Three changes have been tipped for the Test series decider against South Africa, with Nic Maddinson, Beau Webster and Scott Boland dropped, and Cameron Green, Cooper Connolly and Nathan Lyon brought in.
Blues and Canadiens take the ice in non-conference matchup
Montreal Canadiens (6-3-2, in the Atlantic Division) vs. St. Louis Blues (5-5-1, in the Central Division)
St. Louis; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Blues play the Montreal Canadiens in a non-conference matchup.
St. Louis has a 5-5-1 record overall and a 3-1-1 record on its home ice. The Blues have gone 4-1-0 in games they score at least three goals.
Montreal has gone 2-1-1 on the road and 6-3-2 overall. The Canadiens are 2-2-2 when they commit more penalties than their opponent.
Tuesday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.
INJURIES: Blues: Adam Jecho: out (personal), Torey Krug: out (ankle), Ross Johnston: out (lower body), Alexey Toropchenko: out (upper-body), Tyler Tucker: out (knee), Dillon Dube: out (neck), Logan Mailloux: out (hand).
Canadiens: Ivan Demidov: out (lower-body), Lucas Condotta: out (undisclosed), Nick Suzuki: out (upper body), Bryce Pickford: out (undisclosed), Samuel Montembeault: out (lower-body).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Golden Knights host the Senators on losing streak
Ottawa Senators (8-4, in the Atlantic Division) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (8-4-1, in the Pacific Division)
Paradise, Nevada; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights will try to end a three-game losing streak when they take on the Ottawa Senators.
Vegas has an 8-4-1 record overall and a 5-2-0 record in home games. The Golden Knights are sixth in league play with 46 total goals (averaging 3.5 per game).
Ottawa is 3-2-0 on the road and 8-4 overall. The Senators have committed 59 total penalties (4.9 per game) to rank second in league play.
The teams meet Tuesday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mark Stone has eight goals and seven assists for the Golden Knights. Jack Eichel has five goals and eight assists over the past 10 games.
Claude Giroux has two goals and six assists for the Senators. Drake Batherson has six goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Knights: 6-3-1, averaging 3.5 goals, 5.6 assists, 3.5 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.
Senators: 6-4-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.1 assists, 4.9 penalties and 11.5 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.
INJURIES: Golden Knights: Mitch Marner: out (personal), Parker Wotherspoon: out (upper body), Victor Olofsson: out (undisclosed), Kai Uchacz: out (undisclosed).
Senators: Linus Ullmark: out (lower body), William Eklund: out (ankle), Thomas Chabot: out (undisclosed).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action
Bournemouth’s transfer nous puts United to shame, Araújo is winning admirers at Anfield and Suzuki adapts swiftly at Villa
The three Bournemouth goalscorers cost a combined £85m, joining from Vasco da Gama, Middlesbrough, and Porto. The Cherries are smart at investing, far more so than Manchester United, who have wasted a lot of money by failing to look outside the box for players like Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson. United may not have the wealth they previously showed in the transfer market but Bournemouth are showing what can be done within a budget and, more importantly, will be able to make a profit on signings. United, however, only know losses as everyone’s price tag diminishes the moment they come through the Old Trafford door. Jason Wilcox and others can point to certain factors that are against them but there are quality signings to be made at the right price if you have the ability to find them. Will Unwin
Match report: Manchester United 0-3 Bournemouth
Will Unwin: Carrick left carrying can for institutional failings
Match report: Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City
Match report: Liverpool 2-0 Brighton
Match report: Chelsea 0-2 Tottenham
Barney Ronay: Glitch in Chelsea’s coding costs Alonso while resurgent Spurs are all systems go
Continue reading...‘Know the type of person I am’: Aussie star opens up for first time on marriage breakdown
Sixers skipper Ash Gardner says the past few weeks have been “challenging” and have taught her plenty, with the star all-rounder thanking the club and those close to her for sticking by her and helping her shift her focus back to cricket.
Knicks believe early season struggles are fixable: 'We're not quite there yet'
Why are the Knicks 0-3?
From head coach Mike Brown’s perspective, it’s mostly a combination of the following:
1. Missing quality shot attempts
2. Not enough physicality/pace on either side of the ball
3. A lethal combination of careless turnovers and poor transition defense.
There are many other reasons why the defending champs are 0-3. But those three are the most glaring – and fixable – issues Brown sees at the moment.
