Category: Basketball

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer standings:

Tyrese Maxey – 18
VJ Edgecombe – 6
Paul George – 5
Joel Embiid – 4
Andre Drummond – 2
Dominick Barlow – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Jared McCain – 1
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

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The Sixers have been inconsistent, at best, in their play lately, but on Thursday night, they put together one of their better performances of the season against a strong Houston Rockets opponent. A game that was back and forth the entire way, with neither team ever leading by double digits, came down to the final play in regulation. Tyrese Maxey’s layup attempt should have been called a goaltend for the game-winning points, but was not reviewable. However, the Sixers didn’t let that bad no-call deter them, staying focused to pull out the 128-122 victory in overtime. We have some excellent options for Bell Ringer tonight so let’s get to it.

Joel Embiid: 32 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 turnovers

For whatever reason, Joel Embiid had some extra pep in his step tonight. Maybe it was just going up against a good opponent, or facing Team USA teammate Kevin Durant, or possibly because it was the two-year anniversary of his 70-point game. His staring down Alperen Sengun after a dunk said it all. Whatever the reason, it all ended up with Joel’s first triple-double of the season. Offensively, Embiid attacked mismatches in the post time and again, but also did a nice job reading when help was coming and finding open teammates underneath and around the arc. It was a perfect mix of raw strength and some finesse, as we saw with his gorgeous spin move around Clint Capela. Defensively, it was as spry as we’ve probably seen Joel on the season, going hard after defensive rebounds and coming down with them in contested situations. Physically, he wound up playing a season-high 46 minutes and looked no worse for wear towards the end of it.

Joel Embiid with the bucket and the staredown for Alperen Sengun 👀 pic.twitter.com/ejA4QI9XLZ

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) January 23, 2026

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover

Moving back into the starting lineup in place of Dominick Barlow with the other usual four starters all available, Kelly Oubre made Nick Nurse look very wise indeed. Oubre continued his hot shooting from recent games, going a highly efficient 10-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three. He operated effectively as a spot-up shooter, but also as a driver and lurking along the baseline for a couple of timely buckets. Kelly was arguably even better on the defensive end. Although his raw stats don’t show it, with just one block (an outstanding swat of a Tari Eason corner three attempt), Kelly was everywhere defensively. He disrupted and made life difficult for a slew of Rockets; his harassment played a big part in Kevin Durant having eight turnovers on the night. It was maybe the best two-way performance we’ve seen from Oubre in his time as a Sixer.

Kelly Oubre Jr. keeps cooking to close Q1, leads the Sixers with 11 points after the opening period 🔥 pic.twitter.com/d2UpplCgCk

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) January 23, 2026

Tyrese Maxey: 36 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers

Maxey’s recent cold shooting spell continued, going just 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. However, he didn’t let that stop him from helping the team in the other areas of the game. Defensively, it was Tyrese’s fourth straight game with at least three steals, as he has learned to pick his spots (and opponent’s pockets) extremely well to jumpstart transition opportunities. Then, in his 43 minutes of action, he kept attacking, and his speed wore down the increasingly tired legs of the Rockets’ defenders. Maxey was Mr. Clutch for the Sixers on the night. He scored 11 points in the final four minutes of regulation to bring the Sixers back from down six points (and should have had another two points on what would have correctly been called the game-winner). He then dropped six points in the overtime period to carry Philadelphia across the finish line.

No option but to keep battling! Tyrese Maxey lays it up and in here in OT pic.twitter.com/9vNvwTa9RV

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) January 23, 2026

The Rockets, the 76ers, and overtime. Three things that have been synonymous over the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, the Rockets being on the road and losing has also become synonymous. Tonight, the Rockets got to experience all of the above. The Rockets got another brilliant performance from Kevin Durant who scored 36 points, 7 rebound and 3 assists on 13-of-21 shooting. The Rockets had five other players in double figures and shot the ball extremely well. If you didn’t watch the game,you may be wondering how the Rockets lost?

