Sports
Soaring Suns collide with red-hot Clippers
Jan 30, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) talks to Cleveland Cavaliers guard Lonzo Ball (2) in the second half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns dominated both sides of the floor in recent back-to-back victories over Eastern Conference contenders Detroit and Cleveland.
The Suns will look to cap a strong stretch on Sunday when they host the Los Angeles Clippers to conclude a five-game homestand, their longest of the year.
Phoenix ran up leads of 21 and 33 points in harassing the Pistons and Cavaliers in double-digit victories Thursday and Friday, which stretched their winning streak to three.
“That’s our coaching, our DNA,” reserve guard Jordan Goodwin said in a TV interview. “We’re going to bring it every night. Make it difficult for teams. It’s fun watching us now. It’s our vibe, it’s our culture, our mindset. Next-man-up mentality.”
“We’re rolling right now.”
The Clippers had their roll slowed in a 122-109 loss at Denver on Friday, but that was just a blip in a stretch where they have gone a league-best 16-4 since Dec. 20 to emerge as a viable playoff contender after a 6-21 start.
“We’re confident,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We’re playing well, but we’ve still got to play better. We still have to run through the tape and continue to execute the right way.”
Phoenix has made similar forward progress. The Suns are 15-7 since Dec. 20, the third-best record in league, and are 29-15 since Halloween, the fourth-best.
They also got deeper Friday, when Jalen Green scored 11 points in 16 minutes after missing a week with a right hamstring injury that has bothered him since training camp. He has played in only five of the Suns’ 49 games.
The Suns played arguably their two most complete games against Detroit and Cleveland, focusing defensively on top scorers Cade Cunningham and Donovan Mitchell, respectively.
Detroit shot 42.5% from the field and made only 6 of 29 3-pointers (20.7%). Cunningham, who had 26 points, was 8 for 22 shooting and 2 of 9 from distance.
Against Cleveland, the Suns shot 52.9% from the field and made a season-high 23 3-pointers in 48 attempts (47.9%), while limiting Mitchell to 16 points, 13 below his season average, on 6 of 12 shooting. He had eight of Cleveland’s 22 turnovers.
“The group that we found, the connectiveness that we found, the system (coach Jordan Ott) has with the personnel that we have, everything has just clicked so far,” Suns guard Grayson Allen said.
“It feels like everything is going to get better. We’re moving the ball better offensively as it goes on. Figuring out our pressure defensively and rotations and trusting each other. It feels like we’ve gotten a lot better since the first month of the season.”
The Clippers ran into an historic performance Friday, when Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in 24:32 in his return from a left knee injury that kept him out for 16 games. He is the first player in league history to reach those plateaus in less than 25 minutes.
James Harden had 25 points and nine assists, and Kawhi Leonard had 21 points and six assists against the Nuggets.
Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 26 straight games.
“We’re still in a hole,” Leonard said. “We still have to win our games no matter what the circumstance is right now. We have to keep moving forward and try to become a better basketball team right now.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Transfer portal roundup: Kentucky adds Furman transfer Alex Wilkins
Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Furman Paladins guard Alex Wilkins (10) dribbles the ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Former Furman guard Alex Wilkins has transferred to Kentucky.
His move was one of the biggest on a busy transfer portal weekend.
Wilkins excelled in his freshman season with the Paladins, averaging 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 35 games (all starts).
Listed at 6-foot-5, Wilkins showed his skills to a national audience in Furman’s lone game of the NCAA Tournament. He made four 3-pointers and scored 21 points in the Paladins’ 82-71 loss to eventual national championship runner-up UConn in the first round.
–Ex-Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski announced his transfer to Duke.
In his recently completed sophomore season at Belmont, the 6-9 Scharnowski averaged 10.7 points. 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists over 21.9 minutes per game. He shot 68.1% in 30 games (24 starts).
He takes the roster spot of forward Nikolas Khamenia, who transferred to UConn on Saturday.
–Florida State gained the commitment of 6-11 forward Sebastian Rancik, who heads to Tallahassee after two seasons at Colorado.
A native of Slovakia, he attended high school in Southern California, where he was ranked as a four-star prospect in the 2024 class.
In 29 games (26 starts) with the Buffaloes as a sophomore, he averaged 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
Apr 11, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Houston Astros left fielder Joey Loperfido (10) is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after scoring a run during the second inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images The Houston Astros placed outfielder Joey Loperfido on the injured list with a right quad strain on Sunday and recalled right-hander Jayden Murray from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Loperfido, 26, was batting .259 with six RBIs in 20 games this season. He started at least one game in all three outfield positions.
Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 and then re-acquired via trade in February, Loperfido is a career .249 major league hitter with eight home runs and 45 RBIs in 142 games over three seasons.
Murray, 29, had one appearance earlier this season and has a 2.63 ERA in 10 games over the past two seasons for the Astros. His addition increases Houston’s staff to 13 pitchers.
Also on Sunday, the Astros traded minor league right-hander Wilmy Sanchez to the New York Yankees for infielder Braden Shewmake, a former first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2019.
In 31 major league games for the Braves and Chicago White Sox, Shewmake, 28, is batting .118 with a home run and four RBIs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bryson DeChambeau (wrist) WDs from LIV Golf Mexico City
Apr 10, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Bryson DeChambeau reacts after his ball rolled down the slope on the 18th green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Grace Smith-Imagn Images Bryson DeChambeau cited a wrist injury on Sunday for the reason he withdrew prior to the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City on Sunday in Naucalpan, Mexico.
“I experienced some discomfort in my wrist during (Saturday’s round) and have decided to withdraw from the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City to prevent further injury,” DeChambeau wrote on X. “Not how I wanted this week to go, but wishing the Crushers a strong finish. I’m going to take a few days to get evaluated and hope to be ready for LIV Golf Virginia.”
DeChambeau entered the final round at 2-over-par 215 at Club De Golf Chapultepec, 16 strokes behind leader Jon Rahm of Spain. DeChambeau hasn’t been too shy about complaining about the course conditions of the event, doing so on Friday for the second straight year.
DeChambeau, 32, prevailed in a playoff in consecutive weeks in March by winning at both LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa. The two-time U.S. Open champion has won five LIV Golf titles.
–Field Level Media
Transfer portal roundup: Kentucky adds Furman transfer Alex Wilkins
Astros place OF Joey Loperfido (quad) on injured list
