Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 24 points, LaMelo Ball added 20, and the visiting Charlotte Hornets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 109-99 win over the sputtering Houston Rockets.

Knueppel finished 8 for 13 overall while Ball drilled five 3-pointers to pace a balanced offensive attack for the Hornets, whose winning streak is the franchise’s longest since the 1998-99 season. Three others scored in double figures for Charlotte, which shot 17 for 43 from deep.

Miles Bridges added 18 points while Josh Green tallied 14 on 4-for-4 shooting and four steals off the bench. Brandon Miller, plagued by foul trouble, posted 11 points and three steals. Moussa Diabate grabbed 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who produced a 46-40 rebounding margin.

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 31 points for the Rockets, who have split their last six games and dropped both contests of a home back-to-back. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds for Houston, which committed 18 turnovers that Charlotte turned into 27 points. Durant and Smith were the only double-digit scorers for Houston.

Live-ball turnovers doomed the Rockets in the first half and greased the skids to a 12-point halftime deficit. Both teams had at least 11 turnovers at the break (Houston had 13), but while the Rockets scored just four points off the Hornets’ miscues, they conceded 19 points on their turnovers to fuel the Hornets.

Ball and Durant offset one another in the first quarter, scoring 10 and 11 points respectively as the Hornets carried a 29-26 lead into the second. But after Reed Sheppard nailed a 3-pointer for Houston that knotted the score at 34-34, Ball and Bridges stroked 3s that ignited a 19-5 run capped by a Knueppel 13-footer. That 14-point margin was the largest of the half for Charlotte.

The Hornets had their way before the intermission, shooting 9 of 21 from behind the arc while also recording 28 points in the paint. Houston clawed to within seven points in the third quarter, but when Ball drilled a stepback 3-pointer at the 4:29 mark, the Hornets claimed an 83-70 lead.

The Hornets led by as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.

–Field Level Media

Grace Grocholski scored a team-leading 21 points and Amaya Battle posted 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists as Minnesota upset 10th-ranked Iowa 91-85 in Iowa City on Thursday.

Mara Braun scored 16 points and Tori McKinney added 15 for Minnesota (17-6, 8-4 Big Ten), which has won five straight games.

Ava Heiden had 24 points and Chazadi Wright added 20 points and 12 assists while playing 40 minutes for Iowa (18-5, 9-3), which has dropped three straight games. The Hawkeyes had an eight-point lead early in the first quarter but scored only 14 in the second and 16 in the third as the Golden Gophers took control.

No. 3 South Carolina 88, Mississippi State 45

Joyce Edwards posted 21 points and Ayla McDowell added 16 as the Gamecocks had little trouble against the Bulldogs in Columbia, S.C.

Raven Johnson tallied 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds for South Carolina (23-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference), which has won four straight. The Gamecocks shot an impressive 55% from the field, 43% from beyond the arc, and 93% from the charity stripe.

Madison Francis had a team-high 12 points and Kharyssa Richardson added 11 for the Bulldogs (16-8, 3-7), losers of three of their last four. They were held to just six points in the third quarter.

No. 17 Duke 59, No. 6 Louisville 58

The Blue Devils scored just nine points in the third quarter but a late-game rally helped them secure edge the host Cardinals in Louisville.

Toby Fournier scored a game-high 15 points and Riley Nelson and Taina Mair each had 13 points and nine rebounds for Duke (17-6, 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has won 14 straight after a 3-6 start to the season.

Elif Istanbulluoglu posted 13 points and six rebounds for Louisville (21-4, 11-1), which saw its own 14-game winning streak end. Laura Ziegler and Reyna Scott each contributed 11 points.

No. 7 Vanderbilt 84, No. 16 Kentucky 83

Mikayla Blakes posted a whopping 37 points and Aubrey Galvan added 16, including two free throws in with 12 seconds to play, to push the Commodores past the host Wildcats in Lexington.

Galvan also had a team-leading seven assists while Sacha Washington added 15 points for Vanderbilt (22-2, 8-2 SEC), which has won two straight games after losing two straight. The Commodores outscored the Wildcats 30-25 in the fourth quarter despite Kentucky having a far better shooting night from the and beyond the arc.

Teonni Key had 27 points and 12 assists for Kentucky (18-6, 5-5), which has lost four of five. Clara Strack added 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Amelia Hassett added 19 points.

No. 19 Tennessee 82, Georgia 77 (OT)

Zee Spearman posted 23 points, including eight in overtime, as the Lady Volunteers rallied to defeat the host Bulldogs in Athens, Ga.

Mia Pauldo added 21 points and Janiah Barker scored nine points to go with a team-leading 13 rebounds for Tennessee (15-5, 7-1 SEC), which lost its last two games.

Dani Carnegie posted 25 points for Georgia (18-5, 4-5), tying the game 68-68 on three free throws with five seconds left in regulation. The Volunteers outscored the Bulldogs 14-9 in overtime.

No. 25 North Carolina 53, Clemson 44

Nyla Harris scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds — both game-high totals — as the Tar Heels rallied for a big second half to defeat the Tigers in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Lanie Grant added 16 points for North Carolina (19-5, 8-3 ACC), who has won six straight games. The Tar Heels were held to just nine points in the second quarter and trailed by as many as six points in the third.

