Sports
Pelle Larsson sparks shorthanded Heat with Hawks in town
Feb 1, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson (9) splits the defense of Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro (35) and center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images After posting at least 20 points in two consecutive games, Swedish-born guard Pelle Larsson has become a surprising standout for the Miami Heat.
Larsson aims to extend his streak on Tuesday night when Miami hosts the Atlanta Hawks.
Larsson averages just 10.3 points for the year, which ranks seventh on the team. However, Larsson has capitalized on extra minutes recently as the Heat have been playing without 2026 All-Star Norman Powell (personal reasons), 2025 All-Star Tyler Herro (toe injury) and 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic (hip).
Additionally, starting point guard Davion Mitchell missed six games with a shoulder injury before returning for Sunday’s 134-91 victory over Chicago.
Larsson, a Stockholm native whose father played for the Swedish National Team, has made a habit of filling any role necessary. He was a starter for three of his four college seasons, but earned the Pac-12’s 2022 Sixth Man of the Year honor for Arizona in his lone year as a backup.
In 2024, Larsson was Houston’s second-round pick, but the Heat traded for him on draft night. He started only eight games as a rookie, averaging 4.6 points. This season, he has started 30 games and his production has more than doubled.
But production doesn’t just mean scoring.
Larsson draws charges, makes the extra pass and helps Miami win.
“Pelle makes the right play,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said. “He does the little things.
“Sometimes he scores 20 points. Sometimes he scores two. But he makes an impact either way.”
Overall, the Heat have won four of their past six games and haven’t dropped consecutive games since Jan. 6-11.
They are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24 record, three games ahead of 10th-place Atlanta.
The Hawks also have won four of their last six, but they enter Tuesday with a two-game losing streak.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder continues to make tweaks in the wake of last month’s blockbuster trade that sent Atlanta’s all-time assists and 3-point leader Trae Young to Washington.
The team now revolves around forward Jalen Johnson, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the season in Saturday’s 129-124 loss to Indiana.
Johnson had 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. For the season, he averages 23.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists.
The Hawks’ losing streak has coincided with the absence of starting center Onyeka Okongwu, who has missed two games and remains day-to-day after getting hit in the face and suffering a dental fracture on Jan. 28 against Boston.
“Onyeka is the most selfless ball-mover on our team,” Snyder said. “When our guys get him the ball, they know they will get it back.
“He will make a play for someone else. He sets the example, but we need everyone to play with the same mindset.”
Miami ranks second in the league in scoring average (120.0 ppg) while Atlanta shares ninth (117.2 ppg).
Nickell Alexander-Walker serves as Atlanta’s second-leading scorer (20.3 ppg). CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert — acquired in the Young trade — are being used as reserves. They are combining for 27.6 points in 47.1 minutes per game.
Snyder simply wants his team to play unselfish basketball.
“When we play well, we are getting in the lane, and we’re kicking the ball out, and we’re running and spacing,” Snyder said. “It’s something we believe in. It’s not a lack of buy-in. It just requires execution.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
NWSL roundup: Kiki Van Zanten's brace leads Houston to rout of Boston
Mar 21, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA;
Houston Dash midfielder Kat Rader (22) celebrates after scoring a goal in the second half against the Boston Legacy FC at Shell Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Kiki Van Zanten scored a brace for the Houston Dash in an impressive 3-0 victory against the visiting Boston Legacy on Saturday.
Van Zanten scored in the 43rd and 59th minutes to give the Dash a commanding lead and match her scoring total in 17 NWSL matches last season for Houston.
Katherine Ann Rader added the final goal in the 65th minute for Houston (2-0-0, 6 points), which is in pursuit of its first playoff berth since 2022 and just the second in 13 seasons.
Boston (0-0-2, 0 points), which got four saves from Casey Murphy, is still looking for the franchise’s first win. The Legacy’s inaugural season kicked off with a 1-0 home loss to Gotham FC on March 14.
Gotham FC 0, North Carolina Courage 0
Gotham FC and North Carolina Courage combined for 23 shots (four on goal) but played to a draw in Harrison, N.J.
The Courage (1-0-1, 4 points) completed nearly 170 more passes (459-290) and had three of the four shots on goal, two from Ashley Sanchez. Kailen Sheridan was tasked with just one save.
Gotham FC (1-0-1, 4 points) got three saves from and held 59% of the possession despite being outshot 13-10. Rose Lavalle had the side’s lone shot on goal. Ann-Katrin Berger made three saves to maintain the scoreless draw.
Angel City 3, Bay FC 1
Sveindís Jonsdottir had a brace as Angel City FC defeated Bay City FC in San Jose, Calif.
Gisele Thompson also found the back of the net in the 32nd minute on an assist from Jonsdottir for Angel City (2-0-0, 6 points), which is atop the standings two weeks in with a plus-six goal differential.
Taylor Huff had the lone goal in the 56th minute for Bay FC (1-1-0, 3 points) on an assist from Cristiana Girelli.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Hot start helps Hyo Joo Kim take 5-shot lead at Fortinet Founders Cup
Apr 27, 2025; The Woodlands, Texas, USA; Hyo Joo Kim of Korea hits a tee shot on the first hole during the final round of The Chevron Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim improved her grip on the lead to five strokes with a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday at the Fortinet Founders Cup in Menlo Park, Calif.
