Worldwide Sports News

Who: Phoenix Suns (33-24) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (27-30)

When: 6:00pm Arizona Time

Where: Mortgage Matchup Center— Phoenix, Arizona

Watch: Arizona’s Family 3TV, Arizona’s Family Sports, Suns+

Listen: KMVP 98.7

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The Phoenix Suns are right back at it Sunday night, less than 24 hours after a double overtime grind against Orlando that somehow delivered one of the season’s defining moments. For multiple reasons. It took real work to get there, but Jalen Green’s game-winning three-pointer cut through the noise and sent everyone home smiling. That glow faded fast once the news hit. Dillon Brooks broke his hand in that game, and there is no clear timetable yet for when he will be back.

Such is life in the NBA. Such is life and sports. Such is life.

You flip the page, you circle the next date, and you lock in on what is right in front of you. That next task shows up wearing Portland across its chest.

The Trail Blazers sit six games back of the Suns in the standings, parked comfortably in the 10th seed, with a little breathing room over Memphis down in 11th. On paper, that is a game Phoenix usually handles. In reality, with bodies piling up on the injury report and legs still feeling sore Saturday night, nothing comes free here.

This is another one that has to be earned. If the Suns want to walk away with it, they either need to shoot the ball better, move the ball better, or preferably do both. Because neither showed up against Orlando.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Jalen Green — QUESTIONABLE (Right Knee Injury Managemen)
• Grayson Allen — QUESTIONABLE (Right Ankle Sprain)
• Devin Booker — OUT (Right Hip Strain)
• Dillon Brooks — OUT (Left Hand)
• Jordan Goodwin — OUT (Left Calf Strain)
• Haywood Highsmith — OUT ( Right Knee Injury)
• Cole Anthony — OUT (Not With Team)

Trail Blazers

• Deni Avdija — QUESTIONABLE (Low Back, Injury Management)
• Damion Lillard — OUT (Left Achilles Tendon)
• Shaedon Sharpe — OUT (Left Calf Strain)

What to Watch For

First up? Who the heck is going to play?! That injury report is tough to look at.

Expect a heavy dose of threes in this one. Portland sits 28th in three-point percentage at 34.1%, but they launch them anyway, second most attempts in the league at 42.5 per game. We have seen this movie before. Last time these two played, the Suns fell into an early hole due to a mix of shaky perimeter defense and Portland catching fire. That turned into a dangerous cocktail that had the Suns down by as many as 19 points.

Phoenix eventually clawed back and escaped with a 130–125 win on February 3, but that start cannot repeat itself.

Portland also presents a size problem, one that pokes directly at a Suns soft spot. They are sixth in the league at 45.9 rebounds per game and third in offensive rebounding rate at 35.4%. That translates to league-best second-chance points at 18.3 per night. Donovan Clingan sets the tone there, leading the NBA with 4.7 offensive rebounds a game. He has to be accounted for, every possession.

And yeah, but this feels like a spot where giving rookie Khaman Maluach a look could help. Purely for size. A body. Someone to box out and absorb contact. I do not know if this is full experimentation season yet, but against Portland, I would not hate seeing it.

Key to a Suns Win

Shoot better.

I know that sounds like the most basic form of analysis imaginable, but sometimes the simple truth is still the truth. In February, the Phoenix Suns are shooting 34.2% from three, which sits 23rd in the NBA. At the same time, they are fifth in three-point rate, with 47.3% of their shots coming from deep. The volume is there. The accuracy is not. That gap has to close if Phoenix wants to beat Portland.

That task gets harder when Devin Booker is out, and it gets harder again without Dillon Brooks. Brooks may not always be efficient, but he has still made the fourth-most threes on the team this season. Those shots do not disappear. Someone has to absorb them. That responsibility now falls on Collin Gillespie, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and Ryan Dunn. They need to lock in and convert the clean looks they are getting.

Pair that with protecting the glass. Second-chance points are killers, especially for a team already dealing with injuries and heavy legs. Extra possessions drain you fast. Phoenix cannot afford to hand those out.

Prediction Time

Expect the unexpected. The Suns are wounded right now, no way around it, but there is still plenty of fight in this group. We saw it against Orlando. That was a game they probably lost nine times out of ten, and somehow they dragged it across the finish line anyway.

Now it is Sunday, and Portland is standing in front of them. This feels like one of those nights where things get weird, where effort and timing matter more than polish. The kind of night where a role player steps into the light and keeps everything from tilting the wrong way.

Call it a hunch, call it basketball intuition, call it “there’s no one else to score”, but it feels like a Royce O’Neale night. The Suns are going to need one.

