Sports
Suns playing for now, Jazz for the future in Saturday meeting
Mar 24, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) passes the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The short-handed Phoenix Suns continue to hold out hope for a top-six finish in the Western Conference as they host the Utah Jazz — a team that wins for losing — on Saturday.
The Suns (40-33) have lost six of seven while playing without injured key contributors Dillon Brooks (hand) and Mark Williams (foot), and they are four games behind the Houston Rockets with nine to play in the race to stay out of the play-in round.
“We’re just trying to get over the hump,” said Suns guard Devin Booker, whose team has lost three its past four games by margins of games by one, three and two points
The Suns fell to the Denver Nuggets 125-123 their last time out on Tuesday, when Nikola Jokic hit a short jumper with 11.5 seconds left and Booker’s long three bounced off the rim in the closing seconds.
“The majority of our losses in this stretch have been like that,” Booker said. “Close game in the fourth quarter. We just have to keep growing, keep building. I think we’re competing hard. We just haven’t gotten over that hump.”
The Jazz (21-53) are on a longer skid, having lost 16 of 19 after giving up the final six points in a 135-129 defeat at Denver on Friday despite 34 assists, 10 steals and 84 points in the paint. That’s the highest total for points in the paint for the franchise in the play-by-play era (which began in 1996-97), according to NBA.com.
“I’m so proud of this group,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “The way they compete and stay together and show a ton of resilience, toughness. Fight every single night, no matter what the lineups are. We have a real team in our locker room.”
The Jazz cannot lose fast enough. Their 2026 first-round draft pick is top-eight protected with the Oklahoma City Thunder, meaning they lose it if they fall to ninth in the standings. They have the fifth-worst record in the league, and the current odds of losing the pick are 0.6%, according to Tankathon.
On Friday, the Jazz led the Nuggets 120-107 on a three-point play from Elijah Harkless with 6:49 remaining. Denver went on a 22-6 run to take a 129-126 lead, but Utah tied it at 129 on a Harkless 3-pointer with 1:07 left before Cam Johnson and Jamal Murray made 3-pointers to send the Jazz to their fourth straight loss.
Kyle Filipowski returned to the lineup after sitting out a loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday due to illness and led the Jazz with 25 points and added eight rebounds and five assists against the Nuggets.
He and Brice Sensabaugh (13 points, six assists) each played 25 minutes.
Ace Bailey, the fifth player taken in the 2025 draft, had 15 points and seven rebounds Friday. He has picked up steam in March, averaging 20.2 points per game. His average on the season is 13.5.
The Jazz certainly have young players to build around. Filipowski and Sensabaugh are 22, and Bailey is only 19.
As for the Suns, Booker (25.5 points per game) and Jalen Green have carried much of the scoring load without Brooks, who is averaging 20.9. Green is averaging 22.2 points in 13 games in March, besting his season average of 17.7.
The Suns have been out-rebounded in five of the last seven games without the solidifying paint presence of Williams, who was averaging 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds before the injury.
“It would be nice to be healthy,” Green said, “but as soon as that ball gets tossed in the air we aren’t thinking about it. Roll the ball out, whoever’s in the rotation, whoever’s out there, let’s get it.”
The Suns begin a four-game, seven-day trip in Memphis on Monday that includes stops in Orlando and Charlotte and will go a long way in determining their postseason seed.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Joe Pyfer stops former champ Israel Adesanya in 2nd round of UFC Seattle
Mar 28, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Israel Adesanya (red gloves) fights Joe Pyfer (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Joe Pyfer (16-3 MMA) sent former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya (24-6 MMA) back to the drawing board in Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night headliner in Seattle, stopping Adesanya at 4:18 of the second round to cap the night.
Before the TKO finish, both fighters exchanged their best punches in a stand-up battle until a Pyfer takedown signaled the beginning of the end.
“I just have this mentality where I don’t care, I’m going to search and destroy,” Pyfer said following the stoppage, securing the finish in top control.
Adesanya, fighting out of New Zealand, hasn’t won a bout since regaining middleweight gold in April 2023 at UFC 287, and confirmed he has no plans to retire.
“I’m just going to keep going and going and going,” Adesanya said.
A rematch five years in the making commenced at flyweight as former champion Alexa Grasso made short work of Maycee Barber with a TKO stoppage at 2:42 of the opening round. The Mexican used a left hook to down Barber before jumping on top of her immediately as the referee stepped in.
The two first met in Feb. 2021, with Grasso earning a decision. Grasso (17-5-1 MMA) snapped a two-fight losing skid, whereas Barber (15-3 MMA) had not lost since the first meeting with Grasso, having won her previous seven fights.
In his final MMA fight, welterweight Michael Chiesa (20-7 MMA) had a hometown send-off as he submitted Niko Price (16-11 MMA) with a first-round rear-naked choke. Chiesa needed just 63 seconds to put a bow on his UFC career, one that spanned a decade-plus and included winning the 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter in June 2012.
Chiesa ended his UFC career at 15-7, while Price, who has been in the promotion for over a decade himself, now sits at 8-11, with two no contests in the Octagon and has dropped four straight fights.
