MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City’s players will refund ticket costs for fans who traveled to Norway for the team’s shocking 3-1 loss to tiny Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League.

City striker Erling Haaland apologized immediately after Tuesday’s game for City’s performance, saying it was “embarrassing.”

Haaland is in a captains' group also containing Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Rodri, and they said in a joint statement Wednesday that the players will reimburse the 374 supporters who made the long journey to Bodø, which is located north of the Arctic Circle.

“Our supporters mean everything to us,” the statement read. “We know the sacrifice that our fans make when they travel across the world to support us home and away and we will never take it for granted. They are the best fans in the world.

“We also recognize that it was a lot of traveling for the fans who supported us in the freezing cold throughout a difficult evening for us on the pitch. Covering the cost of these tickets for the fans who traveled to Bodo is the least we can do.”

___

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

Austin Reaves’ career season will ultimately go unrewarded.

As a result of his calf strain, which has had him out since Christmas Day and cost him three games before that, Reaves can now not meet the 65-game minimum, making him ineligible for any awards or All-NBA consideration.

The NBA’s 65-game minimum for award eligibility is certainly a controversial rule. It also means that Reaves, who certainly was playing at an All-NBA level before this calf injury, is going to see his strong start to the year go completely for naught.

So far this year, Reaves is averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Impressively, he’s doing it on improved efficiency, too, as he’s shooting 50.7% from the field. While his 36.5% shooting from range is just below his career number, his effective field goal percentage is 59%, the second-best mark of his career.

Reaves helped the Lakers weather rough waters to start the year after early injuries to LeBron James and Luka Dončić, elevating to a superstar in the process. He poured in 51 points in a win over the Kings and hit a game-winner against the Wolves days later, the highlight of his season so far.

As for the NBA’s rule, it has come under greater scrutiny this season than ever before. Injuries to Nikola Jokic and LeBron James mean both are unlikely to be eligible for awards.

It won’t be something changed midseason, but don’t be surprised if it’s something that is addressed in the offseason.

The good news is that head coach JJ Redick said the expectation is for Reaves to return during this upcoming road trip. However, it’ll still be a bit too little, too late when it comes to awards.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

Nothing doing. The Brooklyn Nets returned home to face a revitalized Phoenix Suns team on Monday night. Brooklyn battled, but the Suns were too much to handle. The L was their second in a row and dropped the Nets to 2-9 in January.

The opponent tonight… boy I don’t know. The New York Knicks walked in to this season with championship expectations and an Eastern Conference that was theirs for the taking. After winning the NBA Cup, it looked like they were on the road to a top seed and a run of good feelings. And then … things fell apart in a hurry. They got embarrassed at home on MLK Day on national tv against the Dallas Mavericks and have lost four straight games and eight out of their last ten. In fact, the Nets and Knicks have the same record over the last 11: 2-9. The sky isn’t falling, but things aren’t pretty on 33rd and 7th right now.

Where to follow the game

Ah we’ve got a full house tonight. YES Network and MSG on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. ESPN Radio and WFAN on radio. Tip after 7:30 p.m. ET.

Injuries

Day’ron Sharpe is questionable. Ben Saraf remains with Long Island.

Nothing doing for the Knicks.

The game

New York won the first two meetings in November. The season series wraps up in March.

There will be tons of scoring in this one. In January, the Knicks’ team defensive rating is 118.4, 27th in the league. After a great December, the Nets’ defense has fallen off a cliff as they’re allowing 121.3 points per 100 possessions, 29th in the league. Considering how talented this Knicks team is on both sides of the ball, that’s unacceptable and as Josh Hart said in postgame, he and his teammates have to “be professional.” Eek.

Speaking of players that need to be better, Mikal Bridges, welcome to the big time! When he got his wish to get out of Brooklyn a few summers ago, he wanted to go to a team that could compete and be on a team that’s one of the centers of attention in the NBA. He’s gotten his wish and when you struggle on the Knicks, that attention becomes a pain to deal with. We mentioned the defense falling off a cliff earlier, and he + OG Anunoby were supposed to be the top dogs on that side of the ball that would lock up elite perimeter players. If Bridges doesn’t turn things around on that side, things are going to get really rough for him.

Can Noah Clowney do it again? The last time he played the Knicks, he set career highs in points (31) and 3- pointers made (seven). Clowney’s had a good season for the most part, but there have been some rough patches every so often. He only grabbed one rebound against the Suns on Monday, and the Nets will need all the help they can get on the glass when Hart and Mitchell Robinson are on the court. A game like this will be a great test of his progress this season.

