The Warriors appear to have some interest in a veteran wing.
With approximately two weeks until the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline, Golden State is one of the teams expressing interest in Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported, citing league sources, in a story published Friday.
“As for Hornets that might be on the move, veteran forward Miles Bridges is drawing significant interest, league sources told The Athletic,” Amick wrote. “The Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are all known to be among the interested parties, though it remains to be seen if any team can compel the Hornets to give Bridges up.
Amick also quoted a league source, who believes Charlotte is seeking at least one, and potentially two, first-round draft picks in a potential deal for Bridges.
In 45 games this season, Bridges is averaging 18.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 44.5-percent shooting from the field and 33.4 percent from 3-point range.
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the No. 12 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges, 27, has played seven seasons with Charlotte, but missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of the 2023-24 season due to a suspension for his role in a 2022 domestic violence case.
Bridges pleaded no contest to a felony charge in Nov. 2022, resulting in three years of probation and no jail time.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made some big additions to their Spring Training team, including some of the franchise’s best prospects.
The Pirates announced seven more non-roster invitees to their Major League camp down in Bradenton, Fla. They will train with the best players and look to boost their stock ahead of the 2026 season.
Top prospect Konnor Griffin is the big name to be announced for the Spring Training team. He was selected ninth overall in the 2024 draft out of Jackson preparatory school in Mississippi. He was the first high school player selected in that draft and the Bucs believe he could be a future star just for the team but in the league.
He had a strong Spring Training, starting with Single-A Bradenton, he then moved to High-A Greensboro on June 10 and then to Double-A with Altoona on July 18. Griffin slashed .333/.415/.527 for an OPS of .942 in 122 games, 161 hits, 23 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, 50 walks to 122 strikeouts and 65 stolen bases on 13 attempts.
He became the unanimous top prospect in baseball, he played in the Futures Game during All-Star week and earned numerous accolades for his play, including Baseball America naming him their Minor League Player of the Year Award and MLB Pipeline naming him their Hitting Prospect of the Year and Debut of the Year.
Griffin is also heavily rumored to be the potential Opening Day shortstop for the Pirates. He won an MiLB Gold Glove Award at the position in 2025. Since moving Oneil Cruz to the outfield the Pirates have not been set at the short stop position.
The other players are infielders Termarr Johnson and Duce Gorson, catchers in Omar Alfonzo and Shawn Ross, as well as right-handed pitchers in Noah Davis and Chris Devenski are the seven additions.
Johnson is another young player that really excited the organization. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft out of Benjamin E. Mays high school in Atlanta, Georgia.
The young prospect spent all of his 2025 season in Altoona, where he dominated .272/.363/.382 for an OPS of .745 in 119 games, with 118 hits, 67 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 35 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rank Johnson as the seventh best Pirates prospect coming into the new season.
Former UCLA player Duce Gorson started out with Greensboro before making it to Altoona on June 24, where he spent the rest of the season there. The infielder had a strong season from the plate, slashing .275/.370/.439 for an OPS of .809 in 95 games, with 92 hits, 21 doubles, 10 home runs, 38 RBI and 31 stolen bases. Some websites have Gorson has the 21st top prospect while others don’t even have him in the top 30.
Catching prospect Omar Alfonzo is expected to be a future star behind the plate, he ranks 13th in baseball America top 30 Pirate prospects.
While Ross played with both Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, hitting .174/.285/.295 for an OPS of .580 in 68 games played last season.
Davis has MLB experience, spending time with the Colorado Rockies from 2022-24. He also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Minnesota Twins last season. He has an 0-6 record over 27 appearances and six starts, a 9.53 ERA over 62.1 innings pitched, 58 strikeouts to 29 walks, a .364 batting average allowed and a 2.05 WHIP.
Devenski played some time with the New York Mets in 2025 and showed some true potential out of the bullpen. He finished with a 2.16 ERA in 13 games, one start and 16.2 innings pitched, plus 14 strikeouts to five walks, a .179 batting average allowed and a 0.90 WHIP.
Devenski is more of a veteran as he spent some time with the Houston Astros for five seasons in 2016-20, winning the 2017 World Series with them and earning an All-Star nod as a rookie in 2016.
These seven players will join the first seven non-roster invitees to Major League camp in outfielders, Ronny Simon and Dominic Fletcher, infielder Davis Wendzel, right-hander pitchers in Beau Burrows and Noah Murdock, and left-handed pitchers in Joe La Sorsa and Oddanier Mosqueda.
A lot of these prospects have a lot of potential and it will be very fun to see how they will play in Spring Training, especially top prospect Konnor Griffin who is expected to play a big role for the team this season.
KITZBÜHEL, Austria (AP) — Manuel Feller pleased the home crowd with a surprise win in the World Cup slalom of the classic Hahnenkamm event on Sunday, a day after the Austrian team had a disastrous result in the downhill.
Feller, fourth after the opening leg, kneeled on the snow in the finish area after his run as he watched the final three racers all coming up well short, including first-run leader and world champion Loic Meillard, who finished 0.35 behind in second.
Meillard was seeking his first slalom win of the season after two podiums in December, though he did win a giant slalom in France last month.
