Tobias Harris scored 32 points and Ben Simmons had a triple-double to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-104. Harris, acquired earlier in February in a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, posted his highest point total in eight games with the 76ers.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, the league's No. 6 scorer, missed his fourth straight game with left knee soreness. Thunder forward Paul George, the league's No. 2 scorer, sat out with soreness in his right shoulder.
Kevin Love scored 26 points, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton each had 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Knicks 125-118. Cedi Osman added 21 points as Cleveland won for the third time in four games.
Eslewhere around the league, Aaron Gordon had 22 points and 15 rebounds, Terrence Ross added 16 points and the Orlando Magic rallied in the final three minutes to beat the Golden State Warriors, 103-96. A night after they were stunned in Miami by Dwyane Wade's buzzer-beater, the Warriors blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost for the fourth time in six games. D.J. Augustin scored 14 points and Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 13 rebounds to help Orlando end an 11-game losing streak to the Warriors. Orlando's last win over Golden State was on Dec. 14, 2012.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 35 points and the Indiana Pacers overcame Karl-Anthony Towns' big night for Minnesota to beat the Timberwolves 122-115. Towns had 42 points and 17 rebounds, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter.
James Harden had 58 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and the Houston Rockets overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Miami Heat 121-118. Harden made 8 of 18 3-pointers and was 16 of 32 overall from the field and 18 of 18 on free throws. He fell three points short of his career high set at New York on Jan. 23, and had the most point ever against the Heat — breaking Willie Burton's mark of 53 for Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 1994.
Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points, including six in the final two minutes, and the short-handed Utah Jazz ended Denver's nine-game home win streak by holding off the Nuggets 111-104. Kyle Korver added 22 as the Jazz showed plenty of energy despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back and with two of their guards out of the lineup.
In NBA news, Sacramento Kings rookie forward Marvin Bagley III will miss at least a week with a sprained left knee. Bagley underwent an MRI on Thursday after hurting the knee the previous night. The Kings say he will be re-evaluated in one to two weeks. Bagley is averaging 13.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this season.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball needs at least one more week to recover from his bone bruise and sprained ankle. Ball has missed 14 consecutive games since Jan. 19, when he sprained his left ankle in a collision with Houston's James Harden. The Lakers plan to re-evaluate Ball next week, the team says.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's basketball, Wichita State defeated UConn, 65-63.
In women's basketball, Syracuse topped Florida State, 94-88, Rider defeated Siena, 77-54, Iona downed Saint Peter’s, 58-53, and Marist beat Monmouth, 69-45.
In top-25 basketball, No. 1 Gonzaga cruised past Pacific, 86-66. Brandon Clarke had 21 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks as the Zags extended the nation's longest winning streak to 19 games.
Jon Teske scored a career-high 22 points, and No. 9 Michigan easily rebounded from its loss to Michigan State with an 82-53 victory over Nebraska. The Wolverines (25-4, 14-4 Big Ten) were without Charles Matthews, who was out with a right ankle injury, but they raced out to a 22-point halftime lead behind Teske and Iggy Brazdeikis. Michigan lost to rival Michigan State over the weekend.
Fletcher Magee scored 18 points and No. 24 Wofford made a successful debut as an AP Top 25 team by trouncing Chattanooga 80-54 for its 16th consecutive victory. Wofford moved into the Top 25 for the first time in school history Monday. The Terriers responded by showcasing the depth and 3-point prowess that got them to this point.
In a season full of disappointment, California found something to celebrate. Darius McNeill scored 19 points and Connor Vanover added 18 to help the Golden Bears snap a 23-game losing streak in Pac-12 play and win for the first time at all in 2019 by beating No. 25 Washington 76-73.
In college basketball news, federal prosecutors are recommending multiyear prison sentences for three men convicted of fraud for channeling secret payments to the families of top-tier basketball recruits to influence where the players went to school. Former Adidas executive James Gatto, business manager Christian Dawkins and amateur league director Merl Code were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October for funneling recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State. The schools submitted victim impact statements seeking restitutions from those convicted. Kansas asked for more than $1.1 million.
NHL
Casey Cizikas scored twice and the New York Islanders beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-1 in former captain John Tavares' first time back as a visiting player. Anthony Beauvillier, Anders Lee and Valtteri Filppula also scored for the Islanders, who had lost three of their last four. Jordan Eberle and Cal Clutterbuck each had two assists, and Robin Lehner stopped 34 shots to help New York move two points ahead of Washington atop the Metropolitan Division.
