MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga will be sidelined again with a bone bruise and a hyperextended left knee, the team announced on Sunday before playing at Minnesota.
The game against the Timberwolves was rescheduled from the day before following the fatal shooting in Minneapolis of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers, to prioritize community safety.
The Warriors said a re-evaluation date on Kuminga’s condition would be determined “in the coming days.” The injury forced the disgruntled fifth-year player out of Golden State's most recent game on Thursday at Dallas. He had an MRI on Friday.
Kuminga had just returned to the rotation because of Jimmy Butler's season-ending knee injury. He had not played in a month, with the increasing chance he'll be traded before the deadline on Feb. 5.
Warriors star Stephen Curry, who was listed as questionable to play Sunday because of right knee soreness that developed Saturday, was cleared for action after going through pregame warmups. Al Horford (left toe injury management) and De’Anthony Melton (left knee injury management) were suited up on Sunday, with the plan to rest them both in the rematch at Minnesota on Monday night with the schedule change forcing them into back-to-back games.
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An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Al Horford and De'Anthony Melton were not playing on Sunday. They will not play on Monday.
Per the Phoenix Suns’ communications department, Devin Booker will be re-evaluated in one week after suffering a right ankle sprain on Friday in Atlanta.
Devin Booker will be re-evaluated in one week after sustaining a right ankle sprain in Atlanta
That one-week re-evaluation doesn’t guarantee a return at that date, as you all know. But if he is cleared to begin ramping it up a week from now, that bodes well for an early February return with him missing 8 games or less in total, hopefully.
In related news, Booker has been spotted at Mullet Arena to watch his young teammates Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming as they are on assignment.
Stephen PridGeon-Garner notes that he is in shoes, not a boot or crutches. A positive development that pairs nicely with the update we received in our inbox.
Guess who's also at Mullett Arena, watching the Valley Suns game right now… Devin Booker.
"But it's actually really good to see him in his shoes, & not a boot or anything. So I'm really optimistic about that one week re-evaluation." ~Jeff Ayers on the Valley Suns broadcast. https://t.co/7e2vjDCBQFpic.twitter.com/Dmki8s9RYk
The Suns begin a 5-game homestand tonight against Miami that will run through next Sunday. Nine of their next ten games will be played at home in Phoenix.
The most interesting moment of the Toronto Maple Leafs' 4-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche didn't come on the ice.
During the third period of Sunday's game, TSN's broadcast panned up to the press box, where the Maple Leafs' scratches and injured players were sitting. Pictured were Philippe Myers, Calle Jarnkrok, Chris Tanev, Dakota Joshua, and William Nylander.
Just before the broadcast cut away from the players' box, Nylander spotted the camera and, with a smile, stuck up the middle finger.
Hours after the game concluded, Nylander issued an apology, via his Instagram.
“Only love for Leafs Nation. Sorry about my moment of frustration today,” he wrote on his Instagram story. “Didn’t mean to upset anyone. Looking forward to being back on the ice and not in the stands. Love Willy.”
The 29-year-old is currently dealing with a groin injury, which he re-aggravated in Toronto's 6-5 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 15. Nylander scored a goal and an assist in the game but only played 2:17.
He's missed the last five games due to the ailment.
Nylander originally picked up the groin injury against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 27. It's unknown how the forward suffered the injury, which eventually forced him to miss six straight games before returning against the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 10.
The forward skated on Saturday, the first time he's been on the ice since re-aggravating the injury against the Golden Knights. Nylander and Joshua skated for 20 minutes before leaving the ice.
"We'll see where he progresses, and how he felt," said head coach Craig Berube on Saturday. "Hopefully, he can keep getting on the ice here and be ready to go. I can't give you a timeline on [his return] yet."
Despite missing 11 games from Dec. 27 to now, Nylander still leads the Maple Leafs with 17 goals and 48 points in 37 games. John Tavares is second among Toronto players with 19 goals and 44 points in 52 games.
Toronto's loss to Colorado was its fourth straight home defeat. The Maple Leafs have picked up just one point during that stretch, in an overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.
