DeRozan scores 26, Bulls hand Jazz fifth straight loss
SALT LAKE CITY — DeMar DeRozan had 26 points and six assists to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 114-107 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Zach LaVine added 20 points, six rebounds, and five assists for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Chicago imposed its will around the basket and on defense as the game progressed. The Bulls outscored Utah 64-44 in the paint, and they tallied 23 points off 14 Jazz turnovers. “I thought we made good decisions coming down the stretch,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “I thought the guys got organized. I thought we generated good shots, even the ones we missed.”Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points for the Jazz. Kelly Olynyk added 23 points and Collin Sexton chipped in 17. Utah lost its fifth straight.DeRozan scored 12 points and assisted on three baskets in the third quarter. He bookended a 10-0 run with a pair of free throws, giving the Bulls a 78-73 lead. Chicago finished 22 of 25 from the free throw line. Chicago scored three straight baskets off steals to ignite an 8-0 run and extend its lead to 94-82 early in the fourth quarter. Andre Drummond capped the run with back-to-back baskets. “That’s what we were stressing the whole game – getting stops,” DeRozan said. “They started out hot in the first half. We knew in the second half we’d just have to buckle down and help each other, be there for each other on defense.” Markkanen gave Utah an early spark on offense. He made nine of his first 10 shots and hit five 3-pointers before halftime. Markkanen made back-to-back baskets that ignited a 10-0 and put the Jazz ahead 40-31 lead early in the second quarter. Utah eventually extended its lead to 49-38 behind another pair of baskets from the Finnish forward. “Right now, he’s in a good spot,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “Our group, our team fits how he plays and it’s great to see his confidence growing. And he’s playing great.”The Jazz closed within 102-99 on back-to-back baskets from Malik Beasley and Olynyk but drew no closer. The Bulls held Utah to two field goals over the final five minutes. SHINING WHITEBoth of Chicago’s victories on its current six-game road trip boast a common denominator. Coby White has given the Bulls a lift off the bench in each game. White finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting against the Jazz. He helped Chicago open the road swing last Wednesday by scoring 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting in a 118-113 victory over Milwaukee. During the first three games of the road trip, White is shooting 9 of 17 from 3-point range. “That’s what Coby does,” DeRozan said. “He’s a game changer.” TIP-INSBulls: DeRozan went 1 of 7 from the field in the first half. … Chicago outscored Utah 39-18 in bench points. … The Bulls committed only eight turnovers. Jazz: Markkanen’s 24 first-half points were a career high for points in a half. … Utah went 6 of 15 from the free throw line. UP NEXTBulls: At Phoenix on Wednesday. Jazz: Host the Clippers on Wednesday.———More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports
Stevenson scores 23 as Cal Poly downs Pacific (CA) 62-58
STOCKTON, Calif. — Brantly Stevenson helped lead Cal Poly past Pacific (CA) on Monday with 23 points off of the bench in a 62-58 win.Stevenson also had eight rebounds for the Mustangs (3-3). Nick Fleming shot 4 for 9, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 12 points. Trevon Taylor was 3 of 6 shooting (1 for 3 from distance) to finish with eight points.Donovan Williams led the Tigers (2-5) in scoring, finishing with 13 points. Luke Avdalovic added 13 points for Pacific (CA). Tyler Beard also had 11 points and four assists.Stevenson scored eight points in the first half and Cal Poly went into halftime trailing 32-23. Stevenson’s 15-point second half helped Cal Poly finish off the four-point victory.———The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Washington rallies to continue mastery of Seattle 77-66
SEATTLE — Keion Brooks scored 20 points and Braxton Meah didn’t miss a shot and scored 18 points and Washington used a second-half blitz to beat cross-town rival Seattle 77-66 on Monday night.Meah made all-seven shot attempts from the floor and all four from the foul line.Washington built a 10-0 lead and was up 25-14 on Jamal Bey’s layup with 9:23 before halftime. But Seattle countered and outscored Washington 26-13 for a 40-38 halftime lead.Seattle’s Viktor Rajkovic made a 3-pointer and a jump shot 1:50 into the second half for a 47-40 advantage. The Huskies took control from there and outscored Seattle 25-3 in a little more than the next nine minutes. Cameron Tyson scored 18 points for Seattle and Alex Schumacher 15.The Pac-12 Huskies have pushed their consecutive-game win streak against the Redhawks to 17 in a series that started in an NCAA Tournament West Regional game in 1953. The Huskies (6-1) hold a 33-4 all-time series advantage against the Redhawks (5-1).Seattle entered having won its first five games since the 2007-08 season when it was playing at the Division II level.Washington opens Pac-12 play when it heads to Corvallis, Oregon on Thursday before hosting Colorado on Sunday.———More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25
