Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been fined for an aggressive interaction with an official during a game against the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 30.
James Jones, who serves as the NBA’s Executive Vice President/Head of Basketball Operations, announced that Atkinson was fined $50,000 for "aggressively pursuing, berating and making inadvertent contact" with a referee.
Atkinson was assessed his second technical foul of the game and was ejected with 10:59 left in the fourth quarter of Friday night's contest. The Suns went on to beat the Cavaliers 126-113, the loss snapping Cleveland's five-game winning streak.
Atkinson was upset about a no-call on Suns guard Collin Gillespie, who was aggressively defended by Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill.
When do Cavaliers play next?
The Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 9 p.m. ET.
The Florida Panthers came up short on Saturday in the first of a three-game homestand.
Playing just their third game in Sunrise over the past several weeks, Florida took a lead into the third period only to lose 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets at Amerant Bank Arena.
Despite skating without key forwards Brad Marchand (undisclosed) and Anton Lundell (upper-body), Florida played a strong game during the opening periods and took an earned lead into the late stages of the contest.
That lead was off a snipe by young forward Eetu Luostarien that came moments after Florida came off the power play.
As Jets’ defenseman Logan Stanley was sprinting out of the penalty box after serving a two-minute minor for cross-checking Florida forward Mackie Samoskevich, Evan Rodrigues corralled the puck at the blue line and fed an open Eetu in the right circle.
It didn’t take long for Luostarinen to wind up and fire a laser of a wrist shot past a screened Jets’ goalie Eric Comrie’s glove and into the net at the 14:40 mark of the first period.
Florida held onto that lead into the third period, and it wasn’t until nearly the halfway point of that final frame that Winnipeg finally was able to light the lamp.
After Gabe Vilardi made a couple nice moves to get to the Cats’ net, a streaking Cole Perfetti found a rebound and beat Sergei Borbovsky to knot the score at one at the 8:34 mark of the third period.
That’s how the score would remain until there was just 4:14 on the clock.
On what appeared to be a harmless zone entry, Winnipeg made a couple quick passes to completely bewilder the Panthers and take a 2-1 lead in the game’s final minutes.
It was a great passing sequence, with Gus Nyquist finding Kyle Connor entering the zone and then Connor going to the back of the crease where Mark Scheifele was waiting to slam home what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Photo caption: Jan 31, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Winnipeg Jets center Cole Perfetti (91) scores against Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored in a shootout and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 on Saturday night to end a six-game losing streak.
Matthews had a chance to win it in overtime when he was awarded a penalty shot after Conor Garland was called for hooking, but goaltender Nikita Tolopilo made the save.
Nicolas Roy and Max Domi scored for Toronto, and Joseph Woll made 28 saves.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander scored for Vancouver. The Canucks have two wins in their last 17 games.
Domi tied it early in the third with a shot that hit Tolopilo’s shoulder then rolled over his back into the net.
The Islanders lost a frustrating game in regulation to the Nashville Predators, one they didn’t really deserve anything from, though the circumstances were still frustrating.
They blew an early 2-0 lead after looking pretty good in the first 10 minutes of the game, then were completely discombobulated the rest of the way, relying on Ilya Sorokin to keep them in it. Even with that, they also lost a 3-2 lead, had a goal overturned (and their coach’s challenge denied) for goalie interference on Anthony Duclair outside the crease, and gave up the game winner with just 1:14 left to play while the teams were at 4-on-4 following another head-scratching official’s ruling.
All that said, they’d have been lucky to get one point from this game and the 4-3 loss was warranted. You could argue they should’ve lost by much more — the Predators had a UBS record 22 shots in the second period alone — if only to make crystal clear they can’t get away with playing like this against non-Rangers-level foes.
To think, it all started out like it might be a fun night. Mathew Barzal and Anthony Duclair were buzzing on their first shift and got the Isles on the board at 1:29 as Barzal batted a bouncing puck in at the back door.
Matthew Schaefer double the lead four minutes later when Ryan Pulock handled a difficult pass from Barzal but stumbled with it just long enough to draw the opposite side winger toward him. That left Schaefer wide open for a feed, and the 18-year-0ld drove down the left wing faceoff circle and picked his spot on Juuse Saros for his 15th(!) goal.
