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Thunder Road Kill

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OKLAHOMA CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – OKC’s MVP in waiting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points to lead the hometown Thunder to a 105-92 home win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

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The Thunder extended their winning streak to a franchise-record 15. Oklahoma City’s winning streak is tied for the longest this season with Cleveland, which won 15 consecutive games to start the season.

Aaron Wiggins, the star of Oklahoma City’s fourth-quarter comeback against the Knicks on Friday, scored 15 points off the bench. Luguentz Dort had 14, Cason Wallace added 13 and Jalen Williams put up 10.

The Thunder tightened things up defensively after giving up 65 first-half points, holding the defending champions to just 27 points in the second half. Boston hadn’t scored fewer than 44 points in a half this season.

The Celtics were just 8 of 40 (20 percent) from the field in the second half.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, whose three-game winning streak was snapped. Brown added 21 points — all in the first half. Brown was 0 for 7 from the floor after halftime. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and nine boards.

Oklahoma City improved to 11-0 against the Eastern Conference this season.

The Thunder trailed by as many as 13 in the game and 11 in the second half before they fought their way back. Gilgeous-Alexander, who also finished with 11 rebounds and six assists, had his hands all over a 9-0 Thunder run in the fourth quarter that turned the tide.

The Thunder took the lead on a pair of Gilgeous-Alexander free throws, before Dort’s steal and dunk put them up 89-85.

After a Boston miss, Gilgeous-Alexander drained a step-back 3-pointer over Jrue Holliday to stretch the lead to seven. Two possessions later, he blocked Tatum’s shot at the rim, then found Isaiah Hartenstein for an alley-oop dunk in traffic.

OKC is Ready for Celtics

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OKLAHOMA CITY – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cut off the question before it was finished.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star was asked if there was any extra motivation when the Thunder hosts Boston on Sunday.

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The Thunder are riding a franchise-record 14-game winning streak, while the Celtics are the defending NBA champions.

“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Absolutely. They won and we’re trying to win.”

The Thunder have trailed each of the last three games by at least 12 points before coming back to win, including overcoming a 14-point deficit in Friday’s 117-107 home win over the Knicks.

The Thunder are amid a four-game stretch against the top three teams from the Eastern Conference.

Oklahoma City is 10-0 against the Eastern Conference, though it fell to Milwaukee in the NBA Cup final that doesn’t count in the regular-season standings.

After dropping four of their previous nine games, the Celtics enter Sunday’s game on a three-game winning streak.

The last two have come to start a four-game road trip.

“We had a good meeting before this trip, just a little bit like looking-in-the-mirror type of meeting and see where we can improve and what we can do better,” Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis said. “Teams are obviously coming for us and some of them are playing their best basketball against us.”

During the winning streak, the Celtics are shooting 51.6 percent from the floor and have posted a 133.6 offensive rating — points scored per 100 possessions — and a 103.3 defensive rating. Both marks are best in the NBA over that span.

“December didn’t go the way we wanted to,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “We’re trying to get back to our identity of who we are on both ends of the floor.”

Oklahoma City has the NBA’s best defense, with a 102.9 defensive rating.

During the Thunder’s winning streak, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.7 points, 5.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.2 blocks.

“Big challenge,” Porzingas said of facing Gilgeous-Alexander. “They have great guys that can support him also, so we can’t just focus on him alone. But we’ll see. It’ll be a fun matchup for sure.”

While Gilgeous-Alexander sets the tone and Jalen Williams is making a case for an All-Star berth, Oklahoma City has shown it can win in a variety of ways.

In Friday’s game, Aaron Wiggins scored 15 fourth-quarter points to key the comeback while Isaiah Hartenstein had a handful of critical plays at both ends down the stretch.

“We’re a very deep team, a team full of high-level basketball players, professionals, hoopers, that do whatever it takes to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We have so many different looks, so many different lineups, and we all just want to win at the end of the day. Nothing comes before that.”

Porzingis returned Friday after missing four games with a left ankle sprain.

Boston star Jaylen Brown has missed the last two games with a shoulder strain while Al Horford figures to return Sunday after missing Friday’s win due to rest on the second night of a back-to-back.

–Field Level Media

 

 

Maple Leafs Trick Bruins

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Toronto’s Matthew Knies recorded his first career hat trick and added two assists as the Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 6-4 on Saturday night.

