Sports
With soft slate on horizon, Trail Blazers take aim at reeling Nets
Mar 22, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan (23) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images The Portland Trail Blazers have their eye on rising into eighth place in the Western Conference, and the next six games may decide whether they can do so.
Portland enters a home-heavy stretch filled with also-ran teams on Monday night when it opposes the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
The Trail Blazers (35-37) closed a 3-2 road trip with a 128-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
Five of the Blazers’ next six games will be at home, and none of the five foes will be part of the playoffs or play-in round, including the Nets (17-54).
The lone road game will be against the Los Angeles Clippers, the team Portland hopes to pass and finish eighth in the conference. The Trail Blazers are a half-game behind the Clippers.
Portland missed a chance to get to .500 with the loss in Denver, a result that left Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter feeling a bit sour about the five-game trip.
The Trail Blazers opened with a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers before beating the Nets, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the defeat in the Mile High City.
“It could be better,” Splitter said of the trip. “I think that game in Philly, we should have been better. At the end of the day, it’s 3-2 and we got to take it and go take care of business at home. We have an important week in front of us.”
Deni Avdija had 23 points and matched his career best of 14 assists against Denver while Donovan Clingan added 18 points and 13 rebounds. Clingan has 10 or more boards in nine straight games.
The Trail Blazers never led in the contest, and Denver exposed them in transition with a 27-9 edge in fast-break points.
“They put a lot of pressure on us in transition,” Splitter said. “We couldn’t rebound as well as we wanted, and they were running against our defense and getting easy baskets.”
In a road game against the Nets last Monday, Portland had seven players score in double digits during a 114-95 triumph. The Trail Blazers led 65-41 at halftime and cruised to the win.
That was loss No. 4 of the Nets’ current seven-game losing streak. The latest was Sunday’s 126-122 road setback to the Sacramento Kings in an outcome that dropped Brooklyn to 2-17 over its last 19 games.
Rookie Ben Saraf scored a season-best 22 points against Sacramento and has reached double digits in five of the past six games.
“Probably one of his best games at finishing at the rim,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said of Saraf. “I like how aggressive he was, five assists to two turnovers.”
Saraf had 15 points, four assists and a season-high four steals in the recent loss to Portland.
Ziaire Williams and Malachi Smith added 18 points apiece against the Kings on Sunday. The point total was a career-best for Smith, who made 7 of 9 field-goal attempts while playing in his fifth NBA game.
Fernandez was highly impressed by the way his team handled the ball against the Kings. Two games earlier, his club committed 23 turnovers while being routed 121-92 by the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. That was the night the Nets scored 24 points in the first half.
Against the Kings, Brooklyn committed just one miscue in the opening half.
“Our 30 assists to only seven turnovers is very impressive,” Fernandez said. “So that’s definitely a step forward for us.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
NHL roundup: Islanders blank Jackets to move into wild-card position
Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27) after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 shots he faced and made Bo Horvat’s goal on the first shot of the game stand up Sunday night for the New York Islanders, who edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 in a game with Eastern Conference playoff implications in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders (40-26-5, 85 points) snapped a two-game losing streak, moved ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings (84 points) for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and tied the Blue Jackets (37-21-11, 85 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division, though Columbus has a game in hand.
The shutout was the seventh of the season for Sorokin and the 29th of his career, which extended his franchise record. He is tied for the franchise’s single-season record for shutouts with Glenn “Chico” Resch and Semyon Varlamov.
Jet Greaves recorded 21 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose 12-game point streak (8-0-4) ended.
Jets 3, Rangers 2 (SO)
Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi scored in the first two rounds of the shootout and visiting Winnipeg ended a three-game losing streak with a victory over host New York.
Connor scored when he got a shot to trickle under rookie Dylan Garand’s pads and his shootout goal occurred after he had 11 shot attempts in regulation and overtime. Vilardi scored when he cut to the right and flicked a wrist shot by Garand. Backup goalie Eric Comrie stopped Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller in the shootout after making three saves during an interference penalty on Mark Scheifele in overtime. Adam Lowry and Vilardi scored in regulation for the Jets.
Tye Kartye and Mika Zibanejad scored tying goals in the second period as the Rangers lost their fourth straight. Garand made 35 saves in a solid NHL debut after being called up to replace backup goalie Jonathan Quick (upper-body injury).
Mammoth 4, Kings 3 (OT)
Nick Schmaltz scored his second goal of the game 1:46 into overtime and Utah beat Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
Schmaltz entered the zone 2-on-1, kept the puck and beat Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot. Lawson Crouse had two goals and an assist for the Mammoth, who have won three of four and hold the first wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who have lost three straight and trail the Nashville Predators by two points for the second wild-card spot in the playoffs from the West.