But the lead didn’t last, and once again the Isles special teams could not reverse the tide. Nashville got on the board at the midway point just six seconds after Adam Pelech went into the box for tripping, and the Preds added a tying goal three minutes later. As the Predators continued to push, the Isles looked lucky to escape the period tied.
Even moreso in the second, when J-G Pageau got them a brief lead scoring against the flow of play. He drove the slot and made a pass attempt for Anders Lee, who had fed him first. The pass was blocked, but it still sent all of the Predators, including Saros, the wrong way while Pageau picked up the rebound and slid it in.
Filip Forsberg tied it at 3-3 seven minutes later, and miraculously that was how things would stay until Roman Josi’s late dagger.
The Goalie Interference(?)
Patrick Roy, the veteran of 19 NHL sesons and 1,029 games, clearly doesn’t understand what counts a goalie interference in this league…and neither does anyone else. The officials aggressively called this one off rather than waiting for a Nashville challenge (Saros’ dramatic glove toss may have helped), so it was left for the Isles to challenge and note some things that we have heard are important: 1) Duclair wasn’t in the crease, 2) Saros initiated contact, with his teammate helping keep Duclair there, 3) Not even sure if that contact was what prevented Saros — who seemed more intent in coming out to push Duclair — from making a play on a shot from the other side.
New York loses their challenge on this play. Duclair interfered with Saros & prohibited him from making a save. pic.twitter.com/UVK5cJwx9U
But whatever. I’m kind of glad it happened in a game the Isles seemed intent to lose anyway. You can argue from the scoreboard that it cost them the game, but they still killed the ensuing penalty off and they were sabotaging themselves throughout, they would’ve still found a way to lose.
Roy said Saros deserved an Oscar for throwing blocker on goalie interference
With the Isles under a barrage and unable to connect passes, Roy had his line blender out and was trying all kinds of combos. Nothing seemed to right the ship.
Casey Cizikas did return to the lineup but Max Shabanov stayed in, replacing Jonathan Drouin who was officially listed as sick.
Is there any more pure joy on Bossy’s green earth than 18-year-old Matthew Schaefer celebrating a goal?
Can’t help thinking this one was a costly loss. Nashville is beatable, while the Penguins, Capitals, Blue Jackets and Canadiens all won tonight.
The Isles’ remaining schedule includes the back-to-back of Monday night in Washington and Tuesday back home vs. the Penguins, before they finish the pre-Olympic stretch Thursday in New Jersey.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 31: Sidney Crosby #87, Evgeni Malkin #71 and Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins watch the video board during the 10 year anniversary of the 2016 Stanley Cup winning team before the game against the New York Rangers during the at PPG PAINTS Arena on January 31, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
It was an emotional day at PPG Paints Arena as a reunion of sorts was held for the Penguins’ 2016 Stanley Cup team.
A large chunk of the team’s roster from the 2016 Stanley Cup team was back in Pittsburgh to be honored and celebrated before the Penguins’ game against the New York Rangers.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby spoke at length about how it felt to be reunited with his teammates, saying that as you continue playing in your career, you tend to forget some of the big moments from the winning years, but that it was awesome to see everyone back in Pittsburgh.
As a tribute video to the team was playing in the arena, Crosby was visibly emotional on the ice.
Sidney Crosby has all the feels looking back at the 2016 @penguins team that won the #StanleyCup 🏆
“I just you know, obviously loved that group and it’s pretty special when you have that bond and you win together,” Crosby said to Kevin Weekes during an interview on the ice. “When you see them all here and you see some of those clips, it’s definitely emotional but it’s still awesome to see them.”
“We were hockey players, and that’s our goal, to win Stanley Cups,” Rust said. “To be able to do this, and do that with the group that we had and all the amazing memories, it brings back so many smiles. It brings back happy tears.”
Patric Hornqvist said he didn’t come back to town just for the ceremony, but to take a little walk down memory lane as well.
“We rented a car yesterday to drive around, see our old houses, where my kids went to school, and the grocery stores,” Hornqvist said. “We almost lived our old life for one day, not playing hockey, and then the same night, you meet these guys who are like family. When you win, that’s how close you get to each other.”
