While trailing 5-3 against the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis scored his first career NHL goal to bring his team back within one.
Lardis was called up last week when Connor Bedard went down with an injury. He earned that opportunity based on the way he's played over the last two years. After a 71-goal season in the OHL last year and a point per game start to his AHL career this year, it was time.
Alex Vlasic made a nice play to keep the puck in the zone before throwing it back the other way. Lardis caught the puck and used a backhand to score the first of his NHL career. It was only a matter of time before Lardis reached this milestone, as he has been a great sniper at every level.
Lardis' ice-time probably isn't what it needs to be for him to be successful long-term, but he made the most of it in this one.
Not only did he increase his team's chances of coming back in the hockey game, but he also did something that will allow him to focus solely on the game going forward. Now, he can concentrate on being the best player possible. Goals will come in bunches because of his talent.
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Rick Pitino felt like it was just another game, even though he was going against his former school and a captain from his 1996 national championship team. For the first time in nearly a decade, Pitino faced the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in the opening game of a college basketball doubleheader in Atlanta. It was no big deal, said the 73-year-old Pitino, who is in his third season as St. John's coach.
Lakers guard Marcus Smart prepares to shoot a three-point basket against the Jazz on Thursday in Utah. (Rob Gray / Associated Press)
Lakers guard Marcus Smart has been fined $35,000 for making an obscene gesture toward a game official during halftime of the game Thursday against the Utah Jazz, the NBA announced Saturday.
Smart was assessed a technical foul for his action as walked off the court for intermission after exchanging words with an official.
The Lakers pulled out a 143-135 victory in Salt Lake City when the 31-year-old defensive specialist scored nine of his 17 points by making three of four three-point shots in the fourth quarter.
Smart, who is averaging 10.6 points, 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 17 games this season, will again be in the starting lineup Saturday night in place of injured Austin Reaves when the Lakers take on the Clippers at Intuit Dome.
Greenâs first ejection of the season came about 48 hours after Suns guard Dillon Brooks jumped high to defend a shot by Stephen Curry, then deliberately and flagrantly hit the two-time NBA MVP in the stomach.
For anyone who has ever seen Brooks in the NBA, it wasnât a complete surprise â but other than the Flagrant 1 foul he was assessed, he wasnât ejected and no further penalties or discipline from the NBA came.
Fast forward to Saturday, when Green and Suns guard Collin Gillespie got into a lightly heated exchange after Green blocked one of Gillespieâs shots. The two men kept jawing at one another, with Green earning his second technical for arguing over the first.
Kerr also picked up a technical for arguing the situation.
âI thought it was weak. I mean, [Green] was yelling at the refs, so he definitely deserved one. But then, heâs walking to the bench and he yells something, and the second technical ⊠We just saw a guy on their team literally punch Steph in the stomach the other night, and premeditated punches him in the stomach,â Kerr said, referring to the Warriorsâ loss in Phoenix on Thursday. âNo ejection for that. Two nights later, refs got upset with some words from Draymond.
âI just I totally disagree, and thatâs why I got my tech because I was furious that they booted him out just like that so easily. This is a guy [Brooks] who broke [Gary Payton IIâs] elbow in the playoffs, clothes-lining him with one of the dirtiest plays Iâve ever seen. So itâs not like thereâs not a track record there. I donât know what the point of replay is if youâre not going to kick a guy out for literally punching somebody. Itâs bizarre to me that he was not ejected from that game and then suspended or fined. Nothing, nothing.
âSo apparently you are now allowed, this is my team, youâre now allowed to premeditate a punch of a shooter whoâs left defenseless ⊠you can now take a swing at him. Maybe weâll do that. Probably not.â
That was just one chapter in the Brooks saga Saturday.
Early in the game, the Warriors seemed bent on matching Brooksâ energy and did a lot to show that he wasnât going to get under their skin as he has with them and so many other teams during his NBA career.
Jimmy Butler grabbed a loose ball and shoved it in Brooksâ chest. When a nearby official refused to call anything, Brooks waved his arms and clearly was upset.
Throughout the night, the Warriors seemed to be playing with a more physical edge to them, especially against Brooks, than they normally do. During the second half, Trayce Jackson-Davis picked up an offensive foul after leveling Brooks with a devastating screen.
Brooks definitely got his, scoring 22 points in 32 minutes. He shot 8 of 11 from the floor and proved to be a good Robin to Devin Bookerâs Batman.
Where the Warriors stood out, however, was limiting Brooksâ impact to the stat sheet and not their minds.
âHeâs a very intense player,â Jackson-Davis told NBC Sports Bay Area. âObviously heâs having a really good year this year, but at the same time you canât be a bully in this league. We came out and we handled business.
âThings got chippy. We got chippy right back. We showed them that weâre not soft and weâre not going for any of the things that he does. Itâs not easy to get under my skin in general. Thatâs just the type of player I am. I remember he cheap-shot me, hit me, and Iâm just laughing. Like, âYouâre going to be an idiot and do dumb stuff, thatâs on you.â At the same time, weâre just gonna go out there, play basketball, play hard.â
Christian Gurdak made the go-ahead layup with 10 seconds remaining in overtime and Virginia Tech overcame a 19-point deficit to beat Elon 82-81 on Saturday. There were seven lead changes in overtime, the last on Gurdak's layup. A steal by Ben Hammond gave the Hokies the ball with five seconds left and Elon fouled Izaiah Pasha, who missed two free throws with four seconds remaining.
