Sports
Kings hope to avoid unfortunate franchise history against Pelicans
Feb 7, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard-forward Daeqwon Plowden (29) reacts after getting charged for a foul against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The Sacramento Kings are looking to avoid setting an ignominious franchise record when they face the host New Orleans Pelicans on Monday evening.
With a 132-126 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night, the Kings lost their 12th straight game. That equals the mark held by the 1997-98 team for the most consecutive losses since the franchise moved from Kansas City to Sacramento ahead of the 1985-86 season.
Nique Clifford had a career-high 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting followed by Russell Westbrook with 21 points and nine assists, as Sacramento was without four of its leading scorers in Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray. Clifford and Westbrook each made five 3-pointers.
“I got some good looks (Saturday), and my teammates were finding me, putting me in good positions to score the ball, and the shots were falling for me,” Clifford said.
The rookie first-round pick out of Colorado State is emblematic of coach Doug Christie’s pivot towards a youth movement as the Kings, who have made the playoffs just once in the last 19 seasons, attempt to alter their fate.
“The name of the game is to win the game, so that part hurts, but to watch these guys begin to find their way, find their rhythm and compete against some really good teams and put themselves consistently in position to win the ballgame (is encouraging),” Christie said. “Now, there’s a learning curve of how to do it, and it’s difficult. It’s difficult to win in our league.”
Second-year guard Devin Carter scored 18 points, and two-way player Daeqwon Plowden had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Rookie center Maxime Raynaud had 14 points and seven rebounds. Undrafted rookie Dylan Cardwell had a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Monday night’s clash is the first of three games with the Pelicans this season and the only one in New Orleans.
Saddiq Bey had 30 points, including two free throws with 10.8 seconds left, and Zion Williamson added 29 points, highlighted by a critical three-point play with 35.5 seconds to play, as the Pelicans defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-115 to end a three-game losing streak and conclude a 1-3 road trip.
Bey, who is averaging 16.7 points per game, has three 30-plus-point games so far in 2026 after he had none in the first three months of the season.
“In general, we followed and executed the gameplan, the task, especially defensively. … Our guys battled, got stops when we needed to,” New Orleans coach James Borrego said. “Saddiq made huge plays. … We understand we’re going to have to win clutch games to win games. We’re learning how to close.”
Trey Murphy III had 26 points and six rebounds, while Derik Queen had 17 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Timberwolves. A rookie center who had just 10 3-pointers on 47 attempts coming into the contest, Queen went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The Pelicans shot 44.1% (15 for 34) from 3-point land in the game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Scottie Barnes does it all as Raptors roll Pacers
Feb 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) dribbles downcourt against the Indiana Pacers during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Scottie Barnes scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the decisive third quarter and the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Indiana Pacers 122-104 on Sunday afternoon.
Barnes also led everyone with 14 rebounds and four blocked shots to help the Raptors sweep the four-game season series from the Pacers. After trailing by two at halftime, Toronto took over the game with a 44-26 advantage in the third quarter.
RJ Barrett contributed 20 points and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 17 points for the Raptors, who have won three of four on their five-game homestand. Brandon Ingram and and Immanuel Quickley each scored 13 points. Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds in his Raptors debut.
Pascal Siakam scored 18 points for the Pacers, who have lost four straight. Jay Huff added 15 points, Jarace Walker provided 13 points, Ben Sheppard scored 12 and T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard each notched 10.
Toronto led 21-20 after one quarter, but lost starting center Collin Murray-Boyles to a left thumb injury. He had two points and one blocked shot before leaving for good with 3:47 left in the first quarter.
Jackson-Davis, obtained in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, entered the game in the second quarter and immediately got a steal and assisted on Barnes’ running layup.
Siakam’s layup gave the Pacers a six-point lead with 2:06 to play in the second quarter and they led 48-46 at halftime.
Toronto solved Indiana’s defense by getting out in transition and scored the first eight points of the third quarter. Barnes led the Raptors’ charge and his rebound was followed by a running two-handed dunk to boost the lead to 13 with 6:53 to play. Quickley padded the margin to 19 with two consecutive 3-pointers.
Indiana’s Johnny Furphy collapsed after his dunk with 2:57 left in the third quarter cut Toronto’s lead to 80-68. He was helped off the court before being taken to the dressing room in a wheelchair with what the team said was right-leg soreness.
Toronto led 90-74 after three quarters.
The lead reached 21 when Jackson-Davis converted a free throw with 7:58 to go in the fourth quarter. The Pacers never got closer than 16 the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kawhi Leonard racks up 41 to lead Clippers to runaway win over Wolves
Feb 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu (13) battles Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez (11) for the ball in the first quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Kawhi Leonard scored 41 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help the Los Angeles Clippers pull away for a 115-96 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 15 points apiece for Los Angeles, which won its second game in a row. Kobe Sanders contributed 10 points.
