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Archives for December 6, 2025

Reeling Raptors Host Celtics

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Toronto Raptors are showing the effects of a grueling stretch in the schedule and there is no letup this afternoon when they host the Boston Celtics. The Raptors have dropped four of five after losing 111-86 to the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.

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The five games have come in a seven-day stretch starting Nov. 29 when they lost 118-111 in overtime at Charlotte to end their nine-game winning streak.

The Raptors are 1-2 to start a five-game homestand with the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday snapping an eight-game home winning streak.

“Mentally, physically, we’ve got to get away, we’ve got to recharge very quickly for Sunday and a 3:30 p.m. game,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “A quick turnaround over here, the schedule is what it is. We’re going to bounce back and find our energy levels and compete.”

The Celtics, meanwhile, romped to a 126-105 victory over the undermanned Lakers on Friday and have won four straight and nine of 11.

They also were playing their fifth game in seven days on Friday.

“I thought we did a good job — tremendous job — of figuring out how to pull out wins,” said Payton Pritchard, who scored 15 points on Friday. “And then in these past two games, we kind of just put our foot on the gas and took care of business. I feel like our team is growing, and we’ve just got to keep growing and keep getting better.”

The Celtics defeated the host Washington Wizards 146-101 on Thursday without Jaylen Brown, who scored 30 against the Lakers.

This will be the first meeting between Boston and Toronto this season. The Celtics won three of four from the Raptors last season with the teams splitting two in Toronto.

The Celtics have made an impressive adjustment to the prolonged absence of Jayson Tatum.

Jordan Walsh is one reason for the Celtics’ surge. He shot 6-for-7 from the field on Friday and is shooting 18-for-19 over the past three games.

He had four 3-pointers and scored 17 points against the Lakers, adding two blocked shots and one steal in 26:17. He posted a team-high box plus/minus of +28.

“He’s been great,” Brown said. “I don’t want to boost his head up too much. I don’t want him to start getting cute. He’s got to still take care of the details. But he’s been doing a good job.”

The Raptors did not get much help from their supporting cast on Friday. Immanuel Quickley scored a season-best 31 points, and Scottie Barnes had 13. No one else had more than Jamal Shead’s nine points. Brandon Ingram, who has been among Toronto’s most consistent scorers, was held to seven points on 3-for-13 shooting. He grabbed nine rebounds.

“Physically, we were worn down,” Rajakovic said. “I’m really proud of our guys tonight. I really thought that we tried. We tried. But when you’re trying and you’re missing layups, and you’re missing wide open shots, it’s hard to keep it up. What I think that we did an outstanding job at was we did not quit. We continued fighting and fighting and fighting.”

Jakob Poeltl, who rested his back injury on Thursday, returned on Friday and had five points and seven rebounds.

RJ Barrett (sprained knee) remained out against Charlotte. Jamison Battle suffered a sprained left ankle early in the fourth quarter on Friday. X-rays were negative.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Try to Earn Wins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – With injuries leading to often-changing lineups for Boston, one thing has stayed the same: The Bruins have earned to very few easy wins this season. In fact, a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday was just their second by more than two goals.

Now, the Bruins turn the page to a matchup with the visiting New Jersey Devils, with Boston looking to post its first back-to-back triumphs since completing a seven-game winning streak nearly a month ago.

“Maybe we slip a little bit sometimes after one win or a few wins, so we’ve got to keep that consistency better and have a higher low point than we have right now,” said Boston forward Viktor Arvidsson, who recorded his 400th career point on Thursday.

Boston score twice in the first period against St. Louis before breaking open a 2-1 game with a three-goal middle frame in which Pavel Zacha netted the final two tallies. Joonas Korpisalo made a season-high 37 saves.

Boston forward Alex Steeves has stepped up in the absence of star David Pastrnak, who has missed four consecutive games due to an undisclosed injury and remains day-to-day.

Steeves tallied the game-opening goal against the Blues, his fifth goal in five games as he temporarily plays alongside Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie on the top line. The New Hampshire native did not play in his first NHL game until Nov. 8 this season, working on his game with AHL Providence to earn a recall.

“A lot of guys say it. But to Steeves’ credit, a lot of guys don’t do it,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “He didn’t like to go down (after training camp), but I also remember he said, ‘I will be back.’ … The way he said it, I believed him. I knew his time would come.”

Friday also marked Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s second day skating in a non-contact jersey after taking a shot to the face on Nov. 15.

New Jersey hits the road to complete a back-to-back set and looks to change its luck after being swept in a four-game homestand. The Devils took their second straight shutout loss and third this season in a 3-0 setback against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

Prior to the recent skid that dropped them out of a playoff position in the ultra-tight Eastern Conference, the Devils were 9-0-1 on home ice this season. They are 7-7-0 on the road.

“We need everybody on board,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “We have our foundation, and it starts with just competing. We’ve also got to find a way to score goals. Without scoring goals, you aren’t winning. … We have to simplify our game and get a dirty win.”

New Jersey was right in it on Friday, trailing just 1-0 after two periods before Vegas padded its lead with a pair of power-play tallies late in the third.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe searched for answers in another late-game situation, moving his top line to feature Hischier centering Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt.

Another change to the forward lineup came in the form of Angus Crookshank, who was recalled from AHL Utica and made his Devils debut on Friday. He had an even rating in 10:36 of ice time.

“He skates hard and shoots the puck extremely well,” Keefe said. “We think if he can get a scoring chance, he can shoot it in the net. We’re just trying to give him a chance.”

Crookshank had five goals in 17 AHL games at the time of his call-up. The first 21 games of his NHL career were with the Ottawa Senators over the past two seasons.

