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Tari Eason's season-best effort leads Rockets past Thunder

NBA: Houston Rockets at Oklahoma City ThunderFeb 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) shoots a three point basket as Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) defends during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Tari Eason scored a season-high 26 points and Alperen Sengun recorded a triple-double to help the Houston Rockets to a 112-106 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Rockets, while the Thunder have dropped back-to-back contests.

With Houston leading by four after Eason’s tip-in with 1:36 remaining, Reed Sheppard reached around Chet Holmgren under the basket to steal Alex Caruso’s pass, and Kevin Durant hit a key pullup jumper.

Eason added a pair of key offensive rebounds over the final two minutes to help the Rockets hold off Oklahoma City.

Sengun, who had been shooting just 35.2% over his last six games, finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Jabari Smith Jr. added 22 points and Kevin Durant had 20 points on a season-low 10 shots.

After trailing by 15 in the first half, the Rockets came back to tie it early in the third quarter before a 7-0 run put the Thunder back in front.

Houston went on a 24-11 run over the final 7:40 of the quarter to take the lead.

Oklahoma City didn’t hit a field goal over the final five minutes of the quarter.

The Rockets led by nine early in the fourth, but the Thunder battled back thanks to seven consecutive Cason Wallace points.

Oklahoma City tied it on Isaiah Joe’s steal and reverse layup with 7:02 remaining.

Wallace led the Thunder, who were playing without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the second consecutive game, with 23 points.

Joe added 21 off the bench.

The Thunder jumped out to a big lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 21-6 over the first eight minutes of the quarter to take a 49-34 lead.

After the Rockets hit their first four 3-pointers to start the game, they made just one of their next 12.

Houston was just 2 for 10 from the field to start the second.

But the Rockets trimmed the deficit to six by halftime and nearly cut it even further as Eason’s 33-footer narrowly missed going in at the buzzer.

Jared McCain, acquired in a trade with Philadelphia at the deadline, made his Oklahoma City debut, finishing with five points in nearly 14 minutes.

–Field Level Media

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Renato Moicano snaps losing streak with submission victory

MMA: UFC 317- Dariush vs MoicanoJun 28, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Beneil Dariush (red gloves) fights Renato Moicano (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Renato Moicano of Brazil snapped a two-fight losing streak with a rear-naked-choke submission victory over Scotland’s Chris Duncan at 3:14 of the second round in the lightweight main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Moicano (21-7-1) dominated the fight, allowing Duncan (15-3-0) just one second of control time while landing over twice as many strikes (62-30). Duncan had a four-match win streak snapped, taking his first defeat since Feb. 24, 2024.

In the co-main event, Virna Jandiroba (23-4-0) came away with a unanimous-decision victory (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) over fellow Brazilian Tabatha Ricci (12-4-0) in a strawweight fight. It was a bounceback for Jandiroba after she had a five-fight win streak snapped in a title-fight loss to Mackenzie Dern last October.

Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev of Turkey also had a rear-naked-choke submission win on the main card, beating Brazil’s Brendson Ribeiro (17-10-0) 2:52 into the opening round to improve to 9-0-0 in the light heavyweight division.

Ethyn Ewing (10-2-0) came away with a third-round KO/TKO bantamweight victory to hand Brazilian Rafael Estevam (14-1-0) his first MMA loss. Before that, Tommy McMillen (10-0-0) won his UFC debut in the featherweight division with a first-round KO/TKO via a series of blows culminating with a knee strike which took Italy’s Manolo Zecchini (11-5-0) to the mat.

In the main-card opener, Jose Delano (17-3-0) of Brazil won via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27) over Poland’s Robert Ruchala (11-3-0) in his UFC debut.

–Field Level Media

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Padres, Red Sox chasing first series win of season

MLB: San Francisco Giants at San Diego PadresMar 30, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Walker Buehler (10) delivers during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

With both starting pitchers seeking bounce-back outings for their new teams, the Boston Red Sox and visiting San Diego Padres face off to close a three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon.

The Padres scored a 3-2 victory on Saturday after Ramon Laureano’s two-out RBI single in the ninth inning. San Diego now turns to a familiar sight on the Boston mound in Walker Buehler (0-1, 6.75 ERA) for his second start.

Buehler, who began last season with the Red Sox before he was released in September, will face Boston left-hander Ranger Suarez (0-1, 8.31). Both teams are searching for their first series victory of the season.

“Laureano has been doing that the last few years, so you’ve got to tip your cap to them,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Gotta regroup and get ready for (Sunday) to win the series.”

Though the Padres entered Saturday hitting a National League-worst .192, Laureano continued a strong early-season run with the big hit. He now boasts a .308 batting average and has reached base safely in six of his first seven games.

