CHICAGO (AP) — Frank Nazar scored a power-play goal with 2:24 left in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Monday night.
Andrew Mangiapane scored his first goal as a Blackhawk since being acquired in a trade from Edmonton last week, and Andre Burakovsky lifted the puck on his stick lacrosse style and flicked it into the net to tie the game at 2-2 late in the second period. It was his first goal since Jan. 7, a span of 19 games.
Drew Commesso, making his third start of the season and first since Jan. 10 when he had his first career shutout in a 3-0 win over Nashville, made 22 saves. Connor Bedard had two assists for Chicago, including one on Nazar's winner.
Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther scored for Utah, which is battling for a wild-card playoff spot in the Western Conference and had won the first three games of a five-game road trip. Vitek Vanecek had 23 saves.
Guenther has now scored a team-leading 30 goals this season, the first time in his career he has reached that mark. He has scored in three of four games on the road trip, with six points in those contests (3 goals, 3 assists).
Chicago, which had lost three in a row including a 4-3 setback to Dallas on Sunday night, has now won all three meetings with Utah this season, with the teams' fourth and final game of the season scheduled for Thursday night.
Chicago played without Spencer Knight (illness) and Oliver Moore, who left Sunday’s game in first period.
Up next
Mammoth: Visit the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Blackhawks: Visit the Utah Mammoth on Thursday night.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 01: Zack Littell #52 of the Cincinnati Reds prepares to pitch during Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Sunday morning brought news that one of the final key players left in free agency had signed. The Washington Nationals have reportedly signed starter Zack Littell to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2027.
At the beginning of the offseason, Littell was projected to earn a two-year contract worth roughly $24 million. So why the big change? And why didn’t the San Diego Padres bother to bid against the Nationals for his services?
A journeying swingman
Throughout his career, Littell was mostly a reliever. He performed to varying degrees of success, but it was mostly inconsistent from season to season.
His best years came in 2019 and 2021 with the Minnesota Twins where he posted a 2.68 ERA and 2.92 ERA, respectively. But each of those seasons were bookended by a 6.20 ERA in 2018, 9.95 in 2020, and 5.08 in 2022.
Because of his struggles, Littell wasn’t converted to a starter until after being picked up by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2023. He started 14 games for the club and put up a solid 3.93 ERA. The Rays held onto him in 2024 before trading him at the 2025 deadline to the Cincinnati Reds.
Across 32 starts in ‘25 between Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, Littell authored a 3.81 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, shining as a middle-of-the-rotation starter before entering free agency.
Why the hesitancy to sign?
After such a high valuation from the majority of contract projections on Littell, it’s possible that his agents were waiting out the market for a better offer that never came.
It’s unclear yet what the Nationals are paying Littell but that number will likely become public once the team announces the signing. The report of his signing remains unconfirmed.
Given that, it’s surprising the Padres didn’t swoop in to sign him. Earlier this offseason, San Diego was rumored to be checking in on Littell (though those discussions obviously did not come to fruition). Seemingly, the price wasn’t right to outbid Washington.
It will hopefully make more sense once the dollar figure of Littell’s contract is announced. But for a team still in need of reliable pitching, it’s surprising general manager A.J. Preller wasn’t in on the 30-year-old’s services.
HOUSTON — The joint was completely packed, fans roamed outside trying to get a sneak peek inside, with music blaring and the crowd ready to party into the night.
Well, a 6-foot-7 dude bigger than any bouncer, not only got past the red-white-and-green velvet ropes, but sucked the life out of the party until it was almost last call.
Simply, Aaron Judge stole the show Monday evening at Daikin Park.
The sellout crowd of 41,678 watched him hit and throw to lead USA to a 5-3 victory over Mexico, and all but guarantee the Americans a berth in the quarterfinals..
Judge’s heroics began in the third when Mexico threatened USA starter Paul Skenes for the only time in his four-inning outing. Mexico had Joey Ortiz on first base after second baseman Brice Turang’s error, and Jarren Duran hit a hard liner to right field.
While Ortiz raced towards third base, Judge snagged the ball on one hop, and threw a 92-mph laser to third baseman Alex Bregman, who tagged Ortiz for the inning-ending out.
