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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
___
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
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.
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.
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.
The Sixers overcame a horrendous call at the end of regulation to take down the Houston Rockets 128-122 Thursday night.
Joel Embiid was dominant for much of the night with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists going 10-of-19 from the floor. Tyrese Maxey had a much better night attacking the basket, including a potential game-winner in regulation incorrectly not called a goaltend. He led the Sixers with 36 and 10 assists on 15-of-28 shooting.
Paul George was quiet and in foul trouble all night but hit some big threes late, putting up just 10 points on nine shots. VJ Edgecombe wasn’t up to much either, finishing with just nine points shooting 4-of-9 from the floor. Both made massive plays in OT.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had perhaps his best game as a Sixer, finishing with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting with four rebounds and two stocks. Kevin Durant led Houston with 36 as well.
With Embiid and PG back in the lineup the Sixers were back at full strength while the Rockets were missing Steven Adams, Aaron Holiday and Fred VanVleet, who’s out for the season.
Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.
First Quarter
The defensive aggression the Sixers play with paid off on the first play of the game but not the following two. Edgecombe cheated to help George pop free a steal and take it all the way for a dunk. They nearly did the same thing on the following possession but the ball caromed to Amen Thompson right under the basket, then George fouled Durant shooting a three on the following possession. Oubre remained in the starting lineup over Dominick Barlow and started well again, cutting his way to a basket in the paint and knocking down a corner three.
Edgecombe made another big early impact with another ferocious dunk, but Maxey started slow again and the Sixers fell behind. Maxey missed a couple of open threes and a layup at point-blank range. Embiid got a dump off and putback but missed the first three shots he tried to get for himself. Meanwhile Houston made eight of their first 12 shots of the night.
Getting back and getting in front of shooters allowed the Sixers to pick up a couple stops, but Houston still finished the quarter over 50% from the field and from three. Maxey at least got one three to fall, and an offensive rebound opened up the floor for him to get to the basket as the Sixers trailed by two after a high-scoring first.
Second Quarter
Embiid had begun to control things on the offensive end, but shots just kept rimming out after falling halfway down. It happened to him in the first and then to Edgecombe in the second after Embiid whipped a nice pass to him in the corner. He worked his way down the right side to get Barlow open in the dunker and that was successfully converted. Embiid also got to the line a couple of times in this stretch.
Despite dribbling into a double team and getting blocked on his first shot, Trendon Watford had his best stretch of minutes since returning. Again it was his playmaking chops that stood out, helping Quentin Grimes get free for a backdoor cut and pushing a fast break to hit Barlow with a lob.
They struggled to contain Thompson and Durant, but perhaps the Sixers’ biggest problem defensively of the half was how many needless fouls they committed. Alperen Sengun had one of the easiest and-1s of his life, and Durant had two. Embiid was getting to the line just as frequently though. While Maxey couldn’t buy a three, he got a floater and a couple transition dunks, one of which was impressively over Jabari Smith Jr. That helped the Sixers take a seven-point lead into the break.
Two jumpers falling was exactly the start to the half that Maxey needed. Sengun had tried to impose his will offensively, but smoked his first two layup attempts of the half. He was losing the physicality battle on both ends, though Embiid might have gotten away with an offensive foul here. To be fair to Sengun, he wasn’t the one trying to win back Korkmaz’s affection in this matchup.
This felt like the sharpest the Sixers have been on offense in a couple weeks, which is impressive given the opponent. Embiid had found a nice blend of cooking 1-on-1 versus accepting the doubles and let his teammates try to take advantage of the power play. It’s why they were able to overcome Maxey’s struggles, and it’s why Oubre and Barlow continued to thrive hanging around the dunker spot.
Not only was Oubre doing that while being everywhere defensively, but he was white hot from three again, making four of his first five. The last one he hit gave the Sixers their largest lead of the night at nine, but they immediately surrendered a 9-0 run to give it back. Maxey turned it over trying to force a pass to the double teamed Oubre. After a couple second-chance points, a Dorian Finney-Smith three tied the game. The ball swung to PG with the quarter winding down, and he buried the midrange for his just his second make of the night, putting the Sixers back up by two after three.