Rusne Augustinaite had 15 points and Raven Thompson added eight for Clemson (16-8, 7-5), which saw its three-game winning streak end. The Tigers shot just 27% from the field and were held without a field goal for the final 9:01 of the game as they were outscored 31-20 in the second half.

–Field Level Media

SAN FRANCISCO — Six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick was officially left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, likely opening the door to revisions in the selection process later this year.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were elected in their first year of eligibility, and Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly was another headliner in the class.

Former New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri was also among those chosen for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday at the Palace of Fine Arts during the annual NFL Honors program before Super Bowl LX.

San Francisco 49ers great Roger Craig was the lone seniors candidate elected from the pool of five that featured Belichick.

In Vinatieri’s second year of eligibility, the 24-year NFL kicker (1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts) got the call. He holds numerous kicking records, including the marks for career points (2,673), consecutive field goals made (44), career field goals (599) and most seasons with 100-plus points (21).

His 48-yard field goal in the Super Bowl win over the Rams in February 2002, largely remembered for the performance of 24-year-old Tom Brady and Belichick’s mix of young and old talent, all but kickstarted the Patriots’ dynasty.

But Belichick’s trophy collection with the Patriots and the franchise owner who hired him to spark a dynasty lasting parts of two decades, Robert Kraft, remained a sizzling hot topic inside the scenic Bay Area theater setting.

Belichick was the “coach finalist” and Kraft the “contributor” in a mutually exclusive category separate from the 15 finalists chosen by the Hall’s Selection Committee in December. The committee can elect up to five Modern-Era Players for each class, with nominees needing 80% of the vote to be elected to the Hall.

A Super Bowl winning quarterback under Sean Payton with the Saints, Brees (2001-05 San Diego Chargers, 2006-2020 Saints) and Fitzgerald (2004-2020, Cardinals) earned Gold Jackets in their first year on the ballot.

Brees ranks second in NFL history with 80,358 passing yards and 571 passing touchdowns and was a 13-time Pro Bowl selection in addition to Super Bowl XLIV MVP. Brees is the only member of the Saints to enter the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Fitzgerald was drafted third overall in 2004 and played 17 seasons for the Cardinals. He had 1,432 career receptions for 17,492 yards and ranks second in NFL history in both categories. He is sixth on the all-time receiving touchdowns list with 121.

Kuechly, a finalist in 2025, was in his second year on the Hall of Fame ballot. He played only eight NFL seasons (2012-19 Panthers) and retired due to chronic head injuries after posting 1,092 tackles, 18 interceptions, 66 passes defensed, 12.5 sacks and 31 quarterback hits. He was named to NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 2010s.

Belichick, Kraft and senior player candidates Ken Anderson, Craig and L.C. Greenwood were in the same pool of candidates. The versatile Craig, now 65, was elected on the back of winning three Super Bowls with the 49ers with Joe Montana and Jerry Rice in featured roles. He was the first running back with 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1985. He scored three touchdowns in San Francisco’s Super Bowl XIX victory over the Miami Dolphins.

The Class of 2026 will be enshrined Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio, as part of a weekend of festivities that includes the Aug. 6 NFL preseason Hall of Fame Game.

Former Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty said he would be surprised if the heat on the Hall weren’t at an all-time high during the summertime inductions.

“I think the travesty of all of this is this summer, there’s gonna be a Hall of Fame induction and there’s gonna be guys who are deserving of being in the Hall of Fame. And we can probably all bet that the top topic is gonna be Bill Belichick not being there,” McCourty told Field Level Media on Tuesday. “And I think that’s unfortunate because there are going to be players, coaches, contributors that are Hall of Fame-worthy, but because this feels like a huge mistake, the only talk is going to be about the guys that didn’t get into the Hall of Fame.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame defended its process for selection saying the limits of between four and eight enshrinees per class “aligns with the Hall of Fame’s important Mission to ‘Honor the Greatest of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values and Celebrate Excellence Together.'” The Hall also said it would remove members of the Selection Committee found to be in violation of written bylaws.

Belichick was widely viewed as a lock as a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection. His greatness, and worthiness, bears out by almost every measure. He won two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants and has been on the sideline in a total of 12 Super Bowls — he was assistant head coach of the Patriots in January 1997, when New England lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI — with a 6-3 record as head coach.

Former Dallas Cowboys coach and Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, 82, skipped the Thursday ceremony because he was “pissed” about Belichick’s omission.

“He is the greatest of all time. Yes, he had a great QB, but we all did,” Johnson said.

The Hall of Fame said in response to backlash over reports of voting results earlier this week it understood and accepted the uproar, but it did not name Belichick directly.

“It’s that very passion that propels the game. The Hall also respects the members of the Committee when they follow the selection process bylaws. It is an honor to serve as a selector,” the Hall of Fame said in a release. “… The selection of a new class is the most important duty the Hall of Fame oversees each year, and the integrity of that process cannot be in question.”

–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media