Judge barely had time to acknowledge the cheers from his teammates when he stepped to the plate with Bryce Harper on first base. He belted a 2-and-1 slider from reliever Jesus Cruz the opposite way into the right-field seats.
Judge started his home run trot, pointed and gestured towards the USA bench, circling the bases. The blast kick-started the USA offense, and by the time the inning ended, the Americans had a 5-0 lead after 21-year-old Roman Anthony’s three-run homer, the youngest player to homer for USA in the WBC.
It turned out that USA would need every bit of that offensive outburst with Mexico refusing to go away. Duran of the Boston Red Sox hit two home runs to provide late-game drama. They threatened again in the ninth on Joey Maneses’ leadoff single, but Garrett Whitlock closed out the game with three consecutive strikeouts.
The Air Force Academy duo of Skenes and Griffin Jax kept Mexico’s offense in check during their two stints, delighting the Air Force baseball team, who was invited to stay an extra day in Texas after playing Baylor over the weekend. Skenes and Griffin gave them a night to remember.
Skenes, who spent two years at the academy before transferring to LSU, gave up just one hit in four shutout innings, striking out seven batters. The former cadet was so fired up that he threw 21 pitches registering at least 97-mph on the radar gun the first two innings. And Jax, the first Air Force Academy graduate to reach the major leagues, shut down Mexico’s last rally in the eighth by coming in and inducing Alejandro Kirk into an inning-ending double play.
“I had special conversations with both of them," USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “Obviously, their process is a little bit different than the rest of the guys in the room, living that military background and going to school and attending Air Force.
“I know every guy in that room is proud to represent the United States of America. But the conversations with them were a little bit different, as far as wanting to represent every serviceman and woman who protects our freedom on a nightly basis. They're thinking is a little bit different."
And if it wasn’t the AFA duo shutting down Mexico, there was USA shortstop Bobby Witt to snuff it out, making two you-got-to-see-it-to-believe-it plays with throws from his knees.
Judge was so euphoric that when Witt came into the dugout after throwing out Nick Gonzales in the fifth inning, he got into his face, and yelled, “Are you kidding me?"
Team USA now sits atop Pool B with a 3-0 record, and can clinch the top seed with a victory Tuesday night over Italy. They will then have two full days off before they would play again at Daikin Field against Puerto Rico, Cuba or Canada.
And plenty of time for everyone to continue to extol the greatness of Judge, who has put this USA team on his back this tournament, with his teammates trying to hang around him as much as possible.
“Obviously, one of the best players to have played this game," USA third baseman Alex Bregman said. “And I feel like he's super knowledgeable about the swing, about the game of baseball in general. So definitely not taking this opportunity for granted, and trying to pick his brain as much as I possibly can about hitting or anything to do with the game of baseball.
The New York Rangers’ dominant 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night was led by the impressive play of some of the team’s young talent.
Given the Rangers’ retooling direction, at this point of the season, the growth of the young players is most critical, even more so than wins.
Sullivan has already admitted to a shift in his philosophy in terms of his utilization of players, which centers around giving the youth more of an opportunity to thrive and put them in an abundance of situations they aren’t necessarily accustomed to at the NHL level.
“That’s part of it; putting these guys in certain situations and seeing what they're capable of, Sullivan said. “That was part of that process.”
There is no one player who has benefited from this shift in philosophy more than Gabe Perreault.
Perreault has flourished since returning from the Olympic break, and it’s been evident that he’s beginning to not only adapt to the NHL, but the game is slowing down for him at a rate where he’s able to dictate plays through his impressive vision and hockey IQ.
With J.T. Miller landing on injured reserve, Sullivan has given Perreault an opportunity to operate with the Rangers’ first power-play unit.
On Monday night in Philadelphia, the 20-year-old forward showcased his skills on the man advantage, recording one goal and one assist, headlined by a no-look pass to Mika Zibanejad for a goal.
“Game by game, I think I get more and more confident,” Perreault said. “That kind of helps with getting other players’ trust, the coaching staff, and believing and being confident in myself as well.”
While the play of Noah Laba has always been a bright spot for the Rangers, he’s quietly emerging as one of the team’s most impactful forwards as of late.
Outside of Laba’s two points on the night (one goal, one assist), he played the game with a ferocious physical edge, specifically on the defensive side of the puck.
