Sports
Pelicans return home to take on Trae Young, Wizards
Mar 6, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) looks on against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images The New Orleans Pelicans return from a six-game road swing to begin a stretch of 6-of-7 at home, starting with Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Wizards.
Washington begins a four-game road trip with its visit to the Big Easy, trying to snap a seven-game losing skid following Thursday’s 122-112 home setback against Utah. The loss was noteworthy for marking Trae Young’s debut in the Wizards’ lineup.
Young, a four-time All-Star and 2021-22 All-NBA honoree, was traded to the Wizards in January for Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum. In 19 minutes, Young finished with 12 points, six assists, and two steals against the Jazz but shot just 1-of-5 from 3-point range in his first action since December.
“(I was) anxious all day and not (able to get) much sleep,” Young said of making his first appearance with Washington. “I was really looking forward to the day and shaking off whatever rust I would have just from missing a few months of basketball.”
A knee injury sidelined Young for all but 10 games this season prior to Thursday and limited him to averages of 19.3 points and 8.9 assists per game when active at the time of the trade — both his lowest marks since his rookie season.
Along with Young’s debut, Washington heads into New Orleans with some positive momentum despite its skid, with rookie Julian Reese coming off a historic performance.
Playing in just his third NBA game, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese grabbed 20 rebounds to join Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal as the only rookies to reach that milestone within their first five career outings.
The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off a 3-3 finish to their recent road swing, concluding with a 118-116 loss at Phoenix on Friday.
“Overall, it was a pretty good road trip; could have been better,” New Orleans coach James Borrego said. “Probably had two wins there we let slip from our fingertips. It’s a new group playing together, trying to find our way.”
Part of the Pelicans’ new look has been the integration of Dejounte Murray into the lineup for five of the last seven games. Murray has scored at least 13 points in each outing, including 17 points, nine assists, and four steals in a win over Utah on Feb. 26.
Murray joins a rotation that features Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson as its pillars.
Murphy scored 22 points in Friday’s loss. It was his fourth contest since returning from a five-game absence with a shoulder injury, and Murphy’s third consecutive outing with at least 21 points.
Murphy is on pace to finish 2025-26 with a career-high scoring average, currently posting a team-leading 21.9 points per game.
Just behind Murphy is Williamson, who is averaging 21.5 points per game after his 19-point effort at Phoenix. Williamson also grabbed 10 rebounds, his most since pulling down 11 in a Feb. 2 loss to Charlotte.
Although the Pelicans sit in 13th place in the Western Conference, 10.5 games behind Portland for the final play-in spot through Friday, they are above .500 since the All-Star break at 5-4.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Artemi Panarin back in New York as Kings meet Rangers
Feb 25, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings left wing Artemi Panarin (72) during a stoppage in play in the first period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Artemi Panarin will get his first chance to face his former team when the New York Rangers host the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
In a cost-cutting move, Panarin was traded to Los Angeles from New York on Feb. 4 in exchange for forward prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Kings immediately signed the 34-year-old forward to a two-year, $22 million contract extension through the 2027-28 season.
Panarin spent 6 1/2 seasons with the Rangers, leading them in points in each of his first six full seasons and ranking ninth in points (607) and eighth in assists (402) on the franchise’s all-time list.
He owns the franchise record for highest points-per-game average (1.26).
Panarin has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 10 games with the Kings so far.
He had his first three-point game for Los Angeles on Saturday on the road against the New Jersey Devils, tallying a goal and two assists. But the Kings lost 6-4 to prevent them from winning two in a row for the first time since a three-game winning streak Jan. 20-27.
Still, the Kings entered Sunday just one point out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
“Every guy in that room knows where we want to go and we’ve got to push and give ourselves a win (on Monday),” Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said.
Kings forward Anze Kopitar scored two goals against New Jersey to become the team’s all-time leading point scorer (1,308), surpassing Marcel Dionne, who held the record for 45 years. It was the future Hall of Famer’s first multi-goal effort of the season.
“We’re right in the thick of things right now, so there’s not a whole lot of time to think about that,” Kopitar said of the record.
The Kings beat the Rangers 4-3 in Los Angeles on Jan. 20 and they’ll be trying to finish 4-0 against the New York teams this season.