Golden Knights 3, Stars 2
Reilly Smith scored the go-ahead goal with 3:38 remaining as Vegas snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over host Dallas.
Smith, a healthy scratch the previous five games, swatted in a rebound of Mitch Marner’s shot from the right side of the crease into the top right corner of the net for the game-winner. Brayden McNabb and Ivan Barbashev also scored goals and Adin Hill finished with 13 saves for Vegas.
Wyatt Johnston set a franchise single-season record with his 23rd power-play goal and Justin Hryckowian also scored for Dallas, which suffered just its second regulation loss in the last 19 games (15-2-2). Casey DeSmith made 30 saves for the Stars, who had a four-game win streak against the Golden Knights snapped.
Ducks 6, Sabres 5 (OT)
Troy Terry scored twice, including the game-winner at 1:29 of overtime in a win for Anaheim against visiting Buffalo.
Beckett Sennecke, Chris Kreider and Jackson LaCombe each had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who have won three of their past four games. Ville Husso made 24 saves.
Zach Benson and Owen Power each had a goal and an assist, and Alex Lyon made 27 saves for the Sabres, who had won four straight.
Avalanche 3, Capitals 2 (OT)
Brock Nelson scored the game-winning goal at 1:22 of overtime as Colorado rallied past host Washington.
Nelson won the game for the Avalanche when Martin Necas set him up for a slap shot past Logan Thompson. Gabriel Landeskog and Nicolas Roy also found the back of the net for Colorado, which became the first team to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Necas had two assists, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 20 saves.
Alex Ovechkin and Justin Sourdif scored, and Thompson made 21 saves for the Capitals, who had previously won two straight games and three of their last four.
Predators 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Filip Forsberg scored twice, including the game-winner 1:05 into overtime, to lift surging Nashville past host Chicago for its fourth straight victory.
Forsberg finished with three points, adding an assist on Steven Stamkos’ game-tying goal at 9:43 of the third period on a goal in front of the net moments after a Nashville power play expired. Back in the lineup after a two-game absence with an upper-body injury, Predators goaltender Juuse Saros finished with 26 saves.
Nick Lardis and Connor Bedard found the net for the Blackhawks, who have lost four of five with two defeats in that stretch coming in overtime. Spencer Knight stopped 30 shots in the losing effort.
Hurricanes 5, Penguins 1
Seth Jarvis had a goal and two assists and Carolina went 3-for-5 on the power play in a win over host Pittsburgh.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist and Sebastian Aho, defenseman Jalen Chatfield and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won four of their last five. Frederik Andersen made 18 saves.
Egor Chinakhov scored the lone goal for the Penguins, who had their four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped and were playing the second of back-to-back games. They beat visiting Winnipeg 5-4 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon. Stuart Skinner stopped 21 shots for Pittsburgh.
Islanders 1, Blue Jackets 0
Ilya Sorokin stopped all 26 shots he faced and made Bo Horvat’s goal on the first shot of the game stand up New York, which edged Columbus in a game with Eastern Conference playoff implications in Elmont, N.Y.
The Islanders (85 points) moved ahead of the idle Detroit Red Wings (84 points) for the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and tied the Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division, though Columbus has a game in hand.
The shutout was the seventh of the season for Sorokin and the 29th of his career, which extended his franchise record. He is tied for the franchise’s single-season record for shutouts with Glenn “Chico” Resch and Semyon Varlamov. Jet Greaves recorded 21 saves for the Blue Jackets, whose 12-game point streak (8-0-4) ended.
Flames 4, Lightning 3 (OT)
Ryan Strome scored the winning goal in overtime as host Calgary beat Tampa Bay for its third consecutive win.
Victor Olofsson, Morgan Frost and Mikael Backlund also scored for the Flames (29-34-7, 65 points) and goaltender Devin Cooley made 32 saves. Calgary has won 54 consecutive games when scoring four or more goals, the fourth-longest streak in NHL history.
Ryan McDonagh, Darren Raddysh and Pontus Holmberg replied for the Lightning, who had a three-game winning streak snapped in the final outing of their four-game road swing. Goalie Jonas Johansson stopped 25 shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Team Falcons, Team Spirit advance in group stage at BLAST Open Spring
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Team Falcons, FURIA, Team Spirit and The MongolZ each recorded wins on Sunday to stay alive in the BLAST Open Spring event in Copenhagen, Denmark and Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Group A lower-bracket final on Monday is set between Team Falcons and FURIA, while Aurora Gaming and Natus Vincere previously secured the upper-bracket final.
The Group B lower-bracket final is between Team Spirit and The MongolZ, while Team Vitality and PARIVISION already had their spots in the upper-bracket final on Monday.
