USF women claim 1st AAC regular-season title
Nuggets rout Bucks, Hawks win McMillan’s debut as interim coach
TAMPA, Florida, March 3, (AP): Elisa Pinzan scored 18 points with eight assists, Bethy Mununga had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 15 South Florida beat Central Florida 65-62 for its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Pinzan sank a 3-pointer for a 5848 lead with 1:59 remaining and she made her next four free throws for another 10-point lead with 57 seconds left.
UCF’s Alisha Lewis made two 3-pointers in the final 2:15, the last to get within 63-62 with 1.6 seconds left. Pinzan was fouled and she made two free throws before a heave at the buzzer was off the mark.
Elena Tsineke added 12 points for South Florida (15-2, 12-1). Shae Leverett grabbed 11 rebounds.
USF had runs of 11-0 and 7-0 in the first quarter to build an 18-5 lead. Another 13-3 spurt in the second quarter extended the Bulls’ lead to 22 points.
Lewis scored 27 points with six 3-pointers for UCF (13-3, 11-2). Brittney Smith had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Rutgers 74, Penn State 56
In Piscataway, N.J., Arella Guirantes scored 21 points with seven assists, Tekia Mack had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 24 Rutgers beat Penn State 74-56.
Rutgers (13-3, 9-3 Big Ten) has won eight conference games in a row for the first time since the 200405 season - including holding seven straight opponents under 60 points.
Mael Gilles had 15 points, five rebounds and four steals for Rutgers. Diamond Johnson scored 14 points, and Mack also had four assists, three steals and three blocks. Rutgers outscored Penn State 25-12 in the second quarter to take a 37-33 lead at the break.
Niya Beverley had 20 points and seven assists for Penn State (9-13, 6-12). Anna Camden added 14 points and four steals. Rutgers is scheduled to close its regular season on Friday against No 22 Ohio State. Penn State’s regular season is over, losing two straight to Rutgers after a 60-55 contest on Sunday.
LOS ANGELES, March 3, (AP): Dario Šarić scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, Mikal Bridges added 19 and the Phoenix Suns overcame Devin Booker’s ejection for a 114-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Booker scored 17 points before getting ejected for arguing with 7:10 left in the third quarter. The Suns (23-11) still took charge down the stretch and cruised to their 15th victory in 18 games while also moving past the defending champions (2412) into second place in the Western Conference by winning percentage.
LeBron James scored 38 points for Los Angeles, which has lost five of seven with mounting injury problems. Dennis Schröder added 17 points, but the Lakers couldn’t keep up without regulars
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Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Marc Gasol.
Kuzma was a late scratch with a bruised right heel, while Gasol missed his first game under the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Booker was whistled for two technical fouls in remarkably rapid succession, resulting in the All-Star’s second ejection in just over five weeks.
Moments before Booker’s ejection, James and Lakers coach Frank Vogel got simultaneous technicals for arguing a no-call on Chris Paul.
The Suns snapped their five-game skid against the Lakers at Staples Center since November 2017.
Nuggets 128 , Bucks 97
In Milwaukee, Nikola Jokic had 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his ninth triple-double of the season and 50th of his career, and the Denver Nuggets trounced Milwaukee 128-97 to snap the Bucks’ five-game winning streak.
Jamal Murray added 24 points as the Nuggets earned their third straight victory and showed no signs of wear one night after winning 118-112 at Chicago. Denver handed Milwaukee its most lopsided loss of the year and shot 55.8%, the highest field-goal percentage by any Bucks opponent this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee as the Bucks finished an eight-game homestand in which they went 5-3. Khris Middleton added 20 points.
Antetokounmpo had his string of four straight games with at least 35 points end. The reigning two-time MVP was one off the team record owned by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored at least 35 points in five straight games on two separate occasions during the 1972-73 season. P.J. Dozier had 19 points, Will Barton 14, Michael Porter Jr. 11 and Monte Morris 10 for Denver. Brook Lopez had 12 points for Milwaukee.
Hawks 94, Heat 80
In Miami, Trae Young took over late and made sure Nate McMillan would win his debut as interim coach of the Atlanta Hawks.
Young scored 18 points, including 13 straight for his team in the fourth quarter, and the Hawks snapped Miami’s six-game winning streak by beating the Heat 94-80.
John Collins scored 17 for Atlanta, which lost at Miami on Sunday and fired coach Lloyd Pierce on Monday. Kevin Huerter scored 16 for the Hawks and Clint Capela had 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic each scored 14 for Miami, which missed a chance to get over .500 for the first time this season. Bam Adebayo scored 11 for the Heat, who shot 37% - their fourth-worst showing of the season.
Tony Snell added 11 for the Hawks.
Celtics 117, Clippers 112
In Boston, Kemba Walker had 25 points and six assists, and the Boston Celtics took advantage of a late scratch of All-Star Kawhi Leonard and held off the Los Angeles Clippers 117-112 .
Jaylen Brown finished with 18 points. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard each added 14 as the Celtics posted three straight victories for the first time since January.
The Clippers, who have lost five of eight, played without Leonard after he was ruled out shortly before the game due to back spasms.
Paul George led Los Angeles with 32 points. Reggie Jackson took Leonard’s place in the starting lineup and finished with 25 points and seven assists.
Leonard was listed as a starter before the game, but never took the floor during warmups. The team announced late in the first quarter that he had been ruled out. He has missed seven previous games this season, including two for a mouth laceration, two while in the health and safety protocols and three for a bruised leg.
Spurs 119, Knicks 83
In San Antonio, Trey Lyles scored a season-high 18 points, Dejounte Murray added 17 and the San Antonio Spurs used a balanced effort to beat New York 119-83 , ending the Knicks’ three-game winning streak.
San Antonio had eight players score at least eight points, with Patty Mills and Luka Samanic each adding 14 points in the Spurs’ seventh straight home victory over New York.
Immanuel Quickley led New York with 26 points. RJ Barrett added 15 and All-Star Julius Randle had 14.
The Knicks had won seven of nine entering Tuesday’s game, but were never able to find a consistent rhythm against the Spurs.
New York had 16 turnovers while failing to score 100 points for the first time since a 107-89 loss at Orlando on Feb. 17.
Grizzlies 125,Wizards 111
In Washington, Ja Morant had 35 points and 10 assists, De’Anthony Melton and Dillon Brooks each added 20 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Washington Wizards 125-111 .
Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis, which has won back-to-back road games for the first time since winning four in a row away as part of a seven-game win streak from Jan. 8 to Feb. 1.
After a dominant second quarter, the Grizzlies led by double digits for all but 44 seconds of the second half to follow a 133-84 victory at Houston with another comfortable win. Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 15 assists for the Wizards, but also committed eight of Washington’s 22 turnovers.