Sports
Dismantled Kings prepare to host spirited Magic
Feb 14, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson (11) competes in the slam dunk contest during the 2026 NBA All Star Saturday Night at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The Kings have dropped a Sacramento-era record 14 consecutive games as they resume play after the All-Star break with a home game against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.
Avoiding the dubious franchise-high streak definitely got harder when big man Domantas Sabonis (left knee) and shooting guard Zach LaVine (right hand) both had season-ending surgeries on Wednesday.
Sabonis initially tore the meniscus in the knee in mid-November and missed 27 games before returning on Jan. 16. The three-time All-Star played in just 19 games this season and averaged 15.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
LaVine last played on Feb. 6. The two-time All-Star averaged a team-high 19.2 points along with 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 39 games.
Kings coach Doug Christie knows the task becomes more difficult without two of the team’s top players.
“It makes it tough. You feel for Zach, you feel for (Domantas) because you know how much work they put into what their life dream is and being successful,” Christie said. “It’s unfortunate for us. There will be more opportunities for our young players to continue to develop and do it in high-leverage moments. We’re here to win basketball games.”
Sacramento owns a league-worst 12-44 record and hasn’t experienced a victory since beating the visiting Washington Wizards 128-115 on Jan. 16. That win was the club’s season-best fourth straight, following triumphs against the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks.
This isn’t the first time the franchise has lost 14 consecutive games. When the team was known as the Cincinnati Royals, there were 14-game losing streaks in both the 1959-60 and 1971-72 seasons.
Christie said he is simplifying goals for each game and focusing on individual and team measurements.
“Making sure we go out and play to our standards,” Christie said. “We want to win.”
Orlando also received some bad news regarding an injury development when star forward Franz Wagner (left ankle) was ruled out indefinitely on Wednesday following recent tests.
Wagner has missed 25 of the last 29 games since being injured on Dec. 7. The team said he would be re-evaluated in three weeks.
“There aren’t words that describe what Franz means to this team,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “His toughness, his resilience, his desire and his want to get back on the court. Everybody on this team knows his work ethic and care factor for this group.”
Wagner’s older brother, Moe, recently returned to the court after missing 12-plus months due to an ACL tear in his left knee. Now Moe sees his 24-year-old brother dealing with the ups and downs of being unable to be on the court.
“He’s struggling emotionally,” Moe Wagner, 28, said. “You can see that as a family member.”
Franz Wagner is averaging 21.3 points to tie Paolo Banchero for the team scoring lead. He’s also averaging 5.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 28 games.
“He’s one of our key pieces of our team,” Banchero said. “We need him out there. But at the same time, we don’t want him coming back before he’s ready.
We just want him to take his time and get all the way healthy.”
Orlando ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the last top-six playoff spot.
The Magic fell 116-108 to the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 11 in their final game before the All-Star break. Orlando won three straight before the setback.
Orlando is beginning a four-game trip out west that includes games against the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
The Magic swept the two-game set with Sacramento last season after losing the previous six matchups.
–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
