Worldwide Sports News

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Allen Graves came off the bench to score 19 points and Santa Clara beat Pacific 76-68 on Sunday night in a West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinal.

No. 3 seed Santa Clara (25-7) will play No. 2 seed Saint Mary's in a Monday semifinal. No. 4 seed Oregon State will play top-seeded Gonzaga in the other semifinal.

Graves made 7 of 10 shots with three 3-pointers and both of his free throws for the Broncos. Christian Hammond had 14 points and Elijah Mahi posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Reserve Sash Gavalyugov totaled 11 points and six assists.

Elias Ralph sank five 3-pointers and scored 25 to lead the sixth-seeded Tigers (18-15). Jaden Clayton pitched in with 12 points and nine assists.

Graves buried all five of his first-half shots, including two 3-pointers, to guide Santa Clara to a 45-38 advantage at halftime.

Graves hit another 3 to finish off a 12-0 run and the Broncos took a 62-48 lead with 14 minutes left. Pacific got no closer than eight from there.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketba spurtll: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 in his second game back from a torn right Achilles, lifting Boston to a win over Cleveland in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.

Brown also had nine rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics built an 81-55 lead in the third quarter, sweeping their three-game season series with Cleveland. Tatum scored six points in the fourth, finishing 6 of 16 from the field in 27 minutes.

Payton Pritchard added 18 points and Baylor Scheierman had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Boston moved within three games of East-leading Detroit. Neemias Queta grabbed 11 boards.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Evan Mobley had 24 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-place Cavaliers, who had won a season-high seven straight at home. James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists.

Cleveland, which is 22-9 since Dec. 29, pulled within 94-86 midway through the fourth on Jaylon Tyson’s 3-pointer. Pritchard answered with a 3-pointer and tacked on back-to-back hoops to restore the Celtics’ double-digit lead.

LAKERS 110, KNICKS 97

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 35 points and eight rebounds, Austin Reaves added 25 points and Los Angeles overcame LeBron James’ injury absence to grind out a 110-97 victory over New York.

Rui Hachimura scored 13 points for the Lakers, who never trailed the surging Knicks in their fourth consecutive victory even while James missed his second straight game with a bruised left elbow and a left foot injury.

The Lakers slumped in the fourth quarter, managing just one basket in a 6 1/2-minute span down the stretch while New York cut its 23-point deficit to 10. But the Knicks couldn’t hit enough shots to capitalize and committed eight turnovers in the fourth.

Luke Kennard made a 3-pointer with 1:37 left before Doncic iced it on his fifth 3-pointer with 1:05 left.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost for just the second time in six games.

HEAT 121, PISTONS 110

MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo had 24 to go over the 10,000-point mark for his career, and Miami beat Detroit to extend the Pistons’ season-worst losing streak to four games.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 19 points and seven assists for Miami (36-29), which has won five straight and matched a season best by moving seven games over .500. The Heat are still without Norman Powell (groin) and Nikola Jovic (back), and Andrew Wiggins (toe) was also sidelined.

Adebayo — who added nine rebounds and six assists — entered the night 23 points away from the scoring milestone. He and Dwyane Wade are the only players with 10,000 points in a Heat uniform.

Cade Cunningham finished with 26 points and 10 assists and Jalen Duren scored 24 for the Pistons, whose lead in the Eastern Conference is down to 2 1/2 games over Boston.

RAPTORS 122, MAVERICKS 92

TORONTO (AP) — RJ Barrett scored a season–high 31 points, Scottie Barnes added 17 and Toronto beat struggling Dallas.

Jakob Poeltl had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 13 points as the Raptors snapped a four-game losing streak against Dallas.

Daniel Gafford had a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, Cooper Flagg scored 17 points and Brandon Williams added 16 but the slumping Mavericks lost their seventh straight and 17th of 19.

Brandon Ingram and Ja’Kobe Walter each scored 11 points, and Immanuel Quickley and Gradey Dick both had 10 as Toronto won for the first time in five home games.

PELICANS 138, WIZARDS 118

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 24 points, Saddiq Bey added 23 against his former team and New Orleans defeated the reeling Wizards to extend Washington’s losing streak to eight games.

Zion Williamson had 20 points and Dejounte Murray provided 19 for the Pelicans, who outscored Washington 72-44 in the paint.

Trae Young, playing his second game for the Wizards since being traded by Atlanta, had 17 points and eight assists in 18 minutes on the court. It was his 12th game all season.

