Sports
Pacers aim for continued improvement vs. Hawks
Jan 28, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) shoots the ball while Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The Indiana Pacers have won just 12 of their first 48 games, but every so often they offer glimpses of the team that reached the NBA finals last season.
The injury-plagued Pacers look to build on an encouraging victory when they face the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Indiana rallied for a 113-110 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, while Atlanta had its four-game winning streak snapped in a 104-86 home loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 points and Andrew Nembhard added 18 in the Pacers’ win over Chicago. Indiana trailed by 14 points with 7:14 left in the contest before storming back to win for the second time in its last three games.
Siakam has scored at least 20 points in eight straight games for the Pacers, who have used a league-high 25 different starting lineup combinations this season.
The team’s lengthy injury list includes point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is out for the season with an Achilles tear suffered in last season’s Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals.
“We understand that we’re in a different place and a different position,” Siakam said. “But I just feel like no matter all the adversity that we’ve been through and everything that’s happened, we just have to keep it going.
“We can’t think about our record. We can’t think about anything. We just have to keep focusing on how we can improve and not lose our identity, who we are. No matter who is out there, we have an identity, and that’s gotta stick.”
Indiana is looking to avoid a season sweep after losing its first two meetings against Atlanta. The Hawks posted a 128-108 road victory on Oct. 31 before winning 132-116 at home on Jan. 26.
Atlanta will be without center Onyeka Okongwu for the second straight game after the center suffered a dental fracture in Wednesday’s win over the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks are also monitoring the status of leading scorer Jalen Johnson, who sat out Thursday’s game against Houston with left calf tightness. He is listed as questionable.
With both Okongwu and Johnson sidelined against the Rockets, Atlanta faded in the second half and trailed by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter.
“Not having Jalen and ‘O’ is substantial,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “Their ability to create advantages is something that we rely on defensively. That said, when we did get into the paint, we were trying to challenge.”
CJ McCollum scored 23 points to lead Atlanta in the loss. Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 20 and Corey Kispert had 17. McCollum has scored at least 20 points in three of his last four games.
Christian Koloko started in place of Okongwu and recorded six points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in nearly 26 minutes.
After averaging 120.8 points and 17.3 3-pointers during their four-game winning streak, the Hawks were held to 36.6% shooting and 12 3-pointers in the loss to Houston.
“(The Rockets) are an excellent defensive team, but I think there were some things that we’ve been doing that we didn’t do,” Snyder said.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Illinois G Kylan Boswell (hand) to return vs. Indiana
Jan 17, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) drives the ball around Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images Illinois starting guard Kylan Boswell is set to return for Sunday’s game against Indiana in Champaign, Ill., per the Big Ten availability report.
Boswell missed the last seven games for the eighth-ranked Fighting Illini since fracturing a bone in his right hand during practice on Jan. 19.
Illinois (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) won the first five games in his absence before dropping a pair of overtime contests heading into Sunday’s encounter versus the Hoosiers (17-8, 8-6).
Boswell has averages of 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 18 games this season while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikael Kingsbury wins Canada's first gold of Games in his final Olympics
Mikael Kingsbury of Canada wins the gold medal in the men’s dual moguls in Livigno, Italy, on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Olympics. LIVIGNO, Italy — Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, widely considered one of the best moguls skiers of all time, ended a decorated Winter Olympics career on Sunday with a fast-paced final run that earned him a gold in the Italian Alps.
Kingsbury won the new Olympic event of dual moguls, three days after he had to settle for silver in the single moguls, in what he said was his last Games appearance.
It was the first gold medal for Canada in the Milan Cortina Games.
He beat Ikuma Horishima of Japan, who started strong in the final head-to-head race but lost control and had to bail on the required second jump. Australia’s Matt Graham took bronze on a sunny day in the mountain town of Livigno.
Kingsbury, at 33 the oldest man racing in dual moguls, has claimed a medal in each of the four Olympics he entered.
His first win was a silver in Sochi in 2014, followed by gold at Pyeongchang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022.
“I really wanted this one and I knew it was my last Olympic performance,” Kingsbury said on Sunday. “I gave everything. I had no regrets.”
The Canadian said he dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion when he was 8 years old. He said he printed the Olympic rings on a piece of paper and wrote “I will win.”
“I always believed I could do it,” he said. “I trusted myself.”
On Sunday, Kingsbury held both skis high in the air as he was proclaimed the winner. He closed his eyes and sang along to the national anthem as he stood on the podium. Fans in the crowd waved red-and-white Canadian maple leaf flags.
Dual moguls is a new event at the Olympics, pitting skiers together in a head-to-head elimination format in which two competitors race side-by-side through parallel bump fields. Speed counts, but so do turns and aerial maneuvers.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona F Koa Peat nursing lower leg injury
Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) looks for a pass against Kansas Jayhawks during the game inside Allen Fieldhouse on Feb. 9, 2026. Freshman forward Koa Peat sat out the second half of top-ranked Arizona’s 78-75 loss to No. 16 Texas Tech with a lower-body injury on Saturday in Tucson, Ariz.
“We’re gonna figure it out. It’s a lower leg deal,” Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd said of Peat’s injury. “I know (trainer Justin Kokoskie) and the doctors are on it and I’m sure they’ll do some testing and we’ll figure out where it’s at. But I don’t have anything other than that.”
Peat, who is a projected first-round NBA draft pick, finished with two points and a rebound in 11 minutes of action on Saturday.
He is averaging 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 25 games for Arizona (23-2, 10-2 Big 12), which has lost two in a row following a 23-game winning streak to start the season.
The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday against BYU (19-6, 7-5).
–Field Level Media
Illinois G Kylan Boswell (hand) to return vs. Indiana
Mikael Kingsbury wins Canada's first gold of Games in his final Olympics
