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NBA-SCHEDULE
Embiid on target as 76ers top Kings
UNDATED (AP) — Joel Embiid (joh-EHL’ ehm-BEED’) was back in top form after failing to score a point on Monday for the first time in his NBA career.
The Philadelphia 76ers center had team highs of 33 points and 16 rebounds in a 97-91 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Embiid finished 10 of 19 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line versus Sacramento after an 0-for-11 performance from the field against the Raptors.
Rookie Matisse Thybulle scored all 15 of his career-best points in the second half in place of Josh Richardson, who didn’t play after the second quarter because of a hamstring injury.
Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:
— The Raptors are 8-0 at home for the first time in team history after Pascal Siakam (see-A’-kam) scored 31 points and OG Anunoby added 13 with a career-high 12 rebounds in a 126-98 dismantling of the Knicks. Chris Boucher had 13 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, and Fred VanVleet and Terence Davis each scored 15 points in Toronto’s 33rd consecutive home win over Atlantic Division opponents.
— Kemba Walker returned from a neck injury to score a season-high 39 points in the Celtics’ 121-110 downing of the Nets. Jaylen Brown added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jayson Tatum had 16 points and nine boards for Boston.
— The Pacers won their fourth in a row as Domantas Sabonis (doh-MAHN’-tahs sah-BOH’-nihs) had 23 points and 12 rebounds in a 121-102 win against of the Jazz. T.J. Warren chipped in 23 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 22 for Indiana, which put together an 18-5 run in the final period to pull away.
— Devonte Graham had 16 points and a career-high 15 assists in the Hornets’ eighth straight win over the Pistons, 102-101. Bismack Biyombo (BIHS'-mak bee-AHM'-boh) delivered 19 points and rookie P.J. Washington added 17 to help Charlotte halt a five-game skid.
— Evan Fournier (FOHRN'-yay) dropped in a season-high 30 points and the Magic won for the first time in eight road games this season by topping the Cavaliers, 116-104. Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac each scored 16 points to help Orlando win without center Nikola Vucevic(NEE’-koh-lah VOO’-vhehch-vihch) and forward Aaron Gordon, who missed their third straight game with right ankle injuries.
T25-MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Jayhawks outlast Flyers, Spartans whip Bruins in Maui
UNDATED (AP) — Fourth-ranked Kansas has won the Maui Invitational
The Jayhawks erased an eight-point deficit late in regulation before outlasting Dayton, 90-84 in overtime. Kansas took control with an 11-0 run in the extra session after Jalen Crutcher buried a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to extend the game for the Flyers.
Devon Dotson poured in 31 points and Udoka Azubuike (oo-DOH’-kah az-uh-BOO’-kay) had seven of his 29 in overtime to help the Jayhawks win their sixth in a row since a season-opening loss to Duke.
Third-ranked Michigan State was able to win its last two games at the Maui Invitational after dropping its opener against Virginia Tech.
Cassius Winston scored 20 points and Xavier Tillman had 14 with seven rebounds as the Spartans knocked off UCLA, 75-62 in the fifth-place game at Lahaina. Winston had a second straight strong performance after being held to seven points by the Hokies.
Michigan State used an 18-2 advantage in fast break points to close its Maui trip with a flourish.
Also on Wednesday’s top-25 schedule:
— Garrison Brooks scored 16 of his 20 points of sixth-ranked North Carolina’s 76-67 win against Alabama in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Tar Heels had a 60-31 rebounding advantage and pulled down 23 on the offensive glass, leading to 23 second-chance points.
— Mamadi Diakite (MAH’-mah-dee dee-ah-KEE’-tay) scored 15 points and Jay Huff had 13 as No. 7 Virginia beat Maine 46-26. The Cavaliers played without second-leading scorer Braxton Key, who has undergone wrist surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely.
— Corey Kispert nailed seven 3-pointers while matching his career high with 28 points in leading eighth-ranked Gonzaga to a 94-69 over Southern Mississippi in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Joel Ayayi added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the 7-0 Bulldogs.
T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL-NEWS
NCAA denies Memphis’ appeal of Wiseman suspension
UNDATED (AP) — Memphis center James Wiseman won’t get any reduction in his 12-game suspension. The NCAA has denied Memphis’ appeal of the penalty Wiseman received last week. The heralded freshman won’t be able to play again for the 16th-ranked Tigers until Jan. 12 at South Florida.
The penalty surrounds the $11,500 that Memphis coach Penny Hardaway gave Wiseman’s family for moving expenses from Nashville to Memphis in the summer of 2017.
In other men’s basketball news:
— Kentucky says forward Nate Sestina will miss approximately four weeks after breaking his left wrist in practice. Coach John Calipari says the 6-foot-9, 234-pound graduate transfer was injured Tuesday when he tried to brace himself after falling backward from a blocked layup attempt.
— The biggest winner in the aftermath of Stephen F. Austin’s shocking upset of No. 1 Duke might be the fundraising website for the family of the player who hit the game-winning layup. After the win, a two-month old GoFundMe page set up to help guard Nathan Bain’s family rebuild from Hurricane Dorian damage raised nearly $35,000 in less than 12 hours. That’s a massive spike from the roughly $2,000 it had raised before Tuesday night’s game.
NHL-SCHEDULE
Pens rally to stun Canucks
UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins have points in 12 of their last 14 games after exploding in the third period against Vancouver on Wednesday.
The Pens erupted for six goals over the final period of an 8-6 comeback over the Canucks. Pittsburgh trailed 6-3 until Dominik Kahun (kah-HOON’) and Evgeni Malkin scored 68 seconds apart early in the third. Kris Letang (leh-TANG’) put the Penguins ahead with 3:06 remaining before Malkin added his second goal of the period.