McKinney scores 15 as San Diego downs Longwood 71-68
SAN DIEGO — Reserve Wayne McKinney III scored 15 points and his 3-pointer at the buzzer led San Diego past Longwood for a 71-68 win on Monday night.DeShaun Wade’s 3 with 5.5-seconds left pulled the Lancers into a 68-all tie before McKinney’s heroics. McKinney added five rebounds and three steals for the Toreros (5-3). Jase Townsend scored 15 points, going 6 of 8 (3 for 4 from distance). Jaiden Delaire was 6 of 10 shooting and 2 of 5 from the free throw line to finish with 14 points.Wade led the way for the Lancers (4-4) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Longwood also got 16 points and four assists from Walyn Napper. In addition, Michael Christmas finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.———The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Devils rally from two goals down to beat Rangers 5-3
NEW YORK — Jack Hughes and Michael McLeod scored in the second period, Vitek Vanecek stopped 35 shots and the surging New Jersey Devils rallied from an early two-goal deficit to beat the New York Rangers 5-3 on Monday night.Yegor Sharangovich had two goals and Tomas Tatar also scored to help the first-place Devils win their third straight since having their 13-game winning streak snapped last week. New Jersey has won 10 straight road games and has only one loss since starting the season 3-3-0. The Rangers raced to a 2-0 lead just three minutes into the contest but the Devils scored twice to tie it later in the first period to tie it and then scored twice in the second period to take the lead.“We stayed with our game. There was a calmness on the bench,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said of his team’s early deficit. “All I said on the bench was ‘let’s get the next goal and we’ll be back in the game.’”Vanecek improved to 11-2-0 as scattered chants of “Let’s Go Devils” were heard at Madison Square Garden. The Devils have made the playoffs only once — in 2018 — since beating the Rangers in six games in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals.“It was great to hear the fans here on our side,” Devils forward Miles Wood said. “We can’t thank them enough.”Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck scored and Chris Kreider had two assists for the Rangers, who fell to 4-5-3 at home. Igor Shesterkin had 33 saves.New York also lost its second straight at home in a disheartening fashion. The Rangers squandered a 3-0 third-period lead against Edmonton on Saturday to lose 4-3. Last season, they won 27 of 41 games at the Garden. “When one thing goes wrong it starts to snowball on us,” Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren said. ”We keep saying we have to play a full 60. You can’t keep talking about it, you have to go out and do it.”Rangers coach Gerard Gallant credited the young and hungry Devils with playing a superior game.“They put lots of offense at you, they play fast and they showed that,” Gallant said. “Tonight they were the better team.”Tatar narrowed the deficit to 2-1 at 7:31 of the first with a nifty high backhand shot past Shesterkin for his sixth of the season. Jesper Bratt had an assist on the play, giving him a point in 18 for the Devils’ 23 games this season.Sharangovich tied it with an unassisted goal with 6:35 left in the first.Hughes put the Devils ahead at 5:44 of the second after he gained a stride on Lindgren before sliding the puck past Shesterkin for his 12th of the season and fourth in the last two games.McLeod made it 4-2 at 9:40 with his third goal after Wood hit the crossbar behind Shesterkin.“I have to play better,” said , who was also in goal for Saturday’s meltdown against Edmonton and has lost three of his last five games.It was the fourth time in their last six games the Devils scored at least four times and New Jersey improved to 9-0-0 when the 21-year-old Hughes — the top overall pick by the Devils in the 2019 draft — has a goal. Trocheck scored his eighth goal on the power play for the Rangers with 6:42 left in the third to pull within one, but Sharangovich added an empty-netter with 16 seconds remaining to seal the win.The Devils improved a franchise-best 13-1-0 in November and an NHL-best 16-0-0 when leading after two periods.“It’s fun playing here,” Hischier said. “It feels great to beat the Rangers,″Panarin scored 1:20 into the game to end a personal 12-game goal-scoring drought with his sixth of the season and first since Oct. 30 at Arizona.Zibanejad made it 2-0 at 3:01 with his team-best 11th of the season. UP NEXTDevils: Host Nashville on Thursday night.Rangers: At Ottawa on Wednesday night.———AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://www.twitter.com/AP—Sports
Williamson powers short-handed Pelicans past Thunder 105-101
