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Calgary Flames end 4-game skid with 4-2 win over Tampa Bay Lightning

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Yegor Sharangovich scored for the fifth consecutive game as the Calgary Flames snapped a four-game skid with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.A.J. Greer, MacKenzie Weegar, and Connor Zary also scored for Calgary and Jordan Oesterle had two assists. Dan Vladar had 31 stops to get the win in net.Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay, while NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov chipped in with a pair of assists as the Lightning finished 2-3-0 on their trip.Andrei Vasilevskiy had 22 saves.After a scoreless first period, Calgary erupted for three goals in the opening seven minutes of the second.Greer started the spree at 2:30 picking the top corner on Vasilevskiy’s glove side from just inside the top of the faceoff circle.At 6:17, Weegar made it 2-0 ripping a slap shot through a crowd just inside the far goalpost.Just 43 seconds after that, Sharangovich fired Jordan Oesterle’s centering pass past Vasilevskiy.With six goals ...

Verhaeghe, with 2 goals and an assist, leads Panthers over Oilers 5-1

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe had two goals and an assist as the Florida Panthers bounced back from two consecutive shutouts with a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.Sam Bennett had a goal and two assists and Brandon Montour and Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves.Zach Hyman scored for the Oilers who have now lost two straight following an eight-game winning streak.The Panthers started the scoring 5:33 into the opening period when Bennett sent the puck across the top of the crease to Verhaeghe, who put his 14th of the season past goalie Calvin Pickard who finished with 34 stops.Verhaeghe then made a nice pass coming from behind the net to a wide-open Montour, who scored his first of the season with just over a minute to play in the first.Just 29 seconds later, the Panthers made it 3-0 when Barkov shoveled in a rebound in tight for his 11th of the season.Edmonton finally got on the board eight minutes in...

Keegan Murray makes 12 3-pointers, scores career-high 47 points to lead Kings past Jazz, 125-104

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Keegan Murray made 12 3-pointers, two shy of the NBA record, and scored a career-high 47 points in the Sacramento Kings’ 125-104 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.Murray scored a franchise-record 26 points in the third quarter and had Klay Thompson’s NBA record of 14 3-pointers in his sights after making 12 of his first 13 attempts. But the second-year forward missed his final two attempts from behind the arc while becoming the seventh different player to make 12 or more 3s in a game.“I thought Keegan was playing the right way,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “There was nothing really forced. Our guys didn’t really force anything to him. They just hit him when he was open.”Domantas Sabonis added 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, his seventh straight double-double and 20th this season. The Kings shot 22 of 45 from the 3-point line, the third time this season Sacramento made at least 20.Colin Sexton scored 28 points Utah, and Lauri Mark...

No. 12 Tennessee holds off N.C. State 79-70 in Hall of Fame Series for 4th straight win

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Josiah-Jordan James had 23 points, Zakai Zeigler added 20 and No. 12 Tennessee held off N.C. State 79-70 in the Hall of Fame Series on Saturday night.“We know that when we play teams like this, it’s going to be a physical game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “These guys are used to it. The neat part for me at the end I thought their composure, their togetherness on the bench was terrific. They knew what they had to do. I had to say very little during the timeout.”The Volunteers (8-3) held the Wolfpack (7-3) to 10 points in the final seven minutes to secure the victory, including a 3-pointer with 24.1 seconds remaining.“That’s what we hang our hats on,” James said. “We knew that in crunch time, that’s what we had to be able to rely on. I was proud of how we executed at the end.”Jahmai Mashack added 11 points for Tennessee, which has won four straight.D.J. Horne had 16 points for N.C. State. D.J. Burns Jr. added 15 and Jayden Taylor had 11.It was a frenetic and ...

Broncos coach Sean Payton screamed at QB Russell Wilson on sideline, stayed silent on reasoning

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Denver coach Sean Payton screamed at quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline and anyone watching on TV, or witnessing the game at Ford Field, could see the animated exchange in Detroit’s 42-17 victory Saturday night.Payton insisted he was simply upset about an offside penalty in the third quarter that negated a touchdown that would have cut Denver’s deficit to 14 points.“That’s all,” he said. “Simple.”If Payton’s rant was related to the flag, why was he yelling at Wilson?“Listen, what I talk to Russell about is none of your business,” Payton said curtly to a reporter.Payton said he didn’t challenge the spot on the two plays before the penalty because that’s difficult, and stood by his decision to kick a field goal instead of going for a touchdown on fourth-and-5 from the Detroit 5 while down by 21 points.“I think it made sense,” he said.Denver (7-7) had won six of its previous seven games to pull within a game of AFC West-l...

