NBA-SCHEDULE
— Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his fourth triple-double of the season as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Washington 112-98 to hand the Wizards their sixth straight loss. The Wizards were playing without star guard Bradley Beal due to a sprained left wrist.
— Devin Booker scored 35 points, Mikal Bridges added a season-high 27 and the NBA-leading Phoenix Suns extended their winning streak to 11 games by beating the Brooklyn Nets 121-111 on Tuesday night. The Suns continued their best start to a season in franchise history and have two double-digit winning streaks this season. They won 18 games in a row from Oct. 30 to Dec. 2. Bridges scored a season high for a second straight game. The lanky 6-foot-6 forward had 26 points against the Spurs on Sunday and was arguably even better against the Nets. Kyrie Irving led Brooklyn with 26 points.
— Jarred Vanderbilt had 18 points against his former team, and Taurean Prince scored 23 as the Minnesota Timberwolves bench led the way in a 130-115 win against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, but the Timberwolves’ reserves outscored Denver’s bench 68-49. Minnesota went on a 25-7 run while Nikola Jokic was on the bench. Jokic finished with 21 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists but sat the entire fourth quarter. Denver had its five-game winning streak snapped.
— Jordan Poole had 31 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17.9 seconds remaining, and the short-handed Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-120 for their seventh straight victory. Golden State rallied from a 17-point deficit despite being without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins on the second night of a back-to-back. Damion Lee had 21 points for the Warriors and Moses Moody added 20. Dejounte Murray led San Antonio with 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Murray had a pair of baskets in the final minute, including a 15-footer that gave the Spurs a 120-119 lead with 40 seconds remaining.
— DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 29 points, and Zach LaVine added 24, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic 126-115. The Bulls survived a frantic rally by the Magic midway through the fourth quarter. Wendell Carter Jr. scored 24 points to lead the Magic. The Bulls were up 113-103 with 7:38 left and failed to score a field goal in the next four minutes. The Magic tied the game, but LaVine’s baseline shot with 3:35 left snapped the Bulls’ drought and enabled them to regain a 117-115 lead. Ayo Dosunmu made two shots to highlight an 11-0 run to finish the game.
— Gary Trent Jr. scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam had 16 points and 14 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors won their third straight game Tuesday, beating the Miami Heat 110-106. Trent matched DeMar DeRozan’s franchise record and extended his personal career best by reaching 30 points for the fifth consecutive game. Bam Adebayo had 32 points and 11 rebounds, Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 12 assists, and Tyler Herro scored 18 for the Heat, who lost their third straight.
— Brandon Ingram scored 26 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 13 points and 13 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 15-point deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 111-101. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 14 of New Orleans’ 54 bench points, as the Pelicans ended a four-game losing streak. Detroit’s Jerami Grant had 17 points in his return after missing 24 games with a thumb injury. Piston’s Cade Cunningham is sidelined by a hip pointer.
— Dallas Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway has undergone surgery for the broken bone in his left foot. The Mavericks says Hardaway will begin rehabilitation immediately, but there is no timetable for his return to the lineup. The 29-year-old Hardaway broke his fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot in a game at Golden State. That is the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe. He is in the first year of a four-year, $75 million contract and is averaging 14.2 points per game.
T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
— Ryan Hawkins scored 23 points and Creighton upset No. 17 UConn 59-55. Hawkins hit eight of his 12 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range for the Bluejays, who moved over .500 in conference play and snapped a two-game losing streak. Isaiah Whaley had a career-high 20-points for UConn, which had won five in a row and was looking for its first six-game win streak since the NCAA Tournament run in 2014 that brought the Huskies their fourth national title.
— Kevin Obanor had 17 points with five 3-pointers and 14th-ranked Texas Tech beat No. 23 Texas 77-64 in Chris Beard’s return. It was emotionally charged arena packed with fans who used to love the coach who took the Red Raiders to the national championship game only three years ago. But when Beard left 10 months ago to become coach at his alma mater, and their most-hated rival, those fans immediately started pointing to this chance to let him hear how they felt. It was raucous throughout the victory that kept Tech undefeated at home.
