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Knicks begin West Coast road trip with 112-107 loss to Suns

The Knicks went down to the wire with the Phoenix Suns on Friday night but lost, 112-107.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Back in the starting lineup for the second straight game, Miles McBride got things started for New York with a three-pointer to kick things off and then got the assist on Jalen Brunson's first bucket of the night, another three-ball that gave the Knicks a 6-2 lead. Dillon Brooks responded right away with one from way downtown, though, which started a 10-0 run by the Suns that gave them a six-point edge. Brooks hit two more threes in the quarter and led all scorers with 11 points after 12 minutes.

-- Besides McBride and Brunson, New York didn't get much help offensively with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson only combining for six points in the first quarter as the Knicks were outscored 28-23 entering the second.

-- The offense opened up for New York in the second quarter with help from the bench, especially Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven straight points early in the quarter to tie the game at 32. He had 12 in the quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored his first points of the game with a triple midway through the second quarter that gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the first. 

-- After that, both teams traded baskets with neither team able to get out to more than a three-point lead. In fact, during the first half, there were nine ties and 11 lead changes, with most of that coming during the final six minutes of the second quarter. At the break, the Suns were up 62-60.

-- Following a quiet half, Towns took it up a notch out of the break. After making one of two free throws out of the gates, KAT drained a deep three to counter a similarly long three-pointer from Royce O'Neal, although Brooks got the crowd back into it with his fourth three of the game. 

-- Nevertheless, it was the Brunson and Towns show for the Knicks in the third quarter, with both players combining for 20 points in the first six minutes and keeping New York in the game. During that stretch, no other Knick got on the board and with nobody helping Brunson and Towns, Phoenix would go on a 14-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night and keeping New York scoreless for five minutes. 

-- McBride finally broke the spell with just under a minute to play in the quarter by hitting a three and KAT ended the quarter by completing a three-point play to get the Knicks to within eight with one quarter remaining.

-- In the fourth, Anunoby's three with 7:47 left got his team to within four points, but Devin Booker's three-point play cancelled that out. A minute later, Anunoby hit another three. 

-- The final frame was a defensive slog with every basket difficult to come by. Still, New York was able to overcome that 14-0 run earlier in the game by chipping away and tied the game at 101 after Anunoby's two made free throws with 3:04 left. That would be the closest the Knicks would come, though, from pulling out a win as the Suns ended the game on an 11-6 run and went 6-for-6 on free throws in the final minutes.

-- With a chance to cut his team's deficit to one after getting fouled on a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, Anunoby instead missed two of three from the line to keep New York down three. Brooks ended his fantastic night by hitting both free throws at the end to seal the game. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

-- Noticeably absent in crunch time was Brunson, who made just one basket in the fourth quarter, which came with nine minutes left. He also had a crucial turnover late in the game -- one of four on the night for the point guard. The Knicks as a team had 17 turnovers compared to eight by Phoenix. Brunson finished with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting (5-for-10 from deep).

Game MVP: Dillon Brooks

Although Booker led all scorers with 31 points, Brooks had his hand in everything from beginning to end and gave the Knicks fits all night.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks' West Coast road trip continues with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at 6 p.m.

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Kings Fall To The Jets In A Blowout

The Los Angeles Kings (18-15-10) continued their three-game road trip into Manitoba in a Western Conference clash with the Winnipeg Jets (16-22-5). No matchup is easy in the National Hockey League but the Kings were given a chance to bounce back with a victory over the Jets who entered Friday night having lost their last 11 games, which has them sitting at 32nd place in the league. After falling behind early, the Kings never had enough to juice to make a game out of this one. 

The dog days of the season seem to be hitting the Kings in full force this year as they have now lost 10 of their last 14 contests.

Kings Fall Behind Early

It didn't take long for this game to turn ugly as the Jets came out flying while it looked like the Kings were still taking their pre-game nap. Before the broadcast could even finish showing the starting lineups Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov scored his 7th goal of the season by redirecting a Logan Stanley shot from the point past Darcy Kuemper.

After falling behind just a minute and a half into the contest, the Kings weathered the storm but that was it. The time of possession battle was fairly even but it was clearly the Jets game to lose.

To add insult to injury, Cole Koepke doubled the Winnipeg lead with less than two minutes remaining in the opening frame. Kopeke blistered his third of the year past Kuemper off of a nice feed by Dylan Samberg.

Another Early Period Blunder

Just like the first period, the Kings were caught lacking and it cost them. Just over two minutes into the second period the Jets stretched their early game lead to 3-0. After a 26-game goaless drought, Jets forward Jonathan Toews found the back of the net for his fourth of the season after finding the loose puck in the crease where was then able to jam it into the L.A. net.

