Surging Tavares leads Islanders over Knights
John Tavares kept up his scoring surge with two more goals and the Islanders handed the expansion Vegas Golden Knights their second loss of the season, 6-3, on Monday night in Brooklyn.
Andrew Ladd, Mathew Barzal, Cal Clutterbuck and Nikolay Kulemin also scored, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 31 shots to help New York win for the fifth time in six games. Tavares has eight goals in the last four games.
William Karlsson, Alex Tuch and Colin Miller scored for Vegas, which snapped a five-game winning streak and lost another goalie to an injury. With starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban already sidelined, Oscar Dansk left after Tavares scored the tying goal late in the second period with an apparent leg injury.
KYRIE SINKS SPURS
Kyrie Irving scored 24 points, Jaylen Brown added 18 and Al Horford had 13 rebounds to help the host Celtics beat the Spurs, 108-94, and lead Boston to its fifth straight victory.
Irving scored 24 for the third straight game, rookie Jayson Tatum had 11 rebounds and Terry Rozier had 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. Boston lost its first two games of the season on back-toback nights — and star free agent Gordon Hayward, too — but have not lost since.
l Ben Simmons had 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and Joel Embiid added 22 points to lead the visiting 76ers to a 115-107 win over the Rockets.
TIGER TO PLAY IN BAHAMAS
Tiger Woods is back. Again. Woods announced on his website that he’ll return to competitive golf nine months after his most recent back surgery and a DUI arrest.
Woods, 41, will play in the Hero World Challenge, an event he hosts, Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Albany, Bahamas.
“I am excited to return to competitive golf at the Hero World Challenge,” Woods posted. “Albany is the perfect setting and it will be great to join this outstanding field. I want to thank Pawan Munjal and Hero MotoCorp for their continued support of this tournament and my foundation. I would also like to thank the fans for their unwavering support during my injury.”
The 14-time major champion was out of action for 15 months after undergoing a pair of back surgeries in 2015. He’s only teed it up 19 times on the PGA Tour since 2014 because of various injuries, mostly related to his ailing back.
Woods last played a competitive round at the Dubai Desert Classic the first week of February, but withdrew citing back spasms after shooting a first-round 77. Woods has not played since Dubai.
— Tom Biersdorfer