Dallas Mavericks rookie sensation Cooper Flagg went off Thursday night, setting a new career high with 49 points in a 123-121 loss against the Charlotte Hornets.
Those 49 points also represent a new NBA record for points in a game by a teenager, per the league.
The top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft just turned 19 on Dec. 21.
Flagg started slowly, with just two points in the first quarter. But he exploded in the second for 23 points. Per ESPN Insights, Flagg is the youngest player in the play-by-play era to score more than 20 points in a quarter.
He kept the scoring up in the second half, adding another 24 points.
CHICAGO (AP) — Norman Powell scored 21 points, Bam Adebayo had 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Miami Heat held on for a 116-113 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
Ayo Dosunmu had 23 points to lead the Bulls, who trailed by 13 in the fourth quarter and were down 104-92 with 8:02 remaining before outscoring the Heat 21-12 the rest of the way to make it close.
With Chicago trailing 110-100, Dosunmu made two layups and a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 3 with 2:05 left. After a layup by Powell, Nikola Vucevic's turnaround hook shot made it 112-109 with 54 seconds remaining.
Dosunmu and Powell each made two free throws and after being fouled by Pelle Larsson, Coby White hit both of his foul shots to make it a one-point game with 7 seconds left. Larsson dunked 2 seconds later to give Miami a three-point lead and White missed a 3-point attempt to seal the win for the Heat.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago. Larsson had 15 points.
Vucevic had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Matas Buzelis finished with 16 points, Kevin Huerter had 15 and White 14 for the Bulls.
Up next
The teams play the second of three straight matchups, next in Miami on Saturday night.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards on January 30, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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 Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards play the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow. Let’s preview this.
Game info
When: Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (back), Tristan Vukcevic (hamstring), Marvin Bagley (back), Trae Young (knee, quad) and Cam Whitmore (shoulder) are out. Tre Johnson is day-to-day.
For the Lakers, Austin Reaves (calf) and Adou Thiero (knee) are out. Luka Doncic is day-to-day due to an ankle injury.
What to watch for
So, this winter storm has forced many to miss school for an entire week here in the DMV. Kids are happy. Teachers are happier. Parents who aren’t teachers are wondering when the temperatures hit 32 degrees Fahrenheit again. Either way, I hope you are all enjoying the days off if you had the chance to do that.
Anyway, let’s talk about the Lakers, who are in the middle of a long road trip, and are coming off a 129-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James’ previous team … twice over. Still, LA is 28-18 and will be the overwhelming favorites tomorrow whether James and Doncic play together or not. That said, didn’t the Wizards beat the Milwaukee Bucks just under a couple hours ago as of the time this post got published? You never know guys!
Mar 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the third quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
It was only a matter of time before the Lakers were linked to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
This week, the Greek Freak kind of, sort of demanded a trade, a perfect punctuation on what has been a mess of a Bucks season. Whatever words he wants to use to describe it is a debate for another day, but the end result is that Milwaukee is now fielding offers for him.
Right now, the Lakers don’t have much of a chance at Giannis. If the Bucks’ goal is to make a deal over the next week before the deadline, the Lakers can’t offer more than one first round pick, one second round pick and salaries. Austin Reaves could be included in the deal, but his ability to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer makes him unappealing to Milwaukee.
However, if things drag out to the summer, then the Lakers can be much more of a factor. And that gets more intriguing with the latest reporting tidbit from The Ringer’s Howard Beck.
“I was told recently that the Lakers were a team to keep an eye from Giannis’ standpoint just as another team of interest. But, again, there’s a difficulty there in terms of trade assets. They’re another team where, once the summer comes, they got more on the draft capital side of things and they got more clarity once they figure out where LeBron is or isn’t and where Austin Reaves is because he’s a free agent.”
Unfortunately, this likely doesn’t change a lot for the Lakers. Unless the Bucks really want to do a solid for Giannis and send him somewhere he wants to go, the Lakers still likely lack the draft picks and young players to make a competitive offer.
