Knicks Beat Celtics at Buzzer; Paul's Triple-Double Powers Suns
  | The New York Knicks went on national TV to show that, despite their below .500 record, they can still be the exciting playoff contender that we saw last season. After rallying from a 24-point, second quarter deficit, R.J. Barrett banked in the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer for a 108-105 win over the Boston Celtics. Evan Fournier powered the comeback with a career-high 41 points, while Julius Randle added 22 points for the Knicks, who never led until there were just two minutes left. Jayson Tatum tied the game late before the buzzer-beater won it for New York, as he finished with 36 points to lead the Celtics, who are also struggling at 18-21 this season. And Chris Paul posted a triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns in a 106-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The win improves the Suns to 25-0 this season when leading after three quarters, as they also take over the top spot in the Western Conference with an overall record of 30-8. The defending Western Conference champs has also won three straight and four of their past five thanks to a career-high 24 points from Cameron Johnson. It was a special night for Paul, as his 13 rebounds were a career-high in his 1,128th career NBA game. The other two games on the NBA schedule saw Brandon Ingram's 32 points lead the New Orleans Pelicans over the shorthanded Golden State Warriors, 101-96. And Ja Morant had 22 points, nine rebounds, and six assists as the Memphis Grizzlies crushed the Detroit Pistons, 118-88. |
Indiana Downs Ohio State; USC Stays Undefeated
  | The Indiana Hoosiers gave their home crowd a show with an 87-71 blowout upset of the 13th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in Big Ten play on Thursday night. Trayce Jackson-Davis powered the upset with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 11-of-17 from the floor. The Hoosiers used a big 13-0 run in the second half to pull away for good, which was a stretch that saw the Buckeyes go without a basket for five minutes. The Hoosiers sit at an even 2-2 in conference play and 11-3 overall, and they only had one other player in double figures, which was Race Thompson at 11 points. The loss for Ohio State was their first in conference play, despite Malaki Branham leading the way with 13 points, as they shot just 30.8% from the floor. Meanwhile, the seventh-ranked USC Trojans moved to a perfect 13-0 on the season with a 77-63 win over California. Isaiah Mobley led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds, as the Trojans used a late run to get off to their best start since winning their first 14 games in 2017. The Trojans were playing for the first time in three weeks after having three games postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 issues. Drew Peterson scored a season-high with 17 points, while Boogie Ellis had 14 points and four rebounds to help send the Golden Bears to 9-6 on the season. The two other ranked contests saw the 23rd-ranked Wisconsin Badgers win their fourth straight, 87-78, over the Iowa Hawkeyes thanks to 26 points from Johnny Davis. And the fifth-ranked UCLA Bruins returned to play after 25 days off with a 96-78 rout of Long Beach State. |
Penguins Win Yet Again; Golden Knights Skate Past Rangers
  | The Pittsburgh Penguins are the hottest team in the NHL and Thursday night was absolutely no different with a 6-2 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers on the road. The win was their 10th in a row, making it the sixth time in franchise history that they've had a winning streak that long. The team got two goals apiece from Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, extending their longest win streak since winning 15 games in a row in March 2013. They also had winning streaks of 12, 11, and 10 games in 1999. The Pens, who sit in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, have not lost since December 1st against the Edmonton Oilers. And the Las Vegas Golden Knights pulled away on their home ice for a solid 5-1 win over the first place New York Rangers. Jonathan Marchessault scored twice to support Robin Lehner, who made 18 saves in his first game in three weeks. Mark Stone, Mattias Janmark, and Brett Howden also scored, helping the Knights snap their two-game losing streak, and extended their lead to four points over the Anaheim Ducks in the Pacific Division. Chris Kreider was the only one to find the back of the net for the Rangers, who are tied atop the Metropolitan Division with the Washington Capitals at 48 points. The Rangers had won three games in a row, but they dropped their first game of a five-game road trip. Other key scores saw Kirill Kaprizov score in his fourth straight game in the Minnesota Wild's 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins. Nikita Kucherov returned to the ice with two assists as the Tampa Bay Lightning topped the Calgary Flames, 4-1. And the Nashville Predators extended their win streak to three games by doubling up the Los Angeles Kings, 4-2, out west. |
Buccaneers Officially Release Antonio Brown
 | Four days after head coach Bruce Arians said it in a press conference, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it official on Thursday by releasing wide receiver Antonio Brown. This comes Head coach Bruce Arians announced after their 28-24 win over the New York Jets that Brown is "no longer a Buc" after he exited the game in the middle of the third quarter. Brown was seen ripping off his jersey and shoulder pads, throwing some of his uniform in to the crowd, before running across the field, waving goodbye to the fans at MetLife Stadium. The coach confirmed to ESPN sources that Brown refused to enter the game multiple times, which led to Arians telling the wideout to get out. Teammate Mike Evans was seen trying to talk to AB while he was taking his jersey off, which clearly didn't do much. Brown has since claimed that his ankle was injured and too hurt to return to the game, which is why he refused to get back in to the game. The wideout posted a picture of a text exchange with Arians regarding the injury from the day before the game, but he was also annoyed at halftime on Sunday for not getting the targets he wanted. |
