Nikola Jokic had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Boston Celtics 114-105. The Nuggets have won four straight and clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2012-13. Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 30 points.
Jeremy Lin scored 20 points, Fred VanVleet had 13 points and 12 assists, and the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 128-92. The victory came at a cost to the Raptors, who saw guard Kyle Lowry leave in the third quarter after suffering an injured right ankle.
In Monday's other NBA action, Collin Sexton scored 27 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play, and the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 126-119. Both teams were missing star players. Blake Griffin sat out for Detroit, while Kevin Love was out with a sore back for Cleveland after taking a hard fall in Saturday's loss to Dallas. Andre Drummond nearly made up for Griffin's absence with 21 points and 21 rebounds, but the Cavaliers hit clutch shots down the stretch against a Pistons team that is fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
DeMar DeRozan had 26 points and nine rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 points and 13 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Golden State Warriors 111-105 for their ninth straight win. San Antonio won its 11th straight at home and moved into fifth in the Western Conference at 42-29 following Oklahoma City's loss to Miami.
Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell scored 19 and the Utah Jazz won their fourth straight by beating the Washington Wizards 116-95. Gobert, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, was perfect from the field for Utah, which started the night seventh in the West, one-half game behind San Antonio.
Dirk Nowitzki passed Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA's career scoring list, but Elfrid Payton had his fifth straight triple-double to help the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Dallas Mavericks 129-125 in overtime. Nowitzki had eight points, giving him 31,424 in his 21 seasons — trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Goran Dragic had 26 points and 11 assists, Dwyane Wade added 25 points and the Miami Heat took advantage of Russell Westbrook's absence to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-107. Miami entered the game in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Heat snapped a six-game losing streak against Oklahoma City, which now has lost nine of its last 13 games to fall to sixth in the Western Conference.
Robin Lopez scored 24 points to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Phoenix Suns 116-101 on Monday night, snapping a five-game losing streak. Zach LaVine had 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and nine boards for Chicago. Deandre Ayton had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Devin Booker also scored 25 for Phoenix, which has lost three of four after a 5-2 stretch.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville are the top seeds in the women's NCAA Tournament. The bracket was mistakenly put out early on ESPNU several hours before the network had its selection show on Monday night. In 2016, the men's bracket was leaked online during the selection show. The No. 1 Lady Bears are the top team in the Greensboro Regional while defending champion Notre Dame is the first choice in Chicago. Mississippi State is the No. 1 team in the Portland Regional where Oregon is the second seed. Louisville is the top choice in the Albany Regional where potentially No. 2 UConn waits. It's the first time since 2006 that the Huskies aren't a No. 1 seed. Tennessee sneaked in to the field as an 11-seed. The Lady Vols have been in every NCAA Tournament since the first one in 1982.
Also in the dance are No. 3 Syracuse, No. 10 Buffalo, No. 11 Quinnipiac, and No. 14 Maine. The first round officially starts Friday, when No. 10 Buffalo takes on No. 7 Rutgers, and No. 2 UConn plays No. 15 Towson.
In the AP men's basketball poll, Duke is back on top followed by Virginia and North Carolina to give the Atlantic Coast Conference a 1-2-3 showing. The Blue Devils jumped from fifth to first Monday after winning last week's league tournament with the return of freshman star Zion Williamson from a knee sprain. That made Duke the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers and Tar Heels stayed in their positions in what is believed to be the first time a conference has claimed the top three spots in the final AP poll. Gonzaga fell from first to fourth, while Michigan State climbed to fifth. Utah State was 25th for its first AP poll appearance since the final poll in 2011.
MLB
Gio Gonzalez and the New York Yankees agreed to a minor league contract Monday. If added to the 40-man roster, the 33-year-old lefty would get a $3 million salary while in the major leagues and the chance to earn performance bonuses. New York had been seeking more pitching following a shoulder injury to ace Luis Severino, who will not be available until May at the earliest. In addition, CC Sabathia is likely to miss the first week or two as he recovers from an offseason that included knee surgery and the insertion of a stent after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart.
Jacoby Ellsbury says he expects to play again, but it's not clear when that might happen. The 35-year-old New York Yankees center fielder reported more than a month late to spring training after a rehab program in Arizona for hip surgery. Ellsbury is guaranteed more than $21 million annually through 2020 as part of a $153 million, seven-year contract.