During shootaround on Sunday morning, Brown talked to his players about each of the three issues listed above. He hit on them again before Sunday night’s game against Orlando.
“We're not quite there yet,” Brown said late Sunday night, shortly after New York fell to 0-3 in a loss to Orlando.
The good news for the Knicks? They believe the issues at hand are fixable. (Also, they won the NBA title last year and will have a well-earned grace period with fans/media. Imagine if the Knicks started 0-3 last year? It would have been total chaos.)
Jalen Brunson says the lack of crisp cuts/actions on offense is on him.
“Organization on my part and making sure we’re in the right place to execute what we need to do; everything falls on my shoulders,” Brunson said late Sunday. “I just got to be a better leader in making sure our guys are ready to go and are in the right spots. There are a lot of little things but that’s the main thing. Organization on my part.”
Turnovers (16 against Orlando, 49 over the first three games) and poor transition defense (Orlando, missing Paolo Banchero to injury, had 23 points off turnovers on Sunday) hurt New York against the Magic. The Knicks, by Brown’s count, also lost five of six 50-50 balls (loose balls where the ball can be corralled by either team) in the fourth quarter.
“That’s hard to overcome,” the coach said.
Of course, the Knicks aren't going to go 0-82 this season. They will win plenty of games. But losing to a Magic team missing Banchero is not ideal -- no matter what time of year it is.
Brunson has said several times this season that the first two weeks or so of the year will reveal a lot about this Knicks team. Every opponent will get up for games against the defending champs (particularly at the Garden).
And then there’s the championship hangover.
“Everyone has been telling us what a great job we did, how fun it was, what we did for the city, the constant praise (for winning the title),” the Knicks captain said. “So now we need the opposite.”
Fortunately for Brunson and the Knicks, “the opposite” is never hard to find in this town.
BENCH ROLES UP FOR GRABS
Andre Drummond played just seven minutes against the Magic – the same amount as third string center James Wiseman.
Wiseman also played a couple of minutes in place of Drummond on Friday against Boston.
Brown says Drummond will be the Knicks’ backup center on Tuesday against Detroit. But the coach also made it clear that all rotation spots off the bench are up for grabs.
“We have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play,” Brown said before tipoff on Sunday. “When you’re a backup in this league, that doesn’t mean you’re always gonna be the seventh man or you’re always gonna be the eighth man. No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s competitive. And it’s less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat.”
Brown was responding to a question about Wiseman playing against the Celtics. He then referenced the Knicks’ standards, which are spelled out in a document signed by all staffers.
“We will make sure that everybody embraces it, not just accepts it,” Brown said.
KNECHT-ING IN WESTCHESTER
New two-way player Dalton Knecht will initially spend time with the Knicks’ G League club, the Westchester Knicks. The thinking is that Knecht will have ample opportunity to play in G League games. Knecht will certainly garner consideration to play in NBA games with the Knicks. But Brown and the organization want Knecht, an ex-Laker, to get acclimated.
“We want him to play as much as he can,” Brown said of Knecht, a 2024 first-round pick.
To make room for Knecht, the Lakers’ first-round pick in 2024, the Knicks waived two-way player Kevin McCullar Jr. McCullar Jr. was beginning his third year with the Knicks this season.
“Kevin, first of all, he's a fantastic young man and we're gonna miss him, obviously,” Brown said. “But he's been here (two years; three including this season) as a two-way player so we have a pretty good feel for him. He has a good feel for us and you know being able to try to get to know a guy like Dalton Knecht at this point of the year, it's something that we need to take a look at.
“So (getting waived) wasn't anything that Kevin didn't do. He was great and he is an NBA player and I think he's gonna get a shot someday; and it could be with us – who knows -- down the road. But (the decision to waive McCullar Jr.) was more so having the opportunity to bring a guy like Dalton on just to get to know him a little bit better.”
Stars light the lamp 3 times in third period to put away Islanders
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored twice and the Dallas Stars had a three-goal third period in a 6-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
Robertson’s breakaway at 9:45 of the third period came five minutes after Wyatt Johnston’s tiebreaker. Mikko Rantanen added a goal four minutes after Robertson with his team-high sixth goal of the season.
