Worldwide Sports News
Today, the Colorado Rockies lost a road game to the Texas Rangers, 9-5. (The Dolly Parton song moves much faster than today’s game did.) For more details, go here.
We’re not yet to the point where we’re doing postgame write-ups, but here is some video from today’s game.
First, here’s manager Warren Schaeffer:
And here’s Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros, who had a pretty good day:
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
Playing the second game of a back-to-back, the New York Knicks (36*-21) face the Chicago Bulls (24-33) tonight at United Center. The Bulls list Anfernee Simons as day-to-day with a wrist issue and Jaden Ivey out with knee soreness. The Knicks are heavily favored thanks to Chicago’s eight-game skid and general stinkability.
Tip-off at 8 PM ET on MSG. This is your game thread. This is Blog a Bull. Please don’t post illegal streams or large, kinky pics of your poodle. And go the Knicks!
* Should be one more, but the Cup Final was a hill of beans.
Everywhere Pat Riley went, success — and his Armani suits — followed.
New York: an NBA Finals appearance, two Eastern Conference finals and a Coach of the Year award in four seasons. Miami: Riley’s third Coach of the Year honor, the NBA Executive of the Year award (2011) and three NBA titles as a coach/executive in a tenure with the Heat that’s lasted over 30 years.
But for Riley, his legendary basketball resume will always come back to Los Angeles.
And that was once again the case on Sunday afternoon when the Lakers unveiled their 8-foot, 510-pound statue of the franchise legend ahead of their home game against the Celtics, their longtime rival.
“You go back and look to that period, and you go back to that time and look where I am today, this is where I ended up. I don’t know how I got here,” Riley said. “But I got here, and now there’s a statue out there and that plaza of stars.
“I’m so grateful. I really am. It’s beyond gratitude. I’m so grateful to be honored and to be with those who are the giants that I jumped up on their shoulders and they carried me.”
Riley was the Lakers’ head coach for nine seasons (1981-90) during the “Showtime” era, leading the franchise to four NBA championships (1982, ’85, ’87, ’88), with two of those titles coming against the Celtics.
The 80-year-old Riley made it clear during his speech before the statue was unveiled that his professional competitiveness against Boston hasn’t changed.
“The time has come to kick some ass,” Riley said. “To kick some Boston ass.”
A 2008 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Riley was part of six Lakers NBA championship teams as a player (one; 1972), assistant coach (one; 1980) and head coach.
Riley’s statue was appropriately placed between the statues of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — fellow franchise legends whom Riley coached during the Lakers’ dominance in the ‘80s.
The pose for Riley’s statue was of him wearing a Giorgio Armani-tailored suit with crocodile leather belt and the 1985 championship ring and raising his right hand — a signal throughout the Showtime era for Johnson to pass to Abdul-Jabbar for his skyhook.
“Pat, to me, sort of set the standard for modern NBA coaches,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I have always looked at the NBA in sort of two very distinct eras: make the demarcation point either right at merger or in 1980-81, right around that time when Dallas joined as the 23rd team. That, sort of to me, is the beginning of the modern NBA, and that’s right when the Lakers’ run started. And Pat just set the standard for what a modern NBA coach should be. It’s a good-looking statue. We paused a little bit to make sure that we got it right. I thought the statue looked good.”
Even though the focus was on him for most of Sunday, Riley was equally complimentary of Redick.
“I love JJ, I really do,” Riley said. “My teams competed against him in various teams that he played with. He’s a fiery guy. He could shoot the hell out of the ball. He was tough as nails.
“Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time, and I looked at JJ and I think they picked the right person. There’s just a quality about him I think that goes above and beyond. And they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now with (Luka) Dončić and (Austin) Reaves and obviously with LeBron (James). And so I think (Lakers president of basketball operations/general manager) Rob (Pelinka) will continue with the new ownership to build that team and to compliment those players. But they have a great opportunity, and I think JJ will be a great coach for it.”
The Golden State Warriors pulled off one of their most surprising wins of the year on Sunday, shocking the Denver Nuggets 128-117. Merely winning was surprising, given that the Nuggets are a significantly better team, and the Warriors were playing their seventh straight game without Steph Curry. But before the game tipped off, the Dubs were dealt a one-two combo of adversity, making the difficult task downright daunting.
First, a few hours before the game began, the Warriors announced that recent trade acquisition Kristaps Porziņģis, who was set to play his second game with the team, was sick and would not be able to make it to the arena. Steve Kerr made it sound like it’s a very serious illness for Porziņģis, as the coach revealed that the stretch big may not join the Warriors on their upcoming two-city road trip.
And then, just minutes before the game began, the Warriors announced that Draymond Green was dealing with a lower back injury, and wouldn’t play.