Germany’s Linus Strasser, who won the race two years ago, was 0.53 behind in third after edging out Lucas Pinheiro Braathen by four-hundredths for a place on the podium.
When his victory was confirmed, Feller got up, held one of his skis in the air and let out a loud scream.
“I can’t describe how much this means to me,” the Austrian said in a tearful course-side interview.
“This year I was close to quit a few times, just no energy anymore for a few races. But all my life, quitting was no option, so I kept on going.”
His victory came a day after Vincent Kriechmayr in 13th was the best Austrian finisher in the storied Hahnenkamm downhill, which marked the worst result for the home team in the history of the race.
Feller was the 2023-24 slalom champion but has been struggling with back pain in recent years. He had not won a race since triumphing in Palisades Tahoe, California, in March 2024, and had not had a podium result in the current campaign.
“It was probably my toughest season, probably one of the toughest parts of my life,” Feller said. “It’s only skiing, but right now, skiing feels pretty good.”
Feller became the first Austrian winner of the Kitzbühel slalom since Marcel Hirscher triumphed nine years ago.
In the first run, World Cup discipline leader Atle Lie McGrath skied out.
“I’m obviously very disappointed and it hurts a lot,” McGrath said. “I was at the start with a good mindset. I really tried to push and stuff like that happens.”
The United States-born Norwegian went top of the standings last week after winning in Wengen, but has now been overtaken by his close friend and former teammate, Pinheiro Braathen, who competes for Brazil.
A night race on Wednesday in Schladming is the final slalom before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Recently, The Hockey News' Adam Proteau argued that the Buffalo Sabres are due for a big move. With the Sabres looking to snap their 14-year playoff drought, it would certainly be understandable if they were buyers leading up to the deadline.
Proteau also mentioned a handful of potential targets for the Sabres in his piece, with one being Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk.
"Or another Vancouver veteran – rugged winger Jake DeBrusk – could improve Buffalo’s attack," Proteau wrote.
When looking at the Sabres' roster, it is fair to argue that DeBrusk could be a strong fit for their group if acquired. The 29-year-old winger would undoubtedly give their top-nine a nice boost, as he is a skilled winger who can put the puck in the net.
DeBrusk has 12 goals and 24 points in 50 games so far this season with the Canucks. This is after he scored a career-high 28 goals and recorded 48 points in 82 games for the Canucks during this past season. With numbers like these, he would have the potential to give the Sabres more secondary scoring, which would not be a bad thing.
Another appealing factor about DeBrusk is that he has a reasonable $5.5 million cap hit until the end of the 2030-31 season. With this, he would be more than a rental for the Sabres, which certainly adds to his appeal.
DeBrusk has a full no-movement clause, so he would need to approve of any trade to the Sabres or elsewhere. Yet, with the Canucks starting a rebuild and the Sabres being an exciting team on the rise, perhaps he could be open to a move to Buffalo if they continue to stay hot as the campaign rolls on.
By the end of Week 15 in the 2025-26 NBA season, the calendar will have flipped to February. And that means one thing: the trade deadline (February 5) is right around the corner. For some fantasy managers, now is the time to ramp up the activity via trades or scouring the waiver wire for players who may have added value after the deadline. Waiting until the week of the deadline to make moves may be too late.
Of course, none of that matters if your team can't get into the playoffs, which is why Week 15 is an important one in fantasy basketball. With this being the last week before the trade deadline, there may not be much movement in the NBA, if any. That should help from an availability standpoint, as things can get tricky in the immediate aftermath of the deadline, since traded players aren't available to their new teams right away.
Like Week 14, games are pretty evenly distributed in Week 15. There are no fewer than six games on any day, with Sunday (ten games) being the busiest, since it is also the week between the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl. Let's look at the Week 15 schedule breakdown and a few of its key storylines.
Week 15 Games Played
5 Games: CHI
4 Games: ATL, BKN, BOS, CHA, CLE, DEN, DET, HOU, LAL, MEM, MIA, MIN, NYK, ORL, PHI, PHX, POR, SAS, UTA, WAS
Wednesday-Thursday: ATL, CHA, CHI, DAL, HOU, MIA, MIN
Thursday-Friday: BKN, DEN, DET, PHX, SAC, WAS
Friday-Saturday: MEM, NOR
Saturday-Sunday: CHI, MIA, SAS
Sunday-Monday (Week 16): LAC
Week 15 Storylines of Note
- Bucks move forward without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf).
Already reeling, the Milwaukee Bucks lost Giannis Antetokounmpo to a strained right calf during Friday's loss to the Nuggets. While the team has not offered a diagnosis, Antetokounmpo told the media he expects to miss four to six weeks. Already without Kevin Porter Jr. (oblique), the Bucks will have to navigate a three-game Week 15 without their two most valuable options in terms of fantasy basketball. Can a low-rostered player besides Ryan Rollins or Bobby Portis step up for fantasy managers? Or should they look elsewhere for value? The Bucks play on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, all days with at least seven games scheduled. That's not the best from a streaming standpoint, but given who the Bucks won't have, rolling the dice on someone like Kyle Kuzma would be understandable, even if their fantasy value hasn't been good overall.