Fourth Quarter
It feels absurd how quickly this team can undo the good work they put in. A couple baskets from Watford and Embiid had them in good shape, but Grimes undid most of that fouling Reed Sheppard as he drained a three-pointer. A couple wide open baskets at the rim later and suddenly it was the Rockets back with a two-possession lead.
As momentum three after momentum three clanked off the rim for the Sixers, their defense started to slip as well. Sheppard was shaking free and hot, scoring at the same pace as the Sixers as a team in the quarter while they were also getting gashed on cuts to the rim.
A timeout with a little over four minutes left seemed to settle the Sixers and get them back into things. Embiid came out of it with a layup. Maxey then followed up with a three of his own, one of those coming from a steal and another turned into an and-1. After Tari Eason and PG traded threes in the corner, a Maxey midrange tied the game with about a minute and a half to go.
Durant got the switch he wanted to Maxey and put Houston back in front with a hook shot. Embiid fumbled the ball as he was catching Maxey’s pocket pass and turned over the ensuing possession, though George was able to steal the ball back and get it up to Maxey for another fast break layup.
On their next possession, Durant wasn’t able to switch off Oubre, but he still shook free for a jumper but it didn’t fall, giving the Sixers the ball tied up with 13 seconds to go. Maxey brought the ball up the court, went all the way to the basket and it initially looked like it was blocked. Replay showed that it was goaltended by Thompson, but the play wasn’t reviewable, making it a jump ball with a second left. The Sixers did win that jump ball but after review, they only had 0.1 seconds to work with. Embiid’s volleyball tap attempt was funny, but the crowd certainly didn’t think so as they continued to rain down “ref you suck” chants heading into overtime.
George hit a three to open up scoring in the extra period, then Edgecombe picked up two bigger rebounds — one to end a Rockets possession and another to save a bad PG shot and put it back himself. Durant and Thompson quickly answered back with five of their own. After Maxey put them back in front, the Sixers came up with a steal and block for two big consecutive stops.
Oubre was able to run out after that block, pushing the Sixers lead back up to two scores with under a minute to go. Edgecombe was able to force a turnover by drawing a foul on Durant, though he came up empty trying to dunk on Sengun. It took Durant three tries but thanks to long offensive rebounds he cut the lead to two. After Maxey hit a pair of free throws, Edgecombe and Oubre came up with yet another steal, icing this one for good.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (AP) — Braeden Carrington and John Blackwell each scored 17 points, and Wisconsin pulled away midway through the first half to rout Penn State 98-71 on Thursday night for the Badgers' fifth consecutive win.
Nolan Winter added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Nick Boyd scored 11 points for Wisconsin (14-5, 6-2 Big Ten). Andrew Rohde's 3-pointer stretched Wisconsin's lead to 78-44 with 8:50 to play.
The Badgers shot 51% overall and made 15 of 35 of their 3-point attempts. Carrington was 4 of 6 from long range.
Josh Reed scored 18 points and Freddie Dilione V added 17 to lead Penn State (9-10, 0-8). Mason Blackwood added 14 points for the Nittany Lions, who have lost six straight and nine of their last 10.
The Badgers outscored the Nittany Lions 38-9 in the last 11-plus minutes of the first half for a 50-22 advantage. Carrington scored 17 points and Blackwell added 13. Reed scored nine first-half points for the Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin has won six of the last eight games in the series and 19 of 22 dating to 2012.
The Jonathan Kuminga comeback feel good story has, unfortunately, hit a snag. Late in the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors road game against the Dallas Mavericks, Kuminga came up lame after a transition opportunity. He tried to walk it off, then signaled to the bench for a sub, and walked to the locker room. When the second half commenced, the Warriors announced that Kuminga had left knee soreness, and would not return to the game.