So the Dubs, sans Curry, Green, Porziņģis, and Jimmy Butler III, took on the 36-21 Nuggets, who were playing without Aaron Gordon, but were otherwise healthy.
Golden State took the challenge and ran with it from the opening tip. The starting five of Pat Spencer, De’Anthony Melton, Moses Moody, Gui Santos, and Al Horford came out firing, with incredible ball movement and some Curry-esque shooting from deep. If you blinked, you missed Horford draining a pair of triples as the Warriors immediately took an 11-2 lead.
While the Warriors’ offense was firing on all cylinders, so too was the consensus best player in the world, Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, who was picking apart Golden State’s defense. At the mandatory timeout, just over five minutes in, the Nuggets had made six field goals … and Jokić had assisted on all six of them. But crucially, the Warriors still led, as their ball movement was going tit for tat with Jokić’s wizardry.
As the first quarter went on, both offenses played beautifully. Christian Braun was feasting on the Dubs with cuts galore, while Santos was doing a little bit of everything to keep Golden State afloat. It looked like the Nuggets were about to erase the lead late, but Golden State ended the first quarter with a huge flurry, with Santos and rookie Will Richard leading the way. To the shock of everyone in the building, the Warriors led 39-27 after the opening frame, and had shot a blistering 9-for-19 from three-point range. Horford had finished the quarter with 11 electric points, while Moody had scored eight.
It’s always expected that the favored team will respond after that sort of quarter. The Warriors got their surprising punch in, but presumably the Nuggets would wake up, adjust, and play better in the second. And indeed, Denver notably tightened up their defense to open the second frame, while first-time All-Star Jamal Murray went to work, chipping away at the lead.
But the Warriors wouldn’t let him chip away too much. The second quarter was a complete team effort, with all nine healthy players contributing across the board: there were deflections and loose balls gathered, rebounds gobbled up, and plenty more threes. It was an exhausting fight for them to stay on top, but stay on top they did, and they led 76-67 at halftime, with a stunning 15 made threes. Against all odds, with Curry sidelined, they set their season record for most points in the first half.
Unfortunately, the halftime hangout sapped Golden State’s shooting ability. When they returned from the break, they had cashed in the threes for turnovers, instead. In fact, after nine threes in the first quarter and six more in the second, the Warriors didn’t make a single shot from beyond the arc in the third quarter.
And as that happened, the Nuggets chipped away. They were playing so well on offense, with Jokić now turning to scoring, rather than passing, to pick apart Golden State’s defense. On the other end, the Warriors started the frame moving the ball well, but just couldn’t hit shots. Yet as the frustration mounted, they started to force the issue, and eventually the turnovers started to fill up the stat sheet.
At the 7:05 mark, a pair of free throws from Braun tied the game. It was the first tie since it was 2-2 in the opening moments of the game. At the 4:59 mark, Denver finally took the lead.
At that point, it felt like the game was well on its way to being over. The Warriors had gotten their surprising run in early, and the Nuggets had now responded. When the talent deficit is that big, the expectation is that once the dam breaks, there’s no putting it back together. You hang onto the lead for as long as you can, and once you lose it, it’s over. And indeed, it felt that way, as the Nuggets pushed the lead to eight points, which somehow felt insurmountable.
Turns out it wasn’t, though. Though the Warriors trailed 101-95 entering the fourth quarter, they still brought the energy and confidence to the fourth quarter.
Golden State opened the scoring in the final frame with a Brandin Podziemski and-one. And then, at the 10:02 mark, they tied the game when Gary Payton II kicked the lid off the bucket and drained a three. It was the team’s first triple of the half, and ended a stretch of 14 consecutive misses from beyond the arc.
The Nuggets would soon have a five-point lead, once again giving many the sense that the Warriors had used up their shots at an upset. And then they flipped the game entirely on its head. Payton made another three, and at the 6:00 mark, Moody scored at the rim in transition, tying the game and forcing the Nuggets to call timeout.
That timeout did nothing. The Warriors got a stop, then Podziemski — who had his best quarter of the season — drained a three. Horford stole the ball from Jokić, and Podziemski made a mid-range jumper. Melton stole the ball from Braun, and a few seconds later had a transition layup. Just 1:18 after David Adelman had called timeout, he called another one, with the Warriors now leading by seven points.
The second timeout barely did anything, either. On the opening possession, Melton stole the ball from Murray, and then found Horford for yet another three. It capped a 15-0 Golden State run, and gave the Warriors a 10-point lead with just over four minutes remaining. Suddenly the Nuggets look like they had woken up in the middle of basketball game, and had no idea where they were, how they got there, or what they were supposed to do. Based on poise and execution, you wouldn’t be able to guess which team was a championship contender, and which team was missing four of their best players.
