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
Lakers star Luka Doncic suspended 1 game after 16th technical foul
Mar 27, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives against Brooklyn Nets forward Ziaire Williams (1) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images The NBA suspended Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic for one game without pay on Saturday for receiving his 16th technical foul this season, and he will miss Monday’s game against the visiting Washington Wizards.
Doncic, the league’s leading scorer, was assessed a technical along with Brooklyn forward Ziaire Williams when they jostled each other with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter of the host Lakers’ 116-99 victory on Friday.
An offensive foul was called seconds earlier on Doncic, and a video review showed him pushing Williams, with the Nets player retaliating by swiping at Doncic’s face.
The 16th technical triggered an automatic suspension, which will cost Doncic 1/174th of his annual salary, about $264,000, per ESPN. League rules stipulate that following the 16th technical, for every two additional technicals, the player will be suspended another game without pay.
The Lakers had successfully appealed Doncic’s most-recent technical for a yelling match with Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze on March 21. The league rescinded the technicals.
Doncic, 27, is averaging 33.7 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds for the Lakers (48-26), who are in third place in the Western Conference with eight games remaining in the regular season.
A six-time All-Star guard, Doncic has been selected All-NBA first team five times and was the 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marta Suarez scores 33 as TCU upends Virginia in Sweet 16
Mar 28, 2026; Sacramento, CA, USA; Texas Christian University Horned Frogs guard Olivia Miles (5) and forward Marta Suárez (7) embrace after a called foul during the second quarter of the game against the Virginia Cavaliers in the Sweet Sixteen game of the Sacramento Regional 4 of the women’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images Marta Suarez scored a career-high 33 points, Olivia Miles added 28 points in a near triple-double and third-seeded TCU ended Virginia’s magical NCAA Tournament run with a 79-69 victory in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento on Saturday.
Miles had 10 rebounds and eight assists and Suarez had 10 rebounds as the Horned Frogs (32-5) overcame a one-point halftime deficit by scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter to take control.
The Horned Frogs will make their second straight Elite Eight appearance when they meet top-seeded South Carolina on Monday.
Suarez had 13 points in the third quarter, when Miles had six assists and four rebounds as the Frogs pushed their lead to 15. The 10th-seeded Cavaliers did not get closer than eight until the final 31 seconds.
Miles’ two free throws with 26.1 seconds left for a 77-69 lead clinched it. She is one of four Division I players with at least 600 points, 250 rebounds and 100 assists.
Paris Clark had 20 points and Kymora Johnson had 18 for the Cavaliers (22-12), the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16 since 2022.
Clara Silva had eight points and eight rebounds for TCU, which had a 38-29 edge on the boards and limited Virginia to 41% shooting.
Virginia led by seven late in the first quarter. TCU took a 35-33 lead with 1:09 left in the first half, when Suarez made a free throw after Romi Levy was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for pulling Miles down as she drove to the basket.
Clark’s three-point play gave the Cavaliers a 36-35 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Troy appoints NC State assistant Adam Howard as new coach
Nov 13, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg and assistant coach Adam Howard watch play during the first half against the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images North Carolina State assistant Adam Howard is the new head coach at Troy, the school announced Saturday night.
Howard replaces Scott Cross, who left after the NCAA Tournament to become head coach at Georgia Tech. Cross finished his seven-year tenure with five straight 20-win campaigns.
Troy went 22-12 this season and reached the NCAA tourney for the second straight season. The Trojans, seeded 13th, were routed 76-47 by Nebraska in the first round of this year’s tournament.
Howard will look to continue the success. He had a two-season stint as an assistant with Troy (2016-18) earlier in his career with the Trojans qualifying for the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Last season was Howard’s lone campaign at NC State, which went 20-14 and reached the NCAA Tournament before losing to the Texas in the First Four. Wolfpack coach Will Wade departed for LSU after the season.
Howard’s other stops as an assistant coach include Southern Miss (2012-14), Tennessee (2014), South Alabama (2018-22) and Nebraska (2022-25).
Howard resigned at Tennessee in November 2014, citing personal reasons, during a time when he and then-Volunteers coach Donnie Tyndall were being investigated by the NCAA for recruiting violations at Southern Miss, where Tyndall was previously the head coach.
–Field Level Media
Lakers star Luka Doncic suspended 1 game after 16th technical foul
Marta Suarez scores 33 as TCU upends Virginia in Sweet 16
