LUBBOCK, Texas –&nbsp;The sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena, falling to No. 25 Texas Tech 75-67.

The Jayhawks fell to 12-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Red Raiders improved to 11-3 and 2-0 in the league.

The game got off to a tight start with neither team leading by more than five in the first 10 minutes. Texas Tech took a 19-14 lead midway through the first half, but the lead was quickly erased. Senior Ochai Agbaji, who finished with a game-high 24 points, scored five straight for the Jayhawks, courtesy of a 3-pointer and a jumper to make it 19-19.

The Jayhawks then took the lead when redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson, who had a season-high 20 points, capped a 7-0 run with a layup to make it 21-19. The two teams traded small leads when Wilson hit two free throws to bring Kansas within one at 26-25 with 4:21 to play in the first.

Kansas didn’t score for the remainder of the half, however, and the Red Raiders finished on a 7-0 run to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams finished the run with a bucket with 29 seconds left on the clock.

In the second half, Texas Tech led throughout, pushing its lead to 14 with 11:51 left on a three-point play from Marus Santos-Silva. The Jayhawks got the deficit to five with 8:18 left when Agbaji hit a 3-pointer to make it 53-48 in favor of the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech kept the lead in that range for the rest of the way. Agbaji hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 left to cut it to four at 71-67. But Williams hit two free throws with 41 seconds left to push it back to six and secure the win for the home team.

Agbaji established a new career-high in the game with six made 3-pointers, going 6-of-9 from deep. His 24 points were the most since he poured in 25 against Stony Brook in the third game of the season. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Wilson scored his 20 points on just eight field goal attempts, going 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. The redshirt sophomore hadn’t scored more than 10 points in a game this season, before his 20-point performance Saturday. Junior Christian Braun also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.

Kansas will return to action Tuesday at home against Iowa State at 7 p.m., on Big 12 Now on ESPN Plus.

LUBBOCK, Texas –&nbsp;The sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon at United Supermarkets Arena, falling to No. 25 Texas Tech 75-67.The Jayhawks fell to 12-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big 12 Conference play, while the Red Raiders improved to 11-3 and 2-0 in the league.The game got off to a tight start with neither team leading by more than five in the first 10 minutes. Texas Tech took a 19-14 lead midway through the first half, but the lead was quickly erased. Senior Ochai Agbaji, who finished with a game-high 24 points, scored five straight for the Jayhawks, courtesy of a 3-pointer and a jumper to make it 19-19.The Jayhawks then took the lead when redshirt-sophomore Jalen Wilson, who had a season-high 20 points, capped a 7-0 run with a layup to make it 21-19. The two teams traded small leads when Wilson hit two free throws to bring Kansas within one at 26-25 with 4:21 to play in the first.Kansas didn’t score for the remainder of the half, however, and the Red Raiders finished on a 7-0 run to take a 33-25 lead at halftime. Texas Tech’s Bryson Williams finished the run with a bucket with 29 seconds left on the clock.In the second half, Texas Tech led throughout, pushing its lead to 14 with 11:51 left on a three-point play from Marus Santos-Silva. The Jayhawks got the deficit to five with 8:18 left when Agbaji hit a 3-pointer to make it 53-48 in favor of the Red Raiders.Texas Tech kept the lead in that range for the rest of the way. Agbaji hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 left to cut it to four at 71-67. But Williams hit two free throws with 41 seconds left to push it back to six and secure the win for the home team.Agbaji established a new career-high in the game with six made 3-pointers, going 6-of-9 from deep. His 24 points were the most since he poured in 25 against Stony Brook in the third game of the season. He was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.Wilson scored his 20 points on just eight field goal attempts, going 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. The redshirt sophomore hadn’t scored more than 10 points in a game this season, before his 20-point performance Saturday. Junior Christian Braun also finished in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.Kansas will return to action Tuesday at home against Iowa State at 7 p.m., on Big 12 Now on ESPN Plus.

🏀 Jayhawks Fall to No. 25 Texas Tech, 75-67

SUNY-IT 108, Northern Vermont-Lyndon 98, OT

Minn. St. (Moorhead) 72, Augustana (SD) 67

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<h2>College Basketball Scores</h2>Friday, Jan. 7EASTArmy 77, Lehigh 55Brockport 85, Oneonta 65Brown 84, Harvard 73Cleveland St. 78, Robert Morris 77Connecticut College 69, Colby 63Geneseo 77, New Paltz 75Holy Cross 79, Lafayette 74Lehman 117, Hunter 104Loyola (Md.) 66, Boston U. 58Marist 60, Fairfield 51Marquette 92, Georgetown 64Middlebury 78, Amherst 64Navy 73, Bucknell 55Nazareth 81, Hartwick 44Penn 79, Cornell 65Princeton 84, Columbia 69SUNY-IT 108, Northern Vermont-Lyndon 98, OTSt. John Fisher 98, Sage 68St. Lawrence 68, Bard 61Utica 88, Elmira 46Williams 61, Hamilton 45SOUTHBerry 77, Rhodes 56Birmingham Southern 93, Centre 92Brevard 75, Greensboro 61Converse Valkyries 68, Chowan 67Hendrix 83, Oglethorpe 72Lees-Mcrae 85, Erskine 75Northwestern St. 83, Incarnate Word 80SE Louisiana 83, McNeese St. 78Sewanee 86, Millsaps 63, OTMIDWESTFort Wayne 71, Youngstown St. 61Minn. St. (Moorhead) 72, Augustana (SD) 67Mount Union 72, Capital 45Oakland 108, Ohio Christian 40Ohio 80, Kent St. 72Upper Iowa 74, Minn.-Crookston 63Wayne St. (Neb.) 69, Northern St. 53SOUTHWESTNew Orleans 81, Houston Baptist 65Nicholls 84, Texas A&amp;M-CC 75Schreiner 73, Southwestern (Texas) 59St. Thomas (Texas) 103, Austin 70FAR WESTColorado College 93, Centenary 74Hawaii Hilo 85, Holy Names 78Willamette 103, Puget Sound 86______<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;

College Basketball Scores from Friday

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and an assist, Ville Husso stopped 26 shots and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-1. Torey Krug, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev also scored to help the Blues improve to 8-2-2 in their last 12 games, and 10-0-1 in their last 11 at home. Ryan O'Reilly and Robert Thomas each added two assists. Daniel Sprong scored for Washington, which lost in regulation for the third time in its last 12 games (6-3-3). Ilya Samsonov gave up four goals on 16 shots through two periods, and Zach Fucale stopped all seven shots he faced in the third.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson in transferring to Nebraska. Thompson started 10 games for the Longhorns in 2021 and passed for more than 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns. He started the season as a backup but took over the offense after two games. Texas finished 5-7. &nbsp;Nebraska finished 3-9 in 2021 and quarterback Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. Thompson's six touchdowns passes in an overtime loss to Kansas tied a Texas school record. He also had a mid-season thumb injury that appeared to affect his throwing in several games.

UNDATED (AP) — Kansas State assistant Collin Klein, who had been serving as the interim offensive coordinator during the bowl season, was given the full-time job on Friday after an impressive performance by the Wildcats in the Texas Bowl. The former Heisman Trophy finalist put together a game plan for LSU that resulted in a school bowl-record 442 yards of total offense in a 42-20 rout of the Tigers on Tuesday night. Klein takes over for Courtney Messingham, who was fired after the Wildcats lost their regular-season finale at Texas. They only managed 27 points combined in Messingham's final two games in charge.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's celebrated hiring of Fred Hoiberg has not yet sparked a turnaround in the long-suffering basketball program. Hoiberg is in his third season in Lincoln and is 20-54 overall and 5-38 in the Big Ten. His .270 winning percentage is the lowest through any Nebraska coach's first 74 games. Hoiberg said several factors have slowed his progress. Among them are the late start he got recruiting his first team, a long COVID-19 pause last season and illness and a key injury this season. The Huskers play at Rutgers on Saturday.&nbsp;

DENVER (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have lost the pole position in the AFC playoff race and now they have to beat the Denver Broncos on Saturday and have the Texans upset the Titans on Sunday to secure the top overall seed in the conference for the third time in four years. Otherwise, their playoffs will begin next weekend in the wild-card round. The Chiefs have won the AFC West for the sixth straight time and they're going for their 13th consecutive win over Denver. The Broncos have missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year and posted their fifth consecutive losing season.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Florida State senior midfielder Jaelin Howell won the Hermann Trophy for the second straight year Friday night as the top women's college soccer player and Georgetown junior midfielder Dante Polvara took the men's award. Howell, from Lone Tree, Colorado, had three goals and four assists in 23 games last season for the national champion Seminoles. She's the sixth repeat female winner of the award conducted by the Missouri Athletic Club, following Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow, Christine Sinclair, Morgan Brian, and Catarina Macario. Howell edged Brigham Young senior midfielder Mikayla Colohan and Santa Clara senior forward Kelsey Turnbow in voting by coaches. Polvara, from Pleasantville, New York, had seven goals and six assists in 22 games.

UNDATED (AP) — More than a few basketball experts would like to anoint the Brooklyn Nets the prohibitive favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks showed on Friday that the Nets won't have an easy ride to the Finals.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton led the defending champs to their first win in three games, a 121-109 decision over the Nets in Brooklyn.

Antetokounmpo provided 31 points after missing Milwaukee's previous game with a non-COVID-related illness. He also had nine assists and seven rebounds, while Middleton scored 15 of his 20 in the third quarter to help the Bucks take a 24-point lead in the period.

Milwaukee won without coach Mike Budenholzer and Jrue Holiday due to health and safety protocols.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, who have lost five straight home games. 

— It's now a nine-game winning streak for the Bulls after Zach LaVine pumped in 27 points and Coby White added 21 in a 130-122 shootout over the Wizards. Lonzo Ball scored 18 points, hitting six of Chicago's 15 3-pointers. Rookie Ayo Dosunmu also had 18 points, and coach Billy Donovan earned his 300th NBA win.

— Cleveland came away with a 114-101 win at Portland as Darius Garland had 26 points and Rajon Rondo scored 11 off the bench in his Cavaliers debut. It was the Cavaliers' 22nd win, matching their total for all of last season when they finished 13th in the Eastern Conference. Rookie Evan Mobley added 18 points for Cleveland in the team's first victory in Portland since January 2013. 

— Dallas overcame the absence of Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and coach Jason Kidd to beat Houston, 130-106. Doncic has a sprained right ankle, Porzingis missed his fourth straight game in the NBA's health and safety protocols, and Kidd who entered the health and safety protocols Friday. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points and seven assists

— Fred Van Vleet's first career triple-double carried the Raptors to a comeback 122-108 win over the Jazz. Van Vleet delivered 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, who trailed by 17 before earning their fifth straight win. He's scored at least 30 in five of his last seven games. Eric Paschall had a career-high 29 points for the Jazz, who were without eight key players due to injury or COVID protocols.

— The 76ers ran their winning streak to six games as Joel Embiid furnished 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 119-100 win over the short-handed Spurs. Seth Curry and Tobias Harris each added 23 points for the Sixers. Dejounte Murray scored 27 points for San Antonio, which was without six players due to health and safety protocols. 

— Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets to a 121-111 win over the Kings, finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds. Denver forwards Jeff Green and Zeke Nnaji were activated off the COVID-19 list while Aaron Gordon and Bones Hyland played after being sent home from Thursday's film session due to non-COVID-19 illnesses. Green had 18 points, Hyland 13 and Gordon 10. 

— The Lakers have their first four-game winning streak of the season after LeBron James and Malik Monk led a 134-118 victory against the Hawks. LeBron James scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half, Malik Monk added a season-high 29 points. Avery Bradley and Talen Horton-Tucker scored 21 points apiece for the Lakers, who have won five of six overall while remaining perfect on a five-game homestand that ends Sunday. 

— The Timberwolves hammered the Thunder, 135-105 behind D'Angelo Russell's 27 points and 12 assists. Russell made 11 of 12 field goals and 4 of 5 3-pointers to help Minnesota earn its third straight win and beat the Thunder for second tine in three nights. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points for the Timberwolves.

