Sports
Victorious Devils spoil career milestone for Kings' Anze Kopitar
Mar 14, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) makes a save against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images Anze Kopitar scored twice to become the all-time points leader in Los Angeles Kings history, but Jack Hughes scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period that sparked the host New Jersey Devils to a wild 6-4 victory on Saturday in Newark, N.J.
Nico Hischier scored twice in a four-point performance, Arseny Gritsyuk and Timo Meier both collected one goal and one assist, and Cody Glass added a single for the Devils, who snapped a two-game losing skid.
New Jersey goaltender Jake Allen made 27 saves.
Kopitar, who announced this will be his final NHL season — all 20 with Los Angeles — netted his 1,308th career point to move ahead of Marcel Dionne’s total for the Kings.
Artemi Panarin scored once in a three-point game, Taylor Ward tallied once and Brandt Clarke collected three assists for the Kings, who are battling for the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot.
Goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 22 shots.
With overtime looming, Hughes potted the difference-maker on the power play by converting a one-timer from the right circle with 2:29 remaining in regulation time.
Meier’s empty-net goal sealed the victory in the back-and-forth clash.
The Devils, who are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, staked a 2-0 lead. Glass opened the scoring with a wobbly shot from the slot at 7:58 of the first frame, and Hischier doubled the lead three minutes later by burying the rebound off his own deflected chance.
The Kings regrouped at the intermission and took the lead in the second period.
Kopitar kicked off the comeback on the power play by redirecting Clarke’s cross-ice pass to the doorstep at 4:15 of the frame.
Panarin tied the clash less than two minutes later with a top-shelf shot from the high slot.
Ward gave the Kings the lead with a one-timer from the point at 11:43 of the period.
Then it was New Jersey’s turn to cue a comeback with a four-goal final period. Gritsyuk evened the affair 25 seconds into the third period by batting home a Lenni Hameenaho pass during a 2-on-1 rush.
Hischier’s second of the game, a power-play marker from pouncing on a loose puck, put the Devils ahead again at 12:42 of the period.
Kopitar tied the clash 4-4 with another power-play goal, a fluttering one-timer from the right circle 60 seconds later, but the Kings could not find another go-ahead goal.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Celtics dominate 2nd quarter, extend Wizards' skid to 11
Mar 14, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) controls the ball against Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the first half at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images Neemias Queta scored a game-high 24 points and had 10 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics end a two-game losing streak by beating the visiting Washington Wizards 111-100 on Saturday night.
Boston received 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from Jayson Tatum, and a 16-point performance from Jaylen Brown. Derrick White scored 15 and Luka Garza added 15 off the bench.
Boston outrebounded Washington 55-38. The Celtics grabbed 19 offensive rebounds.
The loss stretched Washington’s losing streak to 11. The Wizards have lost nine in a row on the road.
Tristan Vukcevic made 6 of 7 3-point attempts and led the Wizards with 22 points. Fellow reserve Jamir Watkins added 15 points and six rebounds and Bilal Coulibaly finished with 12 points. Trae Young scored 11 and had six assists.
Alex Sarr was 1 of 9 from the field and was held to four points.
Boston led by nine in the opening quarter, but Washington went in front 27-26 on a Watkins 3-pointer with 1:05 left. Boston led 29-27 after 12 minutes. Queta scored 13 points in the quarter.
The Celtics scored 19 of the first 21 points in the second quarter and had a 48-29 advantage with 4:58 remaining in the first half. Boston outscored Washington 35-14 in the second and led 64-41 at halftime.
Queta made 10 of 12 shots from the field in the first half, when he led all scorers with 22 points.
Boston pushed its lead to 83-53 on a Brown basket with 5:34 left in the third, but the Wizards used a 15-5 run late in the quarter to trim their deficit to 20. Boston carried a 93-72 lead into the fourth.
The Wizards trailed by 12 following a Vukcevic 3-pointer with 4:21 to play, but failed to get closer than 11 the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nashville blanks Columbus, sits lone atop Eastern table
Mar 14, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Nashville SC forward Woobens Pacius (17) kicks the ball as Columbus Crew midfielder Malte Andre Gomes (20) defends during the first half at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images Hany Mukhtar scored in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time Saturday night and visiting Nashville SC stayed unbeaten with a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew.
