The Celtics picked up their third straight win as Kemba Walker delivered 25 points and six assists in a 117-112 decision over the Clippers. Jaylen Brown finished with 18 points. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard each added 14 for Boston. Los Angeles played without Kawhi Leonard and lost for the fifth time in eight games.
In other NBA action:
The Knicks' three-game winning streak is over after Trey Lyles scored a season-high 18 points, Dejounte Murray added 17 in the Spurs' 119-83 blowout victory. San Antonio had eight players score at least eight points, with Patty Mills and Luka Samanic each adding 14 points in the Spurs' seventh straight home victory over New York.
The Grizzlies posted a 125-111 win over the Wizards behind Ja Morant's 35 points and 10 assists. De'Anthony Melton and Dillon Brooks each added 20 points and helped Memphis record its first road winning streak since January.
Nothing seems to be stopping the Phoenix Suns these days, not even the loss of their top player. The Suns were able to pull out a 114-104 win over the Lakers despite the ejection of Devin Booker. The All-Star scored 17 points before being thrown out for arguing midway through the third quarter. Dario Saric picked up the offense slack and scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter to help Phoenix secure its 15th victory in 18 games. LeBron James scored 38 points for Los Angeles, which has lost five of seven with mounting injury problems.
Trae Young scored 13 straight Atlanta points in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 in a 94-80 stifling of the Heat. John Collins scored 17 for Atlanta, which lost at Miami on Sunday and fired coach Lloyd Pierce on Monday before ending the Heat's six-game winning streak.
Nikola Jokic recorded his ninth triple-double of the season and 50th of his career while the Nuggets were clobbering the Bucks, 128-97. Jokic furnished 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as Denver stopped Milwaukee's five-game winning streak.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Third-ranked Baylor clinched its first Big 12 regular-season title, but No. 2 Michigan was unable to wrap up the Big Ten crown. Jared Butler scored 25 points and the Bears bounced back from their only loss of the season by outlasting No. 6 West Virginia, 94-89 in overtime. Davion Mitchell furnished four of his 20 points in OT, including the go-ahead basket. Matthew Mayer had a season-high 18 points as Baylor rebounded following Saturday's 71-58 loss at Kansas. Taz Sherman came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points for the Mountaineers.
Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Illinois made its case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament by crushing the Wolverines, 76-53. Andre Curbelo provided 11 of his 17 points in the first half to help the Illini build a 33-22 halftime lead. Illinois outscored Michigan 22-5 in second-chance points and held the Wolverines to 35% shooting from the field. Trent Frazier led Illinois with 22 points, and Kofi Cockburn added 12. Eli Brooks was the lone Michigan player to score in double figures, finishing with 11.
Jaden Shackelford scored 23 points, made five 3-pointers and helped No. 5 Alabama quash a second-half threat in a 70-58 victory over rival Auburn. The Crimson Tide went on a 10-0 run after the Tigers pulled within five late.
Moses Moody nailed four 3-pointers and tied his career high with 28 points in 12th-ranked Arkansas' 10th straight SEC win, 101-73 over South Carolina. The Razorbacks hit 15 3-pointers to continue their longest league win streak since the 1994 national champions won their last 10 SEC regular-season games.
Kai Jones came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points and 15th-ranked Texas pulled away from Iowa State early in an 81-67 win. Courtney Ramey added 14 points for the Longhorns, who scored the first eight points and broke things open with a 17-0 run that put them up 28-13.
No. 18 Texas Tech rolled to a 68-49 win against TCU as Kyler Edwards contributed 17 of his 20 points by halftime. Edwards started a 7-0 finishing run in the first half with a layup and capped it with a 3-pointer for a 36-22 lead.
Freshman Zach Edey scored a career-high 21 points and Jaden Ivey added 18 as 23rd-rated Purdue earned a 73-69 victory over No. 25 Wisconsin. The Boilermakers have won four straight and five of their last six.
NHL
The New York Islanders own a piece of first place in the NHL's East Division after improving to 9-2-2 since last month. Third-period goals from rookie Oliver Wahlstrom and Anders Lee carried the Isles past the Devils, 2-1. Wahlstrom has three goals and three assists during a five-game point streak. Semyon Varlamov was 14 seconds away from his fourth shutout of the season until Miles Wood beat him. Varlamov made 27 saves and was at his best while the Devils outshot New York, 16-5 in the second period.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
The Rangers earned a 3-2 win over the Sabres as Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist to support Igor Shesterkin 22 saves. Chris Kreider and rookie Alexis Lafreniere also scored in New York's fourth victory in six games.