In other MLB news, Atlanta Braves right-hander Julio Teheran is set to make his sixth straight start on opening day. The Braves say Teheran will face the Phillies on March 28 in Philadelphia. Teheran's run ties Hall of Famer Warren Spahn for the longest in Braves' franchise history during the modern era.
Jung Ho Kang and Erik Gonzalez have won starting jobs with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kang beat out Colin Moran at third base and Erik Gonzalez has won the shortstop competition over Kevin Newman. Kang missed the entire 2017 season and the beginning of 2018 because he was unable to secure a work visa to travel from his native South Korea following a third DUI arrest.
Union head Tony Clark is applauding the Toronto Blue Jays' decision to give minor league players a 50 percent raise, and he hopes other clubs will do the same. Many players have made as little as $1,100 per month in recent seasons and don't get paid during spring training or the offseason. Those who don't receive lucrative signing bonuses often struggle to afford meals, rent and basic equipment like cleats and bats. Toronto is the first club to announce such a raise.
A South Carolina man who was killed in a car crash last week has been identified as a former Major League Baseball player who was a member of the Seattle Mariners during its inaugural season. News outlets report the coroner in Florence County says 72-year-old Leroy Stanton was killed March 13 when he disregarded a stop sign, hit a tree and was ejected from his pickup truck.
NHL
Steven Stamkos scored his 36th goal of the season and the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the Presidents' Trophy with a 4-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. The Lightning, who have 116 points, will have home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Stamkos became the franchise leader in goals with his 384th. Victor Hedman added his 10th goal of the season and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots. Anthony Cirelli scored his fifth short-handed goal of the season while Yanni Gourde notched his 20th goal of the season. Clayton Keller scored for Arizona, which remains one point ahead of Minnesota for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Bo Horvat scored 16 seconds into overtime, and the Vancouver Canucks stopped Chicago's five-game win streak with a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks. Alexander Edler and Markus Granlund also scored for Vancouver, which was coming off a 3-2 shootout victory in Dallas on Sunday. Thatcher Demko made 29 saves in his third career win.
In NHL news, the Washington Capitals have signed college free agent forward Joe Snively to a two-year entry-level contract that begins next season. Snively is 23 and a native of nearby Herndon, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC, and played his youth hockey at the Capitals' practice facility as part of the Little Caps program. He was Yale's leading scorer in each of his four seasons there and reportedly drew interest from two-thirds of the NHL.
NFL
The Green Bay Packers have re-signed veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis. A 13-year veteran, Lewis played in all 16 games for the team last season, but had only three receptions for 39 yards. He was signed in 2018 to help block in Green Bay's running game, but the Packers ranked 22nd in the league on the ground.
The Minnesota Vikings have re-signed running back Ameer Abdullah to a one-year contract, solidifying a complement to Dalvin Cook after the departure of Latavius Murray via free agency. Abdullah played in seven games for the Vikings last season, almost exclusively as a kickoff returner, after being picked up off waivers from the Detroit Lions. Abdullah has 1,251 rushing yards and 430 receiving yards over four NFL seasons.
The Arizona Cardinals have signed defensive back Josh Shaw to a one-year contract. The 26-year-old Shaw has played four NFL seasons with Cincinnati, Kansas City and Tampa Bay. He has 106 career tackles, seven passes defensed and a fumble recovery.
Guard-center Chris Reed has signed with the Miami Dolphins, who lost three offensive linemen at the start of free agency. Reed spent the past four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he made eight starts and played in 25 games. He was undrafted out of Minnesota State.
The Washington Redskins have agreed to terms on a contract with wide receiver Brian Quick. Quick returns to the Redskins after playing with them for parts of the past two seasons. The 29-year-old could be counted on to replace receiver Maurice Harris, who was not tendered a qualifying offer and signed with the New England Patriots.
The Oakland Raiders have re-signed free agent return specialist Dwayne Harris. Harris averaged 14.1 yards per punt return last season, the second-best mark in franchise history and tied for the NFL lead. The 31-year-old Harris also averaged 22.9 yards per kick return and was a key member of the coverage units.
The San Francisco 49ers have re-signed defensive back Jimmie Ward to a one-year deal. The 27-year-old Ward has played only 51 games over five seasons because of various injuries. He has experience playing both cornerback and safety and offers versatility for San Francisco.
© The Associated Press 2019. All Rights Reserved.
