Sports
Overachiever vs. underachiever as Spurs, Rockets clash
Jan 28, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) and San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) battle for a loose ball during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images There is no doubt that the San Antonio Spurs are ahead of schedule in their move back into the upper echelon of the NBA, pushing their way toward the top of the Western Conference standings as the season turns toward its fourth quarter.
But what about the Houston Rockets, who were supposed to be contenders this season but have underachieved?
The disparity will be on display when the Spurs and Rockets square off Sunday in San Antonio in a clash between Lone Star State rivals.
San Antonio is in second place in the West, behind only defending league champion Oklahoma City. The team is 6 1/2 games clear of third-place Houston with 19 contests left to play.
The Spurs return to the court after a rousing 116-112 comeback home win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Playing the second game of a home back-to-back, San Antonio roared back from 25 points down in the third quarter and outlasted the Clippers in a contest that had seven lead changes over the final 7:11.
Victor Wembanyama racked up 27 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in the victory, while Julian Champagnie added 20 points, 17 of them in the pivotal third quarter as the Spurs produced their largest comeback of the season, their third win in a row and their 14th victory in their past 15 games.
“(On the) second night of a back-to-back, guys are banged up,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the win. “The competitive response and the character the guys showed to really try to band together and fight through the mental, physical and emotional fatigue was commendable.”
“(My) favorite part is we faced some very different trials over these last two games, and we’ve been able to answer the call in every single one of them,” Wembanyama said.
De’Aaron Fox finished with 19 points for San Antonio (17 of them after halftime), with Devin Vassell scoring 11 and Keldon Johnson and Luke Kornet adding 10 each.
Coach Johnson lauded the efforts of Fox, whose leadership down the stretch helped the Spurs hold on. Fox played all 12 minutes of the final period, scoring 10 points and dishing out six assists without a turnover.
“(Fox) took over the game in terms of how he was managing and dictating,” Johnson said. “He was a monster at that.”
The Rockets have alternated wins and losses over their past five games and travel to the Alamo City after a 106-99 victory at home over Portland on Friday. Alperen Sengun scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting in the win, while Amen Thompson scored 26 points, made 11 of his 12 shots and fueled a critical fourth-quarter rally.
“Teams know I’m trying to get to the rim, so they back up,” Thompson said. “So, I’ve had to work at it. I feel like I’ve been good at getting to it. I’m not trying to force the issue and get to the rim. I’m just taking what the defense gives me.”
Kevin Durant added 20 points and eight rebounds, and Reed Sheppard had 17 points for Houston, which won the second game of a back-to-back that started with an overtime loss at home to Golden State on Thursday.
“We wanted to get that taste out of our mouth from (Thursday) night and at least play with the right effort, play with the right purpose and lock in on tendencies,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said.
The Spurs have won two of the first three games with Houston this season, most recently a 111-99 victory Jan. 28.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Donovan Mitchell, Cavs end Pelicans' 7-game home win streak
Mar 21, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) battles Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, James Harden went for 20 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and the Cleveland Cavaliers used a fourth-quarter rally to snap the New Orleans Pelicans’ seven-game home winning streak 111-106 on Saturday.
Cleveland (44-27) came back from down as many as 15 points, going on runs of 16-2 and 10-0 in the final period to pull ahead.
After an offensively lackluster first three quarters, Harden came alive late. He scored 13 of his points in the final period, including knocking down a trio of 3-pointers during the initial Cavaliers run.
Sam Merrill also provided timely plays in Cleveland’s comeback, pulling down three of his 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter and scoring on a crucial bucket at the rim to give the Cavaliers a six-point cushion with 1:24 remaining.
New Orleans (25-47) answered with baskets from Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray to cut the deficit to one possession.
But Mitchell effectively put the game away for Cleveland when, with 4 seconds remaining, he scored under contact from Trey Murphy III and made the free throw.
Mitchell’s game-high in scoring marked a successful return to the lineup for the guard, who missed Cleveland’s win at Chicago on Thursday after sustaining an eye injury in practice.
