NBA:
The surging Cleveland Cavaliers now own a better record than the defending NBA champions.
The Cavaliers won for the eighth time in nine games as they hit 19 3-pointers in a 115-99 downing of the Bucks.
Cleveland hit seven treys in the second quarter to take a 65-57 lead at halftime.
Kevin Love scored 25 points and Cedi Osman added 23 for the Cavs, who opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points after missing a game with knee soreness. He also had seven of Milwaukee’s 19 turnovers that led to 31 points for Cleveland.
Bobby Portis finished with 22 points and Khris Middleton 21 in Milwaukee’s fourth straight road loss.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
Phoenix is a league-best 38-9 after Devin Booker and Chris Paul pushed the Suns past the Jazz, 105-97. Booker had 43 points and career-high 12 rebounds and Paul scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Suns’ eighth win in a row. Jordan Clarkson scored 16 of his team-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to keep it interesting while the Jazz played without Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
DeMar DeRozan delivered 29 points and Zach LaVine added 23 in the Bulls’ 111-105 win against the Raptors. Nikola Vucevic notched his fifth straight double-double to help Chicago win consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 7, finishing with 17 points and 15 boards. Chicago opened the game on a 14-2 run and didn’t miss a field goal attempt through the first six minutes.
The Nuggets picked up their third straight win as Nikola Jokic provided 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a 124-118 decision over the Nets. Austin Rivers added 25 points off the bench, Will Barton had 21 points and 10 rebounds and DeMarcus Cousins chipped in 13 points off the bench for Denver. Rookie Cam Thomas scored 25 points and Patty Mills added 21 for Brooklyn, which played without James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Ja Morant matched a season high with 41 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. nailed a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left to put the Grizzlies ahead to stay in a 118-110 win at San Antonio. Jackson finished with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Grizzlies’ fourth straight victory over the Spurs. Dejounte Murray tied a Spurs record with his 14th career triple-double, furnishing 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to match David Robinson’s team mark.
The Hornets broke the franchise’s single-game scoring record and notched the highest point total in the league this season in their 158-126 rout of the Pacers. Kelly Oubre Jr. set career highs with 10 3-pointers and 39 points. LaMelo Ball had his fourth triple double of the season: 29 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Heat whipped the Knicks, 110-96 as Duncan Robinson scored 25 points while shooting 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Jimmy Butler added 22 points, Tyler Herro scored 21 and P.J. Tucker had 20 to help the Eastern Conference leaders win for the eighth time in 10 games. Miami never trailed and maintained a double-digit advantage after outscoring New York 30-16 in the first quarter.
Luka Doncic notched his sixth triple-double of the season in the Mavericks’ wire-to-wire win over the Trail Blazers, 132-112. Doncic had 15 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in his club-record 42nd career triple-double. Kristaps Porzingis had a team-high 22 points and Jalen Brunson added 20 in the rout.
Luke Kennard scored 17 points and the Clippers pulled off another comeback in defeating the Magic, 111-102. The Clippers were down by 14, one night after tying the NBA’s second-largest comeback in history by erasing a 35-point deficit in a win at Washington. Amir Coffey had 15 points and Nicolas Batum hit four of the Clippers’ 15 3-pointers.
The Hawks earned their fifth straight win as Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points in his return from a knee injury, helping them earn a 121-104 win over the Magic. Atlanta’s bench outscored Orlando’s subs, 70-24, with Onyeka Okongwu also scoring 18 as a reserve. Trae Young scored 17 points with 10 assists, but he and other starters were on the bench most of the second quarter when the Hawks outscored the Kings 46-17.
NBA:
Sacramento Kings guard Terence Davis will be out indefinitely after injuring his right wrist in Tuesday’s loss to the Boston Celtics.
Davis is averaging 10.4 points this season, but that number had been on the rise. He scored a career-high 35 points on Jan. 19 against Detroit and 22 points the following game against Milwaukee.