It starts with allowing the 76ers to shoot 55.1 percent from the field and score 66 points in the paint. The pick-and-roll with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embid absolutely cooked the Rockets. Maxey score 36 points and dished out 10 assists in a game where he was getting to the middle of the defense and to the rim at will. Joel Embid scored one of the quietest 30+ point 15+ rebound triple-doubles I’ve seen in some time. Kelly Oubre Jr. also went unconscious offensively with 26 points on 10-of-14 from the field.

The game went back and forth throughout the game, each team taking a nine-point lead at one point, and each team going on a run to close the gap. Regardless of all the defensive lapses, miscues, and turnovers, the Rockets missed 12 free-throws in a game that they lost by sis points. The Rockets inability to focus at the line and make a free-throw is officially a concern. Other than Kevin Durant, no one has been good at the line. Those free-throws, if made, can make up for a lot of other things any given night, but for the Rockets it’s becoming a glaring weakness.

Bright spots in the game were the play of Tari Eason, who seemed to be getting back into regular form, and Reed Sheppard coming up big in the fourth quarter, not only offensively but on the defensive end with steals and deflections. The Rockets had 35 bench points, Tari Eason with 13 of those points and Reed Sheppard with 14 points. Clint Capela added some quality defensive minutes off the bench and Dorian Finney-Smith went 2-0f-4 from the three-point line.

Fourth quarter execution, or the lack thereof, was once again the story for the Rockets, who honestly lost the game in regulation, but a goaltending was not called when Kevin Durant blocked a Tyrese Maxey layup after it hot the backboard. The basketball gods would preserve justice as the Rockets were only able to score 7 points in the overtime period.

Th loss puts the Rockets record at 26-16 as we move just past the midway point of the season. That record is good enough for 4th in the Western Conference, but the Rockets are 5-5 in their last 10 and just 3-11 on the road since the beginning of December. That will need to improve quickly. Hopefully, as soon as tomorrow when the Rockets take on the 1st seeded Detroit Pistons in Detroit. Traveling after a deflating overtime loss will make things more difficult, but if you’re a veteran fan of Houston sports then you know that making things difficult rather than easy is what we do. Check in with TDS tomorrow for a preview of the game against the Pistons, Rockets discussion during the game, and a post-game recap.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Kennedy Blair scored 21 points, and No. 13 Michigan State women held off Southern California's late surge for a 74-68 victory on Thursday night.

Michigan State opened the fourth quarter on a 13-5 run to stretch its lead to 66-54 with 5:15 remaining. Jazzy Davidson scored the last five points in a 10-0 run to help pull USC to 66-64 with 4:10 left before the Spartans sealed it from the free-throw line. Blair led the Spartans with eight points.

Blair shot 8 of 15 from the floor overall, made 5 of 6 free throws and had five steals. Grace VanSlooten scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds for Michigan State (18-2, 7-2 Big Ten), which rebounded from a 75-68 loss to then-No. 10 Iowa. Rashunda Jones scored 16 points and Ines Sotelo added 12 to go with seven rebounds for the Spartans.

Michigan State scored 25 points from 24 USC turnovers.

Kara Dunn scored 23 points and Jazzy Davidson added 21 to lead USC (11-8, 3-5). Kennedy Smith scored 15 points.

Up next

USC: At No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.

Michigan State: At Purdue on Thursday.

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All Times EST

Friday, Jan. 23

NBA

Houston at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Boston at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Phoenix at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Sacramento at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

New Orleans at Memphis, 8 p.m.

Denver at Milwaukee, 9:30 p.m.

Toronto at Portland, 10 p.m.

NHL

Tampa Bay at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Vegas at Toronto, 7 p.m.

St. Louis at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Philadelphia at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Washington at Calgary, 9 p.m.

Anaheim at Seattle, 10 p.m.

N.Y. Rangers at San Jose, 10 p.m.

New Jersey at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 3 Michigan vs. Ohio St., 8 p.m.

No. 24 Saint Louis at St. Bonaventure, 5:30 p.m.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Oliver Moore scored in the shootout on his 21st birthday and Spencer Knight stopped five of six shots by Carolina to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 shootout win over the Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Connor Murphy, Ilya Mikheyev and Nick Lardis scored in regulation for the Blackhawks. Knight, who shut out Winnipeg on Monday night, made 28 saves in regulation and overtime for his second straight win.

