NFL:
On Sunday, the New England Patriots will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at 3 p.m. to determine who will represent the AFC in the SuperBowl. Later at 6:40 p.m. the Minnesota Vikings will face the Philadelphia Eagles to represent the NFC in the Superbowl.
NBA:
Tyreke Evans had 23 points, including three free throws in the closing seconds, along with 10 assists to lift the Memphis Grizzlies over the New York Knicks 105-99. JaMychal Green added 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Dillon Brooks and Jarell Martin added 17 points each to help Memphis win its second straight. Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 21 points, while Enes Kanter finished with 20.
Joel Embiid scored 26 points and matched a career best with 16 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers won for the sixth time in seven games, 89-80 at Boston. T.J. Connell scored all of his 15 points in the second half to help Philadelphia secure its first win over the Celtics in four tries. The Celts played without Kyrie Irving because of a sore shoulder and lost their second straight since a seven-game winning streak.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 34 points, Patty Mills made seven 3-pointers and the San Antonio Spurs responded to the latest absence of Kawhi Leonard by beating the Brooklyn Nets 100-95. Mills finished with 25 points and combined with Aldridge on the most important play of the game, a three-point play for Aldridge with 53 seconds remaining on a pass from the reserve guard after the Nets had cut a 17-point deficit to three.
The Cleveland Cavaliers squandered a 23-point lead before Isaiah Thomas hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to push Cleveland past Orlando 104-103. Thomas scored 21 points and LeBron James had 16 as the Cavs ended a four-game losing streak. James now needs 25 to become the seventh player in NBA history to reach 30,000.
James Harden struggled in his first game since missing seven straight with a strained left hamstring, but the Rockets still whipped the Timberwolves 116-98. Harden finished with 10 points on 3-for-15 shooting, but he added seven assists, two steals and two blocks in 26 minutes as Houston improved to 31-12. Eric Gordon dropped in 30 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from just beyond midcourt to end the third quarter.
Players get to have a say in NBA All-Star voting as well, and more than half of the league got picked on at least one ballot as a starter. Some of the players who got votes from their peers haven't even played in the NBA this season. Players can vote for themselves, but the ballots are not made public.
NHL:
Pavel Buchnevich scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period to lift the New York Rangers over the Buffalo Sabres 4-3. Rick Nash scored twice for the second straight game and Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves for the Rangers. New York won its second straight after three consecutive losses.
Patrice Bergeron scored three goals to lead Boston to a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders, giving the Bruins at least a point for the 15th consecutive game. Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists as Boston improved to 11-0-4 since its last regulation loss Dec. 14 against Washington. Ryan Spooner had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin stopped 22 shots.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights ended a two-game skid by winning a matchup of the NHL's two conference leaders. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 shots to lead Vegas past the Lightning 4-1 at Tampa. David Perron had a goal and an assist as the Knights won for the 11th time in 14 games.
NFL:
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady missed practice with a right-hand injury a day after being limited by the same issue as New England prepared for its AFC championship game matchup with Jacksonville. Brady was present and wore a glove on the injured hand Thursday during the stretching portion of practice open to reporters. He has never missed a playoff game because of injury in his career.
The New York Jets have fired offensive coordinator John Morton after one season. Morton's offense finished ranked No. 28 overall. Quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates is a candidate to be promoted by head coach Todd Bowles.
NCAA:
Jordan Horn had 15 points and Siena held off Marist for a 68-65 victory. Roman Penn and Khalil Richard added 12 points apiece, and Prince Oduro chipped in 11 for Siena.
Azura Stevens came off the bench to score 22 points and lead top-ranked UConn to a closer-than-expected 78-60 win over Tulsa. Napheesa Collier had 19 points and Kia Nurse added 17 for the Huskies who have never lost in the American Athletic Conference. Shug Dickson had 17 points for Tulsa which falls to 8-11 and 2-4 in the conference.
Vasa Pusica made four 3-pointers and scored 20 points with nine assists and Northeastern shot 71 percent to defeat William & Mary 90-70 to create a three-way tie for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Huskies and the Tribe are tied with Hofstra at 5-2.
