Sports
Mavericks aim to end losing streak, as they take on Raptors
Mar 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) brings the ball up the court against the Boston Celtics during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images The Dallas Mavericks will be out to end a six-game losing streak Sunday when they visit the Toronto Raptors.
The Mavericks’ struggles go beyond the losing streak. They have dropped 16 of their past 18 games after their 120-100 road loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday.
The Raptors also hope to use the game to turn around their recent fortunes. They dropped four of five after a 115-107 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
The Mavericks won the only meeting of the season between the teams 139-129 on Oct. 26 when Cooper Flagg scored 22 points. That team looked very different. Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds in that game, while D’Angelo Russell added 24 points and six assists off the bench.
Dallas has won four in a row over Toronto.
After the loss to Minnesota, the Raptors are 4-17 against the top 10 teams in the league.
“When we play these good teams, something has to change,” said RJ Barrett, who led Toronto in scoring with 25 points Thursday. “Something has to change. I think we’re working hard. I think we have good intentions. …This is the part that we’ve got to figure out. This is the challenge that we have to overcome. I’m confident that we will, but something’s got to change, and we have to figure something out.”
The Raptors have been plagued by bad stretches, usually later in the game. The Timberwolves dominated the third quarter 35-22 on Thursday. In Toronto’s 111-95 home loss Tuesday, the New York Knicks outscored them 24-13 in the fourth quarter. The Knicks finished the game on a 16-2 run.
“I think they kind of upped their physical play,” said Barrett, explaining how Minnesota took over the game.
The Raptors also would like to turn home court into an advantage, which they have not done. They are 16-16 at home and 19-11 on the road. Toronto has lost four in a row at home.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks will be playing their fourth of six straight road games Sunday.
The game in Boston, however, was more like a home game for Mavericks rookie Flag, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Flagg is from Newport, Maine, about a three-hour drive from Boston, and he received a big ovation.
“It was incredible,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “I’ve never heard a road player get a cheer like that, especially here in Boston. They tend to go the other way. But that shows the appreciation they have for Cooper.”
“I love being a Maverick,” Flagg said. “That’s home, and I don’t want anything else. It’s incredible to be able to play here. Obviously, it’s the place I came when I was a kid and got to watch. I think it’s going to be incredibly fun for the rest of my career to come here and play in front of this crowd.”
Of course, the loudest cheers Friday were for Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who played his first game of the season after tearing his right Achilles tendon in the playoffs.
“I had a lot of people come from back home,” Flagg said. ‘It was cool. The energy was incredible with Jayson coming back. It meant a lot. I tried to take a moment to try to take a deep breath and take it all in. It’s a dream come true being out there on that court. It’s really special.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
James Rodriguez to debut for Minnesota United in Vancouver
Feb 14, 2026; Indio, California, USA; Minnesota United FC midfielder James Rodriguez (24) at Empire Polo Club. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images Colombian star James Rodriguez is expected to make his long-awaited MLS debut Sunday afternoon when Minnesota United travel to Vancouver to take on the Whitecaps.
Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after scoring six goals while leading Colombia to the quarterfinals, signed with the Loons on Feb. 6 after a stint with Club Leon in Mexico. In a video posted on X by streamer Pelicanger, Rodriguez said he plans to play Sunday.
“Yes, with the grace of God,” said Rodriguez, who sat out Minnesota’s 3-1 loss on March 7 at Nashville with a contusion. “Against (Thomas) Muller’s team. I don’t know what it is called. Vancouver, I think.”
Muller, the 2010 Golden Boot winner after leading Germany to a third-place finish, and Rodriguez were teammates for two seasons at Bayern Munich from 2017-19.
Head coach Cameron Knowles said Rodriguez returned to training on Tuesday for Minnesota United (1-1-1, 4 points).
Vancouver (3-0-0, 9 points), which entered the weekend in a four-way tie for first place in the Western Conference with San Diego, San Jose and Los Angeles FC, has outscored its opponents 8-1 in MLS play. However, the Whitecaps are coming off a 3-0 home loss to the Seattle Sounders on Thursday in the first leg of CONCACAF Round-of-16 action.
Paul Arriola scored two goals in the first 58 minutes to lead Seattle. Vancouver lost despite finishing with huge edges in shot attempts (16-10) and possession (64.2%), but managed just three shots on goal. The second leg is Wednesday in Spokane, Wash., while Lumen Field undergoes preparations to hold World Cup matches this summer.
“We had a lot of shots and a lot of opportunities, but we did not hit the target,” Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen said. “That’s where we have to be a little more cool in the moment and be able to get a quality shot instead of rushing it in the moment.”
Now the Whitecaps face a quick turnaround to host the Loons.
