MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Cam Thomas scored 30 points in his return after missing 20 games with a left hamstring strain, and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 123-107 on Saturday night.
Michael Porter Jr. added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets, who had six players score in double figures. Brooklyn (10-19) has won four of five and five of seven.
The Nets, who improved to 7-3 in December, are allowing an NBA-low 103.1 points per game this month.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota (20-12) with 28 points, but the Timberwolves dropped back-to-back games for the third time this season. Minnesota lost 142-138 in overtime Thursday at Denver.
Five players scored in double digits for Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels had 16 points, while Naz Reid and Julius Randle each added 13.
Thomas, who played just under 20 minutes, scored 12 straight Brooklyn points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers, for an 89-82 lead. The Brooklyn guard is averaging 22.3 points on 42.2% shooting in nine games this season.
Day’Ron Sharpe scored six of the Nets’ final eight points of the quarter for a 98-86 advantage. A pull-up jumper by Thomas, followed by four points from Danny Wolf, made it 104-86 early in the fourth.
Porter’s 3 gave the Nets a 120-102 lead with 1:57 to play. In eight games this month, he is averaging 28.4 points on 51.1% shooting, including 46.7% from outside the arc. He’s also grabbing 7.5 rebounds and dishing out 3.1 assists per game.
An MRI on Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr., who exited Thursday’s loss to Denver, showed a left foot strain. Shannon will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Up next
Nets: Host the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
Timberwolves: Start a four-game trip Monday in Chicago.
New York Islanders - 21-13-4 - 46 Points - 6-3-1 in the last 10 - 2nd in the Metro
Columbus Blue Jackets - 15-15-6 - 36 Points - 3-6-1 in the last 10 - 8th in the Metro
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 20.7% - 12th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 74.3% - 30th in the NHL
Goals For - 104- 23rd in the NHL
Goals Against - 124 - 25th in the NHL
IslandersStats
Power Play - 15.7% - 27th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 82.1% - 11th in the NHL
Goals For - 106 - 20th in the NHL
Goals Against - 100 - 6th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheIslanders
Columbus is 27-23-1-7 all-time, and 18-7-1-4 at home vs. New York.
The home team is 10-3-1 in the last 14 games of the series.
The Blue Jackets have won 3 of the last 5 overall against the Isles.
The CBJ have not had a power play against the Islanders since 2023.
Who To Watch For TheIslanders
Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in goals(19) and points(31).
Mathew Barzal leads the team with 19 assists.
Goalie Marcus Hogberg is 2-6-3 with a SV% of .878.
David Rittich is 9-3-2 with a SV% of .919. He started last night and shut out the New York Rangers.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Islanders
Mason Marchment has 4 points in 9 games vs. the Islanders.
Boone Jenner has 16 points in 33 games.
Charlie Coyle has 15 points in 25 career games against NYI.
Injuries
Erik Gudbranson - Upper Body - Missed 28 Games - IR - No timeline for a return
Zach Werenski - Lower Body - Missed 1 Game
Isac Lundeström - Lower Body
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 73
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Harrison Waylee ran for a touchdown, Chandler Morris threw for 198 yards and No. 20 Virginia edged 25th-ranked Missouri 13-7 in the Gator Bowl on Saturday night.
The Knicks hung on to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 128-125 on Saturday night at State Farm Arena.
Here are the takeaways...
- The Knicks were without Josh Hart in this one, and he's expected miss the three-game road trip with the ankle sprain he suffered in the Christmas Day win, so rookie Mohamed Diawara received the second start of his NBA career.
- Mike Brown dipped even further into his bench early on, turning to Kevin McCullar Jr. as his first reserve, and the youngster made an immediate impact with four rebounds (three offensive) and an assist over his first five minutes of action.
- New York dominated the boards as a team in the opening quarter, bringing in 20 rebounds to Atlanta's nine. The Knicks' offense found their footing after a bit of a slow start and they were able to open a five-point advantage on Jalen Brunson's three with two seconds left in a back-and-forth first.
- The Hawks evened things up early in the second, but a 12-4 Knicks run helped them push the lead back up to eight. The orange and blue faithful in attendance went crazy as Tyler Kolek completed a pretty and-one, then Karl-Anthony Towns connected with Mikal Bridges on a behind-the-head pass.
Towns picked up where he left off in the last meeting with Atlanta, with 16 points and seven boards in his first 13 minutes.
- McCullar took advantage of extended minutes off the bench with the lead pushed to double-digits. The 24-year-old knocked down a pair of threes and provided a spark with his hustle plays on both ends of the court, finishing a terrific first half with six points and six rebounds.
