Caris LeVert provided 23 points and the Nets gave D'Angelo Russell a bruising welcome back to Brooklyn with a 129-88 rout of the Warriors. Golden State fell behind 20-4, missing 20 of their 22 3-point attempts in the first half and trailing by as many as 44.
The Celtics earned their fifth straight win as Jayson Tatum contributed 16 of his 33 points in the second half of a 116-100 victory against the Magic. Gordon Hayward added 23 points and Jaylen Brown finished with 18 for Boston.
The Toronto Raptors have broken their team record for consecutive victories. Serge Ibaka scored 30 points, including a huge three-pointer in the dying seconds of the Raptors' 12th straight win, 119-118 over the Pacers. Kyle Lowry poured in 32 points for Toronto, which trailed by 19 in the third quarter before getting within four by the end of the period. Pascal Siakam had 25 points to help the Raptors keep their 1 ½-game lead in the NBA's Atlantic Division.
Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in powering the Nuggets to a 98-95 win at Utah. Jamal Murray scored 31 points and Denver held the Jazz to just one field goal over the final 7:08.
Landry Shamet scored 14 of his season-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 straight for the Clippers in a 128-111 victory over the Heat. Paul George also produced 23 points as one of eight Los Angeles players to score in double-figures.
Dennis Schroder contributed 30 points to lead the Thunder to their eighth win in nine games, 109-103 versus the Cavaliers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and Danilo Gallinari added 15 for Oklahoma City.
Ja Morant scored 21 points and the Grizzlies moved over .500 for the first time this season by downing the Mavericks, 121-107. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Tyus Jones added 19 apiece for Memphis, which played without forwards Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill after packaging them in a deal that will send Andre Iguodala to the Grizzlies.
Andre Drummond had 31 points and 19 rebounds to help the Pistons deal the Suns their fourth consecutive loss, 116-108. Reggie Jackson added 25 points and Christian Wood had 21 for Detroit.
Trae Young and John Collins each had double-doubles as the Hawks handed the Timberwolves their 13th consecutive loss, 127-120. Young finished with 38 points and 11 rebounds, while Collins furnished 27 points and 12 boards.
In NBA news, twelve players and at least three draft picks are part of a four-team trade that was hammered out on the eve of the NBA trade deadline. Robert Covington is going to the Houston Rockets and Clint Capela is going to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the complicated trade that was approved by the league on Wednesday. The Rockets got Covington and Jordan Bell from Minnesota, plus Golden State's 2024 second-round pick from the Hawks. Atlanta received centers Capela and Nenê from Houston. Denver picked up Gerald Green from Houston along with the Rockets' 2020 first-round pick. The Nuggets also landed Keita Bates-Diop, Shabazz Napier and Noah Vonleh from Minnesota. The Wolves came away with Brooklyn's 2020 first-round pick and Evan Turner from Atlanta, plus Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Juancho Hernangomez from Denver.
A person familiar with the negotiations says Andre Iguodala is headed to Miami after the Heat and Grizzlies agreed on his long-awaited trade. The person says Iguodala agreed to a two-year extension as part of the deal with the second of those years being a team option. The person also said Miami and Memphis were still working out complete terms of what the Heat are giving up in the deal, and that Oklahoma City may be involved.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In men’s college basketball, UAlbany downed Binghamton 62-49, Vermont ripped Maine 77-52, and UMBC routed Harford 70-59.
In women’s college basketball, Binghamton defeated UAlbany 58-42, Maine took down Vermont 70-59, George Mason knocked off UMass 73-56, and UMBC beat Hartford 56-47.
In men's top-25 basketball, Kamar Baldwin capped his 17-point performance by nailing buzzer-beating trey that gave 19th-ranked Butler a 79-76 victory over No. 10 Villanova. The basket bailed out the Bulldogs after they squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes. Sean McDermott scored 21 points and Bryce Golden added a career high 18 points to help the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats for the first time in their last six meetings. The game was delayed for nearly 15 minutes in the first half when the roof of 92-year-old Hinkle Fieldhouse sprung a leak. Maintenance workers got the water stopped and the floor dried before the Bulldogs improved to 18-5. The Wildcats are 17-5.
Jordan Nwora had 21 points and provided the go-ahead basket during an 18-5 second-half run that rallied No. 5 Louisville past Wake Forest, 86-76. Dwayne Sutton added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals, who trailed by 12 at halftime before getting their ninth straight win.
Myles Powell poured in 34 points and No. 12 Seton Hall opened on a 16-0 run before holding off Georgetown, 78-71. Romaro Gill tied a career-high with eight blocks for the Pirates, while Quincy McKnight chipped in eight points and a game-high 10 assists in 22 minutes despite a knee injury suffered in Saturday's loss to Xavier.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 13 West Virginia breezed to a 76-61 victory over Iowa State. Chase Harler added 14 points, while Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Derek Culver scored 12 apiece for the 18-4 Mountaineers.