Wizards rookie Tre Johnson scored 20 points — his fourth time reaching that total. Will Riley added 19.

MAGIC 130, BUCKS 91

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 33 points and Orlando cruised to a win over Milwaukee, who rested Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second game of a back-to-back.

Jalen Suggs added 20 points and Desmond Bane had 18 for the Magic, who won their fourth straight to remain sixth in the Eastern Conference, one game behind fifth-place Toronto and percentage points ahead of Miami.

Orlando never trailed and led 67-55 at halftime. Early in the fourth quarter, Suggs hit a 3-pointer to start a 12-0 run that extended the Magic’s lead to 26 points. Banchero headed to the bench for good late in the third with Orlando ahead by 31.

Bobby Portis had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Cam Thomas scored 17 for the Bucks, who beat Utah on Saturday night but have lost five of six.

SPURS 145, ROCKETS 120

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 29 points, De’Aaron Fox had 20 points and 10 assists and San Antonio won their fourth straight, rolling to a victory over Houston.

Stephon Castle added 23 points for San Antonio, which has won 15 of 16.

Kevin Durant and Amen Thompson had 23 points each for Houston, which allowed a season high in points.

The Spurs (47-17) won the season series against the Rockets 3-1 and strengthened their hold on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

Houston (39-24) dropped into fourth in the West, a half-game behind Minnesota (40-24) and seven games behind San Antonio in the loss column.

The Rockets, who have alternated wins and losses over their past six games, allowed a season-most 56 points in the paint.

TRAIL BLAZERS 131, INDIANA 111

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Scoot Henderson scored a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Portland beat skidding Indiana.

Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday added 21 points apiece for the Blazers, who handed Indiana its ninth straight defeat. Henderson also had six assists with no turnovers.

Deni Avdija, who leads Portland in scoring (24.4 points per game) and assists (6.6), returned from a six-game absence caused by a lower back injury. He finished with 18 points and eight assists.

Indiana has dropped its past six games by an average of 20 points. This marks the team’s third losing streak of at least eight games this season.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points and Jay Huff had 16 points and five blocks. Andrew Nembhard added 14 points and nine assists, and Jarace Walker also scored 14.

KINGS 126, BULLS 110

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his NBA-record 208th career triple-double, and Sacramento beat Chicago.

Westbrook shot 7 of 17 with three 3-pointers in 35 minutes. It’s the fourth triple-double of the season for the 37-year-old, who moved within one assist of passing Mark Jackson for sixth on the NBA’s all-time list.

Westbrook’s triple-doubles are an ongoing record for the nine-time All-Star and came six days after he ripped into the Sacramento media for the narrative around the Kings this season.

Denver center and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic has the second-most triple-doubles in the NBA with 181.

SUNS 111, HORNETS 99

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker had 30 points and 10 assists as Phoenix stopped Charlotte's road winning streak at 10 games with a victory.

Booker was 1 for 6 from 3-point range but made all 15 of his free throws.

Collin Gillespie and Jalen Green each scored 24 points for the Suns, who have won four of five. Rasheer Fleming added 16 off the bench, including four 3-pointers.

LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 22 points. Their road winning streak was the NBA’s longest since the Los Angeles Lakers won 11 straight away from home in 2019-20. Charlotte hadn’t lost on the road since Jan. 17 at Golden State.

The longest road winning streak in NBA history is 16 games, by the 1971-72 Lakers during their league-record 33-game run overall.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Biko Johnson had 19 points and Isaiah Brickner scored 15 — all in the second half — to propel Idaho to a 78-74 victory over No. 2 seed Montana State on Sunday night in a Big Sky Conference Tournament quarterfinal.

No. 7 seed Idaho (19-14) moves on to Tuesday's semifinals where it will play the winner of a Monday quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Eastern Washington and sixth-seeded Weber State.

Johnson made 7 of 12 shots with a 3-pointer for the Vandals, adding five rebounds and four assists. Brickner missed all three of his first-half shots before sinking 6 of 8 after the break. He had seven rebounds and blocked a shot. Jack Rasmussen scored 11.

Jeremiah Davis hit four 3-pointers and scored 22 to lead the Bobcats (18-14), who split two games with Idaho during the regular season. Christian King connected three times from distance and scored 21. Jed Miller added 18 points.