Byfield Gets On The Board

After a very lifeless first half of the game, the Kings found themselves a sliver of life as they shrank the Winnipeg lead to 3-1. Quinton Byfield tipped-in Warren Foegele's shot from the point for his seventh goal of the season, Taylor Award picks up the other assist fo this second career NHL point.

Byfield now has four points in his last four games after having just four points 19 games prior to this stretch.

Midseason Truth About the Los Angeles KingsMidseason Truth About the Los Angeles KingsAt the midpoint of the NHL season, the numbers show that the Los Angeles Kings are an average team. Sitting in fifth place in the Pacific division, tied with the Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks with 45 points, the stats show familiar flaws that ended their season last spring too early.

Scheifele Ices The Game With A Pair

Byfield's goal to make it 3-1 seemingly gave the Kings an outside chance of coming back in this one. That was until notable Team Canada snub Mark Scheifele scored his 21st and 22nd goals of the season to officially turn this game into a blowout. 

Darcy Kuemper was pulled and Anton Forsberg was given the net for the third period. Forsberg didn't see a ton of action but he did stop all three shots he faced. 

The Kings played a little better in the third period as they did generate a handful of quality chances but to no avail. 

WInnipeg's dreadful streak was bound to come to an end eventually, it's just a shame that the Kings made it so easy for them.

The Los Angeles Kings are back in action on Saturday as they finish off their three game road trip in a battle with Connor McDavid and the dreaded Edmonton Oilers.

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Capitals End Blackhawks Winning Streak As Team Deals With "Stomach Bug"

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks took on the Washington Capitals on Friday night at the United Center. Looking for their fifth straight win, the Blackhawks were dealt a tough hand. 

Connor Bedard returned to the lineup, which is always going to be a boost, but the team around him was hit hard by a flu bug. That caused Ilya Mikheyev, Louis Crevier, Spencer Knight, and Arvid Soderblom to miss the game. Even head coach Jeff Blashill, who missed the morning skate himself, battled through it behind the bench. 

Ahead of the game, the Blackhawks called up Drew Commesso and Kevin Korchinski from the Rockford IceHogs so they could play. Both of them woke up this morning thinking they were going to take on the Chicago Wolves, but instead played for the Chicago Blackhawks. 

Before the first period was complete, however, the Capitals had a three-goal lead thanks to goals scored by Anthony Beauvillier, Connor McMichael, and Ethan Frank. 

In the second period, the Blackhawks got themselves on the board with a goal scored by Oliver Moore. This was close to being a power-play goal, but the penalty had just expired. Moore sniped it past Washington/Team Canada goalie Logan Thompson for his fifth of the year. 

This was as beautiful a long-distance shot as Moore is going to score. His speed is his most important skill, but his ability to shoot and make plays has been evident since moving to the center of the ice. 

After Moore scored, however, the Capitals regained their three-goal advantage when Justin Sourdif put one past Commesso. That 4-1 score would hold through the second intermission. 

In the third period, the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin, made it 5-1 with his 916th career goal. He slipped it through the five-hole of Drew Commesso, who is the 187th goalie that Ovechkin has ever scored against. That 5-1 score stood as the final in favor of the Capitals. 

This loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Blackhawks. It also puts an end to their undefeated 2026. The future will dictate if it is the end of their run of solid play following the holiday break, now 5-2-1. 

After the game, there was a lot of emphasis on the illness that is going through the Blackhawks' locker room right now. Jeff Blashill called it a "stomach bug". He made it clear that a lot of the lineup is battling right now, even those who played. 

Mikheyev is expected to travel for their next game. According to Blashill, he was close to playing, but they decided to keep him out. He is also unsure what the situation will be for the starting goalie, as it is unclear who will be available. 

Now and again, NHL teams or pro sports teams in general deal with these types of things. This is a game played by humans. It is also not the only reason that they lost. Those who played didn't have the same jump that the team is used to having when they are playing well. A quick turnaround on Saturday night may help them get back on track. 

Watch Every Chicago Goal

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Saturday night. The second half of a back-to-back situation will take place on the road against the Nashville Predators. 

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Jets Earn First Win in Twelve Games, Beat Kings Handily

The Winnipeg Jets have won a hockey game for the first time in 27 days. 

Mark Scheifele scored twice, while Vlad Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter and Jonathan Toews snapped lengthy scoring droughts as the Jets picked up a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. 

Photo by James Carey Lauder

The home win was the Jets' first win in 12 games, and nearly a full calendar month. 

Namestnikov scored his first goal in 30 games, Toews put home his first goal in 27 games, while Niederreiter picked up his first point in 18 games.

