Jayson Tatum hit a pair of driving baskets in the final 15 seconds to help the Celtics escape with a 111-110 triumph over the Wizards. Tatum finished with 31 points and Kemba Walker had 21 for the Celts, who have their first winning streak since late January after withstanding Bradley Beal's 46-point performance.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
The Knicks moved over .500 at 18-17 by winning for the seventh time in nine games, a 109-90 rout of the Pistons. Julius Randle scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half as New York moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It's the first time the Knicks have been above .500 this late in a season since 2012-13.
The Milwaukee Bucks have followed a five-game skid with a five-game winning streak. Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 36 points and the Bucks closed on a 9-0 run to beat the Clippers, 105-100. The reigning MVP put Milwaukee ahead with a pair of free throws and added a dunk that caused Clippers coach Ty Lue to call timeout. Middleton added 19 points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who won for the first time in 11 games this season when trailing after three quarters. Kawhi Leonard had a team-high 25 points, including a jumper that put Los Angeles ahead, 100-96 with 4:01 to play.
LeBron James scored 19 points in his 1,300th regular-season appearance as the Lakers routed the Warriors 117-91. Markieff Morris and Alex Caruso each had 13 points, while Dennis Schroder and Kyle Kuzma had 12 as Los Angeles won its second straight since dropping five of their first six games without All-Star Anthony Davis.
Devin Booker scored 21 of his season-high 43 points in the third quarter to carry Phoenix to its 14th win in 17 games, 118-99 over the Timberwolves. DeAndre Ayton added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, which is tied for third in the West with the Clippers.
The Heat climbed to .500 and extended their season-high winning streak to six games by downing the Hawks, 109-99. Kendrick Nunn delivered 24 points and Bam Adebayo (ad-eh-BY'-oh) added 16 with 13 rebounds as Miami won for the 10th time in 13 games since a 7-14 start.
Justise Winslow scored 20 points as the Grizzlies sent the Rockets to their 11th consecutive loss, 133-94. Brandon Clarke added 16 points for Memphis, which held the Rockets to 4-for-45 from 3-point range.
PJ Washington scored a career-high 42 points and the Hornets closed on a 12-3 run to send the Kings to their 10th loss in 11 games, 128-127 at Sacramento. Malik Monk furnished 21 points, including a three-point play with 1.4 seconds remaining.
Sunday's game between the Raptors and Bulls was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with Toronto. The league said the Raptors are dealing with positive test results along with ongoing contact tracing issues. Toronto played Friday without starting forward Pascal Siakam, head coach Nick Nurse and several other assistants and staffers because of virus-related issues.
In NBA news:
Although a hamstring injury will keep him from playing, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant will still be a captain for the All-Star Game on March 7. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has tapped Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis to replace Durant in the game, while Jayson Tatum as been upgraded to an All Star starter — but Durant and fellow All-Star captain LeBron James will still pick rosters on TNT this Thursday.
Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic has progressed to one-on-one drills with contact as he recovers from a fractured right knee. The 28-year-old has been out since a Jan. 9 game against the Charlotte Hornets. He had hoped to return before the March 5-10 All-Star break, but it appears his recovery will take a bit longer.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women’s college basketball, No. 4 UAlbany advanced to the America East semifinals by downing No. 5 New Hampshire 49-43. They’ll take on No. 1 Maine this Sunday. Elsewhere, UMass closed its regular season with a 70-65 win over Richmond, and Syracuse grabbed the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament after falling to No. 2 NC State 68-61.
In men’s college basketball, No. 4 Hartford took down No. 5 UAlbany in the America East quarterfinals 83-77, and Marist beat Quinnipiac 76-67.
In top-25 men's basketball:
Villanova and Ohio State became the sixth and seventh top-15 men's basketball team to lose this weekend, although the Buckeyes fell to a top-10 squad. Butler was just 8-13 this season before Chuck Harris dropped in 20 points and Jair Bolden added 15 in the Bulldogs' 73-61 stunner over the eighth-ranked Wildcats. Butler limited the Wildcats to one basket during a 16-3 run over the final seven minutes of the first half, putting the Bulldogs ahead, 31-20. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds for Villanova, which had won 13 of its previous 15 and was favored by 10 ½ points.
Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp combined for 43 points and 17 rebounds as ninth-ranked Iowa silenced the fourth-ranked Buckeyes, 73-57. Garza finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes, who have won five of their last six with two games left in the regular season. Wieskamp shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range and delivered 19 points with six boards, helping Iowa bounce back from a midweek loss to No. 3 Michigan. EJ Liddell had a team-high 15 points for the Buckeyes, who lost for the third time in eight days after receiving serious consideration for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 12 Houston blew out South Florida, 98-52 as Quentin Grimes scored all 22 of his points by halftime. DeJon Jarreau added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Houston, which won its third straight and reached 20 wins for the sixth consecutive season.
