D'Angelo Russell had 27 points and 11 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets surpassed last season's win total by beating the Denver Nuggets 135-130. Russell made six of the Nets' 19 3-pointers, one game after they made only five as a team in their poorest shooting performance of the season.
In other NBA games, Kevin Durant had 23 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals, helping the Golden State Warriors to a 141-102 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. After the win, Durant expressed frustration with all the talk about where might play next season.
James Harden made eight 3-pointers and scored 36 points, helping the Houston Rockets beat the Sacramento Kings 127-101. The Rockets won their third straight game, and they appeared to be on the verge of adding Iman Shumpert to their array of talented shooters. Gerald Green matched his season high with 25 points, and Eric Gordon scored 20 points.
Julius Randle scored 31 points, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the struggling Chicago Bulls 125-120 with All-Star Anthony Davis watching from the sideline. Davis was healthy enough to return from a sprained left index finger that has sidelined him since Jan. 18. But the Pelicans opted to hold him out with the trade deadline approaching. The Bulls lost for the 16th time in 18 games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 43 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 148-129 victory over the Washington Wizards. Milwaukee became the first NBA team to reach 40 victories.
Luka Doncic scored 19 points in his third triple-double, Dorian Finney-Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds and the new-look Dallas Mavericks made another move by trading Harrison Barnes while beating the Charlotte Hornets 99-93. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 12 points in his Dallas debut after the blockbuster deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks. Two people with knowledge of the deals say Dallas is sending Barnes to Sacramento.
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and Joe Ingles had a career-high 11 assists, leading the Utah Jazz to a 116-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Utah won for the fifth time in seven games. Ingles and reserve Royce O'Neale each finished with 15 points.
In NBA news, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to acquire Los Angeles Clippers forward Tobias Harris as the centerpiece of a six-player, four-draft pick trade. That's according to a person familiar with the trade, who says the Sixers also acquired center Boban Marjanovic and forward Mike Scott as part of the deal. The Sixers sent rookie guard Landry Shamet and four draft picks to the Clippers, and traded forwards Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala to them.
The New York Knicks are worth $4 billion, making them the most valuable NBA team for the fourth straight year. In its annual rankings, Forbes says the Knicks' value increased 11 percent from last year. Forbes says the Los Angeles Lakers remain in second place with a value of $3.7 billion, up 12 percent.
In other NBA news, a person familiar with the situation says the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade center Thon Maker to the Detroit Pistons for forward Stanley Johnson. Johnson and Maker are both recent lottery picks who have struggled to make a consistent impact. Now, they'll both have a change of scenery. Johnson's averaged 7.5 points a game this season but he's just a 29-percent shooter from 3-point range for his career. The 7-foot-1 Maker was the 10th pick in 2016. He started 34 games as a rookie in 2016-17 but has mostly come off the bench since then.
A person familiar with the negotiations said late Wednesday that Washington has agreed to trade Markieff Morris to the New Orleans Pelicans for Wesley Johnson.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations says the Phoenix Suns have agreed with the Miami Heat on a deal that will include Tyler Johnson. Johnson is in the third year of a four-year deal, one that is paying him about $19 million this season and again next season. He's averaged 10.8 points in 44 games for Miami this season.
A person familiar with the situation says the Chicago Bulls have acquired Otto Porter Jr. from the Washington Wizards for Jabari Parker and Bobby Portis.
The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired Reggie Bullock from the Detroit Pistons for rookie guard Svi Mykhailiuk. Bullock is averaging 12.1 points per game and hitting 38.8 percent of his 3-point attempts this season for the Pistons. Mykhailiuk averaged 3.2 points in 39 games.
A person with knowledge of the negotiations says Miami's deal with Phoenix also includes Wayne Ellington and Ryan Anderson. Ellington would be going to the Suns, and Anderson to the Heat. Tyler Johnson was previously known to be part of the Heat-Suns deal.
Two people with knowledge of the deal say Houston, Sacramento and Cleveland are finishing a trade that will most notably send Iman Shumpert from the Kings to the Rockets. Houston is sending Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss to the Cavaliers. Alec Burks will go from the Cavaliers to the Kings. In a separate deal, the Cavs will send Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin to Houston. Both were acquired from Portland this week in the deal that sent Rodney Hood to the Trail Blazers.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men's basketball, Temple took down UConn, 81-63, Vermont defeated Maine, 86-63, and Hartford topped UMBC, 70-61.
In women's basketball, UConn destroyed East Carolina, 118-55, Maine beat Vermont, 66-45, and Hartford ripped UMBC, 92-47.
In top-25 basketball, freshman forward Saddiq Bey scored a career-high 17 points, senior guard Phil Booth hit key baskets down the stretch and No. 14 Villanova remained perfect in Big East play by beating Creighton 66-59 in overtime. Booth finished with 14 points and eight rebounds while Eric Paschall scored 15 and Collin Gillespie had 13 for the Wildcats, who have won their first 10 Big East games for the first time in program history.
Jordan Caroline scored 30 of his season-high 40 points in the first half and No. 6 Nevada beat Colorado State 98-82 for its eighth straight win. Caroline finished five points shy of his career high set Jan. 7, 2017, at New Mexico. He added 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season, and his 41 career double-doubles are the most in Mountain West Conference history, breaking a tie with Kawhi Leonard and Andrew Bogut.
