Sports
Behind Cade Cunningham's 42, Pistons complete season sweep of Knicks
Feb 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dunks against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Cade Cunningham totaled 42 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds as the Detroit Pistons pulled away in the second half and completed a season sweep of the host New York Knicks with a 126-111 victory on Thursday.
Detroit won the three meetings by a combined 84 points, improving its winning streak vs. New York to six games. The Knicks had won the previous 16 matchups between the teams.
Cunningham made 17 of 34 shots and posted his third 40-point game of the season. The guard made five of Detroit’s 13 3-pointers, finished four points shy of his season and career best and notched his 28th double-double of the campaign as the Pistons won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Paul Reed filled in for Jalen Duren (NBA suspension) and contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Tobias Harris chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds while Ausar Thompson finished with 10 points.
The Pistons missed nine of their first 10 shots yet still shot 51.6% for the night.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 33 points and eight assists. Karl Anthony-Towns added 21 points and 11 rebounds, but New York’s other three starters, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, combined for 27 points.
The Knicks shot 47.1% and made 8 of 35 3-point tries (22.9%).
After the slow start, Cunningham hit three treys and scored 14 points in the first quarter, helping Detroit build a 28-26 lead. The Pistons scored the final seven points of the half and held a 58-48 lead by the break after Thompson banked in a layup with 24.2 seconds left.
The Knicks missed 15 consecutive 3-point attempts to conclude the half.
Towns’ putback sliced the deficit to 62-60 with 8:54 left in the third quarter before the Pistons gradually surged ahead again.
Detroit’s Ronald Holland II hit an open trey and a reverse layup on consecutive trips for an 88-75 lead late in the third, and the Pistons took a 90-79 cushion into the fourth.
Detroit began sealing matters when Caris LeVert hit an open 3-pointer for a 97-81 lead with 9:33 left. A putback by Dannis Jenkins following a turnover put the Pistons up 104-85 with 7:50 to go, and Cunningham reached 40 points with a step-back trey for a 112-97 lead with 4:37 remaining.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Lightweight clash added to UFC 326 card
Oct 18, 2025; Vancouver, BC, CANADA; Kyle Prepolec (red gloves) fights Drew Dober (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images UFC 326 has added a lightweight fight between Drew Dober and Michael Johnson to the March 7 card in Las Vegas, according to a report by MMAJunkie.com.
Max Holloway will face Charles Oliveira in the main event at T-Mobile Arena in a highly anticipated rematch 10-plus years in the making. But before the main event gets started, Dober and Johnson will face off in an intriguing lightweight fight.
Johnson (25-19), a finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 12, is beginning his 16th year in UFC, and the 39-year-old is riding a three-fight win streak following a split in a four-fight stint across 2022-23.
Dober (28-15) ended a three-fight losing streak with a third-round finish of Kyle Prepolec in his most recent outing on Oct. 18.
No. 7 ranked middleweight contender Caio Borralho (17-2) will face No. 8 Reinier De Ridder (21-3) in the co-main event.
UFC 326 FIGHT CARD
Main Card
–Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira: Main Event for UFC “BMF” Championship
–Caio Borralho vs. Reinier de Ridder: Co-main event
–Rob Font vs. Raul Rosas Jr.
–Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira
–Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega
–Cody Garbrandt vs. Long Xiao
–Cody Durden vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel
–Dusko Todorovic vs. Donte Johnson
–Sumudaerji vs. Jesus Aguilar
–Gaston Bolanos vs. Joosang Yoo
–Luke Fernandez vs. Rodolfo Bellato
–Alberto Montes vs. Ricky Turcios
–Drew Dober vs. Michael Johnson
Holloway beat Oliveira by TKO in a featherweight bout on Aug. 23, 2015, that lasted less than two minutes after the latter said he suffered a freak neck injury.
Holloway, 34, is a former UFC featherweight champion and current unofficial holder of the UFC’s “BMF” designation (a symbolic title representing the promotion’s “baddest” fighter). Holloway (27-8) retained the BMF title with a unanimous-decision win over Dustin Poirier in July at UFC 318 last July.
The 36-year-old Oliveira (36-11, 1 no contest) is a former UFC lightweight champion, the class at which both he and Holloway currently compete.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 16 North Carolina, Syracuse clash after humbling losses
Feb 17, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Jaydon Young (4) lays the ball up for a basket against the NC State Wolfpack during the second half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images North Carolina and Syracuse both look to rebound from their most lopsided losses of the season Saturday when the 16th-ranked Tar Heels visit the Orange.
