Worldwide Sports News

The Brooklyn Nets never seriously considered making a playoff run in June when they drafted five rookies in the first round, in August when they ate unplayable salary for future picks, and in November when they began sitting veterans to give younger players more developmental minutes.

Thursday night was the first time they acted like it. Neither Nic Claxton nor Noah Clowney played against the Hawks beyond the 4:43 mark of the third quarter, even with the game well within reach. Three two-way players logged 13 or more minutes.

It was only right that after that loss, the Nets were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention.

“It goes back to seeing guys that haven’t had a chance to play those minutes, because it gives me a better sense of who they are as players and what can I see as they develop,” Fernández said of the rotation.

This Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, home of “The Process, evaluation remained Brooklyn’s primary objective. The team didn’t let Claxton get any burn this time, ruling him out for “rest.” Drake Powell even sat for “left knee injury management.” Michael Porter Jr. did so as well with a right ankle sprain.

The Nets also went 10 deep in the first frame, giving minutes to several Long Island mainstays and even Malachi Smith, who the team announced had signed a 10-day contract three hours before tipoff. This is March!

The hosting Philadelphia 76ers? They were after a win, and with the Nets less interested, the game went about as you’d expect it. Philly jumped up to an 29-16 after the first quarter. V. J. Edgecombe punched in 10 early points to help get his team there and give the Nets one more lesson on the importance of boosting pick value. Less than halfway through the second quarter, after the Nets experienced a five minutes scoreless stretch, they led by 20+. Brooklyn didn’t break 30 points until there were 33 seconds left in the first half.

The Nets’ offensive issues were systemic, not the result of one or two players’ performance. Their starting five composed of Nolan Traoré, Terance Mann, Ziaire Williams, Noah Clowney, and Danny Wolf shot 6-20 from the field in the first half. The whole team shot 3-20 from beyond the arc. The Sixers simply threw them aside, and in more ways than one…

Watford getting chippy against his old team was far and away the most entertaining segment of the first half. The second had to be Chaney Johnson pitching in five first period points, seven rebounds, three steals, and a rejected a shot in 11 minutes. That’s a least a nice chapter within this rather bleak story.

In fairness, this was Brooklyn’s earliest game of season. Being the youngest team in the league, and perhaps still dealing with the aftereffects of daylight savings, they indeed looked like a bunch of tired students sleepwalking through first period.

And then .. as time passed, they slowly woke up — first with a stretch, then a yawn, and eventually something that looked like basketball.

The Nets matched their first half output in triples made less than five minutes into the third. Brooklyn managed to win the quarter by a singular point, and while Philly remained up 20+, much to Fernández’s appreciation, they continued to fight.

Brooklyn kept beating up on the rim in the fourth, but grabbed six offensive rebounds to finish with nine second chance points. As Philadelphia looked to coast to a win, the Nets rocked the boat as much as they could. A flurry of threes from Tyson Etienne and Danny Wolf combined with an 0-13 3-point shooting performance from Philadelphia in the second half allowed Brooklyn to cut it to five with 4:27 remaining.

None of the starters came in after that minus Traoré, and none of it mattered. After another triple from Etienne, Brooklyn hoisted a one point lead with 3:23 to go. Yes, this is the same team that trailed by as many as 28 earlier in the afternoon.

It was a hell of a scare, both for the Sixers and Tank FC, but nothing more. In the closing minutes, Philly found its way to the line a handful of times to slow things down and reestablish a lead. Quentin Grimes then commanded a mass exhale across the northeast corridor after rattling in a midrange jumper that made it a five point game with less than a minute to go. That was enough of a cushion to protect the win even as Brooklyn played the foul game.

Still, with 41 points in the fourth quarter, the Nets beat their entire scoring output for the first half by double digits. Between the numbers and the names in the box score, the comeback was an impressive as anything we’ve seen from Brooklyn this year.

Final: Philadelphia 76ers 104, Brooklyn Nets 97

Milestone Watch

• E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting overall including 2-of-3 threes.
• Chaney Johnson set career highs with six points, 10 rebounds and three steals
• Tyson Etienne scored a season-high 11 points with three 3-pointers

The loss put the Nets back in a tie for third with the Wizards in Tankathon rankings, and if you measure by percentage points, the third spot is theirs. They are also two games back of the Pacers No. 1 and one game back of the Kings for No. 2. The teams with the three worst records have identical chances at the overall No. 1 pick, but the No. 3 pick can fall to No. 7 while the No. 1 pick can fall no lower than No. 5.

Next Up

The Nets will play the upstart Portland Trail Blazers for the first time this year on Monday. They’ll play them on the road again about a week later. This one tips off in the Barclays Center at 7:30 p.m. EST.