Cards designate Watt to return, could help in playoffs

UNDATED (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have announced that three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt has been designated to return from the injured reserve list, leaving open the possibility that he could boost the team's defense during the playoffs. 

The Cardinals made the move on Friday and now have 21 days to elevate Watt to the 53-man roster. He can return to practice immediately. 

The 32-year-old Watt was initially expected to be out for the season because of a shoulder injury on Oct. 24, but has been working out at Arizona's practice facility to try and be ready for the playoffs.

— Titans coach Mike Vrabel says the team has some time to make the decision on moving Derrick Henry from injured reserve back to the active roster. Vrabel says he likes what he's seen of the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the three days Henry has practiced. 

— Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as questionable for the 49ers in their crucial season finale against the Rams after missing last week's game with an injured right thumb. Garoppolo practiced on a limited basis all week, and said Thursday that his thumb still hurts. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he knows whether he plans to start Garoppolo or Trey Lance on Sunday but is waiting until game time to make an announcement. 

— Lamar Jackson will miss a fourth consecutive game for the Ravens because of his ankle injury. That likely ends the star quarterback's 2021 regular season. That means Tyler Huntley will make his fourth start of the season. The winner of the Ravens-Steelers game can make the playoffs, but those chances are slim. 

— Packers center Josh Myers is expected to play for the first time in over 2 1/2 months on Sunday against Detroit. The availability of fellow offensive lineman David Bakhtiari remains uncertain. 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Xavier was the only top-25 men's basketball team in action on Friday, and the Musketeers cruised to an 87-72 win over Butler.

Adam Kunkel was 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range in scoring 25 points off the bench. Paul Scruggs was 9-for-9 from the line and finished with 16 points seven rebounds and six assists for Xavier. 

UNDATED (AP) — A one-week layoff did little to shut down the Carolina Hurricanes' potent attack.

Andre Svechnikov scored twice and Brady Skjei had a goal and two assists as the Canes won for the ninth time in 10 games, 6-3 against the Flames. 

Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast and Tony DeAngelo also scored and Steven Lorentz had two assists for Carolina. Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots while playing a full game for the first time in nearly three weeks.

St. Louis won the Friday's only other NHL contest. Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and an assist for the Blues in a 5-1 thumping of the Capitals. Torey Krug, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev also scored to help the Blues improve to 8-2-2 in their last 12 games, and 10-0-1 in their last 11 at home. Ryan O'Reilly and Robert Thomas each added two assists.

NHL postpones Canucks, Senators games due to capacity limits

UNDATED (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks had another game pushed back when the NHL announced it was postponing Saturday's matchup with the Ottawa Senators due to ongoing attendance restrictions. 

The league also postponed a Senators-Jets game originally set for Jan. 15. Current health orders in British Columbia limit attendance at indoor sports events to 50% capacity. 

ESPN realigns MLB Sunday Night broadcast team

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Former players David Cone and Eduardo Perez are joining Karl Ravech to form a new broadcast team for ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" telecasts.

Alex Rodriguez will shift to eight Sunday night alternate telecasts on ESPN2 with Michael Kay, a mainstay on New York Yankees' broadcasts since 1992. 

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Murray State will become the 11th member of the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1. 

University officials announced Friday the Board of Regents accepted an invitation from the Missouri Valley Conference and will be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference.

The MVC does not include football or rifle. Murray State is working to join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in football, while the school's rifle program will continue competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. 

Djokovic spending Orthodox Christmas in detention

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) spent Orthodox Christmas in an Australian detention hotel working on his challenge against deportation. Hundreds of supporters have gathered at a rally in downtown Belgrade to protest his confinement.

The evidence that Djokovic was relying on to support a medical exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination policy was rejected by Australian border authorities when he arrived at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday, and his visa was canceled. He has been confined to the detention hotel since being moved from the airport. 

The world No. 1 men's player will go to the Federal Circuit Court on Monday to challenge his visa cancellation and deportation. That's a week before the season-opening major starts.

— Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her semifinal match at a WTA tournament in Melbourne with an abdominal injury. That allowed her opponent Veronika Kudermetova to advance to the final on a walkover. Earlier, American Amanda Anisimova advanced to her first final since 2019 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Daria Kasatkina.

US Women's Open purse soars to $10 million on fabled courses

UNDATED (AP) — The USGA has announced a $10 million purse for this year's U.S. Women's Open, nearly doubling last year's total. 

The prize money will go up to $12 million over the next five years. 

Bowe, teen Stolz win 1,000 races at US speedskating trials

UNDATED (AP) — Brittany Bowe has won the women's 1,000 meters in a track-record time at the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee to earn her third Olympic berth. The 33-year-old Floridian finished first in 1 minute, 13.63 seconds. Kimi Goetz was second at 1:14.89. Erin Jackson finished third in 1:15.88.

Jordan Stolz won the men's 1,000 in a track-record time of 1:07.61 to earn an Olympic berth at age 17. Joey Mantia qualified for his third Olympics by finishing second.

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and an assist, Ville Husso stopped 26 shots and the St. Louis Blues beat the Washington Capitals 5-1. Torey Krug, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev also scored to help the Blues improve to 8-2-2 in their last 12 games, and 10-0-1 in their last 11 at home. Ryan O'Reilly and Robert Thomas each added two assists. Daniel Sprong scored for Washington, which lost in regulation for the third time in its last 12 games (6-3-3). Ilya Samsonov gave up four goals on 16 shots through two periods, and Zach Fucale stopped all seven shots he faced in the third.LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Former Texas quarterback Casey Thompson in transferring to Nebraska. Thompson started 10 games for the Longhorns in 2021 and passed for more than 2,100 yards and 24 touchdowns. He started the season as a backup but took over the offense after two games. Texas finished 5-7. &nbsp;Nebraska finished 3-9 in 2021 and quarterback Adrian Martinez transferred to Kansas State. Thompson's six touchdowns passes in an overtime loss to Kansas tied a Texas school record. He also had a mid-season thumb injury that appeared to affect his throwing in several games.UNDATED (AP) — Kansas State assistant Collin Klein, who had been serving as the interim offensive coordinator during the bowl season, was given the full-time job on Friday after an impressive performance by the Wildcats in the Texas Bowl. The former Heisman Trophy finalist put together a game plan for LSU that resulted in a school bowl-record 442 yards of total offense in a 42-20 rout of the Tigers on Tuesday night. Klein takes over for Courtney Messingham, who was fired after the Wildcats lost their regular-season finale at Texas. They only managed 27 points combined in Messingham's final two games in charge.LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's celebrated hiring of Fred Hoiberg has not yet sparked a turnaround in the long-suffering basketball program. Hoiberg is in his third season in Lincoln and is 20-54 overall and 5-38 in the Big Ten. His .270 winning percentage is the lowest through any Nebraska coach's first 74 games. Hoiberg said several factors have slowed his progress. Among them are the late start he got recruiting his first team, a long COVID-19 pause last season and illness and a key injury this season. The Huskers play at Rutgers on Saturday.&nbsp;DENVER (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have lost the pole position in the AFC playoff race and now they have to beat the Denver Broncos on Saturday and have the Texans upset the Titans on Sunday to secure the top overall seed in the conference for the third time in four years. Otherwise, their playoffs will begin next weekend in the wild-card round. The Chiefs have won the AFC West for the sixth straight time and they're going for their 13th consecutive win over Denver. The Broncos have missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year and posted their fifth consecutive losing season.ST. LOUIS (AP) — Florida State senior midfielder Jaelin Howell won the Hermann Trophy for the second straight year Friday night as the top women's college soccer player and Georgetown junior midfielder Dante Polvara took the men's award. Howell, from Lone Tree, Colorado, had three goals and four assists in 23 games last season for the national champion Seminoles. She's the sixth repeat female winner of the award conducted by the Missouri Athletic Club, following Mia Hamm, Cindy Parlow, Christine Sinclair, Morgan Brian, and Catarina Macario. Howell edged Brigham Young senior midfielder Mikayla Colohan and Santa Clara senior forward Kelsey Turnbow in voting by coaches. Polvara, from Pleasantville, New York, had seven goals and six assists in 22 games.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>NBA-SCHEDULEBucks whip NetsUNDATED (AP) — More than a few basketball experts would like to anoint the Brooklyn Nets the prohibitive favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks showed on Friday that the Nets won't have an easy ride to the Finals.Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton led the defending champs to their first win in three games, a 121-109 decision over the Nets in Brooklyn.Antetokounmpo provided 31 points after missing Milwaukee's previous game with a non-COVID-related illness. He also had nine assists and seven rebounds, while Middleton scored 15 of his 20 in the third quarter to help the Bucks take a 24-point lead in the period.Milwaukee won without coach Mike Budenholzer and Jrue Holiday due to health and safety protocols.Kevin Durant had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, who have lost five straight home games. Checking out Friday's other NBA action:— It's now a nine-game winning streak for the Bulls after Zach LaVine pumped in 27 points and Coby White added 21 in a 130-122 shootout over the Wizards. Lonzo Ball scored 18 points, hitting six of Chicago's 15 3-pointers. Rookie Ayo Dosunmu also had 18 points, and coach Billy Donovan earned his 300th NBA win.— Cleveland came away with a 114-101 win at Portland as Darius Garland had 26 points and Rajon Rondo scored 11 off the bench in his Cavaliers debut. It was the Cavaliers' 22nd win, matching their total for all of last season when they finished 13th in the Eastern Conference. Rookie Evan Mobley added 18 points for Cleveland in the team's first victory in Portland since January 2013. — Dallas overcame the absence of Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and coach Jason Kidd to beat Houston, 130-106. Doncic has a sprained right ankle, Porzingis missed his fourth straight game in the NBA's health and safety protocols, and Kidd who entered the health and safety protocols Friday. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 19 points and seven assists— Fred Van Vleet's first career triple-double carried the Raptors to a comeback 122-108 win over the Jazz. Van Vleet delivered 37 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Raptors, who trailed by 17 before earning their fifth straight win. He's scored at least 30 in five of his last seven games. Eric Paschall had a career-high 29 points for the Jazz, who were without eight key players due to injury or COVID protocols.— The 76ers ran their winning streak to six games as Joel Embiid furnished 31 points and 12 rebounds in a 119-100 win over the short-handed Spurs. Seth Curry and Tobias Harris each added 23 points for the Sixers. Dejounte Murray scored 27 points for San Antonio, which was without six players due to health and safety protocols. — Nikola Jokic carried the Nuggets to a 121-111 win over the Kings, finishing with 33 points and 10 rebounds. Denver forwards Jeff Green and Zeke Nnaji were activated off the COVID-19 list while Aaron Gordon and Bones Hyland played after being sent home from Thursday's film session due to non-COVID-19 illnesses. Green had 18 points, Hyland 13 and Gordon 10. — The Lakers have their first four-game winning streak of the season after LeBron James and Malik Monk led a 134-118 victory against the Hawks. LeBron James scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half, Malik Monk added a season-high 29 points. Avery Bradley and Talen Horton-Tucker scored 21 points apiece for the Lakers, who have won five of six overall while remaining perfect on a five-game homestand that ends Sunday. — The Timberwolves hammered the Thunder, 135-105 behind D'Angelo Russell's 27 points and 12 assists. Russell made 11 of 12 field goals and 4 of 5 3-pointers to help Minnesota earn its third straight win and beat the Thunder for second tine in three nights. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points for the Timberwolves.NFL-NEWSCards designate Watt to return, could help in playoffsUNDATED (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have announced that three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt has been designated to return from the injured reserve list, leaving open the possibility that he could boost the team's defense during the playoffs. The Cardinals made the move on Friday and now have 21 days to elevate Watt to the 53-man roster. He can return to practice immediately. The 32-year-old Watt was initially expected to be out for the season because of a shoulder injury on Oct. 24, but has been working out at Arizona's practice facility to try and be ready for the playoffs.In other NFL news:— Titans coach Mike Vrabel says the team has some time to make the decision on moving Derrick Henry from injured reserve back to the active roster. Vrabel says he likes what he's seen of the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year in the three days Henry has practiced. — Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is listed as questionable for the 49ers in their crucial season finale against the Rams after missing last week's game with an injured right thumb. Garoppolo practiced on a limited basis all week, and said Thursday that his thumb still hurts. Coach Kyle Shanahan says he knows whether he plans to start Garoppolo or Trey Lance on Sunday but is waiting until game time to make an announcement. — Lamar Jackson will miss a fourth consecutive game for the Ravens because of his ankle injury. That likely ends the star quarterback's 2021 regular season. That means Tyler Huntley will make his fourth start of the season. The winner of the Ravens-Steelers game can make the playoffs, but those chances are slim. — Packers center Josh Myers is expected to play for the first time in over 2 1/2 months on Sunday against Detroit. The availability of fellow offensive lineman David Bakhtiari remains uncertain. T25 MEN'S BASKETBALLMusketeers whip BulldogsINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Xavier was the only top-25 men's basketball team in action on Friday, and the Musketeers cruised to an 87-72 win over Butler.Adam Kunkel was 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range in scoring 25 points off the bench. Paul Scruggs was 9-for-9 from the line and finished with 16 points seven rebounds and six assists for Xavier. NHL-SCHEDULEHurricanes double up FlamesUNDATED (AP) — A one-week layoff did little to shut down the Carolina Hurricanes' potent attack.Andre Svechnikov scored twice and Brady Skjei had a goal and two assists as the Canes won for the ninth time in 10 games, 6-3 against the Flames. Derek Stepan, Jesper Fast and Tony DeAngelo also scored and Steven Lorentz had two assists for Carolina. Frederik Andersen stopped 36 shots while playing a full game for the first time in nearly three weeks.St. Louis won the Friday's only other NHL contest. Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and an assist for the Blues in a 5-1 thumping of the Capitals. Torey Krug, Oskar Sundqvist and Ivan Barbashev also scored to help the Blues improve to 8-2-2 in their last 12 games, and 10-0-1 in their last 11 at home. Ryan O'Reilly and Robert Thomas each added two assists.VIRUS OUTBREAK-NHLNHL postpones Canucks, Senators games due to capacity limitsUNDATED (AP) — The Vancouver Canucks had another game pushed back when the NHL announced it was postponing Saturday's matchup with the Ottawa Senators due to ongoing attendance restrictions. The league also postponed a Senators-Jets game originally set for Jan. 15. Current health orders in British Columbia limit attendance at indoor sports events to 50% capacity. MLB-ESPNESPN realigns MLB Sunday Night broadcast teamBRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Former players David Cone and Eduardo Perez are joining Karl Ravech to form a new broadcast team for ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" telecasts.Alex Rodriguez will shift to eight Sunday night alternate telecasts on ESPN2 with Michael Kay, a mainstay on New York Yankees' broadcasts since 1992. Ravech replaces Matt Vasgersian.COLLEGE SPORTS-MURRAY STATEMurray State joining MVC this summerMURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Murray State will become the 11th member of the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1. University officials announced Friday the Board of Regents accepted an invitation from the Missouri Valley Conference and will be leaving the Ohio Valley Conference.The MVC does not include football or rifle. Murray State is working to join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in football, while the school's rifle program will continue competing in the Ohio Valley Conference. TENNIS-NEWSDjokovic spending Orthodox Christmas in detentionBRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) spent Orthodox Christmas in an Australian detention hotel working on his challenge against deportation. Hundreds of supporters have gathered at a rally in downtown Belgrade to protest his confinement.The evidence that Djokovic was relying on to support a medical exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination policy was rejected by Australian border authorities when he arrived at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday, and his visa was canceled. He has been confined to the detention hotel since being moved from the airport. The world No. 1 men's player will go to the Federal Circuit Court on Monday to challenge his visa cancellation and deportation. That's a week before the season-opening major starts.In other tennis news:— Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her semifinal match at a WTA tournament in Melbourne with an abdominal injury. That allowed her opponent Veronika Kudermetova to advance to the final on a walkover. Earlier, American Amanda Anisimova advanced to her first final since 2019 with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Daria Kasatkina.GOLF-US WOMEN'S OPENUS Women's Open purse soars to $10 million on fabled coursesUNDATED (AP) — The USGA has announced a $10 million purse for this year's U.S. Women's Open, nearly doubling last year's total. The prize money will go up to $12 million over the next five years. OLYMPICS-NEWSBowe, teen Stolz win 1,000 races at US speedskating trialsUNDATED (AP) — Brittany Bowe has won the women's 1,000 meters in a track-record time at the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee to earn her third Olympic berth. The 33-year-old Floridian finished first in 1 minute, 13.63 seconds. Kimi Goetz was second at 1:14.89. Erin Jackson finished third in 1:15.88.Jordan Stolz won the men's 1,000 in a track-record time of 1:07.61 to earn an Olympic berth at age 17. Joey Mantia qualified for his third Olympics by finishing second.___<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Sports Headlines for Saturday