- Grizzlies play a four-game week without Ja Morant (elbow).
Morant suffered a sprained UCL in his left elbow and will be re-evaluated in three weeks. He's already missed at least four consecutive games on three separate occasions this season, and the latest injury will cause a fourth extended absence unless something drastic happens regarding the guard's availability. Cam Spencer has been the best streaming option when Morant sits, and now would be a good time to add the second-year guard if he's sitting on the waiver wire. The Grizzlies' four-game Week 15 ends with a Friday/Saturday back-to-back, and games against the Hornets (Wednesday) and Pelicans (Friday) could be good ones for those interested in adding a player like Spencer or Cedric Coward.
- The Bulls have the league's busiest Week 15 schedule, including a run of four games in five days.
No team plays fewer than three games in Week 15, and Chicago is the only one that will play five. This was initially supposed to be a four-game week for the Bulls, but the January 8 meeting with the Heat, postponed due to condensation on the United Center court, was rescheduled for January 29. That gives the Bulls two back-to-backs over five days during a five-game week. Also, the final three games will be against the same team, as the Bulls visit the Heat on Saturday and Sunday. With Josh Giddey and Coby White recently returning from injury, Week 15 could be a challenging one for them and for fantasy managers from an availability standpoint.
- The Warriors are the lone team that doesn't play after Friday.
Not having Jimmy Butler III (knee) for the rest of the season has opened up opportunities for some of the other Warriors. Unfortunately, Jonathan Kuminga went down with ankle and knee injuries during Thursday's loss to the Mavericks. Ruled out for the Warriors' final game of Week 14 on Sunday against the Timberwolves, it's unknown how much time he'll miss. Monday's rematch with Minnesota is the first of three games the Warriors will play during Week 15, and their schedule wraps up on Friday against the Pistons. Should fantasy managers move on from a Brandin Podziemski or De'Anthony Melton following Friday's games simply because of the schedule? Probably not. But a player like Buddy Hield may not be worth holding onto if you decide to stream them to begin the week.
- The Heat, Spurs and Raptors won't play their first games of Week 15 until Wednesday.
The low-rostered players on these teams won't do fantasy managers any good during the first two days of Week 15, but Miami could be especially valuable from Wednesday onward. Due to the rescheduled game with the Bulls, the Heat play four games over the final five days of Week 15, starting with a home game against the Magic on Wednesday. Tyler Herro (ribs) and Kel'el Ware (hamstring) are both out, with the former likely looking at an extended absence. Add in Davion Mitchell's recent shoulder injury, and the Heat may have to navigate Week 15 without three rotation players. Nikola Jović has played backup center minutes, but Saturday's win over the Jazz was the first in which he truly took advantage of the new role after struggling two nights prior against Portland.
While the Heat play four games in Week 15, the Spurs and Raptors will only play three. San Antonio's slate concludes with a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. We'll see how that affects Devin Vassell, who will make his return from an adductor injury in San Antonio's final game of Week 14 against the Pelicans. His availability affects Julian Champagnie, who has performed well as the fifth starter.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 of his 36 points in the second half. Mitchell struggled to get anything going at the start of the game, but turned it around in the second half. Orlando couldn’t keep him from driving inside as he went 9-14 on shots in the paint in the second half.
Mitchell is now leading the league in second-half scoring with 17.2 points per game on .519/.427/.836 shooting splits. The Cavs have needed their best player to carry their offense to victory many nights. The numbers partially reflect that. However, they also show just how gifted a scorer Mitchell really is. He’s been producing in volume and efficiency when his team has needed him most, regardless of what his clutch numbers say.
This was the 17th time this season that Mitchell has scored 20 or more points in the second half. The Cavs are 11-6 when he does so and 7-0 when he puts up 24 or more over the final two quarters.
The Cavs are now 10-1 when Mitchell scores 35 or more points. This team has gone as Mitchell has from a scoring perspective. That trend continued again in Orlando.
Mitchell hit just two triples en route to his 36-point performance. He’s reached at least 30 points 24 times this season, and he’s registered two or fewer three-point makes in just five of those outings. This was the second time he’s scored 35 or more and had just two outside field goals.
This was the third time this season Mitchell has contributed at least nine assists. The Cavs have won each time he’s done so. They’re 10-5 when he has seven or more assists in a game.
The Magic went just 11-40 (27.5%) from three. They’re the second-worst three-point shooting team in the league this season. The Cavs, understandably, played into that. They packed the paint and dared the Magic to shoot. This led to them taking 43% of their shots from beyond the arc (74th percentile). That’s exactly how you want to play the Magic.
Only 26% of Orlando’s field-goal attempts came at the rim (26th percentile). The best defenses force their opponent to take their shots where they want them to. The Cavs did this as they kept the Magic from getting to the rim. Cleveland executed their defensive game plan perfectly.
Cleveland outscored Orlando 50-40 in the paint.
The Cavs connected on 44.1% of their threes (85th percentile). This was the 15th time this season the Cavs hit 40% or more of their triples. They’re 11-4 when they do so.
