Sports
Trade deadline looms as large as matchup for Bulls, Bucks
Feb 1, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has words with center Myles Turner (3) during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Riding a five-game losing streak after an unsuccessful road trip, the Milwaukee Bucks start a three-game homestand where fans in Milwaukee are likely more focused on what might happen off the court than on it.
With the trade deadline looming on Thursday and the rumors surrounding currently injured superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo only getting louder, Milwaukee will begin the home stretch by hosting the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
On its road trip, Milwaukee competed against Philadelphia and Washington until ultimately falling short late in both of those games. On Sunday in Boston, it was not as close. The Bucks scored their fewest points in a game all season, losing 107-79 to the Celtics.
“It’s hard to create shots. … Whenever we took (Ryan Rollins) off the floor, Bobby (Portis) off the floor, the scoring came to a halt,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “When you’re struggling and you start missing shots, it starts to snowball. That’s what I felt tonight.”
Rollins led his Bucks team playing without Antetokounmpo or second-leading scorer Kevin Porter Jr. (oblique) with 25 points and seven assists. Myles Turner, who had scored 31 and 21 points the two games prior, added just seven on 2-of-8 shooting.
Chicago arrives in Milwaukee after facing the Miami Heat in each of its last three games. Miami won two of those matchups, including a dominant 134-91 effort in the finale on Sunday.
Coby White led the Bulls with 16 points despite his 4-for-13 shooting performance. Chicago shot just 6-for-41 (14.6%) from beyond the arc and 32.2% from the floor.
Tuesday is Chicago’s final game prior to the 3 p.m. Thursday trade deadline. The Bulls have nine players on expiring contracts, including White, Nikola Vucevic and Kevin Huerter, making them a team to watch.
Chicago has already been part of a move, acquiring Dario Saric in a three-team trade with Cleveland and Sacramento. Chicago sent Emanuel Miller to Cleveland in the deal and also waived Jevon Carter.
“I’ve heard nothing but great things (on Saric). I’ve always loved his IQ, his feel for the game. He hasn’t been in the rotation a whole lot this year, but a veteran guy that’s been around, in terms of getting him caught up to speed in terms of what we do, I’d imagine it’ll be pretty simple for him,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.
Josh Giddey leads Chicago averaging 18.6 points and 8.8 assists per night. Vucevic leads down low averaging nine rebounds along with nearly 17 points per game.
On the injury front, there is still no official timetable for Antetokounmpo (calf strain) from the Bucks, despite his own estimate of four to six weeks starting from January 24th. Porter also lacks an official timetable but won’t be returning anytime soon.
Gary Harris (hamstring) also missed Milwaukee’s last game and is listed as out again on Tuesday.
Without Antetokounmpo and Porter, the Bucks are missing a combined 44.8 points and 13 assists per game.
Rollins averages 16.5 points and 5.5 assists, while Portis has been a consistent scoring threat, averaging 13.2 points and is among the league leaders in 3-point percentage (45.2).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) scores near VCU Rams forward Michael Belle (8) March 21, 2026 during the first half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrej Stojakovic scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half to help No. 3 Illinois breeze past No. 11 VCU for a 76-55 win in a second-round South Region matchup on Saturday night.
Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (26-8), which advanced to its second Sweet 16 in 21 years. It will face No. 2 Houston on Thursday in Houston.
Keaton Wagler scored 14 and Kylan Boswell finished with 12 for the Fighting Illini, who won their first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 56 points.
Terrence Hill Jr. led VCU (28-8) with 17 points and seven boards, while Barry Evans and Tyrell Ward had 11 apiece. The Rams shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%) on 3-point attempts in the lopsided loss.
Holding a seven-point halftime lead, Illinois opened the second half with Wagler and David Mirkovic’s back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the margin to 13.
Zvonimir Ivisic’s dunk and Boswell’s trey were part of a 7-0 Illinois spurt that put the Fighting Illini ahead 50-32 with 13:24 left. Five straight points from Hill sparked a brief Rams rally, but Wagler’s consecutive baskets, Stojakovic’s dunk and Tomislav Ivisic’s triple gave the Fighting Illini a 59-37 lead.
Illinois’ overwhelming cushion ballooned to 23 on Tomislav Ivisic’s dunk, which was answered by Ward’s 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark. Ben Humrichous’ 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining punctuated the Fighting Illini’s resounding win.
Mirkovic’s layup stamped an early 9-0 run to give Illinois an 11-2 lead. After Boswell’s 3-pointer pushed the margin to 12, VCU stormed back with a 15-3 spurt, tying the game at 23 on Ward’s putback layup.
