Sports
NBA roundup: Kawhi Leonard debuts as Clippers tackle Hawks
Jan 4, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) talks during a post game interview after defeating the Atlanta Hawks at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Norman Powell scored 20 points and Ivica Zubac added 18 points to go along with 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers celebrated the season debut of Kawhi Leonard with a 131-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday in Inglewood, Calif.
Amir Coffey scored 17 points while Leonard had 12 on 4-of-11 shooting in 19 minutes of court time after missing the first 34 games of the season due to a right knee injury. Terance Mann (finger) also returned to action after missing the past 11 games and scored 12 points in 16 minutes.
Los Angeles took control early, leading by as many as 27 points in the first half before improving to 12-2 at home since Nov. 4.
Trae Young scored 20 points and dished out 14 assists and De’Andre Hunter added 18 points as the Hawks lost for the second consecutive night in the Los Angeles area following a 119-102 setback against the Lakers on Friday.
Leonard made his first shot of the season, a 3-pointer from the left wing just over two minutes into the game.
Pistons 119, Timberwolves 105
Cade Cunningham poured in a season-high 40 points to go along with nine assists to offset Anthony Edwards’ career-high 53 points as host Detroit defeated Minnesota.
Edwards had been limited to 20 points or less in eight of his previous 14 games. His previous career high was 51 points, a mark he reached against the Washington Wizards on April 9, 2024. Cunningham’s previous season high was 35 points.
Malik Beasley supplied 23 points off the bench as Detroit won its third straight game. Tobias Harris had 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Julius Randle had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves.
Nuggets 122, Spurs 111 (OT)
Nikola Jokic scored 46 points, including the first seven in overtime, as visiting Denver rode its superstar to a win over San Antonio in the final game of a back-to-back between the teams.
The Spurs won 113-110 on Friday in Denver in the opener of the home-and-home set. Overall, the Nuggets have won four of their past five games. San Antonio led by 11 points after three quarters on Saturday, but the Nuggets charged back to briefly take the lead in the final minute of regulation before a Devin Vassell tip-in forced overtime.
Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 22 points while Victor Wembanyama scored 20 and grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds.
76ers 123, Nets 94
Joel Embiid totaled 28 points and 12 rebounds in three quarters as Philadelphia overcame an extremely early 11-point deficit and rolled over Brooklyn in New York.
Embiid made 8 of 16 shots from the field, hit all 10 of his free throws and played 29 minutes en route to his fourth double-double in 13 games this season. Philadelphia outscored Brooklyn 123-83 after allowing the game’s first 11 points and won for the 12th time in 19 games since dropping five straight from Nov. 12-20.
Ziaire Williams led the Nets with 19 points as Brooklyn shot 41.5 percent overall and allowed 32 points off 22 turnovers. The Nets lost for the 12th time in 16 games.
Pacers 126, Suns 108
Tyrese Haliburton scored 27 points to lead six Indiana scorers in double figures and the Pacers bookended the second half with big runs to send Phoenix to a fourth consecutive loss with a victory in Indianapolis.
Indiana opened the second half with a 19-9 burst that lasted just over four minutes and gave it a lead that it held the rest of the way. The Pacers later put the contest to bed with a 13-4 run over the game’s final 4:08.
Phoenix stayed within striking distance behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but the Suns never got closer than six following the Pacers’ run to open the third quarter. Durant finished with 25 points for the game, while Booker collected 20.
Jazz 136, Heat 100
Florida native Brice Sensabaugh scored a career- and game-high 34 points off the bench as Utah snapped a five-game losing streak with a win against host Miami.
John Collins added 24 points and nine rebounds for Utah, which won for just the sixth time in 19 road contests this season. Walker Kessler added 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds as the Jazz outrebounded the Heat 57-32.
The Heat trailed by as many as 43 in the fourth quarter in their first game since suspending star forward Jimmy Butler for seven games for conduct detrimental to the team.
Bulls 139, Knicks 126
Zach LaVine and Coby White scored 33 points apiece and Nikola Vucevic recorded a double-double by racking up 22 points and 12 rebounds to lift Chicago to a win against visiting New York.
Chicago matched a season high in points behind a 20-for-37 effort from beyond the arc. White set a career high for made 3-pointers, going 9-for-11 from deep. Karl-Anthony Towns had 44 points, 16 rebounds and five assists for the Knicks.