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Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal and four assists for the Maple Leafs, who have won three games in a row.

Auston Matthews (upper-body injury) returned after missing six games and had an empty-net goal and two assists. Jake McCabe contributed a goal and an assist, and Joseph Woll made 26 saves.

David Pastrnak scored twice for the Bruins, who have lost three straight. Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic also scored, and Pavel Zacha had two assists. Jeremy Swayman stopped 23 shots.

Pastrnak hit the goal post with a shot 32 seconds into a fast-paced first period.

McCabe opened the scoring at 3:29 of the first with a wrist shot from the left circle on a nifty pass from Marner.

The teams traded goals 12 seconds apart early in the second period.

Knies redirected a shot by Matthews at 3:37 after Boston failed to clear the puck, and Toronto led 2-0.

Geekie answered immediately with an eight-foot wrist shot. He pounced on a loose puck after Zacha jabbed at it following Charlie Coyle’s shot.

Boston tied the game at 18:44 of the second. After an icing call against Toronto, Frederic won the faceoff and scored with a 21-foot wrist shot from the slot after the return pass from Charlie McAvoy.

Knies scored on an eight-foot backhand at the end of a two-on-one with John Tavares at 3:43 of the third period.

Pastrnak tied the game 34 seconds later on a 34-foot snap shot after stealing the puck from a Maple Leafs player.

Toronto regained the lead when Knies scored at 5:28 on a high shot that hit the post and went in. Matthews won the puck at the end boards and made the pass into the slot.

Marner scored into an empty net at 17:55 of the third.

Pastrnak responded with a goal on a 14-foot wrist shot at 18:10, and Matthews sealed the result with an empty-net goal at 19:29.

–Field Level Media

NFL: Pats Lose, Bengals Alive

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Chargers 40, Patriots 7

FOXBOROUGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LA QB Justin Herbert passed for 281 yards and a season-high three touchdowns and the Los Angeles Chargers clinched an AFC playoff berth with a dominating victory over New England in foggy Massachusetts.

Ladd McConkey caught eight passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns and Derwin James had two sacks and a fumble recovery for the Chargers (10-6), who are playoff-bound in Jim Harbaugh’s first season as coach. Derius Davis also had a scoring catch, J.K. Dobbins rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and Cameron Dicker booted four field goals.Herbert completed 26 of 38 passes as the Chargers improved to 3-12 all-time in Foxborough, including playoffs.

Drake Maye completed 12 of 22 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown for New England (3-13), which lost its sixth consecutive game. DeMario Douglas caught a scoring pass for the Patriots.

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Bengals 30, Broncos 24

CINCINNATI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow threw three touchdown passes to Tee Higgins, including a game-winning scoring strike with 1:07 left in overtime, to give the host Bengals an electrifying 30-24 win over the Denver Broncos on Saturday.

Cade York could have given Cincinnati (8-8) the win with 2:43 to go in the extra session, but his 33-yard field-goal attempt hit the left upright. The Bengals’ defense buckled down, though, forcing Denver to go three-and-out to get Burrow, Higgins and the rest of the offense back out on the field.

Cincinnati proceeded to go 63 yards in five plays, with Higgins’ 3-yard TD catch giving the Bengals their fourth straight victory. Higgins finished with 11 catches for 131 yards.

Marvin Mims Jr. forced overtime by hauling in a 25-yard score on fourth-and-1 to draw the Broncos (9-7) even at 24 with eight seconds left in regulation. Burrow had put Cincinnati in front by plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out just 1:21 earlier.

Burrow completed 39 of 49 passes for 412 yards and the three touchdowns while Ja’Marr Chase had nine catches for 102 yards and set a single-season franchise record for receptions. He now has 117. Tight end Mike Gesicki played a key role in the Cincinnati passing game, grabbing a season-high 10 catches for 86 yards.

Rams 13, Cardinals 9

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon intercepted a pass in the end zone with 37 seconds left to preserve Los Angeles’ win over Arizona in Inglewood, Calif.

Witherspoon made a diving catch after the ball bounced high off the helmet of Arizona tight end Trey McBride on the pass attempt by Kyler Murray. The Rams (10-6), who lead the NFC West by one game, have won five straight, while the Cardinals (7-9) have lost five of their last six. Los Angeles could clinch a playoff berth on Sunday depending on the outcome of other games.