Seth Jones scored 4:27 into overtime and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3. As the back-and-forth extra period wound down, Artemi Panarin wove his way through the defense and fed Jones, who knocked the winner past Brian Elliott. Jones got his third overtime goal this season and set a franchise record with the seventh of his Blue Jackets career.
The Boston Bruins scored three times in less than three minutes in the third period and snapped the Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning's franchise-best 10-game winning streak with a 4-1 victory. Jake DeBrusk, Noel Acciari, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand all scored for the Bruins. Boston has won nine of its last 10 and earned at least one point in 15 straight. Anthony Cirelli's goal with 7:08 remaining prevented the Lightning from being shut out for the first time since Feb. 7.
Elsewhere on the NHL ice, Shea Theodore's goal in the second round of the shootout lifted the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-5 win over the Florida Panthers. Malcolm Subban, who made 32 saves, stopped all three of Florida's attempts in the shootout.
Connor McDavid scored a slick goal, Mikko Koskinen made 35 saves and the Edmonton Oilers beat the league-worst Ottawa Senators 4-2. Sam Gagner, Colby Cave and Zack Kassian also scored for the Oilers, who stopped a two-game skid. Chris Tierney and Mark Borowiecki scored for the Senators, who lost their sixth straight, and Craig Anderson stopped 22 shots in his ninth straight defeat.
Brad Richardson scored four goals to power the Arizona Coyotes to their fifth straight victory with a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Alex Galchenyuk also scored for the Coyotes, who completed a four-game season sweep of the Canucks.
Roope Hintz scored 3:19 into overtime and the Dallas Stars defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3. Hintz scored in a mad scramble in front of the net after Alexander Radulov's shot bounced off Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick. The win moves the Stars into a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
In league news, NHL MVP Taylor Hall of the New Jersey Devils has had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The team is not saying whether the left wing will play again this season. The Devils said Thursday the operation this week was successful. He will begin rehab immediately and be evaluated regularly. The Devils have 18 games left and are almost certain to miss to the playoffs.
MLB
Bryce Harper has one-upped Manny Machado in the superstar sweepstakes. The young star outfielder and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed Thursday to a $330 million, 13-year contract, the largest deal in baseball history. The deal is subject to a successful physical. Harper's agreement surpasses the previous high for a free agent, set last week when infielder Machado signed a $300 million, 10-year deal with the San Diego Padres. Harper gets a $20 million signing bonus, a $10 million salary this year, $26 million in each of the following nine seasons and $22 million in each of the last three years. None of the money is deferred.
In other baseball news, infielder Brad Miller has agreed to a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and will report to big league spring training. The 29-year-old played for Tampa Bay and Milwaukee last season, and he hit .248 with 57 hits, 29 RBIs and 82 strikeouts in 75 games. Miller was released by Milwaukee last July to make room for newly acquired Mike Moustakas on the active roster.
NFL
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two counts of misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution in a Florida case. The 77-year-old Kraft is requesting a non-jury trial. Kraft was among hundreds of men charged in a crackdown on massage parlor prostitution and an investigation into human trafficking at Florida spas.
In other NFL news, Jason Witten is coming out of retirement and rejoining the Dallas Cowboys after one season as a television analyst. The Cowboys announced Thursday that the 11-time Pro Bowl tight end had agreed to a one-year contract. When he retired last May to become the lead analyst for "Monday Night Football," Witten shared the club record with three others at 15 seasons with Dallas.
PGA
Jhonattan Vegas shot a bogey-free 6-under 64 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of The Honda Classic. Zach Johnson, Ernie Els, Lucas Glover and Ben Silverman were tied for second. Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia were in a large group at 67, and defending champion Justin Thomas shot 68. Also at 68 was Sam Saunders, the grandson of golf great Arnold Palmer. Saunders birdied all three holes in the famed "Bear Trap" stretch at PGA National, the run of holes 15 through 17 where a par 4 is sandwiched by a pair of par 3s that can be treacherous even without much wind.
TENNIS
No. 1-ranked Naomi Osaka has a new coach: Jermaine Jenkins. Osaka's agent confirmed in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that Jenkins has started working with the two-time major champion. The move comes 2½ weeks after Osaka surprisingly split from coach Sascha Bajin, who previously worked with Serena Williams. Bajin began coaching Osaka before the 2018 season, helping her win the U.S. Open last September and the Australian Open last month, when she also rose to No. 1 for the first time. Jenkins was an All-American player in college and then a hitting coach for Venus Williams.
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