Tyler Seguin and Justin Hryckowian also scored for the Stars, who have won five consecutive games. Jake Oettinger made 16 saves.
Defenseman Matthew Schaefer, Kyle Palmieri and Brayden Schenn scored for the Islanders, who erased three one-goal deficits only to lose two straight (0-1-1) for the first time this season. Ilya Sorokin stopped 32 shots allowing a season high in goals.
Johnston scored from the slot 4:10 into the final period on a feed from Nils Lundqvist. After scoring a career-most 45 goals last season, Johnston has goals in consecutive games after going goalless in his first seven outings.
PANTHERS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Lars Eller’s first goal of the season, with 2:23 left in the third period, lifted Florida to a win over Chicago.
Eller beat Spencer Knight with a high shot just inside the left post as he raced down right wing and took advantage of Chicago line change. Matthew Tkachuk and Sandis Vilmanis also scored for Florida, which ended two-game losing streak.
Roman Kantserov and Ryan Greene connected for Chicago, which has dropped three straight.
Akira Schmid made 19 saves, while Knight stopped 29 shots.
The Blackhawks failed to score on seven power-play chances, including two brief 5-on-3 advantages, lowering their NHL-worst conversion rate to 8.33%.
CANADIENS 2, JETS 1
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Jacob Fowler made 33 saves and Montreal held off Winnipeg in the NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium.
Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle scored and Cole Caufield had two assists to help Montreal improve to 6-3-2. The Canadiens opened a four-game trip Friday night with a 4-1 victory over Chicago. Fowler has won his last five starts.
Isak Rosen scored for Winnipeg with 4:46 remaining at home of the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Jets (4-4-3).
The Jets became just the second Canadian team after Edmonton to host two outdoor games. The Jets also were blanked 3-0 by the Oilers in the first one, but spoiled Calgary’s 2019 outdoor game at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, Saskatchewan, with a 2-1 overtime win.
It was Winnipeg’s first game since trading franchise goalier Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Dawson Mercer, who headlined the return from the Devils, had two shots and one blocked shot in 15:22 of ice time.
PREDATORS 6, AVALANCHE 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ryan O’Reilly had two goals and two assists, Steven Stamkos added two goals and an assist and Nashville beat Colorado.
Filip Forsberg had a goal and two assists, and Jack Drury also scored for the Predators, who had lost their previous two. Justus Annunen made 19 saves for his first victory of the season.
Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews scored and Scott Wedgewood made 29 saves for Colorado, losers of three of four.
Nashville converted on four of seven opportunities on the power play in the game, including both of O’Reilly’s goals. The Predators had just one opportunity with the man advantage in each of their previous three games.
Forsberg scored the game’s first goal at 4:01 of the opening period.
With the Predators on the power play, Stamkos blocked an attempted clear and the puck went to Roman Josi, who sent a pass to Forsberg, who beat Wedgewood with a wrist shot from the high slot.
Josi had three assists.
WILD 4, CANUCKS 2
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Former Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes had a goal to reach 500 NHL points and added an assist in his return to Rogers Arena in Minnesota's victory over the Canucks.
Traded to Minnesota in December, Hughes was booed throughout the night.
He scored on a power player midway through the second period to make it 3-0, and set up Kirill Kaprizov’s NHL-leading 13th goal early in the third for a 4-0 advantage. In 13 games this season, Hughes has three goals and 13 assists.
Picked seventh overall by the Canucks in 2018, Hughes played 6 1/2 seasons in Vancouver before the blockbuster trade sent him to Minnesota. The deal saw Vancouver acquire Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and the Wild’s first-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
Kaprizov and Maxim Shabanov also each had a goal and assist, and Bobby Brink scored.
Calvin Pickard made 15 saves as the Wild improved to 8-3-2, following up a 5-1 victory over the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday.
Max Sasson and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver. Leevi Merilainen stopped 30 shots.
Vancouver dropped to 2-10-1 with its 10th straight loss.
Hughes became the second-fastest American defenseman to reach 500 NHL points, achieving the feat in 520 games. Brian Leetch hit the milestone in 496 games with the New York Rangers.