It turned into a 20-2 run, as the Dubs pushed the lead to 13 points. Their offense was mostly nonexistent in the final two minutes of the quarter, but their defense smelled blood in the water, and put the clamps on Denver. The Nuggets never got closer than nine, as the Chase Center erupted to celebrate a 128-117 win.
Moody led the scoring with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 4-for-9 from deep, and added seven rebounds and five assists in one of his better games of the year. Horford was nothing short of sensational, with 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including a blistering 6-for-7 from three-point range. Horford only grabbed one rebound, but dished seven assists, while recording three steals and two blocks. Despite drawing the opening assignment against Jokić, Horford didn’t commit a foul all night. Melton also hit the 20-point mark, with 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting, plus four rebounds, two assists, and a whopping four steals (Golden State had 14 on the night).
But the biggest star might have been Podziemski, who nearly had a triple-double. Podz only shot 7-for-16 from the field, but finished with 18 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, nine assists, and one steal. He was dominant all over the court in the fourth quarter, despite entering the frame just 1-for-10 from the field. But he scored 15 of the team’s 33 points in the critical frame, while being a menace on the glass and playing exceptional defense. He helped the Warriors win the bench battle 44-28.
The Warriors overcome a typically superstar performance from Jokić, who had 35 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, and two blocks. Murray added 21 points and Braun 18, but the Warriors forced 13 turnovers out of that star trio. Most importantly, the Nuggets shot just 8-for-31 (25.8%) from three-point range, while the Warriors, despite their cold third quarter, went 21-for-52 (40.4%).
With the win, the Warriors improve to 30-27 on the season. They now hit the road for a back-to-back in the south, visiting the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Lakers honored former coach Pat Riley during a ceremony outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 22. The ceremony concluded with the unveiling of a bronze statue of the legendary coach’s likeness.
It’s the 15th statue put up outside the arena, joining a list of notable figures from Lakers history, including Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Riley’s statue is nearly eight feet tall and weighs 510 pounds and is located between the statues of Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson, his two star players on the "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980s.
Riley did not have head coaching experience when he was promoted to head coach of the Lakers during the 1981-82 season. But Riley became the perfect fit for the Lakers during the 1980s and the "Showtime" Lakers went to seven NBA Finals under Riley, winning four championships (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).
“This right here is off the charts of being honored,” Riley told CBS Los Angeles.”I am just so privileged to have this here.”
Here’s a look at the statue:
A Lakers icon forever enshrined. Congrats, Coach 💛 pic.twitter.com/pn8bGJtAs1
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 22, 2026
Riley spent 24 years as a head coach and compiled 1,381 regular-season and playoff victories, which ranks fifth in NBA history. He has a regular season record of 1,210-694 (.636 winning percentage). In addition to his four championships with the Lakers, Riley won another title with the Miami Heat in 2006 and has added two more rings as an executive.
Riley was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers unveil Pat Riley statue celebrating former coach
If you turned this game off in the second inning, that’d be understandable. Maybe you are one of the many people who woke up incredibly early to watch the US men’s hockey team gold medal match against Canada. Also, this lazy Sunday game was the first radio-only affair of the spring, held down by the broadcast crew of Rick Rizzs, Gary Hill Jr., and the affable Charlie Furbush. And by the end of the third inning, the Mariners were down 8-2. Totally get it if you went to do something else.
But if you turned the game off, you missed some fun stuff. Especially if you like [sparkle fingers] challenges. Because the fate of this game turned on Mariners prospect Jared Sundstrom making a good challenge, and butterfly-effect style, making a new game, one where the Mariners emerged victorious, 14-8.
Another story of this game: the sheer amount of pitches the Mariners batters made Reds pitching throw. The Reds used 11 pitchers, who threw a combined 240 pitches. The Mariners drew 10 walks. Mariners pitching? Issued zero walks. Mmmm, that’s some good Controlling of the Zone.
Once again, the Mariners drew first blood, foreshadowing the level of Problem this lineup could be this season. The Mariners forced Reds starter Jose Franco to throw 30 pitches in the first inning, scraping a run out on a trio of singles: a leadoff one from Luke Raley, a hard-hit one from Julio Rodríguez (99.9 EV), and a magnificent hard-won RBI from Randy Arozarena, who took the ninth pitch of an at-bat right back up the middle (107.7 EV) for a run-scoring single. Randy was wearing the number 75, because he’d forgotten his jersey back in Peoria, and you know what, Randy? Relatable.
But that early lead quickly turned into a deep deficit. Randy Dobnak had a rough Mariners debut, working around an Elly De La Cruz double in the first but unable to escape the second inning, giving up six straight hits. All but two of those hits were on the sinker, which got torched by the Reds hitters. The Mariners had to bring in one of their “jicky” (Just In Case) minor-leaguers to mop up the inning, and Ryan Hawks, 2023 eighth-rounder, took care of De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez, buttoning up the inning by striking out Geno with a slider.