Even if Giannis says he won’t sign an extension with a team that trades for him, he still has a whole other season on his contract. The earliest he could be a free agent is the summer of 2027. It would be similar to the situation with Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors, as an example.
The other aspect that needs to happen is Giannis trying to force his way to LA. And given how much he hasn’t wanted to be the bad guy in Milwaukee so far, that feels unlikely to happen either.
The biggest thing the Lakers can offer Milwaukee is tax relief, which other teams might not be able to. With a huge amount of projected cap space, the Lakers could help the Bucks save a lot of money, which is something few other teams making offers will be able to do.
Is a package of lesser picks but more money saved enticing to the Bucks? It depends on what the ownership is looking for in the next deal.
But if Giannis is intrigued by the Lakers, then that at least opens the door.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Toby Fournier scored 23 points, Taina Mair added 18 and No. 20 Duke won on the road 74-58 against Miami for its 12th straight win on Thursday night.
Fournier also had 11 rebounds for her fifth double double of the season. She shot 10 of 16 from the floor, 1 of 2 from 3-point range, and 2 of 8 from the free throw line before fouling out.
Jordan Wood scored 12 points for Duke.
Ra Shaya Kyle led Miami with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and added nine rebounds before fouling out. Gal Raviv added 16 points.
The Blue Devils (15-6, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) went into halftime up 39-23. Miami (12-9, 4-6) clawed back from being down by 19 to only down five, 55-50, starting the final quarter. The Hurricanes came within three with 9:47 to go in the game, before Duke responded with a 12-0 run to cruise the rest of the way. Miami was held scoreless for over seven minutes before a layup by Candace Kpetikou with 2:06 to play ended the drought.
ATLANTA (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 31 points and the Houston Rockets beat short-handed Atlanta 104-86 on Thursday night, ending the Hawks' four-game winning streak.
The Rockets dominated the second half after leading only 43-42 at halftime. Jabari Smith had 14 points and Reed Sheppard added 13. Sheppard's 3-pointer gave the Rockets their first 20-point lead, 90-70.
The Hawks held out two frontline starters with injuries. Center Onyeka Okongwu suffered a dental fracture when he was elbowed in the mouth in Atlanta's 117-106 win at Boston on Wednesday night. Forward Jalen Johnson was ruled out with left calf tightness.
The Hawks said Okongwu had a successful dental procedure on Thursday and also will miss Saturday's game at Indiana.
The Hawks already were missing center Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis) and forward Zaccharie Risacher (left knee, bone contusion). Two-way rookie Asa Newell was recalled from G League College Park before the game. Center Christian Koloko, who signed with Atlanta on Jan. 17, made his first start in his fifth game with the Hawks.
CJ McCollum led Atlanta with 23 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 20 and Corey Kispert added 17.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) had nine points and 13 rebounds after being listed as questionable.
Houston outscored Atlanta 35-24 in the third period and continued to stretch the lead in the final period.
Houston center Clint Capela scored 10 points in his first return to Atlanta since he was traded to the Rockets on July 6, 2025. Capela held up both hands in a wave to the fans after he was honored with a video tribute during a first-quarter timeout.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams each scored 17 points and No. 6 LSU beat Arkansas 92-70 on Thursday night for its sixth straight Southeastern Conference win.
The Tigers (20-2, 6-2) led by just three points at halftime against the Razorbacks (11-11, 0-7), who have lost all their league games by double-digit margins.
Johnson, Williams and reserve Kate Koval helped LSU pull away after halftime. Koval had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for her sixth-double-double of the season.
Grace Knox and Jada Richard each contributed 12 points for the Tigers, and ZaKiyah Johnson had 11.
Taleyah Jones led the Razorbacks with 23 points. Jenna Lawrence added 12 points, and Bonnie Deas and Maria Anais Rodriguez had 11 each.
Arkansas gave LSU all it could handle in the first half.
The Razorbacks hit six of their first nine shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, for a 15-8 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.
Seconds later, LSU coach Kim Mulkey yanked all of her starters. The Tigers’ second unit, led by ZaKiyah Johnson and Koval — who combined for 12 points in a 14-7 run — evened the score at 22-22 after the first quarter.