NHL
The Bruins kept pace as Charlie Coyle scored the first and last goals of a 4-1 verdict over the Rangers. Charlie McAvoy added a goal and an assist for the B's, who dropped their previous two games by a combined 13-4 before limiting the Blueshirts to 21 shots. Trent Frederic also scored and Tuukka Rask stopped 20 shots for Boston.
Elsewhere in the NHL:
The Penguins had won six of eight before being shut out for the first time this season, 2-0 by the Islanders. Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each scored power-play goals and rookie Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves in earning his second consecutive shutout.
The Flyers posted their second straight shutout of the Sabres as Carter Hart stopped 28 shots in a 3-0 victory. Sean Couturier and Michael Raffl broke the game open by scoring 75 seconds apart early in the second period.
The Capitals picked up their third straight win as Alex Ovechkin snapped a 2-2 tie late in the second period of a 3-2 victory and a weekend sweep at New Jersey. Ovechkin had just one goal in his previous eight games before sending the Caps to their sixth victory in eight games. Ilya Samsonov stopped 19 shots in his first start since Jan. 17 due to COVID-19.
The Blackhawks coasted to a 7-2 win over the Red Wings as Patrick Kane scored his 400th career goal, Kevin Lankinen made a career-high 44 saves. Kane also set up a pair of scores, Ryan Carpenter tallied twice and Alex DeBrincat collected a goal and three assists in Chicago's third win in four games.
Columbus dropped its fifth in a row as Nick Cousins, Eeli Tolvanen and Erik Haula scored in the Predators' fourth win in five games, 3-1 over the Blue Jackets. Roman Josi had two assists and Juuse Saros turned back 28 shots for the winners.
NASCAR
William Byron has given NASCAR its third surprise winner in as many weeks. Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead-Miami Speedway and won for the second time in 111 Cup starts. His first one came at Daytona last August and landed him one of the final spots in the playoffs. Byron joins Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell in the relatively odd group of 2021 winners. Tyler Reddick was second, nearly 3 seconds back. He was followed by Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick.
PGA
Reigning PGA champion Collin Morikawa completed a victory at the WGC Workday Championship in Florida. Morikawa shook off an early mistake and closed with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke win over Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland and Billy Horschel. Morikawa finished at 18-under in becoming the 24th player to win a major and a World Golf Championship title since this series began in 1999. He joined Tigers Woods as the only players to win both before turning 25.
Also:
Branden Grace closed eagle-birdie to win the Puerto Rico Open. Grace holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-4 17th and birdied the par-5 18th for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over Jhonattan Vegas at windy Grand Reserve. Grace was 19 under in an emotional triumph following his father's January death after a month-long fight with the coronavirus.
Kevin Sutherland shot a 4-under 69 to overtake third-round leader Mike Weir and capture the Cologuard Classic in Tucson. Weir doubled his lead over Sutherland during the final round but ran into trouble late in the day, carding bogeys on two of his final three holes to shoot an even-par 73. Phil Mickelson's long-shot bid to win his first three PGA Tour Champions starts came to a screeching halt with a triple bogey on the par-4 ninth. He shot 73 to finish 11 shots back.
Nelly Korda made it two in a row for the Korda family. She closed with a 3-under 69 at Lake Nona for a three-shot victory in the Gainbridge LPGA. This was one month after older sister Jessica won the season-opening Tournament of Champions. Korda won for the fourth time, and first in America. Annika Sorenstam ended her one-time appearance with a 76 to finish last among the players who made the cut. The 50-year-old Sorenstam was playing for the first time since retiring more than 12 years ago.
MLB
The Kansas City Royals and third baseman Hunter Dozier have agreed to a four-year, $25 million, four-year contract that includes a fifth-year option. That's according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. The 29-year-old Dozier had a breakthrough 2019 season in which he hit 26 homers, tied for the American League lead with 10 triples and drove in 84 runs. But he missed the start of last season with COVID-19 and wound up hitting just .228 with six homers and 12 RBIs in 44 games.
In other MLB news, Fernando Tatis Jr. gets a full no-trade provision through 2028 as part of his $330 million, 14-year contract with the Padres. The shortstop receives a $10 million bonus, but his annual salary doesn't kick into eight figures until 2024 before climbing to $20 million each of the next two years.
SOCCER
The U.S. Soccer Federation's athletes council has removed one its members, a day after he made a speech at the federation's annual general meeting against removing an anti-kneeling policy. Seth Jahn, a 38-year-old from Florida who played for the U.S. seven-a-side ParaOlympic team at the 2015 Parapan American Games, spoke against repeal of what was known as Policy 604-1, put in place in response to U.S. women's team star Megan Rapinoe kneeling in support of Colin Kaepernick. Jahn said those who kneel "don't care about defending half of our country."
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Clemson starting cornerback Derion Kendrick is no longer part of the Tigers' program. The 6-foot, 190-pound senior was a highly talented player who last season had several discipline issues and did not play in three games. Kendrick becomes the second defensive starter gone from last year's group, which finished 15th nationally with 326 yards allowed a game.
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