Casey Legumina picked up where Hawks left off, taking care of his three hitters 1-2-3 for a clean third inning and ending on a strikeout of Ke’Bryan Hayes, a good showing for the Bean Man in his spring debut. Maybe that energy transferred to the offense, as the Mariners got one back in the fourth thanks to a two-out double by Will “Willy” Wilson followed by a Brock Rodden triple.
I will take one ticket to the Brocketship, please and thank you.
But Ryan Loutos, making his Mariner debut, gave that run right back and then some. Loutos just wasn’t able to miss many bats: the Reds were able to contact everything he put on the plate, and by the time the next jicky came in to stop the bleeding—this time Marcelo Pérez—the score was 8-2. Once again, the minor-league callup stepped up; Pérez struck out Geno chasing after a slider and coaxed a groundout from Spencer Steer to cap the damage.
But the Mariners battled back in the second half of the game. It started in the fifth, when the Mariners played some small ball against former Mariner prospect Connor Phillips. The big hit came from Julio, who scorched a double (104.2 EV) off a sweeper well below the zone. Arozarena worked another walk, this time with two outs, bringing up Dominic Canzone, who singled to score Luke Stevenson, pinch-running for Julio. Michael Arroyo then turned in yet another polished plate appearance: he’d gotten some bad luck earlier in the game, a 107.6 mph lineout and a groundout that came off the bat at 103.2; this time he worked a walk, refusing to chase anything out of the zone, to load the bases. The defense remains an issue – he mishandled a routine throw and let a ball go past his glove today at second – but his production in the box will force him into the lineup somehow. Will Wilson then worked a bases-loaded walk of his own to cut the deficit to 8-4.
Then it was time for the Brock Star again. Facing new pitcher Julian Garcia, Rodden shot a ground ball just out of reach of former Mariners prospect Edwin Arroyo to bring in another run. Jonny Farmelo struck out to end the inning, but the game now stood at a manageable 8-5.
In the middle innings, it was time for some more Mariners debuts. Robinson Ortiz made his Mariners debut in the fifth with a clean 1-2-3 inning of three weak-contact outs (one was a little more adventurous than it needed to be thanks to a poor throw from Arroyo, but Josh Naylor was able to clean it up). Ortiz’s fastball hung out around 93 mph and he primarily threw his four-seam with a couple of sliders mixed in. In the sixth, it was time for Cole Wilcox. Wilcox definitely won the stuff battle, hanging out at 97 on his sinker and touching as high as 98.5 while collecting two strikeouts.
The Mariners added another pair of runs in the seventh against Lyon Richardson. Arozarena—wearing number 75 because he apparently forgot his jersey, oh Randy—singled in his final plate appearance. New LL heartthrob Brennen Davis worked a walk, showing some solid strike zone awareness. Blake Rambusch and Luis Suisbel then hit back-to-back singles to bring the Mariners within a run, 8-7.
The turning point of the game came in the eighth inning. With two outs, the Reds had challenged a pitch on Carson Taylor; the call was upheld, and Taylor walked. That brought up Jared Sundstrom, who was initially called out in a 1-2 count on a 98.1 mph fastball on the inside edge. Sundstrom immediately challenged, and the call was reversed. Sundstrom would go on to work a walk as Reds pitcher Zach Maxwell’s command further disintegrated. Brennen Davis and Blake Rambusch would go on to work back-to-back walks, tying up the game at 8-8.
Obviously playing for the win, Dan Wilson left Jhonathan Díaz out for the bottom of the eighth after he had worked a clean seventh. That set up the Baby Mariners for the win in the ninth: two highly-touted Mariners prospects delivered leadoff doubles, with Felnin Celesten doubling in his first at-bat of the spring and then sprinting home on a Jonny Farmelo double to give the Mariners their first lead since the first inning. Josh Caron followed that with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs, and Luke Stevenson worked the Mariners’ tenth walk of the day. Sundstrom then came through again with a two-run single into left, setting up Brennen Davis for the kill shot. Davis demolished a middle-middle fastball at 114 mph for a three-run home run to make the score 14-8, and that’s where the game would end as Domingo Gonzalez worked a 1-2-3 inning in his Mariners debut.
In a game that featured nine challenges, none was more impactful than Sundstrom’s, leading to the Mariners tying the game. With the ABS system, players have an opportunity take more ownership over their at-bats, but the risk is significant; those who have an impeccable sense of the zone will find themselves advantaged by the challenge system. The Mariners went 2-for-3 in their challenges today, but more importantly, they won the battle in the zone on both sides of the ball. The Reds recorded 12 hits, striking out eight times and, as mentioned, walking none; the Mariners recorded 17 hits, and while they did strike out 12 times, they also earned 10 free passes. No matter what innovations come to the game, commanding the zone is timeless.