- Jalen Brunson started out 1-of-4 from three but knocked down his first two coming out of the third. The captain connected with a driving Mikal Bridges for a fastbreak slam to help extend the lead out to 16 minutes into the second half. New York was mad at the rims on Saturday, throwing down some monstrous jams.
Atlanta refused to go away, and they were able to close the gap all the way back down to nine in the dying minutes of the third. Brunson contributed 10 points in the frame and McCullar chipped in seven more, helping New York weather the storm.
- Towns appeared to settle the Knicks back into a groove with eight consecutive points (and a Kolek three celebration) early in the fourth, but the Hawks continued battling. Nickeil Alexander-Walker's fifth three of the night made it a one possession ballgame with just under five minutes remaining in regulation.
Atlanta jumped back in front on Onyeka Okongwu's three minutes later, but Brunson responded as he always does with a pair of clutch buckets. The captain committed a costly turnover just one possession later, though, allowing the Hawks to break the other way and regain the lead.
After a Brunson miss on the other end, OG Anunoby grabbed a huge board and knocked down a pair of free throws. Anunoby then made the defensive play of the game, coming up with a huge steal and drilling two more free throw to help the Knicks hang on for the thrilling victory.
- Anunoby finished with 15 points, including 7-for-7 from the line, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
- Towns led the way with 36 points and 16 boards, Brunson had 34 points, Bridges 14 and eight assists, and McCullar chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds in arguably the most impressive performance of his young NBA career.
Game MVP: Kevin McCullar Jr.
The youngster provided the spark off the bench in arguably his most impressive NBA action.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored in overtime and Logan Thompson made 35 saves as the Washington Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Saturday night.
Chychrun beat Devils netminder Jake Allen with his 15th goal 4:06 into the extra session to lift Washington to only its second win in its last eight games. New Jersey lost its third straight.
Aliaksei Protas also scored and added two assists for Washington. Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Ovechkin also scored for the Capitals, who are 11-1-0 in their last 12 visits to Prudential Center.
The visitors led 2-1 entering the third period before the Devils scored twice in a 32-second span to move ahead. Ovechkin then tied the game at 3 with his 15th goal, the NHL-record 912th of his career at 9:17.
Jesper Bratt — who had just one goal since Nov. 6 — scored twice for New Jersey. Cody Glass also scored for the Devils, who have lost 13 of their last 20 games.
Protas opened the scoring with less than a second left in the first, tapping in a pass from Ovechkin for his 14th goal.
Bratt tied the contest 1-1 at 4:56 of the second on the power play.
Beauvillier snapped the puck past Allen for his seventh goal at 17:33 of the middle period to put Washington ahead 2-1.
Bratt tied the contest again at the seven-minute mark of the third with his second goal of the game and eighth of the season. Glass then put New Jersey ahead at 7:32 with his seventh before Ovechkin tied the game for a third time.
Washington rebounded from Tuesday’s 7-3 home loss to the Rangers.
The Devils were coming off Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders at UBS Arena and last Sunday’s 3-1 home loss to Buffalo.
Former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux has hit a new career milestone, as he played in his 1,300th career NHL game during the Ottawa Senators' matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 27.
While Giroux is now 37 years old and in his 19th NHL season, there is no question that the former Flyer is still a very impactful player. In 37 games so far this campaign with the Senators, he has posted seven goals and 26 points. These are solid offensive numbers from Giroux, and he is a key part of the Senators' forward group because of it.
Giroux is now just the 76th player in NHL history to play in 1,300 career regular-season games. That is certainly a big accomplishment for the former Flyer.
Giroux was selected by the Flyers with the 22nd overall pick of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The Hearst, Ontario native played 1,000 of his career NHL games with the Flyers, where he recorded 291 goals, 609 assists, 900 points, and a plus-27 rating. The seven-time All-Star also served as the Flyers' captain from 2012-13 until he was traded to the Florida Panthers during the 2021-22 season.
NEW YORK (AP) — David Rittich made 27 saves for his ninth career shutout, Anders Lee scored less than a minute into the game, and the New York Islanders blanked the New York Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night.
Lee’s unassisted goal 58 seconds in extended his point streak to five games as the Islanders won their second straight. Simon Holmstrom added an empty-netter with 16 seconds left in the game.
The Islanders’ Bo Horvat returned to the lineup after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury.
Igor Shesterkin finished with 24 saves, but the Rangers were shut out for the seventh time this season.
Rangers defenseman Carson Soucy turned the puck over behind Shesterkin, allowing Lee to capitalize for his 10th goal of the season.