The Bulls honored standout guard Derrick Rose during a halftime ceremony. A Chicago native, Rose spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Bulls, winning Rookie of the Year in 2009 and MVP in 2011. Rose played for five other teams and spent parts of four seasons with the Knicks.
Trail Blazers 105, Bucks 102
Anfernee Simons scored 28 points and dished out eight assists to lead visiting Portland to a win over Milwaukee after dropping its past two games.
Deni Avdija added 19 points and 14 rebounds while Deandre Ayton posted his own double-double with 10 points and 13 boards as the Blazers won on the road for just the fourth time this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 31 points and 11 rebounds. AJ Green added 21 points off the bench, and Damian Lillard scored 16.
Warriors 121, Grizzlies 113
Lindy Waters III scored eight of his 16 points late and Andrew Wiggins put up a game-high 24 points as Golden State outlasted Memphis in San Francisco.
Each team played without its superstar point guard. Memphis was minus Ja Morant for the fourth straight game due to a shoulder injury, while Golden State gave Stephen Curry the night off on the front end of a back-to-back.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 23 points and nine rebounds and Desmond Bane added 22 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies, who were playing their second game in two nights after losing 138-133 against the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Memphis completed a 2-3 road trip.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Braves' Spencer Strider set for season debut in finale vs. Rockies
Feb 20, 2026; North Port FL, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (99) poses for a photo during media day at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images It’s been a long road for Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider since his 20-win All-Star season in 2023.
Strider, 27, will be out to prove he’s not a shadow of his former self on Sunday afternoon when he makes his first start of the season as the Braves bid for a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
After becoming the fastest pitcher to record 100 strikeouts (61 innings) in a season in modern MLB history in 2023, Strider made just two starts in 2024 before undergoing season-ending UCL surgery.
Last season, the right-hander went 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA across 23 starts in his return from injury.
Strider began this season on the injured list with an oblique strain but is prepared to rejoin the sizzling Braves. They have won both games of the weekend series to expand on the best record (24-10) in the majors. Atlanta remains the only team in the majors that hasn’t lost a series and holds a 7 1/2-game lead on the second-place Miami Marlins in the National League East.
The bad news for the Braves in their most recent win, 9-1 over the Rockies on Saturday, was the first-inning exit of star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. due to a lower-body injury. He will undergo an MRI on Sunday.
“It didn’t look great, him coming off the field,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I am hoping it’s just some cramping and that type of thing, but he’s getting an MRI. That’s never good when you have to get an MRI.”
Acuna hit a leadoff single in the first inning to extend his on-base streak to 23 games.
“You never like to be challenged like this,” Weiss said of the potential impact of losing Acuna. “He’s one of your best players and most talented players. If it happens, we’ll be OK. We’ve got lots of moving parts.”
Strider, meanwhile, has dominated the Rockies in three career appearances (two starts), going 2-0 with an 0.50 ERA. He struck out 16 batters and scattered two hits over eight innings in a 3-0 win over Colorado on Sept. 1, 2022, before fanning 13 Rockies in a six-inning win last June 14.
The Rockies, who have lost four of their past five games, will turn to veteran left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48 ERA) in the series finale. He will make his fifth start of the season.
Freeland, 32, will appear in his second outing since being activated from the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation. On Tuesday, he surrendered four runs on five hits across five innings in a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
“I thought (Freeland) was really good,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I considered taking him out after the fourth, but had him go back out for one more and he was good. He competed, kept us right in the ballgame.”
Freeland, the all-time leader in franchise history in starts (235), is 1-5 with a 5.93 ERA in 10 career starts against the Braves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Boston Celtics Title Window Could Be Closed After First-Round Exit
The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the upset of the playoffs, knocking off the heavily favored Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the first round 109-100. Boston blew a 3-1 lead in this series and that became another brutal end to a Celtics season.
This core was able to win a finals in 2024, but outside of that important win, Boston has had a lot of disastrous playoff losses that seemingly go under the radar. The Celtics have owned the 76ers over the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era, and that makes this loss so much worse.
Of course, Tatum was absent from game seven due to injury, but Joel Embiid was missing for the entire first half of this series, so that feels like a bit of a wash. Not only that, but the Celtics were the two seed with Tatum missing most of the season anyways.