If Brooklyn wants to end their record 12-game losing streak against the Knicks, they’re going to need a big outing from Michael Porter Jr. MPJ returned to action after a day off on Sunday and led the team in scoring with 23 points. With the Knicks defense being a wreck right now and Porter Jr having the ability to heat up at a moment’s notice, tonight could be the right mix for an All-Star showing.

The Nets will also need to slow down Jalen Brunson. JB was named an All-Star starter on Monday, and it’s a well deserved honor for the franchise guard. He’s got bigger things to worry about these days, such as ensuring his team is on the same page and playing basketball that meets the expectations of a title contender. For the Nets, having Drake Powell chase Brunson around will be a great test for the rookie and one they’re excited to see. Powell has played well in his minutes and is carving out a solid role for himself on this team. A big time outing tonight will give him a boost as we enter the dog days of the season.

And there’s another rivalry we should mention: that between the two head coaches, Jordi Fernandez and Mike Brown. Fernandez started off his career in the U.S. as youth coach who worked with Brown’s son. Brown gave Fernandez his first NBA job as an assistant with the Cavaliers’ G League club and the rest as they say is history written by Brian Windhorst.

For more on the Knick situation, listen to our Lucas Kaplan talk with Erik Slater on Erik’s Locked on Nets podcast.

Player to watch: Karl-Anthony Towns

So I’m not on Twitter, the Everything app, much these days. The only time I hop on there is to share my Women’s Basketball Roundup newsletter (you should subscribe and tell a friend!) and then get the hell out of there. When I do get on there, the algorithm feeds me SO MUCH negativity on Karl-Anthony Towns. Between the despair from Knick fans (more than usual) and Mike Brown being brutally honest about Towns’ miscues

I’m starting to get the impression a turn is occurring against Towns.

Determined to not have Twitter cook my brain or steer me down the wrong path, I went searching for analysis from experts who follow the game and not reactions designed to gin up outrage, so I went looking for some real analysis from folks who know what they’re talking about. So I turned to Michael Zeno and our friends over at Posting and Toasting, and buddy lemme tell you what I found was concerning:

“KAT doesn’t seem comfortable in Mike Brown’s system, for whatever reason, but that doesn’t explain the lapses in effort. The team themselves are not putting him in the best positions to succeed on that end, but there’s been an alarming amount of stupid plays, drives, and offensive fouls.

When the Knicks are at their best this season on offense, they’re driving and spraying to open shooters. Defenses naturally collapse when someone is going hard to the basket, which allows for a kick to the corner. They just aren’t doing that lately. Looking at KAT specifically, when he gets the ball at the three-point line and drives, it’s rare that it actually results in a basket.

Whether it’s not going up strong, phishing for fouls that don’t get called, committing dumb offensive fouls, or just getting the ball stripped, it’s just not working. It’s getting to a point where it feels mental with him, where the struggles and the team’s horrifically bad whistle of late is getting to him and bleeding out to the team.“

Yeesh.

In looking at the numbers, Towns’ field goal percentage is at career lows, thanks in part to a career worst shooting percentage on shots inside of three feet and a lack of success (compared to his standards) from 3-point range. And although he had a good game by the numbers on Monday, he got booed as he exited the court for the final time. After the game, he was asked about it and gave a fair, thoughtful answer

I see no lies here. Luckily for KAT, he works at The Garden so the boss won’t spy on him… I think.

Nic Claxton will look to continue Towns’ struggles. Rim protection will be essential to any chances of a Nets victory, and Clax will be tasked with forcing Towns into tough shots at the rim when he’s in the post and silly fouls on the other end. The frustration levels are off the charts for the Knicks, and Claxton being able to put another bad outing on KAT’s ledger can turn the temperature up even more at MSG. These two teams are at vastly different stages of their basketball journeys, but all the pieces are there for the Nets to finally get a win against their cross-town rivals.