Matthew Stafford threw for 189 yards while completing 17 of 32 pass attempts without a touchdown or interception. Puka Nacua finished with 10 receptions for 129 yards. Murray was 33 of 48 for 321 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. McBride made 12 catches for 123 yards to surpass 1,000 yards for the first time in his three NFL seasons.

-Field Level Media

Bruins Win; NHL Round-Up

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Bruins 4, Blue Jackets 0

Justin Brazeau scored 2:29 into the first period, and Boston never looked back in blanking visiting Columbus Blue Jackets in the latter game of the teams’ home-and-home series.

Morgan Geekie had one goal and one assist, while David Pastrnak and Cole Koepke also lit the lamp for Boston, which bounced back from a 6-2 loss in Columbus on Friday and improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games. Jeremy Swayman stopped all 18 shots he faced en route to his second shutout this season.

Bruins forward Fabian Lysell made his NHL debut. The 21-year-old former first-round draft pick had a plus-1 rating in 11:32 of ice time. Daniil Tarasov (24 saves) took the loss in his first start since Dec. 5 for the Blue Jackets, who were shut out for only the second time this season and had a four-game point streak (3-0-1) snapped.

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Canadiens 4, Panthers 0

Jakub Dobes made 34 saves in his NHL debut, leading the visiting Montreal Canadiens to a 4-0 win against the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon in Sunrise, Fla.

The 23-year-old Czech, who was selected by the Canadiens in the fifth round of 2020 NHL Draft, is the first Montreal goalie with a shutout in his first NHL game since Yann Danis in a 2-0 victory against Atlanta Thrashers in October 2005.

Kirby Dach scored two goals, Jake Evans and Cole Caufield also scored and Alex Newhook had two assists for the Canadiens, who have won four of five.

Spencer Knight made 20 saves for Florida. The Panthers were shut out in back-to-back games for the second time this month.

Kraken 5, Canucks 4 (OT)

Vince Dunn scored twice, including the winner on a breakaway at 2:15 of overtime, as Seattle rallied from three goals down to beat host Vancouver.

Jaden Schwartz also tallied twice for the Kraken, who trailed 4-1 with five minutes remaining in regulation. Matty Beniers also scored, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves as Seattle snapped a five-game losing streak.

Brock Boeser scored twice, Jake DeBrusk had a goal and assist, Conor Garland also tallied, and J.T. Miller and Carson Soucy had two assists apiece for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves.

Capitals 5, Maple Leafs 2

Alex Ovechkin scored into an empty net in his return from a broken fibula and visiting Washington defeated Toronto.

It was Ovechkin’s 869th goal, leaving him just 26 shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. The Russian superstar missed 16 games with the injury. Andrew Mangiapane and Jakob Chychrun each added a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have won three of four. Nic Dowd and Tom Wilson also scored and Logan Thompson made 35 saves.

John Tavares and Bobby McMann scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three of four. Matt Murray stopped 27 shots.

Kings 4, Oilers 3 (OT)

Quinton Byfield scored twice, including the overtime winner, and had an assist in a win for Los Angeles against visiting Edmonton.

Warren Foegele had a goal and two assists, Jordan Spence had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves for the Kings, who improved to 11-2-1 at home.

Kasperi Kapanen, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Viktor Arvidsson scored for the Oilers, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 16 games (12-3-1). Stuart Skinner made 25 saves.

Lightning 6, Rangers 2

Brayden Point scored one goal in a three-point night and host Tampa Bay scored four times on special teams en route to pounding reeling New York.

Nikita Kucherov had a power-play goal and two assists, and Anthony Cirelli and Ryan McDonagh recorded short-handed tallies. Nick Paul notched the final tally, and Cirelli added an assist.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made a season-high 42 saves as the Lightning improved to 8-2-0 in December. New York’s Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck hit the net, but the Rangers lost for the 14th time in their past 18 matches (4-14-0).

Flyers 3, Ducks 1

Samuel Ersson put his recent struggles aside and made 32 saves to propel Philadelphia past host Anaheim.

Noah Cates, Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee scored for Philadelphia, which improved to 1-1-0 to start its six-game road trip. Ersson had allowed at least three goals in each of his previous eight appearances.

Troy Terry scored the lone goal for Anaheim, which has lost eight of its last 11 games. Lukas Dostal made 22 saves.