The 16 teams in the $400,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event were split into two groups of eight that are contesting a pair of double-elimination brackets. The top three finishers in each bracket will advance to the six-team playoffs. All matches will be best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final on March 29.
The winning team will earn $150,000 along with three BLAST Frequent Flyer tokens.
On Sunday, Team Falcons rallied for a 2-1 win in the Group A lower-bracket semifinal over TYLOO, who opened with a marathon 16-14 win on Inferno. The Falcons responded in a big way with a 13-1 win on Ancient and a 13-2 victory on Mirage.
Nikola “NiKo” Kovac of Bosnia and Herzegovina led Team Falcons with a plus-14 kill-death differential while posting 45 kills, and teammate Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin of Russia had 50 kills and a plus-12 differential. No TYLOO players had a positive K-D differential.
FURIA followed a similar path in the other Group A lower-bracket semifinal, defeating NRG 2-1. NRG opened with a 13-10 win on Mirage, then FURIA surged past with wins on Nuke (13-2) and Dust II (13-7).
Danil “moloday” Golubenko of Kazakhstan led FURIA with 61 kills and a plus-32 differential.
Team Spirit swept 9z Team 2-0 in the Group B lower-bracket semifinal, winning on Overpass and Dust II on matching 13-6 scores.
Danil “donk” Kryshkovets of the all-Russian Team Spirit posted 44 kills and a plus-22 K-D differential.
The MongolZ notched a 2-0 win over Team Liquid in the other Group B lower-bracket semifinal, winning 16-14 on Ancient and 13-10 on Mirage.
Ayush “mzinho” Batbold led the all-Mongolian Mongolz with 45 kills while recording a plus-8 differential. Jonathan “EIGE” Jablonowski of the United States paced Liquid with 52 kills and a plus-10 differential.
Monday’s schedule
–Group A upper-bracket final, Aurora Gaming vs. Natus Vincere
–Group A lower-bracket final, Team Falcons vs. FURIA
–Group B upper-bracket final, Team Vitality vs. PARIVISION
–Group B lower-bracket final, Team Spirit vs. The MongolZ
BLAST Open Spring prize pool (cash prize, BLAST Frequent Flyer tokens)
1. $150,000, 3
2. $60,000, 1
3-4. $40,000, 1
5-6. $20,000, 1
7-8. $10,000
9-12. $7,500 — TYLOO, NRG, 9z Team, Team Liquid
13-16. $5,000 — FaZe Clan, B8, MOUZ, Ninjas in Pyjamas
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tundra Esports, MOUZ unblemished to start ESL One Birmingham
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Tundra Esports and MOUZ went undefeated in Group A on Sunday as ESL One Birmingham 2026 began play with 16 matches in the United Kingdom.
The $1 million tournament, featuring 16 teams in a Dota 2 competition, will award $750,000 in prize money and $250,000 in club rewards as well as 35,460 EPT points spread among all participants.
The group stage runs from Sunday through Wednesday, with two single round-robin groups of eight teams each. All series consist of two games.
The top two teams from each group advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs. The third- and fourth-place teams are delegated to the lower-bracket playoffs, and the remaining teams are eliminated.
The playoffs are March 26-29 with a double-elimination bracket. All matches are best-of-three except for the grand final, which is best-of-five.
Tundra Esports opened with a 2-0 sweep of PARIVISION, winning in 54 minutes on green and 29 minutes on red. Tundra also downed BetBoom Team in 30 minutes on green and 40 minutes on red.
MOUZ swept GamerLegion in 63 minutes on red and 46 minutes on green. MOUZ also swept REKONIX in 34 minutes on green and 29 minutes on red.
Team Yandex recorded a win and a tie on Sunday, while the remainder of Group A had a loss and a tie: BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, PARIVISION, REKONIX and Yakult Brothers.
In Group B, Aurora Gaming and Team Spirit are atop the standings with a win and a tie.
Aurora handled Team Falcons in 50 minutes and 26 minutes, both on green. Team Spirit and Aurora Gaming split their match, with the latter winning in 35 minutes on red and the former wining in 36 minutes on red.
Team Spirit also swept paIN Gaming with victories in 57 minutes on red and 30 minutes on green.
The following teams lost both matches: Nigma Galaxy, OG, Virtus.pro and Xtreme Gaming. Team Falcons and paIN Gaming each lost and tied after the first day.
Each group has eight matches scheduled for Monday.
Prize pool (prize money, club reward)
1. $250,000, $40,000
2. $100,000, $30,000
3. $80,000, $25,000
4. $60,000, $20,000
5-6. $40,000, $15,000
7-8. $27,500, $12,500
8-10. $20,000, $10,000
11-12. $17,500, $10,000
13-14. $15,000, $10,000
15-16. $10,000, $10,000
–Field Level Media