The match appeared destined for a scoreless draw without much in the way of true high-danger chances until Mukhtar received expert service from Cristian Espinosa. After taking a pass in the box from Andy Najar, Espinosa spun defender Rudy Camacho around twice and then fed Mukhtar near the goal mouth, where he poked the ball past Patrick Schulte.
The goal enabled Nashville (3-0-1, 10 points) to claim the top spot in the Eastern table despite Columbus (0-2-2, 2 points) controlling the ball most of the night. The Crew possessed the ball for 55.3% of the fixture and made 171 more passes than their visitors.
But they couldn’t convert that into goals and remained winless through four matches under first-year coach Henrik Rydstrom. Meanwhile, Nashville goalie Brian Schwake (two saves) recorded his second clean sheet — both on the road.
Prior to Mukhtar’s marker, neither team generated a scoring opportunity of better than 9%. Each finished the match with eight shots, while Nashville had a 4-2 advantage in shots on frame.
Nashville came into the match boasting a top 10 offense and defense, scoring seven times in its first three fixtures while conceding just twice. Meanwhile, Columbus found its defensive shape last week but couldn’t find the back of the net in a scoreless draw with Chicago.
This one trended more toward that match and less towards the wide-open affairs the Crew played in the first two matches. Neither team generated a chance with a goal expectancy of even 10% in a scoreless first 45 minutes.
Columbus came the closest to scoring in the third minute of stoppage time but Max Arfsten’s long-range try from outside the box struck the crossbar and bounced away.
Jack Maher logged Nashville’s only first-half shot on net in the 39th minute on a header but Schulte (three saves) was able to parry it away.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Arizona beats Houston to claim 1st Big 12 tournament championship
Mar 14, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat (10) drives to the hoop past Houston Cougars forward Chase McCarty (24) during the first half during the men’s Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images Koa Peat scored 21 points before fouling out and Brayden Burries also had 21 as top-seeded Arizona defeated second-seeded Houston 79-74 on Saturday night in Kansas City to win the Big 12 conference tournament and claim the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Jaden Bradley scored 13 points and Ivan Kharchenkov added 12 for No. 2 Arizona, which won its ninth straight game. The Wildcats (32-2) are in the running for the No. 1 overall seed after winning their first Big 12 championship in their second year in the league, avenging last year’s title game loss to Houston.
“I’m just doing whatever the team needs me to do,” Peat said on ESPN. “We worked for this and we deserve this.”
Joseph “JoJo” Tugler scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the No. 5 Cougars (28-6), who had a five-game winning streak snapped. Mercy Miller had 13 points and seven rebounds, Chase McCarty had 10 points and Emanuel Sharp also scored 10 before fouling out for Houston.
The Cougars led for just 59 seconds. Still, they are expected to be a No. 2 seed when the bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday.
Miller drained a 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining and Milos Uzan buried a trey with 53.8 seconds left as Houston moved within 75-72.
Motiejus Krivas sank two free throws to give Arizona a five-point lead with 22.9 seconds remaining. McCarty’s two free throws with 13.2 seconds left pulled Houston within 77-74.
Burries made two free throws with 8.3 seconds left to seal it for the Wildcats.
Arizona shot 46.3% from the field, including 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
The Cougars made 43.8% of their shots and were 8 of 21 from behind the arc.
Arizona led by eight at halftime before scoring the first seven points of the second half to take a 51-36 lead. Burries made two free throws to cap the half-opening run.
The Wildcats again led by 15 with just over 14 minutes left before Houston rattled off 14 consecutive points.
Sharpe buried a 3-pointer to start the run and Uzan later converted a three-point play to move the Cougars within 59-54 with 9:32 remaining. Tugler and Miller followed with layups as Houston trailed by one with 7:08 to play.
Burries scored on a runner and made the ensuing free throw with 6:41 left to end the Arizona scoring drought at seven minutes, 23 seconds.
A basket by Flemings brought Houston within two before Kharchenkov banked in a long 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 65-60 lead with 5:52 to play.
The long trey started a 9-2 run for Arizona. Kharchenkov had seven of the points and Peat ended it with a short jumper to make it 71-62 with 3:51 left.
Burries scored the final 10 Arizona points of the first half as the Wildcats led 44-36 at the break. Burries had 12 points in the half, one behind Bradley’s 13 and one ahead of Peat’s 11.
Tugler had 10 points in the half for the Cougars.
–Field Level Media
Celtics dominate 2nd quarter, extend Wizards' skid to 11
Nashville blanks Columbus, sits lone atop Eastern table