Cavaliers outside of Mitchell and Evan Mobley went 12-20 (60%) from beyond the arc. This was a well-rounded performance where each member in the rotation made a positive contribution in the victory.
Cleveland had five players finish in double figures scoring: Mitchell (36), Jaylon Tyson (17), Mobley (13), Tyrese Proctor (12), and Dean Wade (10).
This was the eighth time Wade has scored 10 or more points in a game this season. The Cavs are now 6-2 when he does so.
Twenty-seven of Cleveland’s 43 field goals were assisted. The ball was moving around the court well in Orlando. That doesn’t always show through in the assist numbers, but it did so here.
Five Cavaliers contributed two or more assists: Mitchell (9), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (4), Tyson (4), Mobley (3), and Lonzo Ball (2).
It’s a snowy Sunday across much of the US, and the hot stove is cooling off as well, with most of the work done across the league. Only four of MLB Trade Rumors’ Top 25 free agents remain unsigned (Framber Valdez, Eugenio Suárez, Zac Gallen and Christ Bassitt), leaving the sport as a whole almost ready to head to spring training in a few weeks. If you’re in the area of this winter storm, we hope you stay dry and warm; keep inside and perhaps enjoy a couple of big NFL games later on. On the site today, Matt profiles Les Nunamaker, an old-time Yankee that New York swiped from the Red Sox before they’d even stripped Boston of Babe Ruth, while John goes around the week that was in Yankees social media.
Questions/Prompts:
1. Do you think there’s any chance the Yankees spring for one of the veteran starting pitcher remaining (Gallen, Bassitt, Lucas Giolito), or will any additional pitching acquisitions be more low profile?
2. Any predictions for today’s championship NFL games?
The Wizards lost again, this time to the Charlotte Hornets. It was their ninth straight defeat, and they’re back in last place.
The Wizards starting lineup was the youngest in NBA history — Will Riley and Tre Johnson are both 19. Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington are 20. Kyshawn George was the old guy at 22. Yes, they should have started Justin Champagnie (age 24), but I like using the opportunity to get Riley his first NBA start and taking advantage to set the record.
Wait a minute, Wizards guard Tre Johnson is generating basketball gravity.
The game was replete with some of the same-old-same-old. They had plenty of defensive breakdowns. They got dominated on the glass. And yet, I saw some things in this one that I think are positive signs for the future.
Throughout the night, Sarr’s combination of length, agility, and skills were way too much for the Hornets to handle — at least on the offensive end. He was too strong and long for Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges. He was much too quick for Ryan Kalkbrenner. He shot over defenders whether big or small.
Jamir Watkins was a defensive menace. He tallied five steals and two blocks, including an open-court strip of Collin Sexton (which resulted in a breakaway dunk) and alert plays in passing lanes.
Repeatedly in my notes are entries about the team’s well-designed offensive system. Some examples:
At 9:11 of the second quarter, the Wizards ran a high screen action to get an open look out top. If you’ve watched any game this season, you’ve seen this action. In this example, Sarr screen for Johnson, who immediately went into a three-point shot upon receiving the pass from George. He got fouled and ended up at the free throw line. This is an example of Washington’s offensive design — it’s a difficult action to defend and comes with a set of options if the primary action is covered. Brian Keefe’s challenge: getting his exuberant youngsters to consistently execute the system.
Probably my favorite observation in this one was noticing something new: Tre Johnson producing gravity. In transition during the third quarter, the threat of Johnson at the three-point line drew a hyper-aggressive closeout. He attacked the closeout and drove middle. Charlotte’s defense collapsed on him, he kicked to George, who got a wide open three, which he missed. He drew defensive attention beyond the three-point line throughout the second half, which helped give his teammates more space to operate.
In the fourth quarter, the Wizards defense was actually good. The results (108 defensive rating) weren’t all-time great, but their communication was excellent, their switches were seamless, and they worked together as a unit to keep Hornets players from driving. They forced Charlotte deeper into the shot clock and forced them to take difficult shots. Charlotte made enough of those shots to secure the win, but the defensive process was mostly what it needed to be.
Sturdier perimeter defense — meaning preventing or cutting off drives — is important to Washington’s defense. Even in that fourth quarter, Charlotte paint touches led to open threes. They shot just 1-8 from deep in the period.
Champagnie and Sarr both had terrific fourth quarters.
I don’t know the numbers, but my eye tells me Sarr is superb when switching onto smaller players on the perimeter. His ability to get low and move was key to Washington’s fourth quarter defense.
Another great example of Johnson’s gravity came with about 4:10 left in the game. The Wizards set stagger screens to bring Johnson up from the corner. Charlotte covered the initial action well, so Johnson cleared to the weak side, and Carrington dribbled to the right. Sarr immediately re-screened for Johnson to come back to the middle, who caught the pass on the move and drove into the lane. Four (4!) defenders reacted to him. He kicked to Champagnie in the corner, who swung it to Carrington out top for a wide open three.