• Boxscore: Philadelphia 104, Brooklyn Nets 97 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Philadelphia 76ers 104, Brooklyn Nets 97 (Video) – NBA
• Jordi Fernandez PostGame Interview (Video) – YES Network
• Quentin Grimes scores 28 as the 76ers beat the Nets 104-97 – AP
• Nets’ furious rally falls short against 76ers as tank keeps rolling on – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Two-way spark fuels late Nets rally, but Brooklyn falls 104-97 in Philadelphia ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Despite 28-point comeback, young Nets still lose at 76ers 104-97 – Sharif Phillips-Keaton – USA TODAY

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Zaria Hurston scored 13 points, Olivia Delancey tallied 12, and Southern took down Alabama State 73-56 on Saturday to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship and punch their ticket to March Madness.

The win clinches the second-straight SWAC title and eighth overall for the No. 4-seeded Lady Jaguars (19-13).

D'Shantae Edwards scored 11, and Jocelyn Tate chipped in with 10 points for Southern, who shot 49% from the field and 54% from deep while holding Alabama State to 28% and 14% marks, respectively. The Lady Jaguars led for all but 54 seconds of the game.

Southern got off to a hot start, with a 9-0 first-quarter run putting them comfortably ahead. It extended the lead to 22 before halftime, taking a 41-19 advantage to the locker rooms.

Alabama State battled back with a 12-1 run of their own in the third quarter, but their momentum was short-lived.

Caylee Simpson paced the Lady Hornets (17-15) with 19 points, and Shamya Reid scored 10. Clearia Peterson had four steals.

Southern has made the Division I Tournament four times under eighth-year head coach Carlos Funchess. Last year, they won 68-56 over 16-seed UC San Diego in the First Four before bowing out against No. 1-seed UCLA 84-46 in the first round.

Up next

Southern awaits seeding for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be revealed on Sunday. The tournament tips off with the First Four on Wednesday and Thursday, and the first round begins Friday.

___ 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

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Cam Gillus, Ose Okojie and Bryce Harris all scored 14 points, and top-seeded Howard opened the second half with a decisive run to beat No. 3 seed North Carolina Central 70-63 on Wednesday, claiming the MEAC title and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Howard (23-10) led 26-23 at halftime before breaking the game open down the stretch. The Bison opened the second half on a 15-1 run, turning a three-point lead into a 41-24 advantage with 16:18 remaining and did not trail the rest of the way.

The Bison, who have won two of the last three MEAC Tournament titles, got 14 points apiece from Gillus, Okojie and Harris. Cedric Taylor III added 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Harris finished with 10 rebounds.

N.C. Central (14-18) spent the rest of the half trying to recover and got within six points several times, including 58-52 after a 3-pointer by Dionte Johnson with 4:19 left. Howard answered each push and closed the game at the free-throw line.

Johnson led the Eagles with 14 points and seven rebounds. Gage Lattimore added 12 points, Kelechi Okworogwo scored 11 and Jae Slack had 11 off the bench.

Howard made 27 of 35 free throws, while North Carolina Central committed 13 turnovers.

Up Next

Howard claimed an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament, which begins Tuesday with the First Four. They await their matchup and seeding, which will be revealed on Sunday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

It's really starting to feel like March Madness.

The epic finishes that makes this such a great time in college basketball are already happening, with the latest example coming in the Big Ten tournament. The semifinal matchup between Michigan and Wisconsin was setting up for an epic finish, with the Badgers pulling off a furious comeback to make it a tie game at 65-65 with under 30 seconds left.

The Wolverines had the final possession and for a moment, it didn't look like much was materializing. That was until Elliot Cadeau found Yaxel Lendeborg behind the arc, and he showed why he's the Big Ten Player of the Year.

Lendeborg drilled a 3-pointer with less than a second left to get a 68-65 lead as the Michigan crowd inside United Center erupted.

YAXEL GIVES MICHIGAN THE LEAD IN THE FINAL SECOND!

THIS IS MARCH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/M74GAG6ru4

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 14, 2026

Wisconsin was unable to hit the miracle heave as Michigan avenged a loss from the regular season. It provided an exclamation mark on what was a rather quiet afternoon for Lendeborg, who finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.

But all was redeemed when he hit what play-by-play commentator Ian Eagle called a "triple Yaxel."

"I live for those moments. I've always dreamed of hitting a shot like that, so today was my moment to hit a shot like that, and I did," Lendeborg said on the CBS broadcast.

The win advanced the Wolverines to the Big Ten championship game against the winner of Purdue vs. UCLA on Sunday, March 15, as Michigan closes in on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yaxel Lendeborg hits game winner to put Michigan in Big Ten title game

Just when you thought they’d win a game in a manner you could feel good about.

The Sixers survived blowing a 28-point lead to the tanking Brooklyn Nets Saturday afternoon, escaping with a 104-97 win.

They are 36-31 and now a half game up on the Atlanta Hawks for the East’s eighth seed.

Quentin Grimes led all scorers with 28 points and eight rebounds shooting 10-of-22 from the floor.

VJ Edgecombe had a solid first half, captaining the offense to put up 16 points and seven assists shooting 6-of-13 from the floor. Justin Edwards continued his solid play of late with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Danny Wolf led the Nets with 15.

