D'Angelo Russell scored 27 of his career-high 44 points in the fourth quarter, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a layup with eight-tenths of a second remaining, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied from 28 points down in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 123-121 Tuesday night and snap a four-game losing streak.
Ben Simmons scored 28 points, JJ Redick had 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the Charlotte Hornets 118-114 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight victory. Jimmy Butler added 23 points and nine assists, and Tobias Harris chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers (46-25), who remained in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Redick finished with seven 3-pointers, one shy of his career high.
In other Tuesday night NBA action, Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points, Montrezl Harrell had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers held off Indiana 115-109, preventing the Pacers from clinching a playoff berth. Clinging to a 110-107 lead, Lou Williams hit a jumper with 40 seconds left to stop a 5-0 run by Indiana.
James Harden had 31 points and 10 assists, Clint Capela added 26 points and 11 rebounds and the Houston Rockets won their third straight game with a 121-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Rockets have won 12 of 13 and have 10 wins in their last 13 road games.
Stephen Curry scored 22 of his 36 points in the third quarter and Klay Thompson pitched in 28 points, giving the Golden State Warriors more than enough production to beat the fading Minnesota Timberwolves 117-107 and regain first place in the Western Conference. Jonas Jerebko added 18 points and Kevin Durant scored 17 points for the Warriors, who moved a half-game ahead of Denver in the race for the top seed. Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 21 rebounds for the Wolves.
In NBA news, Doc Rivers is denying rumors that he's interested in leaving the Los Angeles Clippers to coach the Lakers. The LeBron James-led Lakers are 31-39 under coach Luke Walton, whose job status is widely believed to be in jeopardy. Rivers is so eager to tamp down the speculation that he says paperwork on a new contract extension is already being worked on. Rivers says he had an option to opt out of his contract this summer. However, he says that earlier this year he and Clippers owner Steve Ballmer mutually agreed to remove the clause, which existed to "make sure it was the right fit for everyone." The Clippers own the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.
Darren Collision will miss his first game of the season for the Indiana Pacers because of a right quad contusion. The guard had started all 71 games until sitting out against the Clippers in Los Angeles.
The Memphis Grizzlies expect guard/forward C.J. Miles to miss the remainder of the season after he injured his left foot over the weekend.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kevin McClain scored 29 points and led the decisive second-half run as Belmont got its first NCAA Tournament win, pulling away to an 81-70 victory Tuesday night and ending Temple coach Fran Dunphy's career in the First Four. The 11th-seeded Bruins (27-5) play Maryland on Thursday in the East Region. Belmont got at-large bid after losing to Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title game. The Bruins showed that the selection committee's faith was not misplaced, getting the breakthrough win on their eighth try.
Darnell Edge scored a career-high 33 points, and Fairleigh Dickinson rallied to win its first ever NCAA Tournament game, taking down Prairie View A&M 82-76 in the tourney opener on Tuesday night. Edge was 7 for 9 from beyond the 3-point line. Prairie View threatened to run away with it early, ripping off a 14-0 first-half run as Fairleigh Dickinson committed nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes to fall into a 19-6 hole. The Knights chipped away, with Edge hitting a 3-pointer and a layup in the last minute of the half to reduce the deficit to 41-34 at the intermission.
NHL
Sean Kuraly scored twice and Tuukka Rask earned his 45th career shutout as the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 5-0. The Bruins won their second straight since a three-game skid that followed their 19-game point streak.
Andreas Athanasiou scored twice as the Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 3-2. Frans Nielsen also scored and Taro Hirose recorded an assist during his NHL debut for Detroit, which won its second straight but has already been eliminated from playoff contention. Jimmy Howard stopped 41 shots and improved to 10-3-3 in 16 career appearances against the Rangers.
Brendan Gallagher, Shea Weber and Max Domi scored goals, Carey Price stopped 32 shots and the Montreal Canadiens earned a 3-1 win over the fading Philadelphia Flyers.
Dougie Hamilton scored in the shootout, Petr Mrazek stopped Pittsburgh cold and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Penguins 3-2. Justin Williams scored the tying goal with 1:56 left in regulation, and Brock McGinn also scored for the Hurricanes. They have won four of five.
Also in NHL action on Tuesday night, Philipp Grubauer made 36 saves to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-1 win over the Wild in a game that had playoff implications in Minnesota and elsewhere. Tyson Barrie, Tyson Jost and Ian Cole scored for Colorado, which won its second straight game. Minnesota remained one point behind the idle Arizona Coyotes for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Pekka Rinne shut out Toronto for the second time this season and Brian Boyle, Wayne Simmonds and Filip Forsberg scored goals to give the Nashville Predators a 3-0 win over the slumping Maple Leafs. Nashville won its third straight and Toronto lost for the fourth time in five games.
