Worldwide Sports News

PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 23 points, 17 rebounds and tied a season high with 17 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Phoenix Suns 125-123 on Tuesday night.

Jokic made the go-ahead basket, knocking down a 12-foot jumper with 11.5 seconds left. Phoenix’s Devin Booker got a good look at a potential winning 3-pointer, but it bounced off the rim.

The Suns trailed 117-109 with 3:19 left, but methodically worked their way back. Booker made a tough jumper in the lane to tie the game at 123 with 30.2 seconds remaining. He had 22 points and eight assists.

Jokic had his NBA-leading 29th triple-double of the season by early in the third quarter. The three-time MVP shot 9 of 16 from the field and delivered several pinpoint passes, including one that went the full length of the court for a layup by Christian Braun.

The Nuggets have fought injuries for most of the season, but are now close to full strength. Jamal Murray had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 off the bench.

Denver had a 10-point lead at halftime, but Jordan Goodwin and Grayson Allen made back-to-back 3s late in the third to help Phoenix cut the deficit to 97-95 heading into the fourth. Allen and Jalen Green both had 21 points.

KNICKS 121, PELICANS 116

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 32 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and New York beat New Orleans for its seventh straight victory.

Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby each added 21 points for the Knicks (48-25), who pulled within percentage points of the Boston Celtics (47-24) for second place in the Eastern Conference. Towns also grabbed 14 rebounds.

But it was Brunson who made the difference for the Knicks in a game that was close throughout the second half. He scored 10 straight points for New York midway through the fourth quarter, including back-to-back baskets after the Pelicans had cut it to 109-107 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

Zion Williamson scored 22 points and Jeremiah Fears had 21 for the Pelicans, who have lost two in a row after a three-game winning streak.

HORNETS 134, KNGS 90

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Coby White made six of Charlotte’s franchise-tying 26 3-pointers and finished with 27 points as it routed Sacramento for its fourth straight win.

LaMelo Ball had 20 points on six 3s and Moussa Diabate added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets (38-34), who pulled within two games of the Atlanta Hawks for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Daeqwon Plowden had 22 points and ex-Hornet Malik Monk had a career-high 14 assists for the Kings (19-54).

Kon Knueppel added four 3s for the Hornets as the rookie from Duke moved into second place in franchise history for 3s made in a season with 247. He needs 14 to pass Kemba Walker, now a player enhancement coach with the Hornets.

The 26 3-pointers matched the franchise record set on March 14, 2025, at San Antonio.

Charlotte raced to a 72-47 lead at halftime, shooting 13 of 29 from beyond the arc with Ball and White leading the way with four each at the midway point.

Charlotte pushed its lead to 46 early in the fourth quarter.

CAVALIERS 136, MAGIC 131

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 42 points, James Harden added 26 and Cleveland beat Orlando to extend its winning streak to four games.

It is Mitchell’s sixth game with at least 40 points this season, tied for fourth-most in the league.

The All-Star guard also continued his mastery of the Magic. It was his third 40-point game in 23 regular-season meetings against Orlando. He is averaging 27.2 against the Magic, the sixth-highest scoring average of any player in NBA history against Orlando.

Harden, who was scoreless in the first half of Saturday’s game at New Orleans, had 22 points and three 3-pointers in the first half as the Cavaliers had a 72-68 lead at halftime. It was his most points in the first two quarters since being acquired by the Cavaliers.

Evan Mobley had 19 points for Cleveland, making all eight of his shots from the field, along with nine rebounds and six assists.

Paolo Banchero had 36 points for Orlando (38-34), which has dropped six straight and dropped into a three-way tie with Charlotte and Miami for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Tristan da Silva had 18 points, while Desmond Bane and Jamal Cain scored 17 apiece for the Magic.

CHICAGO (AP) — Hall of Fame slugger Frank Thomas has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago White Sox and accuses the organization with which he played the bulk of his career of unauthorized use of his likeness on uniforms.

The lawsuit was filed March 19 in Cook County, Illinois, and also named Nike and Fanatics as defendants.

Thomas seeks payment in excess of $50,000 and demands a jury trial.

Thomas said the defendants profited from selling items using his identity without his permission, notably the sale of City Connect 2.0 jerseys that bear his name without his consent.

Thomas claims he has received no compensation or other consideration from Nike, Fanatics and the White Sox for the use of his name and likeness

“The complaint we filed alleges violations of the Illinois Right to Publicity Act," wrote William T. Gibbs of Corboy & Demetrio, the law firm representing Thomas, in a statement. "Companies may not profit from anyone’s identity without their permission. We believe our filing speaks for itself.”