Rittich denied Will Cuylle on a two-on-one opportunity midway through the first period to preserve the one-goal advantage. He also stopped Artemi Panarin on a breakaway in the second to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.
Soucy was awarded a penalty shot after Cal Ritchie slashed him on a breakaway, but Rittich turned aside the attempt in the third period.
The Islanders went 0 for 5 on the power play.
The Islanders placed starting goaltender Ilya Sorokin on injured reserve before the game, but the Russian netminder is expected to travel with the team on the upcoming two-game road trip to close out the calendar year.
Up next
Rangers: Visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Islanders: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday to open a two-game road trip.
Jovesa Damuni scored on a 4-yard run with two minutes remaining and No. 12 BYU rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half for a 25-21 win over No. 24 Georgia Tech on Saturday in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Lakers coach JJ Redick chats with star forward LeBron James during a game against the Clippers, the first of three losses in a row. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After the Lakers’ third straight loss Thursday, JJ Redick promised things would get “uncomfortable.” The second-year coach, frustrated after the team delivered a lump of coal in a Christmas Day blowout by the Houston Rockets, said he couldn’t stand to rewatch the same tired story. Leaning his elbow on the table at his postgame news conference, Redick called out players who don’t give enough effort on defense or play hard.
Two days later he stood in front of reporters with a different tone.
“Recalibration,” Redick said calmly of the message he delivered during Saturday’s team meeting. “Reconnection.”
Redick has cooled, but the Lakers still are under fire. Not only are they trying to snap a season-high three-game losing streak at home Sunday against the Sacramento Kings (6:30 p.m.), but also the Lakers (19-10) still are looking for their first home win in December and must navigate this defining moment without guard Austin Reaves.
Reaves was diagnosed with a grade 2 strain in his left calf Friday and will be reevaluated in four weeks. The latest setback comes less than two weeks after he was sidelined because of a “mild” strain in the same calf that kept him out for three games.
Reaves is averaging career highs in points (26.6), assists (6.3) and rebounds (5.2) and his ascent from undrafted rookie to potential first-time All-Star was one of the team’s feel-good stories of the season. Reaves scored a career-high 51 points against Sacramento in October, rescuing the Lakers in a game without LeBron James or Luka Doncic and showing Reaves’ potential in a starring role.
Now without their second-leading scorer, the Lakers are looking for their supporting cast to step up.
“We just need our guys to be stars in their roles,” Redick said. “Certainly from a top-end talent standpoint, it diminishes that. But it doesn't change the non-negotiables or how we're trying to play.”
After losing the last three games by an average of 20.7 points per game, the Lakers needed to get reacquainted with their non-negotiables during Saturday’s meeting. The session was uncomfortable in the way confronting truth can be uncomfortable, Redick said. It wasn’t just coaches lecturing, but also players speaking up.
The top priority was creating more clarity, Redick said. The team needed to get back to building its defensive fundamentals after so many lineup changes because of injuries. The Lakers have used 16 different starting lineups in 29 games and have to readjust their rotation again in Reaves’ absence.
“Togetherness is going to have to be emphasized to where it looks like an exaggeration,” center Deandre Ayton said, “where it becomes a habit. And that's what winners do. And it's pretty easy for this team. It's just that there's always a different group out there and we're going to get it for sure.”
Forward Rui Hachimura said coaches reminded players of the team’s three pillars that again were displayed on a screen in the practice gym Saturday — championship habits, championship communication, championship shape.
“We just talk about everybody, players, coaches, we just gotta kind of tighten up,” Hachimura said. “We had a good stretch in the beginning and now we kind of, I don't know, we relaxed or we kind of got tired of winning, you know, but we just stopped doing what we're supposed to do.”
The Lakers are 29th in the NBA in defensive rating in the last 15 games, giving up 122.2 points per 100 possessions. It’s a significant drop from their rating of 113.7 in the first 14 games in which they went 10-4.
Since James returned from, the Lakers’ preferred starting lineup — Doncic, Reaves, James, Ayton and Hachimura — has a net rating of minus-19.9 in seven games.
Offensively the Lakers have lacked organization since James came back, Redick acknowledged. James declined to speak to reporters after practice.
“Too many random possessions,” Redick said. “That's on me.”
Watch Team Sprinkles' Frosted Cherry and Frosted Cookies & Creme get sent into the gigantic toaster for BYU to consume after winning the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Alabama and Indiana vow not to take each other lightly as they ramp up workouts ahead of their College Football Playoff Rose Bowl matchup on New Year's Day.
