Category: Basketball

When you have Paul Reed, anything is possible. When you have Paul Reed and a Cade Cunningham who is hitting his threes, the Detroit Pistons are nearly unstoppable. Add those ingredients to an absolutely locked-in, suffocating team defense, and Detroit is invincible. The Pistons had everything going in a 113-95 road win over the Raptors.

Detroit entered tonight without three of its top eight players, with its top two big men in Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart suspended and Ron Holland out for personal reasons. It did not matter. It just allowed Paul Reed to shine.

Reed went 7-of-7 from the floor in the first quarter for 15 points. He hit a three, he cut into the lane for dunks, he used fancy footwork to knife his way to the rim, and he blocked shots. He did it all. He finished the night with 22 points, five rebounds, four blocks, three steals, and three assists. It was a vintage B-Ball Paul performance.

He wasn’t the only player to shine for the Pistons, though. Cade Cunnigham looked like he wanted to show the world why he was one of the leading vote-getters for the All-Star team with an absolutely dominant performance. He scored 28 points, hit four threes, added nine assists, and seven rebounds. He also played zero minutes in the fourth quarter because the Pistons had the game well in hand.

Detroit built up a 14-point lead in the second quarter, and aside from a couple quick spurts from Toronto that it was able to respond to, that is where the game hovered for the majority. Detroit’s team defense was absolutely on point tonight, and only got stronger as the night went along. The Pistons held Toronto to 43 second-half points en route to ballooning its lead to as high as 23 before letting the reserves get plenty of garbage-time action.

Tobias Harris added a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double as the veteran took on more of the rebounding load in the absence of his two big men. Things were going so well for the Pistons that Kevin Huerter even hit a 3-pointer for his new team. It was his first with the club. Hopefully it was the first of many to come.

The Raptors were able to stay competitive early with some hot 3-point shooting, but eventually cooled off and faded away. They finished 10-of-32 from deep on the night. They were led by 18 points from Immanuel Quickley and 17 points from Scottie Barnes.

The Pistons enter the All-Star break 40-13 and are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the fewest losses in the NBA. When the final buzzer sounded they had a six-game lead in the East and prepare for a fun All-Star weekend that will feature both Cunningham and Duren.

It’s been a hell of a season so far, and this doesn’t strike me as a team that is going to let up anytime soon.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 138-89 Wednesday night.

The Knicks bounced back from an overtime home lost to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games. Two of those victories have come against the Sixers. The teams split their four-game season series.

Alvarado, acquired last week from New Orleans, shot 8 for 13 from 3-point range and finished with five steals.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Mohamed Diawara scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 points against the Pacers, scored eight on Tuesday.

Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points in three quarters for the 76ers, who played without center Joel Embiid, who sat due to right knee soreness. VJ Edgecombe added 14 points, and Dominick Barlow scored 13.

The 76ers, who lost their second straight and for the third time in four games, were held to a season-low point total, just their third game under 100 points this season.

The Knicks jumped out to a 16-4 lead thanks to nine points from Bridges. They led by 30 at the half. The Knicks shot 58% from the field in the first half, paced by 19 points from Bridges and 16 from Towns. They finished with a season-high 41 assists.

Embiid missed his second straight game. He hadn’t missed consecutive games since Dec. 19-20. Quentin Grimes missed a second straight game due to illness.

OG Anunoby missed this fourth straight game for the Knicks with a right toenail avulsion.

Up next

Knicks: Host the Detroit Piston on Thursday, Feb. 19.

76ers: Host the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, Feb. 19.

___

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

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won five straight after knocking down the Washington Wizards 138-113.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Donovan Mitchell

30 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

The Cavs can thank Mitchell for dragging them through the early stretch of the season. Now? All systems are cleared for takeoff as Cleveland has one of the best players in the league, with the best record since late December, and one of the easiest remaining schedules.