In recent years, the Celtics have now lost to the eight seed Miami Heat in the Conference Finals, got destroyed by the New York Knicks in the Conference Semis last year, had horrible playoff performances in the final two years of the Brad Stevens era to start the 2020s. They were able to win a Finals in a very down year across the board in the NBA, but this team has had let down spots all over the place in the playoffs.
Currently, it feels like the media has put a spotlight on the Cleveland Cavaliers first round struggles against the Toronto Raptors, but at least those struggles are coming in a 4 vs 5 first round matchup. Boston was completely outplayed by the 7-seed Sixers, who were missing their best player most of the series.
Of course VJ Edgecomb and Paul George having great runs as role players helps, and Tyrese Maxey is a full blown super star; however, this series feels like it’s being swept under the rug by the media. Boston got their ring, but I’m starting to think the window from that core is quietly closing. I’m also interested to see how much grace Boston fans will give to head coach Joe Mazulla.
Boston shot themselves out of this series. This is a team that lives and dies by the three, but at some point you need to make an adjustment when shots simply aren’t falling. Not only that, but the Sixers simply just felt like the better team in this series. I don’t think it’s just bad shooting that won Philly this series. They controlled this series and were able to do whatever they wanted against the Celtics.
The Sixers now head to New York to take on the Knicks, where they are far less of an underdog at only +198 to advance. I think this is a bit of a market overcorrection, and I wouldn’t bet on the Sixers to win this series. Boston might’ve just been a bit of an overrated team, that over performed without Tatum.
Sports
Carlos Prates Strengthens Title Case After Dominant Showing at UFC Perth
The Fighting Nerds have been one of the most notable and popular things about the world of MMA in the last few years. That team has made its name thanks to the success of a number of its fighters in the UFC.
Of the bunch, perhaps the most successful and notable of the Fighting Nerds team so far is Carlos Prates. And Prates put an exclamation mark on that claim with a major win this weekend at UFC Perth, stopping Jack Della Maddalena.
It was a beating. Prates pressured JDM early, and then landed 41 significant strikes on the former champion. Prates also battered Della Maddalena’s leg with kicks, scoring knockdowns of JDM in the second and third rounds. That second knockdown would lead to Prates landing follow-up shots and scoring the TKO.
This now marks two consecutive bouts where Prates has defeated a former UFC welterweight champion. This past November at UFC 322, he put a beating on Leon Edwards, knocking him out cold in the second round.
But let’s just take a look at the picture of Prates’ overall UFC tenure thus far – and just see how much he’s accomplished.
Prates earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, finishing a then-undefeated Mitch Ramirez.
Prates then fought four times in 2024, competing against Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang, and Neil Magny. Four wins, four finishes (all KO/TKOs), four post-fight bonuses. That is a first-year stretch that practically screams Rookie of the Year.
Prates’ sole blemish in the UFC came at UFC Kansas City in April 2025, when he took on Ian Machado Garry in a title eliminator. Prates did not seem like himself, unable to figure Garry out. Prates put a beating on Garry in the fifth, but he was unable to get a comeback finish in time.
It was a disappointing loss for Prates and the people that follow him. He’d need a big-time rebound performance next time out to ensure he’s still in the title picture.
So what does he do? Land a spinning back elbow on Geoff Neal at UFC 319 – one of the top knockouts of 2025. And now he’s followed that up with wins over a pair of former welterweight champions.
Prates has now won seven UFC bouts since 2024. He’s earned finishes in all of those fights. He’s earned performance bonuses in all of those fights. The win over JDM is the only time a fight he’s won has gone past round two.
And the only guy he’s lost to in the Octagon? That man won another title eliminator against Belal Muhammad this past November. Now, Garry is being targeted to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330 this coming August in Philadelphia.
That’s far from a terrible loss.
Prates may not get the next immediate welterweight title shot. But if he takes on another former champion or rising star in the welterweight ranks – for example, respectively, Muhammad or Michael Morales – and he gets another highlight finish (let alone another win) – then Prates can’t be denied a title shot any further.
Braves' Spencer Strider set for season debut in finale vs. Rockies
Boston Celtics Title Window Could Be Closed After First-Round Exit