Jets 4, Senators 2

Gabriel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers scored third-period goals in rapid succession after Winnipeg erased a two-goal deficit and went on to a home victory over Ottawa.

Ehlers finished with a goal and two assists, while teammates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist. Connor Hellebuyck made 33 saves for the Jets, who have won three in a row.

Mads Sogaard turned back 19 shots and Tim Stutzle and Ridly Greig found the back of the net, with the latter’s goal a short-handed tally for a 2-0 Ottawa lead.

Islanders 6, Penguins 3

Casey Cizikas posted his first two-goal game in more than three years, leading New York to a win over Pittsburgh in the opener of a back-to-back, home-and-home which started in Elmont, Long Island.

Anders Lee also scored twice for the Islanders, who won for the fifth time in 11 games this month (5-5-1). Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anthony Duclair also scored, and goalie Ilya Sorokin made 22 saves.

Michael Bunting, Noel Acciari and Richard Rakell scored for the Penguins, who fell to 9-4-1 since late November. Goalie Tristan Jarry recorded 28 saves.

Hurricanes 5, Devils 2

Carolina scored twice in less than 90 seconds in the third period to break a tie and defeated New Jersey in Raleigh, N.C.

Jack Roslovic had two goals and an assist, Sebastian Aho a goal and an assist and Dmitri Orlov and Jackson Blake also scored for Carolina. Seth Jarvis had three assists, Sean Walker added two and Dustin Tokarski stopped 21 shots as the Hurricanes avenged a 4-2 loss to the Devils on Friday night in Newark, N.J.

Paul Cotter and Ondrej Palat scored for New Jersey, which had its three-game winning streak halted. Jake Allen made 36 saves.

Flames 3, Sharks 1

Jonathan Huberdau scored twice to lead visiting Calgary to a victory over struggling San Jose.

Goaltender Dustin Wolf made 21 saves in the win, including a handful late in regulation when the hosts made a frantic push for the equalizer. Mikael Backlund also scored and Nazem Kadri collected three assists for Calgary.

Macklin Celebrini replied for the Sharks, who are winless in seven games (0-6-1). Goalie Yaroslav Askarov stopped 30 shots in an outstanding performance.

–Field Level Media

Nebraska Defeats BC, 20-15

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BRONX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – A trio of running backs recorded touchdowns to help Nebraska hold off Boston College’s late rally for a 20-15 win in the Pinstripe Bowl on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium in New York.

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New York native Rahmir Johnson scored the Cornhuskers’ opening touchdown to highlight his 60-yard performance on 10 carries. His 11-yard run on fourth-and-1 before the two-minute timeout iced the game, lifting Nebraska (7-6) to its first winning season since 2016.

Kwinten Ives also ran for a score and Emmett Johnson (team-high 68 rushing yards on 14 carries) caught one from freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was 23 of 31 for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception on the day.

Nebraska had a 20-2 lead before allowing its first touchdown with 6:11 left in regulation.

Boston College (7-6) forced two first-half turnovers and finished five of its first seven drives inside the opposing 35-yard line, but the Eagles went 0-for-4 on fourth downs until Turbo Richard’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska’s first two punts turned into touchdowns for the Eagles, with the second being blocked and returned to the 2-yard line ahead of a Jordan McDonald score with 4:18 remaining.

Grayson James quarterbacked the Eagles, going 25 of 40 for a season-high 296 yards. He also rushed for 22. Lewis Bond made six catches for 94 yards.

Jahmal Banks was Raiola’s leading target, making four catches for 79 yards.

After big plays went by the boards for both teams on their opening series, Raiola sent Nebraska on a 15-play, 75-yard drive to the opening touchdown four seconds into the second quarter. Following a third-down conversion in the red zone, Rahmir Johnson scored on a 4-yard run before John Hohl’s PAT made it 7-0.

After Boston College was unable to convert on Josiah Griffin’s recovery of an Emmett Johnson fumble, an ensuing fourth-down penalty gave Nebraska new life and the Cornhuskers turned it into Ives’ 2-yard score with 3:39 before halftime.

Ashton McShane’s 88-yard blocked PAT return got the Eagles on the board at 13-2, though.

Nebraska’s first drive out of halftime included two fakes from punter/holder Brian Buschini, including a successful fake field goal. On the following series, Raiola’s 13-yard pass to Emmett Johnson out of the backfield resulted in a 20-2 lead with 3:02 left in the third.

