MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and topped the 21,000-point mark for his career on Saturday night as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 116-99 victory over the short-handed Brooklyn Nets.
Antetokounmpo, in his second game back after missing four due to a groin strain, became the 42nd player, and sixth-youngest, in NBA history to reach 21,000 career points when he hit a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo shot 12 for 15 in 19 minutes and had eight rebounds.
Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. scored 13 points in his first game back since spraining an ankle in the season opener. Porter then injured his right meniscus working his way back and underwent surgery in early November. A.J. Green added 15 points and Bobby Portis Jr. 13 for Milwaukee.
Rookie Danny Wolf, playing in his fifth game, had a career-high 22 points for the Nets. Wolf shot 8 for 16, including 5 for 9 from beyond the arc. Jalen Wilson added 13 points.
The Bucks took control with a 39-24 scoring advantage in the second quarter and held a 71-53 lead at the half. The margin ballooned to 92-60 with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Nets were without leading scorer Michael Cooper Jr. (24.3 points per game), who missed his second consecutive game due to lower back tightness. Starting guard Egor Demin was sidelined with injury management for a left plantar fascia tear.
Brooklyn already was without guard Cam Thomas (21.4 points), who has been sidelined since early November due to a left hamstring strain.
Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup Friday and scored 30 points in 118-109 loss to the New York Knicks that eliminated the Bucks from the NBA Cup.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Owen Tippett scored two goals and added an assist in the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
The loss was the first at home for New Jersey this season. The Devils are now 9-1-1 at the Prudential Center.
Matvei Michkov scored twice in the second period and Trevor Zegras also scored to give the Flyers a 4-1 lead. Travis Konecny had two assists.
Tippett scored for the first time in eight games and Michkov led the Flyers with six shots on goal.
Philadelphia’s defense against one of the league’s top scoring teams was impressive. The Flyers blocked 23 shots in front of goalie Dan Vladar, five coming from defenseman Nick Seeler.
The Flyers have won three straight on this road trip.
Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist for the Devils and Simon Nemec and Timo Meier scored a goal apiece. Jesper Bratt contributed two assists. Nemec became the fifth defensemen in team history with six goals in a calendar month.
Nico Hischier recorded an assist for his 10th point in the Devils last five games.
Meier, who had five shots on goal, scored his ninth goal of the season and fourth in the last five games.
Vladar stopped 29 shots for the Flyers for his 10th win of the season.
The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they picked up a point in the standings and stopped their three-game regulation losing skid on Saturday evening against the Boston Bruins.
The bad news is that it was their fourth straight game without a victory, as they were beaten by a 4-3 final score in a shootout at TD Garden.
Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt scored the only goal in the shootout after neither team was able to find the back of the net during overtime, while Jeremy Swayman stopped attempts from Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat.
Connor Geekie scored both goals in regulation for the Bruins, who were playing without both top forward David Pastrnak and defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings will lament that they were unsuccessful on all five power-play opportunities they had during the contest, including one in overtime.
Geekie's two goals put him into a first place tie with Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead with 20. He tallied in the second period after a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, deflecting a shot past Cam Talbot following a turnover by Ben Chiarot.
Lucas Raymond scored a similar goal in the early goings of the third period, deflecting home a shot-pass from Dylan Larkin to knot the score at one. But following a Chiarot high-sticking penalty, Geekie restored the Boston lead with a one-timed shot from the face-off circle past the glove of Talbot.
The Red Wings drew even late in regulation with Talbot on the bench after a nifty feed from Kane to Michael Rasmussen, who had a tap-in for his second goal in as many games.
Talbot stopped 17 of 19 shots, while Swayman countered with 24 saves. Both teams will meet again on Tuesday evening at Little Caesars Arena.
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Miami will host MLS Cup against San Diego or Vancouver
Lionel Messi will play for another trophy. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets clearly aren’t ready to begin their retirements, either.
Tadeo Allande scored three goals – Alba and Busquets, a pair of longtime Messi teammates who will retire when this season ends, had the assists on his first two – and Inter Miami topped New York City FC 5-1 on Saturday night for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the MLS Cup final.