Freshman forward Naz Reid tied a career high with 29 points, including a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, to lift No. 21 LSU over Mississippi State 92-88 in overtime. LSU trailed the entire second half until Tremont Waters made a high-arching layup with less than three minutes left for an 80-78 advantage. Reid scored six points in the final minutes of overtime to help the Tigers secure the win.
Ethan Happ had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help No. 19 Wisconsin avenge a loss to Minnesota with a 56-51 victory, the Badgers' sixth straight win overall. D'Mitrik Trice hit a 3-pointer with 1:44 remaining and 3 seconds left on the shot clock to give Wisconsin a 52-46 lead and seal a fourth consecutive victory at rival Minnesota. Gophers coach Richard Pitino fell to 2-9 in his career against the Badgers.
Jalen Smith had 18 points and 11 rebounds and fueled Maryland's decisive surge in the first half, and the 24th-ranked Terrapins beat fading Nebraska 60-45. Bruno Fernando wasn't at his best shooting but still had his sixth straight double-double and 15th of the season with 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for Maryland.
NHL
Tony DeAngelo scored the decisive goal in the seventh round of the shootout and the New York Rangers rallied from two goals down in the third period to beat the Boston Bruins 4-3. Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Hayes and Filip Chytil scored for New York and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves. The Rangers won for the second time in five games after a stretch in which they won four of five.
Also around the league, Morgan Rielly broke a tie midway through the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4. Rielly started a rush after an Ottawa turnover, passed to Zach Hyman, and took Hyman's backhand pass alone in front of the goal for his 14th of the season.
In NHL news, the Nashville Predators have made a pair of trades, adding Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils and bringing back forward Cody McLeod from the New York Rangers. The Predators swapped a second-round pick in June's NHL draft for Boyle and will send the Rangers a seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft for McLeod in Wednesday's trades. Also, general manager David Poile said Wednesday that forward Zac Rinaldo will have season-ending surgery for an injured shoulder.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray has missed practice while being evaluated for an upper-body injury. Murray played in a 4-0 loss to Carolina on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan described Murray as "day to day."
Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu will miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament and cartilage in his right knee. Koivu tore his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus, and is expected to have surgery Friday, the Wild announced Wednesday.
Andre Boudrias, the former Vancouver Canucks captain and Montreal Canadiens assistant general manager, has died. He was 75. The Canadiens said Boudrias died Tuesday in Whistler, British Columbia.
AURORA GAMES
Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan will reportedly sign autographs and pose for photos at Albany's Empire State Plaza Ice Rink today, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Kerrigan is a figure skating chair on the advisory board for this summer's all-women sports competition, the Aurora Games, in Albany.
NFL
The Atlanta Falcons are releasing kicker Matt Bryant, ending the 10-year run of the team's all-time leading scorer. The decision Wednesday to not renew the team's option on the 43-year-old Bryant comes despite another strong season in 2018, when he made 20 of 21 field goals and 33 of 35 extra points. His only missed field goal was from 53 yards at Green Bay. Bryant missed three games with a hamstring injury.
Baker Mayfield got one postseason trophy. The Browns quarterback, who finished second to Giants running back Saquon Barkley in voting for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was named Cleveland's top professional athlete at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards on Wednesday night. Mayfield was selected over Indians All-Stars Corey Kluber and Jose Ramirez and Browns cornerback Denzel Ward.
MLB
Reliever Ryan Tepera has gone to salary arbitration with the Toronto Blue Jays. Tepera asked for $1.8 million during Wednesday's hearing and the team argued for $1,525,000. A decision by arbitrators Mark Burstein, Howard Edelman and Edna Francis is expected Thursday. Tepera, a 31-year-old right-hander, was 5-5 with a 3.62 ERA last year. Players lead 3-1 in decisions this year. Seven players remain scheduled for hearings through Feb. 15.
The Colorado Rockies announced that infielder Mark Reynolds is among the team's non-roster invitees to major league spring training. The 35-year-old Reynolds spent 2016 and '17 with the Rockies before joining Washington last season.
A person familiar with the deal tells The Associated Press the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a $2.2 million, one-year deal with reliever Brad Boxberger. The 30-year-old right-hander, a former All-Star with the Tampa Bay Rays, had a 4.89 ERA and 32 saves with the Diamondbacks last season.
Utility infielder Nick Franklin has agreed to a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and will attend big league spring training. The 27-year-old Franklin is a career .214 hitter, appearing in 301 games for four different teams since making his debut in 2013 with Seattle.
A person familiar with the negotiations says right-hander Jeremy Hellickson and the Washington Nationals have agreed in principle on a $1.3 million, one-year contract. The deal is pending a successful physical exam. Hellickson could earn up to $4 million in performance bonuses.
Reliever Junichi Tazawa has finalized a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs and will report to big league spring training. If added to the 40-man roster, Tazawa would receive a one-year contract paying $800,000 while in the major leagues. The 32-year-old right-hander was with a 7.07 ERA in 31 games last season for Miami and the Los Angeles Angels.
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