Suns Rally to Extend Win Streak to 11; Celtics Down Lakers
  | The Phoenix Suns are feeling the momentum they had from last season's Finals push, and Friday night was another solid win as they rallied to take out the Dallas Mavericks, 112-104, at home. The victory extended their winning streak to 11 games, which is their longest since the 2006-2007 season. Mikal Bridges and Devin Booker led the way with 19 points apiece, while Chris Paul had a double-double of 18 points and 14 assists on the night. The Suns went on a 10-2 run in the fourth to erase a late five-point lead for the road team, while getting their eighth straight win over the Mavs. And the Boston Celtics went on a late run to spoil LeBron James' return to the floor with a dominant 130-108 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Jayson Tatum scored 37 points to power the Celtics, who trailed by 11 points at one point in the game. Marcus Smart added 22 and Dennis Schroder had 21 for the Celtics, who got back to .500 at 8-8 on the season. James had 23 points over 32 minutes for the Lakers, but they were led by Anthony Davis's 31 points in their ninth loss, as they dropped a game under .500 at 8-9. Other key scores saw James Harden go off for 36 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists as the Brooklyn Nets erased a 19-point deficit for a 115-113 win over the Orlando Magic. Zach LaVine's 36 points were highlighted by clutch shots late in the Chicago Bulls' 114-108 victory against the Denver Nuggets. And Pascal Siakam's 32 points were enough to send the Toronto Raptors back on the right wide of the result with a 108-89 rout of the Sacramento Kings. |
Cavs' Collin Sexton Done For Season With Torn Meniscus
 | The Cleveland Cavaliers confirmed that Collin Sexton is done for the season with the torn meniscus that has left him on the sidelines for the last couple weeks. He suffered the injury in the second quarter of November 7th's 120-109 win over the New York Knicks. Sexton underwent surgery for the injury last Wednesday in Atlanta, confirming that he will not see the floor again until the 2022-2023 season. The Cavs selected Sexton out of Alabama in the 2018 NBA Draft and so far this season he has posted 16.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game. This is after he had a phenomenal season last year with 24.3 points per game over 60 contests. The 22-year-old played a big role in the Cavs' impressive impressive 7-4 start, as he was second on the team with 16.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists over the 11 games. |
San Diego State, Houston Get 10th Wins
 | Two college football teams got their 10th victories of the 2021 season on Friday night, including the 19th-ranked San Diego State Aztechs holding off UNLV for a 28-20 victory. Lucas Johnson threw for 192 yards and three touchdowns, including a seven-yard score to Jesse Matthews in the fourth quarter to pull away for good. The Aztechs moved to 10-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 away from home, making it their best start to a season since their 10-0 start in 1969. Meanwhile, the 24th-ranked Houston Cougars cruised on their home field for a 31-13 rout of the Memphis Tigers, getting their 10th victory as well. Clayton Tune threw for 264 yards with two total touchdowns, one passing and one rushing, as it was the Cougars' 10th consecutive win. Ta'Zhawn Henry ran for 73 yards and a score, while Alton McCasking had 58 yards on the ground and a touchdown, helping the Cougars finish with 461 yards of offense. San Diego State and Houston are now two of five teams in the country at 10 wins this season. |
Gonzaga, Duke Cruise on Home Floor
 | Two of the top 10 teams kept rolling in the college basketball season on Friday night, including the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs blowing past the winless Bellarmine team, 92-50, The Bulldogs are now 4-0 on the season, as Drew Timme stayed hot with 25 points as one of three starters with over 15 points. Julian Strwather chipped in 19 points, while Chet Holmgren had 18 points for Gonzaga, who shot 53% from the floor and 47% from three-point range. Meanwhile, the seventh-ranked Duke Blue Devil moved to 5-0 with an 88-55 rout of winless Lafayette at home. Wendell Moore Jr. had 23 points, while AJ Griffin added 18 points off the bench, becoming the seventh different Duke player to score in double figures this season. Griffin had 14 of his points in the second half thanks to four three-pointers, this after he had 12 total points in the first four games. Other scores saw the fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines bounce back from an upset loss with a 74-61 win over UNLV. While 11th-ranked Memphis, 14th-ranked Alabama, and 22nd-ranked St. Bonaventure moved to 4-0, while 21st-ranked Auburn got their third straight win to start the season. |
Avs Top Kraken; Canucks Take Down Jets
 | The Colorado Avalanche were a surprise to this NHL season at the start, and not for good reason, as they continue to work on climbing out of an early hole from a slow start. They made progress with that on Friday night, skating past the struggling Seattle Kraken on the road, 7-3. Cale Makar had two goals and an assist, while Andre Burakovsky scored twice on the power play in the win. Nazem Kadri was able to stay hot for the Avs, extending his point streak to eight games with two assists, as the Stanley Cup favorites have now won four straight games. They have outscored opponents, 24-7, during the current streak and are now 6-1-1 since their 1-3 start. And the Vancouver Canucks scored twice on the power play to fuel their 3-2 upset of the Winnipeg Jets. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland go the tallies with the man advantage, while defenseman Kyle Burroughs got his first NHL goal in the win. The Canucks snapped their five-game winless streak, as the Canucks were 0-4-1 before this win. Thatcher Demko took care of business in net with 36 saves, sending the Jets to their second straight loss. |
Ducks' Max Comtois Out Six Weeks
 | The Anaheim Ducks just saw a winning streak come to an end recently, and now they will be playing shorthanded for the foreseeable future. The team lost forward Max Comtois to a hand injury that will keep him out for six weeks. Comtois underwent surgery on Thursday on his right hand, repairing a broken bone. The 22-year-old missed three games with the injury before this announcement, and this news comes after he led the team in scoring in the 2020-2021 season with 16 goals and 17 assists. He sits with just one assist this season, but the Ducks do rank second in the NHL with 61 goals during their 10-5-3 start to the season. |
Eagles Sign Dallas Goedert to Four-Year Extension
 | The Philadelphia Eagles traded away Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals earlier this season and now have confirmed that they are focusing all of their attention at that position to Dallas Goedert. They did so on Friday by giving him a four-year contract extension that keeps him in Philly through the 2025 season. The deal will pay Goedert $59 million and includes $35.7 million in guaranteed money, as the two sides finally came to an agreement after talks began last off-season. The 26-year-old was a second-round draft pick in 2018 and now ranks second on the team with 39 targets, 29 catches, and 429 receiving yards. Since entering the league, he has totaled 1,894 yards and 14 touchdowns, and those numbers are now expected to go up as he stands firmly as the team's top tight end. |
Yankees DFA Frazier, Odor, Wade
 | The New York Yankees moved on from three veterans on Friday, designating Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor, and Tyler Wade for assignment. Frazier spent five seasons with the team, Wade had four years with them, and Odor joined the Yankees last season. Frazier is the biggest name and can be claimed off waivers, as the 27-year-old struggles to find consistent production at the big league level. He was the fifth overall draft pick in 2013 and was traded to the Yankees in July 2016. His best season came in 2019 when he hit .267 with 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, but those numbers went down to .186 last season with five home runs and 15 RBIs. He did deal with vertigo, which cut his season short after June 30th, as the Yankees began the process of making room for potential off-season moves. |
