Sports
Generous Jazz eager to tighten defensively vs. Nets
Jan 28, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Golden State Warriors guard De’anthony Melton (middle) goes to the basket against Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) and guard Keyonte George (3) during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Solutions for fixing a porous defense continue to elude the Utah Jazz heading into Friday night’s contest against the Brooklyn Nets in Salt Lake City.
Utah dropped its fourth straight game on Wednesday, 140-124 to Golden State. It marked the ninth time that the Jazz have given up at least 140 points this season. They are allowing an NBA-worst average of 127.8 points per game.
Like many teams that have faced Utah, the Warriors did their damage from the 3-point line. They made 23 baskets from long distance, shooting 42.6%. The effort helped Golden State break open a close game in the fourth quarter and run away for a victory.
“We were steps behind on every action tonight defensively,” Jazz coach Will Hardy told the Deseret News after the game. “Their cutting had us spinning like a top the entire game, and it resulted in a lot of catch-and-shoot 3s.”
It’s a painfully familiar story for Utah over the past few weeks. The Jazz have lost eight of nine and are 3-13 in 2026.
Weak perimeter defense has been the culprit behind the ongoing struggles. Only three opponents have failed to shoot 39% or better from 3-point range against Utah in January. The Jazz also are allowing an average of 17.4 made 3-pointers per game during that stretch.
The deficiency has undercut the emergence of Brice Sensabaugh as a reliable scorer off the bench. Sensabaugh has notched seven 20-point games in January after tallying a team-high 22 points against Golden State.
“He’s obviously a great, gifted scorer,” Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen told the Deseret News. “He can do his thing, and I think we’ve been trying to just kind of make the defense load up to him with his scoring ability.”
Brooklyn, like Utah, is trying to pull out of a January tailspin.
The Nets suffered their seventh straight loss on Thursday night, 107-103 in Denver. Brooklyn has won just twice in 16 games in January.
A third victory was within reach after the Nets erased a 15-point halftime deficit in the fourth quarter. They took a 92-90 lead when Nolan Traore drove for a layup with 4:40 left to cap a 13-3 run but could not hold off the Nuggets down the stretch.
Two bright spots stand out for Brooklyn in a tough rebuilding season.
Michael Porter Jr. is thriving as the Nets’ primary scoring option. He entered Thursday’s game averaging 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range. He finished with 38 points on 13-of-27 shooting from the field against the Nuggets.
Rookie Egor Demin, a 6-foot-8 guard, has turned himself into a reliable perimeter threat. He is averaging 10.4 points per game while shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc. The former BYU standout has tied an NBA rookie record by making a 3-pointer in 33 consecutive games.
“I’m biased, obviously, but I wasn’t convinced that he didn’t have the second-most upside in that draft class,” BYU’s Kevin Young, Demin’s college coach, told the New York Post. “I mean, just look at — the NBA is made of guys that are that size that have a skill set. It’s not made up of a bunch of 6-(foot)-2, 6-4 guards. … His upside is through the roof.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
CF Montreal wins first game under Philippe Eullaffroy, beat Red Bulls
Apr 18, 2026; Montreal, Province of Quebec, CAN; CF Montreal forward Prince Owusu (9) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victor Loturi (22) after scoring a goal against the Red Bull New York during the first half at Saputo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images Prince Owusu recorded a goal and three assists as CF Montreal bested the visiting New York Red Bulls 4-1 in the home side’s first match under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy.
Owusu scored his fifth goal of the season, as Montreal (2-6-0, 6 points) claimed their 100th win all-time at Stade Saputo.
Montreal strode past the visitors’ backline with relative ease in the early going. Red Bulls (3-3-2, 11 points) captain Emil Forsberg failed to control a hurried pass from his goalkeeper, allowing Owusu to play in Victor Loturi, who blasted it past Ethan Horvath in the fifth minute to make it 1-0.
Owusu nearly extended their lead soon after when Ivan Jaime played him through on a one-on-one. The towering center forward opted to hold the ball up before sending it wide of goal.
Owusu made no mistake on his 39th-minute penalty, catching out Horvath with a sly stutter step and slotting it into the left corner to make it 2-0. The penalty came as a result of Dylan Nealis’s handball.