Hutchinson Central Christian 60, Pratt Skyline 11

KC East Christian 69, Heritage Christian 60

Kapaun Mount Carmel 67, Wichita Bishop Carroll 51

<h2>BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=</h2>Abilene 74, Marysville 42Andale 53, Wichita Collegiate 50Andover 61, Salina Central 49Andover Central 51, Goddard 20BV Northwest 64, BV West 60Beloit 54, Hoisington 53Berean Academy 44, Hutchinson Trinity 42Bonner Springs 54, Paola 50Bucklin 64, Attica 49Buhler 65, Augusta 57Burlington 70, Santa Fe Trail 35Cair Paravel 62, KC Christian 42Caldwell 60, Pretty Prairie 51Caney Valley 45, Baxter Springs 35Centralia 78, Linn 23Chase 51, Rock Hills 19Cheney 77, Kingman 31Circle 57, El Dorado 46Clay Center 77, Chapman 47Clifton-Clyde 48, Axtell 47Coffeyville 53, Chanute 43Conway Springs 44, Medicine Lodge 36Council Grove 73, Northern Heights 45Derby 62, Maize South 53Dexter 62, South Haven 38Dodge City 62, Colby 45Doniphan West 51, Washington County 42Elkhart 51, Sublette 44Ellinwood 55, Fairfield 18Ellis 72, Smith Center 40Elyria Christian 45, Solomon 37Eudora 68, Louisburg 57Fredonia 67, Eureka 45Frontenac 63, Galena 51Garden Plain 65, Belle Plaine 53Girard 66, Columbus 50Goddard-Eisenhower 49, Arkansas City 38Goessel 63, Rural Vista 24Goodland 40, Cimarron 31Great Bend 59, Garden City 54Hanover 55, Frankfort 42Hays 75, Liberal 30Highland Park 64, Manhattan 31Hillsboro 80, Halstead 35Hutchinson Central Christian 60, Pratt Skyline 11Independence 68, Parsons 64Inman 87, Burrton 12Iola 64, Osawatomie 36Jayhawk Linn 68, Chetopa 34Junction City 65, Emporia 52KC East Christian 69, Heritage Christian 60KC Harmon 71, KC Sumner 66KC Piper 77, Baldwin 47Kapaun Mount Carmel 67, Wichita Bishop Carroll 51Lakeside 70, Pike Valley 50Larned 42, Nickerson 31Lawrence 78, SM West 51Leavenworth 74, KC Turner 42Macksville 65, Central Plains 42Maur Hill - Mount Academy 33, Horton 30McPherson 72, Winfield 43Meade 64, Ingalls 36Minneola 47, Kiowa County 40Mission Valley 57, Central Heights 47Mulvane 53, Wellington 45Ness City 50, St. John 39Northern Valley 58, Logan 44Norwich 37, Stafford 32Oakley 49, Plainville 42Olathe Northwest 36, Olathe East 35Olathe South 55, Olathe North 43Olathe West 72, Mill Valley 44Onaga 64, Flint Hills Christian 46Osage City 56, Lyndon 50Osborne 62, Lincoln 29Oswego 45, Marmaton Valley 44Perry-Lecompton 68, Hiawatha 63Phillipsburg 56, Russell 40Pittsburg 77, Fort Scott 54Pittsburg Colgan 52, Riverton 48Pleasanton 47, St. Paul 45Pratt 53, Haven 49Quinter 50, Dighton 38Remington 65, Ell-Saline 59Republic County 42, Ellsworth 40Riley County 61, Rossville 52Rose Hill 52, Clearwater 36Royal Valley 48, Sabetha 36SM South 58, SM North 56Salina South 58, Maize 55Satanta 71, Deerfield 20Scott City 60, Hugoton 59Sedgwick 43, Lyons 38, OTShawnee Heights 56, Lansing 35Silver Lake 52, Rock Creek 39South Gray 71, Stanton County 37Southeast Saline 52, Minneapolis 25Southwestern Hts. 70, Syracuse 46Spearville 26, Ashland 25St. James Academy 72, Bishop Miege 69St. Mary's 68, Wabaunsee 49Tonganoxie 67, Ottawa 52Topeka Seaman 68, Topeka 47Trego 48, Hill City 35Troy 54, Valley Heights 42Udall 70, Burden Central 36Ulysses 56, Holcomb 35Valley Center 68, Newton 48Valley Falls 54, Jefferson North 47Wamego 54, Concordia 42Wellsville 64, Anderson County 34West Elk 49, Bluestem 42Wetmore 53, Blue Valley 35Wheatland-Grinnell 74, Weskan 48Wichita Campus 57, Hutchinson 54Wichita Heights 51, Wichita Southeast 36Wichita Northwest 68, Wichita East 57Wichita South 66, Wichita North 35Wichita Southeast 78, Northeast-Arma 46Wichita Sunrise 64, Wasatch Academy, Utah 50Wilson 37, Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 25Yates Center 56, Uniontown 40POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS=Thunder Ridge vs. Natoma, ppd.<h2>GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=</h2>Anderson County 46, Wellsville 28Andover Central 46, Goddard 40Augusta 53, Buhler 43Blue Valley 44, Wetmore 33Burden Central 40, Udall 36Burlingame 53, Olpe 44Caldwell 60, Pretty Prairie 51Caney Valley 48, Baxter Springs 40Central Plains 50, Macksville 12Centralia 56, Linn 33Chaparral 35, Douglass 23Chapman 40, Clay Center 28Cheney 63, Kingman 36Circle 42, El Dorado 30Clearwater 45, Rose Hill 26Clifton-Clyde 54, Axtell 31Derby 46, Maize South 23Dodge City 44, Colby 43Doniphan West 57, Washington County 35Elkhart 60, Sublette 12Ellinwood 62, Fairfield 22Ellis 72, Smith Center 40Ellsworth 50, Republic County 22Elyria Christian 41, Solomon 7Emporia 71, Junction City 8Eudora 48, Louisburg 34Eureka 45, Fredonia 29Flinthills 49, Wichita Classical 22Fort Scott 44, Pittsburg 26Frontenac 44, Galena 29Garden City 49, Great Bend 40Garden Plain 40, Belle Plaine 37Girard 50, Columbus 16Goddard-Eisenhower 42, Arkansas City 17Goessel 48, Rural Vista 45Goodland 51, Cimarron 26Halstead 60, Hillsboro 54Hanover 59, Frankfort 45Hiawatha 64, Perry-Lecompton 36Hodgeman County 53, South Central 47Hoisington 46, Beloit 33Holcomb 67, Ulysses 30Hugoton 51, Scott City 38Hutchinson 42, Wichita Campus 33Hutchinson Central Christian 60, Pratt Skyline 11Inman 29, Burrton 21Jefferson North 49, Valley Falls 40KC Sumner 57, KC Harmon 6Kapaun Mount Carmel 67, Wichita Bishop Carroll 51Lakeside 52, Pike Valley 35Lansing 67, Shawnee Heights 61Leavenworth 69, KC Turner 23Liberal 62, Hays 50Little River 56, Wakefield 18Maize 60, Salina South 34Manhattan 64, Highland Park 34Marmaton Valley 47, Oswego 16Marysville 43, Abilene 27McPherson 72, Winfield 43Meade 37, Ingalls 25Mission Valley 42, Central Heights 26Ness City 49, St. John 22Nickerson 60, Larned 34Northern Valley 51, Logan 26Northern Valley 51, Logan/Palco 26Norwich 66, Stafford 12Oakley 48, Plainville 25Olathe Northwest 38, Olathe East 35Onaga 43, Flint Hills Christian 39Osawatomie 50, Iola 46Osborne 71, Lincoln 28Ottawa 39, Tonganoxie 32Parsons 68, Independence 63Phillipsburg 55, Russell 37Pratt 51, Haven 47Quinter 61, Dighton 56Rawlins County 57, Wallace County 49Remington 51, Ell-Saline 37Riley County 48, Rossville 40Rock Hills 49, Chase 13SM Northwest 61, SM East 30SM West 26, Lawrence 16Salina Central 50, Andover 17Sedan 56, Oxford 27Sedgwick 43, Lyons 39Silver Lake 53, Rock Creek 49Southeast Saline 55, Minneapolis 43Southwestern Hts. 51, Syracuse 37Spearville 57, Ashland 50St. Paul 42, Pleasanton 29Sterling 59, Bennington 31Sylvan-Lucas 42, Tescott 16Thunder Ridge 56, Natoma 23Topeka 43, Topeka Seaman 38Topeka Hayden 47, Topeka West 32Trego 46, Hill City 36Uniontown 37, Yates Center 21Valley Center 47, Newton 36Valley Heights 72, Troy 30Wamego 53, Concordia 21Wellington 56, Mulvane 37Wichita East 62, Wichita Northwest 18Wichita Heights 57, Wichita Southeast 50Wichita South 50, Wichita North 13POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS=Andale vs. Wichita Collegiate, ppd.___<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;