As for this year’s Penguins, Pittsburgh defeated the Rangers in a 6-5 barnburner of a game.
Pittsburgh has now won six straight games and are 7-0-2 in their last nine games with their last regulation loss coming on January 11.
The Penguins are back at home on Monday night as they host the Ottawa Senators and then hit the road to face the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres before the NHL’s Olympic break.
Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope argues with an official during SEC college basketball Wednesday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky January 7, 2026. Pope would be ejected from the game in the second half. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The Kentucky Wildcats bounce back on the road at No. 15 Arkansas and capture a much-needed win. The final score came out to 85-77 as the Cats picked up their fifteenth win of the season, and Mark Pope got his revenge on John Calipari.
The Wildcats led most of the way, but BBN’s favorite referee, Doug Shows, played a huge role throughout the game. A total of seven technical fouls were assessed during Saturday night’s game at Bud Walton Arena. The Wildcats had 4, and the Razorbacks had 3.
There were five technical fouls given by Shows’ crew during the second half, and three of them were within a 38-second stretch as the Wildcats were trying to hold onto a tight lead. Brandon Garrison, Mo Doiubate, and Pope were the ones who received techs during that gruesome stretch of play.
The most egregious was this phantom technical foul from Shows on Mo Dioubate after he blocked a shot out of bounds.
The Field of 68 reporter Rob Dauster said it best, calling it the worst technical foul he’s ever seen while saying, “Doug Shows should never be allowed to officiate another game after that. Horrendous.”
The Wildcats found a way to win on the road despite just shooting 19-30 (63%) from the charity stripe. Trent Noah came up big from the FT line as he finished the night 6-8.
And to cap off the night, Razorbacks big man Trevon Brazile intentionally fouled Noah and grabbed him by the jersey, and tossed him down court, making that his fifth foul of the night with just 14 seconds remaining.
Stay classy, Razorbacks.
The Wildcats are back in action on Wednesday night as Otega Oweh’s former team, the Oklahoma Sooners, come to Rupp Arena. Everyone knows how well that series went for the Cats last season, so expect another barnburner this time around.
Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
That technical foul on Mo Dioubate is the worst technical foul that I've EVER seen.
EVER.
Doug Shows should never be allowed to officiate another game after that. Horrendous.
Timo Meier scored, and Jake Allen made 30 saves on 33 shots in the New Jersey Devils 4-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night.
New Jersey surrendered the game's opening goal for the 31st time this season. After the Devils failed to convert on two power play opportunities, Brady Tkachuk scored while Ottawa was on the man advantage at the 13:38 mark of the first period.
With 1:41 remaining in the period, Cody Glass won the offensive zone draw against Ridly Greig. The 26-year-old battled for the puck near Linus Ullmark's crease and passed it to Meier to tie the game entering the first intermission.
37 seconds into the third period, Jonas Siegenthaler was called for a hooking penalty, leading to the Senators scoring their second power play goal for a 2-1 lead. Ottawa went 2-for-3 on the man advantage, while the Devils couldn't convert on their five opportunities.
Tim Stützle and Shane Pinto scored the Senators' third and fourth goals in the final two minutes of regulation. Tkachuk finished the game with three points (one goal, two assists).
Jack Hughes was sidelined with a lower-body injury that he sustained against the Nashville Predators and is currently considered day-to-day.
The Devils will return to Newark and prepare to host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday at Prudential Center.
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Captain Roman Josi scored his 200th career goal in the third period, snapping a tie and giving the Nashville Predators a 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday at UBS Arena.
He is now the 24th defenseman all-time to surpass 200 career goals. Josi now has 10 goals and 23 assists on the year, recording a goal and an assist against the Islanders.
On the play, during 4-on-4 play, Josi took the puck up the ice into the Islanders' zone before backpedaling and then wristing a shot bardown on Ilya Sorokin for the lead with 1:14 left in the game.
The Predators gave up the first goal of the game 1:29 into the game off a shot from Matthew Barzal. It's the fifth time in the last six games that the Predators have fallen behind early.
The 2025 first overall pick, Matthew Schaefer, scored his 15th goal of the season to double the Islanders' lead less than six minutes into the game.