Montreal’s Matty Longstaff knocked balls into both nets at the start of the second half. Longstaff met Owusu’s perfectly threaded through ball to make it 3-0 in the 49th minute. The English midfielder then overhit an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Thomas Gillier four minutes later and inadvertently brought the Red Bulls back within two.
More than the flurry of goals, the single biggest change in Montreal’s approach was in their defensive setup. Eullaffroy’s zonal marking stood in stark contrast to Marco Donadel’s aggressive man-marking, the Red Bulls managing just one shot on goal all game long. Eullaffroy also started Samuel Piette in the midfield after the Montreal captain remained on the bench in their last two outings.
Owusu chipped the ball over Matthew Dos Santos and into the path of Kwadwo Opoku, who guided it into the open net to restore Montreal’s three-goal lead.
The victory marked Montreal’s first at home since August of last year. Both of Montreal’s wins this season have come against the Red Bulls. New York, meanwhile, has won just one of its last six league matches.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Carson Kelly's pinch-hit homer propels Cubs over hapless Mets
Apr 18, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pinch-hitter Carson Kelly (15) hits a three-run homer against the New York Mets during the sixth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Carson Kelly hit a tie-breaking three-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth inning Saturday afternoon for the host Chicago Cubs, who beat the skidding New York Mets 4-2.
The pinch-hit homer was the second of Kelly’s career and his first since Aug. 25, 2021, when he went deep for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Anthony Banda.
Ian Happ homered in the second for the Cubs, who have won four straight and have scored 51 runs while winning five of their last six games. Chicago scored 59 runs in its first 14 games this season.
Kelly’s homer off Brooks Raley made a winner of Jameson Taillon (1-1), who gave up one run on five hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings.
Mark Vientos provided the visitors a short-lived lead by homering in the top of the second for the Mets, who have lost 10 straight — their longest skid since an 11-game losing streak from Aug. 28-Sept. 8, 2004. New York hasn’t led at the end of an inning since first inning of an 11-6 loss to the Athletics on Apr. 11 — a span of 62 frames.
New York’s Bo Bichette scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wide of the bag on Francisco Alvarez’s two-out grounder in the eighth. But reliever Ben Brown induced Vientos to ground out to third and strand two before Caleb Thielbar struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his first save of 2026.
Freddy Peralta (1-2) took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three over 5 2/3 innings. Peralta issued both walks with two outs in the sixth, after which Kelly took Raley deep on the first pitch he saw. The homer was the first surrendered by Raley since 2023.
The Cubs only managed five hits as Happ reached in 3-of-4 plate appearances with a pair of walks.
Francisco Lindor and Luis Robert Jr. had two hits apiece for the Mets, who were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
Sports
WTA roundup: Elena Rybakina continues sizzling start to 2026
Elena Rybakina waves to the crowd after advancing to the quarterfinals after Sonay Kartal retired from their match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Top-seeded Elena Rybakina continued her outstanding 2026 campaign by overwhelming sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 on Saturday to reach the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, will face No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final. Muchova pulled off a mild upset with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Rybakina, who won the 2026 Australian Open and reached the finals at Indian Wells, exchanged breaks with Andreeva before winning four of five points on the Russian’s serve to capture the first set. She cruised in the second set, winning a combined 21 of 25 points on her first serves and Andreeva’s second service offerings.
The deciding set between Muchova and Svitolina looked to be going the distance, but the Czech won the final eight points of the match — four on her opponent’s serve in the ninth game — to set up the fourth all-time meeting with Rybakina. Muchova has won two of three prior matches, including a quarterfinal victory in January at Brisbane.
Rouen Metropolitan Open
Top-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine cruised past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-0 to reach the finals in Rouen, France.
Kostyuk will take on teenage qualifier and countrywoman Veronika Podrez. She advanced in a walkover prior to her scheduled match against Romania’s Sonia Cirstea, who withdrew due to a leg injury.
Kostyuk, who will be trying to win her second WTA title and first since a 2023 championship in Austin, Texas, fended off all four break points in the match against the 38-year old German. Maria could not contain Kostyuk’s power, dropping 32 of 43 (74.4%) service points.
Podrez, 19, advanced to the semifinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, No. 7 seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy and Great Britain’s Katie Boulter.
–Field Level Media