LSU inserted four of its starters just two minutes into the second quarter. Sparked by Williams’ eight points on an array of mid-range jumpers, the Tigers built an eight-point lead with two minutes left.
Arkansas got back within 36-33 at halftime.
After misfiring on 15 of 22 layups in the first half, LSU opened the third quarter with an 18-3 run in the first 4 1/2 minutes. The Tigers made six of their first eight shots, including all three 3-pointers, for a 54-36 lead.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JANUARY 29: Amen Thompson #1 of the Houston Rockets steals the ball from CJ McCollum #3 of the Atlanta Hawks during the second quarter at State Farm Arena on January 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. 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 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks were at home Thursday evening to take on the Houston Rockets. The Hawks were coming off a big win against the Boston Celtics the night before and riding a four-game winning streak. As for the Rockets, they were coming off a loss to the San Antonio Spurs last night, and looking to get back in the win column.
By no surprise, the Hawks were without Onyeka Okongwu after going through dental surgery earlier in the day. Jalen Johnson was also ruled out hours before the game because of calf tightness.
Just like against Celtics, the Hawks got off to a fast start in the first quarter with a 7-0 lead.
The Rockets started to settle in just a little and made a run to get even. The Hawks were able to still keep the lead, as CJ McCollum came in and was instant offense.
Both teams were cold for most of the quarter and were shooting around 30% from the field. The score going into the second showed it, as both teams had 23.
The poor shooting continued through the second quarter, and the Hawks tried to find easy buckets wherever they could. That’s how they got on the board with this connection from McCollum to Christian Koloko.
The Hawks never let the Rockets go off on a big run, and they had to rely on their defense when the shots weren’t falling. That wasn’t new to Daniels, as he got this steal that led to a McCollum three.
Going into halftime, the Hawks trailed the Rockets 43-42.
The Rockets started to pull away in the third quarter after a few missed shots and not being able to secure defensive rebounds. It was a ten-point lead for the Rockets at midway through the third, but the Hawks were able to go on a run of their own to cut deficit to three.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Hawks trailed 78-66.
Things didn’t get better for the Hawks when the fourth quarter started, as the Rockets built a 20-point advantage. The Hawks did their best to chip away at their deficit, but it was hard for them to get consistent stops on the other end.
With not enough scoring power on offense, the Hawks ultimately couldn’t string together enough buckets to cut their deficit, and Quin Snyder pulled the plug with about two minutes left after Kevin Durant hit a three-pointer to seal the deal for the Rockets.
McCollum finished with 23 points, Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points, and Corey Kispert finished with 17 points.
The Hawks will be back in action on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 29: Kyshawn George #18 of the Washington Wizards dribbles the ball during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 29, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC. 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 2026 NBAE (Photo by Sabina Shysh/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards scored a second straight victory on Thursday in a 109-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena.
The Wiz Kids did their thing with John Wall in attendance for his celebration night. But it wasn’t always pretty.
The first quarter was a brickfest for both teams. The Bucks missed seven of their first eight shots as the Wizards held them to 2 points for nearly the first 5 minutes of the contest. Milwaukee battled back to take a lead late in the period, but a four-point play from Bub Carrington and three free throws from Will Riley in the closing seconds helped Washington secure a 25-23 lead to close the first.
Tre Johnson suffered an injury in the opening minute of the second quarter. The sharpshooting rookie drained a contested baseline jumper plus the foul, but Ryan Rollins’ dangerous closeout led to Johnson rolling his ankle. Rollins was assessed a flagrant 1.
Johnson tried to battle through the injury. He played a few more minutes and even sank a floater before being ruled out for the rest of the game.
The Wizards took control of the contest before halftime, outscoring the Bucks 32-20 in the second to take a 14-point lead at the half. Kyshawn George had 13 points, while Justin Champagnie hustled his way to 10 points at the break.
Bilal Coulibaly punctuated the third period with a pair of powerful poster-worthy jams. The lead hovered at around a dozen throughout the quarter, with the Wizards entering the fourth up 82-72.