Motiejus Krivas scored 20 points, Koa Peat added 16 and No. 2 Arizona overpowered Norfolk State 98-61 on Saturday. The Wildcats (7-0) are one of the tallest teams in Division I and used it to their advantage against the Spartans (4-5). Coming off a 30-point win over Denver on Monday, Arizona shot 56% from the floor, had a 58-24 advantage in the paint and shot 32 of 46 on free throws.
DENVER — Brock Nelson orchestrated a masterclass on Saturday at Ball Arena, assembling a two-goal, two-assist performance as the Avalanche dispatched the Montreal Canadiens in a commanding 7–2 triumph. Gabriel Landeskog contributed a pair of goals of his own, while Brent Burns, Nathan MacKinnon, and Devon Toews each added singular tallies to the ledger. Between the pipes, Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 17 of 19 shots to keep his impressive run alive.
With the win, Colorado advanced to an imposing and league-best 18-1-6 record.
Ivan Demidov and Lane Hutson scored for Montreal. Jakub Dobeš made 29 saves in defeat.
First Period
The afternoon belonged, unmistakably, to Nelson. After serving a high-sticking minor at 16:10—killed off with crucial, composed stops from Blackwood, Nelson reemerged not chastened but focused Lehkonen’s diagonal feed from the right flank found Nelson slicing through the neutral zone, where he promptly dispatched a wrist shot past Dobeš’ glove. With that strike, Nelson reached his 600th career point and did it in style.
Moments later, Nelson appeared to strike once more at least at first glance. As he released his shot, Gabriel Landeskog was sent careening into the crease after a forceful shove from Josh Anderson. Montreal promptly challenged the play for goaltender interference, yet the initial review affirmed that Anderson’s contact was the catalyst for Landeskog’s collision with the net, allowing the goal to stand.
Josh Anderson and Gabriel Landeskog crash hard into the net, and Brock Nelson buries his second of the night!
However, a subsequent and more granular league review revealed a subtle but decisive detail. Landeskog had grazed the puck after Nelson’s release, and the NHL accordingly reassigned credit, awarding the goal to Landeskog.
Second Period
Off a clean draw won by Nelson, Burns uncorked a shot through a screen by Landeskog. The goal—Burns’ 264th—vaulted him into a tie with Nicklas Lidström for ninth all-time among defensemen, an accomplishment befitting his longevity and command of the blue line.
Nelson, however, was far from finished. After getting turned away on the initial breakaway attempt, he watched Nečas recover a rebound before threading the puck back to him at the doorstep for his second goal of the night. In a hilarious scene, fans who couldn’t hear the scoring correction believed Nelson had scored a hat trick and littered the rink with hats. Although it wasn’t a hat trick, it was still a four-point night for Nelson.
Montreal briefly countered with Juraj Slafkovský’s artful spin-o-rama feed to Matvei Demidov, who deposited a wide-open look to cut the deficit to 4–1. But the Avalanche quickly returned to their dominant wins.
A chaotic 4-on-4 sequence—both from roughing and holding minors to Oliver Kapanen and Nečas respectively—preceded Colorado’s next brilliant maneuver. With Landeskog lingering near the blue line, Cale Makar lofted a calculated touch pass to allow his captain to exit and reenter onside. Landeskog then drove a low shot off Dobeš’ pads, where MacKinnon buried the rebound for a 5–1 lead.
Third Period
2:51 into the third period, Nečas delivered a perfect pass at the doorstep for Devon Toews, who scored his first of the season to make it a 6-1 game. Nearly three minutes later, Montreal responded with a goal when Lane Hutson blistered a one-timer by Blackwood on the power play to inch a little closer. However, the Avalanche responded once again with a power play goal of their own. With Montreal’s Jake Evans in the box for high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon, Landeskog tipped in a rebound for the 7-2 finish.
Next Game
The Avalanche take on the Vancouver Canucks at Ball Arena on Wednesday, December 2. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time.
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NEW YORK — Islanders forward Kyle Palmeiri will be out six-to-eight months with a knee injury that will require surgery, the team said Sunday.
The 34-year-old forward tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in the second period of Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia at UBS Arena when he was checked by Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale and fell awkwardly into the boards near the opposing net.
