Sports
NBA roundup: Thunder top Wolves, push win streak to 12
Dec 31, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) blocks a shot by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their 12th consecutive victory, a 113-105 decision over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday.
The winning streak is the Thunder’s longest since early in the 2012-13 season and ties the longest run since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City. The club’s all-time mark is a 14-game run by the 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics.
After a slow start, Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder. Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort each had 14 points, with Williams adding seven boards and seven assists.
Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 20 points in the second quarter for the Timberwolves, whose three-game winning streak ended. Naz Reid produced 19 points and eight rebounds, Mike Conley scored 16 points and Julius Randle logged 11 points and six assists.
Celtics 125, Raptors 71
Jayson Tatum had 23 points and eight rebounds as Boston throttled visiting Toronto for its 10th straight win in the teams’ all-time series.
Payton Pritchard scored 19 points off the bench for the Celtics, who have not lost to the Raptors since March 2022. Derrick White (16 points), Jrue Holiday (14), Jaylen Brown (12), Sam Hauser (12) and Jordan Walsh (10) also scored in double figures for Boston, which made 22 of 43 3-point attempts (51.2 percent).
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 16 points and 13 rebounds but was 1-for-8 from 3-point territory. Toronto committed 21 turnovers and managed the fewest points by a team in a game this season en route to its 11th straight loss.
Cavaliers 122, Lakers 110
Jarrett Allen scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Cleveland led nearly wire to wire and beat host Los Angeles for its eighth win in a row.
Donovan Mitchell added 26 points for the Cavaliers, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back set. A Cavaliers run of 17-2, beginning late in the third quarter and carrying over into the fourth, blew the game open. Mitchell hit half of his six 3-pointers during the decisive spell as the Cleveland advantage swelled to a game-high 16 points.
Los Angeles’ Austin Reaves matched his career high with 35 points and added 10 assists and nine rebounds. Anthony Davis added 28 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocks as the Lakers fell after winning five of their previous six games.
Bucks 120, Pacers 112
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Milwaukee to a comeback win over Indiana in Indianapolis.
Brook Lopez added 16 points for Milwaukee, which rallied from 19 down in the second half to end a two-game skid. Khris Middleton contributed 15 points.
Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana with 25 points while Pascal Siakam added 20 points and Myles Turner logged 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Pacers have dropped three of their past four games after a five-game winning streak.
Spurs 122, Clippers 86
Victor Wembanyama scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 26 minutes of court time and set the tone with an explosive first quarter as San Antonio cruised past visiting Los Angeles.
The second-year French phenom scored 17 points in the first quarter, matching Los Angeles’ total as a team. The Clippers trailed by 25 points late in the first half, by 28 after three quarters and by as many as 41 in the game’s waning moments.
James Harden led the Clippers with 17 points, 13 of them coming in the first quarter. Norman Powell added 15 points, and Amir Coffey scored 14 points.
Grizzlies 117, Suns 112
Jaren Jackson Jr. paired 38 points with 12 rebounds and Desmond Bane added 31 points to lead Memphis to a win over host Phoenix.
Luke Kennard supplied 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Memphis. The Grizzlies opened up a 14-point halftime advantage and held on after Phoenix closed within a point in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Durant bundled 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the Suns, who lost Bradley Beal after the first quarter due to a hip contusion. Beal was hurt when he landed awkwardly after being fouled by Jackson with 4:40 left in the opening frame. He played the rest of the quarter before being ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
Tundra Esports swept Team Liquid in the upper-bracket final on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs.
The grand final on Sunday will pit Tundra Esports against the winner of the lower-bracket final earlier in the day between Team Liquid and Aurora Gaming in the double-elimination format.
The $1 million Dota 2 event began with 16 teams competing in a round-robin stage split into two groups of eight teams. All series consisted of two games, and the top four teams from each group advanced to Group Stage 2, a single round robin featuring best-of-three matches that ran through Friday.
The playoffs feature best-of-three matches until the grand final, which will be best-of-five.
The championship team will receive $250,000 in prize money and a $40,000 club reward. The runner-up side will get $100,000 and a $30,000 club reward.
Aurora Gaming opened play on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Xtreme Gaming in the lower-bracket semifinal. Xtreme Gaming opened with a win in 40 minutes on red before Aurora Gaming rallied to wins in 47 and 29 minutes, both on red.
Russia’s Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko logged a 21-4-28 kill-death-assist ratio for Aurora Gaming, while teammate Artem “Lorenof” Melnyk of Ukraine post a 23-8-30 K-D-A over three games. Wang “Ame” Chunyu of China had a 23-9-13 K-D-A ratio for Xtreme Gaming, which finished fourth in the tournament.
Tundra Esports dispatched Team Liquid 2-0 in the upper-bracket final, winning in 46 minutes on red and 39 minutes on green.
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko of Russia posted a 32-2-19 K-D-A ratio for Tundra Esports and teammate Neta “33” Shapira of Israel had a 24-5-30. Michael “MiCKe” Vu of Sweden posted a 13-10-6 ratio for Team Liquid.