Davis and King both scored 12 points in the first half and Miller added 10 as Montana State took a 40-34 lead into the break. Brickner scored in the paint to give Idaho a 63-61 lead and the Vandals never trailed over the final five minutes.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketba spurtll: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Scoot Henderson scored a season-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the skidding Indiana Pacers 131-111 on Sunday night.

Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday added 21 points apiece for the Blazers, who handed Indiana its ninth straight defeat. Henderson also had six assists with no turnovers.

Deni Avdija, who leads Portland in scoring (24.4 points per game) and assists (6.6), returned from a six-game absence caused by a lower back injury. He finished with 18 points and eight assists.

Indiana has dropped its past six games by an average of 20 points. This marks the team's third losing streak of at least eight games this season.

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 22 points and Jay Huff had 16 points and five blocks. Andrew Nembhard added 14 points and nine assists, and Jarace Walker also scored 14.

Huff has an NBA-leading 39 games this season with at least two blocks, two more than San Antonio center Victor Wenbanyama, who had four in a 145-120 win over Houston earlier Sunday and leads the NBA in blocks.

Robert Williams III had his streak of 18 consecutive games with at least one block snapped. It had been the longest active streak in the league.

Henderson scored or assisted on 15 points in a 25-7 run over the final 5 1/2 minutes of the second quarter to help the Blazers take a 69-52 lead into halftime. The Pacers were 2-of-11 shooting with three turnovers during that stretch.

Henderson had 19 points and five assists while going 7 for 9 from the field, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, before the break. Grant added 14 points, Holiday had 11 and Avdija scored 10.

Up next

Pacers: Wrap up a four-game trip Tuesday at Sacramento.

Trail Blazers: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

The San Antonio Spurs didn’t just beat the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, they buried them under an avalanche of offense.

San Antonio erupted for 145 points in a dominant 145-120 victory over their in-state rivals, delivering one of their most complete offensive performances of the season. The Spurs played with pace, passion, and purpose, turning what began as a competitive matchup into a one-sided showcase of firepower.

From the opening tip, the Spurs looked locked in. The ball moved with ease, shooters found space, and the Rockets struggled to keep up with San Antonio’s tempo. Victor Wembanyama set the tone early, attacking mismatches and controlling the paint on both ends of the floor. The Spurs’ young superstar finished with a strong all-around performance: 29 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks in 30 minutes.

Houston managed to hang around in the first quarter, trading baskets as both teams pushed the pace. But the game began to tilt heavily in San Antonio’s favor in the second quarter.

That’s when the Spurs caught fire and stayed hot the rest of the night.

“The pace has been really consistent recently,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said of his team’s offense. “When you play with the speed we have combined with the talent and moving off the basketball, it is really hard to guard.”

San Antonio poured in points from everywhere: transition buckets, cutting layups and open three-pointers; stretching the lead with a relentless offensive surge. By halftime, the Spurs had seized control, leaving the Rockets scrambling to find answers as they went to the locker room.

Any hopes of a Houston comeback faded quickly after the break.

San Antonio came out of the locker room just as aggressive, continuing to push the tempo and widen the gap. Every time the Rockets showed signs of life, the Spurs responded with another scoring burst. The lead ballooned to nearly 30 points midway through the third quarter as the game slipped firmly out of Houston’s reach. The Spurs’ balanced scoring made the night even more impressive. Multiple players crossed the 20-point mark as San Antonio’s offense hummed with rhythm and unselfishness, a reflection of the ball movement that has become a hallmark of the team’s recent play.

“I thought we were really sharp,” Johnson said. “I thought the only area you could nitpick is some of the fouls. You got to make sure you aren’t off balance or out of position, but for the most part, I thought we played a really solid game defensively.”

Despite solid individual performances, the Rockets simply couldn’t slow down San Antonio’s offense or match its efficiency. Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson made life difficult as possible for Kevin Durant, who finished with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting, most of which came from the free throw line.

“Something clicked from the first quarter,” Wembanyama said of the Spurs’ offense onslaught. “We figured out their adjustments and decided to hurt them elsewhere.”

By the fourth quarter, the result was essentially decided. The Spurs continued to pour it on before eventually emptying the bench as the final minutes ticked away.

When the buzzer sounded, San Antonio had produced one of its highest scoring games of the season and sent a clear message about the level this team can reach when everything clicks. It was more than just another win for the Spurs. It was a reminder of the offensive potential of a young team that continues to grow more dangerous every time it steps on the floor.