From the moment JJ Redick was hired as the Lakers’ head coach, he was compared to Pat Riley.
While some of it was just overzealousness and an attempt to hype the new man in charge, Redick does share some similarities with Riley.
For starters, both were former players who transitioned from the court to the media and then became Lakers head coaches with zero experience in that role.
Both also use a ton of hair products to keep their hair styled and, in their first season in charge, they each won 50 games.
Riley is obviously a tier above almost every coach in NBA history, Redick included, which is why the Lakers honored him on Sunday with a statue.
Still, Riley thinks the world of Redick and spoke highly of him during his press conference following the ceremony.
“I love JJ,” Riley said. “I really do. We competed against him. My teams competed against him in various teams that he played with. He’s a fiery guy. He can shoot the hell out of the ball. He was tough as nails. Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time and I look at JJ and I think they picked the right person.
“There’s just a quality about him, I think, that goes above and beyond. And they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now, with [Luka] Dončić and [Austin] Reaves, and, obviously, with LeBron [James]. I think Rob [Pelinka] will continue, along with the new ownership, to build that team, to complement those players. But they have a great opportunity and I think JJ will be a great coach for them.”
That’s high praise from Riley, and similarly, Redick has nothing but great things to say about him.
“I grew up watching ‘90s basketball and those Knicks and Heat teams and just how physical and tough-minded they were,” Redick said before LA took on the Clippers on Friday. “Then, obviously, played against Riles in Orlando when he was still coaching. Just the – the culture word is overused – but just a sustainable level of consistency that Miami has had since he’s been there
“What he was able to do as a head coach for the Lakers, I think it’s the North Star for any coach to be in one place for basically close to a decade and win a bunch of championships. That’s all we can ask for.”
Redick has a lot of work left to do to reach Riley’s level of infamy. But the respect is there, as is the love, and it’s great to see the current Lakers coach receiving so much adoration from one of the best to ever do it.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
The Cleveland Cavaliers fought hard to erase an early 23-point deficit, but they weren’t able to keep up with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s hot outside shooting. The Thunder prevailed 121-113.
The starting lineup doesn’t work in every context; this is one of them. Lu Dort and Cason Wallace‘s size and strength made it difficult for Donovan Mitchell and James Harden to attack off the dribble. The rest of the starters weren’t able to do much as Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen are all play finishers and not play creators. This hurt the Cavs and was part of the reason why they turned it over seven times before the first subs entered the game.
I’m in favor of Wade starting in most situations. His defense and rebounding add a different dimension for this team. However, there are some matchups where Cleveland would be better served starting someone like Jaylon Tyson or Sam Merrill. This is one of them.
The Cavs lost the five minutes the starters shared the floor by 14. They won the other 43 minutes by six.
You don’t want to over-index one game, but outings like this are why it’s fair to wonder if Wade can be a difference maker in the playoffs.
As mentioned, this wasn’t a great matchup to use Wade as a starter. There wasn’t a player that they specifically needed him to defend. When he doesn’t have that, his utility goes down, which only highlights how he can be a limited offensive player.
The Cavs needed players who could shoot or provide some level of ball handling. Wade was hesitant to pull the trigger and isn’t an on-ball creator. He had just one field-goal attempt in 18 minutes despite the defense being more than okay to cheat off him. You’re completely handicapping your offense if neither he nor his teammates trusts him to be an active part of the offense.
The Cavs wouldn’t start Wade if they played the Thunder in a seven-game series. They’d just use him off the bench as a backup. So, again, you don’t want to make too much of this one game. But there are other matchups, like against the Detroit Pistons, where the Cavs need Wade to guard the opponent’s best player. Wade can only be placed in a spot to do so if he provides something offensively.
The Cavs need to find alternative ways to get Allen involved. After spending the last few weeks talking about how they need to get him the ball early, he took just one shot in the first quarter. As has been the pattern, this carried over for the entire game as Allen had just six field goal attempts in over 28 minutes.
The Thunder deserve some credit for this. They did a great job of collapsing passing lanes and sending help whenever Allen did get the ball. Cleveland’s poor outside shooting allowed them to gamble as much as they did. That said, the Cavs’ offense didn’t really have a way to get him the ball besides just trying to force-feed him in the pick-and-roll.
Teams know that Allen is the key to getting their offense involved, especially after the addition of Harden. Allen’s rim pressure opens the floor up for the guards and for shooters on the perimeter. But if it gets shut down, things can become stagnant like it did in Oklahoma City.