From the Vault

Monday was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. It’s always good to hear Dr. King speak, so let’s take you back to 1967 and listen to Dr. King talk about militarism and the Vietnam War

More reading: Posting and Toasting,  SB Nation NBA, New York Post, New York Daily News, Clutch Points, Nets Wire, Steve’s Newsletter, City of Nets

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes – Brooklyn Nets
• New York Knicks Game Notes – New York Knicks
• New York faces Brooklyn, aims to break 4-game skid – AP
• What the Nets must accomplish in season’s second half to fulfill lottery-fueled dreams ($) – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• What the fast-approaching trade deadlines could mean for the Knicks, Nets, Rangers and Isles ($) – Peter Botte – New York Post
• Jalen Brunson’s telling answer is at crux of everything for flailing Knicks – Jared Schwartz – New York Post
• Knicks’ Jalen Brunson laughs off ‘embarrassing’ ankle injury – Jared Schwartz – New York Post
• Mike Brown ready to implement ‘significant changes’ to get Knicks out of ugly funk – Jared Schwartz – New York Post
• Michael Porter Jr., Nets have a real chance to embarrass struggling Knicks ($) – Kristian Winfield – New York Daily News

It was a tale of two halves yet again for the San Antonio Spurs in their 111-106 loss to the Houston Rockets. The Spurs were red hot in the first half, scoring 70 points, but lost steam quickly in the second half as they finished the game shooting 39% from the field and 28% from three. Their first-half offense was among the best stretches they’ve played this season.

It started with Julian Champagnie going nuclear from three. He finished the game with 27 points on 8-16 shooting from deep. He was hitting everything in the first half, whether he shot the ball off movement or with a tight closeout. Champagnie’s heaters are thrilling and make the Spurs’ offense nearly impossible to stop.

Unfortunately, he slowed down in the second half. He only hit two of his 8 three pointers in the second half. The Rockets started to smother him on the perimeter, making it difficult for Champagnie to get a three-pointer off. It was one of the main reasons Houston was able to make their comeback late in the third and into the fourth quarters.

It wasn’t just Champagnie who was hitting shots. Harrison Barnes was 2-5 from deep. San Antonio had four players hit multiple threes on Tuesday night.

One of those players who hit multiple threes was Stephon Castle, who had 13 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists in the loss. It wasn’t a very efficient night, as Castle shot 5-19 from the field and 2-8 from deep, but he hit some important shots to take the top off of Houston’s defense early.

Castle’s best play came in the third quarter when he did what he does best: get out in transition and finish with authority. This windmill is something you’d usually see in the dunk contest, not with a defender coming to contest the finish. And-1 windmill finishes are rare. If anyone has the strength and athleticism to pull it off, it’s Castle.

Victor Wembanyama didn’t get a lot of shots around the basket on Tuesday, but this one was great. He just goes right through Clint Capela and uses his length to dunk over the top of him. The Spurs could have used a lot more of this on Tuesday. Wemby had 14 points and 10 rebounds on 5-21 shooting from the field in the loss.

With Wemby struggling, Luke Kornet stepped up. He was awesome on defense, picking up 2 blocks, and finished around the rim in the pick-and-roll on his way to 8 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting.

He and Dylan Harper have established solid chemistry off the bench for the Spurs. Here Harper finds him wide-open off the jump ball for an easy reverse slam.

When the Spurs were struggling in the fourth quarter, it was Harper who got them back on track a bit. When the whole team was settling for threes, Harper took initiative and got shots in the paint. Harper had 8 points and 5 assists off the bench in the loss.

The Spurs will have a chance to get back on track on Thursday night as they travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz. Watch the video below for full-game highlights from their loss to the Rockets.

Did you think we were trying to dodge the bullet of covering the ugliest defeat in Knicks’ history here in the Bulletin?

Not really. I was just inside on a 13-hour transatlantic flight and could barely do enough to keep breathing all throughout Tuesday.

Here’s a whole lot of excuses and promises from your New York Knickerbockers.

Mike Brown

On Jalen Brunson’s All-Star recognition:
“It’s great. He’s having a great season. It’s definitely an honor that’s well deserved.”

On halftime message after defensive collapse:
“They scored 75 points in the first half. At halftime, we usually do the clips and talk about technical X’s and O’s and all that crap that coaches do, teams do. There was nothing to be said at halftime except for lock in and do your f–king — excuse me on that — do your job.”

On frustration and doing the little things:
“It’s frustrating; it’s frustrating to me, it’s frustrating to every person in that locker room. And we all can’t get it back by thinking we’re going to go score and get this many shots. We have to embrace doing the little things and right now we’re not.”

On belief in the locker room despite struggles:
“There’s no doubt in my mind. I believe in everybody in that locker room. You can ask them — I feel they believe in each other, too. We’re going through it. We’ve got to figure out how to get out of it.”

