AP Sports

Update on the latest sports

NBA-SCHEDULE
Suns thump Heat
UNDATED (AP) – The Phoenix Suns welcomed back one of their two All-Star guards and coasted to victory in Miami.
Devin Booker returned from NBA protocols to score 23 points in the Suns’ rout of the Heat, 111-90. Booker also had nine assists and eight rebounds as Phoenix won a battle of conference leaders. He missed the Suns’ previous four games due to virus-related issues.
Mikal Bridges finished with 21 points as the Suns improved to a league-best 53-13. Deandre Ayton had 19 points on 9 of 10 shooting and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
Duncan Robinson had a team-high 22 points for Miami, which lost for just the third time in 15 games.

Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
– The Bucks picked up their sixth straight win as Giannis Antetokounmpo (YAH’-nihs an-teh-tah-KOON’-poh) provided 43 points and 12 rebounds in a 124-115 decision over the Hawks. Bobby Portis added 23 points and 15 rebounds and Khris Middleton had 23 points and eight assists for Milwaukee, which beat Atlanta for the first time in three tries this season. Trae Young paced the Hawks with 27 points and 11 assists.

– Jayson Tatum delivered 16 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ fourth straight win, 115-101 versus the Hornets. Tatum made 16 of 24 shots from the field and 6 of 9 from beyond the 3-point arc after scoring 54 points in his previous game against the Nets. Jaylen Brown had 15 points, while Robert Williams chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

– DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulls downed the Pistons, 114-108 to end a five-game losing streak. Zach LeVine added 25 points and Nikola Vucevic had 21 for Chicago, which won despite only hitting three 3-pointers. Cade Cunningham had 22 points for the Pistons, but none of his teammates scored more than 12.

– Bojan (BOY’-ahn) Bogdanovic drained six 3-pointers and poured in 27 points to highlight Utah’s 123-95 thrashing of the Trail Blazers. Donovan Mitchell added 16 points while Royce O’Neale chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who won their eighth straight home game. Trendon Watford scored a career-high 22 points to lead Portland.

– Nikola Jokic (nih-KOH’-lah YOH’-kihch) had 38 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists in the Nuggets’ 12th win in their last 14 games, 106-100 versus the Kings. Monte Morris added 20 points and made a critical three-point play late to help preserve the Nuggets’ fourth consecutive win. Sacramento erased an 18-point deficit and received 32 points and 10 assists from De’Aaron Fox.

– Julius Randle dropped in 26 points and the Knicks won for the fifth consecutive time in Dallas by blowing out the Mavericks 107-77. RJ Barrett added 18 points for the Knicks, who won their third straight following a seven-game losing streak and improved to 3-2 on a season-long seven-game road trip. Luka Doncic scored 17 of his 33 points in the third quarter for Mavs, who missed their first 19 3-point shots.

– Malik Beasley dropped in 33 points on a team-record 11 3-pointers as the Timberwolves cruised to their sixth straight win, a 132-102 rout of the Thunder. Taurean Prince scored 17 points off the bench for Minnesota, while Karl-Anthony Towns recorded another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. Aaron Wiggins led Oklahoma City with 25 points and nine rebounds.

– Fred VanVleet had 26 points as the Raptors beat the Spurs, 119-104, delaying Gregg Popovich’s coronation as the winningest coach in NBA history. Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam added 20 points to help Toronto snap a three-game skid. Keldon Johnson had 27 points for San Antonio, and Murray added 25 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.

– The Clippers scored the final 11 points in a 115-109 victory over the Washington Wizards. Nicolas Batum (bah-TOOM’) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds remaining. Reggie Jackson scored 31 points, including two free throws that put the Clippers ahead by four in the waning moments.

– Rookie Jalen Green scored 10 of his career-high 32 points in overtime as the Rockets handed the Lakers their ninth consecutive road loss, 139-130. The Rockets withstood a triple-double from LeBron James and 30 points from Russell Westbrook to get just their second win in 15 games. James had 23 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high 12 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.

– The Magic beat the Pelicans, 108-102 as Cole Anthony scored 19 points and Gary Harris added 16 in a reserve role. Terrence Ross scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by a pair of 3s and a 360-degree, right-handed dunk. CJ McCollum scored 32 for the Pelicans, who were playing without leading scorer Brandon Ingram and have lost three straight on the heels of a four-game winning streak.