High School Basketball Scores from Friday

Reno County Games:Hutch at CampusBuhler at AugustaNickerson at LarnedBerean at Trinity CatholicHaven at PrattSkyline at Central ChristianInman at BurrtonPretty Prairie at CaldwellOut of County GamesFairfield at EllinwoodMcPherson at WinfieldKingman at CheneyBennington at Sterling

Area High School Basketball games tonight

HAYSVILLE, Kan.—The Hutchinson Salthawk Basketball teams travel to Haysville Campus to take on the Colts in high school basketball action tonight in Haysville at the Campus High gymnasium.

Join the Eagle Radio broadcast team with the pre-game scheduled to begin at 5:45pm.&nbsp; Video stream of the game will be available on the Hutchinson Channel on the NFHS Network at <a href="https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/">nfhsnetwork.com.</a>

HAYSVILLE, Kan.—The Hutchinson Salthawk Basketball teams travel to Haysville Campus to take on the Colts in high school basketball action tonight in Haysville at the Campus High gymnasium.Join the Eagle Radio broadcast team with the pre-game scheduled to begin at 5:45pm.&nbsp; Video stream of the game will be available on the Hutchinson Channel on the NFHS Network at <a href="https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/">nfhsnetwork.com.</a><div><iframe src="https://player.nfhsnetwork.com/#/events/hutchinson-high-school-hutchinson-ks/gam790453a6cd" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" width="640" height="360"></iframe>
</div>

🎥 🏀 Game Day! Hutch High travels to Haysville-Campus tonight

<div><iframe title="Eagle Radio Sports for Friday Morning" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=x53nu-1172154-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=&btn-skin=7"></iframe></div><a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;

🎙 Eagle Radio Sports for Thursday Morning

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Johnny Davis had 26 points and nine rebounds and No. 23 Wisconsin defeated Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night in a game that featured two of the nation's top three scorers. Wisconsin is now 12-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten. The Badgers withstood a 27-point performance from Iowa's Keegan Murray to win their fourth straight and snap the Hawkeyes' four-game winning streak. Murray has a Division I-leading 24.7 points per game. Davis, who entered the night ranked third nationally in scoring, improved his average to 22.6 points per game. Iowa is 11-4 and 1-3 in the Big Ten.

UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs will likely be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the second straight week when they visit the Broncos on Saturday in their crucial regular-season finale. Edwards-Helaire hurt his shoulder early in the second half of a romp over the Steelers on Dec. 26. The Chiefs first feared he had broken his collarbone, but more tests came back negative and they hope to have him back for the playoffs. The Chiefs do expect left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to play against the Broncos after hurting his calf in warmups for last week's game in Cincinnati.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Veronica Burton scored 25 points and led Northwestern during an 11-3 run in the final minutes as the Wildcats beat No. 22 Iowa 77-69. It was the sixth-straight win for Northwestern (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten), which hadn't played in nearly three weeks since having its game against Oregon canceled and two Big Ten games postponed. It was its third win in a row against Iowa (7-4, 1-1). Melannie Daley added 22 points for Northwestern. Iowa's leading scorer Caitlin Clark, averaging 24.1 points, had 30 against the Wildcats. Monika Czinano had 20 points and McKenna Warnock 14.&nbsp;

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Frankie Fidler had 16 points to lead six Nebraska Omaha players in double figures as the Mavericks beat North Dakota 98-82. Felix Lemetti added 15 points for the Mavericks. Darrius Hughes chipped in 14, Kyle Luedtke scored 13 and Marco Smith had 12. Hughes also had seven rebounds, while Luedtke posted six rebounds. The 98 points were a season best for Nebraska Omaha (3-12, 2-2 Summit League). Matt Norman had 20 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Hawks (4-11, 0-2). Tsotne Tsartsidze added 13 points. Ethan Igbanugo had 11 points and six rebounds.

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Knicks earned a wild win against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Evan Fournier poured in 41 points against his former team, and RJ Barrett nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Knicks rallied to beat the Celtics, 108-105. Fournier was 15 of 25 from the field and hit 10 of his 14 3-point attempts. Julius Randle finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who trailed by 16 at halftime before outscoring Boston, 61-42 the rest of the way. Fournier delivered 22 points in the second half.

Jayson Tatum scored 36 points for the Celtics, who wasted a 24-point lead. Tatum tied it on a long step-back jumper with just over a second to play.

Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:

— Chris Paul had a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to help the short-handed Suns beat the Clippers, 106-89. Cam Johnson added a career-high 24 points, and Jalen Smith had another good game with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

— Brandon Ingram broke out of a shooting slump with 32 points and the Pelicans snapped a three-game skid with a 101-96 victory over the Warriors. Ingram hit 12 of 20 shots after going 8 of 36 in his previous two games combined, helping New Orleans drop Golden State one game behind Phoenix for the league's best record.

— The Grizzlies notched their seventh straight win as Ja Morant gave them 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a 118-88 thrashing of the Pistons. Dillon Brooks finished with 18 points, while Tyus Jones and rookie Ziaire Williams added 14 points apiece for Memphis.

Warriors minus Curry, Green...Gobert tests positive for virus again

UNDATED (AP) — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and team rebounding leader Draymond Green sat out Thursday's game at New Orleans. 

Curry injured his left quad muscle when he banged legs with Dallas forward Dorian Finney-Smith during a loss at Dallas on Wednesday night. Green is nursing a left hip injury. 

— Jazz center Rudy Gobert has tested positive for COVID-19 again. The NBA shut down for months after he tested positive in March 2020.

— The Bucks have waived DeMarcus Cousin, a little over a month after signing the veteran center. The 31-year-old Cousins averaged 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 16.9 minutes in 17 games after signing with the Bucks on Nov. 30. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes during Wednesday's loss to Toronto.

UNDATED (AP) — Fifth-ranked UCLA was able to ease back onto the basketball court after a 25-day absence caused by COVID-19.

Jules Bernard scored 22 points and Johnny Juzang (JOO'-zang) added 18 as the Bruins ripped Long Beach State, 96-78. Bernard's points were one off his career high and his four 3-pointers tied his career best.

The general public was barred from the hastily arranged game between two teams that already met this season. The Beach were beaten 100-79 at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 15.

— No. 7 Southern Cal is 13-0 after Isaiah Mobley scored 19 points and grabbed nine boards in a 77-63 victory at Cal. Drew Peterson furnished 17 points and nine rebounds in the win.

— Trayce Jackson-Davis provided 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting to carry Indiana's 67-51 win over 13th-ranked Ohio State. The Hoosiers pulled away down the stretch with a 13-0 run while holding the Buckeyes without a field goal for more than five minutes.

— No. 23 Wisconsin earned its fourth straight win as Johnny Davis provided 26 points and nine rebounds in an 87-78 decision over Iowa. The Badgers withstood a 27-point performance from Iowa's Keegan Murray to snap the Hawkeyes' four-game winning streak.

Bucs officially sever ties with Antonio Brown

UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially severed ties with Antonio Brown.

The Bucs have terminated the contract of the mercurial receiver who claimed on Wednesday that he was fired in the middle of last Sunday's game against the Jets for not playing through an ankle injury. 

Brown removed his jersey, shoulder pads, undershirt and gloves, then left the field after a sideline exchange with coach Bruce Arians, who said afterward that the player was no longer part of the team. 

Brown has a long history of troubled behavior on and off the field.

— Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater says he still wants to play football beyond this season despite suffering two concussions. His contract with Denver ends this winter but he wants to play a ninth NFL season, even if that's for a fifth team.

— The Bears have placed quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID-19 list, likely sidelining him for the finale and ending his rookie season. The Bears expected Fields to start at Minnesota on Sunday after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury. 

— The Chiefs will likely be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the second straight week. Edwards-Helaire hurt his shoulder early in the second half of a romp over the Steelers on Dec. 26. Kansas City hopes to have him back for the playoffs. 

— Former college and NFL coach Greg Robinson has died at 70 from a form of Alzheimer's Disease. Robinson won two Super Bowl rings as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in the late 1990s and also served in the same role for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. 

UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are owners of a 10-game winning streak for the sixth time in franchise history.

Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust each scored twice for the Penguins in a 6-2 thumping of the Flyers. Rust has keyed the recent surge with seven goals in the last three games since he returned from an 11-game absence with an undisclosed injury. Evan Rodrigues scored his 15th goal in the third and Brian Boyle also scored a short-handed goal in the period to turn this one into a rout.

The Penguins won the second game of a back-to-back and haven't lost since Dec. 1 against Edmonton.

— The Avalanche rolled over the Jets, 7-1 as Gabriel Landeskog notched his fourth career hat trick and had an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and four assists, and Mikko Rantanen added a goal and two assists to give Colorado's top line 12 points on the night.

— Nikita Kucherov (KOO'-cheh-rahv) had a pair of nifty assists in his return from a lengthy injury, sparking the Lightning's three-goal third period in a 4-1 verdict over the Flames. Corey Perry, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat (AHN'-dray pah-LAHT') and Alex Killorn scored to help Tampa Bay become the first NHL team to reach 50 points for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

— Kirill Kaprizov (kih-REEL' kah-PREE'-zahf) scored for the fourth straight game and the Wild halted a five-game skid by defeating the Bruins, 3-2. Matt Boldy got a goal in his NHL debut as the Boston College alum made it 3-1 midway through the second period. 

— Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist for his third straight multi-point outing, sending the Predators to a 4-2 win at Los Angeles. Forsberg has a league leading 12 goals since Nov. 30 as Nashville has gone 11-2-1 in its last 14 games to grab the lead in the Central Division.

— Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Robin Lehner made 18 saves as the Golden Knights whipped the Rangers, 5-1 to end a two-game slide. Mark Stone, Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden also tallied for Vegas.

— Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist two days after coming out of COVID-19 protocols, guiding the Stars to a 6-5 shootout win against the Panthers. Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson scored on the only two shots in the shootout for the Stars while Braden Holtby stopped both Florida shots to end the game. 

— Johan Larsson scored his first three goals of the season for his first career hat trick as the Coyotes dealt the Blackhawks their sixth consecutive loss, 6-4. Dysin Mayo, Travis Boyd and Clayton Keller also scored in Arizona's league-low seventh win.