Not every team has the ability to stop Allen with a drop big as good as Isaiah Hartenstein and the perimeter defender the Thunder have. It’s not like it’s the most replicable strategy. At the same time, a team like the Pistons — who the Cavs could face in the playoffs — can do something similar with their defensive personnel.
Allen needs to be a bigger factor than he was. There’s just not many situations where the Cavs are going to beat an elite opponent if he’s held to just six shot attempts.
Keon Ellis continues to impress with his defensive effort. He finished with two steals and was once again incredibly disruptive.
There aren’t many players of his size who can alter defensive possessions as he does. Plays like the one below are an example of that.
Ellis rotates like he’s going to contest Chet Holmgren’s drive. Holmgren assumes that Ellis is going back to the wing, but instead, he comes down and forces Holmgren out of his shot. It’s not often a 6’4” guard forces a 7’1” center out of a jumper.
It’s difficult to keep someone this impactful defensively off the court.
There’s room for more Merrill and Harden two-man screening actions.
Merrill is a good screener and had his shot working on Sunday as he went 6-10 from three. Only one of those six triples was assisted by Harden, but the ease with which the shot was created makes you wonder why they don’t use it more often.
Here, a simple ghost screen from Merrill creates a wide-open look due to how much attention Harden draws to the ball. It helps that Harden can make behind-the-back passes with ease.
It can work to create open looks for Harden as well. Here, the ghost screen makes an opening for Harden to get to his patented left-handed layup.
These two have shown a natural chemistry in their first six games together. They should lean into that much more than they currently are. This has the potential to be as lethal a combination as Harden and Allen.
The spacing principles with Harden need work.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson is trying to find ways to keep elements of his movement offense while working in the isolation sets that Harden is comfortable with. In the previous five games, the Cavs were able to make that work. They weren’t on Sunday as Harden turned it over five times, with a few coming because the spacing just isn’t where it needs to be.
We talked about the starters not providing much spacing. This is an example of that. Four defenders are in the paint along with three Cavaliers when Harden committed the offensive foul.
And here, Dennis Schroder is stuck trying to relocate to the corner in the middle of Harden’s drive, which disrupts the spacing, leading to the turnover.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.
The Thunder are a tough matchup for Cleveland’s backcourt. There aren’t many teams that have more disruptive guard defenders than Dort and Wallace. They don’t give up many 30+ point games from an opposing guard. That means that the rest of the offense needs to be in sync, and they weren’t.
As was seen here, the Cavs’ offense has the potential to be good — and they were for stretches on Sunday — but they certainly aren’t fine-tuned yet. The spacing wasn’t great, they couldn’t find a way to get Allen involved, it’s fair to wonder where Mobley fits into the Harden offense, and the rotations are a work in progress. Games like this are going to expose those issues.
The Cavs are very much a work in progress. The talent is there, but they don’t know who they are and how they want to play enough to quite be on the Thunder’s level. In many ways, they’re trying to build the plane in the air.
Nothing from this game makes me think that the Cavs can’t reach that level. Even though the Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, they shot uncharacteristically well from three. Making more than half of your outside shots is going to make any team incredibly tough to beat. The Cavs also didn’t do themselves any favors with the turnovers and poor shooting, yet they still had chances to win this one.
Even though they failed this test, going through struggles like this is necessary. The Cavs aren’t far off. The question is whether they have enough time to actually put all the pieces together.
Game 58. Suns n’ Blazers.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Nick Boyd scored 27 points and Nolan Winter added 18 as No. 24 Wisconsin pulled away late for an 84-71 victory over Iowa on Sunday.
Bennett Stirtz’s layup trimmed Iowa’s deficit to 68-65, but Austin Rapp hit a pair of 3-pointers to fuel a 10-point Wisconsin run. Boyd’s layup put the Badgers ahead 78-65 with just under four minutes remaining.
John Blackwell hit four free throws after a deadball technical foul to extend the lead to 82-69 with 1:02 left.
Rapp scored 14 points and Blackwell had 13 for Wisconsin (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten), which bounced back from an 86-69 loss at Ohio State.
Stirtz had 23 points for Iowa (19-8, 9-7), which was coming off a 57-52 win at home over No. 9 Nebraska. Alvaro Folgueiras and Tate Sage scored 11 apiece.
Wisconsin shot 53.8%, including 10 of 24 beyond the arc. The Badgers hit 18 of 20 free throws, including 14 of 15 in the second half. Boyd shot 9 of 16 and Winter 8 of 11.
NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 66, OHIO STATE 60
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Carson Cooper scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 15 Michigan State to a win over Ohio State.
Jeremy Fears added 11 points and eight assists for the Spartans (22-5, 12-4 Big Ten), who have won three of four, moving into a third-place tie in the Big Ten with No. 9 Nebraska and No. 7 Purdue.