Joel Nystrom, Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake scored for the Hurricanes, whose five-game home winning streak ended. Frederik Andersen stopped 18 shots and four more in the shootout.

The win capped an eventful night for Moore, who celebrated a milestone birthday. He was on the wrong side of a fight with Alexander Nikishin in the second period and then nearly won the game in overtime but was robbed by Andersen.

Chicago led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but couldn’t put the Hurricanes away in regulation. Carolina has yet to lose in regulation with top defenseman Jaccob Slavin in the lineup (8-0-3).

Murphy and Blake traded goals 82 seconds apart near in the back half of the third period to send it to overtime.

Andersen came up with a pair saves — on Moore and Frank Nazar — in the third period to keep the game tied at 2 . He made two bigger saves — on Wyatt Kaiser and Moore — in overtime.

The Hurricanes tied it at 2 on Staal’s first goal since Dec. 19 at 9:16 of the second. Chicago had taken a 2-1 advantage after Lardis’ goal at 4:35 in the second.

Mikheyev swatted in his own rebound at 11:12 in the first to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. It was Mikheyev’s first short-handed goal of the season.

Nystrom tied it with his first NHL goal at 12:50 in the first. The rookie defenseman has nine points in 36 games.

Up next

Blackhawks: Host Tampa Bay on Friday night.

Hurricanes: Travel to Ottawa on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Sovereignty won Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, as well as 3-year-old male honors, and Bill Mott, who guided the colt to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, was named trainer of the year.

Sovereignty skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont during Triple Crown season. He was forced to miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of a fever.

The 55th annual ceremony at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach also crowned Ted Noffey as 2-year-old male horse, capping a season in which he went 4-for-4, including a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The colt trainer by Todd Pletcher is the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby in May.

Ted Noffey won his career debut at Saratoga in August. He followed up with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Hopeful Stakes at the upstate New York track. Then came a 2 3/4-length win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He closed 2025 with a one-length win in the BC Juvenile at Del Mar.

In other categories, Flavien Prat won jockey of the year and Pietro Moran was named apprentice jockey. Godolphin LLC, the racing and breeding operation of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, won as owner. Godolphin was named breeder of the year.

Other male winners were Japan-bred Forever Young as older dirt male; Book'em Danno as male sprinter; and Britain-bred Notable Speech as male turf horse.

Among female horses, Super Corredora won as 2-year-old filly; Nitrogen was chosen 3-year-old filly; Thorpedo Anna was named older dirt female; Shisospicy won female sprinter; and She Feels Pretty won female turf horse honors.

Cool Jet took steeplechase horse honors.

Named for the 18th-century horse and sire Eclipse, the awards are voted on by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

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AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 points and Chance Gray and Kennedy Cambridge each added 13 for No. 12 Ohio State in an 81-67 comeback win over Indiana on Thursday night.

The Buckeyes (18-2, 7-1 Big Ten) were down 42-32 at halftime. But a 14-1 run in the third quarter, lasting almost three minutes, gave the Buckeyes the lead they would not relinquish. It is the fifth time this season Ohio State has gone into halftime trailing before going on to win the game.

Jaloni Cambridge scored 13 points in the second half and Gray added 10.

Lenée Beaumont scored 20 for Indiana (11-9, 0-8) and Shay Ciezki, the Big Ten's leading scorer, added 19 before fouling out. Zania Socka-Nguemen had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ciezki was 7 of 11 from the field, including five made 3-pointers.

Indiana committed 26 turnovers, 15 in the second half, which turned into 34 Buckeye points. The Hoosiers shot 56.4% from the field, including 11 of 17 from 3-point range.

Up next

Indiana: Visits Purdue on Sunday.

Ohio State: Visits No. 10 Iowa on Sunday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

MONTREAL (AP) — Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves, Jason Zucker, Beck Malenstyn and Zach Benson gave Buffalo an early lead and the Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their 17th victory in 21 games.

Peyton Krebs added an empty-netter in the third. The Sabres improved to 28-17-5, beating Montreal for the second time in eight days.

Cole Caufield scored for the fourth straight game for Montreal, and Nick Suzuki also connected, The Canadiens dropped to 28-16-7. They had won two in a row.