Grade: A+

James Harden

13 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds

Harden looks like he’s playing in a sandbox. With a dominant pick-and-roll partner and three-point shooters galore around him, we’ve seen Harden dish the ball at an elite level over his last three games. Tonight was no different.

He might have only taken four shot attempts, but he managed to get himself to the line for 12 free throws.

Grade: A–

Jarrett Allen

21 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks

Beast mode.

That’s the only way to describe the last week Allen has played. Another 25 points and 9 rebounds feels too easy, at this point.

Grade: A+

Jaylon Tyson

7 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds

Tyson didn’t have his shot falling tonight. That’s no big deal; the Cavs didn’t need him to score. He finished as a plus-19 despite shooting 2-6 from the floor.

Grade: C+

Keon Ellis

6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Ellis will quickly earn rotation minutes if he plays like this. Quality off-ball movement, disruptive defense, and efficient shooting. These are all the makings of a fine role player.

Grade: A-

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals

Is it too late to enter Qwan into the dunk contest?

At one point in this game, Tomlin picked someone’s pockets and then threw down a viscious windmill dunk. It’s the type of stuff that’s become common for this newly minted NBA wing.

Grade: B+

Dennis Schroder

7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds

Schroder struggled from the floor but made up for it by getting to the free-throw line and going 5-5.

Grade: C+

Sam Merrill

32 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block

Whew, this was a heat check if I’ve ever seen one.

Merrill shot 7-for-7 from deep in the first half, lighting up the Wizards for 26 points without even missing a shot. He finished the game with a career-high 32 points and only missed one field goal. Sammy, this was something special.

Grade: A+++

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Chazadi Wright scored 21 points, Hannah Stuelke posted her seventh double-double this season, and 15th-ranked Iowa beat No. 25 Washington 65-56 on Wednesday night to end a three-game losing streak.

Wright finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range and distributed a team-high four assists. Stuelke scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, and Ava Heiden added 11 points for Iowa (19-5, 10-3 Big Ten).

Elle Ladine scored 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Sayvia Sellers added 14 points and Avery Howell grabbed 10 rebounds for the Huskies (18-7, 8-6).

Both teams shot 46% from the field, with each shooting 25 of 54.

Sellers made two foul shots to bring Washington within 51-47 less than a minute into the fourth quarter. But Wright followed with a four-point play for a 55-47 advantage and the Hawkeyes maintained a safe margin from there.

Iowa outscored the Huskies 17-5 in the second quarter as Washington was 2-of-9 shooting without a trip to the foul line.

Up next

Washington: Hosts Oregon on Sunday.

Iowa: Travels to Nebraska on Monday.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers took down the Washington Wizards 138-113. This is Cleveland’s fifth consecutive win. They have turned their season around and are rolling into the All-Star break with style.

Sam Merrill stole the show in this one. He erupted for 26 points in the first half while shooting 7-of-7 from deep and 9-for-9 from the floor. He’s tied for the most consecutive three-point makes in the opening half of a game since at least 2002-03.

Merrill's 7-7 mark from three is tied for the most 3FGM without a miss by any @NBA player in an opening half since at least 2002-03. He is the 1st @cavs player to accomplish the feat in that span. https://t.co/pq98aVQzXB

— Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) February 12, 2026

Merrill finished with a career-high 32 points and 9 three-pointers. He put on a masterclass in moving without the ball and scoring with efficiency. There aren’t many things more entertaining than watching a sharpshooter like Merrill catch fire.

Donovan Mitchell was pretty good, too. He scored 30 points for the 28th time this season and 99th time as a member of the Cavaliers. This has been the best season of Mitchell’s career as he’s kept this team afloat at their worst and pushed them into title contention at their best. It’s no surprise that Mitchell will be representing the Cavs as an All-Star this weekend.

Other Cavaliers that deserve a shout-out include Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who recorded a handful of impressive steals and threw down a windmill slam. And James Harden, whose behind-the-back pocket pass is one of the nastiest things I’ve seen all season.

Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 9 rebounds, falling just short of his fifth consecutive double-double. Allen has been on a tear recently, and he didn’t even miss a shot tonight (8-8 from the floor).

This wasn’t just a dominant game against a lottery-dwelling team like the Wizards. It was another strong performance in a string of big games that has put the Cavaliers back into the NBA’s upper echelon. They are quickly climbing up the standings and will have a full week off to get healthy following the All-Star Break.

TWIN LAKES, Iowa (AP) — A community college bus carrying the school’s baseball team crashed and overturned in a ditch in rural Iowa on Wednesday, authorities and media reports said, killing one person and injuring all the other 32 occupants.

The 11 a.m. crash involved the Iowa Lakes Community College bus and no other vehicles, the Iowa State Patrol said in a statement. It occurred on a highway near Twin Lakes, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines.

Three people were airlifted to trauma hospitals in Des Moines, said Bruce Musgrave, director of Calhoun County emergency services, and others were taken by ambulance to four hospitals in the area.

KTIV reported that the college’s baseball team was on board.

The Iowa State Patrol is investigating.

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Latrell Wrightsell Jr. tied his career high with seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, Labaron Philon scored 18, and Alabama overcame a cold-shooting start to beat Mississippi 93-74 on Wednesday night and extended the Rebels' losing streak to six games.

Charles Bediako did not play for the Crimson Tide after his motion for a preliminary injunction was denied in circuit court. The 7-foot center played two years at Alabama before he went undrafted in 2023 and appeared in 37 games across three seasons in the NBA G League.

Aiden Sherrell scored 15 points and Amari Allen had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC). Aden Holloway added 12 points and six assists.

AJ Storr led Ole Miss (11-13, 3-8) with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Eduardo Klafke had 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds. Klafke, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, scored 10 points or more for the third consecutive game and the fourth of his career.

Sherrell scored the first seven points while Wrightsell, Allen and Holloway each hit a 3 in a 19-6 run that gave Alabama a 51-38 lead with 13:38 left in the game, and it was at least a two-possession game the rest of the way.

Storr scored 13 points — including the Rebels' first 11 — in a 15-5 run that gave them a nine-point lead with 9:10 left in the first half. Alabama scored 11 of the next 13 before Allen and Philon made back-to-back 3-pointers and Holloway added a layup to give the Crimson Tide a 32-30 lead in the intermission — their lowest-scoring first half this season. Ole Miss went 0 for 10 from the field over a span of about 6 1/2 minutes in the first half.

The Crimson Tide shot 53% from the field, made 12 of their 22 3-pointers and scored 61 points in second half.

Up next

Alabama: Hosts South Carolina on Saturday.

Ole Miss: Hosts Mississippi State on Saturday.

___

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs waived forward Jeremy Sochan after being unable to find a trade partner before last week's deadline.

The Spurs announced the move to cut ties with Sochan on Thursday before playing the Golden State Warriors in their final game before the All-Star break.

Sochan was drafted ninth overall in 2022 by San Antonio. Sochan averaged double digits in each of his first three seasons, but averaged just 4.1 points in 28 games this season. Sochan was playing only 12.8 minutes per game — less than half of his playing time for his first three seasons — and hadn't started once after starting 149 of his 184 games before this season.

Coach Mitch Johnson praised Sochan's energy and wished him the best.

“We were all very aware of his desire to be in the rotation, given more of an opportunity than he had, especially recently,” Johnson said. "We wanted to do right by him and make sure that he had that opportunity before the year was over.”

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

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Riley Makalusky scored 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench, Kierra Wheeler scored 18 points, and No. 19 West Virginia blew out UCF 106-56 on Wednesday night for the Mountaineers' fourth straight win.

Makalusky, a junior forward, had her highest scoring game since she was a freshman playing for Butler. She made 7 of 10 shots overall, 3 of 4 3-pointers and went 3 for 3 at the free-throw line.