–Field Level Media

NFL: Sunday 4pm Game Previews

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Denver Broncos (10-2) at Las Vegas Raiders (2-10)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Broncos -7.5, Total 40.5
Series Rewind: The Raiders are 0-10 in AFC West games the past two seasons (0-4 this season). The last division victory for the Raiders was the 27-14 win over Denver in Las Vegas to end the 2023 regular season.

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The Raiders are out of playoff contention already, while Denver is fighting with New England for the top seed in the AFC. Even so, the Broncos were only three points better than Las Vegas in the first meeting this season last month. The Broncos’ win in Week 10 was their seventh in a row, and they’ve won their past two games to stretch the streak to nine. The Raiders, who entered that matchup with consecutive losses, have since lost three more games in succession and are planning January vacations. After going to overtime with the Commanders on Monday, the Broncos know they can take nothing for granted, coach Sean Payton said in a terse reminder. He certainly knows as well as anyone how scrappy Maxx Crosby and the Raiders defense can get. In their first meeting in Denver last month, the Raiders’ defense had Broncos quarterback Bo Nix under pressure all day and allowed just 10 points. Offensively-challenged Las Vegas has only one game with over 20 points since September. Offensive line issues are a chronic concern. Raiders rookie RB Ashton Jeanty was preparing for the Heisman Trophy ceremony at this time last year. He leads rookies with 886 yards from scrimmage and was heavily involved in the passing game in the Raiders’ first game since firing offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Jeanty caught six passes last week. He scored the Raiders’ only touchdown in the Week 10 loss at Denver. The Broncos last had a winning streak longer than the current run when they posted 11 in a row in 2012 with Payton Manning at quarterback.

Los Angeles Rams (9-3) at Arizona Cardinals (3-9)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Rams -8.5, Total 47.5
Series Rewind:

Arizona draws an angry Matthew Stafford, whose streak of 28 consecutive TD passes without a pick ended in a 31-28 loss to the Panthers that included an INT return for a touchdown and nudged the Rams out of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Stafford and the Rams have two looks at the Cardinals coming in the final five weeks of the regular season. Arizona’s desire to control the ball and keep Stafford on the sideline could see a boost if RB Trey Benson can get back in the lineup. He’s been on IR since Sept. 25, one week before the Cardinals lost Kyler Murray. Murray won’t return until at least Week 15. Jacoby Brissett makes his eighth consecutive start for the Cardinals. He threw for 301 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in last Sunday’s 20-17 road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The margin for error is slim if Stafford doesn’t cough up the ball because of his arsenal of playmakers. WR Davante Adams leads the NFL with 14 TD catches and Puka Nacua caught 10 passes for 129 yards in the last meeting. Kyren Williams has 1,052 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns. He scored in both games against Arizona last season.

Chicago Bears (9-3) at Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Packers -6.5, Total 44.5
Series Rewind: Green Bay’s only loss to the Bears in the past six years (12 games) was a 24-22 defeat in January to end the 2024 regular season. Cairo Santos answered a 55-yard Brandon McManus field goal with 54 seconds left with a 51-yarder as time expired.

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This is the first of two meetings in the next 13 days between NFC North rivals and the frontrunners for the division title with five weeks left in the regular season. Green Bay has owned the rivalry and is 11-1 against Chicago since Matt LaFleur was named head coach. New Bears coach Ben Johnson has reversed fortunes for the Bears in his first season and called out LaFleur in his introductory press conference, stating he enjoyed “beating Matt LaFleur twice a year” while coordinating the Lions’ offense. With two division losses, the Bears chances of winning the NFC North shrink with a loss at Lambeau Field. The Packers are still perfect (3-0) in the division and present challenges to the Chicago secondary after three wide receivers — Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson — hauled in Jordan Love TD passes last week. And Green Bay’s No. 1 receiver last season, Jayden Reed, could rejoin the offense for the first time since September. But the Bears are leading the league in takeaways (26) and turnover margin (17) with the No. 2-ranked rushing offense (153.8 yards per game) to help protect a defense allowing 6.09 yards per play (30th in the NFL). The sum of their parts has been a slew of tight games and a scoring differential of just six points.

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NFL: Sunday Night Football Preview

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Houston Texans (7-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-6)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET
FanDuel odds: Chiefs -3.5, Total 41.5
Series Rewind: Kansas City has won five straight meetings, including two in the postseason. Last season, the Chiefs eliminated the Texans 23-14 in the AFC divisional round.

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Kansas City’s playoff hopes hinge on the wild-card race, and Houston is one of the AFC teams with a better record entering the home stretch of the season. The Chiefs are 5-1 at home so that helps, but they have lost three of their past four overall games and stand just 1-6 in one-score games after the 31-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Winning close games was a Kansas City specialty just last season. Patrick Mahomes isn’t giving up on the Chiefs stretching their playoff streak to 11 seasons but he threw four touchdown passes against the Cowboys and still couldn’t deliver a victory. Also of concern to Mahomes is Houston’s top-ranked defense that leads in both scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and total defense (265.7 yards per game). The Texans have won four consecutive games and they made reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen (sacked eight times) feel miserable two games ago while beating the Buffalo Bills and have allowed 20 or fewer points on 10 occasions. Pass rushers Danielle Hunter (11 sacks) and Will Anderson Jr. (10.5) are both among the NFL sack leaders and S Calen Bullock has four interceptions and one forced fumble. C.J. Stroud passed for 276 yards in last Sunday’s 20-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts after missing three games due to a concussion.

–Field Level Media