The Maple Leafs currently sit five points away from the second wild-card spot, held by the Boston Bruins. Toronto plays the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, and it's now arguably one of the biggest games of their season.
"We got to fix the execution part for me," said Berube after Sunday's loss to the Avalanche. "And then the battle level. When you get down in a game, we got to come together as a team and we got to fight through that, because it's going to happen. We all know that.
"But I think losing at home here, it's worn on our team a little bit. But that's pro sports and we got to all pull together here and get ready for Tuesday. We need a win."
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Linus Ullmark was in uniform as the backup goalie for the Ottawa Senators’ game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.
Mads Sogaard will start in net for Ottawa.
Ullmark has not played since Dec. 27 after taking a personal leave of absence from the team. The 32-year-old netminder missed 14 games. He's 14-8-5 with a 2.95 goals-against average this season.
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but a former Philadelphia Flyers goalie is dominating for one of the NHL's hottest teams, and it may not be who you expect.
The Flyers were, at one point, one of those teams, though Dan Vladar has since gotten injured and slowed down overall.
They now find themselves five points back of the second wildcard spot and two points off third in the Metropolitan Division; either result would be satisfactory.
But, over the last few weeks, the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres exploded into third in the Atlantic Division from the bottom of the Eastern Conference, buoyed by a 10-game win streak that carried them into the New Year.
Leading the charge has been ex-Flyers goalie Alex Lyon, who signed with Buffalo this past offseason.
Lyon, 33, has racked up an impressive 12-6-3 record for the Sabres this season to the tune of a 2.70 GAA and .911 save percentage, complemented by two shutouts.
For the sake of comparison, Lyon won a career-high 21 games with Detroit in 2023-24 and now has a clear opportunity to set a new personal best, so long as he can fend off Sabres teammates Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for ice time.
Lyon shouldn't have too much of an issue doing that if he keeps up the way he's been playing, though.
Dating back to Dec. 9, the 6-foot-1 netminder has won nine straight appearances, and eight straight starts, including a 24-save effort in a 5-3 win against the Flyers on Dec. 18.
Lyon did do his old Flyers club a favor by posting a 26-save shutout of the New York Islanders on Saturday in just his second game of January, but, with how inconsistent Sam Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov have been behind Vladar, we can be sure the Flyers would just prefer to have Lyon on their roster helping them directly instead of indirectly.
Anyhow, the Sabres have quickly become the story of the NHL this season after transforming a dismal start into a chance to become a rousing success should they reach the postseason.
Lyon, even through injury and a three-goalie rotation, has been at the forefront of that transformation.
1. Did Chris Drury have to announce that he's looking to peddle Breadman Panarin? Absolutely not!
2. Hockey author and Seattle Kraken reporter Glenn Dreyfuss agrees that Drury is in error. "Exposing an asset you wish to trade goes against sports dealmaking," says Dreyfuss.
3. When The Maven asked Dreyfuss to amplify, he graciously added: "Never tell the world you want to make a trade; that diminishes the value of the player."
4. The fact that the Rangers had to reach out for goaltending help and haul in Spencer Martin, a KHL alumnus, tells you how bare the Blueshirts AHL cupboard is in Hartford.
5. Vic Morren, co-host with Neil Smith on the excellent podcast "NHL Wraparound," asks an interesting question about Alexis Lafrenière: "Do you see a buyout possibility here? This (Lafrenière) may be one of the most useless players in the NHL."
6. Hey, what if The Breadman decides he loves living in The Big Apple so much he wants to stay here in New York. "The Rangers got to get Panarin to change his mind," says Jess Rubenstein. "Right now he's not interested in waiving his no-movement clause."
7. Jess adds: "I'm guessing that Panarin is looking to extract either a new contract BEFORE any trade or to punish Drury for what he did to the core of the team."
8. You don't need analytics to figure these equations: With Sid Crosby, Geno Malkin and Kris Letang, Pitt coach Mike Sulllivan missed the playoffs for three straight years. With an aging Sid, Geno and Kris, and rookie coach Dan Muse – the Penguins are hell bent for a playoff berth.
