d Page 79 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

No. 4 Purdue looks to rebound against fiery No. 11 Illinois
If you want to witness the most efficient offenses in college basketball, then West Lafayette, Ind., is the only place to be Saturday., ,No. 11 Illinois (16-3, 7-1 Big Ten), which per KenPom.com boasts the nation's most efficient tempo-free offense at 129.5 points per 100 possessions, puts its eight...

Vegas' Mitch Marner prepares for 'emotional night' in Toronto
Longtime Toronto Maple Leafs stalwart Mitch Marner is bracing for an emotional Friday night when he visits his former team for the first time as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.,Marner got an indication of how things could go for him on Jan. 15 when the Golden Knights came back to earn a 6-5 ho...

NBA roundup: Tyrese Maxey's clutch shots push 76ers past Rockets in OT
Tyrese Maxey scored 36 points, including clutch plays late in regulation and at the end of overtime, lifting the Philadelphia 76ers to a 128-122 home win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday., ,Maxey added 10 assists for Philadelphia, while Joel Embiid put up some impressive stats of his own with 32...

Trail Blazers F Deni Avdija (back) expected to play Friday
Portland Trail Blazers standout forward Deni Avdija is expected to be available for Friday's game with the Toronto Raptors after leaving Thursday's 127-110 win over the visiting Miami Heat with back soreness.,"I think he'll be fine," Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter told reporters after the game, ...

NHL roundup: Predators rally behind Steven Stamkos' hat trick to beat Sens
Steven Stamkos scored with 1:13 remaining to break a deadlock and complete his second hat trick of the season, as the host Nashville Predators rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday night., ,The Predators celebrated captain Roman Josi's 1,000th career game. Sta...

Wild's Kirill Kaprizov caps big night with OT goal vs. Wings
Kirill Kaprizov tallied two goals and an assist, including the winning goal 45 seconds into overtime, to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night in Saint Paul, Minn.,Mats Zuccarello also finished with two goals and an assist for Minnesota, which has won thre...

Trail Blazers F Deni Avdija (back) ruled out vs. Heat
Portland Trail Blazers standout forward Deni Avdija exited Thursday night's game against the visiting Miami Heat with back soreness early in the third quarter and didn't return.,Avdija had 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes before his departure.,Avdija left the contest less tha...

Steven Stamkos' hat trick helps Predators rally to beat Senators
Steven Stamkos scored with 1:13 remaining to break a deadlock and complete his second hat trick of the season, as the host Nashville Predators rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday night., ,The Predators celebrated captain Roman Josi's 1,000th career game with...

Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 16 Oklahoma upends No. 2 South Carolina in OT
Aaliyah Chavez posted 15 points in overtime, including four three-pointers, as No. 16 Oklahoma upset No. 2 South Carolina 94-82 on Thursday in Norman, Okla.,Chavez totaled 26 points overall with four rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma (15-4, 3-3 SEC), which trailed 43-36 at halftime. Payton Ver...

Sabres close gap against Canadiens in road victory
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves to help the visiting Buffalo Sabres to a 4-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.,Jason Zucker, Beck Malenstyn, Zach Benson and Peyton Krebs scored for the Sabres, who halted a two-game skid and moved within two points of Montreal for third in the Atlant...

Bruins benefit from quick flurry of goals, defeat Golden Knights
The Boston Bruins scored three goals in a 54-second span midway through the first period and held on for a 4-3 win over the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.,Charlie McAvoy, Elias Lindholm (one goal, one assist) and Tanner Jeannot scored Boston's fastest three goals since 2001 before ...

Peyton Watson's huge night propels Nuggets past Wizards
Peyton Watson scored a career-high 35 points to go along with eight rebounds, fueling the visiting Denver Nuggets to a 107-97 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday.,Watson made 10 of 16 shots from the floor -- including 6 of 8 from 3-point range -- and added four blocks. His previous caree...

Women's Top 25 roundup: No. 10 Iowa outlasts No. 15 Maryland in OT
Chazadi Wright posted eight of her 12 points in overtime as No. 10 Iowa pulled off an impressive 85-78 victory against No. 15 Maryland on Thursday in College Park, Md.,Ava Heiden had a team-leading 20 points for Iowa (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten), which took a 33-27 lead into halftime but was forced into over...

Oilers expect star F Leon Draisaitl to return Saturday
The Edmonton Oilers expect star forward Leon Draisaitl to return to the team on Saturday when they host the Washington Capitals, coach Kris Knoblauch said Thursday.,Draisaitl, 30, missed his fourth consecutive game on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins after taking a leave of absence on Jan. 1...

Broncos’ Jarrett Stidham: Once AFC title game begins, ‘it’s just football’
Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi found out about his starting quarterback's fractured ankle when his son told him on their drive home from Sunday's game.,"I didn't believe him," Lombardi said, "but I got it confirmed.",That's how suddenly the news hit after the Broncos' 33-30 overti...

Struggling Flyers face tall task visiting Avalanche
The Philadelphia Flyers were rolling at the beginning of January, but things have turned sour for them.,Since beating the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 6, the Flyers have gone 1-5-2. Now they face perhaps their toughest task of the season with Friday night's visit to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.,The ...

Min Woo Lee, Pierceson Coody lead The American Express
Min Woo Lee of Australia and Pierceson Coody share the first-round lead and Scottie Scheffler is one off the pace at The American Express after Thursday's action in La Quinta, Calif.,Lee and Coody each shot 10-under-par 62 at the Nicklaus Tournament Course to open the tournament. Coody ran off seven...

Thunder host Pacers for first time since NBA Finals Game 7
The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Indiana Pacers, the Thunder left the court with the city's first NBA championship after their Game 7 win., ,Now, just a day over seven months since Oklahoma City's 103-91 win, the teams meet again Friday on opposite ends of the league's spectrum., ,...

Lowly Kings arrive while Cavaliers plan to continue to thrive
Eight wins in their last 12 games have given the Cleveland Cavaliers a much-needed boost into fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.,The Cavaliers seek to continue that momentum Friday when the Sacramento Kings make their annual pilgrimage to northeast Ohio.,Point guard Donovan Mitchell sc...

Rising Butler aims for third straight win when Marquette visits
Butler hopes to extend its winning ways when it hosts Marquette on Friday night in Indianapolis.,The Bulldogs (12-7, 3-5 Big East) have won two in a row after their 1-5 start in conference play, including a signature win on the road at then-No. 25 Seton Hall followed by an 87-80 win at home over DeP...