The Rams grabbed their first lead on Hill’s mid-range jumper with 3:09 left in the first half. From there, Stojakovic answered with a personal 9-0 run to close the half and give the Fighting Illini a 35-28 lead at the break.
– Jack Batten, Field Level Media
Sports
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kylan Boswell (4) scores near VCU Rams forward Michael Belle (8) March 21, 2026 during the first half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament second round East Region game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrej Stojakovic scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half to help No. 3 Illinois breeze past No. 11 VCU for a 76-55 win in a second-round South Region matchup on Saturday night.
Tomislav Ivisic added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Illinois (26-8), which advanced to its second Sweet 16 in 21 years. It will face No. 2 Houston on Thursday in Houston.
Keaton Wagler scored 14 and Kylan Boswell finished with 12 for the Fighting Illini, who won their first two NCAA Tournament games by a combined 56 points.
Terrence Hill Jr. led VCU (28-8) with 17 points and seven boards, while Barry Evans and Tyrell Ward had 11 apiece. The Rams shot just 7-for-32 (21.9%) on 3-point attempts in the lopsided loss.
Holding a seven-point halftime lead, Illinois opened the second half with Wagler and David Mirkovic’s back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the margin to 13.
Zvonimir Ivisic’s dunk and Boswell’s trey were part of a 7-0 Illinois spurt that put the Fighting Illini ahead 50-32 with 13:24 left. Five straight points from Hill sparked a brief Rams rally, but Wagler’s consecutive baskets, Stojakovic’s dunk and Tomislav Ivisic’s triple gave the Fighting Illini a 59-37 lead.
Illinois’ overwhelming cushion ballooned to 23 on Tomislav Ivisic’s dunk, which was answered by Ward’s 3-pointer at the 3:31 mark. Ben Humrichous’ 3-pointer with 1:52 remaining punctuated the Fighting Illini’s resounding win.
Mirkovic’s layup stamped an early 9-0 run to give Illinois an 11-2 lead. After Boswell’s 3-pointer pushed the margin to 12, VCU stormed back with a 15-3 spurt, tying the game at 23 on Ward’s putback layup.
The Rams grabbed their first lead on Hill’s mid-range jumper with 3:09 left in the first half. From there, Stojakovic answered with a personal 9-0 run to close the half and give the Fighting Illini a 35-28 lead at the break.
– Jack Batten, Field Level Media
Sports
Harper matches career high in first pro start as Spurs hammer Pacers
Mar 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) looks over in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Rookie Dylan Harper poured in a career-high-tying 24 points in his first career start and Keldon Johnson also hit for 24 points as the host San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 134-119 win over the hapless Indiana Pacers on Saturday.
The Spurs (53-18) remain on a torrid pace as they won their fifth straight game and for the 21st time in their past 23 contests. San Antonio has lost just twice in March after going undefeated in February and remain three games behind Oklahoma City for the best record in the NBA with 11 games left.
Meanwhile, Indiana dropped its 16th consecutive outing. The Pacers (15-56) continue to establish a dubious team mark for losses in a row with every setback and have already been eliminated from postseason consideration.
San Antonio led by 13 points at halftime and by 100-85 entering the final period. Victor Wembanyama rang up 10 points over the first three and half minutes of the fourth quarter, with his 3-pointer with 8:34 to play boosting the Spurs’ advantage to 21 points. San Antonio cruised to the finish while leading by as many as 28 points in the stretch run.
Wembanyama finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots in 26 minutes of court time. De’Aaron Fox added 14 points for the Spurs, with Harrison Barnes scoring 12 and Julian Champagnie hitting for 10.
San Antonio played without star guard Stephon Castle for the second straight game because of right hip stiffness. Devin Vassell (right hamstring tightness) also missed the game for the Spurs.
Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard led all scorers with 25 points while Jarace Walker tallied 21,
Pascal Siakam scored 14 in his first game back after missing six contests with a sprained right knee and Obi Toppin added 11.
The Spurs were in command from the game’s early minutes and carried a 42-29 advantage after 12 minutes of play.
San Antonio stoked its lead to 21 points when Barnes poured in a jumper from beyond the arc with 2:42 to play in the second period.
But the Pacers swung back, finishing the half with 10-2 run capped by Siakam’s jumper with 26 seconds left that allowed Indiana to draw to 66-53 at the break.
Johnson paced all scorers with 16 points before halftime while Siakam led the Pacers with 12 points in the first half.
–Field Level Media
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
Andrej Stojakovic, No. 3 Illinois blow past No. 11 VCU