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Quinn Hughes has a goal and an assist in his Vancouver return in Wild's 4-2 victory
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Former Vancouver captain Quinn Hughes had a goal to reach 500 NHL points and added an assist in his return to Rogers Arena in the Minnesota Wild’s 4-2 victory over the Canucks on Sunday night.
Traded to Minnesota in December, Hughes was booed throughout the night.
He scored on a power player midway through the second period to make it 3-0, and set up Kirill Kaprizov’s NHL-leading 13th goal early in the third for a 4-0 advantage. In 13 games this season, Hughes has three goals and 13 assists.
Picked seventh overall by the Canucks in 2018, Hughes played 6 1/2 seasons in Vancouver before the blockbuster trade sent him to Minnesota. The deal saw Vancouver acquire Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and the Wild’s first-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
Kaprizov and Maxim Shabanov also each had a goal and assist, and Bobby Brink scored.
Calvin Pickard made 15 saves as the Wild improved to 8-3-2, following up a 5-1 victory over the Kraken in Seattle on Saturday.
Max Sasson and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver. Leevi Merilainen stopped 30 shots.
Vancouver dropped to 2-10-1 with its 10th straight loss.
Hughes became the second-fastest American defenseman to reach 500 NHL points, achieving the feat in 520 games. Brian Leetch hit the milestone in 496 games with the New York Rangers.
Up next
Wild: At Utah on Tuesday night.
Canucks: At Anaheim on Tuesday night.
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‘Even my best friend didn’t know’: Usman Khawaja reveals why he kept his rheumatoid arthritis a secret
Opener played through pain to establish himself as a Test cricketer
‘I didn’t want anyone to use it against me,’ he says
Usman Khawaja has opened up on why he kept the rheumatoid arthritis that threatened his playing future a secret for his entire Test career.
The former Test star releases his autobiography, Sabr, on 10 November, which he said he wrote “for people who do love cricket and for those who don’t”.
Continue reading...Rangers bracing to welcome a couple of old pals back to the Garden with Kings
The next test for the Rangers’ perfect home record — the next possibility to play spoiler to a start nearing the point of being a historic one — will involve a pair of Garden returns.
Former head coach Peter Laviolette, who led the Rangers to the Presidents’ Trophy and the Eastern Conference finals in 2023-24 before getting fired one year later, is nine games into his first season as head coach of the Kings and will return to the Garden for the first time since his exit. And Artemi Panarin, the star who was dealt last year before the Olympic roster freeze and made his return in March, will play his second game back at the Garden as a member of the Kings.
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tRY IT NOWLaviolette’s 114-point campaign with the Blueshirts was followed up by an 85-point one, and the Rangers missed the playoffs in 2024-25. He helped them set records for points and wins (55) during that first year, bringing the franchise to the cusp of a return to the sport’s ultimate stage — while becoming the first coach in NHL history to guide six different teams to the playoffs — before a collapse followed the next season.
But in the offseason, the Kings reunited Laviolette with Panarin, who had his best individual season under the coach in 2023-24 with 120 points (49 goals, 71 assists). When Panarin was dealt to Los Angeles last year in exchange for Liam Greentree and a third-round pick, he left Broadway in ninth place all time for most points by a Ranger (607), eighth all time for most assists (401) and first for points-per-game (1.26).
The Kings struggled to start the season and have collected just two wins, but in an overtime win against the Islanders last week, Panarin scored a pair of goals and is already up to six goals and nine points. In a way, that’ll turn Monday into a reminder of what could’ve been for the Rangers if they didn’t fall to the Panthers in the 2024 conference finals — and if their longtime core didn’t take a major step back the following season.
The Rangers have already won six games at the Garden while managing just one victory and three points on the road, and they entered play Sunday with the most goals per game (4.83) and the second-most total goals (29) at home this season. With a win, the Rangers will open a season with seven consecutive home wins for the first time since an eight-game streak in 1990-91.
The Kings — now led by Laviolette and Panarin — will test that and have a chance to end that run.
“We’re trying to build a team game that sets the group up for success regardless of where we play it,” head coach Mike Sullivan said Sunday of the Rangers’ home success and road struggles, “and we’re trying to dictate the terms of how we play the game every single night — regardless of which rink we play it in. And so it’s not like we have a game plan for home and a game plan for the road.”