Thomas, a two-time MVP with the White Sox who hit 521 homers in a career that spanned from 1990 to 2008, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014.

The White Sox did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday night.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Memphis Grizzlies All-Star guard Ja Morant has been officially shut down for the remainder of the season, the team announced Tuesday night.

Morant, 26, has been sidelined since Jan. 21 with a UCL sprain in his left elbow that he has since been rehabilitating.

However, a recent consultation advised the team to shut Morant down for the remainder of the season after lingering pain. So, the Grizzlies did just that.

"Following a recent consultation to advise on lingering discomfort, it was recommended that Morant receive a PR (platelet-rich plasma) injection to further optimize ligament healing," the team said. "Morant will begin offloading the elbow following the injection and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season."

The Grizzlies star is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Memphis has a 24-47 record and remains in the 11th spot in the Western Conference. There are 11 games left. Although it's not yet mathematically impossible, it's highly unlikely the Grizzlies make the postseason, let alone the NBA Play-In.

Morant has averaged 19.5 points, the lowest since his second season in the league. He's added 3.3 rebounds and tied a career-high with 8.1 assists per game. He shot 41% from the field. Morant appeared in 20 games during the 2025-26 season for Memphis.

He's appeared in 79 games in the previous three seasons with the Grizzlies, who selected Morant with the second overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft out of Murray State. Morant won the NBA Rookie of the Year award and is a two-time All-Star and led Memphis to four playoff appearances since joining the league in 2019.

The @memgrizz today announced the following medical updates for Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke and Zach Edey: pic.twitter.com/gV8rLPlwbs

— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) March 25, 2026

Additionally, the team announced Brandon Clarke is out for the season with a right calf strain.

"Recent imaging indicated that additional healing is required prior to clearance for high-intensity court work. Clarke will continue his rehabilitation program and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season," the team said in a news release.

Clarke is also expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Grizzlies center Zach Edey underwent a procedure to address lingering discomfort in his left elbow. The team said he is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the 2026-27 season, with Clarke and Morant.

NBA injury news: Moses Moody injury update: Warriors guard out for the season

Ja Morant highlights: 2025-26 season

Morant scored a season-high 40 points in a wild ending against the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 30, 2025.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ja Morant injury update as Grizzlies say his season is over

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t have their best defensive effort, but their offense more than made up for it as they defeated the Orlando Magic 136-131.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents that player performing to our expectations for them.

James Harden

26 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds

Harden and Paolo Banchero spent much of this game attacking each other in isolation. Harden didn’t fare well defensively in that matchup, but he made up for it by getting clean looks at the other end.

This game was a great example of how Harden can completely change a game with his ability to manage an offense. He made sure that they got the right shot every time down the court.

He also made this absurd pass, which counts for something.

James Harden what is this pic.twitter.com/7LulqROYMj

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) March 25, 2026

The Cavs came into this game with the third-best offense in the league since Harden’s debut. Performances like this show why.

That said, the defense was bad. Some of that blame falls on Harden’s shoulders. That’s going to knock his grade some.

Grade: B-

Donovan Mitchell

42 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds

Mitchell has struggled to find his rhythm since injuring his eye before last Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Even though his eye still doesn’t look 100%, his game looks a lot closer to what we’ve come to expect, as he was once again playing at an All-NBA level.

The Magic weren’t able to keep Mitchell from getting to the paint. This created space for him to get his outside shot off. And once he does that, it’s impossible to contain him, including down the stretch as he put the Magic away late with a runner going to the basket for his 40th point.

This all resulted in an efficient 42-point performance on 14-22 shooting.

As with Harden, Mitchell’s defense wasn’t great. That’s going to knock down what was a spectacular offensive performance.

Grade: B+

Evan Mobley

19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block

This wasn’t the most impressive statistical performance from Mobley by just looking at his point total, but the process was good offensively. He hunted out mismatches and then took advantage by either getting the easy basket or setting up his teammates around him. This led to him being a perfect 8-8 from the floor.

Mobley wasn’t bad on defense, but you would hope that having the Defensive Player of the Year would help keep a bad Magic offense from scoring 131 points. That is going to drop his grade down some as well.

Grade: B-

Max Strus

11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal

Struss did a lot of things well on the court, including running the pick-and-roll as a secondary initiator.

More importantly, he hit three of his eight triples, which were much needed. He came into this game going 3-15 from deep in his last three contests.

