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NBA-SCHEDULE-CELTICS-HAWKS
Tatum leads Celtics past Hawks 123-115 for 4th straight win
UNDATED (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 28 points and Grant Williams drove for a key basket in the final minute, leading the Boston Celtics to a 123-115 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks had a chance when a video review overturned a call along the baseline that initially gave Boston the ball. But Trae Young turned it over with a bad pass at the other end. The Celtics milked the shot clock before Williams took off down the lane and banked one in with 37.6 seconds remaining. Boston won its fourth straight. Young led Atlanta with 34 points but also had nine turnovers.
In other Monday action:
— Nikola Vucevic (NEE'-koh-lah VOOCH'-uh-vihch) scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic snapped a five-game skid with a 112-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Evan Fournier added 17 points and Markelle Fultz had 12 points and 14 assists for the Magic, who won for the first time since beating the Hornets by 23 points in Charlotte on Jan. 20. Terry Rozier scored 18 points for the struggling Hornets, who have lost 11 of 12.
— Jimmy Butler scored 38 points against his former club and the Miami Heat ran away in the second half to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 137-106. Goran Dragic scored 24 points and Bam Adebayo had 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 29 points and 12 rebounds. The 76ers have dropped 10 of their last 12 on the road.
—Marcus Morris Sr. scored 26 points, including a key jumper in overtime, and the New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 139-134. Kevin Love had 33 points and 13 rebounds in possibly his final home game with Cleveland. But the Cavaliers lost for the 11th time in 12 games.
—Caris LeVert tied his career high with 29 points in his first start in nearly three months, helping the Brooklyn Nets overcome the absence of Kyrie Irving to beat the Phoenix Suns 119-97. Suns star Devin Booker was held to 11 points on 3-for-15 shooting. Joe Harris added 16 points and Taurean Prince had 15. in the decisive third quarter for the Nets.
—Kristaps Porzingis had 38 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-103 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Porzingis shot 6 of 13 on 3-pointers and made all 12 of his free throws. Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 25 points for Dallas, which played without injured All-Star Luka Doncic for the third straight game. Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 26 points.
—Alec Burks scored 30 points, Glenn Robinson III added 22 and the Golden State Warriors beat Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards 125-117. It was the second straight win for the NBA-worst Warriors (12-39), with both coming on the road.
T25-SCHEDULE-NORTH CAROLINA-FLORIDA STATE
Williams, Gray lead No. 8 Florida State past North Carolina
UNDATED (AP) — Patrick Williams had 14 points and nine rebounds, Trent Forrest also scored 14 and No. 8 Florida State beat North Carolina 65-59 on Monday. RaiQuan Gray had 10 second-half points as the Seminoles improved to 9-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. Cole Anthony started in his second game back from knee surgery for UNC. The freshman guard scored 16 points on 5-of-23 shooting and added seven rebounds.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL POLL
Baylor strengthens hold on No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll
UNDATED (AP) — Baylor has strengthened its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press men's college basketball poll.
The Bears received 49 of 65 first-place votes in the latest poll to stay comfortably ahead of Gonzaga and Kansas. The Bears are atop the rankings for a third straight week.
Nos. 1-4 remained unchanged, continuing a stretch of stability in what has been an unpredictable season with a record-tying seven different teams reaching No. 1.
Atlantic Coast Conference leader Louisville climbed a spot to No. 5, followed by Dayton, Duke, Florida State and Maryland – which jumped six spots to No. 9 after beating Iowa last week for its fourth straight win.
Villanova rounded out the top 10. No. 9 Maryland and No. 11 Auburn made the week's biggest jumps. Each rose six spots. No. 21 Creighton and No. 23 Arizona re-entered the poll. Wichita State and Rutgers fell out.
NHL-SCHEDULE-FLYERS-RED WINGS
Elliott gets 40th shutout in Flyers' 3-0 win over Red Wings
UNDATED (AP) — Brian Elliott made 16 saves to earn his 40th career shutout in the Philadelphia Flyers' 3-0 win over the sinking Detroit Red Wings. Scott Laughton, Kevin Hayes and defenseman Matt Niskanen scored for Philadelphia. The goals by Hayes and Niskanen were short-handed. The punchless Red Wings have been shut out in two consecutive games and have lost nine straight overall.
In other rink action:
—Mark Pysyk scored three times in his first career hat trick, and the Florida Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. Mike Hoffman had a goal and an assist for Florida, which trailed 3-1 early in the third period. Mike Matheson had three assists, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves in the Panthers' seventh win in eight games.
MLB NEWS-MARINERS-GONZALES
Gonzales, Mariners agree to $30 million deal for 2021-24
UNDATED (AP) — Left-hander Marco Gonzales and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to a $30 million contract covering 2021-24, a deal that includes a club option and could be worth $45 million over five seasons. Gonzales is coming off the best season of his career. He tied for the American League lead with 34 starts and was tied for fifth with 16 victories. His 3.99 ERA was the lowest of his career and he set career highs in starts, innings pitched and strikeouts. The 27-year-old is about to begin his third full season with Seattle after starting his career with St. Louis.
