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
Saint Joseph's makes 19-point comeback to overcome Cal
Dec 11, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Saint Joseph’s Hawks guard Jaiden Glover-Toscano (11) shoots against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Jaiden Glover-Toscano had 24 points and a game-ending blocked shot to cap a 19-point comeback as visiting Saint Joseph’s nipped Cal 76-75 on Sunday night in the second round of the NIT in Berkeley, Calif.
The Hawks (24-11) advance to play New Mexico in the NIT quarterfinals.
Cal (22-12) was in complete control of the game, ahead 61-42 with 13:34 left after a 3-pointer by Chris Bell, but the Hawks chipped away.
A rim-rattling dunk by Dasear Haskins cut the lead to nine with 6:54 to play for Saint Joseph’s. A basket by Glover-Toscano made it a four-point game with 4:11 to play.
Justin Pippen made a free throw for Cal to give them a 75-73 lead with 2:10 left, but the Bears would not score again. Hawks guard Derek Simpson shook loose outside the arc and drained a three with 1:50 to go to give St. Joseph the lead.
After both teams had empty possessions, Cal called a timeout with 44.2 seconds left with the ball and worked it inside to Lee Dort, but Dort had the ball stripped and the Hawks went back the other way. Cal elected not to use a timeout as Simpson dribbled the ball near half court. His runner in the lane missed with six seconds to go.
Dort sent an outlet pass over to Dai Dai Ames, who drove into the front court and attacked the basket, but Glover-Toscano was able to get a few fingers on his shot to knock it away just before the final buzzer.
Bell had 23 points to lead Cal, including five threes. Haskins had 17 for Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks outscored Cal 42-24 in the paint.
Saint Joseph, playing the second time on the road in the NIT, jumped out to a 16-8 lead seven minutes into the game, but Cal took over midway through the first half. The Bears led at halftime 41-33 and opened the second half on an 11-2 run to build the lead to double digits.
–Field Level Media
Sports
UConn turns to veteran Alex Karaban, downs UCLA to reach Sweet 16
Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UConn Huskies forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts against the UCLA Bruins in the second half during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Alex Karaban has seen his role evolve across 147 games at UConn, from a supporting role as a freshman to a key shooter and connector on offense and, now, the senior leader.
On Sunday, the Huskies asked him for something different. With others struggling and their season on the line, they needed Karaban to carry their offense.
Karaban responded with a career-high 27 points, freshman Braylon Mullins added 17 and No. 2 seed UConn took down No. 7 seed UCLA 73-57 to return to the Sweet 16.
UConn (31-5) will face No. 3 Michigan State in the East Region semifinals. The program is shooting for a third national title to cap Karaban’s four-year career, after eventual champion Florida eliminated the Huskies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Two nights after racking up 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, Tarris Reed Jr. had 10 points and 13 boards but shot just 3 of 8 from the field. Jayden Ross had 11 points, but Solo Ball was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting and Silas Demary Jr. scored two on a pair of free throws.
Xavier Booker had 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half to fuel UCLA (24-12), but he was held in check after that and finished with 13. Eric Dailey Jr. put up 12, Donovan Dent added 11 with nine assists and Skyy Clark also scored 11.
It was the second matchup of the blue bloods all-time after the Bruins defeated UConn in the 1995 NCAA Tournament on the way to their most recent national championship.
UCLA led by six early on until the Huskies hit seven shots in a row, anchored by a pair of 3-pointers from Ross that gave them their first lead at 23-21.
Eric Reibe threw down a two-handed dunk with 3:38 remaining, and Mullins knocked down two triples in the final 2:49 to give UConn a 38-33 halftime edge.
But it barely lasted. UCLA scored the first six points of the second half, and Clark’s triple put UCLA ahead 42-40.
Karaban dug in and converted two layups. His third-chance tip-in put UConn back up 46-44 with 13:49 to go.
He added one trey from the left wing and sidestepped a defender closing in to hit another, capping a 14-0 run for the first double-digit lead of the night at 56-44.
Dailey briefly brought UCLA within four on a 3-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play, but a 9-0 UConn run restored the double-figure advantage. The Bruins shot 33.3% in the second half and 38.8% overall to UConn’s 46.9%.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
Sports
Suns rout Raptors to end 5-game skid
Mar 22, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates after making a three point shot against the Toronto Raptors in the first quarter at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Anna Carrington-Imagn Images Devin Booker scored 25 points and Jalen Green added 20 as the Phoenix Suns snapped a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 120-98 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Collin Gillespie had 16 points for Phoenix (40-32), which led wire-to-wire and avenged a 122-115 road loss to the Raptors on March 13. Jordan Goodwin scored 14 points, Ryan Dunn added 12, and Rasheer Fleming chipped in 11.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto (39-31) with 17 points. RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter added 13 apiece, Immanuel Quickley had 11, and Gradey Dick scored 10.
Raptors forward Brandon Ingram was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting after averaging 25.8 points over his last five games. Toronto trailed by as many as 31 and lost its second straight following a three-game winning streak.
Phoenix sprinted to a 28-12 lead and held a 34-20 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.
Green drilled a 3-pointer to extend the Suns’ lead to 43-25 with 9:52 left in the second quarter before the Raptors responded with a 12-0 run over the next 1:45.
Booker scored 12 points in the first half for Phoenix, which regained control to lead 66-48 at intermission. Barnes had 12 points for the Raptors.
The Suns maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half and took a commanding 87-62 lead on Booker’s 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the third quarter.
Phoenix outscored Toronto 31-21 in the third quarter to lead 97-69 at the end of the period.
Both teams rested their starters for much of the fourth quarter. Gillespie made one of his four 3-pointers to put the Suns ahead 114-87 with 5:46 remaining.
Playing the second night of a back-to-back, Phoenix shot 51.7% from the field and 45% (18 of 40) from 3-point range.
Toronto committed 20 turnovers and shot 50% from the field, including 33.3% (9 of 27) from beyond the arc.
The Suns played without several regulars, including Grayson Allen (left knee injury management), Amir Coffey (left ankle sprain), and Royce O’Neale (left knee soreness).
–Field Level Media
Saint Joseph's makes 19-point comeback to overcome Cal
UConn turns to veteran Alex Karaban, downs UCLA to reach Sweet 16