One more example of Keefe’s good play design — with 2:30 left in the game, the Wizards ran a devilish baseline out of bounds play. Washington gets a surprisingly high number of layups and dunks on BLOB plays, and this was one of them. In this version, Champagnie ran a fake screen action — it looked to the defense like he was going to set a back screen for a teammate to cut to the basket. At the last second, he slipped the screen and made the cut himself. He came open for a dunk. Superb design.
The Wizards have a long ways to go with players executing the scheme, getting stronger, and getting smarter. They really need George to become a consistently better decision-maker…if he’s going to retain a significant on-ball roll. Still, I think there’s reason to be encouraged. They’re showing improvement and there’s room for plenty more.
Four Factors
Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).
The four factors are measured by:
eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)
FOUR FACTORS
WIZARDS
HORNETS
LGAVG
eFG%
55.7%
60.8%
54.4%
OREB%
22.7%
33.3%
26.1%
TOV%
12.9%
20.9%
12.8%
FTM/FGA
0.083
0.291
0.210
PACE
100
99.6
ORTG
114
118
115.6
Stats & Metrics
PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).
PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.
POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.
ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is 115.1. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.
USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.
ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.
+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.
Players are sorted by total production in the game.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has had a walkover into the Australian Open quarterfinals after Jakub Mensik withdrew 24 hours ahead of their scheduled fourth-round match with an abdominal injury.
The tournament confirmed Mensik's withdrawal late Sunday. The match had been scheduled for Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.
“After last couple of matches, I started to feel worse, and actually the problem is my abdominal muscle on the left side,” Mensik said in comments published by the tournament. “Like I said, last few matches it got significantly worse, and I think if I would step on the court tomorrow, it would be such a big risk for me for my next weeks, for my next tournaments, and actually for my health.”
No. 16-seeded Mensik beat Ethan Quinn in straight sets on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record 10 times.
The 24-time major winner became the first player to reach 400 wins in Grand Slam singles when he beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Saturday night in the third round of the Australian Open.
The Dallas Mavericks lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 116-110 Saturday night in Dallas. It was a very weird, up-and-down game, with the Lakers jumping on the Mavericks early, Dallas storming back in the third quarter, then the Lakers returning the favor in the fourth.
This was former Mavericks star Luka Doncic’s first game back in Dallas this season, and only his second total since the shocking trade to the Lakers last year. Doncic was very good in this game, while the Mavericks struggled offensively outside of that third quarter burst.
It was a disappointing finish for sure, as the Mavericks had a 15 point lead at one point in the fourth quarter. Dallas didn’t get enough from their best players, as Cooper Flagg, PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford all struggled, with Washington and Gafford putting up some pretty egregious stinkers.
This game snaps the Mavericks three-game winning streak. Onto the stats.
14-to-10: Lakers advantage in 3-point makes
In a game this tightly contested, the Lakers superior shooting was the biggest difference. Los Angeles won by six in a game they outscored Dallas at the three point line by 12.
The Lakers offense wasn’t doing too much outside of getting hot from three. Luka Doncic had 11 assists, most of them to shooters in the corner. The Lakers were 5-of-12 on corner threes. Dallas on the other hand, couldn’t make much — going 10-of-29 from three overall. This was the first game in what felt like weeks where the Mavericks couldn’t get their drive game going, so a lot of the Mavericks threes were end-of-shot clock, contested looks.
4: Combined points scored by PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford
It was a disastorious night for two of Luka’s former NBA Finals teammates. Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington were starters with Luka on that 2024 Finals team, but both came off the bench tonight as they are working their way to full health after nagging injuries.
Washington had the bigger stinker of the two, but it wasn’t a great night for either: Washington had two points in 26 minutes on 1-of-5 shooting, with only three rebounds and zero assists. Gafford had two points on 0-of-1 shooting, with two rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes. At least Gafford had one impact play, a terrific blocked shot in the first half that felt like the first time all season we saw the old Gafford athleticism in action.
The Lakers are top-heavy, after Luka, LeBron, and Austin Reaves (who was out with injury), their depth drops off a cliff. Dallas theoretically has the advantage in depth but when two of their best players play like this? Woof. Dallas needed more from these two, even if they’re still working their way back from injuries.
3: Caleb Martin 3-pointers
This was a lousy game for Dallas, so I’ll end on a somewhat positive, although funny note: Caleb Martin nearly doubled his season three point total in one game. Martin entered tonight with five made three pointers: he made three, going 3-of-4 from deep.
Martin has been one of the worst rotation NBA players since arriving in Dallas last year, and injuries surely haven’t helped. This is the longest stretch of games Martin has played in the rotation and healthy, and it appears he might be inching back toward his Miami Heat form that earned him that multi-year deal with Philadelphia initially.
Who knows how long this lasts or where it goes. Martin did have six combined points in the previous three games. But Martin showing a pulse matters for a Mavericks team that needs all the help it can get.
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Ottawa Senators after Mark Stone scored two goals in the Golden Knights' 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Ottawa has a 23-21-7 record overall and an 11-10-4 record on its home ice. The Senators have a -9 scoring differential, with 164 total goals scored and 173 given up.
Vegas has a 13-6-6 record on the road and a 25-13-12 record overall. The Golden Knights have given up 149 goals while scoring 169 for a +20 scoring differential.
