NBA News

Here’s where the Wizards are at this point: losing by 11 to the Boston Celtics feels almost like an achievement. Most of the relative narrowness of that margin was due to Boston bricking open and wide-open threes they normally make, some working out of kinks related to Jayson Tatum’s return to the lineup, and probably a little Boston slacking off, …

Saturday night marked Jayson Tatum’s fourth game back since returning from a ruptured right Achilles tendon. His transition from five-on-five team scrimmages to rejoining the Boston Celtics’ starting lineup was swift, and coach Joe Mazzulla hopes that doesn’t get taken for granted. Coming back from a nearly 10-month recovery isn’t something that produces immediate results like those Tatum provided before …

March Madness will be officially underway in just a few hours when the full 68-team NCAA Tournament bracket is released. There are a handful of teams that are considered “locks” for the 68-team field that will get underway on Tuesday, March 17 with the first set of First Four games in Dayton. There are also a handful of teams that …

It’s a proverbial Christmas Day for fans of college basketball. The presents aren’t opened in the morning. They’re opened in the evening of Selection Sunday with the reveal of the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket of the 68-team field for March Madness. So who will be the top seeds and who will see their bubble burst. The final version of the USA …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Bobby McMann had two goals and an assist in his Kraken debut and Seattle beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Saturday night to end a four-game losing streak and move within a point of the final wild card in the West. McMann went from Toronto to Seattle at the trade deadline, but was delayed because …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pavel Dorofeyev recorded two goals and an assist for the second straight game and Adin Hill had his first shutout in a year as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Saturday night. The victory put the Golden Knights back into first place in the Pacific Division with 76 points, one ahead of …

MIAMI (AP) — Wilyer Abreu hit a go-ahead, three-run homer after Maikel Garcia sparked the comeback with a two-run shot, and Venezuela beat Shohei Ohtani and defending champion Japan 8-5 in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night to advance to the semifinals. Venezuela reached its first WBC semis since 2009 and clinched a spot in the six-nation field for …

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Ereauna Hardaway and Cheyenne Rowe each scored 13 points and UTSA held Rice to a season-low score beating the Owls 54-40 on Saturday in the American Conference title game on Saturday. Idara Udo added 11 points for No. 6 seed UTSA (18-15) which clinched its first championship — and NCAA Tournament berth —since joining the American. …

The Los Angeles Lakers stormed to a 127-125 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, sealing the deal with some Luka Dončić magic. With six seconds remaining in overtime, Dončić sunk a difficult game-winning fadeaway from the corner, beating the clock and securing the win. After taking a lead in the first half, Los Angeles fell behind after a …

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Jaden Harris and Amir Taylor combined to score 35 points and No. 6 seed Kennesaw State defeated No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech to win their first Conference USA championship and clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Harris posted 18 on 4 of 6 from behind the arc. Taylor had 17, going 9 for 11 from …

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Quinn scored the tying goal and also connected in a shootout, Alex Tuch ended the tiebreaker and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Saturday night to rebound from their first loss since the Olympic break. Buffalo was coming off a 2-1 home loss to Washington on Thursday night that ended an …

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov each had a goal and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Saturday night. Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour coached his 600th career game for the franchise and picked up his 367th career win, the most for a head coach at the 600-game mark, besting Tampa …

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Igor Shesterkin made 46 saves and Vladislav Gavrikov had a goal and two assists as the New York Rangers extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Noah Laba, Jaroslav Chmelar and Vincent Trocheck also scored for New York, which won for the fifth time …

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hany Mukhtar scored four minutes into second-half stoppage time and Brian Schwake earned his second clean sheet in his fourth MLS start as Nashville SC beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night. Mukhtar subbed in to begin the second half for Nashville (3-0-1) before scoring for the second time this season. It was his 84th …

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points to lead No. 1 seed Utah State past No. 2 seed San Diego State 73-62 on Saturday to win the Mountain West Championship. Collins was 8-of-15 shooting and 4 of 10 behind the arc with three steals for the Aggies (28-6). Mason Falslev, who was named Mountain West Player of …

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Fadima Tall scored 20 points and Olivia Hutcherson sparked a late surge to help No. 23 Princeton beat Harvard 63-53 on Saturday to win the Ivy League Tournament. Top-seeded Princeton (26-3) avenged last season’s tournament semifinal loss Harvard. The Crimson beat Columbia 74-71 in last season’s title game. Advertisement The Tigers have won six of the …

NEW KENT, Va. (AP) — Incredibolt won the $500,000 Virginia Derby by four lengths on Saturday at Colonial Downs, earning qualifying points that left him tied atop the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. Ridden by Jaime Torres, Incredibolt ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.76. He paid $14.40, $7.40, and $5.60. Advertisement The 50 points for winning tied Incredibolt with Paladin for first …

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Rebecca Leslie scored 2:59 into overtime to lead the Ottawa Charge to a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Goldeneyes on Saturday. Leslie’s snipe to win the game was her 11th of the season, tied for first in the PWHL. Advertisement The Charge moved past New York and into fourth place in the standings, with the …

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Tarik Skubal struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings for the Detroit Tigers in a 6-1 spring training game win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday rather than make a second start for the United States at the World Baseball Classic. Winner of the last two AL Cy Young Awards, Skubal and the Tigers agreed …

ATLANTA (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Jalen Johnson had his 12th triple-double of the season and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 122-99 on Saturday for their ninth straight victory. Johnson finished with 23 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds as Atlanta extended the longest current winning streak in the NBA. McCollum made seven 3-pointers and moved …

Yet another No. 1 seed in a men’s college basketball conference tournament has fallen. And the loss came about as dramatically as possible. Dayton, the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic 10 tournament, continued its push for an unlikely NCAA Tournament berth with a 70-69 upset of Saint Louis, the league’s regular-season champion, on Saturday, March 14 in the tournament …

The playoffs are just a month away for the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s exciting, but also daunting for a team that is still trying to figure out how they want to play. The additions of James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis have bolstered the team. Each has brought something necessary to the group that should help them in the playoffs. …

PHILADELHPIA (AP) — Quentin Grimes scored a season-high 28 points and the Philadelphia 76ers held on for a 104-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Grimes had eight rebounds for the short-handed 76ers, who were missing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr., among other players. Justin Edwards scored 19 points while adding three steals. Advertisement Danny Wolf …

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Zaria Hurston scored 13 points, Olivia Delancey tallied 12, and Southern took down Alabama State 73-56 on Saturday to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship and punch their ticket to March Madness. The win clinches the second-straight SWAC title and eighth overall for the No. 4-seeded Lady Jaguars (19-13). Advertisement D’Shantae Edwards scored 11, and …

ATLANTA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t available for the Milwaukee Bucks’ matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, marking the 31st game the two-time MVP has missed this season. Although Milwaukee’s injury report initially had listed Antetokounmpo as questionable due to injury management of his right calf, the team later ruled him out because of a left ankle sprain. Advertisement …