The Tar Heels (20-6, 8-5 ACC) fell to North Carolina State 82-58 on Tuesday while playing without star freshman Caleb Wilson (fractured hand) and Henri Veesaar (lower-body injury). Without its top two scorers and rebounders, North Carolina shot just 31.7% from the floor and a woeful 5-of-33 from 3-point range.
Defensively, North Carolina allowed its intrastate rival to shoot 45% from 3-point range while forcing just four turnovers.
“I just felt like our competitive fight wasn’t there, especially from a defensive standpoint,” Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said. “They didn’t feel us defensively. They didn’t feel our presence at all.”
Wilson, who averages 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds, was a vocal presence on the bench and in the locker room. His status for the remainder of the season remains in doubt, however.
“(Wilson) was really not happy about the way we played,” said forward Jarin Stevenson, who joined Zayden High with a team-best 13 points. “He felt like we could’ve done a lot better.”
On that same note, Syracuse (15-12, 6-8) certainly could have done better in its most recent contest — a 101-64 drubbing at No. 3 Duke on Monday.
Offense was the issue in the first half, as the Orange managed just 24 points, and then their defense got ugly, as they allowed 61 points after intermission.
“We kind of just lost our focus, I think, by not making the shots that we generated in the first half,” said forward Tyler Betsey, who shot 1-of-5 from 3-point range, bringing him to 3-of-14 over the last three games. “I think we got all the shots that we wanted, but they really just didn’t fall.”
William Kyle III had 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting to pace the Orange. Nate Kingz chipped in 10 points, but Donnie Freeman and JJ Starling combined for 18 points — 11 below their combined average.
Syracuse is 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.
“They were active. They pushed us out. That’s why they’re one of the better defensive teams,” Orange coach Adrian Autry said. “Their length, their physicality is tough. They really spread out and they can cover the court. You don’t really have a lot of time when you do get open. They do a good job of closing off and rotating.”
North Carolina defeated Syracuse 87-77 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 2 in the first meeting between the teams. Wilson led the way with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Veesaar chipped in 17 points and 11 boards.
The Tar Heels led by 32 midway through the second half before the Orange got within six in the final minute.
“We just lost focus, and really all I can say is we should have just kept focused,” Wilson said that night.
The Tar Heels have won five of the last six meetings between the teams.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cavaliers thrash Nets for sixth straight win
Feb 19, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney (21) guards Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) during the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored 17 points and James Harden had 16 points and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers dominated the visiting Brooklyn Nets 112-84 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to six.
Jarrett Allen posted 15 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which led from wire to wire for the second straight game and has won 11 of its last 12. Evan Mobley had 10 points and nine rebounds in his return from a seven-game absence with a left calf strain.
The Cavaliers have won five straight at home and are 4-0 with trade-deadline acquisition Harden in the lineup. Dennis Schroder made two free throws late in the third quarter to put Cleveland up 102-59, its largest lead of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 14 points and Ochai Agbaji had 13 points off the bench for Brooklyn, which shot 34.5% from the field. Danny Wolf collected 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and fellow rookie Egor Demin had 10 points.
The Nets have split their last four contests, but have lost 20 of 25 games since Dec. 29.
None of the Cavaliers’ starters played in the fourth quarter. Cleveland outscored the Nets by 37 points during Mitchell’s 21 minutes of action and was a plus-31 in Allen’s 24 minutes.
Schroder had 12 points and Dean Wade and Jaylon Tyson each added 11, giving the Cavaliers seven players with double-digit scoring for the fifth time this season. Cleveland outrebounded the Nets 56-36.
Harden scored 11 points in the second quarter and Keon Ellis had seven in eight minutes, allowing Cleveland to carry a 70-48 lead into halftime. Porter had 14 points on 5-of-10 field goal shooting.
Allen had 10 points and Mitchell added six in the first as the Cavaliers jumped ahead 34-16. Brooklyn called its first timeout just 41 seconds in with Cleveland up 4-0.
Nets starting center Nic Claxton did not travel with the team after spraining his right ankle in practice Wednesday. Coach Jordi Fernandez said Claxton will “probably join us at some point” on the three-game road trip that runs through Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Report: Lightweight clash added to UFC 326 card
Hurdle hints and answers for February 20, 2026