Sullivan continues to make it a priority to give Laba an increased role on the penalty kill, and so far, he’s liked what he’s seen.
“We're trying to give him a more prominent role here on the penalty kill in particular, and just give him more reps, and giving him more of an opportunity to continue to grow in that area,” Sullivan said of Laba. “We're trying to put him in a more prominent role there.”
When the Rangers claimed Tye Kartye off waivers from the Seattle Kraken last week, it was relatively unknown what he would provide for the Rangers and the exact role Sullivan planned on inserting him into.
Through five games with the Blueshirts, Kartye has found his place, playing in a third-line role and slotting in on the penalty kill.
He had arguably his best performance against the Flyers.
The 24-year-old forward recorded his first goal as a Ranger, while also assisting on Laba’s goal in the first period.
Kartye’s reliable two-way game is what stands out most about his overall game, as he’s turning out to be a sneaky addition for the Rangers.
“I really like Tye’s game,” Sullivan emphasized. “He's got a simple game. He plays north, south, he checks well. There's a physical dimension to his game. He finishes checks, he's abrasive, he's willing to take hits to make plays. We've really liked how he's fit in.”
The Rangers’ fate this season likely remains the same, with the playoffs far out of reach.
However, it's certainly encouraging to see this sort of contribution from New York’s younger talent.
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 24: Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles the ball during the game against Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves on October 24, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers (39-25) look to keep their winning ways going against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves (40-24) on Tuesday. This is the final match between the two teams this season, as L.A. looks to sweep the regular season series.
With less than five weeks until the regular season concludes, the standings race, especially in the competitive Western Conference, will heat up. The Lakers have won five of their last six games and are sitting in the fifth seed. Their next opponent? The current third seed in the same conference.
The Timberwolves will be a good test for this Lakers team as they’ve been playing well as of late. They’ve won eight out of their last 10 games led by Anthony Edwards, who is currently averaging 29.6 points per game. Edwards has also been getting consistent help from Julius Randle, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert. Overall, the Wolves average 118.6 points per game (fifth-best in the league) and rank in the top 10 offensively and defensively.
The Lakers can absolutely go toe-to-toe with the Wolves, especially on offense. Luka Dončić — who is in a very good groove right now, scoring-wise — will definitely be able to match Edwards’ production. The biggest X-factor in this one will be whose supporting cast will outplay the other. Austin Reaves, in particular, has played well in the two games between the Lakers and Wolves in this one.
Speaking of those two games — which both happened in October — the Lakers didn’t have LeBron James in any of those either, so by default, they already know what to expect. There’s also no doubt that the Wolves are much better this time around compared to October and have the same goal as the Lakers, which is to stay in a decent position in the standings. There’s a good chance that this is going to be a thriller.
That said, it’ll be interesting to see if Los Angeles attempts to win this one similarly to how they did in their last two games against Minnesota by attacking the paint and limiting Rudy Gobert’s presence. Hopefully that will be the case and the Lakers’ win the possession battle as well as control the pace as they have over their last two games.
Let’s see if the Lakers can make a statement and improve their chances of climbing up the Western Conference standings in a massive game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
Only LeBron James (right hip contusion and left foot arthritis) is written on the report.
As for the Wolves, Kyle Anderson (right knee soreness) is questionable.
According to Michelle Gardner of the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, the reports that surfaced Monday afternoon of the Sun Devils and Hurley expected to "part ways" at the end of the season are "premature."
There were multiple reports Monday that mentioned the Sun Devils and Hurley are expected to go their separate ways at the end of the season, which could be as soon as Tuesday afternoon in the Big 12 tournament, after 11 years in Tempe.
Hurley entered the 2025-26 season on the final year of his contract and already under heat after the Sun Devils finished with losing records in back-to-back seasons.
Hurley's contract, which was obtained by the USA TODAY Sports Network, is set to run through June 30 with the Sun Devils. This means, even if the Sun Devils don't elect to renew Hurley's contract, there will be some money going to him if he is let go by the athletic department. Hurley is owed approximately $900,000 if he is fired.
The Sun Devils have only made it to the NCAA Tournament three times under Hurley, and have finished with a winning record in four seasons. Hurley, the former Duke guard and brother to Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, has only won 20 or more games four times and has not led the Sun Devils to a conference title.
