Sports
Mavs need to maximize homestand, but Bucks stand in their way
Feb 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) celebrates a three-point basket with forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and forward Kyle Kuzma (18) in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images The Dallas Mavericks are playing at home five times in a six-game stretch, but they’re hosting some heavy hitters during this crucial time for their playoff hopes. That includes Saturday’s visit from the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks, who rank among the Eastern Conference’s top six teams, handed the visiting Denver Nuggets their second loss in the last 12 games with a 121-112 decision on Thursday. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 28-point, 19-rebound effort led Milwaukee while Brook Lopez chipped in 22 points.
The Bucks also got 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists from Kyle Kuzma, the recently acquired forward brought in from Washington in a trade that sent Khris Middleton to the Wizards.
“Getting him involved, because of his vision and ability to go downhill, is just huge for that (starting) unit,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said of Kuzma, adding that his presence helps Milwaukee maintain a scoring edge late into games.
Milwaukee ranks in the lower half of the league in fourth-quarter scoring with an average of 26.0 points, but the Bucks have averaged 28.1 fourth-quarter points since Kuzma arrived nine games ago. The Bucks will look to maintain a healthy scoring attack for all four periods against a Mavericks defense that has endured some ups and downs.
Dallas allows 113.1 points per game, falling just in the lower half of NBA defenses. However, the Mavericks are coming off their first outing in which they held an opponent to fewer than 100 points since Jan. 17 as they beat Charlotte 103-96 Thursday.
Along with his team-high 25 points, Kyrie Irving delivered a pair of steals and a pair of blocks. Dallas also got significant contributions on both ends of the floor and on the glass from Moses Brown.
Brown, helping fill gaps while Dallas deals with a variety of injuries, scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, made three steals and blocked two shots as his 10-day contract runs low.
“His next game is his last one (with the Mavericks), so hopefully he can step in and play as well as he did (on Thursday),” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
The Mavericks need all the interior support they can muster, facing the Milwaukee frontcourt tandem of Antetokounmpo and Lopez with big men Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II all sidelined.
Davis, acquired in the blockbuster trade with Los Angeles that sent superstar guard Luka Doncic to the Lakers, has played in just one game with Dallas. He put up 26 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a Feb. 8 defeat of Houston, but left with a left adductor injury.
The Mavericks are 4-3 in the seven games Davis has missed and sit in ninth place in the Western Conference.
As Dallas looks to finish strong and solidify a postseason berth despite its roster flux, Irving steers the ship. He leads the Mavericks at 24.9 points per game and spoke after the Charlotte win of helping the team gain an edge down the stretch.
“A lot of guys are getting used to being in winning situations, so there’s that development aspect that’s needed,” he said. “As peers, we’ve got to hold each other accountable, too.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
Mar 27, 2023; Seattle, WA, USA; A general overall view of the Space Needle and Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images A sold-out crowd of 17,335 fans at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game on Friday night.
In the first game back from the Olympic break for both PWHL teams, the host Seattle Torrent fell 5-2 to the Toronto Sceptres.
The Torrent played without captain Hilary Knight, who led the U.S. women’s team to a gold medal in the Milan Cortina Olympics. She was placed on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury she suffered during the Games.
The previous record of 17,228 fans came on Jan. 18 when the Montreal Victoire faced the New York Sirens at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The Torrent also broke their own attendance mark, set when 16,014 fans filled the Seattle arena for the expansion club’s inaugural home opener on Nov. 28, 2025.
Overall attendance across the PWHL for the league’s third season was up 17 percent through 61 games at the Milan Cortina Olympics break, according to the league.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
Jan 13, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) dunks the ball over Indiana Hoosiers forward Tucker Devries (12) and forward Nick Dorn (7) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images No. 13 Michigan State picked up a valuable road win on Thursday to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Spartans won’t get much time to savor it, however, as they face Indiana on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
The Spartans knocked off No. 8 Purdue, 76-74, for their third straight win and fifth over a ranked opponent. Michigan State (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten) was projected as a No. 4 seed entering the contest but could move up to a No. 3 or even No. 2 seed with a strong finish.