Palmeiri was still able to steal the puck from a Flyers defenseman and register the secondary assist on a goal by Emil Heineman.
Palmeiri had six goals and 12 assists in 25 games this season. The gritty forward joined the Islanders in a trade with New Jersey in April 2021. He had played 223 straight games for the Islanders before Friday’s injury.
Palmieri was a first-round pick by Anaheim in 2009. He has 276 goals and 269 assists in 925 regular-season games with the Ducks, Devils and Islanders.
The Islanders also lost defenseman Alexander Romanov to a serious shoulder injury earlier this month. Forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau is also out with an upper-body injury.
The Baltimore Orioles added Ryan Helsley to their bullpen on Saturday, agreeing to a two-year contract with the free agent reliever.
The 31-year-old Helsley has an opt-out after one season, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it was pending a physical.
Baltimore has been active as it looks to bounce back from a last-place finish in the AL East this year. The Orioles won the division in 2023 and made the playoffs as a wild card in 2024.
Outfielder Taylor Ward was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels on Nov. 18. Injured closer Félix Bautista agreed to a $2.25 million, one-year contract with Baltimore on Nov. 21, avoiding arbitration.
Helsley became one of baseball’s best relievers while spending his first six-plus seasons with St. Louis. The right-hander went 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves this year before he was traded by the Cardinals to the New York Mets on July 30.
Helsley struggled in New York, going 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in 22 appearances. He allowed four homers and 16 earned runs in 20 innings.
The Athletic reported that Helsley was being looked at by some teams as a potential starter, but ESPN reported on Saturday that he was joining Baltimore in a relief role.
Helsley was selected by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2015 amateur draft. The two-time All-Star made his major league debut in 2019.
Helsley had his best season in 2024, finishing with a 2.04 ERA and a major league-best 49 saves. He also struck out 79 batters in 66 1/3 innings.
He is 31-18 with a 2.96 ERA and 105 saves in 297 career games.
It was a special Saturday matinee at Ball Arena in Denver, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Quebec Nordiques’ move to the Rockies, the Colorado Avalanche was wearing its alternate jersey, which is pretty much the Quebec Nordiques’ uniform. For those who grew up watching the Battle of Quebec, it was special to see the Montreal Canadiens taking on their old rivals.
After three consecutive wins, the Habs turned up for the game oozing confidence. They started in promising fashion, taking control early on thanks to a high-sticking penalty to Brock Nelson less than four minutes in. Both of the Canadiens’ man-advantage units produced good looks, but Mackenzie Blackwood stopped every shot he faced during the penalty kill, and even though the Habs led 8-3 in shots, the score remained 0-0.
If Nelson didn’t look good when he took a penalty early on, he more than made up for it by scoring the first two goals of the game for the Avs. Until the second was given to Gabriel Landeskog in the end. The first came on an awkward play. The back of Arber Xhekaj’s blade collided with Alexandre Carrier’s skate, which made the former fall in front of Jakub Dobes, who barely moved as the shot came in in the commotion.
Colorado does deserve some praise, however, as all five players touched the puck before Nelson got it by Dobes—a fantastic buildup. Just under six minutes later, Nelson struck again, but this time he did it while Josh Anderson and Gabriel Landeskog crashed into the net. The goal was awarded, and the Canadiens decided to challenge the decision, to no avail.
After losing that challenge, the Habs looked shellshocked and couldn’t find their rhythm back before the end of the first frame, or before the end of the game, really.
A Well-Oiled Machine
If the Canadiens learned a lot from the Washington Capitals' rugged play in the playoffs last season, they were given a master class in offensive play on Saturday night. Jared Bednar’s men played with such poise and fluidity that at times it looked like they were alone on the ice.
They never had any trouble getting out of their zone; their passes were sharp and accurate, and there was so much chemistry on their play that it made you wonder if they all grew up together playing on the local ice rink.
Nelson might have been the catalyst, but nobody played a bad game for Colorado. The Canadiens’ man-on-man defensive system couldn’t keep up with all the permutations.
