NBA
Julius Randle scored 39 points, OG Anunoby had 17 in a strong debut with his new team and the New York Knicks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-106 Monday. Jalen Brunson added 16 points and a career-high 14 assists for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game losing streak after putting Anunoby into the starting lineup for his first game since coming from Toronto in Saturday’s trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors. Anunoby was 7 for 12 from the field and helped the Knicks deliver a solid defensive effort against the Western Conference leaders.
Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and 11 rebounds and the new-look Toronto Raptors recovered after squandering a 19-point lead and held on to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-121 on Monday night. RJ Barrett had 19 points and nine rebounds and Immanuel Quickley added 14 points in the players' first start for the Raptors. Barrett and Quickley were sent to Toronto from the Knicks on Saturday in a trade that sent OG Anunoby to New York.
Two nights after their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak ended, the Detroit Pistons were blown out 136-113 on Monday night by the Houston Rockets. Detroit, which beat Toronto on Saturday, failed to win consecutive games for the second time this season. Alperen Sengun had 26 points and nine assists and Jalen Green scored 22 points for the Rockets, who snapped a three-game skid. Alec Burks scored 21 points, Jaden Ivey added 19 and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for the Pistons, who fell to 3-30.
Tyrese Haliburton had 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and the Indiana Pacers beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee 122-113, stopping the Bucks’ 15-game home winning streak. Bennedict Mathurin added 25 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for Indiana, and Isaiah Jackson had 18 points and nine assists. T.J. McConnell scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and also had nine assists. Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for his 38th career triple-double, and third this season.
Denver 111 Charlotte 93
Jamal Murray scored 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. had 22 as the Denver Nuggets beat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 111-93. Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets sent the Hornets to their 11th straight loss. Two of those losses have come against the Nuggets in the last 1 1/2 weeks. Aaron Gordon, who suffered cuts to his hand and face when he was bitten by a dog on Christmas Day, had 10 points in his return for Denver. Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 26 points, and Nick Richards and Brandon Miller had 15 points apiece.
Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to post the first regular-season triple-double by a Utah player since 2008, leading the Jazz to a 127-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Clarkson had 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds — the first triple-double of his career — and the first for the Jazz in a regular-season game since Carlos Boozer had one on Feb. 13, 2008, a stretch of 1,256 games. Also, Clarkson’s triple-double was the first in more than 40 years for a Jazz player coming off the bench, dating to Feb. 5, 1983, when Mark Eaton had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocked shots. Luke Doncic led the Mavericks with 19 points, 14 assists and six rebounds. Jaden Hardy hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Dallas.
Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-88 for their fourth consecutive victory. With Kevin Durant sidelined by right hamstring tightness, the Suns had seven players score in double figures. Jusuf Nurkic, playing against his former team, had 18 points. Chimezie Metu, starting for Durant, scored 14, and Grayson Allen and reserve Eric Gordon each had 12. Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 17 points, and Jerami Grant had 15.
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points in his return from injury and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the short-handed Miami Heat 121-104. Paul George added 23 points in the Clippers' third straight win. Leonard was back after missing four games with a hip contusion. The team went 2-2 in his absence. Leonard's dunk to open the fourth quarter gave him 13,000 career points. LA rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 21 points and 15 rebounds. The Heat trailed by 22 in the fourth. Norman Powell added 22 points and James Harden had 15 points and 10 assists for the Clippers.
The Dallas Cowboys got another big victory without taking the field Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers took care of business to make sure they get an extra week of rest. The NFL’s playoff picture is clearer with one week to go. Nine teams are in. Five spots remain open. Twenty clubs are still chasing the Super Bowl. Baltimore secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a 56-19 victory over Miami. Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes and had a perfect passer rating, helping the Ravens secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs while also boosting his MVP chances. The 49ers wrapped up the NFC’s No. 1 seed with victory at Washington and help from Arizona.
NHL
Joey Daccord made 35 saves in his second career shutout, and the Seattle Kraken beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in the NHL Winter Classic. A crowd of 47,313 at T-Mobile Park watched the Kraken dominate the reigning Stanley Cup champions in a matchup of the league’s last two expansion franchises. Seattle improved to 7-0-2 in its past nine games and continued its climb back into playoff contention after a disappointing start to the season. Daccord posted the first shutout in a Winter Classic and fifth shutout overall in the NHL’s 39 outdoor games since 2003.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime game in the 110 editions of the Rose Bowl when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was emphatically stopped when he attempted to sneak up the middle on fourth down from the Michigan 3. Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines will play for their school’s first national title since 1997 against Washington on Monday night in Houston.
This after Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns as No. 2 Washington beat No. 3 Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game, earning the beleaguered Pac-12 one more game this season. The unbeaten Huskies will face No. 1 Michigan next Monday night in Houston, looking for their first national championship since 1991 and the Pac-12’s first since Southern California in 2004. Washington is one of 10 schools fleeing the Pac-12 for other Power Five conferences next year, with the Huskies headed to join Michigan in the Big Ten.
Bo Nix threw for 363 yards and five touchdowns to cap a recording-breaking career, and No. 8 Oregon closed out a season that started with national title expectations by rolling over No. 18 Liberty 45-6 in the Fiesta Bowl. Nix played like a Heisman Trophy finalist after opting to join his teammates on the field one last time, throwing for 257 yards and four touchdowns as the Ducks built a 31-6 halftime lead. Nix finished 28 of 35 in just over three quarters and completed 77.44% of his passes this season, breaking the NCAA record of 77.36% set by Alabama’s Mac Jones in 2020. Tez Johnson had 11 catches for 172 yards and a touchdown, part of a 584-yard afternoon by the Ducks.
Garrett Nussmeier threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns, helping 13th-ranked LSU launch its post-Jayden Daniels era with a come-from-behind 35-31 victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Stepping in to make his first college start after Heisman Trophy winner Daniels opted out to begin preparing for the NFL draft, Nussmeier completed 31 of 45 passes. He tossed TD passes of 14 yards to Chris Hilton and 38 and 4 yards to Brian Thomas. Thomas' second touchdown gave LSU its only lead with 3:08 remaining. Nussmeier rallied the Tigers from a 14-point second-half deficit to overshadow a stellar performance by Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai, who threw for a season-high 378 yards and three TDs.
NFL
Miami Dolphins pass rusher Bradley Chubb has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will miss the rest of the season. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel confirmed the injury on Monday. Chubb got hurt in the final minutes of Sunday's 56-19 loss at Baltimore. He went down after trying to make a tackle and grabbed at his right knee. He was eventually carted off the field. McDaniel expressed regret afterward when asked why Chubb and other Dolphins starters were in the game at that point, when the deficit was 30 points with 3:05 remaining.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY
Union College 6 St. Michael’s 0
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