After an absence of more than a month, Kuminga returned to the rotation on Tuesday night and was one of the few bright spots in the team’s blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors, scoring an efficient 20 points in just 21 minutes. He was fantastic in his short stint against the Mavs, scoring 10 points in just nine minutes, while shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, with two steals.
With Jimmy Butler III out for the season with an ACL tear, and with the trade deadline exactly two weeks away, Kuminga has a great opportunity in front of him, to either become a key part of the rotation once again, or make himself attractive to a team that might trade for him. Hopefully the knee ailment is really just soreness and not an injury, and he can get back on the court shortly.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mia Pauldo scored 21 points and No. 17 Tennessee beat No. 11 Kentucky 60-58 on Thursday night for its seventh victory in a row.
Pauldo, who hit the 20-point mark for the second time this season, shot 9 of 22 from the field and 2 of 11 from beyond the arc for the Lady Vols (14-3, 6-0 Southeastern Conference).
Ameila Hassett scored 16 points for Kentucky (17-4, 4-3). Jordan Obi had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Tonie Morgan scored 13. Clara Strack added 14 rebounds and nine points.
Kentucky, which ranks fifth in the nation at turnovers per game with 11.0, committed 10 turnovers in the first half and 11 in the second, resulting in 21 points for Tennessee.
A 12-3 run in the second quarter helped Tennessee go ahead and the Lady Vols led 29-22 at the half. Six-straight points in the fourth quarter by Hassett tied the game at 46.
Pauldo made Tennessee's final field goal with 2:58 remaining for a 59-54 lead and she added a free throw at 1:24 to cap the scoring. Kentucky had a missed shot and two turnovers in the final 90 seconds.
Tennessee secured its second-straight win over a ranked opponent after a 70-59 decision over Alabama on Sunday.
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.
After a disappointing trip to Houston where the Spurs fell apart in the fourth to lose a winnable game against the Rockets, the Spurs travel to Salt Lake City, where the lake is salty and the the girls are pretty. The Spurs just defeated the Jazz on Monday night, 123-110 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score. Lauri Markkanen is still out for the Jazz, so this is a lineup that the Spurs can handle if they play a full game. The Spurs have had trouble finishing games recently, especially on the road, so tonight would be a good night for them to exorcize some demons by playing a 48 minute game. Maybe 42 would be enough against this Jazz squad?
Devin Vassell is still out with an adductor strain, and Luke Kornet is [listed as questionable] OUT with tightness in the same area. If Luke has to sit out the game, we should see a lot more of Kelly Olynyk and perhaps Bismack Biyombo. The Spur have a two break after tonight’s game before they face the Pelicans on Sunday night, which will be the longest break between games for the Silver and Black since the break between the Lakers game on the 7th and the Celtics game on the 10th of this month. January has been a grind, but the All Star break is a little more than two weeks away, which will be a welcome respite for the weary squad. Let’s GOO Spurs!!!
Game Prediction:
Carter Bryant will have his first 20 point game as a Spur as he plays 33 minutes in a blowout.
San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz January 22, 2026 | 8:00 PM CT Streaming: NBA League Pass TV: FanDuel Southwest Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.
Late Basketball Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant put on one of the most unfathomable scoring performances in NBA history two decades ago tonight.
Peek-a-boo. 81 points.
Bryant torched the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006 to achieve the second-highest scoring feat ever, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game.
He was on a heater. Bryant shot 28-of-46 from the field, including 7-of-13 from deep. He made 18 of his 20 free throw attempts, including the last two with 43.2 seconds left in the game to give him 81 points.
He played 42 minutes.
He scored 26 points in the first half and went off for 55 points in the second half, shattering Elgin Baylor's team record for points in a game (71).
"I feel pretty good," Bryant said with a smile during his post-game interview in 2006. "It hasn't really sank in yet. We had four days off coming up here. I'd have been sick as a dog if we lost this game. I just wanted to step up and inspire us to play a great game and it turned into something really special."