The Buckeyes (17-10, 9-7) fell to 0-9 against Quadrant 1 teams, a statistic that may hurt their chances of earning an NCAA Tournament bid next month.
Ohio State had an opportunity to earn an impressive win, playing without the ill Devin Royal and injured John Mobley and missing the 29 points per game that they average.
Bruce Thornton tried to make up for it, scoring 32 points, but didn’t get much help from a teammate other than Christoph Tilly, who scored 10 points and missed only one shot.
The Sacramento Kings are looking to fill their roster after losing players to injury in the last few weeks.
Sacramento reportedly agreed to sign guard Killian Hayes to a 10-day contract deal, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Hoops Hype’s Michael Scotto.
Hayes most recently appeared in nine games for the Cleveland Charge, the G-League affiliate of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He averaged 22.4 points and 8.5 assists in nine games.
His last NBA appearance was during the 2024-25 season with the Brooklyn Nets, where Hayes averaged nine points in 27 minutes. He appeared in six games.
Hayes, 25, was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to the Detroit Pistons.
Hayes spent four seasons with the Pistons. His best season arguably came during the 2022-23 campaign when he posted career-highs in games played (76), points per game (10.3), assists (6.2), and steals (1.4).
Sacramento wasn’t done after the Hayes 10-day signing.
The team adds more depth to their roster following their announcement that recently acquired forward Deandre Hunter is ruled out for the season with ongoing left eye iritis, an injury that required surgery.
“Hunter was diagnosed with a retinal detachment in his left eye. This afternoon, Hunter underwent successful surgery to repair the injury,” the team said in a Feb. 20 news release. “Hunter is expected to make a full recovery and an update will be provided in approximately eight weeks.”
With the news of Hunter, who joined Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine to be ruled out for the final months of the season, they decided to add more depth.
The Kings signed Patrick Baldwin Jr. to a two-way contract deal.
Baldwin, 23, most recently played for the San Diego Clippers, G-League affiliate of Los Angeles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sacramento Kings, Killian Hayes agree to 10-day deal
Perth Scorchers representatives Maddy Darke and Mikayla Hinkley have put together the second-highest partnership in the history of women’s cricket, forming an unbeaten 484-run stand during a Western Australian Premier Cricket match on Sunday.
Kohl Drake got the start, and it was a bit bumpy initially, as he walked the first two batters he faced. One of those came around to score, but Drake settled down nicely. He retired the next six men he faced, including strikeouts of established major-leaguers Travis D’Arnaud and Trey Mancini in the second. Arizona then got scoreless innings from two men who are competing for spots in the major-league bullpen, in Yilber Diaz and Kade Stroud, the latter disposing of the Angels on six pitches with a trio of groundouts. The D-backs tied things in the fourth, on a Nolan Arenado RBI double, but Junior Fernandez allowed the visitors back in front in the fifth, giving up two hits and a walk.
The sixth inning was… long and interesting. The Angels broke out with a four-run top half, all the runs being charged to Landon Sims while he retired two batters. But facing a 6-1 deficit, the Diamondbacks struck back in no uncertain fashion, putting up six runs in their half. Alek Thomas had a two-run double, and Jorge Barrosa later capped off the frame with a two-run homer, giving Arizona a 7-6 lead. Wholesale changes followed for Arizona, and they were unable to keep Los Angeles off the board in any inning after the fourth. A Jose Fernandez triple and LuJames Groover groundout made things interesting, but the D-backs came up just short.
Geraldo Perdomo reached base safely all three times he was up, on two singles and a walk, with Fernandez and Thomas each notching a hit and a base on balls. Tomorrow will see the Diamondbacks leave Salt River Fields for the first time this spring, heading past SnakePit Towers on their way to Goodyear, where they will take on the Guardians. Taylor Clarke will get the start for our boys, with Juans Morillo and Burgos among those expected to come out of the bullpen thereafter. It will be another 1:05 pm start.
Another lackluster effort from the A’s dropped their early spring record to 0-2 after a second straight loss, this time to a different AL Central foe in the Cleveland Guardians. The A’s couldn’t bounce back after a rough third inning and now they’re 0-2 to start 2026. Good thing spring stats and records don’t matter!
At “home” for the first time this season, the A’s went with their staff leader this afternoon, giving right-hander Luis Severino his first start of camp as they begin the ramp up process for their prized (and expensive) starting pitcher. The 32-year-old righty looked like he was in mid-season form as he tossed two scoreless innings, reaching 34 pitches. That’s about as encouraging a start as one could hope for from Sevy and we’ll all be hoping today was the start of a massive campaign for the could-be free agent.