Malkin collected five points and Jake Guentzel had two goals and two assists for the Pens.
Elsewhere on NHL ice:
— Braden Holtby turned back 37 shots and Lars Eller provided the tiebreaking goal as the Caps downed the Panthers, 4-3. Alex Ovechkin (oh-VEHCH’-kihn) added his team-leading 16th goal for the Atlantic Division leaders, who won despite being out-shot 40-20.
— Zdeno Chara (zuh-DAY’-noh CHAH’-rah) broke a tie midway through the third period of the Bruins’ 2-1 victory at Ottawa Senators. Brad Marchand also scored and Tuukka (TOO’-kuh) Rask made 33 saves in the Bruins’ fifth straight win.
— The Blues earned a 4-3 victory over the Lightning as Oskar Sundqvist had two goals before leaving with a lower-body injury in the second period. Zach Sanford and Brayden Schenn scored in the third period and Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots for St. Louis.
— Andreas Johnsson had two goals and an assist as the Maple Leafs blew out the Red Wings, 6-0 to improve to 3-0 under new coach Sheldon Keefe. Tyson Barrie and William Nylander each had a goal and an assist to back Frederik Andersen, who stopped 25 shots in his 17th career shutout.
— The Flames skated away with a 3-2 win at Buffalo on Elias Lindholm’s goal 77 into overtime. Matthew Tkachuk (kah-CHUHK') and T.J. Brodie each had a goal and an assist as Calgary improved to 2-0-1 in its last three games.
— Adam Fox had a goal and an assist to support Henrik Lundqvist, who stopped 41 shots in the Rangers’ 3-2 win against the Hurricanes. Mika Zibanejad (MEE’-kuh zih-BAN’-eh-jad) scored in his return after missing 13 games with an upper body injury, helping New York improve to 9-4-1 in its last 14 contests.
— Claude Giroux (juh-ROO’) notched a power-play goal and Brian Elliott stopped 27 shots as the Flyers won for only the second time in their last 15 visits to Columbus, 3-2. Scott Laughton had his first goal after a 13-game absence due to a broken finger.
NHL-NEWS
Brind’Amour says Peters kicked, punched players in Carolina
UNDATED (AP) — Calgary Flames coach Bill Peters has written a letter of apology in which he acknowledges using offensive language in dealing with a Nigerian-born player 10 years ago in the minors.
The letter was addressed to general manager Brad Treliving (treh-LIH’-vihng) and obtained by Canadian sports cable network TSN. Peters says he regretted the incident and apologizes to anyone negatively affected by it.
Meanwhile, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has confirmed Peters kicked and punched players behind the bench while coaching Carolina. Brind’Amour was an assistant on Peters’ staff before taking over as head coach after Peters was fired following the 2017-18 season.
Peters has been benched by Calgary while the NHL and the team investigate allegations he directed racist slurs at a Nigerian-born player in the minors 10 years ago.
NFL-NEWS
Panthers lose Poe, Van Roten to season-ending injuries
UNDATED (AP) — The Panthers have placed starting defensive tackle Dontari Poe and offensive lineman Greg Van Roten on injured reserve.
Poe played in all 11 games with eight starts and had four sacks, his most since his 2014 Pro Bowl season when he tallied six with Kansas City. Van Roten started 27 consecutive games for Carolina dating to the 2018 season opener prior to his injury.
Carolina signed defensive linemen Woodrow Hamilton and Stacy McGee on Wednesday to replace them.
In other NFL news:
— The Titans have placed three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker on injured reserve for a second straight season. Walker missed the past four games and played only five snaps Oct. 20 in a win over the Chargers after aggravating the right ankle he broke in the 2018 season opener.
— The Broncos are upping quarterback Drew Lock's snaps at practice in preparation for his possible debut Sunday against the Chargers. Coach Vic Fangio said Wednesday that the second-round pick from Missouri who has been on IR all season will take 75% of the snaps with Brandon Allen taking the rest. The Broncos turned to Allen when Joe Flacco went on IR at midseason.
MLB-NEWS
Pirates hire Twins bench coach Derek Shelton as manager
UNDATED (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have confirmed the hiring of Derek Shelton as their new manager.
Shelton replaces Clint Hurdle, who was fired on the final day of the season following a second-half collapse that dropped the Pirates to a last-place finish in the NL Central.
The 49-year-old Shelton spent the last two seasons as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins.
In other MLB news:
— A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that reliever Carl Edwards Jr. and the Mariners have agreed to a one-year, $950,000 contract. Edwards had an 8.47 ERA in 22 appearances for the Cubs and Padres, who acquired him at the July 31 trade deadline.
— The Padres have acquired right-hander Zach Davies and outfielder Trent Grisham from the Brewers for infielder Luis Urías, left-hander Eric Lauer and either cash or another player. Davies was 10-7 with a 3.55 ERA in 31 starts in 2019, his fifth big league season.
— Catcher Stephen Vogt and the Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees $3 million and could be worth $8 million over two seasons if he plays regularly. Vogt played last season for San Francisco, hitting .263 with 10 homers and 40 RBIs.
— Yankees first baseman Greg Bird became a free agent Wednesday after he cleared waivers and refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He hit .171 in 10 games with one RBI, an opening-day home run.
— Twins shortstop Jorge Polanco is rehabilitating from arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle and is expected to be fully recovered in plenty of time for spring training. The team said Polanco will be able to resume baseball activities in about six weeks.
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