“I think Laureano has had the best results and best at-bats we’ve gotten so far, so we’ll probably see him more at the top of the lineup going forward,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said.

A two-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed a free-agent contract in February, Buehler made his Padres debut Monday against the San Francisco Giants, allowing three runs on five hits across four innings.

“Our hope is that he kind of returns to who he’s been in the past,” Stammen said last week. “And that we have somebody that was a former All-Star pitcher, someone that was a thorn in our side as the Padres, and becomes a thorn in the side for other people.”

Buehler’s only career start against the Red Sox came in the 18-inning marathon Game 3 of the 2018 World Series. He started and went seven scoreless innings.

The Red Sox were in position to win the series on Saturday, holding a one-run lead with Aroldis Chapman taking the mound in the ninth looking for his second consecutive save. Andruw Monasterio’s pinch-hit RBI fielder’s choice had tied the game for the Red Sox in the eighth.

Instead, Boston fell to a major league-worst 2-6 for the first time since 2019 and has now lost all three of its one-run games this season.

Cora’s offense has also struggled, scoring two or fewer runs for the fourth time in eight games and going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

“We have to make sure when we are ahead in the count, get a pitch you can handle. If not, pass the baton,” Cora said.

The Red Sox had an 8-7 advantage in hits on Saturday, with Roman Anthony (triple) and Ceddanne Rafaela each recording a pair.

Suarez looks to deliver an improved start in his first Fenway Park outing for Boston. He allowed four runs, including a pair of home runs, in 4 1/3 innings Monday against the Houston Astros.

“I feel very good physically,” Suarez said. “I missed a couple (pitches), but I’ll just keep working for the next outing.”

Suarez, who is 3-1 with a 2.39 career ERA in eight appearances (five starts) against the Padres, is coming off back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins and recorded a career-high 151 strikeouts in 157 1/3 innings in 2025 with the Philadelphia Phillies.

–Field Level Media

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On a roll, Yankees to send Max Fried up against Marlins

MLB: New York Yankees at Seattle MarinersMar 31, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Max Fried (54) throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images

Max Fried lived up to his billing as a frontline starter in the first season of an eight-year contract signed before the New York Yankees knew just how important he would be because of an injury to Gerrit Cole.

Fried is off to a stellar start to his second campaign in pinstripes and will be on the mound when the Yankees host the Miami Marlins in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

The Yankees are attempting to earn their fifth straight win and get off to an 8-1 start for the first time since 2020. New York followed up its 8-2 win on Friday by hanging on for a 9-7 win Saturday.

Giancarlo Stanton had his first regular-season stolen base since 2020 and hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth. Cody Bellinger drove in three runs and hit a two-run homer while the Yankees had 10 walks to give them 21 in the past two games.

“It’s a scoring competition, not a hit competition,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “So however it comes, it’s about putting runs on the board.”

Fried (2-0, 0.00) went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 32 starts last season when he set career highs for wins, starts, innings (195 1/3) and strikeouts (189).

During New York’s season-opening six-game road trip, he gave up five hits and struck out 10 in 13 1/3 scoreless innings of wins at San Francisco and Seattle.

In the season opener against the Giants on March 25, the left-hander allowed two hits and registered four strikeouts. Against the Mariners, Fried allowed three hits in seven innings of a 5-0 win.

Fried has 10 scoreless starts since joining the Yankees and the only instance of consecutive shutout starts last season was April 27 and May 2 when he tossed 13 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays.

“It’s incredible,” Yankees catcher J.C. Escarra said. “I can’t go wrong with what I call when he has all these pitches going. It makes it easy for me, and easy for him.”

Fried did not face the Marlins last season when the Yankees were swept in Miami. He is 6-4 with a 4.23 ERA in 16 career starts against the Marlins.

The Marlins collected 15 hits Saturday but also struggled by not finding the strike zone and allowing two runs on passed balls from catcher Agustin Ramirez.

Miami’s Chris Paddack (0-1, 18.00) makes his second start after a rocky debut with the club. In Monday’s 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Paddack allowed eight runs in four innings.

Paddack’s struggled after going 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in five spring training starts for the Marlins, who signed him to a one-year deal Feb. 12 after the right-hander split last season with the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers.

“Not how I envisioned my Marlins debut by any means, but I’ve been here before,” Paddack said. “It’s not an ideal situation to be in to start the year. Especially coming off a really good spring, having some confidence going into the season.”

Said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough: “Results aside, we’ll get a lot better days out of Chris. He’s a pro. He’ll flip the page.”

Paddack is 0-3 with an 8.47 ERA in four career appearances (three starts) against the Yankees.

–Field Level Media

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