Avalanche, Jets and Stars raise stakes in NHL' s Central Division with big trades at the deadline

Mike Conley, Naz Reid and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 15 points each and the Minnesota beat the Miami Heat 106-104 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory. Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle finished with 13 each. Edwards, who averages 27.5 points per game, attempted a season-low 10 shots and made four. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was Minnesota’s seventh double-figure scorer with 12 points. Bam Adebayo’s 3-point attempt for Miami at buzzer bounced off the rim. Adebayo had 29 points and 13 rebounds. Tyler Herro added 22 points.

The Athletics will play in Northern California for at least the next three seasons. They will also represent their future home in Las Vegas and brought four of their star players to drive home that point. The team announced a three-year agreement Friday with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as its official travel partner. Players will wear a patch with Las Vegas’ official logo on their left sleeves beginning in the regular season.

Lauren Betts finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, and Gabriela Jaquez added 23 points and nine rebounds as No. 4 UCLA reached the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals with an 85-74 victory over Nebraska. Kiki Rice had 14 points and nine assists to help the Bruins rebound from last weekend’s loss to crosstown rival Southern California. UCLA will face No. 13 Ohio State, a 60-59 winner over three-time defending tourney champ Iowa, the No. 11 seed Nebraska played its third game in three days after starting play as the No. 10 seed. Britt Prince had 24 points to lead the Cornhuskers.

Aaron Wiggins scored 30 points, Jaylin Williams had his first career triple-double, and the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 107-89 with MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench. Gilgeous-Alexander was held out for rest, missing a game for just the second time this season. The Thunder were also without Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. They still had more than enough to win their sixth straight game. Williams finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Scoot Henderson scored 22 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19 for the Blazers.

Immanuel Quickley scored a season-high 34 points and the Toronto Raptors overcame a dominant rebounding effort by Walker Kessler to beat the Utah Jazz 118-109. Quickley added five rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the Raptors’ third straight win. Scottie Barnes had 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Kessler led the Jazz with 18 points while setting career highs with 25 rebounds and eight blocks. Keyonte George also scored 18 points for the Jazz. Utah, last in the Western Conference, suffered its fourth straight loss.

Ja Morant scored 31 points, including the game’s final seven, and Desmond Bane had 27 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies rallied in the fourth period to beat the Dallas Mavericks 122-111. Reserve Brandon Williams scored a career-high 31 points and Naji Marshall had career bests with 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have lost four consecutive games and six of their last seven. The Grizzlies finished on an 18-4 run to snap a season-long four-game losing streak.

Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and the NBA-leading Cleveland Cavaliers rallied for their 13th straight victory, 118-117 over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. Darius Garland added 20 points to help the Cavaliers improve to 53-10. Evan Mobley scored 19 points, De’Andre Hunter had 15, Jarrett Allen 14 and Sam Merrill 12. Miles Bridges scored 46 points for Charlotte. His shot from halfcourt at the buzzer was off the mark. The Hornets have lost nine straight to fall to 14-48. Cleveland led 67-54 early in the second half and was up 87-83 after three quarters. Charlotte rallied with a 21-8 run for a 104-95 lead with 5:41 to play. The Cavaliers responded by outscoring the Hornets 25-15 to end the game.

Hannah Hidalgo scored 25 points and No. 6 Notre Dame took over down the stretch to beat California 73-64 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Olivia Miles added 14 points and six assists for the second-seeded Fighting Irish, the tournament’s reigning champion. Notre Dame won the regular-season meeting in a blowout but trailed by six points midway through the third quarter in this one. Notre Dame ran off a 12-0 go-ahead burst. Lulu Twidale scored 16 points to lead the Golden Bears. Cal committed 28 turnovers that led to 28 points for the Irish.

Aliaksei Protas had two goals and an assist in the third period to key the Washington Capitals rallying to beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2, extending their winning streak to three games. Taylor Raddysh got the Capitals on the board after falling behind 2-0, and, after Protas tied it in the first minute of the third, Jakob Chychrun scored the go-ahead goal 66 seconds later. Logan Thompson bounced back from a rough start to stop 18 of the 20 shots he faced as Washington padded its lead atop the Eastern Conference.

Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the third consecutive game and had two assists, Kyle Connor added his 33rd goal of the season, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the New Jersey Devils 6-1. Ehlers connected on a wrist shot with 30 seconds left in the second period, putting the Jets up 3-0. Ehlers had an assist on Josh Morrissey’s power-play goal earlier in the second and Cole Perfetti’s goal in the third, giving him five points in his last three games. Alex Iafallo and Adam Lowry also scored for the Jets, who have won back-to-back games after dropping three in a row. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots for his NHL-leading 37th victory. Dawson Mercer scored for the Devils, who have lost three straight.

All-America forward Madison Booker scored 19 points, and No. 1 Texas held on to beat Mississippi 70-63 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Kyla Oldacre scored 12 points and Shay Holle added 11 for Texas, which stretched its winning streak to 14 games. Kirsten Deans scored 20 points to lead the Rebels, and Madison Scott had 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Reilly Smith was traded back to Vegas by the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a third-round draft pick in 2025 and said he felt right at home when taking the ice with the Golden Knights. An original “Golden Misfit” of the inaugural team that made its league debut in 2017, Smith was welcomed by fans attending the team’s morning skate, eight hours before he was expected to suit up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team Vegas traded him to less than a month after he helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 2023.

New York Knicks small forward Jalen Brunson is expected to miss at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain. The Knicks say Brunson will be evaluated in two weeks after suffering the injury in overtime in the Knicks’ 113-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night. Brunson rolled his right ankle with 1:24 remaining in overtime after landing on the foot of Lakers guard Austin Reaves on a drive to the basket. Brunson was fouled on the play and made both free throws to finish with 39 points and 10 assists.

For Kimberley Bos of the Netherlands, the collection of the biggest skeleton medals is complete. Bronze at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, silver at the world championships two years ago and now, finally, she has gold. Bos is the new world champion of her sport, turning in the fastest times in Friday’s final two runs to win the title at Mount Van Hoevenberg — the fifth different woman to win the season’s biggest skeleton race in the last five years.

Tiger Woods won't be at The Players Championship next week. That wasn't a big surprise. Woods has not played in the PGA Tour's flagship event since 2019 and it would have been big news if had decided to play. But this was the last year of Woods' exemption to The Players from winning the Masters in 2019. That means if he plays in the Masters next month, it will be his first tournament since he missed the cut at the British Open last July. Woods says he has touched golf clubs only three times since his mother died on Feb. 4.

Just when it looked like the Colorado Avalanche made a big move by getting center Brock Nelson, their chief rivals in the Central Division answered with serious salvos in the hours before the NHL trade deadline. League-leading Winnipeg got center Brandon Tanev and rugged defenseman Luke Schenn. Aa year removed from a trip to the Western Conference, Dallas acquired Mikko Rantanen and signed the certified playoff performer to a long-term extension. And, for what it's worth, the Avalanche weren't done, also getting Charlie Coyle to shore up their lineup down the middle.