Joyce Edwards had 29 points, Madina Okot scored 27 and No. South Carolina overpowered Florida Gulf Coast 105-43 on Saturday. Edwards had 10 rebounds and Okot 12 as the Gamecocks' wrapped up a two-game road trip to Florida.
Turns out, the wait for Jayden Quaintance was well worth it. The burly sophomore made his long-anticipated Kentucky debut on Saturday, providing a big impact at both ends of the court as the Wildcats rallied past No. 22 St. John's 78-66. It came at just the right time for Kentucky, a college basketball powerhouse that got off to a sluggish start this season and slipped from The Associated Press Top 25.
The Sixersâ backcourt played an outstanding back-to-back and helped the team polish off a 2-0 weekend Saturday night.
With a 121-114 win over the Mavericks at Xfinity Mobile Arena, the Sixers moved to 16-11. Dallas dipped to 11-18.Â
Tyrese Maxey scored 38 points and VJ Edgecombe added 26, posting his fourth straight 20-point outing.
Dominick Barlow tied his career high with 21 points.
No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg scored 24 points. Anthony Davis had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Naji Marshall put up 22 points and 10 boards.
The Sixers were without the following players on the second leg of their back-to-back:
Joel Embiid (right knee injury management, illness)
Paul George (left knee injury management)Â
Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain)
Trendon Watford (left adductor strain)Â
The team will host the Nets on Tuesday night. Here are observations on its win over Dallas:
Barlow, Edgecombe step up on offenseÂ
The Sixers started Maxey, Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, Barlow and Andre Drummond.
Barlow began the evening on Flagg and turned an early steal into a fast-break slam. Barlow had a big first half offensively, scoring 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and missing just once inside the arc. He passed his previous season scoring high of 13 points against the Celtics on opening night.Â
The Sixers missed a string of layups in the first quarter and went down 13-8 on a Flagg bucket. However, they stormed back late in the first.
Edgecombe was tremendous when Maxey subbed out, hitting two mid-range shots in a row, including an and-one hoop. He then one-upped himself with a four-point play.
With an Adem Bona put-back slam and Edgecombe dunk, the Sixers suddenly had a 33-21 lead. The Edgecombe-Maxey backcourt scored 25 of the Sixersâ 38 points in the first quarter.Â
Sixers strong in the possession game
It took little time for the Sixers to gain a sizable advantage in the possession game.
They posted the nightâs first 10 points off turnovers and also fared well on the glass. The Sixers pulled down eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, including four from Bona.Â
Edgecombe picked up his third foul with six minutes to go in the second quarter. Soon after Edgecombe exited, Flagg converted a coast-to-coast layup to put Dallas up 54-53.
Maxey made sure to stop the Mavsâ momentum right away.
He drove hard, kept Dallasâ defense on its heels and posed a constant threat. The 25-year-old led a 10-0 Sixers run by scoring three driving baskets and a transition layup.Â
Sixers flip switch in the fourth
The Sixersâ third-quarter woes resurfaced.
The Mavs had greater energy coming out of the locker room and scored the first 10 points of the second half. They took a 70-68 lead when PJ Washington leaked out for a layup.
Entering Saturday night, the Sixers ranked last in the NBA with a minus-21.6 net rating in third quarters. That number worsened against the Mavs; they trailed by six points going into the fourth quarter.
The Sixers needed a good start to the fourth and they were excellent in the opening minutes.
Bona (10 points, eight rebounds) knocked down his second career three-pointer. Maxey scored his first points of the second half on a driving layup to pull the Sixers ahead.
The Sixersâ pace accelerated and they ran well off of their stops, pushing the ball down the heart of the court whenever possible. After Flagg missed a leaner, Edgecombe sliced through the defense for a layup that gave the Sixers a 112-104 edge. A Maxey triple extended the advantage to double digits.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 yards rushing to help the Hurricanes (11-2) advance to the Cotton Bowl to face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Dec. 31.
The Detroit Red Wings have improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games thanks to their 5-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon at Capital One Arena.
The win was especially special for the players, many of whom brought their moms along for the trip to the nation's capital.
As of Saturday afternoon, the Red Wings further built upon their lead in the Atlantic Division, moving ahead of the Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins by three points each.
The scoring was opened just 65 seconds after the opening face-off thanks to forward John Leonard, who was playing in his third game with the Red Wings since being called up from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Leonard's goal was his first with the Red Wings, as he signed with the club during the offseason and was the AHL's leading goal scorer at the time of his call-up earlier in the week.
The Red Wings then increased their lead to 4-0 by the midway point of the second period thanks to tallies from James van Riemsdyk, Elmer Soderblom, and Moritz Seider.
While the Capitals managed to cut Detroit's lead in half after goals from Aliaksei Protas and Martin Fehervary, a would-be goal that would have cut the deficit to just one was waived off because of goaltender interference.
Dylan Larkin then scored into the vacated Washington net late in regulation, sealing the victory.
Goaltender John Gibson picked up his seventh straight win by making 24 saves, while his counterpart, Logan Thompson, made 36 saves.
Both teams will reconvene on Sunday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.
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