We might only see Severino one or two more times before he departs the team to join Team Dominican Republic for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. That’ll essentially be his spring training continued, but you gotta put more stock into those outings than simple exhibition games in Arizona because you know he’ll be pitching for his team’s life. The A’s, and more or less every team in the league, will be watching that tournament closely for signs of things to come from all of their participating players.
Cleveland apparently was very happy that Sevy only went a couple frames today. Once he was pulled it was right-hander Joel Kuhnel’s turn and the Guardians jumped all over him. Without managing to finish the frame he yielded four earned runs, only getting bailed out by Kenya Huggins at the end of the inning. That seemed like it might have done it right then and there, but we still had six-and-a-half more innings to go.
Meanwhile on offense the A’s looked lost against Cleveland’s relief depth. While none of the Guardians’ primary arms were on the bump today that didn’t seem to matter for them as the Athletics’ offense managed just four hits all afternoon, with two coming off the bat of a single player.
They did have one chance to break through early. Three straight two-out walks loaded the bases for the A’s in the bottom of the second but Denzel Clarke grounded out to end that scoring opportunity. Not a great start to his camp as he went 0-for-2 in his first game this spring.
Cleveland scored another run in the fifth off of some small-ball against right-hander Luis Morales, who is widely expected to land a spot among the starting five in the rotation. One can’t help but have questions about the right-hander’s ability to begin the season in the rotation and make every scheduled start for the next six months. Are the A’s going to be limiting his outings to shorter 3-4 inning stints to keep his workload down early on? Keep in mind he set a career-high in innings pitched last year at 139 between the minors and big leagues.
The A’s had one final chance to score a run in the bottom half of the sixth thanks to a pair of hits from prospects Tommy White and Henry Bolte, but again were unable to break through and prevent a shutout. The A’s went down quietly after that, going home losers of two straight to begin Spring Training.
Well, at least it was closer than yesterday’s matchup. The offense went silent for the second straight day, collecting just four hits and three walks while striking out 14 times. Meanwhile the Guardians rode a big third inning to the win this afternoon. On the plus side for the A’s a lot of that damage came against one pitcher who was always unlikely to make the Opening Day roster. Most of the A’s arms that took the mound had a positive day and have something to build off of moving forward, most of all Severino. If today helps him get right for the next six months then this loss will be a long-forgotten memory soon.
We do it all again tomorrow as the Athletics go on the road to take on the San Francisco Giants. The A’s plan to start right-hander J.T. Ginn for tomorrow’s contest, where he’ll be expected to get up to around 25 or so pitches. Ginn is in a similar boat as Jack Perkins: lots of people are expecting them to settle into more or a longman/swingman role, but they’re fighting to prove that they can be a viable starting option for the A’s as they emerge from this rebuild. For pitchers like Ginn, these games actually do matter for their future. We’ll all be pulling for him because the A’s need to see some growth from some of these guys this coming season. The Giants will go with veteran JT Brubaker to begin tomorrow afternoon’s contest.
Ginn is scheduled to be followed by (in no order) prospects Gage Jump and Braden Nett, and relievers Elvis Alvarado and Tyler Ferguson. Others will join in but we can expect to see those arms on the mound tomorrow against the hated Giants. Who else is especially hyped to see Jump and Nett in action against big league hitters??
Notes:
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Olivia Miles scored 15 of her 26 points in the final 5:21 and finished with her fifth triple-double this season, rallying No. 12 TCU to an 80-73 victory over Iowa State on Sunday and extending the Horned Frogs' winning streak at home to 41.
TCU trailed 66-53 with 7:35 remaining before Miles took over to ensure the Horned Frogs (25-4, 13-3) tied Texas for the longest current home streak, while staying atop the Big 12 Conference with their fourth straight win.
Miles, who played at Notre Dame from 2020-2025, scored six straight points to ignite a 16-4 run capped by Taylor Bigby’s 3-pointer and TCU trailed 70-69 with 2:54 left.
Miles extended the run with a go-ahead jumper, two free throws and another jumper over the next two minutes for a five-point lead. She made 3 of 4 foul shots in the final 48 seconds as TCU outscored Iowa State 31-15 in the final quarter.
Miles missed 12 of her first 14 shots before making 6 of 7 in the fourth. She added 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Martz Suarez posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Clara Silva scored 11.
Audi Crooks had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists before fouling out for the Cyclones (21-7, 9-7). Jada Williams scored 15 on 6-for-23 shooting, adding 11 assists. Addy Brown chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Crooks had eight points and Iowa State led by as many as 10 in the first quarter before settling for a 24-16 advantage. Miles and Suarez both scored five in the second period to help TCU cut it to 40-34 at halftime.
Crooks had two layups in the final 1:28 of the third quarter and Iowa took a 58-49 lead into the fourth.
TCU: At Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Iowa State: Hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
___
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.