“These guys are trustworthy. I can trust them to make the right play,” Wembanyama said. “I can trust them to play unselfishly. And I can trust that anybody here can choose that if they do the effort, the efforts, like my teammates, will do the right choice, and we’ll capitalize on it.”

Game Notes

• Keldon Johnson finished with 20 points off the bench, his 10th game of the season with 20 or more points. The league better start enraving that 6th Man of the Year trophy for him.
• Dylan Harper may be a rookie, but he isn’t playing like one. He stat line in the first half: 17 points, 7-8 FG (85%), 3 ast, +9 in 14 minutes. Overall, he had 19 points on the night. That will be very valuable come playoff time.
  “I think any open shot, I’m going to take it,” Harper said. “I have confidence, but I shoot those in warm ups. So why not take them?”
• San Antonio’s ball movement is a page right out of the 2014 “Beautiful Game” Spurs. The Silver and Black had 38 assists on 51 made shots. Fox led the team with 10 helpers.
• De’Aaron Fox had a nice evening with 20 points and 10 assists in 32 minutes. He’s now scored double digits in the paint in consecutive games since January. Fans have been waiting Fox to attack the paint more, and it appears he’s gotten the message from the coaching staff.
• On a fun note: The Jackals and the French squad support sections have made the Frost Bank Center a madhouse. It is so loud inside and it translates well on the boradcast. I can’t wait to see what they do in the playoffs.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 19 points to lead top-seeded North Dakota State to a 70-62 victory over North Dakota on Sunday night, winning the Summit League Championship and earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament for the Bison.

Wheeler-Thomas made 8 of 16 shots with two 3-pointers for the Bison (27-7), who have made four previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2019. He added six rebounds. Tay Smith scored 13 points off the bench and Andy Stefonowicz totaled 11 points and six rebounds.

Greyson Uelmen scored 24 to pace the third-seeded Fighting Hawks (18-17), whose only tournament appearance at the Division I level came in 2017. Uelmen sank 7 of 11 shots with two 3-pointers and made all eight of his free throws. Zach Kraft scored 19.

Smith hit a 3-pointer and Treyson Anderson scored on a tip-in to cap a 13-2 run as North Dakota State took a 15-9 lead in the first 8:19. Smith connected three more times from beyond the arc and the Bison built a 38-30 advantage in a first half that saw four ties and three lead changes.

Eli King had back-to-back baskets and Garrett Anderson added a layup in a 6-2 spurt to pull North Dakota within 41-36 four minutes into the second half.

Anderson answered with a layup and North Dakota State maintained a three-possession lead until Kraft had a layup and Uelmen added two free throws to cut it to 63-59 with 1:34 remaining.

Noah Feddersen buried a 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 spurt and the Bison prevailed.

North Dakota State won both regular-season matchups by a combined 50 points.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketba spurtll: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Spurs rode another dominant performance from Victor Wembanyama to put away the Houston Rockets by throwing multiple defenders at Kevin Durant and surviving what every other player could throw at them. The Spurs led by as much as 27 halfway though the third, but the Rockets turned the game into a parade to the stripe as they upped the physicality and made the game ugly. They couldn’t make it ugly enough for them to win, though, and the Spurs kept the Space City Cowboys at arm’s length throughout the fourth quarter and Udoka waved the white flag when the Spurs led by 20 with three and a half minutes left. The Spurs bench led by Harper and Keldon Johnson helped the Spurs dominate the minutes that Durant sat on the bench and turned the game into another impressive win for the Silver and Black.