Samuel Montembeault stopped 13 shots in his first regulation loss since being called up from a conditioning assignment with Laval of the AHL on Dec. 27.

Buffalo is two points behind Montreal for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Up next

Sabres: At the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Canadiens: At Boston on Saturday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Golden State Warriors Thursday night, winning 123-115. The win brings the Mavericks’ record to 19-26. The Warriors drop to 25-21. Steph Curry led all scorers with 38 points, while Naji Marshall led Dallas with 30.

The game started about an hour earlier than most Mavericks home games, and the disruption in the schedule seemed to throw both teams. The Warriors didn’t score until 8:32 left in the first quarter, when a Steph Curry 3-pointer finally got them on the board. The Mavericks didn’t fare much better, though, only able to open a 6-0 lead in that time. The teams finally found some offensive rhythm midway through the first quarter, but couldn’t sustain it. The Warriors continued to miss shots in the second quarter, but found their way to the line. The Mavericks started hitting some shots, but kept turning the ball over. With some tough rebounding and getting out on fast breaks often, Dallas was able to grind out a 55-50 lead at halftime.

The Warriors came out firing in the third quarter and took the lead, but couldn’t keep the momentum going. The Mavericks looked like the better team for a large stretch of the third. The only problem was Steph Curry. He simply decided Golden State wasn’t going to roll over and unleashed a flurry of shots, scoring 13 points in the quarter. His offensive burst opened things up for his teammates, and by the end of the third, the Warriors had flipped the Mavericks’ five-point lead and went up 89-84.

Dallas refused to quit, though. They muddied up the game and then got their own momentum, taking a big lead halfway through the fourth quarter. The constant pressure from the Mavericks seemed to wear down the Warriors, who suddenly couldn’t score or get a stop. The Mavericks took a double-digit lead with a 24-5 run. Once they had the lead, Dallas just grinded out the last four minutes, taking home the win.

Here are three thoughts from the game:

Cooper’s complete game

Halfway through Flagg’s rookie season, it’s becoming obvious that he’s got a well-rounded game. He does a little of everything on the stat sheet, and some things that don’t show up in the box score. That was on full display tonight. To go along with his 21 points, he also put up 11 rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was active on defense all night and put pressure on the Warriors when he had the ball. The only thing really missing from his game right now is consistent 3-point shooting. There’s no reason to think he won’t figure that out. The great ones have an almost supernatural ability to sharpen the weak edges in their game, and Flagg is showing some glaring potential of greatness.

Sloppy play almost gave the game away

The Mavericks played better than the Warriors for most of the game tonight. They dominated the boards, scored more points on fast breaks and in the paint, and shot better. But they almost gave the game away because they couldn’t stop giving the ball away. They turned the ball over 22 times on Thursday, conceding 21 points off those give aways. They tightened it up in the fourth quarter when they went on the run to take over the game, but still turned it over five times in the last period. (Some of those were in absolute garbage time.) Once they held onto the ball, they took a commanding lead and coasted to the win.

The Mavericks need a veteran point guard

Ryan Nembhard and Brandon Williams are fun players. I’ve enjoyed watching them this year, and I hope at least one of them is on the team for a couple years. But the Mavericks need a veteran point guard who can run the offense and make the offense easier for the rest of the team. Especially for Flagg. Nembhard and Williams just don’t have the experience, and it shows at times. The offense becomes disjointed and inconsistent for stretches, and with the close games the Mavericks play, those stretches of stalled offense are the difference between wins and losses. It’s much too early to start thinking of specific players, but it’s something Dallas front office should have on their mind this summer.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jet Greaves had 28 saves for his third career shutout, Zach Werenski scored his 19th goal of the season, and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Dallas Stars 1-0 on Thursday night.

Werenski scored at 8:48 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right circle that went through traffic and inside the far post with assists from Damon Severson and Isac Lundestrom, who had missed 12 games with a lower-body injury suffered in practice on Dec. 27.

The Blue Jackets have now won five of their last six.

Casey DeSmith stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced but could not prevent the Stars from losing for the fourth time in their last five games. The Stars outshot the Blue Jackets 28-22.