By the time the puck dropped on the third frame, the Canadiens were already out of the game and looked ready to head back home. So much so that on Devon Toews’ goal, the Habs were down to four men on the ice because someone forgot to come on as Josh Anderson got back on the bench.
Another Elite Duo?
The rare bright spot for the Canadiens during this game was seeing Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky start to connect on the ice. Not only did the pair produce the Canadiens’ first goal, but they also created other scoring chances, which is no small task against a defence as efficient as Colorado’s.
It looks like Slafkovsky feels more important on that line than he did riding shotgun with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. While he was the complement to the first-line duo with Demidov, he is now part of a duo; he’s a headliner, and he plays as such.
The sample is still too small to know for sure, but there are some sparks between the two, and one could think that the more they get to know each other on the ice, the better they’ll become.
The Habs’ power play produced another goal in a lost cause when Lane Hutson took a shot from up high, one that he wouldn’t have taken a year ago. I don’t know what was said or done to the sophomore blueliner to make him shoot more, but it’s great that he does it more. It makes the Canadiens’ power play much harder to defend, as he is a viable shooting option. It stops opponents from leaning towards other players who shoot more, like Caufield, for instance.
Speaking of the diminutive winger, he registered an assist on that power play goal, which allowed him to keep his point streak alive with a point in a seventh consecutive game.
While getting outperformed like this is never good for any team, the truth of the matter is that four out of six points on this tough road trip is a result anyone would have been happy with before taking off from Montreal. As weird as it may seem to say when the final score was 7-2, Dobes didn’t play a bad game. He finishes his night with an .805 save percentage, but he didn’t really give up bad goals.
The Canadiens will now have a day off on Sunday, and they’ll get back on the ice in Brossard on Monday morning to get ready to take on their divisional rival, the Ottawa Senators.
The Hockey News released the top 20 players for their Top 100 Players 21-And-Under list, and without much surprise, Chicago Blackhawks youngsters Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Artyom Levshunov all made the cut.
Bedard was given the No. 2 spot on this list, with San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini being the only player ranked ahead of him. Seeing Bedard make the top two is understandable, as the 20-year-old center is already a legitimate star in the NHL. He is also taking a massive step forward this season, as he has already recorded 14 goals and 33 points in 24 games.
Frondell was given the No. 13 spot on THN's list. The 2025 third-overall pick has all the tools to become an impactful NHL player, so it makes sense that he is being ranked as one of the best young players in hockey. The 6-foot-1 forward is having a solid start to the 2025-26 season with Djurgardens IF, recording nine goals and 14 points in 23 games thus far.
As for Levshunov, he has picked up the No. 15 spot on THN's rankings. The 20-year-old defenseman has been breaking out for the Blackhawks this season, as he has recorded one goal and 12 points in 23 games.
SAN FRANCISCO – Injury-diminished New Orleans was the perfect opponent for the Warriors, who on Saturday were taking their first tentative step into the expected brief void created by the absence of Stephen Curry.
One of six teams destined to blow past the 60-loss mark, the Pelicans are profoundly vulnerable but were plucky enough to drag the Warriors into “clutch game” territory.
The Warriors emerged victorious, 104-96, but coach Steve Kerr and his staff will be blessed with plenty of video sure to leave various members of the roster palming their faces.
Three days after Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III blistered the team for its polite approach to defense – which showed signs of improvement – their offense spent most of the evening trying to survive spells of self-suffocation. AKA, the No Steph Syndrome.
The Warriors on this occasion were rescued by Gary Payton II, who came off the bench and pulled his teammates to a win that spared them loads of embarrassment.
“He was amazing,” Kerr said. “Gary was one of the keys to the game, just his activity levels, his defense obviously working kind of underneath the basket, freeing himself up for some layups, and then obviously knocked down the three. That was kind of the killer, the killer shot.”
Payton, who left the game Wednesday night against Houston with a bum ankle, was cleared Saturday before tipoff and submitted the fourth double-double of his NBA career and first this season, with 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and a dagger triple with 57.7 seconds that gave the Warriors a 99-88 lead with 57.7 second remaining.
Moreover, the 6-foot-2 utility man grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds and the displayed the level of smarts, spirit and determination Green and Butler were pleading for during their separate postgame harangues.