Adam Pelech was called for tripping on Andreas Englund, putting the Predators on the power play halfway through the first period, and Filip Forsberg converted to get Nashville on the board.
About three minutes later, Matthew Wood scored his first goal since Dec. 6 to tie the game at two. Wood had his first multipoint game (one goal, one assist) since Dec. 11, when he had two assists in a 7-2 win over the St. Louis Blues.
J.G. Pageau gave the Islanders back in the second period, but Forsberg would net his second goal of the game to tie things up at three. Forsberg now has 22 goals and 21 assists on the season.
New York believed it had scored the game-leading goal in the third period, but it was waived off due to goaltender interference. The Islanders challenged the call and lost.
Of note, defenseman Nick Blakenburg did not play due to illness and was ruled "day-to-day."
Nashville improves to 25-23-6 on the season and is within three points of a Wild Card spot. It will face the St. Louis Blues next on Monday at 7 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena.
NEW YORK (AP) — Roman Josi scored with 1:14 remaining in the game to lift the Nashville Predators past the New York Islanders 4-3 on Saturday night.
Filip Forsberg scored twice for Nashville, while Matthew Wood added a goal and an assist as the Predators snapped a three-game losing streak. Juuse Saros finished with 27 saves including a point-blank stop on Emil Heineman in the closing seconds.
On his winner, Josi skated into the Islanders zone, circled back and fired a shot over the glove of Ilya Sorokin that made him the first defenseman in franchise history with 200 career NHL goals.
Mathew Barzal finished with a goal and an assist for the Islanders. Matthew Schaefer and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored but the Islanders’ three-game winning streak came to an end. Sorokin made 38 saves.
The Islanders jumped to an early 2-0 lead when Barzal and Schaefer scored 4:27 apart within the first six minutes of the first period.
Forsberg got the Predators on the board with a power-play goal, and Wood capitalized on an Islanders miscue 2:54 later to tie the game at 2-all with 6:07 remaining in the first period.
Pageau put the Islanders back in front at 7:21 of the second period, burying his own rebound, but Forsberg answered again later in the frame with his second goal of the night to knot the score at 3.
Up next
Predators: Host St. Louis Blues on Monday night.
Islanders: Visit Washington Capitals on Monday night.
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Hannes Steinbach, Zoom Diallo and Wesley Yates III combined for 65 points as Washington beat Northwestern 76-62 on Saturday. Steinbach notched 22 points and 14 rebounds for his fourth-straight double-double, and 14th of the season, tying Isaiah Stewart's freshman record for the Huskies (12-10, 4-7 Big Ten).
Diallo added 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting, six rebounds and six assists. Yates had 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with three steals.
The Huskies built a 39-27 lead at the half after a pair of 10-2 and 12-2 runs. That lead grew to as much as 21 early in the second half before an 11-2 Wildcats run. Another 7-0 Wildcats run trimmed the deficit to eight, but that was as close as it got.
Nick Martinelli, the nation's leading scorer at 24 points per game, had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (10-12, 2-9). The tally snapped a 12-game streak of scoring 20 points or more, the longest in the nation.
Arrinten Page added 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Wildcats. Jayden Reed tallied 11 points and five rebounds. Tre Singleton scored 10.
Up next
Washington hosts Iowa on Wednesday.
Northwestern will head on the road to face No. 9 Illinois on Wednesday.
The Islanders allow a goal during their Jan. 31 loss to the Predators.
The Islanders played a terrific six minutes Saturday night.
Unfortunately for them, there were 54 minutes left after that.
And for all of Ilya Sorokin’s heroics in net, the Islanders’ netminder couldn’t overcome the team in front of him Saturday night, as the Predators defeated the Isles 4-3 on Roman Josi’s late winner, snapping the home side’s nascent three-game winning streak.
Ilya Sorokin allows a goal during the Islanders’ 4-3 loss to the Predators on Jan. 31, 2026 at UBS Arena. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
“We didn’t regain the momentum and the game we wanted to play the rest of the way,” captain Anders Lee said. “We had a tough night, no doubt about it.”
The game was tied at three entering the final 20 minutes, but the writing was on the wall after the Predators had played up ice for the entire second period — which coach Patrick Roy called “probably our worst period of the year” after the game.
