Friday Sports Update – Thunder Top Trail Blazers In OT
(Portland, OR) — Russell Westbrook scored 37 points as the Thunder edged by the Trail Blazers 129-121 in overtime in Portland. Paul George had 32 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder have won two of their last three and moved a game in front of Portland with a 40-and-25 record. Damian Lillard scored 51 points or the Trail Blazers. McCollum contributed 25 points in the loss. Jusuf Nurkic had 13 points and 17 rebounds for Portland before being ejected in the final minute of regulation with two technicals. Portland has lost three of its last four.
Rockets Home Tonight Against Sixers
(Houston, TX) — The Rockets will be at home tonight to face the Sixers. Houston will seek to win its seventh in a row. The Rockets are 39-and-25, which leads the Southwest Division. They will play Sunday against the Mavericks in Dallas.
Mavericks Playing In Orlando Tonight
(Orland, FL) — The Mavericks will conclude their three-game trip tonight against the Magic in Orlando. Dallas has lost three straight and eight of nine. The Mavs will return home Sunday to meet the Rockets.
NBA
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Milwaukee Bucks 117, Indiana Pacers 98
Oklahoma City Thunder 129, Portland Trail Blazers 121 (OT)
Radulov, Bishop Lead Stars To Win
(Dallas, TX) — Alexander Radulov recorded a hat trick as the Stars blanked the Avalanche 4-0 in Dallas. Ben Bishop made 31 saves for his second shutout in three days. Jamie Benn had the other goal for Dallas, which has won four straight and leads the Western Conference wild-card standings with 75 points. The Stars will wrap up their three-game homestand tomorrow night against the Chicago Black Hawks.
NHL
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Pittsburgh Penguins 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 0
Boston Bruins 4, Florida Panthers 3
Minnesota Wild 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 0
Detroit Red Wings 3, New York Rangers 2 (SO)
New York Islanders 4, Ottawa Senators 2
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Buffalo Sabres 4 (SO)
Dallas Stars 4, Colorado Avalanche 0
Arizona Coyotes 2, Calgary Flames 0
Edmonton Oilers 3, Vancouver Canucks 2
San Jose Sharks 5, Montreal Canadiens 2
St. Louis Blues 4, Los Angeles Kings 0
Pence Homers In Rangers Loss
(Peoria, AZ) — Hunter Pence belted his first spring training homer, a three-run shot in the seventh, in the Rangers’ 11-8 loss to the Padres in Peoria. Danny Santana contributed a two-run homer in the Texas first inning. Left-hander Mike Minor took the loss, yielding four runs on six hits over three innings. The Rangers will play the Rockies today in Scottsdale.
Astros Top Marlins
(Jupiter, FL) — Justin Verlander struck out five, walked two and allowed five hits in three-plus scoreless innings in the Astros’ 4-1 victory over the Marlins. Corbin Martin picked up the save, striking out three in two scoreless innings. Houston improved to 7-and-5. The Astros will meet the Cardinals tonight in Grapefruit League action.
MLB Grapefruit League
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Toronto Blue Jays 11, Tampa Bay Rays 2
Houston Astros 4, Miami Marlins 1
Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Baltimore Orioles 4
New York Yankees 6, Philadelphia Phillies (ss) 0
Washington Nationals 6, New York Mets 4
Philadelphia Phillies (ss) 3, Detroit Tigers 1
Minnesota Twins 12, Boston Red Sox 1
MLB Cactus League
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Colorado Rockies 7, Chicago Cubs 5
Kansas City Royals 8, Los Angeles Angels (ss) 7
Chicago White Sox 9, Milwaukee Brewers 5
Cleveland Indians 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
San Diego Padres 11, Texas Rangers 8
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Los Angeles Angels (ss) 2
Seattle Mariners 11, Cincinnati Reds 3
Oakland Athletics 5, San Francisco Giants 1
Irving Announces He Is Retiring From NFL
(Undated) — Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving announced on Instagram Live he is retiring from the NFL. He was suspended last week for violating the NFL’s drug policy. Irving, who has several failed marijuana drug tests, was smoking when he made the announcement. Irving says he loves football, but not the NFL.
Reports: Broncos Trading QB Keenum To Redskins
(Englewood, CO) — The quarterback carousel continues in the NFL this offseason. Multiple reports say the Broncos are trading former starting QB Case Keenum to the Redskins. This comes just weeks after Denver agreed to acquire Joe Flacco from the Ravens. Denver went 6-and-10 last season. Trades will become official with the start of the new league year next week.
TCU Assistant Basketball Coach Implicated
(Fort Worth, TX) — Several outlets have implicated TCU assistant basketball coach Corey Baker for allegedly accepting bribes from would-be agent Christian Dawkins. Federal prosecutors are investigating college basketball corruption. TCU athletics director Jeremiah Donati says the department has been conducting an internal review. Dawkins was sentenced to six months in jail earlier this week in Manhattan after he was found guilty for facilitating money to families of basketball recruits.
College Basketball (Top-25 Coaches Poll)
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#12 Houston Cougars 90, SMU Mustangs 79
UCF Knights 58, #19 Cincinnati Bearcats 55
#21 Wisconsin Badgers 65, Iowa Hawkeyes 45
College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) — In local college basketball action, SMU lost 90-79 at number-12 Houston. Tomorrow, TCU will be at Texas, number-eight Texas Tech will be at Iowa State, North Texas will wrap up its regular season at Florida International, SMU will play at South Florida, Texas State will be at UT-Arlington, Baylor will be at number-14 Kansas and Mississippi State will host Texas A&M.
Gach, Quaid Lead #4 West Texas A&M to 72-59 Victory over Cameron in LSC Quarterfinals
Frisco, Texas – Gach Gach scored a game-high 21 points with Ryan Quaid chipping in 15 points and 12 rebounds as No. 4 West Texas A&M defeated Cameron 72-59 in the Lone Star Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday evening at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The Buffs advance to Saturday’s semifinal where they will play the winner of Eastern New Mexico and Tarleton.
#16 Lady Buffs Battle Texas A&M-Kingsville in the LSC Quarterfinals
Canyon, Texas – The #16 Lady Buffs claimed a share of their 17th Lone Star Conference Regular Season Title with an overall record of 25-3 as they claimed the top overall seed in this weekend’s LSC Championship, they take on eighth seeded Texas A&M-Kingsville on Friday evening at 6 p.m. at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
Dan Jenkins Dies At Age 89
(Fort Worth, TX) — Sports writing legend Dan Jenkins has died. He was 89. Jenkins is a Fort Worth native and TCU graduate. He began his career writing for the Fort Worth Press and Dallas Times Herald before joining the Sports Illustrated staff. He wrote more than 20 books, including best-sellers “Semi-Tough,” “Baja Oklahoma” and “Dead Solid Perfect.” His daughter Sally Jenkins is an award-winning sports columnist for The Washington Post.
