Marcus Morris Sr. scored 26 points, including a key jumper in overtime, and the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 139-134. Kevin Love had 33 points and 13 rebounds in possibly his final home game with Cleveland. But the Cavaliers lost for the 11th time in 12 games.
Caris LeVert tied his career high with 29 points in his first start in nearly three months, helping the Brooklyn Nets overcome the absence of Kyrie Irving to beat the Phoenix Suns 119-97. Suns star Devin Booker was held to 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting. Joe Harris added 16 points and Taurean Prince had 15. in the decisive third quarter for the Nets.
Jayson Tatum scored 28 points and Grant Williams drove for a key basket in the final minute, leading the Boston Celtics to a 123-115 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks had a chance when a video review overturned a call along the baseline that initially gave Boston the ball. But Trae Young turned it over with a bad pass at the other end. The Celtics milked the shot clock before Williams took off down the lane and banked one in with 37.6 seconds remaining. Boston won its fourth straight. Young led Atlanta with 34 points but also had nine turnovers.
Jimmy Butler scored 38 points against his former club and the Miami Heat ran away in the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 137-106. Goran Dragic scored 24 points and Bam Adebayo had 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 29 points and 12 rebounds. The 76ers have dropped 10 of their last 12 on the road.
Kawhi Leonard scored 22 points, Paul George added 19 and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-105. Leonard's one-handed dunk gave the Clippers a two-point lead with 1:35 remaining after they trailed by 15 in the first half. Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer with two seconds left to draw the Spurs within one. Lou Williams made a pair of free throws for the Clippers, and Mills' half-court heave came up short at the buzzer. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and DeMar DeRozan had 26 for the Spurs.
De'Aaron Fox had 31 points and five assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic made five free throws in the final 69 seconds, and the Sacramento Kings held off a late run by Minnesota to win 113-109, handing the Timberwolves their 12th consecutive loss. Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Buddy Hield added 16 and Harrison Barnes had 14 points and seven assists for Sacramento. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead six Minnesota players in double figures. Shabazz Napier added 17 points and seven assists.
Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 17 rebounds, Dillon Brooks added 15 points and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Detroit Pistons 96-82 to sweep the season series. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 14 points and Tyus Jones added 13. Valanciunas also had four blocks. Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 25 points and 18 rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic snapped a five-game skid with a 112-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Evan Fournier added 17 points and Markelle Fultz had 12 points and 14 assists for the Magic, who won for the first time since beating the Hornets by 23 points in Charlotte on Jan. 20. Terry Rozier scored 18 points for the struggling Hornets, who have lost 11 of 12.
Kristaps Porzingis had 38 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Porzingis shot 6 of 13 on 3-pointers and made all 12 of his free throws. Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 25 points for Dallas, which played without injured All-Star Luka Doncic for the third straight game. Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 26 points.
Alec Burks scored 30 points, Glenn Robinson III added 22 and the Golden State Warriors beat Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards 125-117. It was the second straight win for the NBA-worst Warriors (12-39), with both coming on the road.
In NBA news, the massive memorial created by the public outside Staples Center after the death of former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is being dismantled, with an official saying some of the items will go to Bryant's widow. The cleanup of flowers, balloons, jerseys, stuffed toys and other items began before dawn and behind a barrier. More than 1,300 basketballs were boxed. Fans spontaneously began creating the memorial in a plaza outside the arena when word surfaced that Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. Some of the material will be donated to Bryant's widow.
The Los Angeles Lakers' first game since Kobe Bryant's death was the second-most watched regular-season NBA game on ESPN. The game against the Portland Trail Blazers averaged 4.41 million viewers.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women's college basketball, Oregon ripped UConn 74-56.
Patrick Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, Trent Forrest also scored 14 and No. 8 Florida State beat North Carolina 65-59 on Monday. RaiQuan Gray had 10 second-half points as the Seminoles improved to 9-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Cole Anthony started in his second game back from knee surgery for UNC. The freshman guard scored 16 points on 5-of-23 shooting and added seven rebounds.
Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll. The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in the latest poll to stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga and Kansas. The Bears are atop the rankings for a third straight week. Nos. 1-4 remained unchanged, continuing a stretch of stability in what has been an unpredictable season with a record-tying seven different teams reaching No. 1. Atlantic Coast Conference leader Louisville climbed a spot to No. 5, followed by Dayton, Duke, Florida State and Maryland – which jumped six spots to No. 9 after beating Iowa last week for its fourth straight win. Villanova rounded out the top 10. No. 9 Maryland and No. 11 Auburn made the week's biggest jumps. Each rose six spots. No. 21 Creighton and No. 23 Arizona re-entered the poll. Wichita State and Rutgers fell out.