“It’s tough, but we have two days for recovery,” goaltender Yohei Takaoka said. “We have a game in two days against Minnesota, and we need to react in a good way.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 18 Purdue gets revenge on short-handed UCLA in Big Ten semis
Mar 14, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) goes to the basket against Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Oscar Cluff had 17 points with 14 rebounds and No. 18 Purdue advanced to the Big Ten Conference championship game with a 73-66 semifinal victory over short-handed UCLA on Saturday at Chicago.
The No. 7-seed Boilermakers (26-8) earned the win over the sixth-seeded Bruins (23-11) behind two strong first-half runs, as well as Cluff’s nine offensive rebounds and dominant play in the paint over the closing five minutes.
The victory avenged Purdue’s 69-67 loss at UCLA on Jan. 20 and gave the program a chance for its third conference tournament title on Sunday.
Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points, and Trey Kaufman-Renn totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Braden Smith had five points and nine assists.
The Boilermakers held a 37-26 rebounding advantage.
The Bruins were without top scorer Tyler Bilodeau (right knee), who was injured in Friday’s 88-84 win over No. 3-seed Michigan State, and only received 10 minutes from second-leading scorer Donovan Dent, who left in the first half with a calf injury.
Trent Perry scored 15 points with nine assists for UCLA, while Xavier Booker scored 12 points. Eric Dailey Jr. notched 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while Skyy Clark scored 10 points, four steals and three assists for the Bruins.
Purdue set the tone early with a 15-2 lead less than four minutes into the game behind Loyer’s second 3-pointer, Kaufman-Renn’s four points and a technical foul on the Bruins.
As the Boilermakers hit a significant cold spell, UCLA took off on a 15-2 run to knot the game at 17-17 as Booker and Dailey each tallied five points.
In a first half defined by runs, Purdue used a 9-0 stretch for a 26-17 lead, while UCLA had to cope with the injury to Dent, who was scoring nearly 14 points per game and had been key to the Bruins’ late-season surge.
Top-five n assist nationally at 7.5 per game, Dent returned from the locker room and joined the team on the bench in the final seconds of the first half, but he only had two points and did not play in the second half.
The Boilermakers increased a seven-point lead to 40-27 on Loyer’s 3-pointer inside the second half’s first minute, but Clark’s steal and layup with seven minutes left and a 3-pointer made it 58-57 with 6:14 remaining.
UCLA tied it 62-62 with 3:41 left, but Purdue closed it out with an 11-4 down the stretch as Cluff scored six of the Boilermakers’ last seven points.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Quakes, Sounders clash while off to sterling starts
Feb 28, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; San Jose Earthquakes forward Ousseni Bouda (7) reacts after scoring a goal during the second half against the Atlanta United FC at PayPal Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images The San Jose Earthquakes try to continue their perfect start Sunday when they host a Seattle Sounders side coming off an impressive result in CONCACAF play.
After finishing 10th in the Western Conference last season, the Earthquakes (3-0-0, 9 points) are one of four West teams yet to drop points after three matches, and one of three yet to concede.
Most recently, Ousseni Bouda scored his second goal — again on an assist from new acquisition Timo Werner — to help San Jose earn a 1-0 victory last Saturday at the Philadelphia Union.
The visitors may have ridden their luck a bit in a game where the Union created more and better-quality chances overall. But Bouda suggested there was some value in grinding out that kind of result.
“I don’t think it was the best of our games,” he said this week. “We could have done better in possession, but we were able to get the win, and that’s something that we will take away, learning to win differently, especially.”
Werner, the former RB Leipzig and Tottenham man, still hasn’t started as he works back into shape following a German season when he was rarely used. But that could change Sunday after he played the entire second half against the Union.
Seattle (2-1-0, 6 points) has won two straight in all competitions after hammering West champions Vancouver 3-0 in Thursday’s opening leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup round-of-16 series.
Making his first start since he suffered a torn ACL a year and a day prior, winger Paul Arriola scored twice to suggest he could be a critical piece as the Sounders try to keep pace with the West’s four unbeatens.
“It’s not just the goals,” Seattle manager Brian Schmetzer said. “But some of his savvy play, some of his smart defending, helping Nouhou, there were a lot of good soccer plays, soccer experience that helped us in this game.”
Arriola and Osaze De Rosario’s inclusion also allowed Schmetzer to bring regulars Paul Rothrock and Daniel Musovski off the bench during a busy patch of the schedule. Rothrock scored the third goal of the contest and his second of the season in all competitions.
–Field Level Media
James Rodriguez to debut for Minnesota United in Vancouver
No. 18 Purdue gets revenge on short-handed UCLA in Big Ten semis
