Sports
Raptors eager to regain footing against spiraling Jazz
Jan 30, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) looks on against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images The Toronto Raptors will be intent on avoiding another second-half collapse Sunday evening when they host the Utah Jazz in the opener of a five-game homestand.
The Raptors have lost the past two games because they have faltered after leading at halftime.
Toronto led by seven at halftime and took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter Friday night before their 130-120 road loss to the Orlando Magic. The Magic dominated on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, 44-21.
That outcome followed a 119-92 home loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night after the Raptors led by four points at halftime and by 11 with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, the Jazz are coming off a 109-99 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Utah has dropped five straight games entering a five-game road trip.
The Jazz and Raptors are meeting for the first time this season. Toronto won both meetings last season.
Despite the loss on Friday, the Raptors still have a better record on the road (16-10) than at home (13-11). They aim to bring their results at home up to their away level.
The past two losses, home and away, were alarmingly similar, with the Raptors offering little resistance when their opponent made a strong run. The disappointing efforts came after a gritty 103-101 win over the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 25 to complete a 4-1 road trip that gave the Raptors optimism coming home.
“We stepped up our defensive intensity in the third quarter, got some stops in transition,” said Toronto forward Brandon Ingram after scoring 35 points at Orlando. “Fourth quarter, they just competed, they battled back, they found some openings in transitions, and they drove to the lane and drew a lot of fouls.”
Ingram shot 13-for-23 from the field, including 4-for-8 in 3-point attempts.
“We played with a lot of force in that third quarter, and we were not able to replicate it in the fourth quarter,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We did not do a good job defensively.”
Scottie Barnes had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and four blocked shots for Toronto.
The Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen (rest) and Jusuf Nurkic (illness) against the Nets on Friday when Utah completed a 1-5 homestand.
“The biggest thing defensively tonight was our physicality with our switching,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “They were able to get us in rotation. But there were some things defensively that gave us a chance to win.”
Keyonte George had 26 points and seven assists for the Jazz, who trailed by two points going into the fourth quarter.
George shot 9-for-11 from the field before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle late in the fourth quarter. X-rays were negative.
“I think he’s demonstrated that he’s an elite scoring guard,” Hardy said. “He’s not just shooting, he’s facilitating a lot for our team. His efficiency this year has been great.”
The Jazz are 5-17 on the road.
“As always, there’s a lot to learn from the game, and now we hit the road,” Hardy said.
The Jazz will need to improve their free-throw shooting after going 11-for-19 (57.9%) against the Nets.
“A few uncharacteristic things in the game in terms of free throws,” Hardy said. “I felt like we missed a lot of layups tonight. A couple of bobbled gathers around the basket.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
Mar 27, 2023; Seattle, WA, USA; A general overall view of the Space Needle and Climate Pledge Arena at Seattle Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images A sold-out crowd of 17,335 fans at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena broke the U.S. attendance record for a women’s hockey game on Friday night.
In the first game back from the Olympic break for both PWHL teams, the host Seattle Torrent fell 5-2 to the Toronto Sceptres.
The Torrent played without captain Hilary Knight, who led the U.S. women’s team to a gold medal in the Milan Cortina Olympics. She was placed on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury she suffered during the Games.
The previous record of 17,228 fans came on Jan. 18 when the Montreal Victoire faced the New York Sirens at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The Torrent also broke their own attendance mark, set when 16,014 fans filled the Seattle arena for the expansion club’s inaugural home opener on Nov. 28, 2025.
Overall attendance across the PWHL for the league’s third season was up 17 percent through 61 games at the Milan Cortina Olympics break, according to the league.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
Jan 13, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) dunks the ball over Indiana Hoosiers forward Tucker Devries (12) and forward Nick Dorn (7) during the second half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images No. 13 Michigan State picked up a valuable road win on Thursday to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume.
The Spartans won’t get much time to savor it, however, as they face Indiana on Sunday afternoon in Bloomington, Ind.
The Spartans knocked off No. 8 Purdue, 76-74, for their third straight win and fifth over a ranked opponent. Michigan State (23-5, 13-4 Big Ten) was projected as a No. 4 seed entering the contest but could move up to a No. 3 or even No. 2 seed with a strong finish.
