The AFC has won the Pro Bowl for the third straight year, beating the NFC, 26-7 amid a steady rain in Orlando. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the game MVP after completing 7 of 14 passes for 156 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown toss to Colts receiver Eric Ebron.
Jets safety Jamal Adams was the defensive MVP after recording an interception and a sack. Adams and Mahomes each received a luxury vehicle, while players from the winning team earned $67,000. The game turned comical late, with several offensive guys playing defense and a few defenders taking offensive snaps.
In other NFL news, the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots have arrived in Atlanta to continue preparations for Super Bowl 53. The Rams are in the NFL title game for the first time since falling to the Patriots in 2002. Los Angeles also made Super Bowl appearances following the 1979 and 2000 seasons. The Patriots are in the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year, fourth time in the past five years and for the ninth time overall in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era. The Patriots are going for their sixth title overall, which would tie the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in the Super Bowl era.
NBA
The Knicks dropped their ninth in a row as Dwyane Wade had 15 points and a team-high nine assists off the bench in the Heat's 106-97 comeback at Madison Square Garden. Wayne Ellington contributed a team-best 19 points for Miami, which trailed by six before outscoring New York 29-12 in the third quarter. The Heat's second straight win puts them atop the Southeast Division at 24-24.
Checking out the rest of Sunday's NBA action, Chris Paul returned to the Houston Rockets' lineup on Sunday after missing the last 17 games with a strained left hamstring. Paul scored 12 points and provided a pair of free throws with 13.6 seconds left to secure the Rockets' 103-98 win over the Magic. The point guard also had six assists and six steals in Houston's third consecutive victory. James Harden scored 40 points, including five critical ones down the stretch after the Rockets trailed by as many as 16. He hoisted a 3-pointer with about 75 seconds left to break a 95-all tie. Harden extended his streak of 30-point games to 23, which ranks fourth in NBA history behind three such streaks by Wilt Chamberlain.
Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points and the Raptors overcame a triple-double by Luka Doncic to beat the Mavericks, 123-120 in Dallas. Pascal Siakam scored 14, including a three-point play that snapped a 108-108 tie with 3:56 remaining as the Raptors recovered from a seven-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. Doncic finished with a career-high 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to become the first teenager in NBA history with two triple-doubles.
Paul George poured in 36 points and had 13 rebounds as the Thunder won their fifth in a row, downing the Bucks, 118-112. Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his 16th triple-double of the season and No. 120 for his career. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, while Khris Middleton added 22 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Spurs whipped the Wizards, 132-119 to end a two-game home skid. Reserve Davis Bertans had a season-high 21 points after missing the previous two games due to personal reasons. Backcourt starters Derrick White and Bryn Forbes added 16 points each to help the Spurs beat the Wizards for the 19th straight time in San Antonio.
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points and Ricky Rubio added 18 points with eight assists to send the Jazz to their ninth victory in 10 games, 125-111 over the Timberwolves. Mitchell shot 8-for-10 in the second half and scored 13 points in the third quarter to help Utah choke off a Minnesota rally. Andrew Wiggins led the Wolves with 35 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 22.
Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points and the Clippers earned their third straight win by holding off the Kings, 122-108. Tobias Harris finished with 18 points, while teammate Lou Williams had 12 points and 10 assists in the Clippers' first game in Los Angeles following a 3-1 road trip. The Kings trailed by five in the final period until Harris' 3-pointer beat the shot-clock buzzer, Avery Bradley tossed in a 3 and Harrell reeled off seven in a row as part of a run that put the Clippers ahead, 110-97.
Ivica Zubac and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each scored 24 points as the Lakers overpowered the Suns, 116-102. Brandon Ingram had 22 points for the Lakers, who outscored Phoenix, 70-46 in the paint despite the absence of four key players. Kyle Kuzma sat out with a hip injury and Tyson Chandler was given the night off while Los Angeles continues to play without LeBron James and Lonzo Ball.
The Cavaliers ended a six-game skid as Jordan Clarkson and Alec Burks each scored 18 points in a 104-101 verdict over the Bulls. Cedi Osman added 17 points for Cleveland, which had dropped 18 of 19 before improving its league-worst record to 10-41. The Bulls lost for the 13th time in 14 games despite Lauri Markkanen's 21 points and 15 boards.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's basketball yesterday, Rider edged Marist, 86-85, and Fairfield defeated Iona, 80-68. In women's basketball, Syracuse beat Duke, 64-55, UConn crushed UCF, 93-57, and Manhattan humbled Marist, 69-51. Qunnipiac also topped Iona, 76-39, while Siena defeated Saint Peter's, 50-46.
