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Amid 'really good vibes,' surging Bucks host Raptors

NBA: Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans PelicansFeb 20, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The suddenly hot Milwaukee Bucks will return home for the first time in more than two weeks when they face the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.

The Bucks opened their post All-Star break schedule in New Orleans, where they pulled away late to beat the Pelicans 139-118 on Friday night.

The win was Milwaukee’s third in a row and sixth in the past seven contests.

It was a balanced scoring attack for the Bucks, led by 27 points each from Ryan Rollins and newly acquired Cam Thomas in addition to 25 points and seven assists from Kevin Porter Jr.

Bobby Portis added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“We’re just being aggressive, looking for our shots on all of our three-level scorers,” Rollins said of the guards’ ability to find the best matchup. “Some situations where you may feel like it’s an advantage that they have, we just call a quick boomerang or just give them space and let them work out.”

Thomas has made a strong first impression in his three games since being signed by the Bucks as a free agent this month after being released by the Brooklyn Nets.

In addition to his 27 points on Friday, he scored 12 in a victory over Oklahoma City on Feb. 12 and 34 in just 25 minutes in a win over Orlando they day before.

“The players and coaches embraced me as soon as I got here. Everyone was like just be you and play your game; that meant a lot to me,” said Thomas, 24. “The vibes are really good; we’re playing meaningful basketball.”

Toronto, meanwhile, got off to a good start in its post-break schedule as it took down the Bulls in Chicago 110-101 on Thursday. It was Toronto’s third win in its last four games.

Brandon Ingram led the way with 31 points and also had eight rebounds and six assists. Teammate Scottie Barnes added 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

“Usually the first game (after the break) is finding the rhythm, getting the rust off,” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “What I’m really proud of is our guys staying the course during the whole game. We kept finding ways to compete.”

Ingram is averaging a team-high 22.0 points a game this season, and Barnes is next at 19.2 while leading the team in rebounds at 8.4 a game.

“I thought it was important for me to be aggressive whether the shot was going in or not and also just having a presence on the defensive side,” Ingram said. “As a leader I want to pick my spots, talk when it’s important, not just rah-rah.”

On the injury front, Toronto’s report is clear outside of Chucky Hepburn, who is out with a knee injury.

Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and Myles Turner (calf) in Friday’s game. Coach Doc Rivers reported that Antetokounmpo practiced but has not done any live five-on-five work. Rivers added that there is still no firm timetable for the star’s return, but “he’s close.”

This is the final matchup between Toronto and Milwaukee this season as the Raptors look for the season-series victory, having won two of the three games.

In the most recent meeting, on Dec. 18, Toronto won 111-105 behind Ingram’s 29 points.

–Field Level Media

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Flyers take down Sharks as road win streak hits 8

NHL: Philadelphia Flyers at San Jose SharksMar 21, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov (39) reacts to a goal scored by center Christian Dvorak (not pictured) against San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Christian Dvorak scored a power-play goal early in the third period, helping the Philadelphia Flyers extend their season-high road winning streak to seven games with a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

Philadelphia’s road winning streak is tied for the second-longest in franchise history (1985-86, 2017-18 seasons), one shy of the eight-game run from 1982-83.

Owen Tippett scored in the second period and defenseman Travis Sanheim and Noah Cates each found the empty net 36 seconds apart in the third.

Dan Vladar made 24 saves for the Flyers (34-23-12, 80 points), who completed a sweep of their three-game California road trip and improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games overall. Philadelphia also finished off a season sweep of San Jose after posting a 4-1 home victory on Dec. 9.

Macklin Celebrini notched an assist on defenseman Dmitry Orlov’s power-play goal, boosting the former’s career total to 99. Celebrini (19 years, 281 days) is one assist shy of becoming the second-youngest player in NHL history to reach that milestone behind only Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (19 years, 134 days on Dec. 19, 2006).

Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside 24 shots for the Sharks (32-30-6, 70 points), who have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine (2-5-2).

Philadelphia fourth-liner Garnet Hathaway unloaded on Celebrini, prompting San Jose defenseman Mario Ferraro to come to his teammate’s defense and earn a roughing penalty to boot. The Flyers made the Sharks pay, as Dvorak one-timed Travis Konecny’s cross-slot feed past Nedeljkovic for a 2-1 lead at 1:47 of the third period.

Tippett reeled in a diagonal pass from Trevor Zegras, maneuvered around San Jose defenseman Nick Leddy and wired a shot past Nedeljkovic to open the scoring 2:26 into the second period. The goal was Tippett’s 24th of the season and fifth in his last eight games.

Celebrini worked along the left-wing boards before advancing the puck to William Eklund, who skated in from the left circle. Eklund alertly delivered a centering feed to an unmarked Orlov, who made no mistake from the slot to forge a 1-1 tie with 6:48 remaining in the second period.