Checking out other NBA news:
Mavericks forward-center Kristaps Porzingis has been fined $15,000 for kicking a ball into the stands during Tuesday’s blowing loss at Golden State. Porzingis received a technical foul and was ejected for his actions that occurred with 8:21 remaining.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
Providence won a matchup of top-25 teams.
Jared Bynum’s 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining lifted the 17th-ranked Friars to a 65-62 victory over No. 21 Xavier.
Al Durham led the Friars with 22 points, helping them improve to 17-2 for the first time since the 1976-77 season.
Paul Scruggs led Xavier with 16 points, including a 3-pointer to give the Musketeers a 62-60 lead with 56 seconds left. But he missed a go-ahead floater to help set up Bynum’s game-winner.
Also on the top-25 schedule:
Santiago Vescovi scored 23 points and No. 18 Tennessee rallied from a 12 down to beat Florida, 78-71. Kennedy Chandler added 17 points and Vescovi connected on 5 of 8 3-pointers.
No. 19 LSU outscored Texas A&M 13-2 in the last 3:34 to beat the Aggies, 70-64. Brandon Murray capped a 21-point performance with a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute, helping the Tigers end a three-game slide.
Freshman Justin Lewis scored a season-high 33 points to go along with nine rebounds and six assists in sending 22nd-rated Marquette past Seton Hall, 73-63.
Izaiah Brockington provided 26 points to help No. 23 Iowa State beat Oklahoma State, 84-81.
Vince Williams scored 16 points and Mikeal Brown-Jones had a huge block with two seconds left in VCU’s 70-68 win over No. 25 Davidson, ending the Wildcats’ 15-game winning streak.
UAlbany squeaked by UMass Lowell, 64-62, Vermont defeated Stony Brook, 80-67, Hartford bested Binghamton, 72-60 and UMass held off La Salle, 77-71. On the women’s side, UAlbany bested UMass Lowell, 56-44, Hartford held off Binghamton, 59-57, Rhode Island topped UMass, 60-46, and Stony Brook defeated Vermont, 71-63.
Louisville has parted ways with men’s basketball coach Chris Mack and announced that assistant Mike Pegues will run the team the rest of the season.
The mutual agreement was announced Wednesday following a special joint meeting of the school’s Board of Trustees and the University of Louisville Athletic Association board.
Mack spent three-plus seasons with the Cardinals and failed to get the team to the NCAA tournament after their 2019 appearance. Louisville is 6-8 since Mack completed a six-game suspension for failing to follow university guidelines in his handling of an extortion attempt by fired Cardinals assistant coach Dino Gaudio last spring.
Louisville’s 11-9 record this season includes a 5-1 mark while Pegues was running the team during Mack’s suspension.
NFL:
Ryan Poles has been hired as the Chicago Bears’ general manager. The move comes almost 15 years after the former offensive tackle signed with the team as an undrafted free agent and then failed to make the final roster.
Poles has spent the previous 13 seasons in the Chiefs’ front office. He was the team’s director of college scouting in 2017 when Kansas City drafted Patrick Mahomes with the No. 10 overall pick after Chicago took Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
A person with knowledge of the process says the Vikings have hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their general manager. The team is taking an innovative turn by bringing in an analytics expert from Cleveland’s front office who once worked on Wall Street. The 40-year-old Adofo-Mensah was vice president of football operations for the Browns for the last two years.
Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks has announced his retirement after 10 NFL seasons in the NFL. The 32-year-old Brooks was a three-time Pro Bowl pick and became one of the NFL’s best guards after the Eagles signed him in free agency in 2016.
Anthony Levine has announced his retirement after a decade with the Ravens. The team says Levine will transition into a scouting and coaching role for the Ravens in 2022. Levine played defensive back and linebacker and was a significant contributor on special teams.
Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs has pleaded guilty to a reduced traffic charge stemming from his arrest early this month on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Hobbs was arrested before dawn Jan. 3 after he was found asleep inside a vehicle stopped on an exit ramp of a Las Vegas Strip casino parking garage. Hobbs faces a separate reckless driving charge after he was ticketed on Jan. 16 on a Las Vegas-area freeway.