A few familiar faces made things interesting down the stretch. Former Wizards Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins combined for 18 points in the final period, trimming the lead to 2 with 90 seconds left. Washington’s defense held firm to close the game, outscoring the visitors 8-0 the rest of the way.
The victory was the Wizards’ third this season over the Bucks, meaning 25 percent of the team’s wins so far this season have come against Milwaukee.
George led the way with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a pair of steals. Sarr posted a 16-point, 17-rebound double-double with two blocks. Carrington had 13 points and six assists off the bench.
The Wizards get right back into the action Friday on the second night of a back-to-back against the Los Angeles Lakers.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Nico Hischier scored 42 seconds into overtime to give the Devils a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night after New Jersey's Jack Hughes left the game in the first period and didn't return.
Hischier's slap shot from just beyond the left faceoff circle beat Nashville's Justus Annunen high to the glove side for the winner. Dawson Mercer picked up the assist on Hischier's eighth career overtime goal. Hischier leads the Devils with 18 goals and 23 assists in 54 games.
New Jersey's Jesper Bratt tied the game at 2 midway through the third. Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-game skid. Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves.
Hughes left the game after three shifts in the first period. The team did not announce any injury status for the 24-year-old center.
Hughes’ latest absence comes two weeks before the U.S. is set to play its first game at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Hughes, along with brother Quinn, is a first-time Olympian. The U.S. has two sets of brothers, with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk also on the team.
Michael McCarron and Filip Forsberg scored for Nashville, which lost its third straight. Annunen made 32 saves.
McCarron staked Nashville to an early lead with a goal five minutes into the first period. Hamilton tied it at 1 midway through the second, extending his points streak to nine games.
Forsberg gave the Predators the lead 1:34 into the third period. With the goal, Forsberg moves into sixth place for career NHL goals by a Swedish player with 338 scores in 833 games. He trails Mats Sundin (564), Daniel Alfredsson (444), Markus Nasland (395), Tomas Sandstrom (394), Daniel Sedin (393).
Bratt's 13 goal of the season came on a Predators turnover, flipping a shot over Annunen to tie the game.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 21 of her 29 points in the second half, Elsa Lemmila had 14 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, and No. 11 Ohio State beat Wisconsin 81-58 on Thursday night.
Ohio State (19-3, 8-2 Big Ten) has won five straight against Wisconsin to lead the series 57-18.
Chance Gray added 10 points for the Buckeyes.
Cambridge scored 13 points in the last four minutes, 18 seconds of the third quarter, which included a 3-pointer that capped a 19-6 run and gave Ohio State a 56-45 lead going into the fourth. Cambridge then made a layup, a jumper and a 3 that pushed the lead to 18 with 8:27 left in the game.
Destiny Howell led Wisconsin (13-9, 5-6) with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
The Badgers made four 3-pointers — two by Howell — in the first five minutes before Kyrah Daniels hit a jumper that gave Wisconsin a nine-point lead with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
The Buckeyes trailed 23-17 at the end of the first quarter, but limited Wisconsin to five second-quarter points and then outscored the Badgers 52-30 after the intermission — Ohio State's seventh 50-point second half this season.
Ohio State freshman Kylee Kitts, who redshirted at Florida last season, missed her third consecutive game (shoulder). The 6-foot-4 Kitts started each of the first 19 games and averaged 9.3 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game this season.
MONTREAL (AP) — Nick Suzuki scored power-play and short-handed goals and added an assist to help the Montreal Canadiens beat the struggling Colorado Avalanche 7-3 on Thursday night.
The NHL-leading Avalanche have lost six of eight to fall to 35-8-9.
Noah Dobson opened the scoring just 56 seconds into the game. Jake Evans and Kirby Dach scored in a 40-second span late in the second period. Dach had his first first goal and point since returning from a 31-game absence Jan. 20.
Alexandre Carrier and Juraj Slafkovsky scored in the third period, and Jakub Dobes made 26 saves to improved to 7-0-1 in his last eight starts.
Brock Nelson, Joel Kiviranta and Ross Colton scored for Colorado. Scott Wedgewood stopped 21 shots.