Anthony Edwards scored 23 points to lead Minnesota, which has lost three of its past four games. Julius Randle finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Rudy Gobert tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.
Ayo Dosunmu scored 11 points in his debut with the Timberwolves, who acquired him from the Chicago Bulls three days earlier. Dosunmu made 4 of 11 shots and was 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
The Clippers led by at least 18 points throughout the fourth quarter. Jordan Miller made a pair of free throws to give Los Angeles its largest lead of the game at 28 points with 3:10 remaining.
Los Angeles entered the fourth quarter with a 21-point lead.
The Clippers started the second half on a 7-0 run to go ahead 61-42 with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter. Collins and Leonard each made a jump shot, and Derrick Jones Jr. punctuated the run with a 3-pointer.
The Timberwolves pulled within seven points after Edwards made a dunk to cut the deficit to 63-56 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
Leonard and the rest of his Clippers teammates did not allow Minnesota to get any closer. The Clippers finished the third quarter on a 17-3 run to seize an 80-59 advantage. Sanders sank two 3-pointers during the run.
The Clippers led 54-42 at the half.
Los Angeles closed the first half on a 20-6 run to seize the lead. That included a stretch in which the Clippers scored 11 consecutive points on a 3-pointer by Kris Dunn, two free throws and a layup by Leonard, a dunk by Collins and a driving layup by Dunn.
-Field Level Media
Sports
ATP roundup: Felix Auger-Aliassime defends title, sets Canadian record
Jan 19, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in action against Nuno Borges of Portugal in the first round of the men’s singles at the Australian Open at John Cain Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime successfully defended his Open Occitanie championship on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Adrian Mannarino in Montpellier, France.
Auger-Aliassime, 25, recorded 13 aces and won 87% of his first-serve points to dispatch the Frenchman in 1 hour, 35 minutes. The ninth career ATP title for Auger-Aliassime is one more than Milos Raonic for the most tour-level titles by a Canadian in the Open Era.
A strong service game was nothing new for Auger-Aliassime, who delivered 20 aces while posting a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over French qualifier Titouan Droguet on Saturday.
Auger-Aliassime will elevate one spot to No. 6 in the ATP rankings on Monday.
Davis Cup
The fifth-seeded United States finished a 4-0 sweep of host Hungary on Sunday in Tatabanya to advance to the second round of Davis Cup qualifying.
Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan and Zsombor Piros in doubles action 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and Emilio Nava defeated Matyas Fuele 6-2, 6-3 to close out the first round against unseeded Hungary.
In more dramatic action, unseeded host South Korea rallied for a 3-2 win over ninth-seeded Argentina in Busan. After the Argentinian doubles team of Guido Andreozzi and Federico Agustin Gomez defeated Jisung Nam and Uisung Park 6-3, 7-5 to go up 2-1, the Koreans rallied behind a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory from Soonwoo Kwon over Thiago Agustin Tirante and a 6-4, 6-3 win by Hyeon Chung over Marco Trungelliti in the decisive match.
Host India also won 3-2 in the decisive fifth match, beating the fourth-seeded Netherlands in Bengaluru thanks to a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win from Dhakshineswar Suresh over Guy Den Ouden. India also claimed the doubles point in three sets while Dutch competitor Jesper De Jong won the fourth match 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to level it at 2-2.
Entering the day tied at 1, sixth-seeded France beat visiting Slovakia in both matches in Le Portel. Arthur Rinderknech defeated Alex Molcan 7-5, 7-6 (6) to clinch the result after doubles pair Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Milos Karol and Lukas Klein 6-2, 6-3.
Host Czechia entered Sunday with a 2-0 lead over visiting Sweden and clinched its spot in the second round with the doubles point in Jihlava. Petr Nouza and Patrik Rikl escaped with a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) win over Andre Goransson and Erik Grevelius. Ollie Wallin beat Maxim Mrva 6-4, 7-6 (1) in Match 4 to put a point on the board for the Swedes.
Belgium completed a 4-0 sweep of host Bulgaria with two more wins in Plovdiv. Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen won the doubles point 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) over Alexander Donski and Pyotr Nesterov, and Raphael Collignon defeated Ivan Ivanov 6-2, 6-2.
Host Ecuador finished off a 3-1 upset of No. 2 seed Australia in Quito with Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo winning in doubles, 7-6 (5), 6-4, over Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson. Jason Kubler beat Emilio Camacho 6-4, 6-2 to salvage a point for the Aussies.
The second round of Davis Cup qualifying is set for Sept. 18-20, with the finals set for Nov. 24-29.
–Field Level Media
Scottie Barnes does it all as Raptors roll Pacers
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