NHL:
The Washington Capitals hadn’t dropped back-to-back games in regulation this season until Wednesday.
James Reimer stopped 32 shots and the San Jose Sharks ended a two-game skid by defeating the Capitals, 4-1.
Reimer stopped Alex Ovechkin eight times and was San Jose’s best penalty killer when Washington came up empty on four power plays.
Jonathan Dahlen made it 3-1 with 3:09 remaining, his second goal in 22 games. Nicolas Meloche netted his first NHL goal to help San Jose get its four-game road trip off to a good start.
Washington has lost eight of its last 11 games.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
Cale Makar’s power-play goal in overtime capped a comeback by the Avalanche in their team-record 18th consecutive home win, 4-3 over the Bruins. Boston took a two-goal lead in the second period and still led until Gabriel Landeskog tied it with 37 seconds left in regulation. Samuel Girard sparked the rally by scoring midway through the third period.
The Maple Leafs collected three power-play goals before Auston Matthews scored the shootout winner in their 4-3 win over the Ducks. Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares all scored with the man advantage to give Toronto a two-goal lead. A late goal in the second period by Jakob Silfverberg and another from Ducks forward Vinni Lettieri with 6:37 remaining in the third sent the game to overtime.
Dylan Strome had a hat trick, including two power-play tallies, while the Blackhawks built a four-goal lead in a 5-3 win at Detroit. Strome scored twice in the first period for the Blackhawks. Dominik Kubalik and Sam Laffterty also scored as Chicago took a 4-0 lead.
Matthew Tkachuk scored twice and the Flames fired a team-record 62 shots on goal in trouncing the Blue Jackets, 6-0. Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves for his 13th career shutout, sending the Blue Jackets to their third straight loss and fourth in a row at home. Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm and Erik Gudbranson also scored in Calgary’s third win in four games.
Patrick Allvin has been named the 12th general manager of the Vancouver Canucks.
The 47-year-old Allvin had been with the Penguins for the past 16 seasons and was director of amateur scouting before he was promoted to assistant GM in 2020. He’s the first Swede to become a general manager in the NHL.
In other NHL news:
Penguins forward Jeff Carter has agreed to a two-year contract extension that runs through the 2023-24 season. Carter is one of seven active players with 400 career goals. He has 12 goals and 26 points in 36 games this season for the Pens.
Sabres goaltender Aaron Dell has been suspended for three games, without pay, for interference against Senators forward Drake Batherson on Tuesday. Batherson lost an edge and slammed hard into the boards behind the Buffalo net.
PGA:
Top-ranked Jon Rahm closed with an eagle on the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines for a 6-under 66, trailing leader Billy Horschel by three strokes after the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
Horschel shot a bogey-free 9-under 63 on the North Course and led Michael Thompson by one stroke. Of the 30 players who shot 67 or better, 26 played the North. Rahm’s was the best score on the South by one over Luke List, Peter Malnati and Cameron Tringale.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Lawyers for an associate athletic director who filed a $50 million federal racketeering lawsuit against LSU say she has been fired in retaliation and asked the court to add that claim to her suit.
Sharon Lewis claimed in state and federal lawsuits filed in 2021 that she was denied pay raises and was verbally abused after reporting that former football coach Les Miles had sexually harassed female student workers and made racist remarks.
OLYMPICS:
U.S. Olympic bobsledder Josh Williamson has tested positive for COVID-19.
Williamson will not fly with his teammates to China on Thursday, though he remains hopeful of getting there in time for the Beijing Games. He will need to return several negative tests before he’s allowed to fly to China.
TENNIS:
It’s women’s semifinal day at the Australian Open with two Americans featured.
Madison Keys takes on top-ranked Ash Barty in the first match, to begin around 3:30 Eastern Time. Danielle Collins will play 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek. The winners will meet in a Saturday night championship match.
Barty is attempting to become the first Australian woman in 44 years to win the Australian singles title. Keys comes into the match on a 10-match winning streak and 11 overall this year, matching her entire win total from 2021.
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