The teams meet Sunday for the second time this season. The Senators won 4-3 in a shootout in the previous matchup.
TOP PERFORMERS: Drake Batherson has 19 goals and 25 assists for the Senators. Dylan Cozens has four goals and three assists over the past 10 games.
Pavel Dorofeyev has 22 goals and 16 assists for the Golden Knights. Stone has scored eight goals with 11 assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Senators: 3-5-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 5.8 assists, 4.7 penalties and 11.8 penalty minutes while giving up 3.8 goals per game.
Golden Knights: 8-2-0, averaging 4.6 goals, 7.9 assists, 2.4 penalties and 5.9 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Senators: None listed.
Golden Knights: None listed.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Doncic was at the Dallas Mavericks from 2018 to 2025 [Getty Images]
Luka Doncic starred for the Los Angeles Lakers with 33 points as he helped them beat his former side, the Dallas Mavericks 116-110.
The Slovenian, playing in Dallas for the second time since being traded to the Lakers last February, also registered 11 assists and eight rebounds.
"We counted after the game, he [Doncic] had six straight stops where they targeted him," said Lakers coach JJ Redick.
"Just a fantastic job from him. Then [he] makes the game-sealing defensive play with the charge on [Naji] Marshall."
"It's a special place," Doncic told ESPN of his return to Dallas. "I mean, I'm always going to want to win no matter what. Every game I want to win, but obviously this one's a little bit different."
Doncic scored twice from beyond the arc in the first quarter as the 26-year-old became the youngest player in NBA history to reach 1,500 three-pointers.
He had been with Dallas from 2018 until last year, and said he almost went to the home dressing room at half-time as he "was kind of confused".
The Lakers trailed by 15 points with seven minutes and 41 seconds remaining, but overturned the deficit to secure a third win in four games.
LeBron James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while Max Christie top scored for Dallas with 24 points.
"Understanding the system, understanding the city, the city embracing him. Understanding it's his team, and we're all rallying around him.
"Obviously we know it's emotional, a big game, to come back and play your former team. He showed who he is tonight."
The result leaves the Lakers fifth in the Western Conference, while the Mavericks are 12th.
Elsewhere, Kevin Huerter made a three-pointer just before the buzzer to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 114-111, while Bam Adebayo scored 26 points as the Miami Heat thrashed the Utah Jazz 147-116.
That’s
sort of been the St. Louis Blues’ motto the past few games: right
in the thick of it but in the end, the result has been consistent in
a bad way.
The
Blues dropped their fourth straight game, this time losing to the Los
Angeles Kings, 5-4 in a shootout on a snowy Saturday at Enterprise
Center in front of 6,848 people that braved the affects of a big
winter storm that hit the area all day Saturday and into Sunday.
The
Blues (19-24-9), who fell to the Dallas Stars 3-2 on a last-minute
goal in regulation by future Blue (wink, wink) Jason Robertson, have
either played as the better team at even strength or battled back the
past three games and conceivably could have won each of them, yet
found a way to be on the wrong side of each.
“Back-to-back’s
are always tough, especially with some travel,” said Blues forward
Jordan Kyrou, who scored twice to give him seven points (three goals,
four assists) the past seven games. “I thought we battled hard
today, especially in the second (period) of that game. We kept
bringing it back and I thought we had a good game.”
Dalibor
Dvorsky also scored for the second straight game and had a beautiful
shootout goal in the third round to extend the shootout, Brayden
Schenn scored and Joel Hofer made 24 saves for the Blues, who saw
their four-game home winning streak end.
“There’s
some things defensively that we need to clean up again,” Blues
coach Jim Montgomery said.
“You can’t be happy any time you give up four goals.”
Let’s
take a look at the game observations:
*
Slow start to the game – Not surprising, the Blues did not come out
with the energy and jump early.
They
were playing the second of back-to-back nights, the Kings (21-16-13)
haven’t played since Tuesday and had fresh legs and showed it.
They
scored early on Taylor Ward’s goal off a turnover 4:31 into the
opening period and carried some of that momentum into the early
stages of the second when Brian Dumoulin made it 2-0 at 1:11.
“I
did not like our first 10 minutes of the game,” Montgomery said. “I
thought they vastly started the game a lot better than we did. Their
forwards were skating, we were getting caught from behind, we had too
many turnovers at the red line and then I thought in the second
period, we came out skating ourselves and we got a little more
physical and we started winning more battles. You can say we were
playing north really well.”
*
Pushback started late in first, carried into second period – Even
though they gave up the early goal in the second, I thought the Blues
finished the first strong after a lackluster beginning.
You
can see they found their legs and it fueled a usually bad second
period into a good one Saturday in which they scored three times in
5:56 to erase a two-goal deficit and lead 3-2.
“We
found our legs a little more,” Kyrou said. “It was kind of a slow
start and then we found it a little bit there at the end of the first
and we just picked up from there and continued with that.”