Blue Jackets forward Charlie Coyle played in his 1,000th career game, the fifth player to reach the mark in a Columbus uniform. He scored into an empty net late in the game but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The former first-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks has 199 goals and 316 assists in his career with Minnesota, Boston, Colorado and Columbus.

Mason Marchment returned to the Blue Jackets lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury suffered Jan. 4 against Pittsburgh.

Up next

Stars: Play at home against St. Louis on Friday night.

Blue Jackets: Host Tampa Bay on Saturday night in the third game of a five-game homestand.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Washington Wizards were unable to keep up with the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in a 107-97 loss at Capital One Arena, extending the team’s losing streak to eight games.

The Wiz Kids started this one ice cold, missing on 14 of their first 18 shot attempts as the Nuggets built up a double-digit lead in the first quarter. Will Riley helped stop the bleeding with back-to-back triples to close out the opening period, getting the good guys to within 27-23 after 1.

The first quarter also saw Alex Sarr and Aaron Gordon combine for an unusual bucket that would give anyone an automatic letter in a game of H.O.R.S.E.

One of the strangest baskets you will ever see 🤯

How did that one fall through the net?

Tap to watch on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/unsQfkyyW6pic.twitter.com/MWoECTHmjC

— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2026

Washington battled back in Q2 to take a momentary 34-33 lead off a Khris Middleton jumper. Kyshawn George led the way with 12 points at the half as his team trailed 48-46 heading into the break.

Tre Johnson got hot in the third quarter. He scored eight straight points in the span of a minute, capped off by this corner step-back three that would have made Ray Allen proud.

Tre is so tuff 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/A8SJUN7Z6I

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 23, 2026

The Wizards kept pace with the Nuggets through the early stretches of the fourth quarter. A pair of Sarr free throws tied the game at 83. That’s when Denver, led by Peyton Watson’s career-high 35 points, put the game away with a 9-0 run.

George had a team-high 20 points with 12 rebounds and seven assists — the 10th time this season he’s led the team in scoring. Tre Johnson was a close second with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Will Riley made an impact as a reserve, accounting for 13 points of the Wizards’ 21 bench points.

Washington’s next chance to snap its losing streak comes Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets.

Jonathan Kuminga was ruled out for the rest of the game between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks on Thursday due to "left knee soreness," the Warriors said.

The forward came up limping after he was pushed by a member of the Mavericks during a dunk attempt with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter. Kuminga was seen limping after the attempt and appeared to ask a young girl to move from her seat so he could sit down.

He was later seen on the broadcast walking back to the locker room with a member of the Warriors' staff.

Jonathan Kuminga went to the Warriors' locker room a few minutes later https://t.co/rCG45djNxapic.twitter.com/BQmxVJEoQK

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 23, 2026

The Congolese player's injury is not expected to be serious, according to ESPN's Anthony Slater, who reported that Kuminga did twist his ankle and suffered a minor knee hyperextension. Kuminga had 10 points, two assists and two steals in nine minutes of play.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr confirmed to reporters that Kuminga's ankle and knee were both impacted and said Kuminga would be getting an MRI on Friday, Jan. 23.

"We’ll see how bad it is. Such a shame, he was playing great. That definitely hurt us, not having him available for the second half," Kerr said, per The San Francisco Standard's Danny Emerman.

The Mavericks dominated the Warriors down the stretch, outscoring them 39-26 in the fourth quarter, to win 123-115.

Kuminga was expected to see an increase in minutes within the Warriors' rotation after Jimmy Butler was ruled out for the season after he suffered a torn ACL earlier this week.

The fifth-year pro made headlines after demanding a trade away from Golden State on Jan. 15. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 5. He’d recently missed 13 games for the team.

He signed a two-year deal worth $48.5 million to remain with the Warriors in late September.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jonathan Kuminga injury update, what we know

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Cotie McMahon scored 33 points to tie a career-high, and she added 12 points and five assists to help No. 18 Mississippi beat Missouri 82-61 on Thursday night.

McMahon, who was held to nine points in an 82-59 loss to Georgia on Sunday, was 13 of 23 from the field and 6 of 11 at the free-throw line to match her previous scoring high set on Jan. 21, 2024, against Iowa.

