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Knicks' defense no-shows fourth quarter in 133-121 loss to Magic

Despite a double-double from Jalen Brunson, the Knicks defense collapsed in the fourth quarter in their 133-121 loss to the Magic in Orlando on Saturday.

Coming off their first road win of the season, the Knicks could not duplicate their performance as the Magic shot 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from three to defeat New York for the second straight time this season.

The last time these two teams met (Nov. 12 at MSG), the Magic outmuscled the Knicks and ended New York's five-game winning streak, 124-107. It was arguably the team's worst loss of the season. This one is probably their second-worst.

Brunson, who injured his ankle the last time he faced the Magic and missed two games, led New York with 33 points on 12 of 21 shooting with 11 assists and three rebounds. 

Unfortunately for the Knicks, they lost two rotation players in this one. Miles McBride was questionable before the game with an illness, but was good to go after shootaround. However, the guard never saw the floor and was not seen on the bench for the whole game. Landry Shamet, who started alongside Brunson, Mitchell Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, left early in the first quarter after a midcourt collision led to a shoulder injury.

The Knicks (9-6) are now 1-5 on the road this season.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Knicks, led by Brunson, got off to a quick 11-2 start, but the shots stopped falling and the Magic got out to a 12-0 run of their own once the bench started coming in. 

The Villanova trio of Brunson (14), Bridges (9) and Josh Hart (2) accounted for 25 of the team's 29 points in the quarter. However, Hart picked up three fouls in the first in extended time with Shamet out. Towns was 0-for-4 (0-2 from three) in the first quarter.

The Magic ended the opening frame up 31-29, thanks to Desmond Bane grabbing a rebound on a missed free throw by his teammate and flipping the ball up and in for an and-one. Bane (10) and Franz Wagner (12) led the way for the Magic in the first quarter as they shot 53 percent. 

-Orlando got out to a quick 6-0 run to start, but some big threes from Jordan Clarkson helped cut the deficit in what was a back-and-forth quarter. The Knicks were up 66-64 at the half. The Knicks shot 61 percent through two quarters with Brunson doing most of the heavy lifting, scoring 23 in 18 minutes. Towns finally got on the board with six points in the second but he was a non-factor on the offensive end. Wagner led the Magic with 23 in his 17 minutes at the half, and no matter who was defending him, the Knicks had no answer. 

-Clarkson began the third quarter with the starters, but it was Towns who found his offensive game. The big man scored 11 points, thanks in large part to free throws. But the Magic found offense from everyone as the Knicks found themselves down five points after three quarters. 

The same was the case in the fourth as the Knicks had a hard time keeping up with the Magic, getting down by as many as 18 points in the final frame. After sitting out most of the third due to foul trouble and being ineffective against the athletic Magic forwards, head coach Mike Brown brought in his big man but it was more of the same as Wagner continued his torrid scoring. 

But it was the Knicks' defense that let this one get away. The Magic were shooting 77 percent halfway through the fourth quarter (finished 54 percent), and three starters had season highs for points with Wagner (37), Bane (27) and Jalen Suggs (26) leading the way for Orlando. With less than three minutes remaining, Brown emptied the bench down 12 points, putting a bow on the loss.

The Magic outrebounded the Knicks for most of the game until the benches cleared, but finished 11-9 on the offensive glass.

-With the injuries and foul trouble,Brownsearched for answers off the bench. He called on Tyler Kolek and Mohamed Diawara at times, but he leaned heavily on Hart, Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.

Here's how the Knicks bench performed:

  • Hart: 12 points, five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes (fouled out)
  • Clarkson: 15 points, two rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes
  • Diawara: zero points (0-3), two assists and one rebound in 10 minutes
  • Yabusele: Four points, one rebound in 13 minutes
  • Kolek: Eight points, one assist, two steals in 17 minutes

Even Ariel Hukporti came in for a play before halftime, before the benches were emptied. Pacome Dadiet came in for the final three minutes.

Game MVP: Franz Wagner

Could go to Bane, who did it on both sides of the ball, but Wagner was unstoppable and rendered Robinson unusable. Wagner finished with 37 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Highlights

What's next

The Knicks will continue their road trip, heading across the river to take on the Nets on Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

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Cubs reportedly agree to 2-year contract with reliever Phil Maton

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs added Phil Maton to their bullpen on Friday, agreeing to a two-year contract with the veteran right-hander.