Alexander Radulov had two goals in the third period to lift the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 win over the Florida Panthers. In addition to Radulov's two goals and an assist, Jamie Benn had a goal and two assists and Tyler Seguin assisted on all four goals.
A 31-save outing by goaltender David Rittich helped the Calgary Flames to a 4-2 win over the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. The Flames (45-21-7) were the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff spot Sunday.
Jaden Schwartz had three goals and an assist, David Perron added two goals and two assists, and the St. Louis Blues routed the Edmonton Oilers 7-2.
MLB
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels are close to finalizing a $432 million, 12-year contract that would shatter the record for the largest deal in North American sports history. Trout would top the new $330 million, 12-year contract between Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, and his $36 million average annual value would surpass Zack Greinke's $34.4 million in a six-year deal with Arizona that started in 2016. Trout's deal includes a signing bonus and would supersede the $144.5 million, six-year contract that had been set to pay him $66.5 million over the next two seasons.
In other MLB moves, a person with direct knowledge of the situation says Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros have agreed on a $100 million, six-year deal that keeps the All-Star third baseman under contract with the team through 2024. The agreement includes this season, buys out three years of arbitration eligibility (2020-22) and pushes back his opportunity to become a free agent by two years.
Giants President and CEO Larry Baer will not face charges following a physical altercation with his wife this month that led to him taking a leave of absence from the team. The San Francisco district attorney's office said Tuesday there isn't evidence to file criminal charges against Baer stemming from his argument with wife Pam on March 1 in a San Francisco plaza. Baer was granted a leave of absence from the team on March 4 following the release of a video that captured the altercation. The video posted by TMZ showed Pam seated in a chair when he reached over her to grab for a cellphone in her right hand and she toppled sideways to the ground in the chair screaming "Oh my God!" Baer and his wife issued a statement shortly afterward, saying they regretted having a "heated argument in public over a family matter" and that they were embarrassed by the situation. Baer later issued his own apology.
NFL
The New York Jets have signed tight end Daniel Brown and re-signed tight end Eric Tomlinson and offensive lineman Brent Qvale.
Long-snapper Zak DeOssie is returning for a 13th season with the New York Giants. The team announced the re-signing of its second-longest tenured player a day after giving Eli Manning a $5 million roster bonus that almost guarantees the 38-year-old quarterback will be back for a 16th season.
In other NFL moves, the Los Angeles Chargers have re-signed wide receiver Geremy Davis to a one-year contract. Davis, who will be going into his fifth season, has contributed mostly on special teams.
Los Angeles Rams running back Malcolm Brown has signed an offer sheet from the Detroit Lions. Los Angeles has five days to match the Lions' offer, or to let Brown leave for Detroit. Brown has been Todd Gurley's backup for all four of their NFL seasons.
The Dallas Cowboys have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free-agent receiver Randall Cobb. Cobb spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. Dallas also re-signed unrestricted free-agent long snapper L.P. Ladouceur and signed defensive end Kerry Hyder, a former Texas Tech player who was with Detroit last season.
Indianapolis Colts long snapper Luke Rhodes has signed his contract to stay with the team next season. Rhodes was an exclusive rights free agent.
The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a new contract with kicker Dan Bailey, the ninth-year veteran who was signed last season to replace struggling rookie Daniel Carlson.
The Panthers have signed unrestricted free agent linebacker/defensive end Bruce Irvin to a one-year contract. A former first-round draft pick in 2012 by Seattle, Irvin spent last season with the Raiders and Falcons, playing eight games for each
Quarterback Blake Bortles has agreed to a one-year deal to become Jared Goff's backup with the Los Angeles Rams. Bortles joins the Rams after spending his first five seasons as the up-and-down starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed cornerback Bashaud Breeland to a $2 million contract for the upcoming season that could be worth an additional $3 million with certain incentives. The Chiefs have been looking for a cornerback to replace Steven Nelson, whom they lost in free agency.
SEXUAL ASSAULT-SOUTH DAKORA
A former University of South Dakota football player who was accused of raping a woman in her dorm room has pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of aggravated assault and been sentenced to 10 years of probation. Dale Williamson Jr., of Texarkana, Texas, entered the plea Monday. A no contest plea isn't an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing. He also must pay nearly $1,400 in restitution to the victim, the Argus Leader reported. Prosecutor Alexis Tracy told the court that Williamson went into the victim's dorm room while she was sleeping, "pinned her down," and raped her. The victim woke up, pushed him off of her, grabbed her phone and ran to the bathroom, she said.
"This matter has changed her forever," Tracy said.
Judge Tami Bern didn't consider certain details about the attack that Tracy offered during the hearing because she said Williamson was not being sentenced for a sex crime. Bern did say, however, that Williamson, 23, was in an environment that made him feel "entitled to sexual exploitation," and "I find that abhorrent."
© The Associated Press 2019. All Rights Reserved.