— The Sharks ended a two-game skid as Adin Hill made 37 saves in a 3-2 decision over the Sabres. Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which also received tallies by Matt Neito and Timo Meier.

— The Devils won for the fourth time in five games as Jesper Bratt furnished the go-ahead goal in the third period of their 3-1 win against the Blue Jackets. Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists to back MacKenzie Blackwood's 31-save effort.

— Anaheim's game against visiting Detroit was postponed to Sunday because of COVID-19-related issues affecting the Ducks. Anaheim placed center Sam Carrick, goaltender John Gibson, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and right wing Vinni Lettieri into the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. 

Rask close to return with Bruins, signs with Providence

BOSTON (AP) — Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask (TOO'-kah rask) is getting closer to returning to the Boston Bruins after signing a professional tryout agreement with Providence of the American Hockey League. 

Rask is currently a free agent, but he has spent 14 seasons with the Bruins and is the franchise's leader in wins. He is coming back from offseason labrum surgery on his hip. 

He says he expects to play two games in Providence before working out a deal to join the Bruins. 

— The Kraken will be without forward Jaden Schwartz for at least a month due to a hand injury that will require surgery. Schwartz has not played since being injured on Dec. 29 against Philadelphia. He has six goals and 14 assists in 29 games for Seattle. 

Former Mets acting GM Zack Scott acquitted of DUI charges

NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Mets acting general manager Zack Scott has been cleared of drunken driving charges stemming from his arrest last August after he attended a fundraiser at team owner Steve Cohen's house. 

Scott was arrested Aug. 31 after police found him asleep at the wheel of his sport-utility vehicle at a traffic light. Scott was placed on leave by the Mets and later fired. Scott said he was thankful for the verdict.

NCAA updates guidelines to follow CDC recommendations

UNDATED (AP) — The NCAA has updated its pandemic-related protocols for winter sports athletes and teams to reflect the latest CDC guidelines. 

The biggest recommendation is a booster for those who are beyond two months of receiving the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, five months of receiving the Pfizer or six months of receiving the Moderna vaccine. For those athletes and staff, a booster shot is required to be considered fully vaccinated. 

The NCAA also says five days of quarantine are suggested after a positive test instead of 10 days. That matches recent federal guidance from the CDC.

Djokovic in limbo as he fights deportation from Australia

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Locked in a dispute over his COVID-19 vaccination status, Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) is confined to an immigration detention hotel in Australia as he awaits a ruling on whether can compete in the Australian Open later this month. 

The No. 1 men's tennis player in the world is a vocal skeptic of vaccines. He obtained a medical exemption to Australia's strict vaccination rules before setting out for Australia. But when he arrived, border authorities rejected it. Djokovic is now awaiting a court hearing on Monday in his bid to stave off deportation.

Smith leads as Cantlay, Rahm shake off rust

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Cameron Smith is the first-round leader in the PGA's first event of the year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions. 

Smith had a pair of long eagle putts to lead at 8-under 65 on a gentle, gorgeous day in Hawaii.

Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm didn't need much time to get back into the swing of competition Thursday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Coming off the longest voluntary breaks of their careers, Cantlay overcame a bogey start with flawless play at Kapalua for a 7-under 66. Rahm had a 67 despite failing to capitalize on two of the par 5s.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker is recovering from a health scare that featured a soaring white blood cell count and inflammation around his heart. The situation hospitalized him for two weeks and caused him to lose 25 pounds.

Stricker said his heart was jumping in and out of rhythm from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. He said the inflammation is starting to abate and he's able to start moving around. 

Snowboarder White cleared to compete after COVID

UNDATED (AP) — Snowboarding star Shaun White told Olympics.com that he tested positive last month after competing in an event in Colorado. The 35-year-old was symptomatic but has been cleared to compete in a qualifying event this weekend at Mammoth Mountain, the last qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic Team.

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Johnny Davis had 26 points and nine rebounds and No. 23 Wisconsin defeated Iowa 87-78 on Thursday night in a game that featured two of the nation's top three scorers. Wisconsin is now 12-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten. The Badgers withstood a 27-point performance from Iowa's Keegan Murray to win their fourth straight and snap the Hawkeyes' four-game winning streak. Murray has a Division I-leading 24.7 points per game. Davis, who entered the night ranked third nationally in scoring, improved his average to 22.6 points per game. Iowa is 11-4 and 1-3 in the Big Ten.LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's celebrated hiring of Fred Hoiberg has not yet sparked a turnaround in the long-suffering basketball program. Hoiberg is in his third season in Lincoln and is 20-54 overall and 5-38 in the Big Ten. His .270 winning percentage is the lowest through any Nebraska coach's first 74 games. Hoiberg said several factors have slowed his progress. Among them are the late start he got recruiting his first team, a long COVID-19 pause last season and illness and a key injury this season. The Huskers play at Rutgers on Saturday.&nbsp;UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs will likely be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the second straight week when they visit the Broncos on Saturday in their crucial regular-season finale. Edwards-Helaire hurt his shoulder early in the second half of a romp over the Steelers on Dec. 26. The Chiefs first feared he had broken his collarbone, but more tests came back negative and they hope to have him back for the playoffs. The Chiefs do expect left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to play against the Broncos after hurting his calf in warmups for last week's game in Cincinnati.DENVER (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have lost the pole position in the AFC playoff race and now they have to beat the Denver Broncos on Saturday and have the Texans upset the Titans on Sunday to secure the top overall seed in the conference for the third time in four years. Otherwise, their playoffs will begin next weekend in the wild-card round. The Chiefs have won the AFC West for the sixth straight time and they're going for their 13th consecutive win over Denver. The Broncos have missed the playoffs for a sixth straight year and posted their fifth consecutive losing season.IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Veronica Burton scored 25 points and led Northwestern during an 11-3 run in the final minutes as the Wildcats beat No. 22 Iowa 77-69. It was the sixth-straight win for Northwestern (10-3, 2-0 Big Ten), which hadn't played in nearly three weeks since having its game against Oregon canceled and two Big Ten games postponed. It was its third win in a row against Iowa (7-4, 1-1). Melannie Daley added 22 points for Northwestern. Iowa's leading scorer Caitlin Clark, averaging 24.1 points, had 30 against the Wildcats. Monika Czinano had 20 points and McKenna Warnock 14.&nbsp;OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Frankie Fidler had 16 points to lead six Nebraska Omaha players in double figures as the Mavericks beat North Dakota 98-82. Felix Lemetti added 15 points for the Mavericks. Darrius Hughes chipped in 14, Kyle Luedtke scored 13 and Marco Smith had 12. Hughes also had seven rebounds, while Luedtke posted six rebounds. The 98 points were a season best for Nebraska Omaha (3-12, 2-2 Summit League). Matt Norman had 20 points and six rebounds for the Fighting Hawks (4-11, 0-2). Tsotne Tsartsidze added 13 points. Ethan Igbanugo had 11 points and six rebounds.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>NBA-SCHEDULEFournier's 41, late trey carry KnicksUNDATED (AP) — The New York Knicks earned a wild win against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.Evan Fournier poured in 41 points against his former team, and RJ Barrett nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Knicks rallied to beat the Celtics, 108-105. Fournier was 15 of 25 from the field and hit 10 of his 14 3-point attempts. Julius Randle finished with 22 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who trailed by 16 at halftime before outscoring Boston, 61-42 the rest of the way. Fournier delivered 22 points in the second half.Jayson Tatum scored 36 points for the Celtics, who wasted a 24-point lead. Tatum tied it on a long step-back jumper with just over a second to play.Checking out Thursday's other NBA action:— Chris Paul had a triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to help the short-handed Suns beat the Clippers, 106-89. Cam Johnson added a career-high 24 points, and Jalen Smith had another good game with 19 points and 14 rebounds.— Brandon Ingram broke out of a shooting slump with 32 points and the Pelicans snapped a three-game skid with a 101-96 victory over the Warriors. Ingram hit 12 of 20 shots after going 8 of 36 in his previous two games combined, helping New Orleans drop Golden State one game behind Phoenix for the league's best record.— The Grizzlies notched their seventh straight win as Ja Morant gave them 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a 118-88 thrashing of the Pistons. Dillon Brooks finished with 18 points, while Tyus Jones and rookie Ziaire Williams added 14 points apiece for Memphis.NBA-NEWSWarriors minus Curry, Green...Gobert tests positive for virus againUNDATED (AP) — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and team rebounding leader Draymond Green sat out Thursday's game at New Orleans. Curry injured his left quad muscle when he banged legs with Dallas forward Dorian Finney-Smith during a loss at Dallas on Wednesday night. Green is nursing a left hip injury. In other NBA news:— Jazz center Rudy Gobert has tested positive for COVID-19 again. The NBA shut down for months after he tested positive in March 2020.— The Bucks have waived DeMarcus Cousin, a little over a month after signing the veteran center. The 31-year-old Cousins averaged 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 16.9 minutes in 17 games after signing with the Bucks on Nov. 30. He had 15 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes during Wednesday's loss to Toronto.T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULEBruins shake off rust, whip LBSUNDATED (AP) — Fifth-ranked UCLA was able to ease back onto the basketball court after a 25-day absence caused by COVID-19.Jules Bernard scored 22 points and Johnny Juzang (JOO'-zang) added 18 as the Bruins ripped Long Beach State, 96-78. Bernard's points were one off his career high and his four 3-pointers tied his career best.The general public was barred from the hastily arranged game between two teams that already met this season. The Beach were beaten 100-79 at Pauley Pavilion on Nov. 15.Also on Thursday's top-25 schedule:— No. 7 Southern Cal is 13-0 after Isaiah Mobley scored 19 points and grabbed nine boards in a 77-63 victory at Cal. Drew Peterson furnished 17 points and nine rebounds in the win.— Trayce Jackson-Davis provided 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting to carry Indiana's 67-51 win over 13th-ranked Ohio State. The Hoosiers pulled away down the stretch with a 13-0 run while holding the Buckeyes without a field goal for more than five minutes.— No. 23 Wisconsin earned its fourth straight win as Johnny Davis provided 26 points and nine rebounds in an 87-78 decision over Iowa. The Badgers withstood a 27-point performance from Iowa's Keegan Murray to snap the Hawkeyes' four-game winning streak.NFL-NEWSBucs officially sever ties with Antonio BrownUNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have officially severed ties with Antonio Brown.The Bucs have terminated the contract of the mercurial receiver who claimed on Wednesday that he was fired in the middle of last Sunday's game against the Jets for not playing through an ankle injury. Brown removed his jersey, shoulder pads, undershirt and gloves, then left the field after a sideline exchange with coach Bruce Arians, who said afterward that the player was no longer part of the team. Brown has a long history of troubled behavior on and off the field.In other NFL news:— Broncos quarterback Teddy Bridgewater says he still wants to play football beyond this season despite suffering two concussions. His contract with Denver ends this winter but he wants to play a ninth NFL season, even if that's for a fifth team.— The Bears have placed quarterback Justin Fields on the reserve/COVID-19 list, likely sidelining him for the finale and ending his rookie season. The Bears expected Fields to start at Minnesota on Sunday after missing the previous two games because of an ankle injury. — The Chiefs will likely be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire for the second straight week. Edwards-Helaire hurt his shoulder early in the second half of a romp over the Steelers on Dec. 26. Kansas City hopes to have him back for the playoffs. — Former college and NFL coach Greg Robinson has died at 70 from a form of Alzheimer's Disease. Robinson won two Super Bowl rings as defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos in the late 1990s and also served in the same role for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. NHL-SCHEDULEPens' streak reaches 10 gamesUNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins are owners of a 10-game winning streak for the sixth time in franchise history.Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust each scored twice for the Penguins in a 6-2 thumping of the Flyers. Rust has keyed the recent surge with seven goals in the last three games since he returned from an 11-game absence with an undisclosed injury. Evan Rodrigues scored his 15th goal in the third and Brian Boyle also scored a short-handed goal in the period to turn this one into a rout.The Penguins won the second game of a back-to-back and haven't lost since Dec. 1 against Edmonton.Elsewhere on NHL ice:— The Avalanche rolled over the Jets, 7-1 as Gabriel Landeskog notched his fourth career hat trick and had an assist. Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and four assists, and Mikko Rantanen added a goal and two assists to give Colorado's top line 12 points on the night.— Nikita Kucherov (KOO'-cheh-rahv) had a pair of nifty assists in his return from a lengthy injury, sparking the Lightning's three-goal third period in a 4-1 verdict over the Flames. Corey Perry, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat (AHN'-dray pah-LAHT') and Alex Killorn scored to help Tampa Bay become the first NHL team to reach 50 points for the fourth time in the last five seasons.— Kirill Kaprizov (kih-REEL' kah-PREE'-zahf) scored for the fourth straight game and the Wild halted a five-game skid by defeating the Bruins, 3-2. Matt Boldy got a goal in his NHL debut as the Boston College alum made it 3-1 midway through the second period. — Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist for his third straight multi-point outing, sending the Predators to a 4-2 win at Los Angeles. Forsberg has a league leading 12 goals since Nov. 30 as Nashville has gone 11-2-1 in its last 14 games to grab the lead in the Central Division.— Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Robin Lehner made 18 saves as the Golden Knights whipped the Rangers, 5-1 to end a two-game slide. Mark Stone, Mattias Janmark and Brett Howden also tallied for Vegas.— Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist two days after coming out of COVID-19 protocols, guiding the Stars to a 6-5 shootout win against the Panthers. Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson scored on the only two shots in the shootout for the Stars while Braden Holtby stopped both Florida shots to end the game. — Johan Larsson scored his first three goals of the season for his first career hat trick as the Coyotes dealt the Blackhawks their sixth consecutive loss, 6-4. Dysin Mayo, Travis Boyd and Clayton Keller also scored in Arizona's league-low seventh win.— The Sharks ended a two-game skid as Adin Hill made 37 saves in a 3-2 decision over the Sabres. Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for San Jose, which also received tallies by Matt Neito and Timo Meier.— The Devils won for the fourth time in five games as Jesper Bratt furnished the go-ahead goal in the third period of their 3-1 win against the Blue Jackets. Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists to back MacKenzie Blackwood's 31-save effort.— Anaheim's game against visiting Detroit was postponed to Sunday because of COVID-19-related issues affecting the Ducks. Anaheim placed center Sam Carrick, goaltender John Gibson, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and right wing Vinni Lettieri into the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. NHL-BRUINS-RASKRask close to return with Bruins, signs with ProvidenceBOSTON (AP) — Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask (TOO'-kah rask) is getting closer to returning to the Boston Bruins after signing a professional tryout agreement with Providence of the American Hockey League. Rask is currently a free agent, but he has spent 14 seasons with the Bruins and is the franchise's leader in wins. He is coming back from offseason labrum surgery on his hip. He says he expects to play two games in Providence before working out a deal to join the Bruins. Elsewhere around the NHL:— The Kraken will be without forward Jaden Schwartz for at least a month due to a hand injury that will require surgery. Schwartz has not played since being injured on Dec. 29 against Philadelphia. He has six goals and 14 assists in 29 games for Seattle. MLB-METS-SCOTTFormer Mets acting GM Zack Scott acquitted of DUI chargesNEW YORK (AP) — Former New York Mets acting general manager Zack Scott has been cleared of drunken driving charges stemming from his arrest last August after he attended a fundraiser at team owner Steve Cohen's house. Scott was arrested Aug. 31 after police found him asleep at the wheel of his sport-utility vehicle at a traffic light. Scott was placed on leave by the Mets and later fired. Scott said he was thankful for the verdict.VIRUS OUTBREAK-COLLEGE SPORTSNCAA updates guidelines to follow CDC recommendationsUNDATED (AP) — The NCAA has updated its pandemic-related protocols for winter sports athletes and teams to reflect the latest CDC guidelines. The biggest recommendation is a booster for those who are beyond two months of receiving the Johnson &amp; Johnson vaccine, five months of receiving the Pfizer or six months of receiving the Moderna vaccine. For those athletes and staff, a booster shot is required to be considered fully vaccinated. The NCAA also says five days of quarantine are suggested after a positive test instead of 10 days. That matches recent federal guidance from the CDC.TENNIS-NEWSDjokovic in limbo as he fights deportation from AustraliaBRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Locked in a dispute over his COVID-19 vaccination status, Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) is confined to an immigration detention hotel in Australia as he awaits a ruling on whether can compete in the Australian Open later this month. The No. 1 men's tennis player in the world is a vocal skeptic of vaccines. He obtained a medical exemption to Australia's strict vaccination rules before setting out for Australia. But when he arrived, border authorities rejected it. Djokovic is now awaiting a court hearing on Monday in his bid to stave off deportation.PGA-SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONSSmith leads as Cantlay, Rahm shake off rustKAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — Cameron Smith is the first-round leader in the PGA's first event of the year, the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Smith had a pair of long eagle putts to lead at 8-under 65 on a gentle, gorgeous day in Hawaii.Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm didn't need much time to get back into the swing of competition Thursday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.Coming off the longest voluntary breaks of their careers, Cantlay overcame a bogey start with flawless play at Kapalua for a 7-under 66. Rahm had a 67 despite failing to capitalize on two of the par 5s.GOLF-STRICKERStricker recovering from health scareMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker is recovering from a health scare that featured a soaring white blood cell count and inflammation around his heart. The situation hospitalized him for two weeks and caused him to lose 25 pounds.Stricker said his heart was jumping in and out of rhythm from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. He said the inflammation is starting to abate and he's able to start moving around. OLYMPICS-NEWSSnowboarder White cleared to compete after COVIDUNDATED (AP) — Snowboarding star Shaun White told Olympics.com that he tested positive last month after competing in an event in Colorado. The 35-year-old was symptomatic but has been cleared to compete in a qualifying event this weekend at Mammoth Mountain, the last qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic Team.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sports Headlines for Friday