–Field Level Media

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Fire earns road win as Union stays in Eastern Conference basement

MLS: Chicago Fire FC at Philadelphia UnionMar 21, 2026; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Bruno Damiani (9) is tripped up by Chicago Fire defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi (4) while going for the ball during the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Jonathan Bamba scored his second goal early in the second half and the visiting Chicago Fire earned a 2-1 victory on Saturday against struggling Philadelphia Union.

Hugo Cuypers added his fourth goal late in the first half for the Fire (2-2-1, 7 points) who earned their first away victory of the season after leading the Eastern Conference with nine in 2025.

Chris Brady made three saves as Chicago avenged its elimination by Philadelphia in last year’s first-round playoff series and snapped a four-match winless run against the Union in all competitions.

Milan Iloski scored his first goal for Philadelphia just before halftime. But the Union (0-5-0, 0 points) extended the worst start for a reigning Supporters’ Shield holder, less than 72 hours after their elimination from the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a 1-1 draw at Mexico City’s Club America and a 2-1 aggregate defeat.

Bamba put Chicago in front in the 58th minute.

From near midfield, Cuypers spotted Robin Lod down the right. Lod eventually dribbled into the right edge of the penalty area on his right foot, before cutting back onto his left to cross.

With Cuyper in the center of the box, the cross sailed beyond just him, where Bamba connected with an excellent side-footed volley to beat Andre Blake inside the left post.

Philadelphia pressured for an equalizer, but Chicago came closest to scoring the game’s fourth goal. Maren Haile-Selassie missed narrowly wide on the break in the 63rd minute, then Lod rattled the crossbar from a similar attack in the 82nd.

Both teams scored during the more than seven minutes of first-half stoppage time.

First, it was Chicago through Cuypers.

Lod’s initial pass was deflected out wide, where Andrew Gutman reached it on the left flank.

Gutman drove forward and curled in an outswinging, left-footed cross. Cuypers ran between Philadelphia’s center backs to meet it with a powerful header past Blake from six yards out.

Philadelphia leveled from a long throw-in four minutes later. Alejandro Bedoya flicked on Frankie Westfield’s throw from the right, then Iloski won the second ball as he somehow generated enough power to loop his header over Brady and under the crossbar from near the penalty spot.

–Field Level Media

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Mason Jones takes decision in bloody win over Axel Sola at UFC London

MMA: UFC Fight Night-London Weigh-InsMar 20, 2026; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Axel Sola of France and Mason Jones of Wales at weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Fireworks erupted early between lightweights Mason Jones and previously unbeaten Axel Sola in the fight of the night at UFC London on Saturday.

Jones, a winner by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), improved to 18-2 and both fighters left the octagon bloodied.

Jones was knocked down with a spinning elbow in the first round and absorbed multiple direct blows. He had a cut above his right eye and under his nose when his hand was raised, but Sola (11-1-1) had at least three cuts and was covered in blood at the final bell.

“I just like fighting people. Axel wanted to fight. I took it to him,” Jones said. “I opened him up. There was fear in his eyes at the end of the first round. There was fear in his eyes in the end.”

In a featherweight match, Nathaniel Wood (11-3) got his fourth consecutive win and dealt Losene Keita his first loss in a split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28). Keita was 5-0 in the past three years and now has a 16-2 record overall in mixed martial arts.

Michael Page (25-3), who questioned whether he’d upset UFC officials because of the low-level spot on the card and his relatively anonymous opponent, defeated Sam Patterson (14-3-1) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a welterweight match. “MVP” had more to say post-fight about a bout that drew plenty of pro fighting critics on social media for a lack of action.

“It’s getting more and more difficult when nobody really wants to engage. Everyone’s on the back foot,” Page said. “He knew how to frustrate me by not wanting to engage. It’s more difficult to fight somebody that doesn’t want to fight than fight someone difficult that wants to fight.”

Light heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski (8-0) struck Austen Lane, a former NFL defensive lineman, with a quick left hook and then landed repeated right hands to win in just 28 seconds. Lane (13-8) was dazed and rocked back before ever throwing a punch or kick as the referee stopped the fight with Lane planted on his back taking cover.

Baraniewski, a graduate from the Contender Series, could be in line for a marquee opponent in his next bout. He’s been buzzworthy since the December action-packed duel with Ibo Aslan at UFC 323.

Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (16-4) scored his first UFC win with a 30-27 unanimous decision over Shem Rock (12-3-1). Al-Selwady dropped Rock with an overhand right in the first round, but he rebounded off the mat quickly with an attempt to lock up Al-Selwady. Rock kept moving toward Al-Selwady and made contact after the ball, narrowly ducking a haymaker in retaliation before being led to his corner.

–Field Level Media

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