The Rangers won their season-high fourth game in a row on Saturday, getting 46 saves from Igor Shesterkin and a goal and two assists from former Los Angeles defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov in a 4-2 win at the Minnesota Wild.
“We were playing a north-south game. We were playing a straight-ahead game,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think when we play fast, we are fast.”
The Rangers, who were shut out in three of their first five games this season, have scored at least four goals in every game during the winning streak, but still sit 25th in the league at 2.82 goals per game.
“For a lot of the first half of the year, we couldn’t see the puck go in the net,” New York captain J.T. Miller said. “Right now, we’re executing on a lot of the plays. Obviously, we’ve got some guys stepping up and playing really well also. Just high execution. Finally getting those pucks to go in the net that we were missing in the first half of the year.”
The Rangers will play 11 of their next 13 games at home before finishing the season on a three-game road trip.
Not enough time to get back in the playoff race, but enough to set a positive tone for next season.
“There’s a good feeling around here right now,” Miller said. “It’s been a hard year but feels good to win some games and try to string some together.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Novak Djokovic (shoulder) withdraws from upcoming Miami Open
Novak Djokovic runs up to defend against Jack Draper during their fourth-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic withdrew from this year’s tournament due to a right shoulder ailment, the event announced Sunday.
Djokovic reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open this past week at Indian Wells, Calif., before falling to Jack Draper in a third-set tie-breaker on Wednesday.
The Serbia native reached the finals at Miami last year before losing 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic.
The 38-year old won the Miami Open title in five times between 2011 and 2016, defeating Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray on two occasions apiece.
Djokovic is 7-2 in 2016 and won his 101th ATP title in November 2025 at Athens.
The Miami Open begins Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Contending Wings eye turnaround at home vs. lowly Flames
Mar 8, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) and New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) fight in the final seconds of the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images The struggling Detroit Red Wings are hoping a return home and a visit by the floundering Calgary Flames on Monday will be just the tonic needed to turn their fortunes.
The Red Wings hold the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card position, but after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday have lost five of their past six games (1-3-2) to put their perch in jeopardy.
“We’re so excited to get home to Detroit … and play in front of our fans,” said forward Lucas Raymond, who leads the Red Wings with 45 assists and is tied for the lead in points with 66. “We’ve had some stretches down the year where we’ve been pushing for a playoff spot and that just elevates the crowd.”
Detroit, which is pushing to avoid missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season, is in a tight battle.
The Red Wings are tied with the Boston Bruins, who hold the first wild-card spot but have played one fewer game. Detroit is also two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for third spot in the Atlantic Division, but only one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are just outside the wild-card spots.
The Red Wings have struggled without captain Dylan Larkin and fellow center Andrew Copp due to injuries, but did receive a boost with forward David Perron returning from injury against the Stars.
The Dallas clash ended earning the Red Wings a point in the standings, but was a wasted opportunity after they erased a two-goal deficit in the third period, but could not get a winning goal.
“A good battle back. Lots going on recently, obviously, but we found a way. We kept pushing,” Perron said. “It was nice to get rewarded as a group to have one point there.”
The Flames arrive after suffering a 3-2 loss of their own at the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Calgary, which is ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks in the overall standings and in the throes of a rebuild, trailed 3-0 before the end of the first period, but controlled play the rest of the way in a comeback that fell short.
Despite the end result, the Flames likely deserved a better fate, especially after firing 17 shots on net in the final period.
“When we made a mistake, they capitalized on it,” coach Ryan Huska said. “We also hit two crossbars and had a grade-A chance in front of the net. We progressively got better as the night went on.”
In keeping with a recurring theme, the Flames, who are the league’s lowest-scoring team, could not find the equalizer, which left them with only five wins in their last 17 games (5-10-2).
Despite their offensive struggles — the Flames have gone four games without a power-play goal, and only two man-advantage markers in 10 outings — they continue to battle in close games.
The message as they prepare for the final outing of a five-game road trip is to ignore the standings and keep battling for wins.
“There’s no quit from anyone here,” said captain Mikael Backlund, who moved ahead of Kent Nilsson with his 230th career goal and into fifth spot on the franchise’s all-time list. “All the guys are fighting hard. It doesn’t matter the score. We keep trying until the end. So I’m really proud of the guys.”
–Field Level Media
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for March 15, 2026
Artemi Panarin back in New York as Kings meet Rangers
