Sports
Suns take aim at recent home woes against retooled Mavs
Feb 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) during the first half of an NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns plan a simple remedy for their miserable shooting performance Saturday.
“Keep shooting,” guard Devin Booker said after a 109-103 home loss to Philadelphia, when the Suns made 11 of 46 attempts from 3-point range.
“We have good shooters that space the floor very well. We encourage everybody to keep letting it fly around here, and a majority of the nights aren’t going to look like (this).”
The Suns’ 23.9% mark from distance was well below their 36.5% success rate on the season.
The Suns’ first chance at redemption comes Tuesday in a home game against the new-look Dallas Mavericks. While the Mavs arrive on a seven-game losing streak, they added to their rotation with the haul gained by sending Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.
Power forward Marvin Bagley III, one of Dallas’ new arrivals, had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots off the bench in his first game with the Mavs, a 138-125 loss Saturday at San Antonio.
“Just getting a feel for how the guys play,” said Bagley, a Phoenix native. “Just trying to figure guys out and doing it on the fly at the same time. I think once we figure that out, it will be great.”
The Suns are on a three-game home losing streak as they approach the midpoint of a stretch in which they play 16 of 19 games in their own building. Tuesday’s game is the ninth in that run.
The Suns have not been in sync recently. They have been outrebounded in each of the last four games and have been unable to compensate with their distance shooting and harassing defense.
The Suns shot 39.8% from the field against the 76ers. They made only one of their first 19 attempts from 3-point range to fall into a hole in Booker’s return from a seven-game absence with a right ankle injury.
Booker had 21 points in 32 minutes, going 5 of 12 from the field and 1 of 7 from the 3-point line. Dillon Brooks (28 points) and Collin Gillespie (six points) each went 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts.
“A lot were catch-and-shoot from our best shooters,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “Almost as high-quality as you can get from really good shooters. But it’s a recurring thing. We got to get to the rim.
“We love 3s, but we love getting to the rim, too, and all that does to your offense. The rim is still more valuable.”
The Suns average 14.6 made 3-pointers per game, ninth in the NBA heading into Monday’s play.
Suns guard Jalen Green had eight points, three assists and three rebounds in 17 minutes Saturday during his return from a three-game absence, while Grayson Allen (knee) did not play. He will be reevaluated after the All-Star break.
The Mavs are looking to build around Rookie of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg, with Bagley appearing to be part of the new future.
Flagg had 14 points Saturday, when he played only 26 minutes because of a back issue. He scored 32, 36, 34 and 49 points in his previous four games, in that order.
“Just understanding there was his back,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “It stiffed up on him, so we couldn’t bring him back in.”
Flagg’s status against the Suns remains undetermined, though he did participate in practice Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees acquire IF Max Schuemann in trade with Athletics
Sep 8, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics third baseman Max Schuemann (12) throws the ball to first against the Boston Red Sox during the third inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images The New York Yankees acquired infielder Max Schuemann in a trade with the Athletics on Monday, sending right-handed pitching prospect Luis Burgos as the return.
Schuemann, 28, has appeared in 234 major league games over the 2024-25 seasons for the Athletics, who drafted him in the 20th round of 2018 MLB Draft.
He has a .212 career batting average and .306 on-base percentage with nine home runs, 18 doubles, 47 RBIs and 154 strikeouts to 69 walks. Last season, he hit .197 with two homers and 13 RBI in 101 games.
After largely playing shortstop (93 games) in 2024, Schuemann played his most games (39) at second base followed by third base (27) in 2025. He’s also played each of the outfield spots, bringing some real positional versatility to the Yankees.
Burgos, 20, was a Yankees undrafted-free-agent signing out of the Dominican Republic in June of 2024. He’s posted a 4-4 record and 3.39 ERA over 25 games (10 starts) in two seasons in New York’s farm system.
To make room for Schuemann, the Yankees designated outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez for assignment.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 21 Arkansas rides depth into SEC encounter with LSU
Feb 7, 2026; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks head coach John Calipari talks with guard Meleek Thomas (1) during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Humphrey Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Arkansas has been one of the more successful teams in the Southeastern Conference recently.
The No. 21 Razorbacks (17-6, 7-3 SEC) have won four of their last five games and are just one game behind conference-leading Florida going into their contest against LSU on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Their most recent loss came against Kentucky on Jan. 31, but they bounced back with an 88-68 road victory against Mississippi State on Saturday. The victory came without two injured players, guards D.J. Wagner and Karter Knox, both of whom have started 18 games.
“We know we’re a deep team,” Arkansas forward Nick Pringle said, “so when we’ve got a guy out, next man up.”
Razorbacks freshman Isaiah Sealy played 15 minutes, the most he has played in an SEC game, and had six points, three blocks, two assists and one rebound against the Bulldogs.