Grade: B

Keon Ellis

2 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 block, 1 steal

Ellis did some good things on the defensive end once again, but he needs to provide something more offensively if he’s going to be a meaningful part of the playoff rotation.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson ripped the team’s defensive effort. But on a night that the Cavs desperately needed what Ellis can provide on that end, the offense was too inconsistent for him to be out there to close the game.

Grade: D+

Dennis Schroder

6 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound

Schroder has seemed out of place the last few weeks. That continued again. He wasn’t able to make a noticeable impact outside of a few baskets in the fourth quarter. That’s disappointing from someone who provided so much in the first few weeks after the trade.

Grade: D+

Dean Wade

2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound

Wade wasn’t able to get his shot to go, which limited his effectiveness offensively. And while he provided good defense, he wasn’t anything special on that end, on a night Banchero got whatever he wanted offensively.

Grade: D-

Thomas Bryant

9 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Bryant continues to be a star in his role, even if that role is mostly a minor one in the grand scheme of things. He’s done a good job of anchoring lineups where he’s the only big and he’s done a great job of spacing the floor when he’s out there with Mobley.

Tonight, Bryant was perfect from the floor (4-4) and finished tied with Strus for the best plus/minus on the team at +13. You really can’t ask for more from your third center that was forced into duty with Jarrett Allen out of the lineup.

Grade: A

Sam Merrill

19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Merrill continues to fit extremely well with Harden. The two have developed a great chemistry with Merrills off-ball movement. That was on display once again as Harden continually found Merrill for easy baskets, including an easy layup on a baseline out-of-bounds that felt like two free points.

But to credit all of Merrill’s success to Harden would be a mistake. He’s more than made the most of his opportunity in the starting lineup. That was on display again as he was an impactful all-around scorer, as he went 2-6 from deep and finished four of his five shots in the paint.

Merrill is going to make it a real conversation as to whether he should be left in the starting lineup once Allen returns.

Grade: A

What, really, is there to be gained for the Dallas Mavericks (23-49) as they prepare to face the Denver Nuggets (44-28) on Wednesday at Ball Arena?

A draft lottery ball or two? A feint glimmer of sunshine in an otherwise dreary season and amidst a stretch of just four wins in the team’s last 27 games? Surely not a rogue win against a quality opponent. Surely not that, right?

Not so fast, my friend.

Just because the Mavericks are actively avoiding the win column these days doesn’t mean a winning result is out of the question on Wednesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. CDT.

Middling in Denver

The Nuggets have gone just 13-13 over the last two months. Dallas has already beaten Denver twice this year. Sure, those two wins came before February’s trade deadline, with a completely different Mavericks roster, but the Nuggets will also be playing on the second night of a back-to-back set on Wednesday, while the Mavs will roll into town after a day off.

Denver had just started Tuesday night’s game at the Phoenix Suns at the time of this writing.

Wednesday’s game will mark one week since the Nuggets blew a 125-118 loss at the Memphis Grizzlies, whose tactics toward avoiding wins has been even more creative than the Mavericks’ have lately. Ty Jerome nearly completed his first-career triple-double in that loss, coming up just one rebound and one assist shy to go along with 21 points for the Grizzlies in the win that snapped Memphis’ eight-game skid.

Despite the mediocre stretch, Denver still sits in fourth in a crowded Western Conference playoff race and still has plenty to play for. The Nuggets just haven’t been firing on all cylinders lately.

Fly the Flagg

Cooper Flagg went off against the Nuggets for 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, leading the Mavericks in all three categories, in a 131-130 win over the Nuggets on Dec. 23. He had 32 points and nine assists again in Monday’s 137-131 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors.

The NBA Rookie of the Year race is far from a foregone conclusion, with Monday’s NBA broadcast crew going so far as advocating for giving the award to both Flagg and Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Kneuppel, who averages 19.1 points on 43.4% 3-point shooting and five rebounds per game as Charlotte makes a push in the Eastern Conference playoff race. The last time the NBA had co-Rookies of the Year was 1999-2000, when Steve Francis and Elton Brand shared the honors. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd shared the award for the 1994-95 season with Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons.

It will be interesting to see whether Flagg or Knueppel can separate himself from his former roommate as the race goes down to the wire.

Support staff

Which members of the current Mavericks roster should stick around as Flagg’s running mates? Good showings against quality opponents surely hold some weight in the conversation, as does the individual value each player holds in the offseason trade market.

P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford have both rebounded in recent games after underwhelming stretches of play earlier in the season, but is either of them the right fit for the future? Marvin Bagley III worked himself into irrelevance in recent years after being selected second overall in the 2018 NBA Draft but has raised eyebrows at times since being traded to the Mavericks in a deadline day deal six weeks ago.

