Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook hit 3-pointers in the final seconds to push the Wizards past the Nets, 149-146. Westbrook had 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Beal scored 22 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter.
In other Sunday NBA action:
The Clippers won for the 10th time in 11 games by downing the Knicks, 129-115. Kawhi Leonard scored a 28 for the Clippers, and hit a season high for points, shot 54% overall and nailed 17 3-pointers. The offensive eruption came against a team that had been limiting opponents to 42.6% shooting. Reggie Jackson finished with 18 points and Paul George added 17 to help the Clippers improve to 16-5. Julius Randle had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, while rookie Immanuel Quickley added 25 points.
Tobias Harris poured in 27 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 17, including the go-ahead baskets in the fourth quarter of the 76ers' comeback over the Pacers, 119-110. Philadelphia trailed by 16 early in the fourth but closed on a 31-6 run to pick up its sixth win in seven games.
The Raptors' three-game skid is over after Pascal Siakam had 30 points and 10 rebounds in a 115-102 decision over the Magic. Kyle Lowry had 12 points and 14 assists for Toronto, while Aaron Baynes added eight points and 16 boards.
The Nuggets ended Utah's 11-game winning streak, 128-117. Nikola Jokic matched his career high with 47 points on 17 of 26 shooting, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Jokic had 33 points by halftime and finished with 12 rebounds and five assists. Will Barton added 18 points, and Jamal Murray had 16 to help the Nuggets win for the sixth time in seven games. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz with 29 points.
Malik Beasley furnished 23 points and rookie Anthony Edwards finished with 23 in his second straight start as the Timberwolves held on to beat the Cavaliers, 109-104. D'Angelo Russell added 19 points for Minnesota, which snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the third time in 17 games.
In NBA news:
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is expected to be sidelined two to three weeks because of a Grade 1 tear of his left calf muscle. Smart missed the final 10 1/2 minutes of Boston's 96-95 loss to the Lakers on Saturday night after he was helped off the court following a collision with Montrezl Harrell underneath the basket. Smart's injury will mean yet another adjustment to a Celtics lineup that was playing with its projected starters Smart, Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis for just the second time this season.
Heat guard Tyler Herro has revealed that someone who lives with him tested positive for COVID-19. Herro is listed as questionable on the team's injury report for Monday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. Herro was not with the team for practice Sunday.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
In women’s college basketball yesterday, UMass Lowell tripped up UAlbany 46-31, Syracuse routed Notre Dame 81-69, No. 3 UConn destroyed No. 17 DePaul 100-67, La Salle defeated UMass 69-63, and Stony Brook topped Hartford 62-49.
In men’s college basketball, Siena bested Marist 63-50, Syracuse edged NC State 76-73, and Stony Brook took down Hartford 63-49.
In top-25 men's basketball:
Ohio State is the latest men's basketball team to rough up Michigan State. E.J. Liddell and Justin Ahrens carried the 13th-ranked Buckeyes to a 79-62 rout of slumping Michigan State. Liddell had 20 points and eight rebounds while helping the Buckeyes hold the Spartans to 25% shooting in the second half. Ahrens hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 17 points in Ohio State's third win in a row and sixth in seven games. The Spartans couldn't bounce back from Thursday's 30-point loss to Rutgers, shooting 32% as a team. Joshua Langford had a team-high 14 points for Michigan State, which is 2-6 in the Big Ten.
Sixth-ranked Houston is 15-1 overall following its eighth straight win, 70-48 against SMU. Marcus Sasser scored 19 points for the Cougars, who shot just 34% but held the Mustangs to 32% from the field. Justin Gorham had nine points and 17 rebounds in helping the Cougars earn their 20th consecutive home win.
NHL
Kevin Hayes scored 4:22 into overtime to allow the Flyers to beat the Islanders for the second straight night, 4-3. Joel Farabee had a hat trick to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead, but third-period goals from Josh Bailey and Mat Barzal tied it before New York fell to 0-3-2 in its last five games.
Michael McLeod and Miles Wood each scored twice to lead the Devils over the Sabres, 5-3. McLeod put the Devils ahead for good with his second goal at 10:40 of the third period.
In other Sunday NHL action:
The Florida Panthers remain one of the more pleasant surprises from the early part of the NHL season. The Panthers remain one of two teams without a regulation loss, improving to 5-0-1 with a 3-2 victory over the Red Wings. Patric Hornqvist, Aaron Ekblad and Carter Verhaeghe scored to back Chris Driedger, who finished with 32 saves.
Brayden Schenn scored twice and Ville Husso got his first NHL win as the Blues downed the Ducks, 4-1. Schenn is one of the league's hottest players with six goals and 10 points in his last seven games.
Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves and the short-handed Blackhawks jumped on two costly mistakes by Elvis Merzlikins in the third period to beat the Blue Jackets, 3-1. Patrick Kane and Philipp Kurashev each had a goal and an assist in Chicago's first win in four games.
Nino Niederreiter provided the tying goal with 2:35 left in regulation before Vinvent Trocheck netted the deciding shootout tally in the Hurricanes' 4-3 win over the Stars. Jordan Staal and Brock McGinn also scored as Carolina beat Dallas for the second consecutive day.
Jonas Brodin scored 18 seconds into overtime to give the Wild a 4-3 victory over the Avalanche. Victor Rask scored his second goal of the game for Minnesota to tie it with 7:26 left in regulation.
The Oilers were 8-5 winners over the Senators behind Connor McDavid's goal and four assists. Leon Draisaitl had six assists to fall one shy of the NHL's all-time record shared by Billy Taylor Sr. and Wayne Gretzky.
In NHL news, the slumping New York Rangers have placed defenseman Tony DeAngelo on waivers, one day after he struggled in a 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. DeAngelo was on ice for four of the Penguins' goals in that defeat. He also was benched by coach David Quinn earlier this season for a third-period unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and complaining loudly to the referees after drawing a holding penalty.
MLB
Major League Baseball has proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and pushing back opening day to April 28. That's according to two people familiar with the plan who tell The Associated Press the regular season would be cut from 162 games to 154. The playoffs would be expanded from 10 teams to 14 and the designated hitter would extend to the National League for the second straight season. In addition, MLB would keep the experimental rules for seven-inning doubleheaders and beginning extra innings with a runner on second base.
In other MLB news:
Starting Monday, 500 vaccinations per day will be administered at Fenway Park with the goal of reaching as many as 1,250 per day to residents eligible under Massachusetts’ vaccination plan. The site is expected to stay open through the start of baseball season in early April. Appointments are open for those people eligible under Phase 1 of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan, as well as people 75 and older, who will start getting shots on Monday as the rollout moves into Phase 2. Health care workers started receiving the vaccine at Fenway this week. The state’s first mass vaccination site, Gillette Stadium, opened this month.
The Twins have finalized a one-year, $10.5 million contract with shortstop Andrelton Simmons, enhancing their infield defense as they seek a third straight AL Central division title. The four-time Gold Glove award winner will allow Jorge Polanco to move to second base and form a strong tandem on the left side with third baseman Josh Donaldson.
GOLF
Patrick Reed pulled away for a five-shot victory in the Farmers Insurance Open. Reed closed with a 4-under 68 at Torrey Pines, making an eagle on the par-5 sixth and finishing off his ninth PGA Tour title with a birdie on the 18th. The former Masters champions finished at 14 under after a consistent four days at the blufftop municipal courses overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Ryan Palmer, Henrik Norlander and Viktor Hovland tied for second.
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