Bryant said he never scored that much in a game, not even in elementary school. He went on to say the performance was something that "just happened."
On a day that featured NFL conference championship games, Bryant's performance overtook the headlines.
Legendary SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott had the right call that night on ESPN:
"You have to see it to believe it," Scott said 20 years ago.
Lakers star LeBron James said, in a older interview, that he "watched the whole game." Spurs legend Tim Duncan remembers reading Bryant's 81-point stat line on a ticker. He thought it was a mistake.
Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade, at the time, remembered receiving an email about the game on his T-Mobile Sidekick cellphone.
"I was like, 'no way,' " Wade said. "I was at a restaurant so I went right and tuned into the TV they had at the restaurant and he had 71 so I watched the rest of it. At that time I think everybody was a fan of Kobe's to see this is history right here being made. No one's scoring 80 points in today's game. Everyone was a fan tuned in, watching his greatness."
"It just said 'Kobe 81,' " Kyrie Irving reminisced. "I just couldn't believe it."
Vince Carter thought it had to be a typo at the time. "81? or 51?" Carter said. "Unbelievable."
The game became so legendary that his iconic finger to the sky, signaling No. 1 or pointing to the heavens, was used for his statue that sits outside Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant 81-point game box score
Points: 81
FG: 28-for-46
3PT: 7-for-13
Free Throws: 18-for-20
Rebounds: 6
Assists: 2
Steals: 3
Blocks: 1
Turnovers: 3
Fouls: 1
Minutes: 42
Highlights: Kobe's 81-point game, 20 years later
Watch every point Bryant scored on his historic night.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Shamar Springer's hat trick in the 19th over helped the West Indies secure a 15-run win to deny Afghanistan a T20 series sweep on Thursday.
Afghanistan, which had taken the first two matches to clinch the series, restricted the West Indies to 151-7 in 20 overs after winning the toss and choosing to field.
Led by Rahmanullah Gurbaz's half-century, Afghanistan was in control before Springer's pace and length changes dismissed Gurbaz (71 off 58), Rashid Khan and Shahidullah in the penultimate over, leaving Ramon Simmonds to defend a 19-run lead in the 20th. Afghanistan finished 136-8.
Springer, a 28-year-old allrounder who hopes to make the squad for the T20 World Cup, took 4-20 in four overs. He became the third West Indies player to take a hat trick in T20 international. The other two are Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd.
Brandon King top-scored for West Indies with the captain falling just short of a half-century at 47.
The series is preparation by both teams for the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka starting Feb. 7.
With the 2026 NBA trade deadline arriving on Feb. 5, there are plenty of questions surrounding the Knicks and their NBA Finals expectations.
New York snapped their four-game losing streak in an impressive win over the Nets on Wednesday night, but the team is still in the midst of one of its worst stretches in the Jalen Brunson era. With the win, they are 3-9 over their last 12 games and have fallen into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference -- they would be the four-seed if they didn't hold the tiebreaker over the Raptors.
So, as the Knicks look to improve the roster, what should fans be looking for? SNY NBA Insider Ian Begley spoke on the topic on the Jan. 22 episode of The Putback, where he and guest Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype broke down what they are hearing as the trade deadline gets closer.
Karl-Anthony Towns trade rumors
After the Knicks' dreadful loss to the undermanned Mavericks at home on Monday, Newsday's Steve Popper reported that New York had spoken to a number of teams (Hornets, Grizzlies, Magic) about a potential trade involving Towns.
Towns' numbers are down pretty much across the board and the big man even admitted that he's had a tough time adjusting to head coach Mike Brown's system.
Begley shared on The Putback what he had heard.
"I checked around on this Monday, everything that I gathered is the Knicks are not having conversations about trading Karl-Anthony Towns," Begley said. "As of Monday, it was not happening. As far as something in the aftermath of that Dallas loss, no, that wasn’t the case."
Begley added that if the Knicks go through another 2-9 stretch and continue to struggle as they get closer to the trade deadline, things might change.