9. I don't have to tell what a wonderful job Sully has done with The Beloved Blueshirts. The Pitt-Rangers comparison says it all!
10. Not that this falls into the "Surprise" category, but guess how The Athletic NHL staff graded the Rangers at the halfway mark of the season?
The Philadelphia 76ers game on Monday visiting the Charlotte Hornets will now tip off at 3 p.m. ET. The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m.
The NBA announced the time change on social media on Sunday afternoon as a winter storm dropping snow and ice continues to work it’s way through the east coast.
SCHEDULE UPDATE FOR MONDAY, JAN. 26:
The Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks game will now tip off at 1:30 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
The Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets game will now tip off at 3 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.
The Sixers aren’t the only one facing schedule changes in the wake of the storm. The Indiana Pacers visiting the Atlanta Hawks on Monday was also moved up to a 1:30 p.m. ET start. On Sunday, two NBA games were cancelled due to issues caused by the weather — the Denver Nuggets vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Dallas Mavericks vs. Milwaukee Bucks. In the case of the Mavericks, the team was unable to fly to Milwaukee both Saturday night and Sunday morning.
There were similar concerns that the Sixers would have trouble getting from Philadelphia to Charlotte had they left later in the weekend. Nick Nurse said on Saturday that the team was planning to leave after the Sixers’ afternoon game hosting the New York Knicks. Typically, the team would stay in Philadelphia for a Sunday practice before leaving for a Monday away game.
A team official has confirmed to Liberty Ballers that the team has already arrived in Charlotte.
It’s another afternoon matinee of Sixers’ basketball! Philadelphia and Charlotte will tip off at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Sunday's scheduled game between the visiting Mavericks and the Bucks has been postponed because Dallas was unable to fly out of the city to Milwaukee for the game, the league announced. There is no reschedule date set (though it is likely to be after the All-Star break, reports Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News). The league had hoped Dallas could fly out at some point today and play the game tomorrow, but the frigid temperatures prevented the plane from being de-iced, Townsend adds.
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Aaliyah Chavez scored 18 points and No. 16 Oklahoma avoided a big upset, defeating Auburn 72-65 on Sunday.
The Sooners, coming off a 94-82 overtime win over No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday, were locked in a battle with the unranked Tigers until finishing the game with a 13-6 run over the final minutes.
Auburn's A’riel Jackson scored seven points early in the fourth quarter and Harissoum Coulibaly's layup tied the score at 57-all with six minutes remaining. Another Coulibaly layup made it 59-59 with 4:50 remaining but the Tigers managed only six points the rest of the game.
Sahara Williams and Raegan Beers scored 13 points each for Oklahoma (16-4, 4-3 SEC) and Brooklyn Stewart added 12 off the bench.
Jackson scored 19 points off the bench, Mya Petticord and Ja’Mia Harris 12 each, and Coulibaly 10 for Auburn (13-8, 2-5).
Oklahoma scored the last seven points of the first quarter to take a 19-12 lead. Jackson scored the first five points of the second quarter to get the Tigers within two points. Later in the quarter, a 6-0 run gave the Tigers their first lead of the game, 27-25.
Consecutive 3-pointers by a Chavez got the Sooners going again and they went on to lead 35-30 at halftime.
Petticord scored Auburn's first eight points of the third quarter, but it wasn't enough to keep the Sooners from extending their lead to 47-38. The Sooners' lead was 51-41 with 4 1/2 minutes left in the quarter but Auburn closed to within 53-48 entering the fourth.
Up next
Oklahoma: The Sooners host Texas A&M on Thursday
Auburn: The Tigers host South Carolina on Thursday ___
With most of the American mid-atlantic and southern areas of the country under heavy weather advisories for snow, sleet, and ice storms, the NBA has made a change to the game tomorrow.
Per a release from the NBA:
Please be advised of the following updates to the 2025-26 NBA Schedule:
Monday, January 26, 2026
The Indiana at Atlanta game will change game time to 1:30 PM ET.
The game was originally scheduled for 7:30 PM EST, so with the six-hour bump, this last second change may make for tough arrangements for those who desired to attend.