The Avalanche wore powder blue Quebec Nordiques jerseys in homage to the team’s former home of Quebec City.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Olivia Gadecki and John Peers became the first team to win consecutive Australian Open mixed doubles titles since 1989 after beating the French pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 on Friday.
The Australians trailed 7-5 in the final-set tiebreaker before coming back to lead 9-7. On match point and with Peers serving, Guinard hit a backhand into the net to clinch victory for the home players at Rod Laver Arena.
Gadecki and Peers were the first reigning Australian Open mixed doubles champions to return to the final the following year since Mladenovic and Daniel Nestor in 2015. The 23-year-old Gadecki was born 13 years after Jim Pugh and Jana Novotna went back to back in 1988 and 1989.
The French team won the opening set on its second set point when Peers hit a shot wide, three games after Mladenovic double-faulted on set point and the Australian team broke to keep the set going.
In the second set, Gadecki and Peers went ahead 3-1 on a service break and then held to take a 4-1 lead, winning 13 of 15 points to put them in control of the set and level the match.
Mladenovic was trying to win her fourth Grand Slam mixed doubles title — she won Wimbledon in 2013 and the Australian Open in 2014 with Nestor and the 2022 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Ivan Dodig. She also has six Grand Slam women's doubles titles.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Nick Martinelli scored 34 points and Tre Singleton notched a massive double-double as Northwestern beat Penn State 94-73 on Thursday night.
It's the fourth time this season Martinelli has scored 32 points or more. He entered Thursday as the fourth-leading scorer in Division I at 23.4 points per game and has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. He was 13 of 19 from the field with four made 3-pointers.
Singleton racked up 17 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Wildcats (10-11, 2-8 Big Ten). It was the freshman's first career double-double. Angelo Ciaravino added 20 points off the bench and Jake West had 13 assists.
The Wildcats led 45-40 at the half, but stretched that lead with an 11-2 run early in the second half, featuring five points from Martinelli and a pair of baskets from Ciaravino. The Nittany Lions drew back with an 8-0 run, before allowing a 9-0 run from Martinelli and Singleton to fall into a 17-point hole.
Freshman Kayden Mingo led the Nittany Lions (9-12, 0-10) with 15 points, as the Big Ten's youngest team remains winless in the conference. Ivan Juric added 14 points and six rebounds, while Josh Reed and Freddie Dilione V each scored 11 points.
Northwestern shot 60% from the field (38 of 63) and 55% behind the arc (12 of 22) compared to 49% and 33% for the Nittany Lions, respectively.
Up next
Penn State will host Minnesota on Sunday.
Northwestern will host Washington on Saturday. ___
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Egor Chinakhov and Anthony Mantha scored on rushes in a 31-second span in Pittsburgh's four-goal second period, helping the Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.
Connor Dewar scored twice, Ben Kindel and Ryan Shea added goals, and Arturs Silovs made 17 saves. Mantha, Shea and Noel Acciari each had two assists.
The Penguins had been off since sweeping a four-game trip with a victory over Vancouver on Sunday, with forward Bryan Rust starting a three-game suspension for a check to Canucks forward Brock Boeser’s head.
Connor Murphy and Connor Bedard scored for Chicago, and Soderblom stopped 38 shots in the first game of a back-to-back. The Blackhawks have lost four straight, falling 4-3 in a shootout in Minnesota on Tuesday night.
Kindel gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead at 5:54 of the second period. He came down the left side and beat Soderblom to the far side with a wrister.
Chinakhov slipped a shots between Arvid Soderblom’s leg pads with 4:30 left in the period, and Mantha also beat Soderblom through the legs with 3:59 to go. Shea capped the spree with 30 seconds left in the period, and Dewar added his second of the night with 6:01 left in the third.
Bedard fired a wrist shot past Silovs with 5:21 to go for his 21st of the season.
Murphy opened the scoring for Chicago at 9:32 of the first. Dewar tied it 1:52 later.
Penguins forward Rutger McGroarty was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League for his NHL game since sustaining a concussion in practice Jan. 6. He had five shots, three hits and a block in 10:36.