The deal includes a club option, according to a person who spoke to The Associated Press condition of anonymity because the agreement was pending a physical.

Maton played for St. Louis and Texas last season, going 4-5 with a 2.79 ERA and five saves in 63 games. He was traded from the Cardinals to the Rangers on July 31.

The 32-year-old Maton could become the first of baseball's 175 XXB free agents to switch teams. All nine thus far have re-signed.

Chicago made the playoffs this year for the first time since 2020. The Cubs eliminated San Diego in the first round before losing to Milwaukee in a five-game NL Division Series.

Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar - three key relievers for Chicago this season - are free agents.

Maton was selected by San Diego in the 20th round of the 2015 amateur draft out of Louisiana Tech University. He made his big league debut with the Padres in 2017.

He is 23-20 with a 3.98 ERA in 478 major league games, also playing for Cleveland, Houston, Tampa Bay and the New York Mets.

Also Friday, Chicago offered 2026 contracts to left-hander Justin Steele and right-hander Javier Assad. The 30-year-old Steele, who went 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA in 2023, is coming back from elbow surgery.

The Cubs non-tendered catcher Reese McGuire and right-hander Eli Morgan, making them free agents. McGuire, 30, batted .226 with nine homers and 24 RBIs in 45 games this year.

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Observations From Blues' 2-1 Win Vs. Islanders

Nobody said it would ever come easy, even though the St. Louis Blues looked like they were in firm control of their game against the New York Islanders on Saturday afternoon.

They were until the final four minutes when things really got nervy.

But in the end, the Blues got a much-needed win, their first in five games, by closing out the Islanders 2-1 at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.

The Blues (7-9-6) picked up their first win on a season-long five-game road trip but they have points in all three after ending a four-game skid (0-1-3).

Brayden Schenn and Pius Suter supplied the goals, and Jordan Binnington came up large with 30 saves, including 13 in the third period, to earn a much-needed win.

A look at Saturday’s observations:

* Binnington was tested when game mattered most and prevailed – Binnington was sharp through the first 50 minutes of the game making the necessary saves needed to churn out a road win, but his best came late when he outstretched the left toe and robbed Max Shabanov of a one-timer from the right circle with 5:21 remaining in the game to keep it a 2-0 game:

And it was important because not long after, with 3:20 left, Anders Lee won a net front battle with Cam Fowler to cut the Blues’ lead to 2-1.

But throughout the game when Binnington was making saves, he was confidently at the tops of the crease and killing pucks, not allowing rebounds and loose pucks to remain in play against a team that’s the best at scoring in and around the net. That was key.

And the goalie gloved Bo Horvat’s one-timer with 29 seconds left in regulation:

* It got dicey late – When Lee scored and made it a one-goal, the collective breath of Blues fans quietly had to be, ‘Here we go again.’

They’ve lost two-goal leads five different times this season and had another one here, and when the Islanders put the puck in the net with 2:06 left, it created some anxious moments, but referee TJ Luxmore immediately waved the goal off for goalie interference from Kyle Palmieri on Binnington.

However, Justin Faulk was called for a double-minor for high sticking while falling to the ice on Jonathan Drouin, so the Blues had to kill that game off playing 6-on-4. And let's give the penalty kill some credit here killing that off. It has now killed off 13 straight opponents' power plays going back to Nov. 5 against the Washington Capitals.

The Islanders got off four shots on the power play, and Pavel Buchnevich had two shot blocks in there that were key.

* Schenn, Buchnevich get going early – A line that was arguably the best on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers that just didn’t put the puck in the back of the net, two veterans that need to supply offense did just that early in this game.

Schenn’s goal 42 seconds into the first gave the Blues a 1-0 lead and was orchestrated beautifully.

It started with Philip Broberg’s outlet to Dalibor Dvorsky, who finds Buchnevich for a quick 2-on-1, he finds Schenn just inside the top of the right circle and his snap shot was labeled far side to Ilya Sorokin’s blocker:

The line’s Corsi-For/Against wasn’t as good as it was in Philadelphia (7-10) but continues to gain confidence playing with Dalibor Dvorsky, who picked up his first NHL assist on the Schenn goal.

* Broberg continues to excel – Broberg didn’t get an assist on the first goal, but he continues to grab huge minutes and turning into an effective shutdown defenseman playing alongside Colton Parayko.