NBA-NEWS

Kings’ Sabonis suspended 1 game
NEW YORK (AP) – Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis (doh-MAHN’-tahs sah-BOH’-nihs) was suspended for Wednesday’s game against Denver for what the NBA says was aggressively confronting and making contact with an official who called him for a technical foul.
Sabonis was ejected in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s game against the New York Knicks after receiving double technicals. The first was for unsportsmanlike reaction to a called foul. He then approached and bumped the official, which led to the second technical and his ejection.

MLB-LOCKOUT
Manfred slices another week off sked
NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball has chopped off another week of the upcoming season with the lockout in its 98th day.
The decision means the season won’t begin until April 14 at the earliest and comes after differences narrowed on the three most contentious economic items under discussion.
Management Wednesday gave the union a new option that would allow an agreement to be cut short after the 2024 season, leading to even more bargaining.
MLB continues to press for its long-held goal of an international amateur draft. Players have repeatedly rejected the proposal since it was made on July 28.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL-NEWS
USC signs Andy Enfield to 6-year contract extension
UNDATED (AP) – Andy Enfield’s success in turning around Southern California’s basketball program has earned him a six-year contract extension through the spring of 2028.
The Trojans are 25-6 overall, having set a record for regular-season victories. Enfield has an overall record of 182-116 in his ninth season. He was named Pac-12 coach of the year last season, coaching USC to the Elite Eight for just the second time in 67 years.

In other men’s basketball news:
– Syracuse star Buddy Boeheim (BAY’-hym) has been suspended for the Orange’s ACC Tournament game against Duke for punching Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes in the stomach Wednesday during a second-round victory. Boeheim apologized to Wilkes several times in the handshake line and admitted to wrongdoing. Neither head coach thought the incident was major.

NFL-NEWS
AP source: Commanders agree to acquire Wentz from Colts
UNDATED (AP) – Carson Wentz reportedly is on the move once again.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press the Washington Commanders have agreed to acquire the quarterback from the Indianapolis Colts.
The deal cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year next week.
It was not immediately clear what the Commanders would send to the Colts in their latest attempt for a franchise quarterback. ESPN reported two third-round draft picks were involved.
Wentz has three years remaining on his contract. The 2016 second overall pick of the Eagles spent just one season with Indianapolis.

In other NFL news:
– Brian Flores wants the NFL to reject the Dolphins’ request for an arbitration hearing regarding his class-action lawsuit against the team and the league alleging racist hiring practices. Flores filed his lawsuit against the NFL, Dolphins, Giants and Broncos following his dismissal by Miami. Flores led the Dolphins to consecutive winning seasons before he was fired in January.

– The Cardinals have released linebacker Jordan Hick, saving the team $6.5 million in cap room. Hicks spent the last three years with the Cardinals after playing for Philadelphia from 2015-18.

– The Panthers have re-signed kicker Zane Gonzalez to a two-year contract after he helped solidify the kicking position last season. Gonzalez joined the team in Week 2 and made 20 of 22 on field goal attempts, including 17 straight before sustaining a season-ending quad injury.

NHL-SCHEDULE
Oilers knock off Caps in OT
UNDATED (AP) – The Washington Capitals came away with one point on Wednesday, but their captain was unable to score a goal.
Connor McDavid scored 3:27 into overtime to give the Oilers a 4-3 win over the Caps in Edmonton. McDavid also assisted on Kailer Yamomoto’s goal to help snap the Oilers’ losing streak at three.
Journeyman Brad Malone had a goal and an assist for his first NHL points in more than six years.
Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin failed to hit the net, leaving him one behind Jaromir Jagr (YAH’-roh-meer YAH’-gur) for third on the all-time goals list.
Wednesday’s only other NHL game had the Canucks beating the Canadiens, 5-3. J.T. Miller had a goal and three assists as Vancouver improved to 21-8-4 under coach Bruce Boudreau.
Montreal lost for just the second time in its last nine games.

TENNIS-DJOKOVIC
Djokovic to miss upcoming US events
UNDATED (AP) – Novak Djokovic (JOH’-koh-vihch) said that he will not be able to compete at the hard-court tennis tournaments in Indian Wells, California, or Miami because he is unvaccinated and can’t travel to the United States.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion tweeted today that the Centers for Disease Control “confirmed the regulations won’t be changing so I won’t be able to play in the U.S.”
Djokovic recently dropped to No. 2 in the ATP rankings and has played in only one tournament this year and has not received any shots to protect against COVID-19. He was barred from playing in the Australian Open.