Suns 118, Trail Blazers 115

Boston Celtics (36-19) at Los Angeles Lakers (34-21)
Sunday, February 22, 2026
6:30 PM ET
TV: NBC/Peacock, NBCSB, Telemundo
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN LA 710, Sirius XM
Regular Season Game #56 Road Game #29
Crypto.com Arena

The Celtics visit the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2nd and final meeting this season. The Celtics win the first meeting in Boston 125-105 on December 5. The Celtics were at full strength for that game while the Lakers were without LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart. These two teams tied the series last season with each team winning on their home court. The Celtics are 168-135 overall, all time, against the Lakers. They are 55-78 in games played at the Lakers.

The Lakers basically kept their core together for this season. They did make a couple of changes however. They brought in DeAndre Ayton to shore up their center spot. They also signed Marcus Smart to help their defense. They signed Jake LaRavia as a free agent also. At the trade deadline, the Lakers traded Gabe Vincent to Atlanta for Luke Kennard to give them a sharpshooter off the bench.

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 5.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1 game ahead of 3rd place Cleveland, 1.5 games ahead of 4th place New York, 3 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 6 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 6.5 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 12-6 against Western Conference opponents. They are 18-10 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.

The Lakers are 5th in the West, 8 games behind first place OKC, 5 games behind 2nd place San Antonio, 1 game behind 3rd place Denver, half a game behind 4th place Houston and tied with 6th place Minnesota. They are 2.5 game ahead of 7th place Phoenix. They are 11-7 against Eastern Conference opponents and 16-10 at home. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.

The Celtics are playing in the 2nd game of a 4 game Western road trip. They beat Golden State 121-110 on Thursday and will play Phoenix, and Denver back to back on Tuesday and Wednesday to close out the trip. They will then return home for games against Brooklyn and Philadelphia before a game at Milwaukee. Then they are back home for games against Charlotte and Dallas before a tough 3 game road trip through Cleveland, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. Then they host Washington, Phoenix and Golden State.

The Lakers are playing in the 7th game of an 8 game home stand. They are 4-2 so far on the home stand and will close it out with a game against Orlando. They will then play at Phoenix and Golden State before returning home to play Sacramento and New Orleans. Then it’s one game at Denver before a 5 game home stand where they will host Indiana, New York, Minnesota, Chicago and Denver.

Both teams are healthy other than Jayson Tatum for the Celtics, who remains out as he rehabs from the torn Achilles. The Lakers have no one on their injury report. I’m assuming that the Celtics will once again start White, Scheierman, Brown, Hauser and Queta. I’m thinking that the Lakers will stick with the starters they used on Friday in their win over the Clippers, which is Doncic, Reaves, LeBron, Smart and Jordan. Although they only used this starting lineup once due to injuries, they consider it their strongest starting lineup.

Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Luka Doncic

SG: Baylor Scheierman vs Austin Reaves

SF: Jaylen Brown vs LeBron James

PF: Sam Hauser vs Marcus Smart

C: Neemias Queta vs Deandre Ayton

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Nikola Vucevic
Jordan Walsh
Delano Banton (10-day)
John Tonje (10-day)

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Lakers Reserves
Kobe Bufkin
Rui Hachimura
Jaxson Hayes
Bronny James
Luke Kennard
Maxi Kleber
Dalton Knecht
Jake LaRavia
Adou Thiero
Jarred Vanderbilt

2-Way Players
Chris Manon
Nick Smith, Jr
Drew Timme

Injuries/Out
None listed

Head Coach
JJ Redick

Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Luka Doncic
Doncic is averaging 33.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game while shooting 47.3% from the fiield He is coming off a game where he finished with 38 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists and 1 block. He missed the December game against the Celtics. The Celtics have to slow Doncic down and guard him both on the perimeter and in the paint along with anticipating his passes.

Baylor Scheierman vs Austin Reaves
Reaves is averaging 25.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.  He is shooting 51.1% from the field and 37.4% from beyond the arc.  In the December meeting between these two teams, Reeves finished with 36 points, 3 rebound, and 8 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc.  He is coming off a game where he finished with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. 

Honorable Mention
Jaylen Brown vs LeBron James
LeBron is averaging 21.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.2 assists while shooting 49.9% from the field and 30.6% from beyond the arc.  In his last game on Friday, he finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists and 1 steal.  He didn’t play in the first game between these two teams.   He may be old, but he is still dangerous and a very good passer. 

Keys to the Game
Defense – I can’t say it enough that defense is the most important key to winning.  The Celtics are 8th in the league with a defensive rating of 112.6. The Lakers are 24th with a defensive rating of 116.5.  The Celtics have played good defense for the most part in recent games but they still are not consistent on that end for 48 minutes each game   They must stay committed to playing tough, lock down defense, especially against a Lakers team with some very good offensive weapons.  The Celtics must especially defend in the paint as the Lakers are 9th in the league with 51.9 points in the paint per game.

