Senators douse Flames
OTTAWA, Ontario – Drake Batherson scored twice, giving him six straight games with a goal, and the Ottawa Senators beat the Calgary Flames 5-1 on Monday night.
Artem Anisimov and Thomas Chabot also scored for the Senators (8-15-1), and Colin White had an empty-net goal. Tim Stutzle contributed two assists to help Ottawa (8-15-1) win for the fourth time in five games.
The 22-year-old Batherson has seven goals in his last six games. He matched Jason Spezza for the longest goal streak in franchise history.
Matt Murray, pulled from Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Flames, stopped 27 shots for the win.
Milan Lucic scored for Calgary (10-11-2) in the finale of a six-game, 10-day road trip. David Rittich made 31 saves in his fifth consecutive start.
After White’s empty-netter, Chabot scored with Rittich back in net at 17:47 of the third period.
Ottawa outshot Calgary 22-6 in the second period and led 3-1 heading into the third.
UP NEXT
Flames: Host the Senators on Thursday night to open a stretch with six of seven at home.
Senators: At the Montreal Canadiens to open a six-game road trip that includes two games at Calgary and three at Edmonton.
SAN ANTONIO – While Kevin Durant has to sit down, James Harden keeps stepping up.
Harden had 30 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets overcame a collapse in the final seconds of regulation to beat the Spurs 124-113 in overtime on Monday night, snapping a 17-game losing streak in San Antonio.
Harden had his seventh triple-double in 22 games with Brooklyn since being traded from Houston, where he plays again Wednesday.
“Honestly, I just try to find ways to impact the game and not just scoring the basketball,” Harden said. “We have a number of guys that can put the ball in the basket. Just being a distributor of getting guys shots, getting guys easy buckets.
“I feel like it’s my job. Just playing the game right way, not forcing anything, trying to make the right play, trying to get guys shots. That’s kind of my mindset every single game and it’s been working.”
Despite recent injuries to Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn remains
Nets 124 Spurs 113 OT BKN: 23-13 SAS: 17-13
second in the Eastern Conference at 23-13.
“He’s a brilliant basketball player,” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said. “He makes others better. He can get to the line. He can finish in the paint and he’s always a threat from 3. He literally can do almost everything there is to do out there. He’s been a great leader for us.”
Irving added 27 points and Bruce Brown had 23 for Brooklyn, which bounced back after a loss to Dallas on Saturday ended its eight-game win streak.
The Spurs closed the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to force overtime, with 3-pointers by Lonnie Walker IV and Patty Mills and a driving layup by DeMar DeRozan.
“I thought they were great,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “Really worked hard. They have dug down deep all year and never gave up.”
Spurs point guard Dejounte Murray tied the game at 108 to close regulation after initially losing the ball near the 3-point line while attempting to drive to the paint. Murray was able to gather the loose ball behind him, quickly turning and rising to hit a 21-footer with Harden defending as time expired.
“We felt like we gave up that lead too easily down the stretch,” Irving said. “Just a few miscues, a few miscommunications. Just things that we want to clean up. We’ve just got to take this one on the chin. I don’t want to call it laziness, but just our focus level wasn’t matching the intensity in terms of where San Antonio was trying to get back in the game.”
Brooklyn scored the first eight points of overtime to regain command and went on to win a regular-season game in San Antonio for the first time since Jan. 22, 2002.
DeRozan had 22 points and 11 assists, while Murray and Walker each had 19 points. All five starters scored in double figures for San Antonio.
Playing just their second game since being sidelined for two weeks by health and safety protocols due to COVID-19, the Spurs got off to a sluggish start against the active Nets.
San Antonio is still without Rudy Gay, Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Devin Vassell and Quinndary Weatherspoon, who are sidelined due to the league’s health and safety protocols.
The Nets were not at full strength either, with Durant missing his eighth straight game with a left hamstring strain.
TIP-INS
Nets: Durant has not played since scoring 20 points in 33 minutes against Golden State on Feb. 13. … Irving and Harden held up tip-off momentarily to greet and speak to Popovich. Irving first spoke to the veteran Spurs coach and then Harden joined in as the trio enjoyed some laughter during a brief conversation.
Spurs: The Spurs announced fans can return to the AT&T Center beginning March 12 against Orlando. Attendance had been limited to family
members and staff previously. Seating will be limited to 3,200 fans initially. … Murray collected his 700th career assist in his 215th game with the Spurs. In franchise history, only Tony Parker, Johnny Moore, Andre
Robertson, Johnny Dawkins and Willie Anderson have more assists in that span.
UP NEXT
Nets: Play at Houston on Monday.
Spurs: Host the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
AUSTIN, Texas – Baylor coach Kim Mulkey summed up the Lady Bears night as “ugly” and sometimes downright hard to watch.
That mattered little when they left the court and got to dress up a postgame celebration with a Big 12 crown they don’t have to share.
NaLyssa Smith scored 23 points and No. 6 Baylor used a dominant third quarter to build a lead, then held a late Texas rally to earn a 64-57 victory Monday night that locked up sole possession of the league championship for the Lady Bears.
Baylor had already clinched a least a share of the program’s 12th league title and 11th in a row, and the win locked out any chance West Virginia had of staking a claim this season.
“Big 12 champion,” (6) Baylor 64 Texas 57
BU: 20-2 (15-1) TEX: 16-8 (10-7)
Mulkey said. “How can I not be happy? ... It was a good, close, ugly game.”
That it was, with 42 turnovers, 43 fouls and a pair of technical fouls on a Baylor player and a Texas coach.
Smith scored eight in the third quarter when Baylor broke open what had a been a close but sloppy game in a rematch of a 25-point Lady Bears win earlier this season. The Lady Bears stretched the lead to as many as 18 points before Texas rallied midway through the fourth quarter,
when Baylor piled up foul trouble.
Smith made two 3-pointers in the fourth, the second one giving the Lady Bears a 60-47 lead with just under 3 minutes left.
Baylor (20-2, 15-1) has won 10 in a row over Texas and
25 of the last 26 meetings. Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 15 points to lead Texas (16-8, 10-7).
“Our post players carried us tonight,” Mulkey said. ”Our seniors on the perimeter weren’t very effective.”
Baylor had six turnovers in the first quarter but built a 19-11 lead as Texas started just 3 of 15 shooting. The Longhorns’ offense then woke up with a pair of 3-pointers from Audrey Warren and Texas closed the half with an 11-5 run that cut the Baylor lead to 24-22.
Baylor cleaned up the turnovers in an offensive burst in a 26-point third quarter. Three quick baskets in the opening minute forced a Texas timeout. Smith scored seven and Baylor’s lead ballooned to 38-24, forcing a second Texas timeout before the Longhorns had made their second basket of the period.
Texas coach Vic Schaefer was then assessed a technical for arguing a foul call. Smith made both free throws, then a fall-away baseline jumper as the Lady Bears kept stretching the lead. Dijoni Carrington’s three-point play with 1.6 seconds left in the quarter sent Baylor into the fourth leading 50-36.
BIG PICTURE
Baylor: The Lady Bears are on their usual roll toward the postseason but seem unlikely to sneak into a No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Still, the Lady Bears lead the nation in field goal defense, rebounding margin and assists per game.
Texas: Schaefer was hired away from powerhouse Mississippi State to rebuild a Longhorns program tired of watching Baylor and coach Kim Mulkey dominate the Big 12. He’s still got a lot of work to do after getting swept by the Lady Bears this season.
UP NEXT
Baylor plays at Kansas on Saturday.
Texas plays at TCU on Sunday.