Steve Carpenter - Hutchinson CC Sports Information

HUTCHINSON, Kan.—Showing the effects of three weeks off for the holiday break, the No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to earn a 96-77 Jayhawk Conference victory over Northwest Tech on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Dragons improve to 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Northwest Tech is now 5-10 overall and 2-7 in the league. Hutchinson travels to Seward County on Saturday for an 8 p.m. tipoff in Liberal.

Hutchinson led just 46-42 at halftime. The Dragons shot 44.4 percent, but allowed Northwest Tech to shoot 61.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Dragons played a much-better second half, hitting 7 3-pointers and outscored the Mavericks 50-35 in the final 20 minutes.

Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/stuart_angelo_pblm">Angelo Stuart</a>&nbsp;posted his 12th game of 20 or more points with a game-high 25 points against the Mavericks. He had his sixth game of five or more 3-pointers, nailing 5 of 13 from distance. Stuart added four steals and three assists.

Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/lennox_kaimen_9jyb">Kaimen Lennox</a>&nbsp;scored 18 points and added four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/campbell_kobe_09nm">Kobe Campbell</a>&nbsp;had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Freshman&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/lee_cecil_bxuh">Cecil Lee</a>&nbsp;had 11 points and six boards.

Overall, the Blue Dragons shot 47.0 percent (39 of 83) from the field, hitting 10 of 31 shots from 3-point range and 8 of 14 from 3-point range. The Dragons had a narrow 39-37 rebounding advantage. The Dragons had a season-high 26 assists on 39 made baskets. The Dragons had 13 turnovers.

Northwest Tech was the second opponent to shoot better than 50 percent against the Blue Dragons and still lose the game. The Mavericks shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48), going only 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 23 of 35 from the free-throw line.

Timothy Moore finished with a game-high 19 points to lead Northwest Tech. Ethan Yancy had 14 points and Myles Arnold had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Blue Dragons started fast jumping out to a 13-4 lead after a Lennox layup with 17:06 to play in the opening half. Tech scored 11 of the next 16 points to pull within 18-15 after a Yancy jumper with 11:51 to play. Northwest Tech extended that run to 22-13 and tied the game at 26-all on a Myles three-point play with 7:30 remaining in the first half.

The Dragons immediately answered with a Lennox 3-pointer and Tarese Mores three-point play for a 32-26 lead. A Campbell layup capped a 10-2 run to help Hutchinson lead 38-28 with 5:16 to go. Hutchinson led 46-38 with six unanswered points, but Tech scored the final four points of the first half and the Blue Dragons lead 46-42 at halftime.

Leading 57-53, the Blue Dragons started to take control. An inside hoop by&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/harris_josiah_h73r">Josiah Harris</a>&nbsp;and back-to-back Stuart 3-pointers boosted the Blue Dragon lead to 67-58 with 13:45 to play.

Northwest Tech got within 75-66 after a Youseff Timera layup with 8:16 to play. The Dragons answered with a quick 8-0 run over a span of 1 minute, 2 seconds to build an 83-66 lead after a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/goodlow_nate_a9xm">Nate Goodlow</a>&nbsp;layup with 6:19 to go. Hutchinson extended its run to 17-4 to build a 92-70 lead after a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/hall_jayden_bjdx">Jayden Hall</a>&nbsp;3-pointer with 2:56 remaining in the game.

GAME NOTES&nbsp;– Hutchinson now has seven games of 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … The Blue Dragons are now 9-1 all-time against Northwest Tech.

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Steve Carpenter - Hutchinson CC Sports InformationHUTCHINSON, Kan.—Showing the effects of three weeks off for the holiday break, the No. 7-ranked Hutchinson Community College men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to earn a 96-77 Jayhawk Conference victory over Northwest Tech on Wednesday night at the Sports Arena.The Blue Dragons improve to 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the Jayhawk Conference. Northwest Tech is now 5-10 overall and 2-7 in the league. Hutchinson travels to Seward County on Saturday for an 8 p.m. tipoff in Liberal.Hutchinson led just 46-42 at halftime. The Dragons shot 44.4 percent, but allowed Northwest Tech to shoot 61.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Blue Dragons played a much-better second half, hitting 7 3-pointers and outscored the Mavericks 50-35 in the final 20 minutes.Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/stuart_angelo_pblm">Angelo Stuart</a>&nbsp;posted his 12th game of 20 or more points with a game-high 25 points against the Mavericks. He had his sixth game of five or more 3-pointers, nailing 5 of 13 from distance. Stuart added four steals and three assists.Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/lennox_kaimen_9jyb">Kaimen Lennox</a>&nbsp;scored 18 points and added four assists and three rebounds. Sophomore&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/campbell_kobe_09nm">Kobe Campbell</a>&nbsp;had 12 points, six assists and five rebounds. Freshman&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/lee_cecil_bxuh">Cecil Lee</a>&nbsp;had 11 points and six boards.Overall, the Blue Dragons shot 47.0 percent (39 of 83) from the field, hitting 10 of 31 shots from 3-point range and 8 of 14 from 3-point range. The Dragons had a narrow 39-37 rebounding advantage. The Dragons had a season-high 26 assists on 39 made baskets. The Dragons had 13 turnovers.Northwest Tech was the second opponent to shoot better than 50 percent against the Blue Dragons and still lose the game. The Mavericks shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48), going only 2 of 8 from 3-point range and 23 of 35 from the free-throw line.Timothy Moore finished with a game-high 19 points to lead Northwest Tech. Ethan Yancy had 14 points and Myles Arnold had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.The Blue Dragons started fast jumping out to a 13-4 lead after a Lennox layup with 17:06 to play in the opening half. Tech scored 11 of the next 16 points to pull within 18-15 after a Yancy jumper with 11:51 to play. Northwest Tech extended that run to 22-13 and tied the game at 26-all on a Myles three-point play with 7:30 remaining in the first half.The Dragons immediately answered with a Lennox 3-pointer and Tarese Mores three-point play for a 32-26 lead. A Campbell layup capped a 10-2 run to help Hutchinson lead 38-28 with 5:16 to go. Hutchinson led 46-38 with six unanswered points, but Tech scored the final four points of the first half and the Blue Dragons lead 46-42 at halftime.Leading 57-53, the Blue Dragons started to take control. An inside hoop by&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/harris_josiah_h73r">Josiah Harris</a>&nbsp;and back-to-back Stuart 3-pointers boosted the Blue Dragon lead to 67-58 with 13:45 to play.Northwest Tech got within 75-66 after a Youseff Timera layup with 8:16 to play. The Dragons answered with a quick 8-0 run over a span of 1 minute, 2 seconds to build an 83-66 lead after a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/goodlow_nate_a9xm">Nate Goodlow</a>&nbsp;layup with 6:19 to go. Hutchinson extended its run to 17-4 to build a 92-70 lead after a&nbsp;<a href="https://bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/bios/hall_jayden_bjdx">Jayden Hall</a>&nbsp;3-pointer with 2:56 remaining in the game.GAME NOTES&nbsp;– Hutchinson now has seven games of 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … The Blue Dragons are now 9-1 all-time against Northwest Tech.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Blue Dragons shake off rust to win over Northwest Ks Tech