The Islanders were managing the puck poorly, struggling to break out and to clear out the area in front of Sorokin’s crease, essentially leaving the goaltender to fend for himself.
Given how well Sorokin — who had 38 saves on 42 shots — has played lately, it’s perhaps unsurprising that playing in such a way didn’t immediately doom the Islanders.
Tony DeAngelo did not leave much to interpretation in the second period, though, when he told the team’s radio broadcast, “We’re horrible tonight. This is a really bad game for us.”
Ironically, DeAngelo appeared to break the tie just 1:10 into the third, but his shot that found the back of the net was immediately called off for goaltender interference. The Islanders, believing that Anthony Duclair had contacted Juuse Saros outside of the crease, challenged the call but lost.
Matthew Schaefer scores a goal during the Islanders’ home loss to the Predators. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
“I think Saros did a pretty good job to sell it,” Roy said. “Threw the blocker and everything. Might have an Oscar for that one.”
The Islanders’ play in the third was at least better than the second, insofar as they weren’t bleeding chances throughout. But they remained sloppy with the puck and finally, it cost them.
With the teams skating at four-on-four, Ryan Pulock accidentally skated the puck out of the zone while trying to go across the blue line and was caught offside — somehow not the only time the Islanders committed that mindless error on Saturday.
Following the ensuing faceoff, Josi’s snipe beat Sorokin with 1:45 to go in the game, handing the Predators a 4-3 lead they took to the bank.
The Islanders immediately felt the standings consequences of the loss, with the Penguins pulling two points ahead thanks to their win over the Rangers and the Capitals within four after beating the Hurricanes. Having frittered this one away, they were left to ponder the wreckage.
“I think we could’ve done a better job using the middle,” Pelech said. “Felt like a lot of times we get past one guy and we just couldn’t make the next play. They came hard, but at the same time, we gotta communicate more. We have to execute.”
The Islanders fight for the puck during their Jan. 31 loss to the Predators. Robert Sabo for the NY Post
At the start of the night, the Islanders had a juiced-up home crowd believing they’d march to an easy win.
Mathew Barzal opened the scoring just 89 seconds into the game with a bizarre-looking goal that saw him hit Anthony Duclair’s rebound out of the air before the puck caromed off the post, off Juuse Saros and in.
The Islanders looked poised to blow out the Predators a few minutes later after Matthew Schaefer followed up a few dominant shifts with his 15th goal of the season, a laser from the left circle to make it 2-0.
As quickly as the momentum had built, it dissipated. Filip Forsberg pulled Nashville within 2-1 with a power-play goal at the 9:59 mark and just under three minutes later, Matthew Wood made Schaefer pay for a turnover behind his own net with a one-timer to tie the game.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s goal off the rush at 7:21 of the second put the Islanders back in front, but it was only a brief reprieve. Forsberg’s second goal of the night, a shot from the left post that sputtered over the line, was the only blemish on Sorokin’s record in an otherwise flawless second period.
The goaltender was the only thing keeping the Islanders in the game in the second, stopping 22 shots over 20 minutes including a terrific save on Michael Bunting in front.
“We weren’t clearing pucks. We weren’t getting the blocks we wanted. They played a good offensive game in the zone tonight,” Lee sad. “Over 60 minutes, it wore on us. We weren’t able to break it.”
The San Antonio Spurs changed the start time for their home game Sunday against the Orlando Magic because of a snowstorm that prevented them from flying out of Charlotte on Saturday night.
San Antonio will now host Orlando at 6 p.m. CST on Sunday, three hours after the original tipoff.
The Spurs were scheduled to depart Charlotte following their 111-106 loss to the Hornets on Saturday, but flights were canceled as more than 9 inches of snow fell in the city. The winter storm had already forced the Hornets to move up Saturday's game against the Spurs by three hours.
San Antonio was planning to fly out Sunday morning for the second game of a back-to-back set.
Orlando has been in San Antonio since Saturday morning after last playing Thursday in a home 124-97 home loss to Charlotte.
San Antonio (32-16) is third in the Western Conference behind Oklahoma City (38-11) and Denver (33-16).