This game can be seen on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast (FDSNSE), listened to on Sports Radio 92.9 the Game (WZGC-FM), or streamed on the following options:
TORONTO (AP) — Brock Nelson scored twice in a 1:12 span in the first period and sealed his fifth career hat trick with an empty-netter in the Colorado Avalanche's 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Jack Drury also scored to help NHL-leading Colorado improve to 35-6-9. MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.
Colorado became the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).
The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.
Max Domi had a late power-play goal for Toronto, and Joseph Woll stopped 33 shots. The Maple Leafs are 24-19-9.
The Maple Leafs had a 4-3 overtime victory in Denver on Jan. 12, but have dropped six of seven (1-4-2), including an ugly 0-3-1 start to their current five-game homestand following an 8-0-2 run.
Colorado became just the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).
The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.
Nelson opened the scoring at 6:19 of the first on a 2 on 1 before adding his second just over a minute later on a sneaky pass off the stick of Artturi Lehkonen from behind Woll’s net. He has 27 goals this season.
Nelson tied Alex DeBrincat and Kyle Connor — both with eight — for the third-most 25-goal seasons among active American players. The list is led by Patrick Kane (11) and Toronto captain Auston Matthews (10).
Inspired bowling and a 14-ball fifty by opener Abhishek Sharma led India to a crushing eight-wicket series-clinching win over New Zealand in the third T20 international on Sunday (times local).
Brock Nelson wasted little time reminding the league why Colorado invested in him, torching the Maple Leafs with a hat trick as the Avalanche opened a three-game road trip with a convincing 4–1 win over Toronto on Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.
Nelson scored his 26th and 27th goals of the season as part of the three-goal performance, while Jack Drury also found the back of the net for Colorado. Mackenzie Blackwood rebounded from two subpar outings with a stellar showing, stopping 32 shots to anchor the victory.
The 34-year-old Nelson, who was recently named to Team USA to represent his country at the Olympic Games in Italy, surpassed his goal total from last season with 30 games still remaining, further validating the Avalanche’s decision to sign him to a three-year, $22.5 million extension in the offseason.
Max Domi scored Toronto’s lone goal, and although Joseph Woll delivered several strong sequences, he was tagged with the loss after making 33 saves.
First Period
Gavin Brindley sprinted down the ice early and tried to set up Taylor Makar for a tap-in at the crease in hopes of securing his teammate’s first NHL goal, but Makar just missed the puck.
At the other end, Martin Nečas broke up a prime scoring chance when Auston Matthews attempted a pass from behind the goal line into the slot for Matthew Knies Nečas tied him up effectively, causing Knies to fan on the shot.
Necas tied up Knies in front of the net and forced him to fan on that puck.
Blackwood coughed up a rebound, which created a dangerous chance, but we got away with it.#avs
Nelson opened the scoring 6:18 into the game by intercepting a Toronto pass in the neutral zone, bursting into the offensive end, and snapping a wrist shot past Woll to give Colorado a 1–0 lead. The blast was so forceful it damaged the net camera.
Just 1:12 later, Nelson struck again. Artturi Lehkonen worked the puck from behind the net and fed Nelson in the slot, where his shot banked off Woll’s numbers and in to make it 2–0.
Lehkonen was later sent off for slashing John Tavares on the hands, giving the Avalanche their first penalty kill of the afternoon. The unit responded with a clean kill. Colorado then earned a power play after Simon Benoit was called for tripping, but failed to capitalize.
Since the team meeting Jared Bednar held prior to the January 9 game against Ottawa in an effort to jump-start the power play, the Avalanche have converted just four of their last 26 opportunities.
Second Period
With 4:55 remaining, Nathan MacKinnon and Nečas broke into the zone on a 2-on-1 rush. Rather than pass, MacKinnon fired on goal and took a swipe at the rebound, but Woll was able to smother the puck.
Moments later, Cale Makar nearly extended the lead before Toronto defenseman Brandon Carlo chased him down, grabbed his right arm, and prevented the chance—earning a holding penalty with just over four minutes left in the period.
