Sports
Spurs pursue season-series-clinching win against Lakers
Feb 7, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) shoots in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Surging toward the All-Star break, the San Antonio Spurs will begin a back-to-back scenario before some much-deserved rest when they hit the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
The second half of the back-to-back for the Spurs, who arrive in California on a four-game winning streak, will be against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in San Francisco. The All-Star Game will be in the Los Angeles area on Sunday.
The Lakers were on a three-game winning streak and had an eight-point lead in the third quarter on Monday before falling 119-110 to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic (hamstring) for the second consecutive game.
The Spurs got past the Thunder 116-106 on Wednesday, then earned consecutive victories over the Dallas Mavericks, including a 138-125 home decision on Saturday when they scored a season-high 81 points in the first half.
Stephon Castle poured in a career-high 40 points in a triple-double that included 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Victor Wembanyama added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“Having a game like this is definitely a dream come true,” said Castle, who shot 15 of 19 from the floor. “It’s good to have (going) into the break and definitely a good sign. It felt good to be out there and comfortable with every shot I took and to see them go in.”
With a victory on Tuesday, San Antonio would match its longest winning streak of the season, five games, done twice before.
The Spurs have a 2-1 record against the Lakers going into the season finale between the teams. Castle is scoring 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists against Los Angeles this season.
In the most recent game between the teams, the Spurs earned a 107-91 home victory on Jan. 7 behind 27 points from Keldon Johnson, matching his season high. It was the Lakers’ second-lowest scoring game of the season.
LeBron James logged 22 points and 10 assists in the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder on Monday in the opener of the back-to-back. James played a team-high 36 minutes. The 41-year-old veteran, in his record 23rd NBA season, has played on consecutive days just twice this season, both times in mid-January.
Marcus Smart added 19 points for Los Angeles while Austin Reaves had 16 in his fourth game after missing more than a month with a calf strain. The Lakers made half of their 84 shots in the game but were outscored 26-19 in the fourth quarter.
“I was pretty bad in that second half,” said Reaves, who shot 1 of 7 from the floor and was called for a technical foul after halftime. “I have to be better than that.”
Now the Lakers will have limited preparation time following a loss to the top team in the Western Conference before facing the second-best club, the Spurs.
“When you play the best teams … you have to have a really high level of effort and you have to have a really high level of execution,” Los Angeles coach JJ Redick said. “It’s gotta be both. I thought for the most part our effort was fantastic (against the Thunder), and in the key stretches of the game, our execution wasn’t great.”
While the Lakers are 14-8 in home games this season, the Spurs are 16-10 in road games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Free agent TE David Njoku posts that his time in Cleveland is over
Dec 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku (85) walks off the field after the game against the Tennessee Titans at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images Tight end David Njoku revealed in an Instagram post on Monday night that he will enter free agency and not return to the Cleveland Browns.
Njoku, 29, has played all nine of his NHL seasons in Cleveland. He ranks second among Browns tight ends in all-time touchdowns (34) and pass receptions (384). Only Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome (47; 662) amassed more, from 1978-90.
“Cleveland, first off I love you,” wrote Njoku in his post. “These nine years have been a beautiful journey. I’m am so grateful for all the memories we shared together. Thank you to The Haslams, Andrew Berry and the whole browns organization for everything!! All my teammates I shared the battle with I’m so grateful for you guys. The time for me to find a new home has come and all I can think of is just the gratefulness in my heart. The city of Cleveland will forever be home.”
Under new coach Todd Monken, general manager Berry and the Browns will look to revamp an offense that has scored the fewest points in the league over the past two seasons combined. There is uncertainly at quarterback, with first-year players Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel plus oft-injured veteran Deshaun Watson on current roster.
Njoku, a 2017 first-round selection (29th overall) from the University of Miami (Fla.) made an immediate impact, hauling in 88 receptions for 1,025 yards and eight touchdowns in his first two pro seasons. He peaked in 2023, accumulating career bests for catches (81), yards (882) and touchdowns (six) and earned his lone Pro Bowl selection.
However, he missed 11 total games in 2024 and 2025 due to injury and his production slipped. This past season, rookie Harold Fannin Jr. became the prime target at tight end, catching 72 balls for 731 yards and six touchdowns while Njoku finished with 33 receptions for 293 yards and four scores.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nic Claxton sets career high as Nets pull out victory over Bulls
Feb 9, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) is guarded by Chicago Bulls guard Rob Dillingham (7) during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Nic Claxton collected a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets executed in the final minutes of the fourth quarter after losing a 15-point lead in the third and earned a 123-115 victory over the Chicago Bulls Monday night in New York.