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 31: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers controls the ball against Yves Missi #21 of the New Orleans Pelicans in the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena on January 31, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
What a nice win to celebrate the reunion of the 2001 team. How nice to have another nice and easy day watching the 76ers.
Philadelphia survived to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-114 Saturday night.
Joel Embiid, who was scorching in the first half again, led all scorers with 39 points along with 11 rebounds going 13-of-27 from the floor. Tyrese Maxey was quiet after the first, but put up 18 with eight assists on 7-of-18 shooting.
VJ Edgecombe had the assist of the night, having five of those while finishing with 15 points shooting 6-of-10 from the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr. had a good first night trying to replace Paul George, scoring 19 points shooting 7-of-13 from the floor with nine rebounds and four assists. Saddiq Bey led the Pelicans with 34.
It’s not a shock the Sixers heavily leaned into their reliable two-man game to start this one, with Maxey and Embiid taking the team’s first eight shots of the game. Both Derik Queen and Embiid seemed stoked for their matchup, looking to take each other down to the post frequently. For as much as the top two guys dominated the ball, Dominick Barlow deserves some love for this bounce pass he threw to Maxey to start a fast break.
They continued to generate good looks, but were giving up ones just as good on the other end of the floor. The Sixers’ defense looked disorganized to start, missing rotations, losing cutters, and of course getting easily beat down the floor to create transition opportunities.
The Pelicans’ other rookie Jeremiah Fears got to show off even more when he checked into the game, hitting his first three shots of the night, two of them coming from behind the arc. The Sixers were able to keep pace all quarter, but smoked a couple costly bunnies. Both Jabari Walker and Adem Bona each couldn’t finish some nice dump off passes, and the Sixers trailed by two after the first.
Second Quarter
Without PG to lead the second unit, Nick Nurse had to switch up how he staggers the other starters. That meant Embiid was out there to start the quarter. Quentin Grimes returning to the lineup knocked Jared McCain down the totem pole — he didn’t check in until a couple minutes in.
Trendon Watford got a lot of time to handle the ball in this stretch and he did a decent job with it. He got himself a layup driving to the basket and knocked down a three. McCain missed his first three of the night but hit his second, using Embiid as a screener to stepback into an open three.
After allowing a wide open alley-oop to start the quarter the Sixers did sure up their defense a bit. The only field goal they allowed for nearly five minutes was a Yves Missi putback dunk after no one boxed him out. Embiid drew a charge on Zion Williamson and got quite the celebration from his bench in doing so.
Nurse said he thought about lineups with both Embiid and Bona after their rebounding troubles in Sacramento, and he did so to close the half in this one. It was an interesting look defensively, with Bona somewhat playing safety roaming off Williamson. Embiid tried to fit him the ball in the dunker spot, but Oubre had to slam home the miss. Embiid had cooled off from the field but was living at the line in the second. His midrange jumper missed at the buzzer, but his 23 points powered the Sixers to a 13-point lead at the half.
Third Quarter
A quick three from Bey followed by a Trey Murphy drive to set New Orleans up to have one of those classic third quarters against the Sixers. Oubre answered with a pair of threes to settle that down, the second one coming off a really slick behind the back pass from Edgecombe.
The offense would eventually stagnate as they just got sloppy with the ball. On top of two Embiid turnovers they almost gave it away a couple more times just by dropping the ball. They went four minutes without scoring in the half court.
It was just Bey doing damage for much of the quarter, but the Sixers started struggling to contain Murphy off the dribble as well. Maxey had gone quiet, scoring his first points since the first quarter. He got into a bit of a groove playing off of Watford, hitting a three and a layup to keep the Sixers lead at six.
Fourth Quarter
The margin for error only got slimmer as Jose Alvarado opened up the quarter with a three. For as much as Watford had done offensively, it felt like Walker or especially Barlow were more up to the task of guarding Williamson. Watford picked up three quick fouls to start the quarter trying to do so.
The offense did seem to find a groove again with McCain playing really well off of Embiid. He knocked down a couple more threes to round out a much needed good shooting night. Embiid himself got some jumpers to fall again, but they were suddenly in a spot where they needed to score every time down the floor. Walking into open three after open three, the Pelicans took their first lead of the game since early in the second.