Elsewhere:
—The Houston Astros have hired James Click as their new general manager. The Tampa Bay Rays executive is now in charge of the scandal-ridden team a week before the start of spring training. Click succeeds Jeff Luhnow, who along with manager AJ Hinch was suspended by Major League Baseball in the wake of a sign-stealing scam and then fired by the Astros. The Astros hired Dusty Baker last week as their new manager.
— Right-hander Brandon Kinztler and the Miami Marlins have finalized a one-year contract that guarantees $3,275,000. Miami also completed a $1.5 million, one-year deal with outfielder Matt Joyce. Kintzler was 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA last year in 68 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs. Joyce hit .295 with 10 doubles, seven home runs, and 23 RBIs in 238 plate appearances for the Atlanta Braves last season.
— Jhoulys Chacín (joh-LEES' cha-SEEN') has finalized a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins after a miserable 2019 season that saw him go from an opening day start to an August release. The 32-year-old right-hander was 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA for Milwaukee in 2018 after signing a $15.5 million, two-year deal with the Brewers.
— The Yankees have more competition in the job for backup catcher. Three players — Erik Kratz, Josh Thole and Chris Iannetta — have agreed to minor league contracts. Austin Romine, Gary Sánchez's backup the last three seasons, became a free agent and agreed to a contract with Detroit. Kyle Higashioka is the only other catcher on New York's 40-man roster.
A pair of social gathering areas are being added to the second deck of Yankee Stadium, cutting seating by 500 to 800 seats. New York is adding the Stella Artois Landing in left field and the Michelob Ultra Clubhouse in right field. Both areas are covered because they are below the top deck.
NFL-SUPER BOWL
Chiefs fans preparing for super celebration
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs fans are flocking to buy T-shirts, lining up for photos and preparing to skip out on work for a celebratory parade after the team won its first Super Bowl in 50 years.
Schools in the area are calling off classes so students and staff can attend “The Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade" on Wednesday morning. Officials announced the celebration shortly after the Chiefs defeated San Francisco 31-20 on Sunday. The festivities will include a victory rally at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the parade ends. Fans were taking pictures in front of a newly installed sign inside Union Station that proclaims the Chiefs “World Champions!”
In other NFL news:
— The Atlanta Falcons have cut ties with outside linebacker Vic Beasley, who led the NFL in sacks in 2016 but didn't come close to matching that production over the last three seasons. Beasley will become an unrestricted free agent on Match 18. Beasley was the eighth overall pick in 2015.
—The Nielsen company says 99.9 million people watched the Kansas City Chiefs come from behind to beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. That's a rebound from the 98.5 million people who watched the Super Bowl in 2019. Ratings had been slowly declining since hitting a peak of 114.4 million viewers in 2015.
—The Detroit Lions signed free agent guard Josh Garnett, a former first-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. The Lions did not disclose contract terms. Garnett was the 28th pick in the 2016 draft out of Stanford. He spent three seasons with the 49ers before being released before the start of this season.
— Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Willie Wood has died. He was 83. Wood won five NFL championships with the Green Bay Packers under coach Vince Lombardi and made the first interception in Super Bowl history. He rose from undrafted rookie to play safety in eight Pro Bowls. Longtime friend Robert Schmidt says Wood died of natural causes in Washington.
NBA-KOBIE BRYANT-STAPLES MEMORIAL
Staples Center removes public's massive Kobe Bryant memorial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The massive memorial created by the public outside Staples Center after the death of former Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant is being dismantled, with an official saying some of the items will go to Bryant's widow.
The cleanup of flowers, balloons, jerseys, stuffed toys and other items began before dawn and behind a barrier. More than 1,300 basketballs were boxed. Fans spontaneously began creating the memorial in a plaza outside the arena when word surfaced that Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26. Some of the material will be donated to Bryant’s widow.
In other NBA news:
—The Los Angeles Lakers' first game since Kobe Bryant's death was the second-most watched regular-season NBA game on ESPN. The game against the Portland Trail Blazers averaged 4.41 million viewers.
OHIO STATE-TEAM DOCTOR
House leader urges action on bill tied to Ohio State scandal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Unhappy with Ohio State's response to allegations of widespread, decades-old sexual abuse by a team doctor, the leader of the Ohio House called Monday for lawmakers to act soon on a stalled proposal to enable the survivors to sue the university under state law.
About 350 men alleging sexual misconduct by the late Richard Strauss have sued the school in federal court. Ohio State initially argued those claims are time-barred by law, but it has since committed to a “monetary resolution” for those who were abused.
RUSSIAN DOPING
Russian track federation board resigns over doping failure
MOSCOW (AP) — The entire board of the Russian Athletics Federation has resigned as Russia faces another ban from Olympic track events and possible expulsion from World Athletics. The federation says the entire board stepped down after a meeting with the new Russian Sports Minister, Oleg Matytsin. The federation has been suspended by World Athletics since 2015 because of widespread doping. The crisis has deepened in recent months after a program allowing Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes was frozen.
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