Richard punched in the first Boston College touchdown. James’ two-point conversion pass attempt failed.

Buschini’s second punt was blocked by Victor Nelson Jr. and returned to the 2-yard line by Omar Thornton, setting up McDonald’s run and a Liam Connor PAT.

–Field Level Media

It’s Official: Sox Ink Buehler

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BOSTON – (Staff Report utilizing Official Team News Release) – After a week or two of speculation, the Boston Red Sox today signed right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler to a one-year contract for the 2025 season. Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 40.

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Buehler, 30, is a two-time All-Star (2019, ’21) and two-time World Series champion (2020, ’24). A 2021 All-MLB First Team selection, the right-hander finished in the top 10 in Cy Young Award voting in 2019 (ninth) and 2021 (fourth). In seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2017-22, ’24), he went 47-22 (.681) with a 3.27 ERA (259 ER/713.2 IP), 1.09 WHIP, .221 opponent batting average, and 754 strikeouts over 131 appearances (122 starts).

After missing the entire 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Buehler made 16 regular season starts in 2024 and went 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA (45 ER/75.1 IP). He helped the Dodgers win a World Series title by posting a 3.60 ERA (6 ER/15.0 IP) in four Postseason outings (three starts), allowing zero runs in his final 13.0 innings pitched and earning a save with a perfect ninth inning in the decisive Game 5 against the New York Yankees. In 19 career Postseason games (18 starts), Buehler is 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA (32 ER/94.2 IP) and .210 opponent batting average. He has allowed only one run in 19.0 World Series innings (0.47 ERA) spanning four games (three starts), going 2-0 with one save, 24 strikeouts, and three walks in the Fall Classic.

Selected by the Dodgers in the first round (No. 24 overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft, Buehler graduated from Henry Clay High School in Kentucky before pitching at Vanderbilt University from 2013-15.

Jaylen Brown Carries Celtics, 142-105

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BOSTON – Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown poured in a season-high 44 points to help Boston end a two-game losing streak by beating the visiting Indiana Pacers 142-105 Friday. Brown was 16 of 24 from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point territory, and made each of his six free-throw attempts. He also had five rebounds, three assists and four steals.

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Boston’s twin tandem All NBA star, Jayson Tatum, added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who were 23 of 57 from 3-point range. Payton Pritchard provided 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds off the Boston bench.

Tyrese Haliburton had a team-high 19 points and nine assists for the Pacers, who never led in the game. Indiana received 18 points from Bennedict Mathurin and 14 from Pascal Siakam. Off the bench, Jarace Walker had 15 points and five assists and Thomas Bryant added 12 points and seven rebounds.

The 142 points are the most Boston has scored in a game this season.

It was 11-11 midway through the first quarter before Boston pulled away for a 39-22 lead after one. Brown made each of his six field goal attempts for 15 points in the opening 12 minutes.

The Celtics led 57-37 after a Tatum 3-pointer with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter. Al Horford capped a 13-0 run with back-to-back 3-pointers that extended Boston’s lead to 65-37, and the Celtics were up 67-45 at halftime.

Brown was up to 23 points and Tatum collected 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.

Another Tatum 3-pointer gave the Celtics a 95-63 advantage with 4:10 left in the third quarter. It was 103-78 entering the fourth, and Boston’s lead peaked at 38 in the final quarter.

Each team was missing some key pieces. The Celtics played without Jrue Holiday (right shoulder impingement) and Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain), and the Pacers didn’t have Obi Toppin (left ankle sprain) or Andrew Nembhard (left knee injury management).

The teams will meet again Sunday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Bow to Blue Jackets

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COLUMBUS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to stay hot and complete a three-game season-series sweep when they visit Boston to contest the second half of a home-and-home pair against the Bruins on Saturday.

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The Blue Jackets earned a 6-2 home-ice victory over the Bruins on Friday, giving them back-to-back wins and a four-game point streak (3-0-1). They have dominated the Bruins by an 11-3 combined score over the first two meetings.

“I think we were excited to get back to play after the break,” Columbus forward Sean Monahan said, referring to the team’s three-day Christmas hiatus. “Guys were moving the puck well, and we were finding the back of the net. We’ve got to keep that up and be consistent with that.”