Dvorsky,
who scored in Dallas Friday, extended his point streak to three games
when he finished off a beautiful passing play after initially winning
a puck in the D-zone, then moving up in transition getting it from
Mathieu Joseph, then worked a give-and-go with Otto Stenberg before a
quick release from the slot beat Darcy Kuemper at 2:14 to make it a
2-1 game:
“Good play by the whole line on the goal today," Dvorsky said. "'Mojo' carrying it out, Otto gave me a great pass. It's always about the whole line, but yeah, I'm just trying to play with confidence every time I'm out there."
With
Kevin Fiala in the box for tripping, the Blues’ power play scored
for the third straight game and tied it 2-2 when Schenn finished off
a back door play that was also beautifully set up with a zone entry
by Pavel Buchnevich, Dvorsky’s little slip pass to Jimmy Snuggerud,
who found Buchnevich low before he found Schenn on the right post at
6:30:
And
Kyrou’s first of the game may have been the best executed goal of
the night for the Blues when he made it 3-2 at 8:10 after starting
with the puck in his zone, Cam Fowler’s stretch pass up ice to
Logan Mailloux enabled the young defenseman to move it across the
blue line and find Kyrou with speed, and he did the rest by freezing
Kuemper and finishing off the wraparound:
“Great play by 'Fowls' to find 'Maisy' and then great vision from 'Maisy' to just kick it out to me there," Kyrou said. "I kind of just used my speed and tried to make it happen as quick as I could."
*
Tough
sequences for Toropchenko
– The
usually reliable, hard-working Alexey Toropchenko found himself in a
couple tough shifts that cost the Blues two goals.
It
was his turnover on Ward’s goal when he took a second or two too
long to move the outlet pass off the boards, and it got deflected
enough and picked off at the blue line and back in:
And
after your team builds some strong momentum and scores three times to
take the lead for the first time, those next shifts are equally as
important to solidify that momentum.
But
Toropchenko had a chance to check Corey Perry off the puck behind the
Blues’ net and didn’t, enabling the Kings veteran forward to
wheel the puck back around to the left point, and when the puck was
thrown back to Perry behind the net, Toropchenko was caught off
position, not covering either Perry behind the net or Alex Laferriere
at the opposite side, and when Perry went against the grain feeding
Laferriere back behind the left post, Laferriere tied the game 3-3 at
10:18,
or 2:04 after the Blues gained the lead stunting any momentum and
allowing the Kings to push back:
*
Controversy on fourth goal – Here’s
where things really got quirky after the Kings grabbed a 4-3 lead
when Trevor Moore poked a puck through Hofer at 11:34 of the third
period, a rebound after
he initially tipped on goal of Brandt Clarke’s right point shot (oh
by the way, did anyone see Jake Neighbours deliver a knockout blow to
Clarke in the first period?).
The
Blues immediately challenged for offside, and without looking at it,
offside challenges are usually won by the challenging team; it’s
rare that the goal is awarded because they’re so cut and dry:
When
officials quickly came back with the rendering that the play was
onside, the goal stood.
The
question at hand from the Blues was if Joel Armia was offside. The
Blues felt like he was, at least according to their interpretation of
Rule 83.1, which states:
A
player is on-side when either of his skates are in contact with the
blue line, or on his own side of the line, at the instant the puck
completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line. For the
purposes of this rule, a “skate” is to be considered the blade of
the skate only. On his own side of the line shall be defined by a
“plane” of the blue line which shall extend from the leading edge
of the blue line upwards. If a player’s skate has yet to break the
“plane” prior to the puck completely crossing the leading edge,
he is deemed to be onside for the purpose of the off-side rule.
Here’s
Montgomery’s explanation on their thought process:
“They
changed the wording of the rule book and I’ve got to get
confirmation from the league,” Montgomery said. “But it reads
both skates need to be on the neutral side of the blue line, so the
leading edge, and we saw one on one. The year before, it did not say
both skates needed to be, so we need to get clarification. I talked
to the linesman, they were great. They explained it’s no doubt, in
their mind, it’s one foot.”
Montgomery
continued, “Lawyers
write the books for rule books, and I don't think like a lawyer. And
obviously a lawyer would love facing me in court. But I talk hockey,
and both skates to me means two. I thought (video coach) Elliott
Mondou did a great
job because the rule had changed. I was unaware of the wording
change. So to us, if you change the wording, it's because you want
both skates versus one skate and we've just got to get clarification
on that.”
Unless
I’m missing something in the rule book, the above interpretation
clearly states one skate has to be touching up the blue line, with
control of the puck, and the league ruling was: Video
review supported the call on the ice that Los Angeles’ Joel Armia
had possession and control of the puck when entering the attacking
zone and was on-side prior to Trevor Moore’s goal.
*
Hofer not at his best – Hofer
has been solid for the Blues for the better part of nearly two months
and the numbers back it up.
I
didn’t think Saturday was one of his best.
Yes,
he made a terrific save in overtime on Clarke that extended the game:
But it just felt like he was fighting the puck for good chunks of the game.
I
initially thought he missed a cover on the Moore goal but replay
showed Moore’s clever deflection initially enabled the puck to be
freed up.
But
it just didn’t feel like Hofer was as assertive as he’s been in
recent past.
*
Finally, a sixth-attacker plus – Blues
fans have such a warm feeling when either Hofer or Jordan Binnington
get pulled for an extra attacker. They know what usually happens
next: an empty-net goal against.