Colorado finally broke through again with 1:07 remaining. Parker Kelly stickhandled through center ice, elected not to dump the puck, and instead fed Drury, who snapped a shot from the left circle past Woll to make it a 3–0 game.
Third Period
The third period opened with a strong defensive play by Makar to deny a potential scoring chance. The Avalanche quickly transitioned the other way, where Nečas rang a shot off the iron.
At the 8:03 mark, Josh Manson was called for high-sticking Matthew Knies behind his own net, giving Toronto its second power play. Colorado’s penalty kill stood tall again, completing its second kill on as many chances.
After failing to convert on the man advantage, Toronto generated its best look in some time, but Carlo clanged a shot off the post. With 8:30 remaining in regulation, Colorado held a 34–24 edge in shots.
Matias Maccelli later pounced on a loose puck with a wide-open net, but Blackwood reacted instantly, dropping into the splits to make a spectacular save and preserve the shutout bid.
Toronto pulled Woll for the extra attacker with just under six minutes remaining. The Avalanche lived dangerously in their own zone, and Matthews narrowly missed wide as Blackwood went down into the butterfly.
Despite leaving the net empty for more than two-and-a-half minutes, Toronto couldn’t cash in, while Nelson narrowly missed completing the hat trick on multiple empty-net chances.
Finally, with 3:46 left, Nelson buried the insurance marker to complete the hat trick with the empty netter and silence the crowd.
Zakhar Bardakov was later penalized for batting the puck with his glove off a faceoff, drawing a delay-of-game penalty. On the ensuing power play, Domi scored his seventh goal of the season to spoil the shutout.
After going 4-4-2 over their last 10 games, it was certainly nice to see the Avalanche (35-6-9) get on the right track. And with a win or an overtime/shootout loss in their next game, Colorado will become the first NHL team to reach or eclipse 80 points this season. Their next matchup will take place Wednesday against Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators. Coverage begins at 5:30 p.m. local time.
The Mavs were still awaiting takeoff on the plane, stranded on the tarmac in Dallas as of 3 p.m. CT for their originally scheduled 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) tip-off in Milwaukee. Dallas Hoops Journal's Grant Afseth reported the start time had already been pushed back by an hour to 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT) before the NBA postponed the game.
The Mavericks-Bucks game is now the third NBA matchup this weekend impacted by the winter storm as midwestern and east coast states have experienced several inches of snow, and southern states have been hit by icy conditions with temperatures expected to drop to as low as -58 degrees in some areas. A total of 17 states have declared a state of emergency.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Los Angeles Lakers, who played in Dallas on Saturday night, will attempt to fly to Chicago Sunday afternoon for Monday's game against the Bulls. The Lakers, like the Mavericks, remained stuck in Dallas, however.
We don’t get to see Gregg Popovich often these days.
The longtime former San Antonio Spurs head coach and still current team president was present at an NBA G League game on Friday night, where the Spurs’ affiliate of the same nickname in Austin was locked into a duel with the Capital City Go-Go — the affiliate of the Washington Wizards.
Popovich, 76, was seen walking across the court, accompanied by a cane and two other people, and was given a rousing ovation from the Austin Spurs crowd in attendance at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in Texas.
Coach Pop got an ovation at the Austin Spurs G-League game
Popovich, the winningest head coach in NBA history, took a leave of absence during the 2024-25 season while dealing with an increase in health complications after suffering a stroke on Nov. 2, just five games into the season.
Ultimately, Popovich stepped down from his role prior to this season, and the Spurs promoted interim coach Mitch Johnson to full-time, while the five-time NBA champion transitioned to team president duties.
Popovich coached the Spurs from 1996 until last season, ending his coaching career with the most regular-season wins (1,390) in NBA history, 55 ahead of second-place Don Nelson, whom Popovich served under as a Warriors assistant from 1992-94.
Gregg Popovich yells to his team during the second half of a game against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center on October 31, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Getty Images
At 170 playoff wins, Popovich only trails Phil Jackson (229) and Pat Riley (171) all-time.
His five titles with the Spurs came in the 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014 postseasons.
