Sports
Season-long winning streak in reach for Knicks against Wizards
Feb 1, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent (7) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Landry Shamet has made six 3-pointers in a game on three occasions this season, including twice during the New York Knicks’ current six-game winning streak.
Shamet will look to find his range again as the Knicks bid to set a season-high winning streak on Tuesday night against the host Washington Wizards.
Shamet made three shots from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to highlight his 23-point performance in 26 minutes off the bench on Sunday, helping New York to a 112-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I always say I have the easy job,” Shamet said. “I’m on the receiving end. It’s guys like (Jalen Brunson) getting blitzed and having to make the right decision. My job is to catch the ball and shoot the ball.”
Shamet is making an impressive 43.5% of his attempts from 3-point range this season. He is averaging 9.3 points in 24 games (six starts) during a season in which he missed 25 games due to a right shoulder sprain.
“It’s part of the journey,” Shamet said. “There are highs and lows in this thing. You can’t get caught up on either end of that spectrum. Just take care of your work every day, try to be a good teammate and the rest will take care of itself.”
OG Anunoby scored 25 points on Sunday, Josh Hart had 20 points and Brunson collected 12 points and a season-high 13 assists for the Knicks.
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded 11 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday, hours after he was named as an Eastern Conference reserve in the upcoming All-Star Game. He joins Brunson, on the All-Star team for the second year in a row, for the game at Inglewood, Calif. on Feb. 15.
Towns had 33 points and 13 rebounds in New York’s 119-102 win over Washington on Nov. 3. Brunson and Anunoby each had 16 points for the Knicks, who took advantage of 20 turnovers and held a 52-42 edge in points in the paint.
Alex Sarr scored 19 points in that game, and Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George and Corey Kispert each had 15 for Washington.
The Wizards answered a recent nine-game losing streak by winning three of their last four contests, including a 116-112 decision over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Rookie Will Riley posted season highs in points (18), made 3-pointers (four) and assists (six) to propel Washington.
“Our team was giving me the opportunity to drive, shoot and they were creating space for me to get into the gaps. I couldn’t do it without them,” Riley said in his postgame interview with Monumental Sports Network.
AJ Johnson added a season-high 17 points and Coulibaly and Marvin Bagley III each scored 15 for the Wizards, who enjoyed a 61-20 advantage in bench points.
“We brought a good mentality. It was great,” Riley said of the team’s attitude. “We just competed and it was an all-around fun game.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Predators look to further cement playoff position in Chicago
Mar 21, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen (29) blocks the shot of Vegas Golden Knights left wing Ivan Barbashev (49) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images The streaking Nashville Predators moved into a Western Conference wild-card spot on Saturday.
On Sunday, they’ll aim to strengthen their playoff positioning.
Winners of three straight and four of six, Nashville (32-28-9, 73 points) is set to visit the slumping Chicago Blackhawks (26-31-12, 64 points).
Nashville is coming off Saturday’s 4-1 home victory against the Vegas Golden Knights. Coupled with the Los Angeles Kings’ home loss to Buffalo by the same score, the Predators climbed into the final wild-card spot in the West.
“It’s just the belief in the guys in this room, and that’s all that matters,” Nashville’s Steven Stamkos said. “The coaching staff has a belief. The players have a belief. It’s not always going to be pretty. We understand at this time of the year points are more important than how the game looks, but you want to build and we have.”
Stamkos tallied two goals and an assist for the Predators while Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and assist to back a 39-save effort from Justus Annunen.
Stamkos and O’Reilly scored on the power play in the second period as special teams continued to be an asset in the club’s surge. Stamkos moved past Brendan Shanahan with his 238th career goal on the man advantage, good for seventh all-time.
“As a group there’s urgency there (on the power play),” O’Reilly said. “We’re putting pucks at the net, and we’re winning battles. We’ve got to keep building off of that. Obviously, the last couple of games that’s helped us, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”
Chicago will aim to salvage a split of an abbreviated two-game homestand before playing four straight on the road next week.
Playing the second leg of a back-to-back on Friday, the Blackhawks were outmatched in a 4-1 loss to the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche.
Wyatt Kaiser scored the only goal for the Blackhawks while goaltender Arvid Soderblom kept the hosts somewhat close by making 45 saves.
“(Colorado’s) level is a level that we want to get to,” Chicago forward Ryan Greene said. “They’re going to be a contending team this year, so that’s definitely a measuring stick.”
No matter the foe, the Blackhawks know they must improve their special teams to stay afloat during the stretch run.