— Wendell Green Jr. scored a season-high 23 points off the bench as No. 1 Auburn cruised past rival Alabama with a 100-81 home win. Green led the Tigers in scoring while also recording eight rebounds and six assists with only one turnover. Jabari Smith added 17 points as Auburn (21-1, 9-0 Southeastern Conference) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 18. After foul trouble limited him to only 12 minutes in Auburn’s first meeting with Alabama last month, Walker Kessler made his presence felt in the rematch with 14 points, 12 rebounds, eight blocks and four steals. Jaden Shackelford led Alabama (14-8, 4-5) with 26 points and shot 5-for-10 from 3-point range. Jahvon Quinerly added 20 points.
— Daeshun Ruffin scored 19 points before sitting out the final 12 minutes with a right leg injury, and Mississippi held of No. 25 LSU 76-72. It is the Tigers’ fifth loss in six games. Luis Rodriguez scored 15 for Ole Miss, which saw its 24-point, first-half lead trimmed to two in the final minutes. Darius Days made five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for LSU. Jaemyn Brakefield had a breakaway layup with 10 seconds left to score the Rebels’ only field goal in the last 9:50 of the game.
— Jared Bynum scored 19 points and Al Durham made eight straight free throws in the final 27 seconds as No. 15 Providence held off St. John’s 86-82 for its sixth straight victory. Nate Watson scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half for the surprising Friars, who hold sole possession of first place in the Big East. They have their highest ranking in six years and are 19-2 for the first time since the 1972-73 season, when they went to their first Final Four. Providence was 27 for 33 at the foul line, while St. John’s went 4 of 11. Posh Alexander had 29 points and 12 assists for the scuffling Red Storm, both career highs for the sophomore guard.
— David McCormack scored 14 points, Jalen Wilson had 13 rebounds, and No. 10 Kansas defeated No. 20 Iowa State 70-61. McCormick made all seven of his shots and had 13 rebounds for the Jayhawks. Kansas was without Ochai Agbaji because of COVID-19 protocols. Wilson scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Izaiah Brockington led Iowa State with 24 points.
— Malik Hall made a driving layup with 1.9 seconds left, and No. 13 Michigan State survived a second-half rally by Maryland to beat the Terrapins 65-63. Hall led the Spartans with 16 points, and Joey Hauser and Marcus Bingham Jr. had 10 apiece. Eric Ayala scored 15 points and Donta Scott had 14 for Maryland, which rallied from a 15-point second half deficit to tie the score twice within the final three minutes.
— Kennedy Chandler scored 16 points, Olivier Nkamhoua added 15 and No. 22 Tennessee beat Texas A&M 90-80. The Volunteers led by as many as 13 points in the first half. However, the Aggies cut the lead to one point with 8:49 left in the game. That’s when Nkamhoua hit a short jumper and John Fulkerson had a tip-in basket.
— The University of Connecticut says it has complied with a recent arbitration ruling and has paid former men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie more than $11.1 million. The payment was ordered last month and represents what Ollie would have been due under the remainder of his contract had the school not chosen to fire him in March 2018. The school says it disagrees with the ruling but believes it is in the best interest of the program to move forward.
NHL-SCHEDULE
— Chris Kreider had two power-play goals and an assist and the New York Rangers beat the league-leading Florida Panthers 5-2. Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists, Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist, and Alexis Lafrenière also scored for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots to help give coach Gerard Gallant his 300th career victory. New York heads into the All-Star break with four wins in its last six overall, and seven of eight at home. Anthony Duclair and Sam Reinhart scored for Florida, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists. Spencer Knight had 30 saves for the Panthers, who have 69 points and are assured of having the best record in Eastern Conference at the break.
— Mark Stone, Jonathan Marchessault and Brett Howden each had a goal and an assist, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2. With the win, Vegas moved into sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division with 57 points, two ahead of Anaheim. Reilly Smith and Keegan Kolesar also scored for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner made 30 saves and won for the fourth time in five starts. Alex Tuch and John Hayden scored for the Sabres. Craig Anderson, who stopped 29 shots, remains one win shy of the 297th of his career, which would pass Ron Hextall for 40th all-time in NHL history.
— Oliver Kylington exited the penalty box, joined a rush and scored to cap a three-goal rally in the third period as the Calgary Flames defeated the Dallas Stars 4-3. Andrew Mangiapane and Johnny Gaudreau also scored third-period goals, and Elias Lindholm assisted on the tying and winning goals. Trevor Lewis also scored for Calgary. Flames goale Dan Vladar faced just five shots after replacing Jacob Markstrom to begin the third period. Markstrom stopped 20 of 23 shots in the first two periods. Joel Hanley, Jason Robertson and Jamie Benn scored for Dallas. Jake Oettinger made 37 saves.