McGlothan scores 26, Grand Canyon takes down Portland 91-63 at Jerry Colangelo Classic

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Gabe McGlothan had 26 points in Grand Canyon’s 91-63 win over Portland on Saturday night at the Jerry Colangelo Classic.McGlothan added 11 rebounds for the Antelopes (9-1). Tyon Grant-Foster scored 20 points while shooting 8 for 15 (2 for 7 from 3-point range) and 2 of 5 from the free-throw line, and added five assists and three steals. Rayshon Harrison shot 4 for 8, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points, while adding six rebounds and five assists. The Antelopes picked up their sixth straight victory.The Pilots (6-6) were led in scoring by Tyler Robertson, who finished with 17 points. Tyler Harris added 13 points and nine rebounds for Portland. Vukasin Masic also had 12 points.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

Clippers throttle Knicks 144-122 for their NBA-best 7th straight victory

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, Paul George added 25 and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the New York Knicks 144-122 on Saturday night for their NBA-best seventh straight victory.The Clippers used a 42-point second quarter to lead 77-66 at the break.Leonard hit a 3-pointer that launched a personal 8-0 run early in the third and later he and George combined to make three straight 3-pointers in building a 22-point lead.George was back in the lineup after missing a game because of a sore hip. He overcame a slow start in the first half when he had six points.New York’s Jalen Brunson followed up his career-high, 50-point effort in Phoenix on Friday night with 22 points. Julius Randle added 22. RJ Barrett and Donte DiVincenzo had 18 points each, with DiVincenzo making five 3-pointers.Brunson, who was 9 of 9 from 3-point range against the Suns, was just 2 of 5.Leonard and George took over in the third. They combined to score 30 of LA’s 37 points, with the Clippers ...

Israel presses ahead in Gaza as errant killing of captives adds to concern about its wartime conduct

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel pressed ahead with its Gaza offensive on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three hostages who were shirtless and waving a white flag, raised questions about its conduct in a 10-week-old war that has brought unprecedented death and destruction to the coastal enclave.Gaza remained under a communications blackout for a fourth straight day — the longest of several outages over the course of the war, which aid groups say complicate rescue efforts after bombings and make it even more difficult to monitor the war’s toll on civilians.Israel could come under further pressure to scale back major combat operations when U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits this week. Washington has expressed growing unease with civilian casualties and the mass displacement of 1.9 million Palestinians — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — even as it has provided vital military and diplomatic support to its close ally.The air and ground war ha...

Keeler: Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t just quit on his team. He quit on Broncos Country during a playoff chase.

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

DETROIT — Arrogant. Prickly. Defensive. Petty. Paranoid. But who knew Sean Payton was a quitter, too?“They were close. The problem is, they were right at that (borderline),” the Broncos coach said of the challenge flags that were apparently too heavy for the wee man to hurl Saturday night at Ford Field.“You know, when you start challenging spots, it becomes difficult. The frustrating part of the sequence was the next (fourth-down) run. We’ll leave it at that.”No. No, we won’t.The frustrating part of the sequence was that the Broncos scored a touchdown three times, down 28-7 against playoff-bound Detroit, and came away with all of three points to show for it.The frustrating part of the sequence is that even if Javonte Williams’ knee was down on third-and-goal from the 1 before he broke the plane, it shouldn’t have mattered. Because Jaleel McLaughlin was already in for a score on a second-and-goal from the 9 on the play immediately prior...

Nikola Jokic thinks Chet Holmgren’s ambition shouldn’t be limited to Rookie of the Year: “He can be much better than that”

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 08:39:05 GMT

There were mistakes the Nuggets could’ve, would’ve, should’ve avoided as their lead slipped away in the last four minutes Saturday night: one-on-one defensive coverages blown, uncharacteristic turnovers committed, possessions stretched too dangerously to the tail end of the shot clock.But on the other side of those failures was a team Denver recognizes as a serious Western Conference challenger. In a 118-117 loss to Oklahoma City, there might have been regret, but there wasn’t shame.The Nuggets (17-10) will get another home-court swing at the Thunder two weeks after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mid-range jumper with less than a second to go handed them their second home loss of 2023-24.“You kind of see some of us in them,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “A young, promising team that is going through the building blocks of getting better, and going from a team that is trying to be a playoff team and then trying to be a team that can ad...