“They’ve got a hell of a team, it was just our night,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the Boilermakers. “They made 3s. We weathered the storm of all those 3s. To do that on the road in Mackey Arena, I’ll give my team some credit on that.”
It was Michigan State’s first win at Purdue since a 94-79 decision on Feb. 20, 2014. The Spartans had lost seven straight games on Purdue’s home floor.
“I did think we played with a different mentality that we haven’t been playing with as much lately,” Izzo said. “So hopefully that can catapult us. Now we go home, get a quick rest, quick turnaround and then go to Indiana.”
The Spartans, who had four players in double figures, shot 52.7% from the floor, including 57.7% in the second half. They also committed just six turnovers.
“All in all, we couldn’t play much better,” Izzo said.
Now, the Spartans will look for their second win over the Hoosiers (17-11, 8-9) this season. Michigan State rolled to an 81-60 victory in the first matchup on Jan. 13 behind a big performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who racked up 23 points and 10 assists.
Indiana is desperate for a quality win to improve its chances of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers have lost three straight following a stretch of five wins in six games.
They were defeated on the road by Illinois and Purdue before a damaging 72-68 home loss Tuesday to unranked Northwestern.
“It was a tough loss. We have a big home stand here,” coach Darian DeVries said. “This was the first game of it. We’re at that point in the year where games have become very meaningful and it was an opportunity. We certainly wanted to get started off on the front of the home stand with a good note. You know, didn’t happen, so we have to make sure that we put it away. We got a big game on Sunday and then we’ve got to come ready to go.”
The Hoosiers were outscored 39-26 in the second half and missed 11 straight field goal attempts during crunch time.
“The path forward is just keep fighting, keep pushing forward,” DeVries said. “The Illinois and the Purdue losses were tough. They were two tough games, two tough teams. Not a lot of people going in there and winning. I thought our guys were ready (Tuesday). Thought they came out and had good focus in practice, good energy. Thought they came out and played well the first half. Unfortunately, the second half we weren’t good enough.”
Lamar Wilkerson (21.0 points per game) has led the team in scoring the last six games. The Hoosiers will need a big game from him to pull off the upset on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
NYCFC visits Philadephia, hoping to get on winning track
Feb 1, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen looks on after a win in a MLS preseason match between Austin FC at Q2 Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Jefferson-Imagn Images The Philadelphia Union and visiting New York City FC will both look to respond from disappointing away results when they meet on Sunday in Chester, Pa.
As the winner of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season finish, the Union (0-1-0, 0 points) suffered one of the MLS opening weekend’s most shocking results in last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at a D.C. United team that finished 2025 with the worst MLS record.
Former Union striker Tai Baribo scored the lone goal for his new club late in the first half. And a red card on the hour mark to Philadelphia Ezekiel Alladoh for an obscene gesture toward an opponent hurt the Union’s comeback chances. It also means Alladoh will be suspended on Sunday.
But after beginning their 2026 schedule with a 5-0 victory at Defence Force in a Concacaf Champions Cup match three days before the league opener, Philadelphia manager Bradley Carnell was able to rest several regulars in Thursday’s home return leg (a 7-0 win).
“It’s only as good as we want it to be, right?” Carnell said of the rest. “I mean we have to apply it in the right way, and just because you’re rested, it doesn’t mean — it’s only an ingredient for success. It doesn’t mean that the success is there. So we have to work really hard at it to make it count.”
New York City (0-0-1, 1 point) earned a 1-1 draw at the LA Galaxy in their opener last Sunday, but that felt more like a defeat after failing to capitalize on a man advantage for the final 26 minutes plus stoppage time.
Nicolas Fernandez Mercau scored the visitors’ lone goal from the penalty spot as they began the season without Alonso Martinez, who led NYCFC in scoring the previous two seasons but suffered a torn ACL while on international duty last November.
But Cityzens manager Pascal Jansen insisted the performance showed his team is still capable of attacking production.
“We are fully aware of the fact that we are missing our No. 1 No. 9,” he said. But the fact is … If you see, if we are able to add maybe 20% more quality, better decision-making, we’ll get the goals …”
–Field Level Media
–Field Level Media
Seattle game breaks U.S. arena attendance record for women's hockey
No. 13 Michigan State chasing season sweep of Indiana