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<div><iframe title="Eagle Radio Sports for Thursday Morning" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=9sft3-1170b62-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=&btn-skin=7"></iframe></div><a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3. Crosby scored his fifth, Rodrigues his 14th and Brock McGinn his ninth, as Pittsburgh scored three in the third to erase a 3-2 deficit. Bryan Rust also scored twice for the Penguins, who won their ninth straight. Casey DeSmith stopped 13 shots, but was pulled after the Blues' third goal. Tristan Jarry, who recently came off the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, stopped all 13 shots in relief. Brayden Schenn returned from injury to score his fifth of the season and 200th of his career. Jordan Kyrou and Colton Parayko also scored for St. Louis.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Izaiah Brockington's four-point play with 1:52 left propelled No. 11 Iowa State past No. 25 Texas Tech 51-47 in a defensive struggle. Brockington's fall-away 3-pointer came moments after Texas Tech took a 42-40 lead. The Cyclones guard was knocked off balance, but his clutch shot swished through. The resulting foul gave Brockington a chance for a four-point play, and his free throw gave Iowa State a 44-42 advantage. Brockington led the Cyclones with 14 points and nine rebounds. Aljaz Kunc added 13 points. Davion Warren paced the Red Raiders with 12 points.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Freshman Max Christie scored a season-high 21 points and Gabe Brown had 14 points to help No. 10 Michigan State pull away and beat Nebraska 79-67 for its eighth win in a row. The Spartans led by just four points at halftime because they turned the ball over 12 times. Michigan State made three 3-pointers early in the second half to go ahead 47-39 and maintained the lead because it took better care of the basketball, finishing with 19 turnovers. The Cornhuskers started strong, leading 17-12 and by a point late in the first half.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Justin Moore scored 22 points and Jermaine Samuels added 18 to lead No. 19 Villanova to a 75-41 victory over Creighton. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and Brandon Slater chipped in with 10 for Villanova, which has steadied itself with three straight wins following consecutive losses by a combined 41 points. The Wildcats avenged a 79-59 defeat at Creighton on Dec. 17. Alex O'Connell scored 13 for the Bluejays.&nbsp;

UNDATED (AP) — Andy Reid is a creature of habit, which makes the late decision by the NFL to flex the Chiefs' game against Denver to Saturday — well, not exactly welcomed in Kansas City. But on the bright side, this isn't the first time the Chiefs have had to adapt on the fly this season. They already had their home game against the Broncos flexed from an afternoon kickoff to primetime in early December. And a couple of weeks ago, an outbreak of COVID-19 forced them to change gears before their game against the Chargers.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's Keegan Murray has gone from overlooked recruit out of high school to the nation's leading scorer. The sophomore forward is coming off a 35-point game in Monday's 80-75 win over Maryland. That performance prompted Terrapins' interim coach Danny Manning to call Murray a first-round NBA draft pick or lottery pick. Murray is averaging 24.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Hawkeyes play at No. 23 Wisconsin on Thursday night.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The new MLS team in St. Louis has its first head coach. St. Louis City SC has named Bradley Carnell to lead the team when it joins the league in 2023. Carnell is a former defender who played in more than 300 professional games and made three starts in the 2002 World Cup for his native South Africa. Carnell was named an assistant coach of MLS' New York Red Bulls in 2017 and became interim head coach in September 2020, leading the Red Bulls to a postseason berth. He returned to his role as assistant coach for the 2021 season.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky junior wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson is entering the NFL draft after capping a record-breaking season with an MVP performance in the No. 25 Wildcats' Citrus Bowl victory. He announced thes decision Wednesday night on social media. Robinson transferred from Nebraska after two seasons and quickly established himself as the Wildcats' top receiver, going on to break single-season school records with 104 receptions for 1,334 yards. Robinson caught 10 passes for 170 yards in Kentucky's 20-17, come-from-behind Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa, highlighted by a clutch 52-yard reception to the 1 that set up the game-winning touchdown and earned Most Valuable Player honors.

UNDATED (AP) — Kyrie Irving made his season debut on Wednesday and had a huge impact in the Brooklyn Nets' 129-121 win at Indiana.

Irving scored 22 points and sparked Brooklyn to a big rally in the second half. He played 32 minutes and helped the Nets storm back from a 19-point deficit.

Irving was back after missing the Nets' first 35 games of the season for declining to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. He is prohibited from playing home games and Brooklyn didn't want to use him as a part-timer until a COVID-19 outbreak affected most of their regulars.

Kevin Durant poured in 39 points and James Harden had 19 as the Nets ended a three-game skid. Durant also had eight rebounds and seven assists.

The Pacers lost despite Domantas Sabonis, who had a triple-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Lance Stephenson scored 20 of his 30 points in the first quarter.

Checking out Wednesday's other NBA action:

— Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Mavericks celebrated before a ceremony to retire Dirk Nowitzki's number by beating cold-shooting Stephen Curry and the Warriors, 99-82. Curry was just 5 of 24 from the field including 1 of 9 from 3-point range in scoring 14 points.

— Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 36 points and the Jazz stretched their road winning streak to 10 games by beating the Nuggets, 115-109. Rudy Gay had 18 points and Donovan Mitchell added 17 to help Utah overcome another triple-double by Nikola Jokic, who finished with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists. 

— Pascal Siakam scored 33 points and OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. had 22 apiece to the lead the Raptors to a 117-111 victory over the Bucks. Milwaukee was without head coach Mike Budenholzer due to health and safety protocols and was minus Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a non-related COVID illness.

— The 76ers notched their NBA-best 14th road victory of the season and tied a season high with a fifth straight win overall, 116-106 versus the Magic. Joel Embiid dropped in 31 points, Tobias Harris contributed 22 and Seth Curry added 20 with a season-high 12 assists and seven rebounds.

— Gregg Popovich became the first to coach 2,000 NBA games with the same team as he watched Dejounte Murray provide 22 points in a 99-97 victory at Boston. Devin Vassell and Derrick White each had 17 points in San Antonio's first win in five games.

— Max Strus had 25 points and the Heat snapped a two-game losing streak with a 115-109 victory at Portland. Tyler Herro (HEE'-roh) finished with 16 points off the bench for Miami, which was tied at 90 before going on a 15-2 run.

— Kelly Oubre Jr. hit a career-high nine of the Hornets' franchise-record 24 3-pointers in a 140-111 dismantling of the Pistons. Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges each had 19 points to help Charlotte beat Detroit for the 14th straight time. 

— Kevin Huerter scored five of his 25 points in the final 38 seconds to push the Hawks to a 108-102 triumph over the Kings. Huerter added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, helping Atlanta to its third win in nine games.

— The Timberwolves were finally at full strength as they knocked off the Thunder, 99-90. Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell struggled on 3-of-12 shooting in their return to Minnesota's lineup.

— The Rockets pulled out a 114-111 win over the Wizards on Kevin Porter Jr's, 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.4 seconds remaining. Christian Wood added 22 points and 11 rebounds to help Houston snap an eight-game losing streak.