Teniya Page made 4 of 5 free throws with a second left and finished with 34 points to lead Penn State to a 70-67 win over No. 25 Rutgers. Down 11 with seven minutes to go, the Scarlet Knights rallied behind Tyler Scaife, taking a 65-64 lead on her 3-point play and going up 67-66 on her jumper on the right baseline with 38.7 seconds left.
J.R. Lynch scored 15 points and made 10 assists and three steals as Hartford defeated Maine 86-68 Thursday night with seven players scoring at least nine points. Jack Hobbs added 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, four of those from 3-point range, Jason Dunne scored 12, John Carroll and George Blagojevic each scored 11 points. Travis Weatherington tossed in 10. Six players in double figures is a season-high for Hartford.
Diandre Wilson buried all five of his 3-point attempts and scored 17 points with four assists to power NJIT to a 91-59 thumping of North Florida. Abdul Lewis, Anthony Tarke and Zach Cooks all scored 10 for the Highlanders (9-10, 2-2 Atlantic Sun Conference).
Kahlil Dukes scored 23 points including a 3-pointer for the lead after a long rally as Niagara came back from 10 points down to defeat Quinnipiac 81-73 and win a fifth straight game. Quinnipiac led 51-41 five minutes into the second half. A Greg King basket kicked off the comeback as Niagara scored the next 14 points _ Dukes scoring from 3 to put the Purple Eagles into the lead for good, 53-51 with 11:09 to go.
Auburn has hired Buffalo athletic director Allen Greene to run its athletic department. Auburn announced the hiring of Greene Thursday to replace the retiring Jay Jacobs. The 40-year-old Greene is one of the youngest athletic directors in Division I. He's active in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and Minority Opportunities Athletics Association.
NCAA President Mark Emmert says the governing body must act on a set of recommendations to clean up college basketball before the start of next season. The comments come as an FBI investigation continues into alleged corruption in college basketball. The focus has been on arrangements made between assistant coaches, shoe companies and financial advisers. He expects to receive the report from an independent commission by April 25. The Board of Governors will then be expected to vote on formal proposals at their August meeting. Those approved would likely take effect before the Nov. 6 season openers.
UFC:
Francis Ngannou is the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight championship. He'll fight Stipe Miocic for the belt in the main event of UFC 220 in Boston. Ngannou is a native of Cameroon and left his family for Paris to chase a boxing career. He was homeless until he found a gym and switched his career path to MMA. He's now considered the most ferocious fighter in UFC.
NWSL:
The Washington Spirit selected midfielder Andi Sullivan out of Stanford with the first pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft. The day also featured a stunning three-team trade. A person familiar with the deal said Sky Blue FC acquired Carli Lloyd in a trade that sent fellow U.S. national team teammate Christen Press to the Houston Dash and Australian Sam Kerr to the Chicago Red Stars.
MLB:
A person familiar with the decision tells The Associated Press the players' association has rejected Major League Baseball's proposal to institute 20-second pitch clocks and limits on mound visits, a move that dares management to unilaterally impose the changes designed to speed pace of games.
Olympic Doctor:
Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar will be sentenced Monday or Tuesday, according to Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. Nassar faces a minimum sentence of 25 to 40 years in prison after admitting to sexually molesting girls who sought treatment for hip and back injuries. Aquilina has listened to more than 60 victims this week, but there are more to come tomorrow.
PGA:
Jon Rahm is the first-round leader at the PGA's CareerBuilder Challenge. Rahm had eight birdies and an eagle on a 10-under 62 that puts him one stroke ahead of Jason Kokrak, Andrew Landry and Austin Cook.
Tennis:
Australian Open officials are monitoring rising temperatures as the tournament continues its third round of singles action. Officials were criticized on Thursday when play continued after the temperature reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and that number is expected to grow during Day 5 action. The tournament has an Extreme Heat Policy which goes into effect when the air temperature exceeds 104 degrees Fahrenheit and the wet-bulb reading is more than 91 degrees. When both occur, matches on outside courts are supposed to be suspended and the roofs closed on all three main stadiums. The heat didn't stop fourth seed Elina Svitolina from winning her third-round match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. She beat 15-year-old Marta Kostyuk, who entered the tournament ranked No. 521.
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