Sydney Woodley scored 16 points off the bench, Jordan Harrison and Gia Cooke 12 each and Sydney Shaw 10. Wheeler and Shaw grabbed nine rebounds each. Harrison, who had at least 14 points and five steals in her past four games, had four steals and eight assists.

West Virginia had a 41-0 advantage in points after turnovers. The Mountaineers had only seven turnovers to 23 for UCF.

West Virginia (21-5, 11-3 Big 12) led 13-4 after 5 1/2 minutes of play, then extended the lead to 24-6 thanks to an 11-0 run. The Mountaineers led 24-8 after one quarter and the lead reached 25 points after back-to-back 3-pointers by Makalusky, who scored 12 points in the first half. West Virginia led 45-22 at halftime.

The Mountaineers shot 68% (13 for 19) in the third quarter and scored 31 points for their biggest scoring quarter of the game. They led 76-38 heading to the fourth quarter and scored another 30 points.

Mahogany Chandler-Roberts scored 12 points to lead the Knights (10-14, 2-11).

Central Florida has lost six in a row.

Up next

West Virginia: The Mountaineers hit the road to face No. 17 TCU on Sunday.

UCF: The Knights return home to play No. 12 Baylor on Sunday. ___

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bruce Thornton scored 21 points and hit two late throws to help Ohio State secure an 89-82 win over USC on Wednesday.

Ohio State (16-6, 8-6 Big Ten) trailed 43-40 at halftime after opening 2 of 13 at the free-throw line, but Thornton steadied the Buckeyes in the second half. He became the fifth player in program history to reach 1,935 career points and moved into fifth all-time in Ohio State scoring.

The Buckeyes grabbed their largest lead at 67-60 with eight minutes left after a Devin Royal layup and a John Mobley Jr. 3-pointer. USC (18-7, 7-7) answered with a 7-0 run capped by a Jordan Marsh 3 to cut it to 70-69, but Christoph Tilly scored inside, and Royal added a jumper to push the margin back to five.

Alijah Arenas hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 remaining to pull USC within 82-81, but Thornton responded with a driving layup and converted the free throw to make it 85-81. USC missed two shots in the final 30 seconds, and Thornton closed it out at the line.

Royal scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Ohio State, and Mobley added 13. Thornton reached double figures for the 23rd time this season.

Arenas scored 25 points for USC, Kam Woods added 14 and Ezra Ausar finished with 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. The Trojans have played eight consecutive games decided by seven points or fewer.

Up Next

USC hosts No. 8 Illinois next Wednesday.

Ohio State faces No. 15 Virginia on Saturday.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Andre Mills scored 24 points, David Coit added 19 off the bench and Maryland beat Iowa 77-70 on Wednesday night to snap the Hawkeyes' six-game win streak.

Mills scored 10 straight Maryland points to take a 57-56 lead with 8:03 remaining and then Coit scored the next five points overall for a six-point advantage.

Bennett Stirtz twice got Iowa within three points in the final 20 seconds, but Elijah Saunders made four straight free throws and Coit added two more to seal it.

Maryland won despite going 19 of 28 from the free-throw line and committing 14 turnovers. Iowa could not take advantage due to missing 10 straight 3-pointers over the final 10 minutes of the game.

Saunders finished with 12 points and eight rebounds for Maryland (10-14, 3-10 Big Ten). Darius Adams added 11 points and Solomon Washington had 10 points and eight rebounds to help the Terrapins hold a 34-25 advantage on the glass.

Stirtz finished with 32 points, six assists and no turnovers for Iowa (18-6, 8-5). He was 13 of 21 from the field, including 4 of 10 behind the arc, to reach 30-plus points for the third time in four games. Tavion Banks had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Brendan Hausen made a 3-pointer with 11:42 remaining in the game to give Iowa the lead, 48-47, for the first time since there was 4:36 left before halftime.

On Dec. 6, Iowa eased to an 83-64 victory over Maryland for coach Ben McCollum’s first Big Ten victory.

Up next

Iowa: Returns home to face No. 13 Purdue on Saturday.