The finishes were a theme on the night, as featherweight Lerryan Douglas (14-5 MMA) of Brazil needed 3:33 of the opening round to deliver a devastating TKO against Julian Erosa (31-13 MMA). Douglas has now won his last six in a row while Erosa continues to struggle at 9-9 in the UFC.
At middleweight, Yousri Belgaroui of the Netherlands scored a third-round TKO stoppage against Mansur Abdul-Malik by landing a perfectly timed knee to end the fight in a back-and-forth battle. Belgaroui (10-3 MMA) has won five straight and remains undefeated in the UFC. Conversely, it was Abdul-Malik’s (9-1-1 MMA) first professional loss, as he had won seven of his 11 outings by KO/TKO.
The main card got underway in emphatic fashion in the opener, with lightweight Terrance McKinney needing just 24 seconds to dispatch Canadian Kyle Nelson with a series of punches following a head kick. McKinney (18-8 MMA) has won three of his last four, while Nelson (17-7-1 MMA) has lost two of his last three.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Alexander Kerfoot, Logan Cooley score twice as Mammoth rout Kings
Mar 28, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) and Los Angeles Kings right wing Mathieu Joseph (17) battle for the puck during the first period at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Griffin Hooper-Imagn Images
Alexander Kerfoot and Logan Cooley each scored twice as the visiting Utah Mammoth thumped the Los Angeles Kings 6-2 on Saturday night.
With the win, Utah (38-30-6, 82 points), currently in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, holds a five-point lead over the Nashville Predators, owners of the second wild-card position.
Los Angeles (29-25-18, 76 points) remains on the outside looking in, a point back of Nashville in the wild-card race.
Nick Schmaltz and Jack McBain also scored for Utah, while Mikhail Sergachev had four assists and Clayton Keller chipped in a pair of helpers for the Mammoth, who won for just the second time in five games (2-3-0).
Karel Vejmelka made 29 saves for Utah.
Adrian Kempe had a goal and an assist, and Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who have dropped five of six (1-2-3).
Darcy Kuemper stopped 11 shots through two periods and was replaced by Anton Forsberg to start the third. Forsberg made 11 saves.
The Mammoth outshot the Kings 12-9 in the first period and led 3-1 after 20 minutes.
Utah opened the scoring 2:31 into the period as Kerfoot redirected a John Marino cross-ice feed past Kuemper.
Cooley doubled the Mammoth lead at 16:33, beating out the icing call and snapping a shot five-hole past Kuemper.
Los Angeles cut the lead in half 1:18 later as Kopitar tipped a Kempe shot from the point past Vejmelka.
Utah restored the two-goal lead on the power play at 19:51 as Cooley dangled around Mikey Anderson and snapped a shot high blocker-side past Kuemper.
The Mammoth took a 4-1 lead at 12:37 of the middle frame as Kerfoot showed patience, outwaited Kuemper, and put a shot over the shoulder of the Kings’ goaltender. Kerfoot has points in four straight games (three goals, two assists).
Schmaltz made it 5-1 at 16:17 of the second on a power play, taking a Keller pass, skate-to-stick and snapping a shot past Kuemper.
Kempe pulled the Kings to 5-2, putting a shot past a screened Vejmelka at 4:34 of the third.
McBain added an empty-netter at 13:53.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dodgers sweep D-backs on Will Smith's late 2-run HR
Mar 28, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith (16) celebrates with shortstop Mookie Betts (50) after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Will Smith hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning as the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers posted a three-game, season-opening sweep with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Freddie Freeman had three hits, including an RBI double, starter Tyler Glasnow went six strong innings and new Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz picked up his second save in two nights.
Smith’s second home run of the season came one batter after Mookie Betts worked a two-out walk in the eighth against Juan Morillo (0-1). Smith lined a 2-2 fastball over the wall in center for the lead on a night when all fans in attendance received a bobblehead representing his go-ahead home run in the 11th inning of Game 7 in last season’s World Series.
Corbin Carroll had a hit, an RBI and a run scored and Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic hero Eduardo Rodriguez gave up an unearned run over five-plus innings in a no-decision for the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez held Team USA scoreless over 4 1/3 innings in Venezuela’s WBC title-game victory earlier this month.
For the third consecutive game, the Diamondbacks took an early 2-0 lead. Carroll beat out an infield single in the first inning, on a play that was overruled to a hit on replay. Carroll went to second on a Geraldo Perdomo groundout and scored on a single by Pavin Smith.
Arizona added a second run in the third when Jorge Barrosa doubled, went to third on a Ketel Marte groundout and scored on a Carroll sacrifice fly.
The Diamondbacks also led 2-0 in the season opener against the Dodgers on Thursday and 2-0 in the third inning of Friday’s game.
Rodriguez was removed by Arizona manager Torey Lovullo after Kyle Tucker reached base on an error by first baseman Carlos Santana to lead off the sixth. Tucker stole second base with one out and scored on a two-out Freeman double against right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga.
Alex Vesia pitched a scoreless seventh for the Dodgers before Will Klein (1-0) tossed a scoreless eighth. Diaz entered in the ninth to his regular greeting of trumpets and ended the game on a perfect ninth inning.
–Field Level Media
Joe Pyfer stops former champ Israel Adesanya in 2nd round of UFC Seattle
Alexander Kerfoot, Logan Cooley score twice as Mammoth rout Kings