“And so obviously our guys have played extremely well at home, and we’ve had some success, which is great, and we gotta continue to build on that.”
Defenseman Adam Fox will skate in his 500th career game Monday. … Mats Zuccarello, who spent parts of nine seasons with the Rangers from 2010-19, has one assist through five games in his first season with the Kings.
Knicks’ Andre Drummond bristles after being benched for lack of effort
Andre Drummond was benched and said he didn’t get an explanation.
“Control what I can control. I can’t do s–t about not playing,” the center said. “All I can do is cheer my teammates on and hope for the best.”
About midway through the second quarter, Drummond was caught jogging back on defense and was beaten in transition by Orlando center Wendell Carter Jr., leading to an open layup for the Magic in their 111-102 win Sunday at the Garden.
Brown called a timeout and subbed out Drummond for good. The backup center minutes then went to James Wiseman, who struggled while shooting 0-for-5.
Drummond said he didn’t know why he was pulled — “You can make the guess for me” — and added that he’s “probably not” owed an explanation.
The 33-year-old veteran, who was signed in the summer to replace Mitchell Robinson, also played sparingly in Friday’s loss to the Celtics.
Brown said Drummond will remain the first backup in Tuesday’s game against the Pistons.
“I felt our transition defense wasn’t good during that time, not just because of [Drummond], but I wanted to go with a change,” Brown said. “Wiseman’s been playing well in practice. I wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he was pretty good in his first stint [in the first half]. And so I decided to go with him for a second stint. But Andre will go out there as a backup in the next game.”
Before Sunday’s loss, Brown warned that all the reserve spots are up for grabs.
“First thing I wanna make clear is we have our starting five. Other than that, anybody can play,” Brown said. “When you’re a backup in this league, that doesn’t mean you’re always gonna be the seventh man or you’re always gonna be the eighth man.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. It’s competitive. And it’s less so with the starting group if your starting group is established, which ours is, but everybody else after that starting five, I can throw in front of the next guy in a heartbeat.”
Jose Alvarado sat out Sunday’s game with an ankle sprain. Tyler Kolek played 15 minutes in his spot and went scoreless with nine assists.
The end of the night also turned somber when Jalen Suggs, the Magic’s starting point guard, appeared to suffer a significant knee injury while driving to the basket. His leg buckled and he collapsed in pain, as teammates huddled around.
Player Grades: Lakers vs. Jazz
Instead of Sunday being a tale of two halves, the Lakers’ win over the Jazz felt more like a tale of four quarters. Or, more specifically, one quarter vs. three quarters.
The first quarter is going to rank up there with one of the worst LA plays this season. The Jazz shot unsustainably well, as we would see, they also were just outworking the Lakers, too.
They had a staggering 24-4 advantage in points in the paint. They had 16 second-chance points on six offensive rebounds. Everything they did seemed to work.
The benefit of having a superstar, though, is that they can paper over your shortcomings on any given night. And from the second quarter on, it was Luka Dončić’s world with Austin Reaves playing an overqualified Robin.
They still struggled rebounding. They still lost the battle in the paint. But they hit 11 more threes and six more free throws over the final three frames to overcome that.
The end result was a gritty win that leaves the team with much to work on, but they get to do it in higher spirits.
So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.
Matisse Thybulle
25 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 foul, 4-8 FG, 3-7 3PT, +12
As uncertain as I remain about the long-term viability of starting both Thybulle and Williams, if they’re going to play and shoot like this, then it’s hard to also argue for going away from it. They offer the Lakers the chance to cross match on defense, which can also lead to confusion on the other end as well.
Grade: B+
Ziaire Williams
30 minutes, 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 fouls, 3-9 FG, 3-7 3PT, 2-2 FT, +11
There are still a few too many times when he goes to the rim without much of an idea of what to do and hopes his athleticism can bail him out. But he’s shooting the ball well and is an active defender. He really seems to have solidified his spot in this lineup.
