Sports
Injured Clippers prepare to host Spurs machine
Mar 6, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after securing a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images With four weeks remaining in the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs will be out to continue their methodical push up the Western Conference standings when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in Inglewood, Calif.
Once six games behind the conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder and in fifth place at the start of December, the Spurs are 3 1/2 games back now and comfortably in second after distancing themselves from the remainder of the pack.
San Antonio is 17-2 since the start of February in its best extended stretch of the season. In Saturday’s 115-102 home victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists. The latter total marked his second most in a game this season.
“It’s one more weapon,” Wembanyama said about setting up teammates for baskets. “My playmaking, most of the time, happens by rolling, not even touching the ball, and getting guys open by positioning. But I can (pass) too.”
The overall effort came after Wembanyama sat out Thursday’s 136-131 loss to the Denver Nuggets with right ankle soreness.
San Antonio’s impressive recent run includes a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder that clinched the season series. But the Thunder have maintained their lead atop the standings while on an eight-game win streak.
The Spurs also have a 116-112 home victory over the Clippers during their current run of success, getting 27 points with 10 rebounds from Wembanyama on March 6. After Monday, the teams will face off one more time on April 2 in the L.A. area.
The Clippers are 7-2 this month to strengthen their grip on a play-in tournament spot in the West, but they are coming off one of their worst games of late when they fell 118-109 on Saturday at home to the lowly Sacramento Kings.
The Clippers struggled on defense for one of the few times since their midseason resurgence began on Dec. 20. Those issues showed even before Kawhi Leonard left the game for good early in the fourth quarter when he rolled his ankle.
Leonard still scored 31 points in the loss and set the franchise record with his 45th consecutive game of at least 20 points. But a long-term Leonard injury would be Los Angeles’ worst-case scenario realized.
The severity of the injury has yet to be determined, but the tweak happened to Leonard’s left ankle. A right ankle injury caused him to miss 10 games in November.
A return to good health in late December is what allowed Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue to turn Leonard loose to the tune of 29.9 points per game over his last 36 contests. In that time, Los Angeles went from a 6-21 record to its current 34-33 mark.
Lue preferred to view Saturday’s loss as just one of those nights.
“I thought we were flat, and I thought we got outplayed as well,” Lue said. “Both is a bad combination. But they played really well. … You’re due for a bad game. We did not play well, but they definitely outplayed us.”
The Clippers saw John Collins return Saturday after he missed the previous seven games with a neck strain. He scored 10 points with three rebounds in 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucks waive Cam Thomas to convert Pete Nance's contract
Suns guard Jalen Green (4) drives against Bucks forward Pete Nance (35) during a game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on March 21, 2026. The Milwaukee Bucks converted forward Pete Nance’s two-way contract to a fully guaranteed deal.
The Bucks waived guard Cam Thomas in a corresponding move prior to their game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Thomas, 24, signed with the team as a free agent on Feb. 8 and averaged 10.7 points in 18 games off the bench with Milwaukee.
As for Nance, he was elated with the notion of receiving a new deal. The contract made him available to play in the team’s final 11 games this season and runs through the 2026-27 campaign.
“To be able to be in this spot is just awesome,” Nance said after the Bucks’ shootaround, per the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “Obviously I’m super thankful for the Bucks for giving me the opportunity. I think it’s just a testament to growth and the work that I’ve done and the experience that I’ve had over the years.”
Nance, 26, is averaging 4.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 12.1 minutes in 37 games off the bench this season.
Thomas was benched after playing just three minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on March 14. He was held out of consecutive games on March 15 and 17 due to what was listed as a coach’s decision before returning to the court against the Utah Jazz last Thursday.
“There are things we don’t need to talk about,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said, per the newspaper. “That’s not anybody’s business. Like I said before, that’s where as a coach you have to make decisions on what’s best for the team at that time. People don’t understand that. They start talking about other stuff. And, that’s not for anyone to know.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Buccaneers, LB Lavonte David schedule news conference
Jan 3, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) warms up before the game against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David is scheduled to hold a news conference on Tuesday afternoon at the team facility.
The Buccaneers did not divulge an official reason for the conference, however speculation is strong that David will announce his retirement from the NFL.
David, 36, is a free agent after spending his entire 14-year career with Tampa Bay.
He recorded 114 tackles, 3.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries while starting all 17 games last season. It was his 12th season with triple-digit tackles.
An All-Pro selection in 2013 and a Pro Bowl selection in 2015, David has 1,716 tackles, 42.5 sacks, 14 interceptions, 33 forced fumbles and 21 fumble recoveries in 215 games (all starts).
David was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nebraska.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin on cusp of season World Cup title
Feb 18, 2026; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women’s slalom during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images Mikaela Shiffrin will ski Wednesday for the season World Cup overall title.
Heading into the giant slalom, the final race of the season, Shiffrin has an 85-point lead over Emma Aicher of Germany.
Shiffrin won her ninth slalom in 10 World Cup starts this season on Tuesday, earning 100 points. She increased her overall lead on Aicher, who finished third to grab 60 points.
To take the title, Aicher must win the race — a discipline in which she never has finished higher than fourth — and hope that Shiffrin finishes worse than 15th.
Shiffrin, 31, is striving to win her sixth overall World Cup title, which would tie her with Annemarie Moser-Proll. The Austrian won five season titles from 1971-75 and the final one in 1979.
The 2026 Olympic champion in the slalom, Shiffrin won the World Cup title in consecutive years from 2017-19 and again in 2022 and 2023.
With her slalom win on Tuesday, Shiffrin earned her 110th career victory on the World Cup circuit, extending her lead over Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 86 before his retirement in 1989.
–Field Level Media
NYT Strands hints, answers for March 25, 2026
Wordle today: Answer, hints for March 25, 2026