For the fourth time in five games, Broberg saw over 26 minutes in a game, and set his own personal career-high 16 days after setting it against the Buffalo Sabres (27:09) when the defenseman played 27:58 in this game, including 25:04 at even strength.

Broberg, who was a plus-1 and had three hits and two blocked shots, was killing plays all afternoon.

The Islanders started flipping pucks trying to use speed into the Blues’ zone in the third period because Broberg and the others on the blue line did a nice job taking away the middle of the ice, so they thought they’d flip pucks in and use speed to try and gain an edge on the forecheck, but Broberg especially would have none of it.; he had no giveaways in this game, and for that amount of ice time, that is exceptional.

* Key late goal in a period which has been subpar, the second – For a change, the Blues won a second period and in essence, won them a hockey game.

They allowed a late second-period goal against the Flyers on Thursday to cut a 2-0 lead into 2-1, one in which they essentially lost 3-2 in overtime, but this time, it was Suter getting a big goal at 17:51 to extend it to a 2-0 lead.

Jordan Kyrou pulled a puck off the wall of a Faulk shot, found Dylan Holloway in the slot, who somehow got a shot to the net amid tight coverage, and there was Suter, as he often is, at the doorstep waiting for the rebound to scoop it over Sorokin:

The Holloway-Suter-Kyrou line did not have a good Corsi rating on Thursday, but that line was especially effective in this game with a Corsi-for of 15-3, a 13-2 Fenwick-for advantage and 9-1 shots for advantage that generated 13 scoring chances for and two against.

* Blues took away Islanders good ice – Despite the late push by the Islanders, I thought the Blues defensively as a whole did a solid job of not giving up the middle of the ice as a whole.

The Islanders have some fast options that can gain an edge if you give up the wrong part of the ice, but the Blues for the most part limited their high danger chances until late and did what they had to do to keep Binnington from being under duress.

They even got some good fortune when Tyler Tucker was at the net to keep a puck away from the goal after Binnington had lost sight of it in the first period:

All in all, it was a good effort by everyone. And I thought Fowler had a sneaky, good game with 19:45 ice time and a two blocks to go with a plus-1. He nearly scored on the Blues' lone power play when he was set up by Jimmy Snuggerud, who oh by the way, can we acknowledge this kid's passing ability as much as his shot? I think so.

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Penguins' Forward Hits Milestone

The Pittsburgh Penguins always seem to be hitting milestones, especially with all-time greats in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson on their team.

But some of their role players have milestones to celebrate as well. 

After appearing in the lineup against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, forward Blake Lizotte has skated in his 400th career NHL game. It marked his 80th game with the Penguins.

Lizotte, 27, went undrafted and signed an entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings in 2019 after two seasons at St. Cloud State. He spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with the Kings before signing a two-year deal with the Penguins in the summer of 2024.

In his 400 games, the Penguins' fourth-line center has registered 51 goals and 130 points while being a solid defensive presence.

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Avalanche Lose Brindley Again as Injury Troubles Mount

The Colorado Avalanche received unwelcome news on Gavin Brindley, and it’s exactly what fans hoped to avoid. 

The 21-year-old phenom has been ruled out week-to-week with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated in the coming weeks.

 

Brindley Suffers Another Injury 

Brindley was roughed up Thursday during Colorado’s 6–3 victory over the New York Rangers at Ball Arena. He left in the first period after being driven into the boards and landing awkwardly, then went straight to the dressing room. He attempted a brief return during second-period warmups but quickly retreated down the tunnel. Moments later, the Avalanche announced he would not return. Brindley has recorded seven points (four goals, three assists) in 18 games this season. 

This is Brindley’s second significant setback of the year. He previously missed time after sustaining a concussion on October 31 against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

To fill the vacancy, Colorado recalled Jason Polin from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. The 26-year-old made a strong impression during training camp and has produced a solid start in Loveland, notching six points (three goals, three assists) in 16 games. Given Brindley is expected to be out for an unknown amount time, we can expect more AHL players to fill the void. Tristen Nielsen is already doing that as the Avs are still without the services of Valerui Nichushkin, who is also rehabbing a lower body injury suffered against the Anaheim Ducks on November 11. 