“It was fun, the building was going too," goaltender Eric Comrie said post-game. 

"They had the wave going, they had everything going tonight. It was great. We played like kids again tonight. We had a lot of fun. We got back to just enjoying the game we love to play.”

For the second-straight evening, the Jets got off to another hot start. After coming out guns a blazing to the tune of a three-goal first period on Thursday vs. Edmonton, Winnipeg put another two pucks in the net in the opening frame on Friday night. 

Despite the strong start, Thursday's first period tallies were all the Jets could muster, ultimately falling 4-3 to the Oilers on a third period collapse. 

Winnipeg managed to flip the script on Friday.

The Jets put up a two-spot in the opening game vs. the Kings, before scoring another three in the middle stanza. 

Comrie got the start in goal for the second test of the back-to-back and turned aside 23 of the 24 pucks sent his way. Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals before taking a seat for the third period.

“Obviously a big one," head coach Scott Arniel said of Comrie's showing. "Coming off a tough game the last game played, just looking at the workload he’s had to face, it’s been a grind for him. He had to make some big stops, that breakaway stop was large. He looked big and did a great job with his rebound control.”

Namestnikov opened the story 1:31 into the game, as he redirected a Logan Stanley point shot for the early 1-0 lead.

"Yeah, it's a long time coming," Namestnikov laughed. "It's just relief. And you want to score so bad, and it doesn't go in for however long it was. It's hard and kind of drains you mentally, but you got to keep going. I'm just glad it went in."

Cole Koepke made it 2-0 on a nifty passing play from Tanner Pearson and Dylan Samberg before the period came to a close.

The Jets also maintained a four-shot lead through 20 minutes of play.

Toews got his fourth of the season in the second period, tapping home a Colin Miller point shot just over two minutes into the frame. 

Two goals then made their way into the nets off the skates of Quinton Byfield. He found his seventh of the season by directing the puck past Comrie off his foot midway through the frame. 

But then with Winnipeg on a power play, Scheifele banked a pass attempt off Byfield's skate into the Kings' net for his first of the game. 

Scheifele put home his second with just 43 seconds remaining in the frame, firing home a one-timer off a setup from linemates Cole Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi. The goal ultimately was Kuemper's final shot faced, as Anton Forsberg led the Kings out of the tunnel for the third period.

The Jets killed off each of their three penalties, including a Logan Stanley cross check in the third period, as they shut down the Kings for their first win of 2026. 

“I think they deserved it more than we deserved it," Comrie said of the team's fan support.

"We’ve been putting them through some tough times and they’ve been sticking with us. It’s unbelievable to see their support tonight. There’s not a lot of fan bases that would do that. A lot of fan bases would turn on their team after what we’ve gone through lately, but they’ve stayed right with us the whole time. It’s been special to see that. They are the best fans in the NHL for a reason.”

Next up for Winnipeg is game No. 4 of the five-game homestand. The Jets get a day off on Saturday before hosting the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon. The New York Islanders will then roll into town to close out the stretch with a 7:00 PM central showdown on Tuesday. 

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Nets unable to overcome first-half deficit in 121-105 loss to Clippers

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden scored 31 points, Kawhi Leonard had 26 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 on Friday night.

Reserve guard Jordan Miller made his first six shots and added 21 points. John Collins had 16 for the Clippers, who bounced back from their loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday to win for the eighth time in 10 games. Leonard, questionable earlier in the day with a sprained right ankle, started slowly but had 19 points in the second half.

Rookie guard Egor Demin scored 19 points for the Nets, who lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime against Orlando on Wednesday. But it was quickly clear this one would never be close.

Michael Porter Jr. struggled to 18 points, missing all nine 3-point attempts.

The Clippers scored the first eight points, and after Nic Claxton made two free throws, Harden scored the next six in an 8-0 run that made it 16-2. Demin made a 3-pointer to snap Brooklyn’s 0-for-8 start, but then Leonard and Harden scored to make the Clippers 8 for 9 and give them a 21-5 lead.

The Clippers opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to make it 45-25 on former Nets center Brook Lopez’s three-point play. Los Angeles led by 22 before taking a 63-47 halftime lead.

The Nets, playing four of their five first-round draft picks, often had at least one rookie on the floor and it appeared Harden was looking to punish any of them who had to guard him. The three-time NBA scoring champion shot 10 for 13, and when the Nets started sending a second defender at him, he found the open man and finished with six assists.

Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 11-4 to start the third quarter and get back within single digits, but Leonard made a 3-pointer and the lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.

Up next

Clippers: Visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.

Nets: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.