Sports
Torrid Clippers take on suddenly surging Sixers
Feb 1, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) against Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks (3) in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images After another top defensive performance, the Los Angeles Clippers return home Monday to face the Philadelphia 76ers at Inglewood, Calif., as their NBA-best run of success is now over a month old.
The Clippers improved to 17-4 since Dec. 20 with a 117-93 victory on Sunday over the host Phoenix Suns that came without the services of veteran James Harden, who was out on the first day of a back-to-back for personal reasons.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points for Los Angeles and had plenty of help from Jordan Miller, who scored 20 points off the bench, while center Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds with 14 points. It was Zubac’s first 20-rebound game of the campaign after hitting that mark five times last seasons.
Los Angeles is ninth in the Western Conference standings, one game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers sit three games behind the Golden State Warriors for eighth place.
Leonard’s play has led the Clippers’ resurgence, while team defense has made a major impact. Los Angeles has held opponents under 100 points six times during their current run of success.
“Playing together, trusting, believing, and just playing for one another,” Los Angeles head coach Tyronn Lue said about the recent stretch. “James (Harden) was out tonight and he is one of our big dogs, but other guys stepped up in his absence.
“… Once we hit that rough start at 6-21, once we challenged the guys, they’ve really taken off and they’ve really been good.”
The Clippers are 10-1 at home since their turnaround began, including five consecutive victories.
The 76ers arrive in the Los Angeles area on a three-game winning streak after a 124-114 home victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. Joel Embiid scored a season-high 40 points for Philadelphia with 11 rebounds.
Embiid was 13 of 27 from the floor (48.1%) and matched a season high with three 3-pointers on five attempts. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19 points with 10 rebounds and All-Star Game starter Tyrese Maxey had 18 points with eight assists.
The win streak has come after the Sixers lost five of seven games going back to Jan. 14.
Embiid has averaged 26.2 points in 28 games and has at least 29 points in seven consecutive games but was not selected an All-Star reserve on Sunday. Leonard was not named, either, even as he has averaged 27.7 points in 34 games for the Clippers. Both have delivered despite histories of chronic knee issues.
Leonard could be a candidate to replace Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf injury).
“Keep pushing,” Embiid said. “It was supposed to be basically a tryout for next year and moving forward. How are we going to do this? I would say I think we figured out the schedule and what we have to do every single day to make sure that I’m prepared and I feel good.”
Sunday’s game was expected to be the return of Philadelphia’s Paul George against one of his former teams, but that was derailed by George’s 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. His suspension was handed down before Saturday’s game.
Without their sharpshooter in George, the Sixers still went 17 of 36 (47.2%) from 3-point range Saturday against New Orleans, tied for their second-best accuracy mark from distance this season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
Florida forward Alex Condon (21) drives on Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile (7) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O’Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 28, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Ruben Chinyelu had 12 points and 16 rebounds for his 17th double-double, and No. 7 Florida clinched the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a 111-77 rout of No. 20 Arkansas in Gainesville, Fla., on Saturday.
Alex Condon scored 17 points, Urban Klavzar and Boogie Fland scored 14 apiece and Xaivian Lee added 13 as the Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) placed seven players in double figures in their highest scoring game of the season.
The defending champion Gators lead second-place No. 17 Alabama (22-7, 12-4) by two games with two games left, and they own the tiebreaker after a 100-79 victory in their lone regular-season meeting.
Florida has won a season-high nine in a row — eight by at least 13 points — and is a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Billy Richmond scored 22 points and Darius Acuff Jr. added 17 for the Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5), who had won five of six. They are a projected No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Acuff, the SEC’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game, had a streak of nine straight 20-point games broken. He was 6 of 19 from the field.
Florida led by at least 24 in the final 15 minutes and stretched its advantage to 37 on Condon’s layup in the final three minutes.
The Gators secured their first regular-season title since 2013-14, when they also won the SEC tournament.
Florida shot 56.5% from the field and had a 51-31 rebounding advantage. Condon had six rebounds and Haugh had five. The Gators led the nation with a plus-14.1 rebound margin.
The Razorbacks shot 40.0% from the field.
