Sports

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Jeff Carter had a pair of goals, Sidney Crosby scored on a nifty backhand shot in the second period to reach the 30-goal mark for an 11th season and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Crosby moved into a tie with Hall-of-Fame center Mario

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his 21 points during Philadelphia’s dominant first half, and the 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 116-91. De’Anthony Melton had 25 points as Philadelphia earned a split of its four-game season series against Chicago. Joel Embiid added 12 points, seven rebounds and

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds in just 24 minutes as the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks rolled to  a 130-94 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. The Bucks extended their Eastern Conference advantage to 2½ games over the Boston Celtics as they prepare for a

OREM, Utah (AP) — Justin Harmon and Trey Woodbury each scored 17 points and Utah Valley advanced to the NIT semifinals in Las Vegas with a 74-68 victory over Cincinnati. Utah Valley will play in the NIT semifinals for the first time in program history on Tuesday night against UAB. The Wolverines have won seven

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid left the team’s 116-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls with mild right calf tightness. Embiid, one of the front-runners for the NBA MVP award, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in just over 16 minutes of playing time.

By IAN HARRISON Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard had 25 points and 10 assists in his first NBA game back home in Canada, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Toronto Raptors 118-114 to snap their home winning streak at seven. Myles Turner scored 16 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 15 and Buddy

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant finished with 17 points and five assists in his return to action after a league-imposed suspension and Jaren Jackson Jr. had season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Houston Rockets 130-125. Desmond Bane scored 20 points and Tyus Jones

By BRIAN HALL Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points in his long-awaited return from a strained right calf and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 125-124. Naz Reid added 26 points off the bench and Jaden McDaniels had 25 for Minnesota, which trailed by 10 points with 7:18

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler scored 35 points, Tyler Herro scored 14 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat moved closer to escaping play-in tournament range by beating the New York Knicks 127-120. Herro made four 3-pointers in the fourth for the Heat, who led

By JAMES ROBSON AP Soccer Writer MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Bidders trying to buy Manchester United have been given more time to submit second offers for the iconic soccer team. The deadline for the latest round of bids had been set for 9 p.m. Wednesday, but American merchant bank Raine has agreed to an unspecified

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Walker had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Trey Jemison added 17 points and 12 rebounds and UAB beat Vanderbilt 67-59 to advance to the NIT semifinals in Las Vegas. UAB set a school record for most wins in a season, topping last year’s squad that advanced to the

SYDNEY (AP) — Tanzanian-born Nestory Irankunda is in line to become the youngest-ever player to suit up for Australia’s national men’s soccer team. The 17-year-old Irankunda plays for Adelaide United in the domestic A-League and has been promoted to the Socceroos squad to face Ecuador in a friendly in Sydney on Friday. He was originally

By IAN NICHOLAS QUILLEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets shook off a slow start and beat the short-handed Washington Wizards 118-104. Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points and Jamal Murray had 17 for Western Conference-leading Denver. The Nuggets went 15 of 32 from

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have signed center Nick Richards to a multiyear contract extension. Richards was a second-round pick in 2020 and has appeared in 58 games with five starts this season. He is averaging career highs with 7.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.2 minutes per game. Richards has

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The opening day of round-robin matches delivered its share of big shots and bizarre records in the Dell Technologies Match Play. Jon Rahm lost in the opening session for the first time dating to his debut in 2017. Keegan Bradley now has gone 16 consecutive matches without winning. He at least

By CLAY BAILEY Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant was welcomed back Wednesday night with a standing ovation and cheers throughout the arena in his first action after missing nine games — eight because of an NBA suspension. Morant, who was not in the starting lineup against the Houston Rockets,

By JOHN MARSHALL and MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writers LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drew Timme and Jaime Jaquez Jr. grew up in different states, yet often came across each other at AAU tournaments, sometimes as roommates. The two fancy-footworking forwards with the fantastic facial hair will be reunited Thursday night in Las Vegas, when Gonzaga