Christoph Tilly, rebounding from going scoreless in his previous game, put up 19 points to help Ohio State defeat struggling Maryland 82-62 in College Park Md., on Thursday.

Bruce Thornton had 17 points and John Mobley Jr. added 15 for the Buckeyes (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten), who have won four of their past six games.

Projected as on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022, the Buckeyes could not afford a loss to Maryland (8-14, 1-10). The Terrapins have lost four straight and eight of the past nine.

Elijah Saunders scored 20 points, Solomon Washington 13 and Andre Mills 11 for the Terrapins, whose 16 turnovers led to 24 points for the Buckeyes. Meanwhile, Maryland scored two points from eight Ohio State miscues.

Saunders and Ohio State’s Taison Chatman (10 points) received flagrant fouls with 1:34 to play and were ejected.

Maryland tried to hang with the Buckeyes and trailed 59-46 with 11 minutes to play before Ohio State went on a 9-0 run over the next 1:47 to make it 68-46 for its largest lead.

Tilly logged 11 points while guiding the Buckeyes to a 42-30 halftime lead. After going 0-for-8 from the floor in 19 minutes during a 92-82 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, he hit four of his first five shots for eight points in the first 10 minutes when Ohio State jumped ahead 23-12.

He averages 11.7 points.

It was 28-18 for the Buckeyes when the Terrapins came to life after Thornton missed a pair of free throws. Mills then went the other way to posterize Ivan Njegovan with a left-handed windmill dunk.

Later, Maryland’s Darius Adams made a falling-down 3-pointer, was fouled on the play by Thornton and completed the rare four-point play to make it 30-26.

That’s when Tilly reemerged for his final points of the half with a triple to make it 33-26, and Amare Bynum followed with a two-handed slam on the break off an assist by Mobley.

–Field Level Media

Lakers guard Luka Doncic departed Los Angeles’ Thursday game against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers in the second quarter because of an apparent left leg injury.

The injury occurred with just under four minutes remaining in the first half during a Lakers possession. Doncic remained in the game before departing with 3:03 left in the half.

In 16 minutes of play against the 76ers, Doncic compiled 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, plus five turnovers, including one on the play when he was injured.

Doncic, who has missed eight games this season, entered with an NBA-best average of 33.4 points per game to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists over his first 41 contests.

The Lakers were playing their first game at home in more than two weeks after completing a 5-3 road trip.

–Field Level Media

Victor Wembanyama dominated with 29 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots to carry the visiting San Antonio Spurs past the Mavericks in a 135-123 win on Thursday in Dallas.

Cooper Flagg had 32 points and became the youngest player in NBA history with 30 or more points in four consecutive games, etching his name alongside Michael Jordan as the first rookie with 30 points and at least five rebounds in four games in a row.

The Spurs were up 11 at halftime before the Mavs trimmed the margin to 96-93 heading into the fourth. Naji Marshall’s jumper with 4:09 to play capped a 6-0 run to slice the margin to one point but Stephon Castle answered with a long 3-pointer on San Antonio’s ensuing possession.

Wembanyama added a pair of free throws and Cooper Flagg’s floater with 2:41 remaining answered right back. A key Wembanyama block of Daniel Gafford’s layup try and two more free throws by Harrison Barnes helped San Antonio put the win away.

The Spurs return home for a rematch after the victory in which Barnes had 19 points, Keldon Johnson 18, De’Aaron Fox tallied 17, Julian Champagnie added 14, and Castle and Devin Vassell had 12 each as San Antonio won its third straight game.

Marshall poured in a season-high 32 points for the Mavericks, who have dropped six in a row. Flagg had 32 while Max Christie added 20 and Gafford scored 16 points with 10 boards.

Wembanyama was torrid from the start with San Antonio’s first 10 points and had 20 at halftime.

He hit all net on his first three 3-point attempts and the Spurs built a 12-7 lead five minutes into the game. San Antonio led by as many as nine points before owning a 38-35 edge after 12 minutes of play.

Dallas pushed its way to the front and led 48-44 when Flagg canned a jumper at the 8:30 mark of the second quarter. The Spurs then forged a 21-4 run capped by Johnson’s cutting layup with 4:05 to play before halftime and eventually carried a 74-63 advantage into the break.

Marshall matched Wembanyama with 20 points in the first half to lead their respective teams. Johnson added 12 points and Champagnie had 11 for San Antonio; Flagg and Gafford both produced 10 points in a supporting role for the Mavericks.

Jordan, Bernard King, Allen Iverson and Jalen Green are the other rookies who’ve gone for 30-plus points in four consecutive games. Iverson is the last rookie to put up 150-plus points in the span of four games.

–Field Level Media