The Penguins won for the seventh time in 10 games as Kasperi Kapanen scored twice in a 5-2 verdict over the Flyers. Bryan Rust scored his seventh, and Cody Ceci and Mike Matheson added goals for Pittsburgh.
Carey Price turned back 26 shots and the Canadiens rookie coach Dominique Ducharme his first NHL victory by topping the Senators, 3-1. Jeff Petry and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and an assist as Montreal ended a five-game losing streak.
Andrei Vasilevskiy blanked the Stars for the second straight game and ran his scoreless streak to a career-best 200 minutes in the Lightning's 2-0 victory. Ondrej Palat's power-play goal in the first period represented the only scoring until Yanni Gourde added an empty-netter in Tampa Bay's fifth win in a row.
Sebastian Aho's two goals were the difference in the Hurricanes' 4-2 win at Nashville. Vincent Trocheck and Steven Lorentz also scored and James Reimer made 35 saves as Carolina won its third straight since dropping three in a row to Tampa Bay.
Joonas Korpisalo turned back 19 shots and the Blue Jackets ended a five-game skid by scoring three times in the second period of a 4-1 decision over the Red Wings. Cam Atkinson had a short-handed goal and an assist for Columbus, which also received goals from Riley Nash, Jack Roslovic and Boone Jenner.
The Jets skated to a 5-2 win over the Canucks as Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler each had a goal and two assists. Mason Appleton, Mathieu Perreault and Paul Stastny also scored and Mark Scheifele collected three assists to help Winnipeg avenge Monday's 4-0 loss to Vancouver.
In NHL news:
Penguins center Sidney Crosby has been placed on the COVID-19 protocol list, which also prevented Pittsburgh from going through its morning skate on Tuesday. Crosby leads the team with 18 points and is tied for the club lead with seven goals. Crosby, Nashville center Ryan Johansen and San Jose forward Tomas Hertl are the only other players currently on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. Johansen was added to the list on Tuesday, and Hertl is entering his seventh day in the protocol.
The Predators have placed defenseman Ryan Ellis and forward Luke Kunin on injured reserve. Ellis is out six weeks with an upper-body injury and Kunin is expected to miss two to four weeks with a lower-body issue.
Oilers forward Alex Chiasson has been suspended for one game without pay for cross-checking Maple Leafs forward Jimmy Vesey at the end of Monday's game. That will leave Chiasson unavailable for Wednesday's rematch with Toronto.
NFL
An attorney for the family of a 5-year-old girl critically injured in a crash involving former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid says the girl suffered a devastating brain injury that has left her unable to speak or walk. Attorney Tom Porto said Tuesday in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" that the family of Ariel Young wants to see "the most serious charges and the most serious sentence that Britt could ever receive." The girl has been hospitalized since the Feb. 4 crash in which Reid's truck slammed into two cars on the side of the road. Police have said Reid told investigators he had "two or three drinks" along with prescribed Adderall before the crash. No charges have been filed.
In other NFL news:
Two people familiar with the discussion have confirmed to The Associated Press that the Miami Dolphins told linebacker Kyle Van Noy he will be released. Miami will clear nearly $10 million in cap space by dropping Van Noy, who signed a four-year, $51 million deal as a free agent a year ago. Van Noy battled injuries last season but had six sacks and 69 tackles in 14 games for a defense that ranked sixth in points allowed.
The Jets have released defensive end Henry Anderson, an expected offseason move that will save the team $8.2 million on the salary cap. The 29-year-old Anderson was a key member of the Jets' defensive line after being acquired in a trade from Indianapolis for a seventh-round draft pick in 2018.
MLB
Indians manager Terry Francona said no one in the organization "covered up" for Mickey Callaway. The team's former pitching coach is under investigation by Major League Baseball following allegations of sexual harassment. Callaway was Cleveland's pitching coach from 2013-17 before he was hired to manage the New York Mets. He's currently suspended as the Los Angeles Angels pitching coach, pending the MLB inquiry. The Athletic reported Tuesday that 12 current and former Indians employees have come forward to say the team was aware of Callaway's inappropriate behavior while he was on Francona's staff.
In other MLB news, the Washington Nationals could begin their regular-season home schedule in an empty ballpark. The D.C. government has told the team that it is too soon to say whether spectators will be allowed to attend games at Nationals Park during the pandemic. The director of the city's Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency said the city expects to be able to pass along "some word on ticket sales for fans in the middle of the month."
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