Rebound –  Rebounding takes effort and energy and the Celtics will need both to out-rebound the Lakers.  The Celtics need to crash the boards and keep the Lakers from getting second chance points and fast breaks.  The Celtics  are averaging 45.6 rebounds per game (8th) while the Lakers are averaging 40.9 rebounds per game (24th).   The Celtics must put out extra energy and effort to beat the Lakers to rebounds. 

Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to move the ball in order to find the best shot on each possession. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are at their best when they pass the ball and keep it moving.  The Celtics had 31 assists in their win over the Warriors.  The Celtics are 28-4 when they have at least 25 assists.  But they have to make careful passes and not get sloppy because the Lakers average 17.8 points off turnovers.

Be Aggressive – The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket, in diving for loose balls, and on defense.  They have to aggressively crash the boards.  They have to be the team that plays harder and that wants it more.  In most of their losses, they have allowed their opponents to play harder and be more aggressive.  They absolutely can’t let the Lakers play harder than them if they want to have a chance to win.

X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are playing in the second game of a 4 game road trip.  They need to fight through the distractions of playing on the road and on the other coast in a different time zone and keep their focus on playing the right way.    They need to put all those distractions of playing in a strange arena and in front of hostile fans and staying in hotels and away from family aside and put all their focus on playing the game. 

Pride – “Beat LA” is one of the most iconic chants in sports.  This is a storied rivalry and no matter the circumstances, the Celtics always want to beat the Lakers and vice versa.   The Celtics have to focus on the game and on playing aggressive basketball.  It’s a matter of pride and the Celtics need to get the job done and “Beat LA”.  On the other hand, LeBron always has a chip on his shoulder against the Celtics and LeBron and his teammates are going to give extra effort to beat one of their biggest rivals. 

Officiating –  The officiating can always be an x-factor.  Every crew calls the game differently and the Celtics have to adapt to how the game is being called and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away their focus.   If you doubt that officiating is an x-factor, just think back to the last Finals between these two teams.  In game 7, the Celtics were up 6 going into the 4th quarter.  The refs had called the game evenly up until then.  But in the 4th quarter, the referees took over and it cost the Celtics that game.  The Lakers took 21 free throws in the 4th quarter alone while the Celtics took 6.  The Lakers took more free throws in the 4th quarter than they did in the first 3 quarters combined. (Yes, I am still a little bitter over that.)  Hopefully the refs call it fair in this game and let both teams play.

The Lakers have a problem. It’s a LeBron James problem. Well, it’s also a Luka Doncic problem. Really, it’s an Austin Reaves problem, too.

When LA’s three best players are on the floor together, they’re a -8.8 net rating. They’ve played just eleven games together and sure, sport an 8-3 record, but at their core, it’s just not working.

Boston’s Big Three, on the other hand, have been humming along. Well, had been humming along. Before the NBA trade deadline, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard spearheaded the second-best offense in the league with an 8.1 net rating in 823 minutes together. But after the acquisition of Nikola Vucevic, the defending Sixth Man of the Year went back to the bench and now forms a lethal one-two punch with the second unit.

The sample size is obviously small, but the eye test speaks volumes to the second unit’s potential. In four games, Vucevic and Pritchard have led the second unit with a +12.7 net rating (115.8 offensive, 103.1 defensive) in 95 minutes together. The pairing has opened up the floor for swingmen like Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh.

It’s a dynamic that the team didn’t necessarily have with the ignitable Anfernee Simons and in a season that has been defined by doing the best what you have, Joe Mazzulla has made, well, incredible lemonade.

Removing Pritchard from the starting lineup probably doesn’t fit J.J. Redick’s definition of Mazzulla as a “basketball sicko,” but it does highlight Mazzulla’s commitment to doing whatever it takes to extract the most out of this roster. Pritchard was having easily the best season of his career after a patient six-year wait to be a starter in this league. And without even blinking, he’s been a soldier in Mazzulla’s army and done whatever’s been asked of him.

”I can start, I can come off the bench — it don’t matter,” he has said. “Just what the team needs: being killer in my role. That’s what it takes.”

Just how well does the Lakers' Big 3 stack up?@chiney analyzes the Lakers' efficiency of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves together✍️ pic.twitter.com/FdpWZd8oFu

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 20, 2026

You have to wonder if similar conversations have been had with the Lakers. As ESPN’s Chiney Ogwumike explains above, Doncic and Reaves are a +14.4 with LeBron on the bench and James is +7.7 with Doncic and Reaves off the floor. And together, they’re awful in everything the Celtics do great: defend, rebound off the offensive glass, and limit turnovers.