Maryland: Goes on the road to play Rutgers on Sunday.

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CLEVELAND — Trading for James Harden two-thirds of the way through the season presents some challenges for Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Harden has had success playing an isolation-heavy style where he knows where everyone is on the court. Atkinson has been known for a heavy ball and player movement offense. Those opposites can’t co-exist, at least not in how they’ve looked in previous itterations.

After Harden’s debut, Atkinson said that “players win, not systems.” By the looks of it, Harden’s style will win out for at least this season and rightfully so. The Cavs are already taking steps to make sure that they put him in the best position to succeed.

“I’ve looked at all the Houston stuff, and looked at Clippers stuff, looked at Sixers stuff,” Atkinson said, “I think that’s part of your job as a coach is to see what’s worked. Heck, we ran two ATOs (after timeout plays) the other night I stole from [Mike] D’Antoni. Houston stuff. Nothing particularly new or innovative. But it’s, how do we get an advantage for him type stuff?”

Atkinson admitted that he talked with D’Antoni about Harden after the trade went down. Atkinson served as an assistant under D’Antoni when they were both with the New York Knicks.

It’s important to remember that D’Antoni was the architect of the seven seconds or less Phoenix Suns. They were a high octane, revolutionary offense that was built on playing fast and having ample ball and player movement. It’s not too dissimilar to the systems that Atkinson has run as a head coach.

But D’Antoni didn’t try to force Harden into that system in Houston. Instead, he created an environment for Harden to thrive in, because he knew that particular systems don’t matter if it’s not what fits your players.

So far, Atkinson is doing his part to make sure the Cavs fit around Harden and not the necessarily the other way around. When you have a player as good as Harden who can make his teammates better — especially the bigs — it would be foolish to not take advantage of that.

“We’d be dumb not to,” Atkinson said about borrowing stuff from Harden’s previous stops. “I’m looking forward to over the All-Star break to dive in deeper on how we can use him even better.”

Rui Hachimura began the year as a starter for the Lakers, but after a quarter of the season passed and the starting unit struggled to win their minutes, he was relegated to the bench.

He’s since embraced the sixth man role and is solely focused on helping the Lakers win.

As a reserve player, Hachimura has given the bench an offensive injection. He is averaging 10.2 points and averaging 42% from deep, giving Lakers head coach JJ Redick a reserve he can rely on as a scorer.

While Hachimura provides offense, his Lakers teammate Jarred Vanderbilt brings a similar intensity defensivley.

Vando has established himself as a player who can guard multiple positions and is one of the few Lakers who can say defense is a strong suit.

The Lakers’ recent contest against the Sixers was a prime example of this duo helping to lift LA to success.

Hachimura scored 17 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Vanderbilt was hustling all over the court and had a plus-minus of +16 in the 23 minutes he played.

After the comeback win, Hachimura spoke about how this dynamic duo is making an impact.

“I think, especially coming off the bench, we got to bring the energy,” Hachimura said. “Me, Vando, we have the length, the strength and everything. We talk about it every game. We just got to bring the energy. Me and him are gonna be the x-factors on this team.”

No player is perfect, but the goal is to have five on the court who balance each other out and are better as a unit.

Hachimura gives the Lakers bench scoring they severely need, and Vanderbilt, playing a couple of shifts a game, provides defensive versatility and a player who can change momentum with a couple of timely plays.

They’ve both been with this franchise since 2023 and have experienced all the highs and lows that have come during this era of Lakers basketball. Now they are both established as bench players and embracing that position.

When each plays well, they uplift the team and are a reason LA remains above .500 despite all the injuries they’ve had.

With both settling into their roles, they have time to continue building chemistry on the court. The Lakers still have a good chunk of the season left, followed by postseason action. If they want to go as far as possible, they’ll need Hachimura and Vando at the top of their game.

From the looks of it and based on Hachimura’s words, this duo is ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen and be the x-factors that help raise this team’s ceiling.

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

Game 55.

Hopefully win 33. Let’s go!