Lillard sidelined...Zion rehabbing away from team

<h2>Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press</h2>PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored 12 seconds apart in the third period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins rallied past the St. Louis Blues 5-3. Crosby scored his fifth, Rodrigues his 14th and Brock McGinn his ninth, as Pittsburgh scored three in the third to erase a 3-2 deficit. Bryan Rust also scored twice for the Penguins, who won their ninth straight. Casey DeSmith stopped 13 shots, but was pulled after the Blues' third goal. Tristan Jarry, who recently came off the NHL's COVID-19 protocol, stopped all 13 shots in relief. Brayden Schenn returned from injury to score his fifth of the season and 200th of his career. Jordan Kyrou and Colton Parayko also scored for St. Louis.AMES, Iowa (AP) — Izaiah Brockington's four-point play with 1:52 left propelled No. 11 Iowa State past No. 25 Texas Tech 51-47 in a defensive struggle. Brockington's fall-away 3-pointer came moments after Texas Tech took a 42-40 lead. The Cyclones guard was knocked off balance, but his clutch shot swished through. The resulting foul gave Brockington a chance for a four-point play, and his free throw gave Iowa State a 44-42 advantage. Brockington led the Cyclones with 14 points and nine rebounds. Aljaz Kunc added 13 points. Davion Warren paced the Red Raiders with 12 points.EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Freshman Max Christie scored a season-high 21 points and Gabe Brown had 14 points to help No. 10 Michigan State pull away and beat Nebraska 79-67 for its eighth win in a row. The Spartans led by just four points at halftime because they turned the ball over 12 times. Michigan State made three 3-pointers early in the second half to go ahead 47-39 and maintained the lead because it took better care of the basketball, finishing with 19 turnovers. The Cornhuskers started strong, leading 17-12 and by a point late in the first half.VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Justin Moore scored 22 points and Jermaine Samuels added 18 to lead No. 19 Villanova to a 75-41 victory over Creighton. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and Brandon Slater chipped in with 10 for Villanova, which has steadied itself with three straight wins following consecutive losses by a combined 41 points. The Wildcats avenged a 79-59 defeat at Creighton on Dec. 17. Alex O'Connell scored 13 for the Bluejays.&nbsp;UNDATED (AP) — Andy Reid is a creature of habit, which makes the late decision by the NFL to flex the Chiefs' game against Denver to Saturday — well, not exactly welcomed in Kansas City. But on the bright side, this isn't the first time the Chiefs have had to adapt on the fly this season. They already had their home game against the Broncos flexed from an afternoon kickoff to primetime in early December. And a couple of weeks ago, an outbreak of COVID-19 forced them to change gears before their game against the Chargers.IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's Keegan Murray has gone from overlooked recruit out of high school to the nation's leading scorer. The sophomore forward is coming off a 35-point game in Monday's 80-75 win over Maryland. That performance prompted Terrapins' interim coach Danny Manning to call Murray a first-round NBA draft pick or lottery pick. Murray is averaging 24.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. The Hawkeyes play at No. 23 Wisconsin on Thursday night.ST. LOUIS (AP) — The new MLS team in St. Louis has its first head coach. St. Louis City SC has named Bradley Carnell to lead the team when it joins the league in 2023. Carnell is a former defender who played in more than 300 professional games and made three starts in the 2002 World Cup for his native South Africa. Carnell was named an assistant coach of MLS' New York Red Bulls in 2017 and became interim head coach in September 2020, leading the Red Bulls to a postseason berth. He returned to his role as assistant coach for the 2021 season.LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky junior wide receiver Wan'Dale Robinson is entering the NFL draft after capping a record-breaking season with an MVP performance in the No. 25 Wildcats' Citrus Bowl victory. He announced thes decision Wednesday night on social media. Robinson transferred from Nebraska after two seasons and quickly established himself as the Wildcats' top receiver, going on to break single-season school records with 104 receptions for 1,334 yards. Robinson caught 10 passes for 170 yards in Kentucky's 20-17, come-from-behind Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa, highlighted by a clutch 52-yard reception to the 1 that set up the game-winning touchdown and earned Most Valuable Player honors.<h2>Update on the latest sports</h2>NBA-SCHEDULENets end skid in Irving's returnUNDATED (AP) — Kyrie Irving made his season debut on Wednesday and had a huge impact in the Brooklyn Nets' 129-121 win at Indiana.Irving scored 22 points and sparked Brooklyn to a big rally in the second half. He played 32 minutes and helped the Nets storm back from a 19-point deficit.Irving was back after missing the Nets' first 35 games of the season for declining to be vaccinated for the coronavirus. He is prohibited from playing home games and Brooklyn didn't want to use him as a part-timer until a COVID-19 outbreak affected most of their regulars.Kevin Durant poured in 39 points and James Harden had 19 as the Nets ended a three-game skid. Durant also had eight rebounds and seven assists.The Pacers lost despite Domantas Sabonis, who had a triple-double of 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Lance Stephenson scored 20 of his 30 points in the first quarter.Checking out Wednesday's other NBA action:— Luka Doncic scored 26 points and the Mavericks celebrated before a ceremony to retire Dirk Nowitzki's number by beating cold-shooting Stephen Curry and the Warriors, 99-82. Curry was just 5 of 24 from the field including 1 of 9 from 3-point range in scoring 14 points.— Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 36 points and the Jazz stretched their road winning streak to 10 games by beating the Nuggets, 115-109. Rudy Gay had 18 points and Donovan Mitchell added 17 to help Utah overcome another triple-double by Nikola Jokic, who finished with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists. — Pascal Siakam scored 33 points and OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. had 22 apiece to the lead the Raptors to a 117-111 victory over the Bucks. Milwaukee was without head coach Mike Budenholzer due to health and safety protocols and was minus Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a non-related COVID illness.— The 76ers notched their NBA-best 14th road victory of the season and tied a season high with a fifth straight win overall, 116-106 versus the Magic. Joel Embiid dropped in 31 points, Tobias Harris contributed 22 and Seth Curry added 20 with a season-high 12 assists and seven rebounds.— Gregg Popovich became the first to coach 2,000 NBA games with the same team as he watched Dejounte Murray provide 22 points in a 99-97 victory at Boston. Devin Vassell and Derrick White each had 17 points in San Antonio's first win in five games.— Max Strus had 25 points and the Heat snapped a two-game losing streak with a 115-109 victory at Portland. Tyler Herro (HEE'-roh) finished with 16 points off the bench for Miami, which was tied at 90 before going on a 15-2 run.— Kelly Oubre Jr. hit a career-high nine of the Hornets' franchise-record 24 3-pointers in a 140-111 dismantling of the Pistons. Gordon Hayward and Miles Bridges each had 19 points to help Charlotte beat Detroit for the 14th straight time. — Kevin Huerter scored five of his 25 points in the final 38 seconds to push the Hawks to a 108-102 triumph over the Kings. Huerter added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, helping Atlanta to its third win in nine games.— The Timberwolves were finally at full strength as they knocked off the Thunder, 99-90. Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while D'Angelo Russell struggled on 3-of-12 shooting in their return to Minnesota's lineup.— The Rockets pulled out a 114-111 win over the Wizards on Kevin Porter Jr's, 3-pointer from the right wing with 0.4 seconds remaining. Christian Wood added 22 points and 11 rebounds to help Houston snap an eight-game losing streak.NBA-NEWSLillard sidelined...Zion rehabbing away from teamUNDATED (AP) — Portland guard Damian Lillard will miss the next three games because of a lower abdominal tendinopathy. The Trail Blazers say Lillard will undergo further evaluation and consultation concerning the injury, which has bothered him since the Tokyo Olympics. And the Pelicans have agreed to allow forward Zion Williamson to continue his rehabilitation from a broken foot away from team headquarters. Williamson averaged a team-high 27 points and was an All-Star last season. He was trying to return to practice in mid-December when imaging of his foot revealed a setback. NFL-NEWSDerrick Henry cleared to practice...Burrow to sit out SundayUNDATED (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have made the easy move opening the 21-day window for Derrick Henry to practice with the team. The next decision and the timing is much more challenging. Taking the 2020 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year off injured reserve by Sunday means he could help beat Houston and clinch the AFC's No. 1 seed. Waiting means hoping the Titans earn the first-round bye without Henry giving him more time from Oct. 31 when he broke his right foot. Henry was the NFL's leading rusher with 937 yards when he was put on injured reserve. He still ranks sixth in the league despite missing eight games. In other NFL news:— Wide receiver Antonio Brown says he was cut by the Buccaneers after refusing to play through an ankle injury that sidelined him for several weeks this season. Brown took off his jersey, shoulder pads and undershirt before walking off the sideline during a game Sunday against the New York Jets. He said in a statement released by his attorney that he was pressured to play and coach Bruce Arians fired him when the player told the coach he was not able to re-enter the game because of his ankle.— The Bengals won't play quarterback Joe Burrow this week to make sure he is healthy for the first round of the playoffs. Burrow is nursing aches and pains, including his right knee and sore pinky finger but said he could have played Sunday at Cleveland had it been necessary. Running back Joe Mixon and other key starters went on the reserve/COVID-19 list this week but are eligible to test out after five days if they are asymptomatic. — Mixon and Dallas star rookie linebacker Micah Parsons are the latest big-name players added to the COVID-19 reserve list. If he can't play Sunday against Philadelphia, Parsons will finish the season with 13 sacks, 1 1/2 behind the rookie record set by Tennessee's Jevon Kearse in 1999. Mixon joins Bengals sacks leader Trey Hendrickson and a handful of other key players for Cincinnati on the COVID-19 list headed into Sunday's finale against Cleveland. — Jimmy Garoppolo has resumed throwing for the 49ers and took part in practice in a limited role, saying his sprained right thumb still hurts. Garoppolo tore a ligament in the thumb on Dec. 23 and was held out of practice last week. The Niners don't know whether he or rookie Trey Lance will start. San Francisco makes the playoffs with a win.— Kirk Cousins has returned to the Vikings from COVID-19 reserve. He missed the previous game while experiencing mild symptoms. Vikings coach Mike Zimmer plans to play Cousins and all of the other regulars who are healthy enough. — Bears coach Matt Nagy insists he has not been informed by his bosses that the season finale at Minnesota will be his last game leading the team. Nagy could be on his way out after four seasons with the Bears owning a 6-10 record heading into Sunday's game. Nagy expects rookie quarterback Justin Fields to start against the Vikings after missing the past two games because of an ankle injury.— The NFL has looked into other potential sites for next month's Super Bowl amid a rise in COVID-19 cases, though the league always develops contingency plans for the game. An NFL spokesperson says the league still plans to play Super Bowl 56 as scheduled in Los Angeles on Feb. 13 but adds the NFL has contacted several clubs to inquire about stadium availability in the event the Super Bowl can't be played as scheduled. The Cowboys' stadium reportedly is one of the facilities contacted. — The league has issued a warning to teams that they could lose a draft pick and face significant fines if club representatives conduct themselves unprofessionally in interviews with draft prospects. The league said a team would forfeit a draft pick between the first and fourth round and be fined a minimum of $150,000 if it's determined a club representative displayed conduct that is "disrespectful, inappropriate, or unprofessional" during an interview. Fines and/or suspensions of individual club employees also could be imposed.T25 MEN'S BASKETBALL-SCHEDULESpartans use strong 2nd half to beat CornhuskersUNDATED (AP) — Michigan State is 4-0 in the Big Ten after surviving a first-half struggle against Nebraska. Freshman Max Christie scored a season-high 21 points and Gabe Brown added 14 in the Spartans' eighth straight win, 79-67 versus the Cornhuskers. Michigan State led by just four before making three 3-pointers early in the second half to go ahead 47-39.Malik Hall chipped in 12 points and Tyson Walker had 10 to help the 13-2 Spartans overcome 19 turnovers, most coming in the first half.Also on the top-25 schedule:— Izaiah Brockington's four-point play with 1:52 left propelled 11th-ranked Iowa State past No. 25 Texas Tech, 51-47. Brockington led the 13-1 Cyclones with 14 points and nine rebounds.— Josh Carlton poured in a career-high 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in leading 12th-ranked Houston to an 83-66 win over South Florida. Kyler Edwards returned from a sprained ankle to deliver 15 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the 13-2 Cougars.— No. 15 Alabama opened the second half with a 22-4 run to an 81-70 win over Florida. Jahvon Quinerly and Juwan Gary furnished 19 points apiece for the 11-3 Crimson Tide.— No. 18 Tennessee pulled out a 66-60 win against Mississippi as Santiago Vescovi scored 17 points, including a critical 3-pointer and two big free throws in overtime. Olivier Nkamhoua added 13 points for the Volunteers, who missed their first 10 shots and never led in regulation.— Justin Moore provided 22 points and Jermaine Samuels added 18 to lead No. 19 Villanova to a 75-41 thumping of Creighton. Collin Gillespie had 11 points and Brandon Slater chipped in with 10 for the Wildcats, who have steadied themselves with three straight wins following consecutive losses by a combined 41 points. NHL-SCHEDULEPens, Leafs winUNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs won Wednesday's only NHL games.The Penguins rallied for a 5-3 win over the Blues as Sidney Crosby and Evan Rodrigues scored third-period goals 12 seconds apart. Crosby scored his fifth, Rodrigues his 14th and Brock McGinn his ninth as Pittsburgh scored three third-period goals to erase a 3-2 deficit.Bryan Rust scored twice in Pittsburgh's ninth straight win.The Oilers lost for the 11th time in 13 games as Ilya Mikheyev (mih-KY'-ehv) scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play in the third period of the Leafs' 4-2 verdict over Edmonton. John Tavares and T.J. Brodie also scored for Toronto, Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and an assist, and William Nylander had two assists. Jack Campbell handled 28 shots in helping the Maple Leafs improve to 20-4-1 in their last 25 games. NHL-NEWSOilers star McDavid placed on NHL's COVID-19 protocol listUNDATED (AP) — Edmonton captain and reigning league MVP Connor McDavid has been placed on on NHL's COVID-19 protocol list. McDavid, forward Derek Ryan and defenseman Tyson Barrie went into protocols before the Oilers' game Wednesday at Toronto. McDavid hadn't missed any of Edmonton's first 33 games. While McDavid was out, the Stars and their captain Jamie Benn were getting ready for their first game since December 20. They host Florida on Thursday. Benn is among 11 Stars players who have been through COVID protocols since Dallas last played.Also in the NHL:— The NHL postponed three more games in Canadian cities because of the current attendance restrictions in some provinces. Games affected are New Jersey at Montreal on Saturday night, New Jersey at Toronto on Jan. 17 and Chicago at Edmonton on Jan. 18. They will be rescheduled for later in the season when such restrictions may be eased or lifted.— Vancouver center Elias Pettersson was placed into the protocols Wednesday. He's is the fifth Canucks player added to the protocols in a week, following Brock Boeser, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Justin Dowling and Jason Dickinson. TENNIS-NEWSDjokovic held at Australian border over visaUNDATED (AP) — Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) has been denied entry to Australia. His visa has been canceled by border authorities. Djokovic had to spend the night at the Melbourne airport after officials refused to let him enter the country for the Australian Open after an apparent visa mix-up. Australian media reported that Djokovic's team had applied for the wrong type of visa for someone with a medical exemption. IOC-BEIJING OLYMPICSIOC assures teams Winter Olympics in Beijing will go aheadGENEVA (AP) — The International Olympic Committee has promised Olympic teams worldwide that the Winter Games in Beijing will go ahead as planned next month.Beijing organizers and the IOC are creating a health safety bubble for the Olympics with stricter testing and limits on travel and movement than were enforced at last year's Tokyo Games. The rules include a 21-day quarantine for athletes, officials and workers not fully vaccinated, daily testing even for vaccinated people and also keeping local staff within the bubble. International fans are again being kept away though tickets to attend events in stadiums will be sold to people living in China.<a href="https://hutchpost.com/download" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to download the Hutch Post mobile app. <a href="https://hutchpost.com/posts/5e73b532afae0f4d5f5d90ea" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;