Florida coach Todd Golden and Arkansas coach John Calipari were hit with double technical fouls with 17:27 left with the Gators holding a 23-point lead.
Klavzar kickstarted the Gators with two 3-pointers and Condon added a dunk in a 12-0 run to give Florida a 23-16 lead nine minutes in.
Lee made three layups later in the first half and Isaiah Brown (11 points) hit two 3-pointers and a transition dunk to push the Gators’ lead to 51-27 with 2:33 left in the first half.
Florida led 53-34 at half, when it totaled 32 points in the paint.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
Feb 28, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Thomas Muller (13) celebrates scoring on a corner kick from midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) (not pictured) against Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) during the first half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Thomas Muller scored a first-half brace, leading the Whitecaps to a 3-0 victory over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night in Vancouver.
Brian White also scored a first-half goal, while keeper Yohei Takaoka made three saves for his second consecutive clean sheet to open the MLS season.
With the victory, Vancouver (2-0-0, 6 points) improved to 4-0-1 in its last five regular-season matches against Toronto.
The Reds (0-2-0, 0 points) are now 6-9-4 in 19 MLS meetings against their Western Canadian rivals.
Trailing 3-0, Toronto had an excellent chance to cut into the lead early in the second half. Djordje Mihailovic thought he’d put Toronto on the board in the 55th minute, but the midfielder was caught offside.
Then in the 74th minute, Takaoka made a diving save off Toronto midfielder Jose Cifuentes – the Reds’ first shot on target of the match.
Vancouver controlled possession in the first half with five shots on target.
Aziel Jackson was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the area by Walker Zimmerman in the 24th minute. On the ensuing penalty kick, Muller opened the scoring, putting his right-footed strike in the bottom-left corner past Luka Gavran.
Muller added his second of the half 12 minutes later as Sebastian Berhalter’s corner was headed across to Muller by Mathias Laborda, and the German midfielder ripped his left-footed shot into an open goal.
In first-half stoppage time, off another Berhalter corner, Gavran was caught out of position, allowing White to score on a right-footed strike.
Up next, Vancouver travels to Portland for its first away match of the season next Saturday. Toronto visits Cincinnati next Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip to open the season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pelicans close 1st half strong to beat Jazz for 4th straight win
Feb 28, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images Saddiq Bey scored 24 points and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Utah Jazz for the second time in three nights on Saturday, 115-105.
Bey, who scored a season-high 42 points in the Pelicans’ 129-118 victory Thursday night, was joined in double figures by rookie Jeremiah Fears (18), who added a season-high 11 rebounds, Bryce McGowens (18), Herb Jones (17), and Jordan Poole (11) as New Orleans won its fourth consecutive game.
Leading scorer Trey Murphy III missed his fifth consecutive game because of a right shoulder contusion, and second-leading scorer Zion Williamson had just four points in 11 minutes before leaving the game with a right ankle injury.
New Orleans still had plenty of firepower, leading by as many as 27 points just as it did two nights earlier.
Isaiah Collier scored 21, Keyonte George (ankle) returned from a six-game absence to score 17, Elijah Harkless added 14, Ace Bailey had 13, Kyle Filipowski had 12 and Brice Sensabaugh 10 to lead the Jazz, who lost their fifth straight game.
The Pelicans pushed their 25-point halftime to 27 with 3:57 left in the third quarter, but the Jazz climbed within 89-73 at the end of the period. Utah got as close as seven points early in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans scored the next eight points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The Pelicans scored the first nine points of the game as the Jazz went nearly five minutes before making their first field goal. Utah pulled even at 17 and 19 before New Orleans held a 27-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Yves Missi, returning from a five-game absence due to a calf strain, made a dunk to start the second-quarter scoring and Poole followed with a 3-pointer to expand the lead to 10 points.
Jones made two 3-pointers and Bey had five points during a 15-0 run that completed a 20-2 surge, giving New Orleans a 65-40 halftime lead. The Jazz didn’t make a field goal in the final 4:55.
–Field Level Media
No. 7 Florida drubs No. 20 Arkansas, wins SEC regular-season title
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