That consistency starts with putting together another strong effort in the rematch after four Blue Jackets had multiple points and a four-goal second period marked the difference on Friday.

With a one-goal, two-assist performance, Kirill Marchenko upped his point streak to seven games (four goals, nine assists). The 24-year-old has been strong on a line with Dmitri Voronkov and Monahan, who both scored twice.

“They’re the line that drives our team,” defenseman Zach Werenski said after dishing out four assists.

The Blue Jackets already have tasted success in Boston with a 5-1 win back on Nov. 18. The next morning, Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was fired and replaced with interim coach Joe Sacco, who has gone 11-5-1 behind the bench.

Columbus is just 4-11-3 on the road as compared to 11-4-3 at home.

“We have to be better on the road if we’re going to get to where we want to go,” Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason said. “(Friday’s) game has to roll into (Saturday).”

Boston is on a five-game home winning streak.

The Bruins’ best run of play this season — a five-game point streak (4-0-1) following blowout losses in Winnipeg and Seattle earlier this month — was snapped with the Friday loss.

On the plus side for Boston, Charlie Coyle scored for the third straight game and captain Brad Marchand recorded an assist to move his point streak to 11 games (seven goals, seven assists).

Despite success on the whole under Sacco, the Bruins are again showing their up-and-down tendencies.

The loss immediately followed a complete effort in 4-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday, when Boston allowed only 11 shots on goal.

“I thought Columbus … deserved what they got (on Friday). They were the better team,” Sacco said. “So, the three-day break didn’t have as much toll on them as it did on us. We just have to be better, all of us.”

The Bruins have struggled mightily on the penalty kill of late, going just 14-for-24 (58.3 percent) across the past nine games. Boston killed off 71.4 percent of opponents’ power plays this season before the current slump.

Prior to a 3-for-3 night on Friday, the Blue Jackets’ power play had not scored more than once in a game all season.

Boston’s second-period downfall was also the result of losing battles.

“You can’t win many games when you’re being outworked like that,” Coyle said. “That’s embarrassing.”

Finding a quick response back on home ice will be key for the Bruins.

“We didn’t play up to our standards (on Friday). I certainly didn’t play up to mine,” Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “The best part of this league is you get to turn a new leaf every single day. So, we’re going to leave this one here and we get a chance to get it right (Saturday).”

Prior to this season, the Bruins had lost just once in their previous nine head-to-head meetings with the Blue Jackets.

–Field Level Media

Bah, Humbug

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey collected 33 points and 12 assists to lead the visiting 76ers to a 118-114 victory over the Celtics on Wednesday.

The 76ers received 27 points and nine rebounds from Joel Embiid and 23 points from Caleb Martin, who made 7 of 9 3-point attempts.

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The Celtics, who trailed by 15 in the fourth quarter, trimmed their deficit to 116-114 with 4.9 seconds to play, but Embiid made two free throws to put the 76ers up by four with 2.8 seconds left. Philadelphia has won six of its past eight games.

Jayson Tatum led Boston in points (32) and rebounds (15). Jaylen Brown added 23 points and seven rebounds but shot 10 of 23 from the field. Payton Pritchard missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.

Boston, which was coming off a 108-104 setback against the Orlando Magic on Monday, lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Jrue Holiday didn’t play for Boston because of a right shoulder impingement. The Celtics also played most of the game without Kristaps Porzingis, who sustained a left ankle injury and didn’t play in the second half.

Philadelphia was without Andre Drummond, who missed his first game since Dec. 4 because of a sprained left toe. Drummond leads the 76ers in rebounding (8.0 boards per game).

The 76ers had a 30-25 advantage after one quarter and stretched the lead to 52-36 after a Paul George dunk capped a 17-2 run with 5:22 remaining in the first half. Philadelphia had a 66-58 halftime lead even though the Celtics made 13 of their 28 3-point attempts in the first two quarters.

Boston tied the contest, 74-74, on a Brown 3-pointer and took a 78-76 lead on a Tatum jumper with 4:03 left in the third quarter. The Celtics led by as many as four points in the frame, but it was 82-82 entering the fourth.

Philadelphia began the final quarter with a 12-2 spurt and led 94-84 after a Maxey jump shot with 8:50 to play. The 76ers extended their lead to 103-88 on a Martin 3-pointer with 6:37 left.

–Field Level Media