Evan Boudreaux scored a season-high 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting and had a team-high eight rebounds as Purdue blasted No. 17 Iowa, 104-68. Jahaad Proctor, Matt Haarms and Sasha Stefanovic each scored 15 points for the Boilermakers, who shot a season-high 63% and reached the century mark in scoring for the first time this season.
Saben Lee scored a career-high 33 points and Vanderbilt pulled out a 99-90 upset of No. 18 LSU 99-90 to end the SEC's longest regular season skid at 26 straight. Maxwell Evans had a career-high 31 points to help the Commodores halt the Tigers' 13-game winning streak in regular season conference play.
Providence beat a ranked team for the second straight game as A.J. Reeves set season highs with 22 points and six 3-pointers in the Friars' 73-56 thumping of No. 21 Creighton. Providence outscored the Bluejays, 41-20 on 49% shooting, including 12 of 20 from beyond the arc.
NHL
The Boston Bruins now own the NHL's highest point-total after earning their fifth straight win. Charlie McAvoy scored 79 seconds into overtime to give the Bruins a 2-1 victory at Chicago. Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots and blanked the Blackhawks after Alex DeBrincat notched a power-play goal 6:50 into the second period. Sean Kuraly tied it about six minutes after DeBrincat's goal before Boston moved one point ahead of Washington in the league's overall race. The Capitals have a game in hand. Robin Lehner made 38 saves for the Hawks, who have dropped three of four since a five-game winning streak.
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad scored second seconds apart late in the first period to ignite the Rangers in a 5-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. Kreider and Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist, while teammate Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and two assists. Rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves in winning for the fourth time in five starts this season.
MLB
The New York Yankees have announced some bad news concerning their starting rotation. Left-hander James Paxton has had back surgery for a herniated disk and is expected to be sidelined until May or June. The Yankees estimated Paxton's approximate timeline to pitch in a major league game as three-to-four months. The injury weakens a Yankees rotation already missing right-hander Domingo Germán, who must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. Germán is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.
The Phillies have signed infielder Logan Forsythe and right-handers Anthony Swarzak, Blake Parker and Trevor Kelley to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training.
The Braves have defeated Shane Greene in the first salary arbitration case this year. The reliever will be paid $6.25 million instead of his request for $6.75 million. The 31-year-old right-hander was a first-time All-Star last year before finishing the season with a 2.30 ERA, 64 strikeouts and 17 walks over 62 2/3 innings for the Tigers and Atlanta.
The Reds and right-hander Pedro Strop have finalized a one-year package worth $1,825,000, their first offseason move to upgrade the bullpen. A hamstring injury limited him to 50 appearances last season, when he went 2-5 with a 4.97 ERA, 10 saves and six blown saves.
Ubaldo Jiménez is reuniting with the Rockies, who have given him a non-roster invitation to spring training. He tossed Colorado's only no-hitter on April 7, 2010, in Atlanta before finishing the season with a team-record 19 victories and a 2.88 ERA. The 36-year-old Jiménez hasn't pitched in the majors since Sept. 22, 2017, with Baltimore.
The Cubs have invited former closer Brandon Morrow to spring training after buying out his contract last November. Morrow hasn't pitched since July 2018 because of a bone bruise that required surgery. He had 22 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 35 games when he was shut down in the summer of 2018.
Major League Baseball is returning to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 20 years. The Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers will play a spring training game in Santo Domingo on March 7. MLB has never played a regular-season game in the Dominican Republic.
NFL
Hundreds of thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans braved sub-freezing wind chills Wednesday to celebrate the team's first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. Fans lined the 2-mile parade route to thank their football heroes for bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Kansas City and ending a Super Bowl drought that began after the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV in 1970. Quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes struggled with a strained voice but said the championship fulfilled two goals he set when he became the team's starter. Óne was to bring the Lamar Hunt Trophy back to Kansas City as AFC champs, and the second was to win a Super Bowl for head coach Andy Reid. The Hunt Trophy is named after the original owner of the Chiefs.
The Cleveland Browns have introduced Andrew Berry as their new general manager. The 32-year-old Berry is believed to be the youngest GM in NFL history, and he's the second current African-American GM in the NFL. He joked he didn't receive an upgraded parking space upon his return to Cleveland, where he was vice president of player personnel from 2016-18 under GM Sashi Brown. Berry spent last season in the Philadelphia Eagles' front office. Meanwhile, the rival Steelers have given their general manager a contract extension. Kevin Colbert is now signed through the 2021 draft after considering retirement.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
The SEC has dominated the recruiting landscape even more than usual this year. The conference had six of the nation's top eight classes as the remaining unsigned football prospects finalized their college plans Wednesday. That's according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports. The rankings included No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Auburn and No. 8 Florida. Only Clemson at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 5 broke things up.
The University of Colorado will bring three hallowed football numbers out of retirement at the growing requests from recruits. Byron "Whizzer" White's No. 24, Joe Romig's No. 67 and Bobby Anderson's No. 11 will all be worn again. Romig and Anderson approved the decision, as did the family of White. The former Supreme Court justice tied in 2002. Those three players will still be honored through a patch that will appear on the jersey.
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