Joel Embiid (oblique strain), Tyrese Maxey (finger strain), Paul George (suspension), Kelly Oubre Jr. (elbow strain), Jabari Walker (illness), Johni Broome (meniscus tear) and Andre Drummond (back spasms) were all out for Philadelphia. The Nets were down five players including Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• A much better start for Edgecombe who finished a couple early fast breaks with cutting dunks. His first turnaround jumper in the midrange fell as well before the second rimmed out. Dominick Barlow also started well with a couple of drives after erasing a Nolan Traore layup attempt.

• Edwards has also had some momentum as of late. He had a jumper just rim out as well but had success going to the basket early too. The Nets looked every bit like a high lottery team in March. They gave it away four times early and took nearly eight minutes to crack double-digit points.
• Yet another near-poster from Edgecombe, who was just a bit too hard on his attempt to turn poor Josh Minott into dust. His teammates gave him quite a hard time for not being successful, including a big thumbs down from Maxey that was shown on the big screen. Trendon Watford became the latest Sixer able to drive to the basket with relative ease, helping them get out to a 10-point lead.

Second Quarter

• It was another shift for Watford that was all over the place. He picked up two quick fouls and a silly technical foul. On top of the baskets he got for himself he had a couple decent actions with Cam Payne. Payne breathed some life into this one by actually being blessed to hit a three-pointer. The bounce pass he hit Watford with on a roll was nice as well.
• The Sixers could have messed around a lot and still got out to a 20-point lead with how this Nets team was playing. This sequence below is evidence that they did not have to be at their sharpest. After knocking down a three on their first possession of the second the Nets would go another five minutes before scoring another field goal.

• The action was so ugly that Ben Saraf slipped and fell, completely wiping out Dalen Terry as he was trying to make a fast break layup. Terry landed on his shoulder, split his free throws, and drove to the basket a few moments later so it would seem no harm was done. The Sixers took a 22-point lead into the break after the Nets put up 31 points in the half. Brooklyn had more turnovers in the first half (14) than made field goals (11).

Third Quarter

• The early third quarter surge from the opponent in this one was just the Nets making a couple of threes — the Sixers were able to withstand that. Edwards had another bout of aggression, scoring six of the Sixers’ first eight points coming out of the half, again walking into the shots he wanted. Those two points he wasn’t responsible for came from a fast break that started with his steal.

• There were some moments where he could have looked for his own shot more, but it was fun to see Edgecombe play a relaxed, controlled game as the lead ball-handler. The only mistake he made halfway through the third was an ambitious cross court outlet pass that was picked off.
• The Sixers did look like their regular third quarter selves for a good stretch. They had three ugly turnovers and smoked multiple layups. Edgecombe was also dealing with something at the end of the quarter after getting hit on the head on a drive but didn’t seem to need much medical attention for it on the bench. The best the Nets were able to do with all of that was cut the Sixers’ lead to 21.

Fourth Quarter

• Credit to Brooklyn’s pressure because it had proved disruptive. The Sixers didn’t look very capable of scoring with Edgecombe on the bench. A very up-and-down Grimes performance was a big factor in that. It took over three minutes for the Sixers to get their first field goal of the fourth when Grimes drove for a dunk.
• It’d be very hard to believe with how this game started, but Brooklyn’s three-point shooting surpassed the Sixers, who hadn’t hit one since the second quarter. Good shooters like Payne and Grimes were cold, but that’s the problem with the roster, they can’t afford the shooters they do have to have bad nights. As the Nets continued to heat up they had cut the lead all the way down to seven halfway through the fourth.
• Brooklyn continued to rain down threes as the Sixers continued to try to barrel through double teams unsuccessfully on their end. The Nets took their first lead of the game with a little over three minutes remaining.
• It was another reckless drive into two defenders, but Adem Bona was able to draw a foul and retake the lead at the line. Edwards finally got back to going to the rim for a layup. Grimes dribbled out plenty of possessions, but hit just enough midranges to put the game away. This team’s ability to make their wins feel bad as well is second to none.

TORONTO (AP) — Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored an equalizer in the 98th minute to recover a point for the New York Red Bulls in a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday in Toronto’s home opener.

Toronto (2-1-1) broke through in the 43rd minute when Dániel Sallói finished from the center of the box after a pass from Djordje Mihailovic. Goalkeeper Luka Gavran helped preserve the lead before halftime, turning aside several early chances from the Red Bulls.

New York (2-1-1) controlled much of the match, holding 63.3% possession and finishing with an 18-12 advantage in shots and an 11-5 edge in corner kicks. Gavran kept Toronto in front throughout the second half with multiple saves as the Red Bulls pressed for an equalizer.

Toronto nearly doubled the lead in stoppage time, but Ethan Horvath denied Sallói to keep New York within reach.

Moments later, the Red Bulls found their breakthrough. Choupo-Moting scored in the eighth minute of added time to salvage the draw and extend New York’s unbeaten streak against Toronto to 14 matches (9 wins, 5 draws) dating back to 2019.

The match was the 45th all-time regular-season meeting between the clubs, with New York holding a 24-10-11 advantage.

Up next

Red Bulls: At Charlotte next Saturday.

Toronto: Hosts Columbus next Saturday.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer