Sports
Amid whispers of tanking, Jazz wrap road trip at Heat
Feb 7, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Utah Jazz center Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) shoots during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images Losers of 18 of their last 22 games, the Utah Jazz are playing for next season.
On Monday night, the Jazz will visit the Miami Heat to conclude a five-game stretch on the road, where they are just 6-20 this season. And just how focused Utah will be on the task at hand provides the backdrop for the game.
In the Jazz’s most recent game, a 120-117 loss at Orlando on Saturday night, they led 94-87 entering the fourth quarter. Yet Utah’s two biggest stars — Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. — were “rested” the rest of the game. Markkanen finished with 27 points in 27 minutes; Jackson finished with 22 points in 25 minutes.
Making those types of decisions is what lead critics to charge the Jazz with tanking — losing on purpose in the hopes of landing a better draft pick in June. Keep in mind that Utah’s 2026 first-round pick goes to Oklahoma City, unless it’s a top-eight selection.
Tanking allegations aside, Utah could be building something for the future. Markkanen, an All-Star in 2023, enters Monday ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring (27.1).
Jackson, a two-time All-Star acquired in a trade with Memphis last week, is averaging 19.3 points. The Orlando game marked his team debut.
“Jaren’s a hell of a player,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “His resume speaks for itself. Very excited — I think we all are.”
Hardy and the Jazz have formed an imposing frontcourt with the 6-foot-10 Jackson, 7-foot-1 Markkanen and 7-foot-2 Walker Kessler, who last season averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Kessler, though, will miss the rest of this season due to shoulder surgery after playing in only five games.
Utah point guard Keyonte George (23.8 points, 6.5 assists per game) has been ruled out for Monday with an ankle sprain. He missed three games before playing 13 minutes against Orlando.
Meanwhile, the Heat — who have won eight of their past 10 games against Utah — are coming off a 132-101 win over the host Washington Wizards on Sunday.
Despite the blowout victory, Miami emerged with a concern as All-Star forward Norman Powell did not finish the game due to a sore back.
“If the game (were) closer I could’ve stayed in, I guess,” Powell said. “That’s a tough question to ask me.
“I think it had to do with being stuck on the plane for a lot of hours and soft beds in the hotel. I always get a back flareup when I sleep on a soft mattress.”
Rookie first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis scored a career-high 22 points and added a team-high-tying six assists in 26 minutes off the bench. He made 8 of 10 shots, including 6 of 6 on 3-pointers.
In Miami’s previous game, a 98-96 loss to Boston on Friday, Jakucionis did not play (coach’s decision), giving way to fellow backup point guard Dru Smith, who scored two points in 19 minutes behind Davion Mitchell.
“Our three point guards are all really important,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Mitchell, Smith and Jakucionis. “If I’m playing two of them and not one, it’s not an indictment. But (Jakucionis) gives us something different. He competes. He was getting into dust-ups (against Washington) because of how hard he plays, and there’s a purity to that.
“Offensively, he has a big upside. He can shoot, but he also is a playmaker.”
Spoelstra added that the Heat — who have two games left before the All-Star break — want to finish the first half on a high note.
“It’s very important,” Spoelstra said. “We want to handle the next one (Utah) professionally.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Vitality takes down FURIA to win IEM Krakow title
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Vitality outlasted FURIA 3-1 in the grand final to win the Intel Extreme Masters Krakow championship on Sunday in Poland.
Vitality landed the first prize of $400,000, while FURIA received $180,000 as the runner-up. Team Spirit swept MOUZ 2-0 in the third-place match to take home $100,000.
The $1 million Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament started with 24 teams, with 16 teams advancing to a double-elimination group stage involving best-of-three matches. The group winners earned spots in the playoff semifinals and the group runners-up and third-place teams advanced to the quarterfinals.
The playoffs consisted of a single-elimination bracket of best-of-three matches until the grand final on Sunday, which was best-of-five.
Vitality fell behind early Sunday as FURIA took a 13-11 result on Mirage. Vitality responded with a 13-8 win on Inferno, then blasted FURIA 13-2 on Nuke before finishing the job 13-10 on Overpass.
French star Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut racked up 90 kills to just 41 deaths for Vitality and scored a 1.66 rating. ZywOo was named IEM Krakow 2026 MVP.
Meanwhile, Spirit handled MOUZ 13-8 on Dust II and 13-3 on Mirage. Russia’s Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov led Spirit with 40 kills and just 15 deaths, posting a 1.88 rating.
Intel Extreme Masters Krakow prize pool
1. $400,000 — Team Vitality
2. $180,000 — FURIA
3. $100,000 — Team Spirit
4. $60,000 — MOUZ
5-6. $40,000 — Aurora Gaming, G2 Esports
7-8. $24,000 — Astralis, Team Falcons
9-12. $16,000 — Natus Vincere, FUT Esports, FaZe Clan, 3DMAX
13-16. $10,000 — The MongolZ, PARIVISION, BC.Game Esports, NRG
17-20. $4,500 — GamerLegion, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, paiN Gaming
21-24. $2,500 — Passion UA, Legacy, B8, HEROIC
–Field Level Media
Sports
NBA roundup: Knicks forge standings tie with Celtics in head-to-head win
Feb 8, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts after a play against the Boston Celtics in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Jalen Brunson scored 31 points and had eight assists to lead the visiting New York Knicks to a 111-89 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The victory ended Boston’s five-game winning streak and moved the Knicks into a second-place tie with the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings; both teams are five games behind Detroit. Josh Hart added 19 points for New York, which received 12 points from Jose Alvarado in his debut with the Knicks. New York acquired Alvarado in a trade with New Orleans on Thursday.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds as New York won for the ninth time in 10 games.
The Celtics shot 7 of 41 from 3-point territory (17.1%), including 0 for 10 in the third quarter, and the 89 points were the fewest Boston has scored in a game this season. Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points and Derrick White finished with 19. Boston received 10 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Baylor Scheierman.
Clippers 115, Timberwolves 96
Kawhi Leonard scored 41 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help Los Angeles pull away for a win over host Minnesota.
John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 15 points apiece for Los Angeles, which won its second game in a row. Kobe Sanders contributed 10 points.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead Minnesota, which has lost three of its past four games. Julius Randle finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Rudy Gobert tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
Heat 132, Wizards 101
Bam Adebayo and Kasparas Jakucionis scored 22 points apiece to help visiting Miami breeze past Washington.
Norman Powell added 21 points and Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had dropped three of their previous four. Simone Fontecchio scored 12 and Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 boards.
Tristan Vukcevic paced Washington with 14 points, while Justin Champagnie, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington scored 13 apiece. Alex Sarr collected 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who are just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Indiana Pacers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
Raptors 122, Pacers 104
Scottie Barnes scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the decisive third quarter and also led all players with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots as host Toronto beat Indiana.
The Raptors had a 44-26 advantage in the third quarter in going on to sweep the four-game season series from the Pacers. RJ Barrett contributed 20 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points for Toronto. Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley each scored 13 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his Raptors debut.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 points for Indiana, which has lost four straight. Jay Huff added 15 points, Jarace Walker provided 13, Ben Sheppard scored 12 and T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard each notched 10.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bucks sign former Nets G Cam Thomas
Feb 1, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles defended by Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart (28) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images The Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday signed free agent guard Cam Thomas, who had been waived by the Brooklyn Nets after the trade deadline on Thursday.
Thomas, 24, had a sometimes sour relationship with the Nets and signed a $5.9 million qualifying offer last summer after he and the team could not agree to contract terms. Brooklyn reportedly tried to shop him before the trade deadline; instead, he became a free agent.
“I picked Milwaukee because they wanted me and they told me they’ve been interested for years now,” Thomas told Andscape. “So, it’s good to have this opportunity come to fruition. And I’m just hoping to meet everybody, get to know everybody and contribute as soon as possible.”
Thomas ranked second on the Nets with a 15.6 scoring average and averaged 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 2.0 turnovers and 24.3 minutes per game in 24 contests (eight starts) this season after missing 20 games because of a strained left hamstring.
He was Brooklyn’s leading scorer in the 2023-24 regular season (22.5 ppg) and averaged a team-best 24.0 scoring average in only 25 games in 2024-25 before he was limited by hamstring issues.
For his career, Thomas averages 15.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.3 minutes in 239 regular-season games (88 starts).
Brooklyn selected Thomas out of LSU with the 27th overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Insane, R-Rated 90s Sci-Fi Is A Computer Virus For Your Brain
Team Vitality takes down FURIA to win IEM Krakow title