NEW ORLEANS — Zion Williamson scored 23 points, matched his career high with eight assists and converted a go-ahead three-point play with 44 seconds left to lift the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans to a 105-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.With the Pelicans playing without Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum, Williamson also had eight rebounds and three blocked shots against a collapsing defense aimed at turning him into a passer.“I thought he handled it well,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “You can see by his assist numbers. There were moments he knew he could get to the basket with his speed, but he trusted his teammates. We’re all super proud of him.”Williamson either scored or assisted on every point in an 11-4 New Orleans run in the third quarter that stretched the Pelicans’ lead to 75-62.“I always try to play basketball the right way,” Williamson said. “I imagine if there are three people on me, two people got to be open. They made the shots.”The Pelicans slowed down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the floor, but the penetrating guard still scored 31 points on 7-of-21 shooting. He did most of his damage from the foul line, going 16 of 18. New Orleans took 20 foul shots overall.The Pelicans led 93-86 with 5:34 left, but the Thunder got back-to-back 3-pointers from Aleksej Pokusevski and Gilgeous-Alexander to cut the deficit to 95-92. Oklahoma City took a 101-100 lead on Jeremiah Robinson-Earl’s 3-pointer with 51 seconds left, but New Orleans scored the final five points.Williamson got a three-point play on hard drive and a free throw, and Herb Jones drew a charge against Gilgeous-Alexander with 2.3 seconds left.Williamson credited Jones’ defense with the victory. After taking the charge, Jones inbounded the ball with 1.5 seconds left off the back of Pokusevski, grabbed it and was fouled. He made both free throws.“Herb and I got this thing: We look at each other and say ‘Ain’t nothing sweet over here,’” Williamson said. “Herb is a special defender. For him to get a charge and hit two free throws is big time.”Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the call charge against Gilgeus-Alexander was a bang-bang play.“It might have been legal, might not have been,” he said. “I trust that they got it right.”Williamson also matched his career high with three blocks and had one steal. He looked spry on defense and energetic running the floor.“He was great,” Green said. “He’s still knocking some rust off. He’s getting better and better more he plays. Zion’s individual defense is part of our collective defense as a team. We can live with guys making shots as long as we make it tough.”This was Williamson’s 100th game as a pro, and his injury-plagued journey was on his mind.“It’s been a long journey, but would I have liked it to look like that? Absolutely not. I would’ve liked to have played every game,” Williamson said. “But at the end of the day, it’s helped me mentally and spiritually and growing as a man.”Trey Murphy III added 20 points for New Orleans.TIP-INSThunder: Daigneault said having several international players on his roster, including second-year G Josh Giddey, is good for the league. “It broadens everybody’s scope when you’ve got international players,” Daigneault said. “It just shows it’s an international game.” Pelicans: Besides Ingram (left great toe) and McCollum (health and safety protocols), the Pelicans were without F Larry Nance Jr. (right shoulder) and F Naji Marshall. … The Pelicans have won six of eight. … Australian Dyson Daniels squared off against fellow Aussie Giddey for the first time in their NBA careers. The childhood friends both played at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra. … Williamson picked up the first technical foul of his career in the first half.UP NEXTThunder: Host San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.Pelicans: Host Toronto Raptors on Wednesday in a stretch of six of seven at home.
Hinson, Pittsburgh rain 3s on Northwestern, wins 87-58
Blake Hinson hit 4 of 5 from three-point range and scored 22 points as Pittsburgh posted its highest-scoring game in the last two seasons as the Panthers cruised past Northwestern, 87-58 in an ACC/Big Ten ChallengeEVANSTON, Ill. — Blake Hinson shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range and scored 22 points as Pittsburgh posted its highest-scoring game in the last two seasons as the Panthers cruised past Northwestern, 87-58 in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest on Monday night.Pittsburgh shot 14 for 22 (63.6%) from beyond the arc.The Panthers made just two field goals in the first seven minutes before warming up with Nick Sibande, Hinson and Nelly Cummings each knocking down a pair of shots from long range for a 37-28 lead into half. Pitt pushed the lead throughout the second half, and a Nate Santos 3 with 2:11 made it 87-55.Greg Elliott made 3 of 4 from 3 and all five foul shots for points and Cummings shot 3 of 4 from beyond the arc for 17 points with six assists for Pitt (5-3). Jamarius Burton added 14 points and seven assists and Sibande added 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting from long range. Chase Audige scored 14 points and Boo Buie added 10 points and five assists for Northwestern (5-2).Pittsburgh opens ACC play Friday at NC State while Northwestern opens Big Ten play Sunday at No. 20 Michigan State.——More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25