Sports
Suns take aim at recent home woes against retooled Mavs
Feb 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) shoots over Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) during the first half of an NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns plan a simple remedy for their miserable shooting performance Saturday.
“Keep shooting,” guard Devin Booker said after a 109-103 home loss to Philadelphia, when the Suns made 11 of 46 attempts from 3-point range.
“We have good shooters that space the floor very well. We encourage everybody to keep letting it fly around here, and a majority of the nights aren’t going to look like (this).”
The Suns’ 23.9% mark from distance was well below their 36.5% success rate on the season.
The Suns’ first chance at redemption comes Tuesday in a home game against the new-look Dallas Mavericks. While the Mavs arrive on a seven-game losing streak, they added to their rotation with the haul gained by sending Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.
Power forward Marvin Bagley III, one of Dallas’ new arrivals, had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots off the bench in his first game with the Mavs, a 138-125 loss Saturday at San Antonio.
“Just getting a feel for how the guys play,” said Bagley, a Phoenix native. “Just trying to figure guys out and doing it on the fly at the same time. I think once we figure that out, it will be great.”
The Suns are on a three-game home losing streak as they approach the midpoint of a stretch in which they play 16 of 19 games in their own building. Tuesday’s game is the ninth in that run.
The Suns have not been in sync recently. They have been outrebounded in each of the last four games and have been unable to compensate with their distance shooting and harassing defense.
The Suns shot 39.8% from the field against the 76ers. They made only one of their first 19 attempts from 3-point range to fall into a hole in Booker’s return from a seven-game absence with a right ankle injury.
Booker had 21 points in 32 minutes, going 5 of 12 from the field and 1 of 7 from the 3-point line. Dillon Brooks (28 points) and Collin Gillespie (six points) each went 2 of 10 on 3-point attempts.
“A lot were catch-and-shoot from our best shooters,” Suns coach Jordan Ott said. “Almost as high-quality as you can get from really good shooters. But it’s a recurring thing. We got to get to the rim.
“We love 3s, but we love getting to the rim, too, and all that does to your offense. The rim is still more valuable.”
The Suns average 14.6 made 3-pointers per game, ninth in the NBA heading into Monday’s play.
Suns guard Jalen Green had eight points, three assists and three rebounds in 17 minutes Saturday during his return from a three-game absence, while Grayson Allen (knee) did not play. He will be reevaluated after the All-Star break.
The Mavs are looking to build around Rookie of the Year candidate Cooper Flagg, with Bagley appearing to be part of the new future.
Flagg had 14 points Saturday, when he played only 26 minutes because of a back issue. He scored 32, 36, 34 and 49 points in his previous four games, in that order.
“Just understanding there was his back,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “It stiffed up on him, so we couldn’t bring him back in.”
Flagg’s status against the Suns remains undetermined, though he did participate in practice Monday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-backs LHP Andrew Saalfrank (shoulder) out for season
Sep 26, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Andrew Saalfrank (27) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images Arizona Diamondbacks left-handed reliever Andrew Saalfrank will miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing shoulder surgery on Monday.
The team confirmed the news after it was reported by MLB.com, with Saalfrank posting about the surgery with an accompanying picture on Instagram.
Saalfrank had a 1.24 ERA over 28 relief appearances (29 innings) for the Diamondbacks last season.
In parts of three major league seasons with Arizona, the 28-year-old is 2-1 with a 1.79 ERA over 40 relief appearances (40 1/3 innings).
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 5 Iowa State in search of finishing kick vs. TCU
Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) looks for drive to the basket around TCU Horned Frogs Guard Brendan Wenzel (0) and center Malick Diallo (32) during the second half in the Big-12 men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb 8, 2025 in Ames, Iowa. Opportunity awaits TCU when it hosts No. 5 Iowa State in a Big 12 Conference contest on Tuesday at Fort Worth, Texas.
TCU (14-9, 4-6 Big 12) picked up an 84-82 home win over Kansas State on Saturday behind a career-high 26 points from Xavier Edmonds. The Horned Frogs overcame a five-point deficit in the final minute. The junior made 9 of 10 field-goal attempts, shot 7 of 10 from the free throw line and pulled down 10 rebounds. He has posted a double-double in five straight games.
Without a weekday game last week, the Horned Frogs picked up some rest and had enough in the tank to rally from an 18-point deficit for the victory. But the wait was long after consecutive defeats.
“That was terrible, Micah (Robinson) and I talked about that,” Edmonds said about the weekday bye. “We said we have a long week of break. We have to make sure we take care of business and feel good going into the break, or it would feel like a month off. It felt like it was about two months.”
Iowa State (21-1, 8-2) built a sizable second-half lead and shook off determined Baylor 72-69 on Saturday. The Cyclones struggled to close the door on the Bears, who ripped off the final 11 points of the game before time expired.
Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey had his usual stat-sheet stuffing performance. He scored 14 points, pulled down nine rebounds, handed out three assists and had two steals. Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger noted that the veteran point guard sets a high standard for the entire team.
When Lipsey turned up his defensive effort on the perimeter in the second half, Baylor went from shooting 42.9% from 3-point range to just 29.4% after the break.
“Tamin just lays it on the line,” Otzelberger said. “It felt like there were two of him out there on some possessions against Baylor. The plays that he is making, the steals that he is getting, the rebounds he is chasing down … there’s a physicality about how he does everything. He lays it all on the line and he’s done that for the program for four years. His 33 minutes (against Baylor) might be like 50 minutes for someone else because of how hard he plays.”
Because they have a resume littered with dubious losses, most recently an 87-61 blowout loss at Colorado on Feb. 1, TCU coach Jamie Dixon said the Horned Frogs have to make the most of their chance to pick off a top-ranked opponent when they face the Cyclones.
The Horned Frogs are No. 53 in the NCAA NET and 3-6 in Quad 1 games.
“We have to get ready for Iowa State,” Dixon said. “We know we are on the bubble. A loss against Kansas State would have killed us. We are still there. We have to do some things to get better, play better and I know we can.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Pacers F Johnny Furphy out for season with torn ACL
Feb 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers guard Johnny Furphy (12) reacts after injuring himself during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images Indiana Pacers forward Johnny Furphy is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, multiple outlets reported Monday.
Furphy injured his right knee on an awkward landing following a dunk in the third quarter of Sunday’s 122-104 loss to the host Toronto Raptors. He was helped off the court before he went to the locker room in a wheelchair.
The native Australian reportedly underwent MRI testing Monday which revealed the extent of his injury. The typical timeline for recovery from a torn ACL is 6-12 months, meaning Furphy’s absence could extend into next season.
In his second year in the league after being drafted by the Pacers in the second round in 2024, Furphy started 21 of his 35 regular-season appearances.
He averaged 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes per game this season after he averaged 2.1 points per game last season in 50 games off the bench.
–Field Level Media
D-backs LHP Andrew Saalfrank (shoulder) out for season
No. 5 Iowa State in search of finishing kick vs. TCU