Dream League Season 28 prize pool, with prize money and club reward
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $125,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000 — Xtreme Gaming
5. $45,000, $15,000 — Team Falcons
6. $35,000, $15,000 — PARIVISION
7. $30,000, $12,500 — BetBoom Team
8. $25,000, $12,500 — MOUZ
9-10. $20,000, $10,000 — OG, Natus Vincere
11-12. $17,500, $10,000 — Team Yandex, Team Spirit
13-14. $15,000, $10,000 — paiN Gaming, GamerLegion
15-16. $10,000, $10,000 — Yakult Brothers, Execration
–Field Level Media
Sports
LYON, Cloud9 in LCS Lock-In grand final
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
LYON knocked out Sentinels to earn a meeting on Sunday with Cloud9 in the grand final of the League Championship Series 2026 Lock-In at Los Angeles.
LYON won 3-1 on Saturday in the lower-bracket final, taking the first map in 31 minutes as Kim “Berserker” Min-cheol of South Korea posted a 7-0-1 kill-death-assist ratio. LYON won again in 37 minutes as Niship “Dhokla” Doshi, an American/Indian player, had a 7-3-6 K-D-A and Berserker a 5-0-6.
Sentinels stayed alive with a victory in 34 minutes in the third game as Ham “HamBak” Yoo-jin of South Korea recorded a 5-0-8 K-D-A.
But LYON wrapped up the match by winning the fourth game in 39 minutes on red. Berserker contributed a 6-3-7 K-D-A.
Following the eight-team Swiss stage in the League of Legends event, six teams competed in the double-elimination playoffs, with all matches best-of-five. The overall winner qualifies for the First Stand Tournament, while the second- and third-place teams will head to the Americas Cup.
Both of the latter two events will be contested in Sao Paulo.
Cloud9, which finished atop the Swiss stage standings with a 3-0 record, has moved through the playoffs by beating FlyQuest 3-0 in the upper-bracket semifinal and Sentinels 3-0 in the upper-bracket final.
LYON, who finished fifth in the Swiss stage, eliminated FlyQuest with a 3-0 victory in the lower-bracket quarterfinals, then a 3-1 triumph over Team Liquid in the bracket’s semifinal before Saturday’s victory.
2026 League Championship Series Lock-In at Los Angeles prize pool
1. TBD, qualifies for First Stand Tournament
2. TBD, qualifies for America’s Cup
3. Sentinels, qualifies for America’s Cup
4. Team Liquid
5-6. FlyQuest, Disguised
7. Dignitas
8. Shopify Rebellion
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas moves into first place in CDL Major 2 qualifying
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. OpTic Texas defeated Los Angeles Thieves in a battle of 4-0 teams to move to the top of the standings in qualifying for the Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major on Saturday.
In other second-day action of Week 3 competition, G2 Minnesota edged Riyadh Falcons, Toronto KOI beat Miami Heretics and Carolina Royal Ravens defeated Vancouver Surge.
The 12 Call of Duty League teams are playing a full qualifying round robin to determine seeding for the second major of the season, to be held March 27-29 in Marston Green, England, as part of the DreamHack Birmingham event.
The top six teams in qualifying head straight into the Stage 2 Major playoffs, while the teams in seventh through 10th place will compete in a play-in round.
The Stage 2 Major champion will receive $150,000 and 100 Call of Duty League points, while the runner-up will get $90,000 and 75 CDL points.
After Los Angeles Thieves claimed an opening 250-238 Den Hardpoint victory, OpTic Texas won the next three to claim a 3-1 victory. A 6-2 Exposure Search and Destroy triumph was followed by a 4-2 Den Overload win before the result was clinched with a 250-173 Colossus Hardpoint triumph.
In Saturday’s first match, G2 Minnesota won the final two games to come away with a 3-2 win. Riyadh opened with a 250-229 Scar Hardpoint victory and took a 2-1 lead with a 5-0 Scar Overload win. G2 leveled it at 1 with a 6-1 Raid Search and Destroy win, tied it at 2 with a convincing 250-134 Colossus Hardpoint victory and won the deciding Colossus Search and Destroy game 6-3.
Toronto finished a sweep of Miami with 250-182 Hardpoint, 6-4 Search and Destroy and 4-2 Overload victories, all on the Den map.
Carolina also swept Vancouver for its second victory in as many days after a 1-3 start. After opening with a 250-186 Blackheart Hardpoint win and following with a 6-2 Den Search and Destroy victory, the team closed out the win with an 8-2 Exposure Overload win.
The weekend schedule:
Sunday
–Toronto KOI vs. Paris Gentle Mates
–FaZe Vegas vs. Boston Breach
–Miami Heretics vs. Cloud9 New York
–Vancouver Surge vs. OpTic Texas
Call of Duty League Stage 2 Major qualifiers standings (match record, map differential)
1. OpTic Texas, 5-0, +11
2. Los Angeles Thieves, 4-1, +8
3. Paris Gentle Mates, 3-1, +5
4. G2 Minnesota, 3-2, +1
5. Riyadh Falcons, 3-3, +2
6. Carolina Royal Ravens, 3-3, -1
7. FaZe Vegas, 2-3, 0
8. Toronto KOI, 2-3, -2
9. Miami Heretics, 1-3, -4
10.. Vancouver Surge, 1-3, -6
11. Cloud9 New York, 1-3, -7
12. Boston Breach, 1-4, -7
–Field Level Media
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Tundra Esports advances to grand final of DreamLeague Season 28 playoffs