On team communication and collaboration:
“I talk to management all the time, Leon and I talk all the time. Even when we were playing well, we were talking. So that hasn’t changed and that’s not going to change. I’m big on collaboration, not just with the players, but with the coaches, too. I will take input. At the end of the day, it’s up to me to make the decision.”

On effort-driven improvement in second half:
“We didn’t change anything schematically in the second half. There were more clips from the second half that showed us doing our job the right way. We have to try to do it for 48 minutes.”

On defensive execution against hot shooters:
“The two guys that we labeled hot were 9-for-11 in the first half. Most of those shots were open or we left our feet. No changes to the X’s and O’s. Just do your job. Play with physicality and do your job early. We all have to do our job for 48 minutes, and it didn’t happen tonight.”

On being fine with boos at MSG:
“I’m OK with the boos. If we’re playing crappy, boo. If I was in the stands, I would boo, too. You pay hard money to come to the games and this is a form of entertainment for the fans. They know good basketball from bad basketball.”

On early-season rhythm and post-Cup decline:
“We felt like we were in a pretty good spot through the Cup on both sides of the ball. For whatever reason, it’s changed. I’m not sure of the reason, but it changed after the Cup. We have to keep trying to find different ways to put them in the best possible position.”

On evaluating everything during downturn:
“When you’re in the area that we’re in right now, you gotta look at everything. You gotta keep trying to find ways where you can help the group on both sides of the ball.”

Jalen Brunson

On accountability within the team:
“There’s been a lot of things to pinpoint. But as a team we know what we have to do. Either we do it — we care enough to do it — or we don’t.”

On accepting boos from fans:
“I mean, I’d be booing us, too. Straight up.”

On failing to execute the game plan:
“We just didn’t follow the game plan at all. As a team, we know what we have to do. It’s either we do it, we care enough to do it or we don’t.”

On urgency to fix issues quickly:
“We gotta figure this out fast.”

On belief in the locker room:
“I have the utmost confidence in every person in this room, in this locker room. Just things haven’t gone our way. But we have the ability to do it.”

On effort and care level:
“We just have to care a little more about what we’re doing. It has to mean a little more to us.”

On his ankle injury embarrassment:
“It’s as embarrassing to say versus watching. Just tripping over my own two damn feet. It’s that simple.”

On managing recurring ankle issues:
“Obviously I’ve had things with my ankle the past couple of years. I’m going to be fine. I’m going to be in the gym and doing all my treatment to get back to full strength.”

Karl-Anthony Towns

On team accountability amid struggles:
“It doesn’t matter when. It matters that it did happen. So we’ve gotta figure it out. We have a special team and we’ve got a special opportunity and we can’t just let it go to waste.”

On responding to boos from fans:
“You spend your hard-earned money to come here and for us to not only not win, but to not really have a chance? I’d be disappointed too. Fans are doing their part and we’ve gotta do our part.”

On cutting through excuses:
“You just gotta win at the end of the day. Fans nor us want to hear any excuses. We’ve just gotta wanna get the job done.”

On lack of resistance in a loss:
“We was gettin’ beat, beat to the punch, beat to the basket. We didn’t do the job we needed to do today to come out with a win.”

Josh Hart

On urgency as losses mount:
“We have to go out there with a sense of urgency. At this point, 40 games in, we have to play desperate, because that’s what we are right now.”

On embarrassing level of play:
“We all need to do some soul searching. Right now we’re playing embarrassing basketball. We’re not executing on the offensive end. Defensively, we’ve been abysmal.”

On effort compared to last season:
“Last year, no matter what we did, the effort was there. I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today. It was embarrassing.”

On diagnosing ongoing issues:
“If I could answer that question, I don’t think we’d be having this conversation right now.”

On dog days and physicality:
“We just have to play with more energy, more physicality. We have to figure out how to do that for the whole game.”

On professionalism and execution:
“We have to make sure we have a professional mindset. We can’t come out and not execute. At this point, we have to play desperate.”

On building identity through adversity:
“It’s a new philosophy, a new coach, a new system. It’s gonna take time to really build that, and you really only build that through adversity.”

Miles McBride

On opponents outworking the Knicks:
“They just came out more hungry. Teams are coming out more hungry than us.”

On defensive breakdowns:
“They were getting to the paint, finishing, kicking out. We just had no cohesiveness on that end.”

