Sports
Celtics chase offensive improvement against lowly Nets
Feb 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) talks with a referee during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images Although the Boston Celtics are coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season, Jaylen Brown believes his team has plenty to feel good about entering its Friday night game against the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
The Celtics turned in a lackluster second half on Wednesday on a 103-84 road loss to the Denver Nuggets. Boston’s point total and shooting percentage (34.9%) were both season lows, and the Celtics were outscored 56-36 in the final two quarters.
The result ended Boston’s four-game winning streak. Three of those victories came on the road.
“It would’ve been great to finish out strong on the road trip with a win, but 3-1 on a West Coast swing, coming straight out of All-Star break is not half-bad,” Brown said. “We just gotta continue to get better little by little.
“I like where we’re at as a group. I think we’re playing some really good basketball. I think our guys have developed in areas that we continue to just push along, so we just gotta keep that up.”
Boston was playing its third game in four nights on Wednesday. The Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 97-81 on Tuesday without Brown (right knee contusion), but he led the Celtics in points (23) and rebounds (11) against Denver.
“I like where we’re at as a team,” Brown said. “It’s a good test going back home, playing in front of our home crowd, but we got some tough matchups coming up so we gotta be ready.”
The Celtics are 9-2 in their past 11 games.
“(A) 3-1 trip … played four good teams,” Boston’s Derrick White said. “We knew it was going to be a tough back-to-back. I think we’re in a really good spot. Obviously, there’s a lot to improve on and we’re going to continue to work on. But it’s a big game coming up here on Friday. We gotta be ready to go for that.”
A game against the Nets may be just what the Celtics need to get back on track. Brooklyn fell 126-110 to the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, the Nets’ sixth consecutive loss. Michael Porter led the Nets with 25 points and 14 rebounds.
“I do believe we can be better than this and that’s the message: Work to be better. Be ready to compete,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said after the latest defeat. “We’re not wasting opportunities. Every game of the last 24 has to be played with intention.
“We move on to the next one. It’s an exciting game (Friday). I know the whole team cares. We just have to go out and fight and be 1% better.”
Brooklyn rank last in the NBA in scoring (107.0 points per game), field-goal percentage (44.4%) and rebounding (40.4 boards per game).
Although he didn’t score, Josh Minott made his Brooklyn debut in the Thursday loss. Boston sent Minott to Brooklyn for cash considerations at the trade deadline.
Minott most recently was playing for the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn’s G League affiliate. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game with the Celtics this season.
The Friday game will be the fourth meeting between Brooklyn and Boston this season. The Celtics won 113-99 on the road on Nov. 18 before the Nets prevailed 113-105 in Boston three days later. The most recent matchup was a 130-126 double-overtime road win for the Celtics on Jan. 23, when Brown logged 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Ben Shelton shows love of clay, wins BMW title
Ben Shelton connects with the ball during his second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, March 6, 2026. Ben Shelton rolled to his second title of the year, winning the BMW Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli at Munich, Germany.
Shelton won 85% of his first-serve points on the clay surface and saved all six break points he faced to win his fifth career title and first since Dallas earlier this year. Shelton showed his form early when he broke Cobolli’s serve twice in the first three games of the match.
With the second set tied 5-5, Shelton broke Cobolli again and won on serve on his first match point. Shelton became the first American man since 2009 to win three ATP 500 titles.
“I have big ambitions for the clay courts,” Shelton said in his post-match interview. “It is a surface I want to get better on each year. It is slowly becoming one of my favorite surfaces to play on.”
Barcelona Open
Arthur Fils of France held off a late charge from Russia’s Andrey Rublev to record a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory in the final of the tournament.
Fils won his first title since returning in February after missing eight months because of a back injury.
Fils was well on his way to victory after cruising in the first set and leading 5-2 in the second before Rublev dug in his heels. Rublev broke Fils’ serve to pull within 5-4 in the second set, then staved off one match point to make it 5-5.
Rublev broke serve again to lead 6-5 in the second set before Fils finally regained control and finished off the match in a tiebreak.
“The end of the second set was just about the mental (pressure),” Fils said. “The whole match was a bit tough because I was a bit tight. I played well for a set and a half, but when I had to close, I started to think a little. But I’m very happy with the way I played the tiebreak.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina wins at Stuttgart for second time
Aug 31, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in action against Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic in the fourth round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Second-seeded Elena Rybakina won 25 of her 32 first-serve points (78.1%) and needed just 78 minutes on Sunday to post a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Karolina Muchova to win the championship match of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, had three aces while winning her 13th career title and second in Stuttgart. She also won the event in 2024. This victory marks the first time she has won multiple titles at a tournament.
The Czech Republic’s Muchova, the No. 7 seed, was much less efficient on her first serves, winning just 52.3% (23 of 44). She saved four of eight break points.
Muchova trailed 5-2 in the first set before winning three straight games to knot the match. But Rybakina won the final two games and then sailed through the second set to win her fifth clay court title.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk hit 34 winners against 23 unforced errors while claiming a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Veronika Podrez in the first all-Ukrainian WTA final at Rouen, France.
Kostyuk converted 6 of 9 break points against the 19-year-old Podrez to win her second singles title. Podrez, a qualifier, was playing in her first final.
“This match today was not just a match,” Kostyuk said during the trophy presentation. “It was a historical moment for Ukrainian tennis. First time two Ukrainians playing in the final. I know how much work, sacrifice, tears and sweat goes into this sport and to be able to be on this stage. So I’m incredibly proud of Ukrainian tennis right now.”
Podrez had just one ace while committing seven double faults.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Former Georgia WR Zachariah Branch arrested
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch (1) takes questions from the press during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals Media Day at Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, La., on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. Players and coaches from Ole Miss and Georgia took questions from the press. Wide receiver Zachariah Branch, a Georgia standout who was expected to be selected in the NFL Draft later this week, was arrested early Sunday in Athens, Ga., according to Athens-Clarke County jail records.
Branch, 22, was charged with obstructing public sidewalks/streets and obstruction of a law enforcement officer, both misdemeanors. He was booked at 1:26 a.m. and released on bond at 3:44 a.m.
Widely projected as a Day 2 NFL draft pick, estimates show Branch going as high as the second round on Friday.
In his first season at Georgia, following a transfer from Southern California, Branch led the Bulldogs with 81 receptions for 811 yards and six touchdowns last season. Georgia went 12-2 and lost 39-34 to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
In three college seasons, the first two at USC, Branch had 159 receptions for 1,634 yards and nine touchdowns in 37 games.
–Field Level Media
ATP roundup: Ben Shelton shows love of clay, wins BMW title
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