NHL
Brian Elliott made 16 saves to earn his 40th career shutout in the Philadelphia Flyers' 3-0 win over the sinking Detroit Red Wings. Scott Laughton, Kevin Hayes and defenseman Matt Niskanen scored for Philadelphia. The goals by Hayes and Niskanen were short-handed. The Red Wings have been shut out in two consecutive games and have lost nine straight overall.
Joe Pavelski scored power-play goals 16 seconds apart, Stephen Johns and Blake Comeau helped chase Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and the Dallas Stars beat New York 5-3. Johns and Comeau scored 4:04 apart in the second period and Corey Perry also scored for Dallas, which improved to 30-18-4 with its second straight win.
Mark Pysyk scored three times in his first career hat trick, and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist for Florida, which trailed 3-1 early in the third period. Mike Matheson had three assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the Panthers' seventh win in eight games.
NFL
Officially, the Super Bowl partying in Kansas City will continue on Wednesday, with a downtown parade for the Chiefs. A parade through downtown is set for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, followed by a rally at Union Station. Several schools in the area canceled Wednesday's classes, and the Kansas Legislature canceled that day's session. Officials announced the celebration Sunday night, shortly after the Chiefs defeated San Francisco 31-20.
Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Wood has died. He was 83. Wood won five NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers under coach Vince Lombardi and made the first interception in Super Bowl history. He rose from undrafted rookie to play safety in eight Pro Bowls. Longtime friend Robert Schmidt says Wood died of natural causes in Washington. Wood had suffered from advanced dementia for several years.
MLB
The Houston Astros have hired James Click as their new general manager. The Tampa Bay Rays executive is now in charge of the scandal-ridden team a week before the start of spring training. Click succeeds Jeff Luhnow, who along with manager AJ Hinch was suspended by Major League Baseball in the wake of a sign-stealing scam and then fired by the Astros. The Astros hired Dusty Baker last week as their new manager.
The Yankees have more competition in the job for backup catcher. Three players — Erik Kratz, Josh Thole and Chris Iannetta — have agreed to minor league contracts. Austin Romine, Gary Sánchez's backup the last three seasons, became a free agent and agreed to a contract with Detroit. Kyle Higashioka is the only other catcher on New York's 40-man roster.
A pair of social gathering areas are being added to the second deck of Yankee Stadium, cutting seating by 500 to 800 seats. New York is adding the Stella Artois Landing in left field and the Michelob Ultra Clubhouse in right field. Both areas are covered because they are below the top deck.
Left-hander Marco Gonzales and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a $30 million contract covering 2021-24, a deal that includes a club option and could be worth $45 million over five seasons. Gonzales is coming off the best season of his career. He tied for the American League lead with 34 starts and was tied for fifth with 16 victories. His 3.99 ERA was the lowest of his career and he set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. The 27-year-old is about to begin his third full season with Seattle after starting his career with St. Louis.
Right-hander Brandon Kinztler and the Miami Marlins have finalized a one-year contract that guarantees $3,275,000. Miami also completed a $1.5 million, one-year deal with outfielder Matt Joyce. Kintzler was 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA last year in 68 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs. Joyce hit .295 with 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 23 RBIs in 238 plate appearances for the Atlanta Braves last season.
Jhoulys Chacín has finalized a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins after a miserable 2019 season that saw him go from an opening day start to an August release. The 32-year-old right-hander was 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA for Milwaukee in 2018 after signing a $15.5 million, two-year deal with the Brewers.
OHIO STATE
Unhappy with Ohio State's response to allegations of widespread, decades-old sexual abuse by a team doctor, the leader of the Ohio House called Monday for lawmakers to act soon on a stalled proposal to enable the survivors to sue the university under state law. About 350 men alleging sexual misconduct by the late Richard Strauss have sued the school in federal court. Ohio State initially argued those claims are time-barred by law, but it has since committed to a "monetary resolution" for those who were abused.
RUSSIAN DOPING
The entire board of the Russian Athletics Federation has resigned as Russia faces another ban from Olympic track events and possible expulsion from World Athletics. The federation says the entire board stepped down after a meeting with the new Russian Sports Minister, Oleg Matytsin. The federation has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015 because of widespread doping. The crisis has deepened in recent months after a program allowing Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes was frozen.
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