The Sixers finally got a stop, but they had to use a challenge to earn possession back after the ball rolled out of bounds. Embiid knocked down a jumper coming out of that timeout. Maxey and Barlow ran out to create a fast break off a missed three. A few trips later down the floor, Maxey pushed the lead to six with a three. Embiid and Edgecombe each did the same on the next two possessions, putting this game away.
Karlsson notched his 700th assist on Rickard Rakell's power play goal that made it 4-1 in the third period, becoming the 12th defenseman in NHL history to accomplish that feat. He's also the eighth-fastest defenseman to reach that milestone.
700 assists for EK65 👏
Karlsson becomes the 12th defenseman in NHL history - and eighth fastest (1,132 GP) - to reach the milestone. pic.twitter.com/RWz4nBaiXt
Karlsson is also only the second Swedish defenseman to hit 700 assists, joining Nicklas Lidstrom, who finished is career with 878.
Karlsson only needs 13 more assists to pass Scott Stevens for the 11th most assists among all defensemen in NHL history. He needs 43 more to move into the top 10 all-time.
The Penguins held on to beat the Rangers 6-5 on Saturday and have won six in a row heading into Monday's game against the Ottawa Senators.
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 6: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks handles the ball during the game against Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers on March 6, 2025 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Lakers (29-18) are on the last stop of their current eight-game road trip in New York City where they will take on the Knicks (30-18) and Brooklyn Nets (13-24) in their next two games. This is the first time they’ll see both teams this season.
One of the most notable games in the Lakers’ calendar every season is when they make their annual visit to Madison Square Garden. There’s just something about the Lakers facing the Knicks even if both teams don’t really consider each other as rivals. Perhaps it’s because Los Angeles and New York are two of the biggest and most popular cities in America or maybe it’s West versus East. Either way, there’s always something in the air when these two heavyweights go at it.
On Sunday, the Lakers will look to secure their fourth straight victory in MSG and seventh in the last 10 games. They’ve had a decent road trip so far, where they’ve won four out of six games. Putting their atrocious second half performance in the loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers aside, their defense has shown signs of improvement and they’ve been playing with more energy, focus and purpose on the offensive end. Their most recent victory against the Washington Wizards — even though they are the worst team in the association — is a testament to that.
The win against the Wizards was the perfect get-right game and set up for what should be the toughest challenge in this road trip. The Knicks, who are second in the Eastern Conference, are on a five-game winning streak after a slump that began right after they won the NBA Cup this year.
They’ll be ready for the Lakers and here’s what the purple and gold should expect:
A really good rebounding team
Perhaps the biggest advantage New York has over Los Angeles this season is that the former ranks second overall in rebounds per game (46.4) and third in offensive rebounds (13.6). Much of this is because the Knicks are big and athletic. They have Karl Anthony-Towns averaging 11.8 rebounds per game followed by Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby. The Lakers will have to match their production on the boards or, better yet, dominate the possession battle if they want a chance to win this one.
An energized offensive team
A big reason for the Knicks’ recent winning streak is their improved offense, which hasn’t been stagnant. They’re playing with more speed and motion, not to mention that they have the league’s third-best offense. The Knicks are the type of opponent that the Lakers have struggled to defend this season. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach JJ Redick game plans against them and whether or not the Lakers’ offense — which now ranks seventh in the league — can outmatch them. This game will be a battle between two elite offenses.
A team that will throw the kitchen sink at Luka Dončić
With Miles McBride possibly absent in this one, the Knicks won’t have arguably their best point-of-attack defender. That means they’ll most likely throw the kitchen sink at Dončić, who will see different coverages all night. That will then cause a domino effect and impact LeBron James and the rest of the team. How the Lakers counter and play through this will obviously dictate the outcome of the game.
They’re going to need their superstars to play at a high level. Deandre Ayton and the rest of the supporting cast need to make their presence felt in this one as well.
It’s tough to beat a Knicks team at home but the Lakers have proven over the last three years that they can do it. They know they’re going to have to play well and they’ve also shown this season that they’re capable of rising to the moment. Let’s see if this happens once again on Sunday as West meets East.
Notes and Updates
For the Lakers’ injury report, Bronny James (lower left leg soreness) and Austin Reaves (left calf strain) are questionable.