According to Nick Kelly of AL.com, former Alabama center Charles Bediako has been granted a temporary restraining order after suing the NCAA. This means he is immediately eligible to participate in basketball-related activities with the Crimson Tide, including games.

“News: Charles Bediako has been granted a temporary restraining order and is immediately eligible to participate in all Alabama basketball activities and games, per court documents obtained by @aldotcom,” Kelly said via X. “This will remain in effect for 10 days or until a hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction is conducted. A hearing is set for Jan. 27.”

SUBSCRIBE to the On3 NIL and Sports Business Newsletter

There is only one game on the schedule for Alabama before Jan. 27. Tennessee will come to Tuscaloosa for an important SEC showdown on Saturday. Alabama actually has a game on Jan. 27, scheduled to face the Missouri Tigers at 8 p.m. CT. But for now, Bediako appears only guaranteed to face the Vols.

Bediako is a few years removed from college basketball, last suiting up in 2023. He left in favor of the NBA Draft, not getting picked during the process. The San Antonio Spurs quickly picked Bediako up for the NBA Summer League, eventually signing him to a G-League contract.

At one point, Bediako got a two-way contract from the Spurs. However, he never saw playing time with the NBA team. Bediako has also suited up for the Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets) and Motor City Cruise (Detroit Pistons).

Shortly after news broke of Bediako suing the NCAA, a statement was released on the matter. The NCAA maintains they will not grant eligibility to players who have signed contracts with NBA organizations.

“The NCAA is aware of media reports about a lawsuit filed against the NCAA by Charles Bediako,” the statement said. “Mr. Bediako signed three NBA contracts after competing in college for two seasons. The NCAA has not and will not grant eligibility to any prospective or returning student-athletes who have signed an NBA contract. Eligibility rules ensure high school students get a shot at earning scholarships, and we will continue to consistently apply and defend these rules.”

Bediako was a key figure on a nice run that head coach Nate Oats led the program on, making two NCAA Tournaments and even earning the No. 1 overall seed in 2023. Bediako averaged 6.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 70 games played. Now, Alabama is hoping similar numbers can be put up moving forward, at least against Tennessee.

The Milwaukee Bucks try to start another of those pesky winning streaks tonight in Fiserv against the Oklahoma City Thunder. As we’ve all been patiently waiting for, it’s NBA Rivals Week, so who better for the Bucks to lock horns with than the Pacers, Celtics, Heat, Suns Thunder! Of course, this extremely bitter rivalry was born out of these teams competing on the highest stage last season in the NBA Finals*. The Bucks reigned supreme, steamrolling the Thunder and cementing their place in league history as one of the few teams to win the trophy!

_{^{*NBA Cup}}

Where We’re At

Well, Milwaukee did win on MLK Day against Atlanta, but it was anything but convincing—as most of their wins are these days. The Bucks squandered a 23-point lead in the second half, needing big threes from AJ Green and Bobby Portis to get them over the line against a struggling Hawks team. Moreover, Atlanta did them a solid by going 1/22 from three (yes, one for twenty-two)—the worst three-point shooting half in NBA history! Prior to that game, Milwaukee got rinsed by Minnesota (down Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert) and San Antonio. So yeah, the Bucks still have a lot of work to do to.

On the other hand, the Thunder—despite having long-term injuries to key players—just keep on keeping on, winning seven of eight. They did go through a rocky patch before that, dropping games to the Hornets and Suns, but have course-corrected since. Over the last eight games, they own the NBA’s fifth-best net rating, but rank atop the league for the season at large. Put simply, this team remains a wagon, and tonight will be a tough one for Milwaukee to win. That said, OKC are beatable on the right night, which Miami showed on Saturday in a 122-120 upset. Godspeed, Bucks.

Injury Report

For the Bucks, Kevin Porter Jr. (oblique) and Myles Turner (ankle) are both questionable. Taurean Prince (neck) is out.

For the Thunder, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Hartenstein, Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic, and Jalen Williams (the wing) are all out. Jaylin Williams (the big) is questionable.

Player To Watch

I’m going with Pete Nance, who, after dominating the G League with the Herd, got his first shot at real minutes with the Bucks against the Hawks, and did not disappoint. Nance made a major impact with five points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block in 15 minutes; the big man was +13 for the game. I’m looking at what his role develops into going forward. Does he become a regular in the rotation, or was that game more of a flash in the pan?

How To Watch

8:30 p.m. CST on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.