Sira Thienou also had a double-double for Ole Miss (17-4, 4-2 SEC) with 17 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Latasha Lattimore added 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.

Grace Slaughter led Missouri (13-9, 1-6) with 21 points and seven rebounds. Shannon Dowell added 15 points. The Tigers have lost the last five matchup in the series.

Ole Miss led 29-23 at halftime before erupting for 33 points in the fourth quarter.

The Rebels missed their first shot of the fourth before making 11 in a row to close the game. Missouri went over five minutes without making a field goal as the Rebels pulled away on a 13-2 run for a 77-57 lead with 1:37 left.

McMahon scored 14 points in the fourth on 5-of-6 shooting and Thienou added 13 after making all four of her shots, including three 3-pointers.

The Rebels shot 51% overall despite going 5 of 17 (29) behind the arc.

Up next

Ole Miss: Returns home to play No. 17 Tennessee on Monday.

Missouri: Continues a homestand against Texas A&M on Sunday.

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ORLANDO (AP) — LaMelo Ball returned to Charlotte's starting lineup and had 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Hornets beat the Orlando Magic 124-97 on Thursday night.

Ball, who a night earlier had one of the worst shooting performances of his career when he came off the bench as part of a plan to manage his minutes, went 6 for 12 from the field and 4 for 8 from 3-point distance against Orlando. In a loss to Cleveland on Wednesday, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft finished with two points on 1-of-15 shooting, including 0 of 10 from 3-point range.

Brandon Miller scored 20 points to lead Charlotte's balanced effort. Collin Sexton came off the bench and scored 12 of his 19 points in the first half, Kon Knueppel and Tidjane Salaunadded added 13 apiece, and Miles Bridges, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner each scored 10.

Paolo Banchero scored 23 points, and Desmond Bane added 21 for the Magic. Moritz Wagner scored 14, Noah Penda added 13 and Jeff Howard 10.

Back in the starting lineup, Ball played a role in the fast start for the Hornets that was missing against Cleveland a night earlier when they trailed by 21 points in the first quarter. Ball scored eight points in seven minutes on 3-for-3 shooting, including 2 for 2 from distance, as Charlotte led 35-20 after a period.

Ball had 11 points in 15 minutes in the first half as Charlotte built a 62-41 lead by the break with 55% (22 for 41) shooting from the floor, and 48% (11 for 23) from beyond the arc. The Hornets outscored Orlando 35-26 in the third and extended their lead to 30 points with a period remaining on the way to their fourth victory in nine games.

The Magic struggled throughout, shooting 33% (13 for 40), including 5 for 19 (26%) from distance in the first half.

Orlando was without guard Jalen Suggs, who missed his eighth straight game due to a right knee injury. Center Moe Wagner was also sidelined due to left knee management and could return to the lineup this weekend.

Up next

Hornets: Host the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Magic: Host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

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

Pretty much same ol’, same ol’. In a series of tweets and podcasts Thursday, pundits suggested that with two weeks to go before the February 5 (3:00 p.m. ET) trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets are unlikely to make a big deal involving either Michael Porter Jr. or Nic Claxton. As for Cam Thomas, there doesn’t appear to be any interest.

Indeed, Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, Michael Scotto of Hoophype and Ian Begley of SNY agreed that the Nets aren’t making calls, but instead in listening mode. Moreover, they believe that the Nets may see a role for both in building a contender next season.

Siegel who as recently as ten days ago laid out a potential trade package the Golden State Warriors could offer the Nets, stepped back from the Porter-to-Golden State rumors … the Warriors need to replace Jimmy Butler out for a year after tearing his ACL. He wrote:

[T]he Dubs were exploring the trade market for a potential final piece to solidify their title chances. In doing so, Michael Porter Jr. from the Brooklyn Nets was a prominent name connected to Golden State, given his offensive surge and 3-point shooting on the wing.

League sources told ClutchPoints that these two teams did speak to one another during the first week of 2026, but no real trade talks regarding Porter ever materialized. The Warriors, who had internally discussed the idea of pursuing Porter, received indications that his asking price would be too much compared to the trade market as a whole.