He paced five Cavaliers scoring in double figures, with Merrill adding 15 points. Evan Mobley went for 18 points and eight rebounds, and Thomas Bryant added 11 points on 5-of-7 field-goal shooting off the bench.
Williamson shot 10 of 14 from the floor to lead New Orleans with 25 points. Saddiq Bey shot 4 of 8 from 3-point range on the way to 19 points, and Murray posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Yves Missi came off the bench to grab a game-high 10 rebounds.
Murphy’s 10 points were the season-long Pelicans scoring leader’s lowest output since scoring just eight points against Memphis on Jan. 30.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pavel Buchnevich, Blues stifle Canucks for road win
Mar 21, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) skates with the puck against Vancouver Canucks left wing Liam Ohgren (92) during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Pavel Buchnevich had a goal and an assist for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 win against the host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
Pius Suter and Jordan Kyrou also scored for the Blues (28-30-11, 67 points), who snapped a two-game skid and pulled within six points of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Jordan Binnington made 14 saves.
Filip Hronek scored and Kevin Lankinen made 18 saves for the Canucks (21-40-8, 50 points), who are 13 points behind the rest of the league.
It was a quiet first period between the two, with minimal chances and St. Louis edging Vancouver 5-4 in shots on goal. The Canucks didn’t register their first shot on goal until nearly six minutes into the frame.
The second period started off slow for both sides, with no shots on goal through the first six minutes before Vancouver notched a pair. The Blues got their first of the frame moments later and then started to pick up the pace and control the play.
Suter gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead at 10:17 of the middle period. Robert Thomas took a feed from Dylan Holloway in the slot but was denied by Lankinen. The rebound bounced out in front and Suter got a piece of the rolling puck, which then hit him as he slid toward the net with the puck rolling past Lankinen.
Buchnevich made it 2-0 just 79 seconds later. Philip Broberg found him uncovered at the top of the right circle and fed Buchnevich a no-look pass for a one-timer that beat the outstretched glove of Lankinen.
The Blues thought they had a 3-0 lead off a Holloway tally with just under four minutes remaining in the period, but Vancouver challenged for a missed stoppage. The goal was overturned after video review showed Jimmy Snuggerud had knocked the puck down with a high stick four seconds earlier.
Hronek cut it to 2-1 on the power play at 8:32 of the third period, firing a snap shot from the middle of the blue line that deflected off Logan Mailloux’s stick past Binnington’s glove.
Kyrou scored an empty-net goal on the power play with 48 seconds left to close out the scoring.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DC United, Atlanta United struggle to find chances, play to 0-0 draw
Mar 21, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón (10) steals the ball against D.C. United defender Silvan Hefti (5) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Host Atlanta United and D.C. United ended their meeting on Saturday night the same way it started as the Eastern Conference foes played to a 0-0 draw.
Atlanta (1-3-1, 4 points) came into the night having picked up its first win of the season a week ago, a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union to give Atlanta five goals over its previous two matches.
D.C. (2-2-1, 7 points), which snapped a two-match losing streak in its last outing, kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and for the first time since its season opener, a 1-0 win over the Union on Feb. 21.
Chances were at a premium for both sides as neither Atlanta’s Lucas Hoyos nor D.C.’s Sean Johnson had much to do in their respective goals. In fact, the best chance of the first half for either side was a Cooper Sanchez’s attempt just outside the box in the 13th minute that Johnson was able to deal with.
D.C., on its end, came close to the opening goal in the 61st minute after poor defending for Atlanta led to a flurry of activity in front of its own net. Hoyos, though, made a save on Jackson Hopkins’ attempt.
In the 83rd minute, Caden Clark had a chance to put D.C. in front, but his attempt struck the right post. Then, in the 87th minute, Brandon Servania’s long-range effort rang off the crossbar.
That was the final meaningful opportunity of the evening for both teams as they each walked off the pitch with a point apiece.
Atlanta held a 64.8% to 35.1% advantage in possession for the match and outshot D.C. 9-4. But it was held scoreless for the third time this season.
Hoyos ended the night with a single save en route to the first clean sheet of his MLS career. Johnson stopped both Atlanta shots he faced.
–Field Level Media