Grade: B+
Walker Kessler
28 minutes, 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block, 4 fouls, 1 turnover, 1-2 FG, +2
After the game, he admitted that he let his emotions get the best of him and it impacted his play. It showed, because he was a relative non-factor in this one. Considering the circumstances, and the way he played in the first two games, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Grade: D
Austin Reaves
35 minutes, 29 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5 fouls, 3 turnovers, +14
Reaves will be a bit of an unsung hero in this one for about 52 reasons, but his second quarter was as important as any stretch of this game. He had 15 points on 4-5 shooting from the field while making all four of his free throws and pulled the Lakers back into the game.
Grade: A
Luka Dončić
38 minutes, 52 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 4 turnovers, 17-30 FG, 8-18 3PT, 10-11 FT, +3
Fresh off one of his worst games as a Laker, he has one of his best. He pretty much epitomized the Lakers overall in this game. He started the game 3-8 from the field and 0-5 from three, meaning he hit 14 of his final 22 shots and eight of his final 13 threes.
A special, special night.
Grade: A+
Quentin Grimes
20 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 fouls, 1-2 FG, 0-1 3PT, -8
After a couple of strong games to open the season, Grimes wasn’t as productive on Sunday. The benefit of having a deep team is that they don’t need to rely on him if he’s struggling.
Grade: C-
Sandro Mamukelashvili
20 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT, -3
The Lakers have gone to lineups fairly often with Mamu at the five with Looney really struggling. It’s not his best option against most opponents, but it seems they’re going to have to make do. It was nice to see him get to the line for six free throws.
Grade: B-
Collin Sexton
20 minutes, 13 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 5-11 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, +1
Considering it’s his second time suiting up at all this season, an unexpectedly strong game from Sexton. He showed his value as a release valve and dribble-drive threat alongside Luka and Reaves. He’s still shaking off the rust, but this was more than a glimpse at his value.
Grade: A-
Jake LaRavia
15 minutes, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 fouls, 1 block, 0-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, +14
This was a game where the scoreline doesn’t do justice to LaRavia’s impact. Once he came on in the second period, he really helped change the tide of the game. Even without scoring, he was an impactful player, evidenced by tying for a team high in plus-minus.
Grade: B+
Kevon Looney
I don’t imagine there’s going to be much different about this section for the vast majority of games this season. It’s very evident he’s past his prime and can no longer be impactful.
JJ Redick
Challenging his way into an early foul for Walker Kessler was suboptimal, but you can understand why he did it. It did leave the Lakers in a tough spot the rest of the game, but it was nice to see none of the players able to make the circular, challenging motion with their finger most of the game.
Grade: B
Sunday’s inactives: Cameron Carr, AK Okerek, Adou Thiero
Sunday’s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, Chris Mañon, Jarred Vanderbilt
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
Houston Rockets vs. Atlanta Hawks game preview
The Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks will complete their season series tonight at the Toyota Center.
The Rockets should get Fred VanVleet back tonight and maybe Marcus Smart. Steven Adams remains out. The fact that Houston still beat Atlanta without three key members of their rotation is impressive. The final few minutes of the fourth quarter caused PTSD, but unlike many instances last season, the Rockets held on.
With this being a home-and-home, Atlanta is likely to come out the more desperate team. No one likes losing to the same team twice in a row. The Hawks also probably felt that if the game was just one or two minutes longer, they would have completed the comeback. Still, with the game in Houston, the Rockets could try to get greedy. For Atlanta, they will feel like they won’t shoot 27% from deep again.
Houston only has one back-to-back against the same team again this season, and it will happen in late March with two games in two nights in Portland.
Tip-off
7:30pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Marcus Smart: GTD
Hawks
Mo Gueye: OUT
The Line (as of this post)
HOU -5.5
Check here for updates
Schedule Advantage Counter
Rockets: 0
Opponents: 1
Looking ahead because we can
Wednesday night in Milwaukee against the Bucks
Is Ville Koivunen Turning A Corner?
It's no secret that the Ville Koivunen contract took basically everybody by surprise this summer.
Heck, fans had to read the Pittsburgh Penguins' announcement of the eight-year contract multiple times to make sure it wasn't coming from a fake account.
The deal showed that the team believed in him, and after an up-and-down first few games, Koivunen has been really good for the last week and a half. It looked like he was going to be scratched during the Penguins' recent four-game road trip until Egor Chinakhov got banged up.