Observations

• I usually watch the FanDuel feed for Spurs game, but tonight they weren’t available. I th0ught the Peacock crew was pretty good, although I have no clue why Reggie Miller still can’t pronounce Victor Wembanyama’s last name correctly. It’s been almost three years, man. He corrected himself late in the first quarter, so and I actually heard his say Wembanyama once instead of WembanyaNa, so maybe he can learn.
• Roundball rock (the NBC/Peacock basketball theme) is cool, but maybe after 30+ years, you don’t need to play it every three minutes.
• Both teams are on a THIGAFONI tonight, so there’s no rest advantage on either side.
• Victor scored the first 8 points for the Spurs, and four different Spurs scored the next 10, as Wembanyama’s gravity gave the Spurs shooters lots of room as they took an early 18-9 lead.
• Both Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are masters at drawing fouls on three point shots. I wonder if that’s something that the Spurs staff coaches them to do.
• The Spurs put Carter Bryant on Kevin Durant midway through the first quarter, which was sort of effective, as it forced him to pass the ball, but losing Dorian Finney-Smith probably wasn’t a good idea, as that guy can be counted on to hit open shots.
• The Rockets led 33-32 at the end of the first quarter as the Spurs couldn’t hold Durant in check.
• The Silver and Black started off hot in the second quarter as they ran out to a 50-39 lead, hitting their first seven shots of the quarter.
• The Spurs have so many stars, sometimes it’s hard to notice that Dylan Harper is having an incredible rookie season. He led the team in scoring in the first half with 17 coming off of the bench. His game is so smooth, sometime you don’t even notice how well he’s playing.
• Wemby hit a buzzer beater triple and the Spurs led 69-57 at the half. He scored the first and last points for the Spurs in the half on good looking three point shots.
• The Spurs took over to start the third quarter as they pushed the lead to over 20 as they dominated the Rockets on both end of the court, capped by a Wemby breakaway dunk over four Houston defenders.
• The Spurs stretched the lead to 27, but eventually Victor had to sit, and while Luke Kornet is a good NBA player, he’s going to suffer in comparison to Victor, as any player would, and the Rockets cut the lead to 15 with 2 minutes left. The Spurs led 110-94 after three. Luke Kornet redeemed himself somewhat in the fourth by drawing two offensive fouls on Sengun.
• The Rockets were committed to make it a game as the fourth quarter began, blocking Carter Bryant and getting Steph Castle’s fifth foul on a Jabari Smith and-one to start the frame.
• Capela is still an elite rim defender, as he turned away a series of shots from the Spurs to start the fourth quarter, keeping the Rockets in the game during the minutes that Durant had to sit.
• The Spurs outlasted the Rockets’ fourth quarter surgelet and led by 20 with three and a half minutes left in the game, and both teams accepted their fate and put in the end of the benches, as the Spurs extended the lead and won 145-120. It was fun watching guys like Jordan McLaughlin hit their shots as the Spurs put the game away.

---

The Spurs continue their home stand on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics, who are rounding into form late in the season with the return of Jayson Tatum from Achilles surgery. The team was already a threat to go far in the playoffs without him, and with him, I wouldn’t bet against them taking over the top spot in the Eastern Conference, even though there are no more head to head games left between the Pistons and Celtics in the regular season. The Spurs have been terrific against top teams this season, and Tuesday will be another chance to prove that they can beat top-level competition.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Lakers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

There are three things in this life that are certain: death, taxes and the Western Conference playoff race being as tight as possible.

Once again, teams are bunched up together in the standings with the difference between the No. 3 seed and the No. 7 seed being just three-and-a-half games.

The Lakers are right in the middle of this congestion, at the sixth spot. With LA having 18 games left, they could just as easily rise in the standings as they can fall into a play-in spot.

For our SB Nation Reacts survey this week, we asked fans where the Lakers will finish in the playoff race. The results are in, and the majority of fans have the purple and gold ending the season as the fifth- or sixth-seed.

It makes sense that LA will likely stay where they are or move up marginally. According to Tankathon, the Lakers have the ninth-toughest remaining schedule, and all the teams they are competing against for a playoff spot have easier schedules, bar the Nuggets.

While 18 games is a lot of action left, the only way the Lakers move up to the No. 4 spot or better is by beating a bunch of teams with elite records. So far, they haven’t shown they can consistently do that, going 5-12 against teams with a .600 winning percentage or better.

However, if you are optimistic that a healthy Lakers team can begin besting these teams, then a higher seed is possible. Based on our poll, 36% of fans think that’s what’s going to happen in the coming weeks.

While moving up is tough, dropping down to the play-in is even less likely. Currently, only the Suns have a realistic chance of taking the No. 6 seed from the Lakers. With Dillon Brooks missing games and Phoenix going 5-5 over their last 10 games, they aren’t winning enough to gain ground in the West.

And that’s why only 11% of fans think the Lakers are play-in bound.

The good news for LA is that they still control their destiny. If they win their head-to-head games against key opponents, they’ll own the tiebreakers they might need at the end, and a good winning streak could make a top seed not only probable, but inevitable.

It’ll be up to them to show what kind of team they truly are now that every game has a bit more at stake.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.