Kim, a seven-time winner on the LPGA Tour and the 2015 Founders Cup champion, led by two shots after the opening round and four through Friday’s play. The 30-year-old shot 6 under for the first six holes on Saturday and is 17-under 199 after three rounds at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club, which is hosting the event for the first time.
World No. 2 Nelly Korda, competing for the first time since winning the weather-shortened Tournament of Champions to open the 2026 season, is five strokes back at 12 under after she matched Kim’s 66.
Kim, ranked No. 8 in the world, had an adventurous round with only seven pars. She started on fire with birdies at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 before an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole to get to 16 under for the tournament. Another birdie followed at No. 6, then the first of her three bogeys on the day to make the turn in 31 shots.
“The start up to hole 6, I believe, was unbelievable golf and I can’t even believe it,” Kim said. “I had a lot of birdies and (an) eagle, too. But I did also have some bogeys I shouldn’t have done. The start felt like almost a game.”
The back nine included birdies at Nos. 10 and 13 sandwiched around two bogeys and her seventh birdie of the round at the par-4 No. 16.
Kim hit eight of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation on Saturday.
Korda carded 33 on both the front and back nines in her bogey-free round. Birdies came at Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 16 and 18.
“It’s nice to have a clean scorecard wherever you play,” Korda said. “Doesn’t matter. With kind of how tough it is off the tee and into the greens, just really happy with my round today.”
She needed only 27 putts in hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.
China’s Ruixin Liu (66 on Saturday) and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez (65) are tied for third at 11 under.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who leads the Race to CME Globe standings, is tied for fifth at 9 under with three others: Australia’s Karis Davison (69), Japan’s Erika Hara (67) and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi (69).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off historic blowout, No. 1 Florida takes aim at No. 9 Iowa
Mar 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Florida Gators center Olivier Rioux (32) dunks the ball in the second half against the Prairie View A&M Panthers during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images Florida began pursuit of a second straight national championship by trouncing Prairie View A&M by a whopping 59 points, the second-largest winning margin in NCAA Tournament history.
That margin of victory couldn’t have been comforting for Iowa.
The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes take aim at a major upset when they face the top-seeded Gators on Sunday night in a second-round South Region game at Tampa, Fla.
“They’re talented at all five positions for Florida,” Iowa star guard Bennett Stirtz said on Saturday. “Yeah, our hands are going to be full, but we’re going to take full advantage of the opportunity, and to be the best you’ve got to beat the best.”
Iowa (22-12) registered a 67-61 first-round victory over eighth-seeded Clemson on Friday for its first NCAA tourney win since 2021. The Gators (27-7) romped 114-55 over Prairie View A&M with only Loyola Chicago’s 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963 representing a worse beatdown.
In other words, Florida plays a much-faster pace than the Hawkeyes, who are more comfortable in halfcourt sets.
Iowa coach Ben McCollum isn’t paying much attention to whether the game is slowed down or resembles a track meet.
“If it’s slow or fast is irrelevant, it’s just a matter if we can put the ball in the basket more than they do,” McCollum said of the pace. “I don’t think we probably focus on it as much as most people think. I think it just naturally happens.”
Meanwhile, the Gators will have a pro-Florida crowd in Tampa for the second straight game and coach Todd Golden is certainly relishing that aspect.
“It’s a great advantage of finishing where we did and being able to stay close to home and playing in Tampa and something that we definitely don’t take lightly,” Golden said.
Last season, the Gators squeaked out a 77-75 win over two-time defending national champion UConn in the second round. It was one of four victories by six or fewer points in the title run, including a 65-63 victory over Houston to win the national title.
Golden said this season’s Gators are more ready to battle their way through the tournament than last season’s edition.
“I believe we’re more prepared this year, obviously going through last year’s tournament,” Golden said. “Just the ups and downs that we had earlier on in the season. We’ve been able to get through some adversity and get back to playing together, playing the right way, having really good success.
“So, coming into the Tournament, I feel like we’re more comfortable, better prepared. I believe our guys had a great mentality after this week’s practice going into the game (Friday) night and played with great purpose and intent. I expect to try to do that again against a really good Iowa team.”
The Gators were ready for their first game, shooting 64.3% from the field and outrebounding the Panthers 54-20. Seven Florida players scored in double digits.
Florida knows the task will be tougher Sunday. The players are focusing on Stirtz, the honorable mention All-American who was just 4-of-17 shooting while scoring 16 points in Iowa’s win over Clemson.
“Bennett is a great player,” Florida guard Boogie Fland said. “Just got to contain him, no threes, and all team defense.”
McCollum, who is coaching Stirtz for the fourth straight season at a third different school, is expecting a bounce-back from Stirtz.
“They’re paying attention to him pretty heavy and it’s pretty contested,” McCollum said. “I’m not overly concerned with it. Obviously, he’s going to have to be able to score for us to win to a certain level, but he doesn’t need to go have 30 points for us to do that.”
–Field Level Media
NWSL roundup: Kiki Van Zanten's brace leads Houston to rout of Boston
Hot start helps Hyo Joo Kim take 5-shot lead at Fortinet Founders Cup