“They’ve got a hell of a team, it was just our night,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the Boilermakers. “They made 3s. We weathered the storm of all those 3s. To do that on the road in Mackey Arena, I’ll give my team some credit on that.”
It was Michigan State’s first win at Purdue since a 94-79 decision on Feb. 20, 2014. The Spartans had lost seven straight games on Purdue’s home floor.
“I did think we played with a different mentality that we haven’t been playing with as much lately,” Izzo said. “So hopefully that can catapult us. Now we go home, get a quick rest, quick turnaround and then go to Indiana.”
The Spartans, who had four players in double figures, shot 52.7% from the floor, including 57.7% in the second half. They also committed just six turnovers.
“All in all, we couldn’t play much better,” Izzo said.
Now, the Spartans will look for their second win over the Hoosiers (17-11, 8-9) this season. Michigan State rolled to an 81-60 victory in the first matchup on Jan. 13 behind a big performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who racked up 23 points and 10 assists.
Indiana is desperate for a quality win to improve its chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have lost three straight following a stretch of five wins in six games.
They were defeated on the road by Illinois and Purdue before a damaging 72-68 home loss Tuesday to unranked Northwestern.
“It was a tough loss. We have a big home stand here,” coach Darian DeVries said. “This was the first game of it. We’re at that point in the year where games have become very meaningful and it was an opportunity. We certainly wanted to get started off on the front of the home stand with a good note. You know, didn’t happen, so we have to make sure that we put it away. We got a big game on Sunday and then we’ve got to come ready to go.”
The Hoosiers were outscored 39-26 in the second half and missed 11 straight field goal attempts during crunch time.
“The path forward is just keep fighting, keep pushing forward,” DeVries said. “The Illinois and the Purdue losses were tough. They were two tough games, two tough teams. Not a lot of people going in there and winning. I thought our guys were ready (Tuesday). Thought they came out and had good focus in practice, good energy. Thought they came out and played well the first half. Unfortunately, the second half we weren’t good enough.”
Lamar Wilkerson (21.0 points per game) has led the team in scoring the last six games. The Hoosiers will need a big game from him to pull off the upset on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC visits Philadephia, hoping to get on winning track
Feb 1, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen looks on after a win in a MLS preseason match between Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Union and visiting New York City FC will both look to respond from disappointing away results when they meet on Sunday in Chester, Pa.
As the winner of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season finish, the Union (0-1-0, 0 points) suffered one of the MLS opening weekend’s most shocking results in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at a D.C. United team that finished 2025 with the worst MLS record.
Former Union striker Tai Baribo scored the lone goal for his new club late in the first half. And a red card on the hour mark to Philadelphia Ezekiel Alladoh for an obscene gesture toward an opponent hurt the Union’s comeback chances. It also means Alladoh will be suspended on Sunday.
But after beginning their 2026 schedule with a 5-0 victory at Defence Force in a Concacaf Champions Cup match three days before the league opener, Philadelphia manager Bradley Carnell was able to rest several regulars in Thursday’s home return leg (a 7-0 win).
“It’s only as good as we want it to be, right?” Carnell said of the rest. “I mean we have to apply it in the right way, and just because you’re rested, it doesn’t mean — it’s only an ingredient for success. It doesn’t mean that the success is there. So we have to work really hard at it to make it count.”
New York City (0-0-1, 1 point) earned a 1-1 draw at the LA Galaxy in their opener last Sunday, but that felt more like a defeat after failing to capitalize on a man advantage for the final 26 minutes plus stoppage time.
Nicolas Fernandez Mercau scored the visitors’ lone goal from the penalty spot as they began the season without Alonso Martinez, who led NYCFC in scoring the previous two seasons but suffered a torn ACL while on international duty last November.
But Cityzens manager Pascal Jansen insisted the performance showed his team is still capable of attacking production.
“We are fully aware of the fact that we are missing our No. 1 No. 9,” he said. But the fact is … If you see, if we are able to add maybe 20% more quality, better decision-making, we’ll get the goals …”
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
