Thursday Sports Update – Rockets Nine Game Winning Streak Over
Warriors Hold Off Rockets
(Houston, TX) — The Rockets’ nine-game winning streak is over. James Harden led Houston with 19 points and 10 assists in a 106-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center. Chris Paul contributed 24 points, while Clint Capela had 13 points and 13 boards in defeat. The Rockets are home tomorrow against the Phoenix Suns.
Thunder Topple Nets
(Oklahoma City, OK) — Russell Westbrook’s 26th triple-double of the season led the Thunder to a 108-96 victory over the Nets in Oklahoma City. Westbrook had 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Paul George contributed 25 points and nine boards to the victory. Oklahoma City is 3-and-1 in its last four games and 42-and-26 overall. Reserve Spencer Dinwiddie led Brooklyn with 25 points. D’Angelo Russell scored 14 in defeat. The Nets had their four-game winning streak snapped.
NBA
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Washington Wizards 100, Orlando Magic 90
Oklahoma City Thunder 108, Brooklyn Nets 96
Miami Heat 108, Detroit Pistons 74
Atlanta Hawks 132, Memphis Grizzlies 111
Golden State Warriors 106, Houston Rockets 104
Utah Jazz 114, Phoenix Suns 97
Mavs Play Tonight In Denver
(Denver, CO) — The Mavericks will try to snap a six-game losing streak when they play the Nuggets tonight in Denver. Dallas has lost 11-of-12 to fall 13 games below .500 at 27-and-40. Denver is 44-and-22 and leads the Northwest Division. The Mavs will return home Saturday against Cleveland.
Stars Facing Wild Tonight
(St. Paul, MN) — The Stars face the Wild tonight in St. Paul in a critical game for both teams in the NHL Western Conference playoff race. Dallas is 5-and-1 in its last six and sits atop the wild card standings with 77 points. The Coyotes rank second in the wild card with 75 points, while the Wild are sitting just outside with 74. Dallas trails St. Louis by two points for third place in the Central Division.
NHL
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Chicago Blackhawks 5, Toronto Maple Leafs 4
New Jersey Devils 6, Edmonton Oilers 3
Vancouver Canucks 4, New York Rangers 1
Rangers Will Play Two Today
(Surprise, AZ) — The Rangers will play split-squad games today after having yesterday off and getting rained out on Tuesday. Edinson Vólquez will start for Texas against the Royals in Surprise. Adrian Sampson is the Rangers’ probable against the Cubs in Mesa. Former-Ranger Yu Darvish will start for Chicago.
Astros Lose 2-1 To Mets
(Port St. Lucie, FL) — Gerrit Cole allowed two runs on four hits, struck out four and walked one in four-plus innings in the Astros’ 2-1 loss to the Mets in Port St. Lucie. Derek Fisher drove in the Houston run. The Astros will start Collin McHugh today against the Marlins at West Palm Beach. The Astros are 9-and-9 in Grapefruit League action.
MLB Grapefruit League
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Miami Marlins 4, St. Louis Cardinals 1
Washington Nationals 8, Atlanta Braves 4
Minnesota Twins 9, Boston Red Sox 5
Baltimore Orioles 6, Toronto Blue Jays 4
New York Mets 2, Houston Astros 1
Philadelphia Phillies 5, New York Yankees 5 (F/10)
MLB Cactus League
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Oakland Athletics 12, Chicago Cubs 11
Kansas City Royals 17, Cleveland Indians (ss) 7
Cleveland Indians (ss) 9, Milwaukee Brewers 3
Colorado Rockies 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
San Diego Padres 9, Los Angeles Angels 3
Seattle Mariners 8, San Francisco Giants 4
Chicago White Sox 10, Los Angeles Dodgers 7
Cowboys Keeping Fullback, Tackle
(Frisco, TX) — The Cowboys have re-signed fullback Jamize Olawale to a three-year contract. He did not have a carry last year, but led the special teams with 13 tackles and often blocks for Ezekiel Elliott. Dallas also agreed to a two-year contract with backup offensive tackle Cameron Fleming.
Stewart, Bonnet Highlight NASCAR 2020 Hall Of Fame Finalists
(Daytona Beach, FL) — Three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and the late Neil Bonnett are among the 20 finalists for NASCAR’s 2020 Hall of Fame class. New to the list are two-time champion Sam Ard, former Daytona 500 winer Marvin Panch and the sport’s first “master mechanic” Red Vogt. Highlighting the list are Buddy Baker, who won 19 times in the Cup Series, including the Daytona 500 and Southern 500, Neil Bonnett, who won 18 times in the Cup Series, including consecutive Coca-Cola 600 wins, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, who has combined for nine owner championships in the Cup and XFINITY series.
College Basketball (Top-25 Coaches’ Poll)
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#15 Virginia Tech Hokies 71, Miami Hurricanes 56 (ACC Tournament at Charlotte, NC)
March Madness Roundup
(Undated) — Colgate is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders beat Bucknell 94-80 to win the Patriot League title and return to the Big Dance for the first time since 1996. Conference tournaments are in full swing today, including the Big East in New York, the Big Ten in Chicago, the ACC in Charlotte, the Big 12 in Kansas City and the Pac-12 in Las Vegas.
TCU Holds On For Win, Advances In Big 12 Tourney
(Kansas City, MO) — TCU held off Oklahoma State 73-70 in an opening round Big 12 Tournament game in Kansas City. The Frogs blew a 21-point lead in the second half before Desmond Bane drilled a three-pointer in the waning seconds. TCU plays top-seeded Kansas State today. Also today, fourth-seeded Baylor collides with Iowa State, second-seeded Texas Tech meets West Virginia and Texas takes on Kansas.
Texas A&M Wins, Advances
(Nashville, TN) — Texas A&M beat Vanderbilt 69-52 in an SEC Tournament first-round game in Nashville. Savion Flagg scored a career-high 29 points in the victory. The Aggies will play Mississippi State tonight. Texas A&M is expected to fire head basketball coach Billy Kennedy after it is ousted from the SEC Tourney.
College Basketball Roundup
(Undated) — In other area college basketball action, Texas A&M beat Vanderbilt 69-52 in an SEC Tournament first-round game in Nashville. Savion Flagg scored a career-high 29 points in the victory. The Aggies will play Mississippi State tonight. SMU will tangle with Tulsa in the opening round of the AAC Tournament tonight in Memphis. North Texas defeated Florida International 71-57 in a Conference-USA Tournament first-round game in Frisco. The Mean Green will play Western Kentucky tonight. UT-Arlington is seeded second in the Sun Belt Tournament and has a bye into Saturday’s semifinals in New Orleans.
UT Fires Tennis Coach
Austin, Texas (AP) — The University of Texas fired tennis coach Michael Center after he was among those indicted on charges of taking bribes to help students get into top schools. Center was placed on leave Tuesday when federal officials unveiled indictments of a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal. Center was accused of taking up nearly $100,000 to get a student into school by listing him as a tennis recruit and offering him a books scholarship. Once enrolled the student never played tennis.