The Avalanche (14-1-5) are in Nashville this evening to take on the Predators (6-10-4) at Bridgestone Arena. Coverage kicks off at 6 p.m. local time. 

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Wallabies fans are entitled to be frustrated but it’s not all grim for this tired, talented side

There were enough sparks and signs of intent in Europe to suggest Australia are a team at the beginning of something, not the end

At the end of a frenetic first half, where Angus Bell ran in one of the great tries by a Wallaby prop, where Matt Faessler powered over for a brace, where Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored a solo stunner and Thomas Ramos and Nicolas Depoortère dotted down as well, Tane Edmed gathered a pass at first receiver.

The young fly-half, playing in his seventh Test, was having a decent game. He’d slotted two of his three shots at goal. He was brave to the line, carrying with zip, stitching moves together as he tried to spark a backline short on fluency. But with the clock in the red, he attempted a raking kick to the corner. Either he didn’t realise the 40 minutes had elapsed, or he thought he was in his own half and a 50-22 was on. Either way, after watching the ball skid into touch to end the half, he stood still, hands on head, stunned by his own misread.

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Five NHL Teams surprisingly Not In A Playoff Spot At The Quarter Mark

The NHL’s 2025-26 season is at the quarter mark, so it’s a great time to look at positive surprises and disappointments at this point in the year.

We began this process by examining the teams that have surprised positively. In this file, we’re focusing on teams that have been disappointments up to this point. Here are five teams in alphabetical order.

Edmonton Oilers

After falling short in back-to-back duels in the Stanley Cup finals, the Edmonton Oilers had sky-high expectations entering this season. To say they’ve failed to live up to them so far is a major understatement.

In 23 games, Edmonton has posted a thoroughly mediocre 9-9-5 record and sank to 12th place in the Western Conference.

Their offense hasn’t been terrific, but their defense has been a serious issue, as their goals-against average is fifth-worst in the league at 3.57 per game. Even for this offense-heavy Oilers team, that is a lot.

The Oilers don’t have much in the way of salary cap space, but they made multiple moves this past summer, and it feels like GM Stan Bowman is locked in with this current group.

It would still shock many if they failed to make the playoffs. However, their performance roughly 25 percent into the season suggests that’s not nearly as far-fetched a situation as once thought.  

Connor McDavid and Artemi Panarin (Perry Nelson-Imagn Images)

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers re-jigged their defense corps and made some calculated changes up front in the off-season, but the Blueshirts came out of the gate poorly. To add to that, they own the worst home record in the NHL at 1-7-1.

It’s no wonder that the Rangers sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with a 10-10-2 record. Getting just one win at Madison Square Garden is certainly a factor.

Defense and goaltending have been relative bright spots for this Rangers team, but offense has been another story.

New York's 2.50 goals-per-game average is third-worst in the league, ahead of only the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators. When you compare where the Flames and Preds are in the standings to the Rangers, it makes sense that the Blueshirts are where they are in the standings.

St. Louis Blues

The St. Louis Blues were an inspiration last year with a late-season charge and a memorable playoff appearance against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. 

However, this season, they’ve been dreadful, owning the league’s worst goals-against average of 3.76 and currently sitting in 13th in the West with a 6-9-6 record.

Some believe the Blues will be selling off talent as they balance the need between staying competitive and shipping off some of their veteran players.

Blues Place Alexandre Texier On Waivers To Terminate ContractBlues Place Alexandre Texier On Waivers To Terminate ContractAlexandre Texier's time with the St. Louis Blues is officially coming to an end, and it looks like he already has options to sign with another team.

For the long haul, making some trades is the right thing to do for St. Louis. Better that than being a "mushy middle" team that comes close, but ultimately fails to make the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs

When the Toronto Maple Leafs were winning a lot of the time – as they were last year, and many regular seasons before that – there was never any question they’d be a playoff team.

But suddenly, there are plenty of questions after 21 games. Only the Buffalo Sabres are lower in the Eastern Conference standings than Toronto, and its 9-9-3 record. That’s about as bad a start as anyone could have forecast for the Leafs.

The injury bug has bitten hard into the Maple Leafs' lineup, but their poor defense, among other inconsistencies, has resulted in their drop in the standings.

Do The Maple Leafs Have 'Too Much Vanilla' Or Not Enough Marner?Do The Maple Leafs Have 'Too Much Vanilla' Or Not Enough Marner?Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said the solution to dealing with the team's bad start is not to point fingers and dig in together. But they seriously need Marner's two-way play right now.