From then on, Koivunen has looked confident every time he's stepped onto the ice and has been a great fit in the top six.
He had a great assist on Evgeni Malkin's opening goal against the Colorado Avalanche on Oct. 16, then got a couple of quality chances against the Vegas Golden Knights the following night. Even though most Penguins players looked dreadful in that game, Koivunen was one of the bright spots.
Koivunen then carried that play over into the first two games of this three-game home stand. It started on Thursday against the Florida Panthers when he delivered a perfect pass to Hendrix Lapierre, who made it 2-0 in the second period.
He continued his strong play against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, scoring his first overtime goal to lift the Penguins to a 3-2 win. With less than 1:30 to go in OT, Koivunen corralled a puck from Lapierre at the right circle, lost it for a split second, then regained control, stepped into the slot, and fired a great shot to win the game.
VILLE KOIVUNEN IS THE HERO IN OVERTIME 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/rwxrE0EPvo
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) October 25, 2026
He's more of a playmaker and has shown great vision lately, but he's also made nice strides with his release. He's also been better along the walls and around the net.
Penguins head coach Dan Muse spoke glowingly about Koivunen's performance after Saturday's game.
"Koivy's playing really good hockey," Muse said. "I think we've seen that from him, you know, for a number of games. I think his game's just continuing to take steps. So, I think, sometimes with guys, too, it's just a matter of getting, you know, the more time that you get, you need those opportunities to be able to stack some things and stack some games. I think you've seen that now with Koivy."
Penguins Notebook: Brazeau Returns To Team's On-Ice Practice; Injury Updates; High-Energy SessionThe Penguins held a high-spirited split practice Sunday that featured full participation from some injured players.I know Malkin didn't play on Saturday because of an illness, but when he's played with Koivunen this year, things have gone pretty well. Koivunen has skated with Malkin in nine games this season, and when they're on the ice together, the Penguins are controlling 57% of the shot attempts, 52.5% of the scoring chances, and 65% of the high-danger chances.
Once Malkin is back from his illness, I'd give Koivunen more minutes with him to see what he does. Yes, other injured players are set to return soon, but Koivunen deserves more runway in the top six with the way he's playing.
If he keeps it up, it will likely only mean good things for the Penguins.
(Data via Natural Stat Trick).
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Timberwolves 117, Raptors 94: The Sky is the Limit
The vibes are pretty, pretty good in Minnesota right now.
The Minnesota Timberwolves just finished yet another fairly complete victory to begin the season 3-0, with the Kawhi Leonard-less Toronto Raptors serving as the team’s latest victim.
Unlike the previous win over the Orlando Magic, the Wolves did not endure poor shooting nights from Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball en route to a 23-point victory. Things are starting to click, and this team has a ton of potential.
In the past, Timberwolves fans could consider games like this a trap game. The team has had a propensity to play down to lesser opponents and keep them in the game, especially if said opponents are missing one of their star players. Minnesota now has a good start to rewriting that narrative with this thorough dismantling of a weakened Eastern Conference team at the Target Center home opener.
Regardless of the evening’s narrative regarding Toronto missing Leonard, the Raptors are still widely considered to be one of the better teams in the now-loaded East. We’ll see how different things look later in the season when the Wolves play the Raptors in Toronto (and presumably with Leonard in the starting lineup), though this performance is exactly what should be expected of a Minnesota team with increasingly legitimate championship aspirations.
Jim Petersen said it himself. This all feels sustainable for the Timberwolves.
LaMelo Ball Impacts Winning
LaMelo Ball is good, dude. No, seriously.
Ball played a modest 17 minutes and finished the game at +33. This is, to put it mildly, a wildly inconsistent statistic, but it was felt today. His 15 points (on 5—for-8 shooting, 4—for-5 from three-point range) and eight assists tell the tale of how impactful his usage was in those minutes.
It was an opinion that was seemingly in the minority among NBA fans not located in Minnesota or Charlotte, though it is increasingly clear that LaMelo Ball has what it takes to be a winning player. Theatrics and demeanor aside, the guy makes smart plays and brings the best out of his teammates. There’s not much more you can ask from your starting point guard.
