Sports
Alijah Arenas' breakout night leads USC past stubborn Indiana
Jan 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Alijah Arenas (0) reacts against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Freshman Alijah Arenas delivered a breakout performance, scoring a career-high 29 points to lead Southern California past Indiana 81-75 on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The Trojans (17-6, 6-6 Big Ten Conference) led almost the entire way thanks to a stout defensive effort, holding the visiting Hoosiers to 41.3% shooting from the floor and dominating on the glass 40-25.
Five Trojans grabbed between five and seven rebounds, including leading scorer Arenas who pulled down six. His work on the glass marked another career high to go with his scoring output, which almost matched his combined total from his first four games with USC.
The blue-chip prospect sustained a knee injury in the summer that delayed his college debut until Jan. 21, Arenas scored 30 points on 12-of-42 shooting from the floor through his initial stretch, but Tuesday saw him emerge to go 9-for-23 from the field.
Arenas’ ability to get to the rim also produced an 8-of-9 free-throw shooting performance, buoying the Trojans on a night that the foul line was key for the win.
USC went 25 of 31 at the charity stripe to Indiana’s 13 of 16. Four of the Trojans’ six missed foul shots were by Kam Woods, who went just 4-of-8 at the line but finished with 18 points.
The free-throw gap helped USC overcome a 10-of-35 to 6-of-17 edge in 3-point shooting for the Hoosiers (15-8, 6-6).
Lamar Wilkerson did the majority of Indiana’s work from downtown, connecting on 5 of 12 3-point attempts on the way to a game-high 33 points. He notched 12 points in the final 10 minutes to help Indiana stay within striking distance.
The Hoosiers whittled a gap that grew to as many as 14 points down to two in the final minute, but USC hit all six of its free-throw attempts down the stretch to keep Indiana at bay.
The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Hoosiers.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Isaiah Hartenstein nabs first triple-double as Thunder blast Magic
Feb 3, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center/forward Isaiah Hartenstein (55) moves the ball as Orlando Magic forward/center Moritz Wagner (21) defends during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Isaiah Hartenstein had his first career triple-double and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Orlando Magic 128-92 at home Tuesday.
Hartenstein had 12 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, securing the triple-double when he picked up an assist on Isaiah Joe’s 3-pointer five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Joe came off the bench for a game-high 22 points, tying a season high, while Luguentz Dort scored 18 and Chet Holmgren had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Thunder jumped out to a big lead early and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way in their third win in four games.
Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 20 points, going 7 of 11 from the field. Paolo Banchero had 17.
After a quick start, Gilgeous-Alexander cooled considerably, but used a third-quarter burst to keep his streak of 20-plus games alive. Gilgeous-Alexander has now reached the mark in 121 consecutive games, moving him five games from tying Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA record.
Whether Gilgeous-Alexander would continue the streak was about the only drama left in the second half, after the Thunder outscored the Magic 39-14 in the first quarter.
The Magic’s 14 points were their lowest in the first quarter since scoring 11 in the first quarter against Golden State in March 2024.
Orlando missed its first 10 3-point tries, not connecting until early in the second quarter.
The Magic fell behind big early for the second consecutive game. In Sunday’s loss in San Antonio, Orlando trailed by as many as 18 points in the first quarter.
Hartenstein’s night was done shortly after his 10th assist as Oklahoma City’s starters were able to get rest late on the first night of a back-to-back.
By the time Gilgeous-Alexander hit his first shot, he had three assists and three rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander assisted on the first two made shots of the game — both Dort 3-pointers.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished 8 of 22 from the field, and added nine assists, five rebounds and two steals. He had 10 points and six assists in the first quarter.
Joe delivered the highlight of the first half, cutting down the lane through the basket, taking a bounce pass from Hartenstein and finishing with a thunderous dunk over Banchero and drawing the foul midway through the second quarter.
After trailing by as many as 35, Orlando cut the deficit to 23 midway through the third quarter but Oklahoma City quickly widened the lead again and the Magic never got any closer.