The Nets won consecutive games for the third time this season thanks to Claxton, who made 12 of 15 shots and surpassed his previous career high of 28 set against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 26, 2023. He recorded his 10th double-double and added four assists.
Claxton’s big night helped the Nets improve to 2-9 this season when Michael Porter Jr. is held out. Porter sat due to right knee tendinitis and rookie Egor Demin was rested.
Noah Clowney added 22 points as the Nets placed six in double figures and withstood blowing their big lead in the third.
Rookie Drake Powell added 14 and the Nets also got solid showings from first-year forward Danny Wolf and rookie guard Nolan Traore. Wolf contributed 13 while Traore finished with 13 and a career-high 13 assists.
Ziaire Williams added 11 off the bench as the Nets shot 51.1% and 48% from 3 (12 of 25), scored 66 points in the paint and survived committing 20 turnovers.
The Bulls dropped their fifth straight and fell for the eighth time in nine games.
Anfernee Simons led Chicago with 23 points and fellow newcomer Collin Sexton added 21 off the bench. Matas Buzelis contributed 18, Jaden Ivey had 13 and reserve Nick Richards finished with 12 for Chicago.
The Bulls shot 44%, missed 26 of 36 3-point tries and committed 18 turnovers in their third loss to the Nets this season.
Claxton scored 10 points in Brooklyn’s 15-3 spurt, his consecutive dunks putting the Nets ahead 51-43 with 3:50 left. They led 60-54 at the break.
The Nets’ largest lead was 74-59 early in the third quarter and they held a 14-point lead on a 3 by Powell with 4:27 left before the Bulls scored 16 of the final 18 points of the third to forge an 89-89 deadlock entering the fourth.
Terance Mann hit an open 3 for a 109-102 lead with 5:19 left following an errant pass by Simons. Claxton’s putback of Clowney’s miss opened a 117-107 lead with 1:57 left to clinch it for Brooklyn.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Oklahoma State, Arizona State meet amid rigors of Big 12 season
Feb 7, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Steve Lutz yells out to his players during the first half of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images In his second season in the Big 12 Conference, Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz is getting accustomed to how the ball can bounce.
His Cowboys took down then-No. 16 BYU 99-92 last Wednesday. Three days later, they had to visit the No. 1 team in the country, and Arizona ran them out of the building, 84-47.
Oklahoma State completes a two-game stay in the state when it visits Arizona State on Tuesday in Tempe.
The Cowboys (16-7, 4-6 Big 12) are on the NCAA Tournament bubble with the weeks dwindling down in the regular season. The uncompetitive loss to Arizona could be excused at season’s end, but it didn’t help their case to shoot 15 of 61 (24.6%) while allowing 33-of-64 shooting (51.6%) and a 56-35 rebounding disparity.
“It’s tough in the Big 12. You’re talking to the wrong guy that’s gonna make excuses for my team, our team not performing (Saturday),” Lutz said. “We did not play our best, and Arizona had a lot to do with that, and that’s on us.
“But you know what, we gotta go across the state here in 2 1/2 days and we better be hooked up and ready to go because I’m sure that Arizona State’s not gonna take it easy on us. I watched both the games that (the Wildcats) played Arizona State. They gave you a game.”
To his point, Arizona State (12-12, 3-8) pushed Arizona to the brink on the road in an 89-82 loss back on Jan. 14 before losing 87-74 at home on Jan. 31.
The Sun Devils have dropped three of their past four games, most recently falling 78-70 at Colorado on Saturday. After the Buffaloes bullied Arizona State 40-26 on the boards, Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley made his frustration clear in the postgame press conference.
“We got seven games left, so if we can’t rebound by now, then chances are we’re not gonna be able to rebound,” Hurley said.
Arizona State ranks dead last among Big 12 teams with an average of 32.8 rebounds per game and a minus-3.2 differential. Oklahoma State may have been outmatched by the Wildcats, but the Cowboys still get 38 rebounds per game, fifth in the Big 12.
Anthony Roy, who dropped 30 points on BYU and paces Oklahoma State with 17.8 points per game, was held in check by Arizona at 10 points (3-of-11 shooting, 3-of-10 success from 3-point range).
Maurice Odum leads Arizona State with 17.2 points and 6.2 assists per contest. He had 23 and five, respectively, in the Colorado game.
–Field Level Media
Free agent TE David Njoku posts that his time in Cleveland is over
Nic Claxton sets career high as Nets pull out victory over Bulls