— Alex Galchenyuk was the only scorer in the shootout and the Arizona Coyotes rallied to beat Colorado 3-2, snapping the Avalanche’s 18-game home winning streak. Galchenyuk had a second-period goal and Lawson Crouse also scored for the Coyotes. Scott Wedgewood stopped 38 shots in regulation and overtime. He made a game-sealing save on Nazem Kadri on Colorado’s last shootout try. The Avalanche had won 10 in a row since an overtime loss in Nashville on Jan. 11. Two of those wins came against Arizona, including a shootout win in Denver to start the 10-game winning streak. Darcy Kuemper had 22 saves and Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri scored for the Avalanche, who lost their first home game since Nov. 3 against Columbus.
— Mitchell Marner had two goals and an assist and Jack Campbell had 31 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New Jersey Devils 7-1. Jason Spezza, Auston Matthews, David Kampf, Michael Bunting and Pierre Engvall also scored for Toronto. Jack Hughes had the Devils’ lone goal. Backup Jon Gillies was in net for the Devils and made 22 saves before being pulled to start the third period. Going into the All-Star break, the Devils have lost six in a row and nine of their last 10 games. The Leafs have won five in a row.
— Victor Hedman scored from the left circle with 2:15 left in overtime, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2. Hedman’s goal came 39 seconds after Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh was called for tripping, but the Sharks power play was negated when Timo Meier was sent off for embellishment. Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 19 saves. The Sharks got goals from Rudolfs Balcers and Logan Couture. James Reimer stopped 29 shots.
— Filip Forsberg had two goals, and Juuse Saros made 30 saves in the 100th win of his NHL career, leading the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Johansen and Tanner Jeannot also scored for Nashville, which has won four of its last five games. Matthew Highmore and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for Vancouver, which has lost two of three.
— James van Riemsdyk snapped a tie game when he scored off a rebound with 4:09 left in the game to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. Scott Laughton’s shot off goalie Connor Hellebuyck bounded straight to a streaking van Riemsdyk, and he pounded in the puck for his 11th goal of the season. Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom also scored for the Flyers. Kyle Connor scored his 25th goal for the Jets.
— David Pastrnak scored twice, including a tiebreaking power-play goal in the third period, to lift the Boston Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Kraken. Taylor Hall added a goal and an assist as Boston won for the second time in three games to head into the All-Star break. It was the continuation of hot streak for Pastrnak. He now has 14 goals since the start of the new year, including four game-winners.
— Dmitry Orlov scored his second goal of the game in the final minute of overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Orlov scored the winner at 4:17 of OT, beating goaltender Tristan Jarry on the blocker side with a wrist shot. Nic Dowd scored a short-handed goal and Daniel Sprong also scored for the Capitals, who won their second straight. Ilya Samsonov made 43 saves for the Capitals. Samsonov denied Sidney Crosby his 499th career goal with a stop on a breakaway in overtime.
— Oliver Wahlstrom and Mathew Barzal scored in the second period, Ilya Sorokin stopped 26 of 27 shots and the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1. Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech scored for New York, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Despite receiving an 26-save performance from Anton Forsberg, Ottawa has lost two out of its last three, and three of five overall. Nick Holden scored the lone goal for the Senators.
— Filip Forsberg had two goals, and Juuse Saros made 30 saves in the 100th win of his NHL career, leading the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Ryan Johansen and Tanner Jeannot also scored for Nashville, which has won four of its last five games. Matthew Highmore and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves for Vancouver, which has lost two of three.
NFL-NEWS
— Tom Brady has retired after winning seven Super Bowls and setting numerous passing records in an unprecedented 22-year-career. He made the announcement in a long post on Instagram. Brady has long stated his desire to spend more time with his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, and three children despite still playing at the top of his game. The 44-year-old Brady goes out after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title last season and NFC South championship this season.
— The Minnesota Vikings have conducted their second interview with New York Giants coordinator Patrick Graham. They have one more head coach candidate to visit with: Jim Harbaugh. Graham spent Tuesday at team headquarters. Harbaugh has been the head coach at Michigan for the last seven seasons and is scheduled to visit the Vikings today (Wednesday). Graham has also carried the assistant head coach title with the Giants. He finished his second season with the team and his 13th year as an NFL assistant.