The Magic shot a season-low 38.2% from the field.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics ride Jaylen Brown, clamp down on Mavericks
Feb 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots over Dallas Mavericks forward Naji Marshall (13) during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Jaylen Brown posted 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to three with a 110-100 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Boston’s bench was productive with Peyton Pritchard contributing 26 points and seven assists, and Luka Garza scoring 16 points, including 4-of-4 on 3-point attempts.
The Celtics went in short-handed with Anfernee Simons — who scored 27 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday — unavailable after reportedly being traded to the Chicago Bulls with a second-round pick for Nikola Vucevic.
Cooper Flagg scored 36 points with nine rebounds and six assists — his third straight game with 30 or more points — for Dallas, which lost its fifth consecutive game.
The Mavericks’ next highest scorer was Caleb Martin with 13 points.
Brown had 15 points and five boards in the opening frame, while Pritchard added eight points as Boston led 32-29 after one.
Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer early in the second period knotted the score at 32, before the Celtics took control with an 18-2 burst, capped by a Garza trey, to move in front 50-34.
The Mavericks scored just 15 in the second — their lowest in any quarter this season.
Flagg revived Dallas late by hitting a floater to end the Mavericks’ cold streak, then made an athletic block on Brown’s drive right before halftime, with the Celtics leading 52-44.
Dallas experienced a scare when center Daniel Gafford left the game with 3:05 remaining in the second quarter after injuring his right leg in a collision with Brown, but he came back with 5:18 left in the third.
Boston continued to keep the Mavericks at arm’s length after the break, before pulling away with 14 of the last 18 points of the third quarter, including three Garza 3-pointers.
The Celtics’ lead was up to 88-67 early in the fourth before Flagg minimized some of the damage with the Mavs’ first nine points of the quarter and 15 for the frame.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Washington's Hannes Steinbach carries double-double streak into Iowa game
Jan 21, 2026; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Washington Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach (6) shoots the ball against Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Pryce Sandfort (21) and guard Cale Jacobsen (31) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images Hannes Steinbach is becoming a double-double machine for Washington.
The 6-foot-11 German freshman brings a string of four straight double-doubles into Wednesday night’s home game against Iowa in Seattle. The latest was a 22-point, 14-rebound performance Saturday in a 76-62 win at Northwestern, giving him team-leading averages of 17.6 points and 11.4 rebounds for the season.
Steinbach’s 14 double-doubles are tied with Isaiah Stewart for the Huskies’ freshman record. He has seven games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds, five against Big Ten Conference foes.
“I could go on and on about Hannes,” said second-year coach Danny Sprinkle. “Every time they made a run, he made a 3 to stymie their momentum. We did a decent job of getting the ball to Hannes, and he did a good job of finding the open man.”
Washington (12-10, 4-7 Big Ten) also got 22 points, six rebounds and six assists from Zoom Diallo, who’s second on the team with 15.2 points per game. Wesley Yates III added 21 points and made a career-high five 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes (16-5, 6-4) are trying to complete a sweep of their road trip after beating Oregon 84-66 on Sunday in Eugene. Senior point guard Bennett Stirtz lit up the Ducks for a career-high 32 points on just 15 shots in Iowa’s fourth consecutive win.
Stirtz also dished out seven assists without a turnover, making him the first Iowa player to put up a 30-5-0 stat line since Jordan Bohannon in 2022. Stirtz, who earlier last week scored 20 in a win over Southern California, shared Big Ten Player of the Week honors with Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr.
In addition to Stirtz’s performance, first-year coach Ben McCollum liked his team’s defense. The Hawkeyes held short-handed Oregon to 41.1% shooting from the field (23 of 56), including 6 of 25 from the 3-point line.
“We were really engaged defensively,” he said. “I thought they did a great job.”
One concern for Iowa is the status of forward Tavion Banks, who played a season-low 11 minutes at Oregon due to injury. McCollum said Tuesday that he thinks Banks will play at Washington.
–Field Level Media