The eye test tells the same tale as the stats. Minnesota shot 22/29 from the floor in Ball’s 17 minutes tonight. We’ve seen all of the offseason statistics about how much Ball raised the offensive floor for the Charlotte Hornets over the latter half of last season – pushing them to all-time categories in offensive benchmarks – and it would appear that momentum has carried over to a Timberwolves squad that possesses far more talent than that Hornets roster.
When he wasn’t throwing lobs to Joan Beringer or Jaden McDaniels, Ball was manipulating the Raptors defense and creating wide-open looks for his teammates. This level of impact is what has allowed the Wolves to get out to these major leads to start the season, which also allows the team to limit his minutes to mitigate the risk of injury.
It’s a win-win situation for Head Coach Chris Finch
Sure, Ball may have been limited by some foul trouble (four total across his 17 minutes, but the three in the first half hampered his playing time). However, it’s still a great time to buy stock in Ball’s long-term effectiveness on this team.
As of right now, the potential is limitless. It’s looking to stay that way for a while.
Defensive Identity Continues to Shine
Lost in the glitter and glam of Minnesota’s newfound offensive potential is the continued defensive impact of their stalwarts in Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels. Their energy becomes infectious for the rest of the team’s effort, and this showed itself in holding the Raptors to a meager 38% from the field (35-91) and 26% from three (10-38).
Particularly emblematic of this notion is the team’s work on Scottie Barnes, who was held to zero points (0-12). The Toronto Raptors are not one of the darlings of the Eastern Conference just because of Kawhi Leonard, but because they have a tough, well-balanced starting lineup and a pesky bench unit with plenty of guys who contribute to winning in different ways.
This was not the case on Sunday night. The Raptors got some decent scoring nights out of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Ja’Kobe Walter ( who continues to shine to start this season, scoring 22 on 7-12), but it was not enough to overcome the total offensive dud from Barnes.
That ability of the Wolves to completely take players out of the game could pay dividends for Minnesota going forward. It’s a tall task to ask a team to ascend within the Western Conference that’s already so brutal, but if they can limit the impact of at least one key player per team in this manner, it seems feasible to tip the scales in their favor.
Defensive identity has been a hallmark of the team since the arrival of Gobert, while the offense had typically been dependent on the heroics of Edwards and former Timberwolves fulcrums Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle.
With fewer concerns about getting buckets now that Ball is in town, the team can continue to lean into that identity while not fearing a lack of impact on the offensive end of the floor.
Strong Bench Performances
We all know what Ayo Dosunmu brings to the Timberwolves. He earned every penny of his new contract with the team, and he has continued to excel in his role. As the minutes for Ball will continue to be managed for various reasons, Dosunmu is a natural fit with any and all lineup combinations that Finch puts together.
We’re also beginning to see more of the reserves put in complete and complementary performances during their limited minutes.
Beringer, as mentioned before, is looking more comfortable on the offensive end of the floor. While he only played 13 minutes, the French center (the young one without the crazy facial hair) snagged six rebounds to go with six points on 2/3 from the floor and 2/2 at the charity stripe.
TJ Shannon Jr. also managed 15 points on 5/6 shooting in just 23 minutes of play. Bones Hyland did not have a great shooting night, going scoreless from the field, though he found other ways to impact the game as the diminutive guard contributed two steals and a shocking three blocks on the night. Even Trey Lyles, who has had a slow start to the season, pitched in three points, six rebounds, and a steal to go along with a +14.
As the new-look Timberwolves continue to grow into their newfound roles, the efficiency and production of this bench unit will begin to take a more concrete shape. The roster is deep enough that Finch can employ different personnel on any given night in order to adapt to whatever the matchup is throwing at him, and the players are buying into their roles on any given night.
The Timberwolves haven’t lost a game yet, and beyond a poor shooting night against the Orlando Magic, it’s been hard to poke holes in this team’s performance thus far. There will be bumps in the road yet to come, though it is encouraging to see few weak spots from top to bottom with this team.
Up Next
The Timberwolves’ time at home is short-lived, as the team will travel to Cleveland tomorrow for yet another game against an Eastern Conference opponent expected to make some noise in the playoff race.
Minnesota will take on the 1-1 Cavaliers at 6:00 PM Central Time. Catch the game on DAZN-MN and NBA League Pass.