“Gary, he’s hella smart,” Butler said. “Gets the ball where a ball needs to go, guards at a high level, rebounds the basketball and just plays the right way. When he’s open, he shoots the ball when he’s not, he passes it. I think we all can learn a lot from him.”
It took a full half before the Warriors showed any ability to find buckets. They scored 17 points, shooting 24 percent from the field, including 7.1 percent from deep, in the first quarter, ticking up to 25 points in the second quarter, shooting 43.5 and 12.5 percents.
As bad as the offense was early, Golden State’s defense wouldn’t allow the Pelicans to take advantage. Both teams shot 33.3 percent from the field and nine percent from beyond the arc before halftime.
“If you take care of the ball and you get shots on goal, it just sets the game of your transition defense is better,” Kerr said. “It gives you a chance to get offensive boards. The game didn’t feel that rhythmic, but it felt clean. We weren’t turning it over, making mistakes, and that’s important, the shots will start going in.”
The chemistry between Payton and Butler, beginning late in the second quarter, was crucial to making the offense blossom in the second half. Payton scored 12 points in the quarter on 6-of-6 shooting, mostly working near the rim.
“Just playing behind the defense, being an outlet and making layups,” Payton neatly summarized.
“Jimmy draws a lot of attention when he’s driving to the rim, and Gary was able to find all the open spots in their defense,” Draymond Green said. “He was great cutting, rebounding the basketball, which was incredible. He did a great job of playing behind the defense, and Jimmy’s always looking for the open man. If you’re open, he’s going to throw that pass every time. And G was open, and he found him four or five times.”
Butler finished with a team-high 24 points and a game-high 10 assists, five of which were dimes to Payton. They were responsible for restoring the heartbeat of the offense, as the Warriors in the second half scored 62 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field, including 40 percent from distance.
There was some defensive slippage by Golden State, but not enough to give the game to the Pelicans.
There will be at least two more games without Curry, beginning Tuesday at Chase against the obnoxiously good Oklahoma City Thunder, followed by Thursday in Philadelphia against the 76ers, who are 10-8 despite Joel Embiid and Paul George missing a combined 26 games.
The Warriors will be off on Sunday before coming into Chase to practice and study video on Monday. They’ll spend less time reviewing the Pelicans than previewing the Thunder, who give their every opponent reason to palm its collective face.
The Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks faced off for the first time this season on Friday. They see each other for a total of four times in the regular season.
However, that may not be the last of the Freeway Face-Off as there is potential to see a first-round playoff matchup between the two Californian teams.
After Anaheim’s 5-4 overtime win against Los Angeles, the Ducks lead the Pacific Division, with the Kings right behind them with a two-point difference.
As of right now, the standings wouldn’t set up a first-round matchup, but with how close each team is to each other in the division, and the rest of the league for that matter, it wouldn’t take much to see teams get moved around after a few outings.
The circumstances that would allow the Ducks and Kings to face off in the first round of this year’s post-season aren’t all that complicated, nor far-fetched.
To match up in the playoffs’ preliminary stages, Anaheim and Los Angeles must control the second and third spots in their division, or one team finishes first in the division and the opposing team in either the first or second wild-card spot, depending on the makeup of the other division in the Western Conference, the Central Division.
As mentioned, it wouldn’t be surprising if the stars aligned for a Freeway Face-Off first-round series since the difference between the Pacific’s leaders and fifth place is just four points.
In terms of meeting in the first round, that has never happened in the history of these two franchises’ existence. Specifically for the Ducks, they haven't seen playoff hockey since 2018, when they were swept by the San Jose Sharks.
The Freeway Face-Off rivalry would reach heights never before seen.
Not to mention, there’s a great dynamic in terms of the contrast between the two organizations. While the Kings have some youngsters like Brandt Clarke and Quinton Byfield, the roster is filled with veterans, including captain Anze Kopitar and defenseman Drew Doughty.
For the Ducks, they’re scattered with veterans like Alex Killorn, Chris Kreider, Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba. But the main driving factor with this Ducks team is their youth, including Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Beckett Sennecke, and more.
It would make for a great playoff series, and fans may not have to wait many more seasons to witness it.
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