwmeester was taken off the bench. Both teams then went back to their locker rooms and the game was postponed a few minutes later tied at 1. Bouwmeester is in his 17th NHL season and eighth with the Blues. He was a key member of their Stanley Cup-winning team last season.
Edmonton captain Connor McDavid will be out two to three weeks with a quad injury. The injury was initially said to be a bruised knee from Saturday's game against the Nashville Predators. McDavid later called it a charley horse/quad injury. The Oilers captain said the injury was not related to the knee problem sustained in last year's season finale against Calgary.
The Avalanche will be without forward Nazem Kadri indefinitely due to a lower-body injury suffered in the second period of Sunday's game against the Wild. He took the ice for a shift in the third before leaving the game. Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday that Kadri will be out "weeks, not days."
MLB
Ron Roenicke is the Boston Red Sox's new field general. The Red Sox have promoted the bench coach to interim manager on the day pitchers and catchers reported to the team's spring training camp. Roenicke replaces Alex Cora, who was let go for his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal while serving as Houston's bench coach during the team's 2017 World Series run. The interim tag will stay until Major League Baseball completes its investigation into whether the Red Sox engaged in illegal sign-stealing during their 2018 World Series championship season. Roenicke has denied being part of any rules violation and is expected to become permanent manager if the probe clears him. The Red Sox won the 2018 World Series in their first season under Cota, but the franchise slipped to third place last year with an 84-78 record.
Marwin González has become the first batter from the World Series-winning 2017 Houston Astros to publicly apologize for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. Now with the Minnesota Twins, Gonzalez says he's remorseful for everything that happened and wishes he could take it back. Major League Baseball's investigation into the allegation resulted in one-season suspensions for manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, who were immediately fired by the Astros.
A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that the Mariners have agreed to a minor league contract with three-time All-Star outfielder Carlos González. The 34-year-old Gonzalez played just 45 games last season, hitting a combined .200 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 145 at-bats for the Indians and Cubs.
Teams improved to 4-0 in salary arbitration this year when the Rockies defeated catcher Tony Wolters. He will earn $1.9 million rather than his request for $2,475,000. The 27-year-old Wolters hit .262 with one homer and 42 RBIs in 411 plate appearances while making $960,000 last season.
Dodgers reliever Pedro Báez has asked an arbitration panel for a raise to $4 million for this season, while the ballclub has argued that he should receive $4.5 million. The right-hander made $2.1 last season while going 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 71 relief appearances, striking out 69 in 69 2/3 innings while walking 23.
The Padres have agreed to minor league deals with outfielder Juan Lagares and infielder Gordon Beckham. That's according to a person familiar with the agreements.
NFL
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper remains noncommittal on Cam Newton's future with the organization, saying it will largely depend on how the quarterback recovers from foot surgery. Tepper told reporters Tuesday that he's "not a doctor" and is neither is Newton, who missed 14 games last season with a foot injury. He had surgery on Dec. 11. The Panthers could save $19 million under next year's salary cap if they trade or release the 2015 league MVP. Tepper said the Panthers have not had any teams inquire about a trade for Newton. Newton said in an interview during Super Bowl week that he "absolutely" expects to play in Carolina next season.
NCAA
NCAA President Mark Emmert has urged Congress to step in and put restrictions on college athletes' ability to earn money from endorsements. Emmert told a Senate committee federal action was needed to "maintain uniform standards in college sports" amid player-friendly laws approved in California and under consideration in other states. The NCAA has said it will allow players to "benefit" from the use of their name, image and likeness and is working on rules for the payments. Under the NCAA's timeline, athletes would be able to take advantage of endorsement opportunities beginning next January.
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