Not
this time. This time, the Blues delivered, and Kyrou got it when he
one-timed a rebound of Justin Faulk’s point shot from the left
circle at 17:50 of the third that tied the game 4-4:
It
was just the second time this season (Schenn vs. the New York Rangers
on Nov. 24, 2025) the Blues scored with the goalie pulled while
they’ve allowed 10.
“That was really good to see that execution," Montgomery said. "The Schenn line went out right after the time out and there was 2:43 left. They got an icing, and there's 2:06 left, and that's good. The other team's tired, they got 30 seconds there. 'Buchy' wins the draw, we go right to the spread there that we wanted to, and I love the play by Dvorsky. Dvorsky sends it in there, Kyrou's on the backdoor, all the execution that we wanted to create a little bit of havoc and chaos at their net, and that happened, and then we got the loose puck, went up top and we brought it right back to the net, and we got that good rebound goal."
*
Dvorsky nearly delivers – Montgomery
mentioned it above, but Dvorsky nearly delivered a picture-perfect
ending, not only for the team but also for himself.
The
Blues did not have the puck for the first portion of overtime, but
once they did, it was a chance to end it, but Kuemper just got a
right toe on Dvorsky’s breakaway chance at 1:42.
“It
would have been great if we won the game on Dvorsky’s breakaway (in
overtime),” Montgomery said. “That would have really capped off a
really solid hockey effort by our team.”
Dvorsky
did extend the shootout with a really nice backhand goal to extend it
to a fourth round.
“I
was kind of deciding between shot or doing that,” Dvorsky said. “I
saw he was out pretty far so I deked it, went to backhand and happy
that went in.”
*
Shootout goes Kings’ way– Unfortunately
for the Blues, they fell to 1-9 on the season in either overtime or a
shootout (1-3 in shootouts).
Neighbours
and Kyrou barely got any shots off, waiting too long to decide on
what to do, and L.A., which has played the most overtime/shootout
games (21) in the league this season, made good on goals from Adrian
Kempe and Moore in the fourth round before Kuemper stopped Jimmy
Snuggerud:
“The
games are close,” Dvorsky said. “For sure, we just need to stay
with it. For sure, it’s going to turn to our favor for sure. We’ve
just got to keep grinding and keep doing the right things and keep
playing our game.”
* Shoutout to the brave fans – There were 6,848 of you that braved the weather and were in attendance, a number I thought was much higher than expected.
That's roughly a third of building capacity but you were loud, you were enjoying yourselves and were treated to an entertaining game.
Of course, you were looking for a Blues victory but you got to see plenty of good, some not-so-good, and in the end, a chance to see a victory that fell just short.
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It was a fun night inside a very frozen American Airlines Center in Dallas. Although the visiting Los Angeles Lakers were able to pull out a 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas fans were once again able to welcome one of their own back home. Luka Doncic returned to Dallas as a visitor for the second time. And while the scene was not nearly as emotionally charged as the first time around (Nico Harrison was not in attendance as far as we know. We definitely know he is no longer employed by the Dallas Mavericks), it’s special when 77 comes to town these days.
It’s clear that it’s special to Doncic, too. For that, let’s open up the quote board.
LUKA DONCIC
On the emotions of returning to Dallas again
I mean, obviously there’s always going to be emotions. I was happy to be back here, back to my house, my cars, so obviously it’s always going to be emotional. I appreciate how [the fans] cheered for me when I was introduced. It’s always going to be a special place for me.
On Dallas feeling like home
I was here seven years, you know. A lot of things happened, bad and good. I kind of describe it how when I went to Madrid when I was 13, every time I came back to Slovenia I feel good. That’s why it’s always going to be a special place for me.
On what makes coming to Dallas special
Like I always say, it’s a special place. I’m always going to want to win, every game I want to win, but obviously this one’s different. But again, I want to win every game.
On the difference of emotions from April 9th to January 24th games
Oh there’s still emotions, trust me, but a little bit better, a little bit easier for me. Like I said before, how the fans accept me here, it’s unbelievable. I still got a lot of friends here, players, some other people, so I’m happy to be back for a little bit.
On walking towards the Mavericks locker room at halftime
I didn’t see that (laughing)
On the fans turning out to see him amidst a winter storm
It was really special. I didn’t know what to expect before, I know how the city gets when the weather gets this bad, but I really appreciate a lot of people showing up.
On buying a suite for fans and having a meet and greet pregame
Dallas will always be special to Luka 🥹
Almost a year after the trade to LA, Luka surprised 22 fans who supported him on social media with a suite for Lakers–Mavs, a pregame meet & greet, and gift bags with Luka Lakers jerseys and his signature shoe. pic.twitter.com/hdznSXx5bv
Yeah, that was something that was special for me to do. I see what a lot of them did on social media, and after when I got traded how much support they gave me. Obviously, there’s a lot more fans than [what could fill up a suite], but I could only fit 22 of them.
It’s clear that Doncic will always love coming back home to Dallas. Hey, you never know, maybe one day he might just…
Cole Huff