Since the Sun Devils moved to the Big 12, they are 29-35 overall and 11-27 in Big 12 play. The best win for Arizona State under Hurley in the Big 12 came just last week against No. 16 Kansas and Darryn Peterson in Tempe. It marked just the 15th win over a ranked team in his 11-seasons, and the ninth over a top-15 ranked team.
Arizona State opens up Big 12 tournament play on Tuesday, March 10 at 12:30 p.m. ET against Baylor at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri as the No. 12 seed in the bracket.
Bobby Hurley record at Arizona State
Here's a season-by-season breakdown of how Arizona State has fared under Hurley:
Every MVP winner has a signature moment during the season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may have just had his on Monday night against Denver.
First, with a third-quarter step-back 3-pointer, Gilgeous-Alexander reached 20 points — his 126th straight game with at least 20 points, tying Hall of Famer and legend Wilt Chamberlain for the most consecutive 20+ point games in league history.
That record likely falls on Thursday night when the Thunder host the Celtics.
SGA wasn't done. In what was a back-and-forth final minute, with MVP frontrunners Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic trading wild buckets, it was the Thunder star who had the final say with a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left on the clock.
CLEVELAND (AP) — James Harden scored 21 points to become the ninth player in NBA history with more than 29,000 career points, Keon Ellis added 19 off the bench, and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised to a 115-101 victory over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Donovan Mitchell had 17 points and six assists, and Evan Mobley had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. Harden reached the milestone with a free throw in the first quarter, finishing the game with 29,017 points in 17 pro seasons.
Cleveland is 8-1 at home since Jan. 23, with its lone loss Sunday to surging Boston, and has won 18 of its last 24 overall. The Cavaliers are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind New York.
Quentin Grimes scored 17 points and Cameron Payne had 12 points for Philadelphia, which has lost two in a row and four of its last five to slip into eighth in the East. Justin Edwards added 14 points.
NETS 126, GRIZZLIES 115
NEW YORK (AP) — Day’Ron Sharpe matched a season high with 19 points, Ochai Agbaji added 18 and Brooklyn beat the injury-plagued Memphis for their second straight victory.
Nolan Traore added 17 points for the Nets, who were coming off an improbable 107-105 win at Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on Saturday night that snapped a 10-game skid.
The Nets, who rested leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., had six players score in double figures. The Grizzlies had only eight players available.
Rayan Rupert scored a career-high 20 points and Javon Small added 19 for Memphis, which has lost four straight and 11 of 14.
THUNDER 129, NUGGETS 126
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left to cap a frantic final minute on a night he matched Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive 20-point games, and Oklahoma City beat Denver.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points and a career-high 15 assists, becoming the second player in NBA history to have those totals and zero turnovers. He also had nine rebounds. In the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander reached the 20-point mark for the 126th straight game, equaling Chamberlain’s streak from 1961-63.
With Oklahoma City leading 126-122, Denver’s Nikola Jokic hit a 3-pointer and Oklahoma City’s Jaylin Williams was called for an off-ball foul fighting through a screen. Jamal Murray made the free throw with 8.5 seconds remaining to tie the game.
Gilgeous-Alexander responded, elevating over Spencer Jones for his second 3 in the final 14 seconds. Denver’s Aaron Gordon missed a 61-foot heave at the buzzer.
The Thunder are 6-0 since Gilgeous-Alexander returned from an abdominal strain that sidelined him for nine games.
Williams scored 29 points and Ajay Mitchell, in his return after missing 20 games with an abdominal strain and a sprained left ankle, added 24 points.
Jokic had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. It was his 24th triple-double of the season and the 188th of his career. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points and Gordon added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets.
JAZZ 119, WARRIORS 116
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brice Sensabaugh scored 21 points, two-way player Blake Hinson made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, and Utah outlasted Golden State.
Hinson made four 3-pointers including a shot from beyond the arc on the right wing with 29.9 seconds remaining to shock the Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry and several other rotation regulars.
Kyle Filipowski contributed 19 points and 15 rebounds for Utah, which had lost eight of nine games.
De’Anthony Melton, who led the Warriors with 22 points, made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 117-116, but Elijah Harkless, another two-way player, clinched the game for the Jazz with two free throws to reach a career-high 16 points.