Klay Thompson’s shooting stroke seems to have returned recently as well, not that any of this has led to more wins for the Mavericks. With the team’s most glaring need at the guard position and a stout draft class awaiting those with their eyes set on the top of the class, it’s easy to see a future where all four of those role players return for the Mavericks next season. Not many teams may be willing to part with decent draft capital for any of them.

We may as well sit back and evaluate their fit as the Cooper Flagg Era takes shape.

How to watch

The Mavericks and the Nuggets tip off at 9 p.m. CDT on Wednesday from Ball Arena in Denver. The game will be televised locally on KFAA Channel 29 and streamed on MavsTV and NBA League Pass where available.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Madisyn Bailey scored a career-high 23 points, Abbey McNally had 17 points and 15 rebounds and Marian (Ind.) used a big run in the third quarter to help beat two-time defending champion Dordt (Iowa) 73-61 on Tuesday night for its first NAIA championship since 2017.

Marian (35-2) claimed the third NAIA title in program history and denied Dordt (34-3) a three-peat. The Defenders were in the championship game for the fourth time in the last five years.

After scoring just nine points in the second quarter, Marian took the lead for good during a 20-6 run in the third. Dordt was just 5 of 15 from the field in the frame.

Senior Kenna Kirby added 14 points and Kiley McNally, twin sister of Abbey, had eight points and 12 rebounds for the Knights, who dominated the glass 49-35. Abbey McNally was named the tournament MVP.

Macy Sievers and Gracie Schoonhoven each scored 15 points for the Defenders. Aubrey Burkhart added 14 points.

Dordt led 32-28 after Olivia Harazin beat the halftime buzzer with their fourth 3-pointer of the game. The Defenders finished 6 of 15 from behind the arc.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

James Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined for 68 points, Evan Mobley posted a balanced night with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers downed the visiting Orlando Magic 136-131 to inch one step closer to clinching a spot in the playoffs. Paolo Banchero paced the Magic with 36 points and Tristan Da Silva added 18 points and six rebounds.

The Cavs surrendered 39 points in the first quarter to an Orlando team that can only be regarded as pedestrian on that end of the floor. The Magic are 15th in points per game (115.4), 20th in field goal percentage (46.3), and 27th in three-point percentage (34.4). At the halfway point, the Magic were on pace for 136 points and were shooting 52% overall and 42% from deep, and they kept that going all the way to the finish. Cleveland’s defense left a lot to be desired, especially on close-outs and simply losing defenders off switches. There is some level of simply allowing open shots, and even a team like the Magic will make a team pay.

Orlando played the way they wanted to, and the Cavs did not impede them on that path all too much. They shot the ball beyond what they have all season and were able to play a physical brand of basketball that is meant to shake opposing teams out of their comfort zone. A lesser Cavs team would have crumbled under the pressure, but a better one probably would not have allowed themselves to be in this place from the start. Nevertheless, Cleveland pulled it together at the end

Mobley started off the game aggressively, plowing through defenders and seemingly making a concerted effort to maintain a level of momentum from the last few games. That fizzled out rather quickly, but his stat line was still respectable. It remains a work in progress, especially against a physical team like Orlando. He remained looking more like a big man, cleaning up shots and getting baby hooks to fall, instead of being a focal point. Which, in this case, when both guards were playing exceptionally well, is not as glaring.

Speaking of those guards, Mitchell and Harden carried the offensive workload all night. Mitchell led all scorers with 42 points and shot a blistering 63% from the floor. But his cold-blooded floater with 13.7 seconds left is what sealed the deal for the Cavs, using his body to generate just a window of daylight. For good measure, he then iced the game with two free throws.

Harden exhibited some of that legendary offensive superiority, demonstrating his ability to bend a defense at will. His passing is always a weapon seemingly everywhere on the floor, as he hit another touchdown pass to Dean Wade in the first quarter. But Harden also stayed in attack mode the whole night, something he did not do initially when traded to Cleveland. Several times he initiated a switch to get onto Goga Bitadze and, instead of trying to find a pocket, just attacked him head on. That lead to layups, fouls, or at least the defense had to respond by sending an extra defender.

Like what on Earth is this pass?

James Harden what is this pic.twitter.com/7LulqROYMj

— Steve Jones (@stevejones20) March 25, 2026

The Cavs allowed the Magic to make it closer than it needed to be, but the result is the same: a key win in a close fight in the middle of the Eastern Conference.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Cavs, who will get Miami tomorrow night on the second half of a back-to-back. Tip is at 7:30 pm.