In top-25 basketball, Purdue has a five-game winning streak in men's basketball after knocking off a top-10 team. Ryan Cline scored 17 points and Carsen Edwards added 14 to lead the Boilermakers past No. 6 Michigan State, 73-63. Purdue never trailed and owned a 23-point cushion with 13 1/2 minutes left, but the Spartans got within four before ending a 13-game winning streak. Cline ended Michigan State's 24-5 run with a 3-pointer before Edwards made three from the line. Michigan State also ended a 21-game winning streak against Big Ten opponents, and a 12-game run on the road in league play. Cassius Winston finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to lead the Spartans.
In other top-25 finals, Houston is the first Division I men's team with 20 wins this season after Armoni Brooks nailed six 3-pointers while scoring 22 points in the 17th-ranked Cougars' 77-65 victory against Tulsa. Fabian White had 14 points and Nate Hinton came off the bench to add 13 for the Cougars, who outrebounded the Hurricane, 49-24.
Phil Booth hit seven 3-pointers in a 25-point performance that carried No. 18 Villanova to its eighth straight win, an 80-52 drubbing of Seton Hall. The Wildcats held Seton Hall to just nine baskets through the first 26 minutes and beat the Pirates for the 17th time at home. Eric Paschall finished with 17 points to go over 1,000 for his career.
Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey each scored 23 points to help Minnesota hang on and beat No. 19 Iowa, 92-87. Freshman Gabe Kalscheur added 19 points, his most in a Big Ten game. Luka Garza matched his career high with 25 points and Isaiah Moss pitched in 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range in the Hawkeyes' second straight loss.
FIGURE SKATING
Nathan Chen has wrapped up his third consecutive U.S. Figure Skating Championship with a sensational free skate. Chen finished with a score of 342.22, defeating runner-up Vincent Zhou by over 58 points. Jason Brown was third. Chen's free skate alone earned 228.80 points, which was higher than the total score for 14 of the 20 skaters. He landed four quad jumps in his routine, one of which was in combination. When Chen wasn't impressing with his jumping ability, he kept the crowd captivated with his easy, elegant skating.
TENNIS
Novak Djokovic has won his record seventh Australian Open championship and a third consecutive Grand Slam title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The No. 1-ranked Djokovic raised his major trophy total to 15, behind only Roger Federer's 20 and Nadal's 17. Djokovic improved to 7-0 in finals at Melbourne Park with a remarkably dominant and mistake-free performance, finishing with 34 winners and only nine unforced errors.
PGA
Justin Rose closed with a 3-under 69 for a two-stroke victory over Adam Scott in the PGA's Farmers Insurance Open. Rose carried a three-stroke lead into the round and overcame a few nervous moments early in the final round with enough key putts down the stretch. The lead shrank to a single stroke when he opened with three bogeys in five holes, and Jon Rahm made birdie on the par-5 sixth. Rose finished 21 under and became the first player since Peter Jacobsen in 1995 to post all four rounds in the 60s at the event.
IMSA-ROLEX 24
Fernando Alonso is the third Formula One champion to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona following his role as anchor for Wayne Taylor Racing in the rain-shortened endurance event. Alonso drove the Cadillac DPi to the lead in each of his three stints at Daytona International Speedway. His final pass was of Felipe Nasr, who missed a turn and drove through a deep patch of water as Alonso stayed on course and took over the lead. The International Motor Sports Association called a red flag shortly after that pass, and drivers waited in their pits almost two hours for a decision on the remainder of the race.
NHL
Former Tampa Bay Lightning captain and center Vincent Lecavalier has suffered minor injuries in a bus pileup on a Florida highway. The Florida Highway Patrol says the four-time NHL All-Star was among three men taken to the hospital Saturday following a crash involving three charter buses. Lecavalier's agent told The Associated Press in a text message Sunday that the former center was OK. The buses were carrying participants in Tampa's Gasparilla Pirate Invasion, an annual parade that attracts about 200,000 people to the city's downtown waterfront.
MLB
Longtime San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan has died at 76 after a battle with cancer, according to the team. Magowan helped form the ownership group that bought the franchise for $100 million from Bob Lurie in December 1992 to keep the team from moving to Tampa Bay. One of his first moves was signing Barry Bonds to a six-year, $43.5 million free agent deal even before he formally completed the purchase of the team.
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