CLIPPERS 126, KNICKS 118
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points, and Los Angeles beat New York to climb back to .500 for the first time since early November.
The Clippers are 32-32 and have won five of their first six games in March as they try to improve their potential position in the NBA Play-in Tournament. They began the season in a 6-21 tailspin.
It was Leonard’s 42nd straight game with 20-plus points, the second-longest active streak in the NBA and third-longest in team history.
Mathurin scored 22 in the second half off the bench as one of five Clippers in double figures. Darius Garland had 23 points and seven assists in his second start.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out in the final seconds. Jalen Brunson added 28 points and OG Anunoby had 22 points.
NEW YORK (AP) — Day'Ron Sharpe matched a season high with 19 points, Ochai Agbaji added 18 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the injury-plagued Memphis Grizzlies 126-115 on Monday night for their second straight victory.
Nolan Traore added 17 points for the Nets, who were coming off an improbable 107-105 win at Eastern Conference-leading Detroit on Saturday night that snapped a 10-game skid.
The Nets, who rested leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., had six players score in double figures. The Grizzlies had only eight players available.
Rayan Rupert scored a career-high 20 points and Javon Small added 19 for Memphis, which has lost four straight and 11 of 14.
The Grizzlies were missing Ja Morant (left elbow), Scotty Pippen Jr. (right toe soreness), Santi Aldama (knee), Ty Jerome (calf), Cedrix Coward (right knee), newcomer Taj Gibson (reconditioning), Taylor Hendricks (right thumb soreness) and Brandon Clarke (calf). Zach Edey and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are out for the season.
Brooklyn led by single digits throughout the third quarter before taking control early in the fourth. Traore made a 3-pointer that put the Nets ahead 101-90, and Agbaji followed with two buckets off feeds by Ziaire Williams for a 15-point lead.
Brooklyn had a 67-40 advantage in bench points.
Earlier Monday, the Nets announced that Egor Demin will miss the rest of the season with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The 6-foot-8 rookie averaged 10.3 points in 52 games.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Adrian Kempe scored his second goal of the game with 1:26 left in overtime to give the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
With the victory, Los Angeles moved within a point of Seattle in the race for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.
Columbus tied the score late for the second straight home game. Kirill Marchenko scored on the power play at 18:04 to force the extra period.
Brian Dumoulin had a goal and two assists. Scott Laughton scored for the second straight game since joining the Kings from Toronto and added an assist. Artemi Panarin also scored. Anton Forsberg made 28 saves for Los Angeles in the opener of a five-game trip.
Connor Garland scored twice — his first goals since coming to Columbus from Vancouver — and Denton Mateychuk added a goal and an assist. Jet Greaves made 26 saves for Columbus, which has lost two straight at home.
The Blue Jackets are two points behind Boston in the race for the second Eastern Conference wild-card spot, and three points behind the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan Division.
RANGERS 6, FLYERS 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mika Zibanejad had two goals and an assist, and New York scored on three power plays in a win over the Philadelphia.
Noah Laba and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal an assist. Gabe Perreault and Vladislav Gavrikov also scored for the Rangers, who won for the third time in five games. Igor Shesterkin finished with 32 saves.
Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers. Dan Vladar allowed six goals on 24 shots and was replaced by Samuel Ersson at the start of the third period. Ersson made three saves in relief.
CAPITALS 7, FLAMES 3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Connor McMichael scored twice and the Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames 7-3 on Monday night.
Justin Sourdif had a goal and two assists and Hendrix Lapierre added a goal and an assist for Washington. Tom Wilson, Ethen Frank and Ryan Leonard also scored for the Capitals, who ended a three-game slide.
Matvei Gridin, Blake Coleman and Yegor Sharangovich scored for Calgary, which has lost five of its last six.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Jahmai Mashack #21 of the Memphis Grizzlies dribbles against Nolan Traore #88 of the Brooklyn Nets during the first half at Barclays Center on March 09, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Brooklyn Nets picked up their second win in a row tonight, and while they played winning basketball by all accounts, it felt like the Memphis Grizzlies set it down on the ground for them and walked away.
The Nets held Michael Porter Jr. out tonight for rest. They also started Drake Powell, who spent the last week and a half with Long Island. By putting him alongside Nolan Traoré, Danny Wolf, Noah Clowney, and Nic Claxton, the Nets started three rookies for a third time this season. Progress.