— The Denver Broncos are officially on the market. The trust that runs the franchise has announced it is beginning the process of selling the team that late Hall of Fame owner Pat Bowlen purchased in 1984. The franchise is valued at close to $4 billion. Because NFL teams rarely go on the market, the sale is expected to be the most expensive ever for a U.S. sports team and likely to top the $2.35 billion that the Brooklyn Nets sold for in 2019. The Broncos hope to have a new owner in place by September.
— It’s winter in Cincinnati, so the Super Bowl-bound Bengals plan to arrive in Los Angeles five days early to prepare for the Feb. 13 game. The Bengals will land on Feb. 8. They’ll practice at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. After a winter storm hits southern Ohio later this week, highs around the freezing mark are expected next week in Cincinnati, not the best conditions in which to prepare for a game that will be played in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
— Fired Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores has sued the NFL and three of its teams, alleging racist hiring practices by the league have left it racially segregated and managed like a plantation. The Dolphins went 9-8 in their second straight winning season, but failed to make the playoffs during his tenure.
— A person familiar with the situation says that Maurice Drayton won’t be back as the Green Bay Packers’ special teams coordinator next season. The Packers had a punt and a field-goal attempt blocked in a 13-10 NFC divisional playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
— The Jaguars have interviewed former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman for an undisclosed front-office role. He could become an assistant GM under Trent Baalke. The 59-year-old Spielman spent the last 16 years in Minnesota.
— Washington’s NFL team is now known as the Commanders. The new name was unveiled 18 months after the once-storied franchise dropped its old Redskins moniker following decades of criticism that it was offensive to Native Americans and under fresh pressure from sponsors. The organization committed to avoiding Native American imagery in its rebrand after being called the Washington Football Team the past two seasons. Washington joins Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians among North American major professional sports teams abandoning names linked to Native Americans. Washington as the Commanders is keeping the same burgundy and gold colors that were around for the three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s and early ’90s glory days.
MLB-LOCKOUT
— A contentious 90-minute negotiating session between locked out players and Major League Baseball today brought little development Tuesday. A session on noneconomic issues is set for Wednesday and there is no date for the resumption of talks on the core matters, such as luxury tax thresholds. Owners are scheduled to meet from Feb. 8-10 in Orlando, Florida, making it less likely there could be negotiations over those days. In a sign of the lack of progress, the union has started to distribute withheld money to players from its stoppage fund.
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL-OUTREACH PROGRAM
— Minor League Baseball is launching an outreach program focused on the Black community called “The Nine,” which is designed to honor and celebrate the historic impact of Black baseball pioneers and civil rights leaders. The Nine is named in honor of the number Jackie Robinson wore during his only season playing in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Montreal Royals in 1946. The initiative follows Minor League Baseball’s Latino fan-engagement platform introduced in 2017 that included 76 teams last season.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL-USC-CALEB WILLIAMS
— Caleb Williams is transferring to Southern California, following his former coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to the Trojans. Williams started seven games last season for Oklahoma and passed for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Riley left Oklahoma after the regular season to take the job at USC and when Williams entered the transfer portal in January, it was widely speculated the Trojans would be his choice.
OLYMPICS-NEWS
— The three-day torch relay for the Beijing Olympics has started with an 80-year-old former speedskater carrying the flame. The relay has been shortened considerably because of concerns about the coronavirus. Luo Zhihuan ran the first leg. He is the country’s first internationally competitive speedskater. The torch will be carried through the three Olympics zones. It starts with downtown Beijing. The Beijing Games have already been impacted on a scale similar to that experienced by Tokyo during last year’s Summer Olympics. China says only selected spectators will be allowed to attend the events. More than 30 new COVID-19 cases are being detected daily ahead of the Games but organizers say they aren’t worried and expect numbers to drop within days. The 32 new cases confirmed Tuesday included 15 people arriving at the airport in China and 17 among athletes, officials and workers already living inside the Olympic bubbles.
— Equipment manager Petr Sulan stepped into the net for the Czech Republic’s latest pre-Olympic practice because the three goaltenders on the roster have not gotten to Beijing yet. Sulan was the only goalie on the ice with 10 Czech skaters while the team awaited COVID-19 test results. Sulan most recently played in the third-tier Czech league in 2009 before hanging up his pads. The 39-year-old Sulan has worked for the national team the past three years.
— Ski jumper Marita Kramer will miss the Beijing Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.