They’re going to get some of their injured players back soon enough, but it’s getting later and later to turn their season around, and before they know it, it will be too late. 

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks had an all-around miserable season last year, and this season, the misery looks to be continuing. Vancouver has a 9-11-2 record, which puts them in 14th place in the West.

While it’s currently a close race where only four points separate the Canucks from the Winnipeg Jets in the second wild-card spot, there are a lot of hungry playoff contenders for Vancouver to leap over.

Thus, the Canucks need a reversal of fortune sooner rather than later. First-year coach Adam Foote has a tough task ahead of him, and who knows – Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin may supervise some roster changes.

“I’d Probably Say Wing Right Now”: Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote Speaks On What Position He Believes Best Fits Lukas Reichel“I’d Probably Say Wing Right Now”: Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote Speaks On What Position He Believes Best Fits Lukas ReichelLukas Reichel has reportedly been made available for trade; here's where Canucks Head Coach Adam Foote believes he fits into the lineup.

But two straight seasons without playoff hockey in Vancouver would be a disaster, so there’s real pressure to turn things around. Only time will tell whether this group responds well to the challenge.

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Islanders return home, drop disappointing game to struggling Blues, 2-1

NEW YORK (AP) — Brayden Schenn and Pius Suter scored goals and the St. Louis Blues snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Jordan Binnington finished with 28 saves for the Blues, whose four straight losses included three in either overtime or a shootout.

Anders Lee scored for the Islanders and Ilya Sorokin made 20 saves, but the Islanders fell in the opening game of a seven-game homestand following a successful seven-game road trip in which they went 6-1-0.

Schenn gave St. Louis the lead just 42 seconds into the game when he buried a pass from Pavel Buchnevich to deflate the home crowd at UBS Arena.

Sorokin made a sprawling glove save in the final two minutes of the first period to preserve the one-goal deficit, but the stop did not jump-start the Islanders’ offense.

Suter extended the Blues’ lead to 2-0 when he scored on a rebound with 2:09 remaining in the second period.

Lee cut the Islanders' deficit in half with 3:20 remaining in the third period.

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk left the game late in the third period.

It was only the second time this season the Islanders failed to score more than one goal.

Up Next

Blues: Visit New York Rangers on Monday night.

Islanders: Host Seattle Kraken on Sunday.

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France triumph in topsy-turvy match to leave Australia winless on autumn tour

  • France 48-33 Australia

  • Les Bleus run in seven tries to end autumn series in style

France beat Australia in a see-saw match to end the Wallabies’ first winless tour of Europe in 67 years, spoiling Joe Schmidt’s farewell Test as both teams closed their autumn series at the Stade de France on Saturday.

Les Bleus, whose November campaign produced mixed results, alternated moments of attacking flair and periods of costly indiscipline, repeatedly allowing Australia back into a match that fluctuated throughout.

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“That’s What Cat Does”: DeBrincat Delivers OT Dagger to Lift Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings managed to seize victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday afternoon, wrestling two points away from the Columbus Blue Jackets thanks to a two-goal third period comeback that was capped by the overtime game-winner from Alex DeBrincat. 

DeBrincat cut down the wing and roofed a shot into the upper corner of the net past goaltender Jet Greaves, guaranteeing the extra point for the Red Wings and giving them the victory in the wake of what was a disappointing 5-0 shutout loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday evening. 

It was DeBrincat’s seventh goal of the season, and he scored it in true goal-scorer’s fashion, finding a sliver of open net from a sharp angle, just as he has throughout his entire NHL career.

Afterward, head coach Todd McLellan said DeBrincat is one of the few players he’d want to have the puck on his stick in that moment.

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"That's a tough spot for goaltenders to cover," McLellan said. "You see a lot of shots even going in off helmets, the goaltender's mask or helmet. That's what Cat does. We pay him to make that shot. He's done it his whole career. I can't think of, maybe another one or two guys I'd want in that situation, but Cat would certainly be one of them." 

DeBrincat himself chalked it up to a bit of luck on his part. 

"I saw him down on the post as I was going by that guy (Blue Jackets defenseman) and I feel a lot of goalies do that nowadays and you just have to hopefully find your spot," DeBrincat said of his goal. "Maybe a little lucky there, but at that point in overtime, it's probably my last rush to create something and just lucky enough to put it in."