“He was ready,” Pringle said. “He’d been locked in all week.”
Sophomore Billy Richmond III made his first start in three weeks and tied his SEC career high with 14 points.
Head coach John Calipari, who used just seven players against Mississippi State, said Wagner and Knox were questionable against LSU.
Even though Calipari was operating with a shortened bench, he still got a team effort. Darius Acuff Jr. had 24 points and eight assists, Trevon Brazile added 19 points and eight rebounds, Meleek Thomas scored 17 and Pringle grabbed a season-high 11 boards.
Arkansas, which defeated visiting LSU 85-81 on Jan. 24, missed its first five shots against Mississippi State.
“We’ve got to get better at (starting),” Calipari said.
LSU started just fine in its most recent game, but quickly saw things turn. The Tigers (14-9, 2-8) rolled to a 31-16 lead against visiting Georgia as they sought consecutive SEC wins for the first time this season.
But Georgia scored the last 11 points of the first half, took a 42-37 halftime lead and led by as many as 17 points in the second half as LSU absorbed an 83-71 defeat.
“I thought there were two things in the difference to the game,” LSU head coach Matt McMahon said. “After a nine (assists) to two (turnovers) ratio, we were three to 12 the rest of the game. Then, after only giving up four offensive rebounds in the first half, we give up 12 in the second.”
Inconsistency within games has plagued the Tigers all season. It doesn’t help that starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr., who leads the team in scoring (15.3) and assists (6.5), has missed the last two games, and seven of 10 SEC contests, because of a lower-leg injury. His status for Tuesday is uncertain.
Thomas had 18 points, five assists and three rebounds in the Jan. 24 loss to the Razorbacks, which was his first SEC start.
“We can’t separate,” said LSU forward Marquel Sutton, who had 14 points as one of just two double-figure scorers against Georgia. “We’ve got to stay together as a group, as a team, just like we’ve been doing all season.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
After stunning defeat, No. 4 Duke out to bounce back vs. Pitt
Feb 7, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Caleb Wilson (8) and Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) fight for the ball in the first half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images After seeing a 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a last-second loss to its rival, No. 4 Duke will aim to bounce back on Tuesday night when it travels to Pittsburgh.
Duke’s road loss to North Carolina, on a last-second shot by the Tar Heels, was just the second of the season for the Blue Devils (21-2, 10-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Duke was outscored by 15 points in the second half and 9-0 over the final 2:25.
A point of contention after the game between the two rivals was the discrepancy in fouls.
North Carolina was whistled for just seven, the lowest for a Duke opponent this season. The Tar Heels also were called for just one foul in the second half. North Carolina is averaging the fewest fouls per game (14.5) in the ACC.
Duke was called for 15 fouls, with starting forward Patrick Ngongba II fouling out in just 16 minutes. Instead of complaining about the officiating, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer used the foul numbers to challenge his players to work harder.
“For me, I don’t know if I’ve been a part of a game where there’s one foul in a half. I thought we were attacking the paint. Clearly, our guys have to play stronger and play better through contact,” Scheyer said. “Let me be very clear, that is not the reason (Duke lost). It’s hard to win, though, if you’re not drawing fouls at all and we’re fouling out. Again, not at all why we lost, but that’s something we have to do a better job with.”
Duke again was led by freshman Cameron Boozer, who finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season and seventh with at least 20 points. Boozer leads the ACC in scoring (23.3 points per game) and rebounding (10.0) this season.
“Get Cam downhill. You just know he’s going to make the right play,” Scheyer said. “Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. I’m taking what we got every day of the week, twice on Sunday.”
Recent meetings between Duke and Pitt (9-15, 2-9) have been family reunions of sorts. Pitt coach Jeff Capel was an All-ACC guard for the Blue Devils in the mid-1990s and spent seven seasons on Duke’s bench as an assistant to longtime coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Scheyer and Capel were on the Blue Devils’ staff together for four seasons.
This season, Capel’s eighth at the helm of the Panthers, has been a struggle. Pitt has its second-worst single-season winning percentage of his tenure at .375. The Panthers have lost nine of their last 11 games, most recently falling at home 86-67 to SMU on Saturday.
Pitt ranks 302nd in scoring with 70.8 points per game.
“For a team that’s struggling like we are, a lot of times guys get energy when they see the ball through the basket,” Capel said. “If it’s not going through the basket, it can drain the energy and suck the energy from them … and then that affects everything. That’s where we have to grow. That’s where our immaturity and inexperience really has to grow.”
Pitt leading scorer Brandin Cummings (12.5 points) has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. Cameron Corhen, who scored 15 points against SMU, delivers 12.3 points per game with a team-best 7.4 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Yankees acquire IF Max Schuemann in trade with Athletics
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