It no longer appears as if pursuing Porter is a path the Warriors would like to go down in the wake of Butler’s injury, especially with Moses Moody and Buddy Hield, two players who would likely be salary fillers to acquire a player like Porter, seeing their respective roles elevated.

Siegel also dismissed talk that the Lakers might be interested in MPJ.

While quickly on the topic of Porter, it is worth mentioning that the talk of the Los Angeles Lakers possibly throwing their hat in the mix for Porter isn’t a realistic possibility and something they do not have a desire to do, sources said. The Lakers have signaled that they do not want to take on big money at this time, regardless of how many years a player has left on their contract.

Porter, 27, is in the midst of a deal that will pay him $38.3 million this season, then $40.8 million next season. Bottom line, he said, echoing Shams Charania among others, is that the Nets intend to keep Porter, perhaps revisiting interest in the off-season or alternately using him as a key player in building an improved roster next season.

All indications coming out of Brooklyn are that the Nets are very comfortable keeping Porter and don’t feel a need to rush a decision. Trade talks could be revisited in the summer, as rival teams continue to get the sense that the Nets will keep Porter as their focal scorer heading into the offseason.

Similarly, Mike Scotto who’s been reporting the Nets are likely to keep MPJ reiterated his thinking on Begley’s podcast. His overall theme: the Nets are taking but not making calls on either Porter or Nic Claxton. Both have been subjects of “exploratory” interest but so far the Nets are in listening mode.

Full Putback show here: https://t.co/ZudHV8nvO1

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) January 22, 2026

With MPJ, I would say for Brooklyn they’re not shopping him. They’re listening, certainly. He’s been all-star caliber player. You’re asset-driven. If you get draft picks more than MPJ, you do it. But they also want to be better next year. I’ve been told he could be a part of it. There’s no urgency to move him now.

Expiring plus all star production, it’s valuable. I don’t see them moving MPJ without the asking price.

Nic Claxton, I heard there was exploratory interest with Golden State, Pacers. I did not get the sense that anything close. For Nic, his contract descends. For Nets, there’s no urgency to move him and he could be a part of it next year.

The Warriors interest is new. In previous reporting, the Pacers and Lakers had been listed as teams interested in the 26-year-old.

Cam Thomas, he thinks, is unlikely to be moved other than in a bigger deal, assuming one emerges. Thomas, who recently switched agents, is on a $6.0 million qualifying offer and as such can veto any trade on any grounds. Most pundits believe his value, low to begin with, has dropped even further following his latest bout with hamstring issues. Said Scotto:

Cam Thomas, I think has to be included in a bigger deal if they’re going to do something. Stand alone value, he’s struggled and I think a lot of people around the league think his time (with Brooklyn) is going to come to an end given the extension negotiations they had.

Begley agreed and said he thinks Thomas is more likely to wait till the summer when he’ll be an unrestricted free agent and “sign elsewhere.”

Scotto also revisited Boston’s interest in Day’Ron Sharpe from last summer. The Celtics had discussed signing Sharpe but didn’t have the cap space and the Nets inked him to a very reasonable, two-year, $12.5 millon deal with the second year a team option. At the same time, the Nets and Celtics had discussed a salary dump in which Anferee Simons would come to the Nets along with draft pick(s) but Celtics resisted sending out a first rounder.

Day’ron Sharpe – Boston likes him, and {there’d been) some conversation for Anfree Simmons previously, if Nets could get a first round pick for him but Boston has resisted. Now, they’ve been in the thick of the East and pendulum could shift and they could be a buyer – add Day’Ron or someone else (Zubac), lots of moving parts.

Scotto added that even if the Nets don’t make a big move they are likely to play a role in facilitating trades among teams with apron concerns. He anticipates they’ll come away with “draft compensation” if that happens.

Nets will be an active team and they have to use the cap space to get draft compensation — 2nd round — teams have to get below the luxury tax or three team/four team trades that need Nets cap space.

The Nets currently have 20 seconds through 2032 along with 13 firsts, ten of which are tradeable, as well as league-leading $15.3 million in cap space. It’s that wealth of assets that will likely get them calls over the next two weeks.