Colorado scored two power-play goals on five opportunities as the Blackhawks get acclimated to different personnel amid various injuries. Forward Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Louis Crevier missed the game with undisclosed injuries. Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill said he expected the duo to rejoin the lineup during its upcoming trip.
“Penalty kill’s one of those things where there’s so many different nuances that happen,” Blashill said. “We certainly have our structure, but I don’t know any way to learn it without going through it.”
Nashville can clinch the season series with a victory. The Predators won 4-3 in Chicago on Nov. 28 and 4-2 in Nashville on Feb. 26. In between, the Blackhawks earned a 3-0 road shutout behind call-up goaltender Drew Commesso on Jan. 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs OF Seiya Suzuki (knee) will not be ready for Opening Day
Mar 14, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Japan center fielder Seiya Suzuki (51) exits the game after an apparent injury against Venezuela in the first inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Chicago Cubs power-hitting outfielder Seiya Suzuki will not be available for Opening Day, manager Craig Counsell told the assembled media before Saturday’s Cactus League game vs. Seattle in Peoria, Ariz.
The Cubs open the season at Wrigley Field vs. the Nationals on Thursday. Counsell ruled Suzuki out for that game, but not necessarily on the injured list.
“Look, we’ve had good days ever since he’s been back to camp,” Counsell said. “Opening Day, it’s not going to happen. (He’s) not going to be ready to play on Opening Day. Once you get past Opening Day, we’ve got to make a decision, does it just make sense to give him some time? We’ve got time to make that decision.”
Suzuki suffered a minor sprain of the right posterior cruciate ligament while attempting to steal second base in the first inning of Japan’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal loss on March 14 to eventual champion Venezuela.
Entering his fifth year with the Cubs, the 31-year old has done some throwing and hitting, but has not started any running drills.
Suzuki posted career highs a season ago with 32 home runs and 103 RBIs in 151 games played. In four seasons with the Cubs, he has hit for an average of .269, belted 87 home runs and driven in 296 runs.
He is in the final year of a five-year $85 million contract.
According to reports, non-roster invitee Michael Conforto has been informed that he will be added to the 40-man roster and begin the season in Chicago. Conforto is a ten-year big league outfielder, who has played with the New York Mets (2015-21), San Francisco Giants (2023-24) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2025). He has 179 home runs and 556 RBIs, including 33 and 92 respectively in 2019.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thunder's win streak at 11 as Wizards lose 15th straight
Mar 21, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Sharife Cooper (13) dribbles as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) defends during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Wizards 132-111 on Saturday to stretch their winning streak to 11 and Washington’s skid to 15.
Just before halftime, the Wizards’ Justin Champagnie and the Thunder’s Jaylin WIlliams got into a scuffle that led to their ejections along with Williams’ teammates, Ajay Mitchell and Cason Wallace.
The scuffle moved behind the basket, with the teams’ coaching staffs and security coming over to help break up the brawl.
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jared McCain scored 18 off the bench.
Isaiah Hartenstein continued to make a significant impact early, with six rebounds and two assists before scoring his first points since March 1 to put the Thunder up by nine just four minutes in.
Hartenstein finished with nine points, a career-high-tying 20 rebounds and 10 assists, nearly missing out on his second career triple-double.
Though the Wizards (16-54) had been struggling and the Thunder (56-15) soaring, it wasn’t until a late third-quarter burst that Oklahoma City gained control for good.
After Will Riley’s three-point play with less than two minutes remaining tied it, Gilgeous-Alexander took over.
He scored seven points and had an assist in a 10-3 Thunder run to end the quarter. His first and last shots during that sequence were his most impressive.
After Riley tied it, the reigning MVP drove to the basket and got knocked off balance, flipping the ball underhand as he fell for a basket as he fell to the floor.
Then, with time winding down, Gilgeous-Alexander hit a step-back, 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the momentum heading Oklahoma City’s way.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points in the third, going 7 for 12 from the floor with three assists. He finished 17 of 27 with seven assists.
It was Gilgeous-Alexander’s seventh 40-plus-point game of the season.
The Thunder scored the first 15 points of the final quarter to put the game away.
Washington didn’t score for nearly six minutes in the fourth, missing its first 10 shots.
Oklahoma City outscored Washington 64-40 in the paint.
Bilal Coulibaly led six Washington players in double figures with 21 points while Bub Carrington added 19.
–Field Level Media
Predators look to further cement playoff position in Chicago
Cubs OF Seiya Suzuki (knee) will not be ready for Opening Day