However, it’s easy to argue that for a player like DeBrincat—who has twice scored 40 goals and added 39 more last season—a shot like that was pure talent, not luck.

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Wallabies condemned to winless Europe tour in loss to France as pressure mounts on Joe Schmidt

  • Despite improved showing, Australia fall 48-33 to Les Bleus in Paris

  • Wallabies make unwanted history with first winless Europe tour in 67 years

Pressure continues to mount on the beleaguered coach Joe Schmidt after the Wallabies ended a disastrous spring tour with a damaging 48-33 loss to France in Paris.

Despite a vastly improved showing after insipid displays against England, Italy and Ireland, the Wallabies have now endured a winless four-Test tour of Europe for the first time since 1958.

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Russell Westbrook delivers in clutch to help Kings snap eight-game losing streak

Russell Westbrook delivers in clutch to help Kings snap eight-game losing streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

For the first time since Nov. 5, the sky in downtown Sacramento is graced with a purple hue that can only mean one thing. The Kings won a basketball game.

Sacramento snapped an eight-game losing streak with a gritty 128-123 comeback win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night at Ball Arena, getting a vintage Russell Westbrook performance that was capped off with an exquisite fourth quarter showing against his former team.

Westbrook has 21 points, six rebounds and 11 assists on 9-of-16 shooting, with the majority of those buckets coming down the stretch as Sacramento valiantly stormed back from a 13-point deficit to snag a much-needed victory.

15 of those 21 points came in the fourth quarter, including a timeless sequence that saw Westbrook snag a rebound at one end before racing up the court for a layup. Even at 37 years old, Westbrook’s burst still is among the NBA’s best.

Westbrook’s hustle and effort were on display during a pivotal sequence with just over a minute remaining, battling on the boards with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, before making the heady decision to throw the ball off his former teammate to ensure Sacramento would gain possession of the ball.

Westbrook then followed that up with a tough fadeaway shot along the baseline, effectively sealing the win for Sacramento.

While Westbrook stole the show with his fourth-quarter heroics, the nine-time NBA All-Star was quick credit his teammate’s faith in each other as the key to pulling out a win that ended a couple weeks of basketball misery for the Kings.

“You lean on each other. You don’t look out, you look within,” Westbrook said on “Kings Postgame Live. “You have each other’s back. This is a brotherhood, and I think through all the ups and downs all we have is each other. Going on the road, especially against a championship-caliber team, this is a big win for us.”

Westbrook’s teammates still wasted no time heaping praise on the former NBA MVP.

“How many years has he been in the league? 18? He has been doing this for a long time, nothing surprises me,” Malik Monk told reporters after the win when asked about Westbrook.

Keegan Murray also echoed praise for the 18-year veteran, citing the difficult shots Westbrook drained down the stretch to help secure the win.

“He mad some really tough shots. Obviously he played here last year, so that was big for him,” Murray said. “He’s a super confident guy, been around the block a couple times. It was a big moment for him and it helped us get the win.

Murray dropped in 19 points of his own, and more importantly made his presence felt on the defensive end, an area where the Kings missed him dearly during a prolonged injury absence.

While the win only improves the Kings to 4-13 on the season, it was the first step toward any chance at turning Sacramento’s abysmal start to the season around. The Kings have a chance to continue building momentum on Monday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center.

But for now, they can take a moment and enjoy the spoils of victory. A feeling they haven’t been able to cherish for almost three weeks.

“Like I’ve said many times, this league is hard to win in every night,” Westbrook said. “Tonight we fought as a team, this is a big win for us going back home.”

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João Palhinha: ‘My trajectory has been upwards – because I work a lot’

Midfielder has made a big impact at Tottenham but knows upsetting Arsenal is vital to ignite team’s stop-start season

The Premier League’s ball-recovery king wants to zoom out a little, even if the theme does not deviate too far from his stock in trade. This is the thing with João Palhinha, whether in matches or in life. The Tottenham midfielder fights back.

The statistics from his time at Fulham between 2022 and 2024 are telling. The 30-year-old made the most tackles in the league in each season, winning more than anyone else in the first and coming second on the list in season two – one behind Sheffield United’s Vinícius Souza.

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