However, the Grizzlies had an even stronger handicap. If you’re a Nets fans infatuated with the Memphis Hustle, this was the night for you to come to the Barclays Center! Memphis’ list of inactives included Ja Morant, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Zach Edey, Brandon Clarke, Taylor Hendricks, Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama, Ty Jerome, Taj Gibson and Cedric Coward. That left them with only eight players available, three being two-ways. Their rotation also lacked a true center, as they opened with 6’9” GG Jackson at the 5.
Claxton relished his opportunity as the only adult in the room. Most of Brooklyn’s early offensive sets centered around him as he scored six of Brooklyn’s first eight points.
Nevertheless, Memphis controlled the contest early on, starting it 6-of-8 from deep. Rayan Rupert, one of the aforementioned two-ways, led everyone with eight first period points while shooting 2-4 from three. He and Memphis’ rag tag crew even went up on Brooklyn by as many as 10 in that frame.
However, the Nets closed it on an equally sized run to retake the lead, and they held theirs for far longer. Ben Saraf, running around like a penguin on melting ice beforehand, hit Ziaire Williams with a perfect pass to set up a the high-arching three that capped it off…
Ben Saraf finds Ziaire Williams at the last second. Nice job to lead him to the spot with the pass. pic.twitter.com/SNITv29LiU
It was Ochai Agbaji’s turn in the secon. He snagged seven points for the Nets in the period’s first three minutes, leveraging his speed and size on the break. The 6’5” 25-year-old wing also hit a triple in that stretch, bringing himself to 13-of-29 on threes in Brooklyn. He finished tonight with a season high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
“Yeah, he took advantage of his minutes in the last two games, especially against Detroit, a very good team and physical,” Fernández said. “I thought defensively, he was one of our best players, especially protecting the rim and being our low man. He had four actions where he went vertical and protected the rim. And then tonight, the efficiency, 8-of-9 with 18 points, very clean game for him. It’s always good to have guys come in and be that efficient.”
However, if we’re going to talk about shooting from deep, we should really start with Traoré. He hasn’t shied away from the arc this year, but he hasn’t exactly threatened defenses from there either, coming into the game shooting 32.2% on 2.9 attempts per game.
Perhaps the Memphis defense read into those numbers too much. Perhaps Traoré wanted to save his makes for later in the season. Either way, he started the game a perfect 3-of-3 from deep and quickly helped the Nets build their won double digit advantage. He finished with 17 points shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. The Nets also shot 17-of-33 on triples for the evening, giving them their highest mark from there in a game all season.
But even as Brooklyn continued the crisp outside shooting, they never forgot about their advantage on the interior. Brooklyn continued to attack the paint in transition and the halfcourt, posting a +12 advantage there in the first half. Just behind Traoré, who had 11 points by then with an assist and block, Brooklyn’s bigs in Claxton (10) and Sharpe (9) were their team’s second and third leading scorers at halftime.
Fernández took time to appreciate the team’s ability to attack the Memphis defense on both fronts after the game.
“Day’Ron was very efficient. Nic, pretty efficient,” Fernández said. “But, you look at the paint points, 56 is not crazy. I think DayD was very efficient. I think all the shots, like you shoot 55% from the field and 51% for three, that’s pretty good. So, short handed, eight players, probably smaller, but I think overall, it was not just throwing it into the post all the time. Day’Day ducked in a couple times, did a great job, dunked in transition, all that stuff, so yeah, it was good.”
“Great team effort,” Sharpe added. “Everybody’s playing hard, playing together. We always preach about by sharing the ball. They was smaller, so me and Nic was getting on the ball paint and kicking it out. Everybody was capitalizing off of that.”
The Nets likely would have led by more than eight at halftime had they not turned it over 10 times and allowed Memphis to shoot 9-of-20 from deep. But even with the first half spotlighting the Nets’ perimeter defense as the barrier separating them from a win, they either still couldn’t see it, or couldn’t get around it at first.
The Grizzlies began the second half 3-of-6 from deep and quickly cut the lead to one less than four minutes into the third. A Danny Wolf at center experiment midway through the period went awry too, as Memphis even swung back against Brooklyn inside, managing to win there in the period 14-10.