Whenever Towns' name is thrown out there as a trade candidate, the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo is not far behind. It seems like an easy swap for both teams, but Scotto threw some cold water on the idea.
“I personally never gotten the sense, at least from talking to my sources, that a team like the Milwaukee Bucks would be overly aggressive in trying to get Karl Towns in a Giannis Antetokounmpo package, theoretically," Scotto said.
Scotto suggested that the Knicks, if they were to deal Towns, would have to consider "breaking up" Towns' salary into multiple pieces, similar to what the Timberwolves did when they moved the big man to New York for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
"I checked around on this Monday, everything that I gathered is the Knicks are not having conversations on trading Karl-Anthony Towns"
On The Putback with @IanBegley, Ian discusses what he's heard on the KAT reports and his read on if the Knicks would make that trade pic.twitter.com/bvLAdFjzt2
Since a Towns trade is unlikely, what players should we be on the lookout for?
Guerschon Yabusele is as likely a candidate to be moved. According to Scotto, the acquisition was seen as a "homerun" by execs in the offseason, but it was made before the hiring of Brown. Clearly, Yabusele has had a tough time integrating into Brown's system, and the Knicks are looking to shop him. Scotto even suggested the Knicks may have to pair Yabusele with another minimum-salary player or draft picks to get a player that could help the team.
Scotto shared that the Pelicans have two players that the Knicks checked in.
"I did hear the Knicks were calling not only on Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans but also Yves Missi," Scotto said. "Part of it could be doing background, doing due diligence, but you don't make calls on these guys unless you're intersted so that raised my antenna a little bit. If you take Yabusele and another minimum guy, you could maybe try to make something happen there."
The Knicks' interest in Alvarado is well-documented by Missi is a name that even Begley was surprised by.
Missi, 21, is a second-year center who has seen his minutes deep in year two. In his rookie campaign, Missi played around 27 minutes a game (73 games), averaging nine points, and eight rebounds (3.5 offensive). In his sophomore year, Missi is averaging 19 minutes and just 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds (2.9 offensive) across 38 games.
Acquiring another big like Missi could open up more avenues for deals involving the Knicks. Would they deal Mitchell Robinson, who is on the final year of his contract, or one of the depth bigs like Ariel Hukporti? That also opens up the possibility to trade Towns as well.
The Knicks have a lot to consider as they hope to fortify their roster for the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs.
"I did hear the Knicks were not only calling on Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans, but also Yves Missi"
On today's episode of The Putback, @MikeAScotto - a must-follow for NBA fans - discusses trade deadline (link to full show in post below) pic.twitter.com/11wdozjICd
Stanford Cardinal men's basketball will have to endure the remainder of their season without their senior second-leading scorer Chisom Okpara.
The school announced that Okpara suffered a lower extremity injury during the 70-55 loss to Virginia on Jan. 10 and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
The senior forward averaged 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 17 games.
Okpara posted a statement to his Instagram account that led with a Bible verse from Proverbs.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart," Okpara's post read.
As his post continued, he said that his surgery went "smoothly" and he's focused on a full recovery.
"During our game against UVA on Jan. 10th, I sustained a significant patellar tendon tear. I'm happy to report that surgery yesterday went smoothly and I am focused on a full recovery," Okpara wrote.
He added: "I'm stepping away from the court for now to prioritize my health. While this isn't how I envisioned the season playing out, I am eternally grateful to Coach Smith and the entire coaching staff for their mentorship over the last two seasons. To my teammates, I'm rooting for you all the way to the top! Huge thanks to Dr. Marc Safran, the Stanford Medicine team and my family for their unwavering support. The future is bright. Glory to God! Go Cardinal!"
Stanford has an overall record of 14-5 and are .500 in ACC games at 3-3. They've got two wins over ranked opponents, North Carolina and Louisville.
Their next game is 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) Saturday against Cal at Maples Pavilion in Stanford.