This isn’t to say that the Lakers aren’t a good team. They’ve weathered injuries all year and are still positioned to avoid the Play-In Tournament. To their credit, they’ve instituted some much needed change. Doncic did go on a summer diet and looks trimmer this season. Rob Pelinka finally traded the once expected sharpshooter Gabe Vicent for the current flavor-of-the-month Luke Kenard. They brought in the ultimate gamechanger in Marcus Smart and are currently revamping their front office with new ownership.

However, none of that has exactly translated on the floor and in Redick’s defense, he arguably has more on his plate than Mazzulla has. There’s Lebron and Reaves’ impending free agency. There’s catering to Luka, something Mavericks management just couldn’t stomach anymore. There’s the often disconnect between what Redick wants to see on the floor and how the players are performing followed by the fingerpointing in the press.

So, I wonder if things would be different in La La Land if it was Mazzulla-la-la at the helm.

Would Joe have already moved the greatest scorer of all time to the bench? Would Dalton Knecht have found his groove by now? Would Jaxson Hayes and Deandre Ayton be even on the team at this point?

Thankfully today and for the foreseeable future, Mazzulla is our basketball sicko, unafraid and undeterred to make changes, with only winning in mind.

And I hope that never changes.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Oluchi Okananwa scored 26 points, leading six in double figures, and No. 14 Maryland won its fifth straight game, defeating Purdue 99-66 on Sunday.

Addi Mack scored 14 points and Saylor Poffenbarger and Mir McLean added 11 each for Maryland (22-6, 10-6 Big Ten). Off the bench, Kyndal Walker scored a career-high 18 points and fellow freshman Rainey Welson added 11.

Kiki Smith scored 19 points and Nya Smith had 18 for Purdue (12-15, 4-12).

Okananwa scored 10 points in the first quarter and the Terrapins led 22-17 after one. Saylor Poffenbarger took over in the second quarter, scoring all of her 11 points, and the Terrapins led 51-32 at halftime.

A 15-5 run over the last five minutes of the third quarter gave Maryland a 77-48 lead heading to the fourth. The largest lead was 97-60 with about two minutes to go. Maryland freshman Marya Boiko, a backup forward from Belarus, blocked five shots, four in the fourth quarter.

Maryland had significant advantages in points after opponent turnovers (21-11), bench points (31-16) and second-chance points (20-11).

Maryland improved to 27-5 in February over the past three seasons.

Up next

Maryland: The regular season concludes with a home game against Northwestern on Wednesday followed by a visit to No. 6 Michigan on Saturday.

Purdue: at home against Oregon on Wednesday; at Northwestern on Sunday.

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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.

A blizzard is coming to the Delaware Valley. Fitting since the Sixers’ season feels like it could be snowballing.

After the team suffered an embarrassing loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans Saturday, they’ll travel to Minnesota (because that travel schedule makes sense) to take on the Timberwolves Sunday night — and they’ll do so without Joel Embiid.

Embiid missed the two games before the All-Star break and the two after. The Sixers dropped all four and will have to go up against a tough Timberwolves team without him. They’re 1-9 in their last 10 games without Embiid. After only missing planned rest games in back-to-back situations throughout January, Embiid’s last four absences have been the result of shin soreness in his right leg.

At 30-26, the Sixers are in very real danger of slipping out of the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot. The Miami Heat are only percentage points behind them in seventh. If Embiid continues to miss time — while Paul George continues to serve his suspension — things could ugly.

The other bit of bad news is that rookie Johni Broome has suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee. The team said there will be further evaluation to determine treatment. Broome, a second-round pick (35th overall) in the 2025 NBA Draft, has struggled to find a role with the big club. The 23-year-old, who starred at Auburn, has had success in the G League, recording a 50-point game with the Delaware Blue Coats last month.

The East goes through Detroit. That’s all that needs to be said as Wes and Blake record this show right after the Pistons steamrolled the New York Knicks for the third time this season. And this time, the Knicks were healthy, the Pistons were not. Blake and Wes take a quick moment to applaud the NBA All-Star game’s new format before diving in to that shorthanded beatdown. Was this Cade’s best game of his career? Oh, and should he be truly in the conversation to win MVP this year? What about another stellar defensive performance from Ausar Thompson? How valuable will he be as a defensive weapon in the playoffs? The guys break this all down, then they look ahead. Who is the Pistons’ biggest playoff threat? Will Ron Holland maintain his rotation spot this year in the playoffs? And just how unique is this Piston identity that JB Bickerstaff alludes to?

We’ve got you covered for all this and more in this week’s episode!

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