And again, the Grizzlies got close, but not back in front of the Nets. Each time they inched closer, Brooklyn hit a timely shot to stay up one or two possessions. Wolf even redeemed some of his rough defensive sequences at the other end, or at least by heaving the ball into it…
Sharpe then took it from there. Coming in for Wolf to begin the fourth, he added seven points in less than three minutes to lead Brooklyn on a 14-4 run. In the process, Sharpe showed he can put the ball through the rim with feel and force, hitting a three before doing this moments later…
“The three, I already knew it was going in as soon as I shot it,” Sharpe said. “And the dunk, I just gotta dunk it. I didn’t even think he was gonna jump, but he jumped, so I just put it on his head.”
When the dust settled after Sharpe’s seismic boom, the scoreboard showed the Nets up by more than two touchdowns. Powell, Agbaji, and Jalen Wilson, who played his first non-garbage time minutes in over two weeks, all mixing in threes as the fourth bled down also provided the plenty of lead insurance.
It was even enough for Chaney Johnson, one of Brooklyn’s own two-ways, to get his first career minutes as a pro. He played the game’s final five minutes alongside E.J. Liddell, grabbing four points and a steal.
There’s not many to choose from, but this was likely Brooklyn’s biggest “team” win of the season, and not just because the Long Island guys got some burn.
While Sharpe led everyone with 19 points on 8-11 shooting, Ziaire Williams also pitched in 11 points off the bench and finished as a +22. Wilson only scored six points, but finished as a +31 in 22 minutes, which ranks as a career-high figure for him. Wolf had a 14/9/2 line, registering a block and a steal too. Noah Clowney was the sixth Net in double figures with 10 points, but Powell and Claxton were right behind with nine apiece.
With the win, the Nets also surrender the third-best odds to win the draft lottery this May to the Washington Wizards. Sure, there’s plenty of time for them to make that ground back up, but we can’t talk about two Nets wins in a row without acknowledging that.
While lots of fans will surely care about draft pick positioning, Day’Ron Sharpe made it clear postgame he doesn’t…not that his play left anything up for debate.
“We trying to win every game,” he said. “Well, I know, like us as a team, we’re every game, so it felt great for us to get the last win and to get a win today. Nobody likes losing, so just always trying to win, always bring good energy in the locker room.”
Final: Brooklyn Nets 126, Memphis Grizzlies 115
Milestone Watch
Day’Ron Sharpe tied his season high of 19 points tonight against the Grizzlies (fourth time) to go with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. In tandem with Ochai Agbaji (season-high 18 points), it is the first time this season that multiple Nets have scored 18+ off the bench in the same game.
Jalen Wilson +31 plus/minus tonight against Memphis is the second-highest plus/minus by a Net this season (Ben Saraf, +32 on 12/6/25 vs. WAS)
Waiting on the final results around the league, but it looks like the Nets will wind fourth in the Tankathon rankings.
Next Up
The Nets beat the Pistons on Saturday, so that automatically means they’re better than them now and should be favored in this game. This one tips off at Tuesday in the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. ET.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Ronald Acuña Jr. #21 of the Venezuela singles during the fifth inning against Nicaragua at loanDepot park on March 09, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The star outfielder for the Atlanta Braves continued to do his home country proud in the World Baseball Classic. Ronald Acuña Jr. delivered another good performance for Venezuela as his performance essentially pushed them over the top in a win that primes them for a massive clash against the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
As usual, Acuña led off for Venezuela in this one and as usual (when he’s healthy and feeling confident), he wreaked havoc upon the basepaths once he did reach. He got on with a walk, stole second base and then made it to third base on the play after catcher Ronald Rivera sent a wayward throw into the outfield. Jackson Chourio brought Acuña home on a sacrifice fly and that put a capper on a tone-setter of a trip around the basepaths for Acuña to start things off.
Acuña returned to the dish in the third inning and by that point, Nicaragua starter Danilo Bermudez had sat down eight Venezuela batters in a row. He was unable to make it nine because he served up a hanger in the middle of the zone for Acuña and the leadoff man for Venezuela and the Braves made no mistake with it. He crushed into the seats in right-center (a familiar sight for baseball fans in Miami) for a solo shot that put some breathing room in between Venezuela and Nicaragua. Venezuela had two baserunners and two runs at that point and both were thanks to Ronald Acuña Jr.
He wasn’t done there, either. Once the fifth inning rolled around, Acuña actually came to the plate with runners on base and two outs on the board. Duque Hebbert tried to fool him with a changeup but instead, Acuña smacked it into left-center field for another RBI in order to make it 3-0 Venezuela. For the kids keeping track at home, every run that Venezuela had scored at that point had Acuña involved with it in some way, shape or form. It’s the type of performance that us fans here in Braves Country are used to seeing and now he was doing it for his home country on the world stage.
Acuña added another single in seventh inning to make it a 3-for-3 day at the plate with a walk, a stolen base, two runs scored, two RBI and a home run as well. Again, baseball fans in Miami are very likely used to seeing this type of performance from Acuña and hopefully we’ll be seeing more of that once the Braves make it down there to South Florida for a regular season contest.
Acuña’s performance helped power Venezuela to a comfortable win over Nicaragua. They didn’t need to win the game since earlier results had ensured that they’d be leaving the group but now they’ve ensured that their matchup against the Dominican Republic on Wednesday will be a showdown to decide who wins Pool D. The building formerly known as Marlins Park is going to be packed to the rafters for that one and it’ll be very exciting to see how Acuña and the rest of this Venezuela squad fares against one of the real tournament favorites with quarterfinal seeding on the line.
It’ll all get started at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday night on Fox Sports 1, in case you’re interested in tuning in to see these two mammoths clash.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 09: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the United States throws the ball to first base in the fifth inning during a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Mexico and the United States at Daikin Park on March 9, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Whatever you think of the World Baseball Classic, it provides a stage for some of the top players in the world to shine. Sometimes you get a 17-year-old kid inducing Aaron Judge to hit into a double play, and sometimes you get one of the best players in the world making ridiculous plays.
We saw the latter tonight when Bobby Witt Jr. pulled off an acrobatic feat against Mexico. World Series star Alejandro Kirk laced a liner to deep short that looked like a sure hit. Bobby dove and speared the ball on one hop, then fired a one-hopper from his knees to first base to record the out.
But he wasn’t done! An inning later, Nick Gonzales sent a grounder to deep short. Bobby didn’t even have to dive for this one, he made it look easy firing that laser to first to get the out.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - MARCH 09: A detail shot of a World Baseball Classic Pool A base jewel prior to the 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool A game presented by Capital One between Team Colombia and Team Panama at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockies fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The World Baseball Classic is in full swing, and the Rockies have a number of players on a variety of rosters. Some have performed well while others have struggled… but that’s baseball!
Tonight, we’d like to know your thoughts on the WBC so far. Who has performed well, and who do you think will win? Let us know!
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mika Zibanejad had two goals and an assist, and the New York Rangers scored on three power plays in a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
Noah Laba and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal an assist. Gabe Perreault and Vladislav Gavrikov also scored for the Rangers, who won for the third time in five games. Igor Shesterkin finished with 32 saves.
Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers. Dan Vladar allowed six goals on 24 shots and was replaced by Samuel Ersson at the start of the third period. Ersson made three saves in relief.
The Rangers pounced early and scored in bunches. Laba converted from close range 1:04 into the game when Vladar failed to control the puck after a glove save. Zibanejad scored his first at 13:07 while charging down the slot, and Lafreniere posted New York's first power-play goal with 38 seconds left in the first.
Michkov got the Flyers on the board at 3:54 of the second, but the Rangers stormed back. Perreault scored with the man advantage less than three minutes later. Zibanejad scored on the power play and Gavrikov added a goal — in a 20-second span — at the end of the period.
Couturier scored at the 15:28 of the third.
New York defenseman Uhro Vaakanainen, in action after being scratched for five games, saw 15 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time. Matt Rempe (upper body), J.T. Miller (upper body) were sidelined for the Rangers, and forward Taylor Raddysh is away from the team for his father’s funeral.
Travis Konecny and Nick Seeler were back in action for the Flyers. Konecny, who leads Philadelphia with 23 goals and 57 points, missed three games with an upper-body injury. Seeler missed 2 games with a lower-body injury sustained in a win over Toronto a week ago Monday.
Up next
Rangers: Host the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Flyers: Host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.
