Sports
Jalen Johnson helps Hawks torment Sixers with season sweep
Mar 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Quentin Grimes (5) drives to the basket against Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images Jalen Johnson had 35 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks completed a four-game season series sweep with a 125-116 victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had four second-half 3-pointers and finished with 24 points and six assists for Atlanta, which won its season-high sixth straight game. The Hawks have won five straight at home.
Johnson and Alexander-Walker made back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 12-2 fourth-quarter run that took a tie game to a 10-point, 114-104 Hawks advantage.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia, which lost for the third time in four games, with 31 points. Quentin Grimes scored 15 of his 26 points in the second half, while Kelly Oubre Jr. returned to the lineup after missing one game and had 24 points and five rebounds.
Joel Embiid missed his fourth straight contest with a strained right oblique, while rookie VJ Edgecombe missed his second straight game with a back contusion.
Maxey had 15 first-quarter points as Philadelphia took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and stayed in front for the rest of the half, despite Johnson’s 13 second-quarter points.
Both teams were hot throughout the first half. The Sixers shot 65.2% (30 for 46) from the field, including 61.5% (8 for 13) from beyond the arc.
Atlanta responded by shooting 63.9% from the field (23 of 36) and 50% (5 for 10) from 3-point land. The Hawks were able to stay close at the break thanks to shooting 88% (15 for 17) from the foul line in the half.
Alexander-Walker had three 3-pointers in the third quarter as Atlanta took its first lead since the game’s early minutes. Despite Grimes’ 10 points in the quarter, Philadelphia was outscored, 31-21.
CJ McCollum added 17 points and seven assists for Atlanta, which is two games over .500 for the first time since mid-December. Dyson Daniels contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, and Onyeka Okongwu chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
The 76ers will no doubt be pleased to know they don’t have to face Johnson anymore this year, at least in the regular season. He scored 35 or more points three times against Philadelphia this season. He posted four double-doubles and one triple-double.
Trendon Watford had 10 points for the Sixers, followed by Jabari Walker with nine points and five rebounds, Andre Drummond with seven rebounds, and Cam Payne with six assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Donovan Mitchell, Cavs end Pelicans' 7-game home win streak
Mar 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) battles Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, James Harden went for 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a fourth-quarter rally to snap the New Orleans Pelicans’ seven-game home winning streak 111-106 on Saturday.
Cleveland (44-27) came back from down as many as 15 points, going on runs of 16-2 and 10-0 in the final period to pull ahead.
After an offensively lackluster first three quarters, Harden came alive late. He scored 13 of his points in the final period, including knocking down a trio of 3-pointers during the initial Cavaliers run.
Sam Merrill also provided timely plays in Cleveland’s comeback, pulling down three of his 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter and scoring on a crucial bucket at the rim to give the Cavaliers a six-point cushion with 1:24 remaining.
New Orleans (25-47) answered with baskets from Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray to cut the deficit to one possession.
But Mitchell effectively put the game away for Cleveland when, with 4 seconds remaining, he scored under contact from Trey Murphy III and made the free throw.
Mitchell’s game-high in scoring marked a successful return to the lineup for the guard, who missed Cleveland’s win at Chicago on Thursday after sustaining an eye injury in practice.
He paced five Cavaliers scoring in double figures, with Merrill adding 15 points. Evan Mobley went for 18 points and eight rebounds, and Thomas Bryant added 11 points on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting off the bench.
Williamson shot 10 of 14 from the floor to lead New Orleans with 25 points. Saddiq Bey shot 4 of 8 from 3-point range on the way to 19 points, and Murray posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Yves Missi came off the bench to grab a game-high 10 rebounds.
Murphy’s 10 points were the season-long Pelicans scoring leader’s lowest output since scoring just eight points against Memphis on Jan. 30.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pavel Buchnevich, Blues stifle Canucks for road win
Mar 21, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) skates with the puck against Vancouver Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win against the host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Pius Suter and Jordan Kyrou also scored for the Blues (28-30-11, 67 points), who snapped a two-game skid and pulled within six points of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Jordan Binnington made 14 saves.
Filip Hronek scored and Kevin Lankinen made 18 saves for the Canucks (21-40-8, 50 points), who are 13 points behind the rest of the league.
It was a quiet first period between the two, with minimal chances and St. Louis edging Vancouver 5-4 in shots on goal. The Canucks didn’t register their first shot on goal until nearly six minutes into the frame.
The second period started off slow for both sides, with no shots on goal through the first six minutes before Vancouver notched a pair. The Blues got their first of the frame moments later and then started to pick up the pace and control the play.
Suter gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 10:17 of the middle period. Robert Thomas took a feed from Dylan Holloway in the slot but was denied by Lankinen. The rebound bounced out in front and Suter got a piece of the rolling puck, which then hit him as he slid toward the net with the puck rolling past Lankinen.
Buchnevich made it 2-0 just 79 seconds later. Philip Broberg found him uncovered at the top of the right circle and fed Buchnevich a no-look pass for a one-timer that beat the outstretched glove of Lankinen.
The Blues thought they had a 3-0 lead off a Holloway tally with just under four minutes remaining in the period, but Vancouver challenged for a missed stoppage. The goal was overturned after video review showed Jimmy Snuggerud had knocked the puck down with a high stick four seconds earlier.
Hronek cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 8:32 of the third period, firing a snap shot from the middle of the blue line that deflected off Logan Mailloux’s stick past Binnington’s glove.
Kyrou scored an empty-net goal on the power play with 48 seconds left to close out the scoring.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DC United, Atlanta United struggle to find chances, play to 0-0 draw
Mar 21, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón (10) steals the ball against D.C. United defender Silvan Hefti (5) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Host Atlanta United and D.C. United ended their meeting on Saturday night the same way it started as the Eastern Conference foes played to a 0-0 draw.
Atlanta (1-3-1, 4 points) came into the night having picked up its first win of the season a week ago, a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union to give Atlanta five goals over its previous two matches.
D.C. (2-2-1, 7 points), which snapped a two-match losing streak in its last outing, kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and for the first time since its season opener, a 1-0 win over the Union on Feb. 21.
Chances were at a premium for both sides as neither Atlanta’s Lucas Hoyos nor D.C.’s Sean Johnson had much to do in their respective goals. In fact, the best chance of the first half for either side was a Cooper Sanchez’s attempt just outside the box in the 13th minute that Johnson was able to deal with.
D.C., on its end, came close to the opening goal in the 61st minute after poor defending for Atlanta led to a flurry of activity in front of its own net. Hoyos, though, made a save on Jackson Hopkins’ attempt.
In the 83rd minute, Caden Clark had a chance to put D.C. in front, but his attempt struck the right post. Then, in the 87th minute, Brandon Servania’s long-range effort rang off the crossbar.
That was the final meaningful opportunity of the evening for both teams as they each walked off the pitch with a point apiece.
Atlanta held a 64.8% to 35.1% advantage in possession for the match and outshot D.C. 9-4. But it was held scoreless for the third time this season.
Hoyos ended the night with a single save en route to the first clean sheet of his MLS career. Johnson stopped both Atlanta shots he faced.
–Field Level Media
