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St. John’s Defeats Mighty UConn

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STORRS – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – St. John’s (21-3, 12-1 BIG EAST) earned a pivotal road win at Connecticut (16-7, 8-4 BIG EAST), with a 68-62 defensive victory in their Friday showdown on the campus of the two-time defending national champion.

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The Johnnies came back from an early 14-point deficit before a hostile sold-out crowd of 12,299 at Gampel Pavilion to earn their 10th straight BIG EAST victory. St. John’s has now won 16 of its last 17 games and earned back-to-back Top-20 victories in the same week for the first time since 2006.

The Red Storm unleashed a pressure defensive effort midway through the second half, forcing eight turnovers in just over five minutes that fueled a decisive 12-0 to reclaim the lead. In the final moments of the game, St. John’s wing, RJ Luis Jr., delivered the dagger with a baseline jumper off an out of bounds play with 11 seconds remaining to put St. John’s up by four points.

Luis finished with 21 points to pace the Johnnies and scored eight points in the final 2:16. The 20-point effort marked the junior’s seventh 20+ effort of the season. Luis also grabbed seven rebounds and shot 10-for-15 inside the 3-point arc.

Kadary Richmond added 12 points all in the second half and played an integral role with timely buckets down the stretch. The graduate student from Brooklyn finished with six rebounds and five assists.

Simeon Wilcher tallied his 10th double-figure scoring effort of the year with 11 points. Zuby Ejiofor was the fourth St. John’s player to finish in double-digits tallying 11 points while shooting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The Red Storm dominated in turnover margin (+15) committing only seven, while forcing UConn into 22 turnovers. The Johnnies outscored the Huskies 18-2 in points off turnovers.

Liam McNeeley led the hometown Huskies in his return from injury with 18 points. Tarris Reed Jr. finished with a double-double recording 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Early in the first half, the Huskies used an 11-0 scoring run that was capped by a three-pointer from Jaylin Stewart to take a 21-8 advantage at the 14:22 mark. Connecticut extended its lead to as many as 14 after Solo Ball hit a 3-pointer as the Huskies started off 5-for-9 from long-range.

After the mandatory under-12 minute timeout, St. John’s guard Deivon Smith jumpstarted the comeback with a four-point play, flushing a triple through contact to turn the tides. Wilcher’s mid-range jumper counted for an 8-0 run as the Red Storm quickly drew the deficit to six, 26-20. Soon after, Smith dished to Ejiofor for the fastbreak slam before Luis finished in the paint to close another run (7-0) and St. John’s trailed by a single-point, 28-27.

With the game back in the balance and the Huskies ahead by four, Wilcher corralled a long offensive rebound and splashed a triple from the corner. It was the sophomore once again that gave St. John’s its first lead, 34-33, with a layup through the painted area at 2:29. Ejiofor came up with a big “And-one” in the final minute of the half to give the Johnnies a two-point advantage, 37-35, heading into the break.

Second Half Start

The Huskies tallied the first five points of the second half before Wilcher quieted the crowd with a make from beyond-the-arc to knot the score at 40 at the 18:20 mark. Both offenses sputtered as the team defenses dug-in and the game remained close.

Trailing by five with just under 10 minutes remaining, the Johnnies continued to wreak havoc defensively forcing six turnovers in a four-minute span that led directly to six points. After Luis tied the score at 52 apiece, another Huskies’ miscue gave the Red Storm possession. Richmond capitalized with a made jumper as the Johnnies captured their first lead since halftime, 54-52, with 5:30 remaining. St. John’s wouldn’t stop there as a Richmond made a steal at midcourt and turned it into a putback by Scott as the run ballooned to 12-0.

Down the stretch, after a free throws from Richmond that extended the advantage to eight, 60-52, UConn responded quickly chopping its deficit to four before Luis retaliated with a mid-range make.

McNeeley hit four free throws to bring the Huskies’ deficit down to just two, 64-62, with 33 seconds remaining. On an out-of-bounds play, Luis got free on the baseline and received a dish from Richmond. The Miami native rose up and knocked down a crucial shot with 11 seconds on the clock to seal the victory. The Huskies hurried down the floor and missed a lay-up on their final possession as the Red Storm earned its first victory inside Gampel Pavilion since Jan. 18, 2021.

Pastrnak Stays Hot, Bruins Win

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s David Pastrnak registered his first hat trick of the season and an assist to lead the Bruins to a 6-3 win over the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

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The Bruins never looked back after Pastrnak scored a go-ahead goal in the first period before increasing the Bruins’ lead to three on two occasions during the final frame.

The star winger is riding a 10-game point streak. He was named thr NHL’s “First Star” of the month of January.

Pavel Zacha had a goal and an assist, Charlie McAvoy and Charlie Coyle each scored, and Brad Marchand and Matt Poitras each dished out two assists for the Bruins, who snapped a two-game skid.

Boston’s Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves in the win.

J.T. Miller scored two goals for New York less than 24 hours after being re-acquired in Friday’s blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks. Jonny Brodzinski netted the other.

The 31-year-old Miller was playing his 342nd regular-season game as a Ranger and his first in 2,533 days (Feb. 25, 2018).

New York’s goalkeeper, Igor Shesterkin, stopped 19 shots.

After losing a 1-0 lead, Pastrnak flipped the score back in Boston’s favor with 2:51 left in the first, taking a Brandon Carlo feed from behind the goal line and quickly snapping it glove-side.

The game’s first two-goal lead was established 3:39 into the second when Coyle was stationed outside Shesterkin’s crease to deflect an Andrew Peeke point shot.

Tatum Beats Buzzer and Pelicans

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NEW ORLEANS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum added 27, including a tie-breaking jumper with 0.2 seconds left, as the visiting Celtics held off the New Orleans Pelicans 118-116 on Friday night.

Tatum added 10 assists, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White scored 16 points each and Luke Kornet had 11 off the bench for the Celtics.

Trey Murphy III scored a season-high 40 points, Jose Alvarado added 20, CJ McCollum had 17 and Brandon Boston Jr. 10 for New Orleans, which lost its fifth straight game. Pelicans starting point guard Dejounte Murray had to be helped to the locker room after injuring his lower right leg in the first quarter. He did not return.

New Orleans trailed by five after three quarters, but Alvarado hit a 3-pointer to open scoring in the fourth. The Pelicans got within two points four more times, with the Celtics answering on the first three. On the fourth occasion, Murphy made a short jumper to finally pull New Orleans even at 114 with 1:37 left.

Brown and McCollum exchanged baskets before Tatum dribbled down the clock and swished the game-winner from 21 feet.

Four Celtics scored during a 9-6 run to start the third quarter, increasing the Celtics’ lead to 68-59. Murphy made two 3-pointers, and Alvarado and Karlo Matkovic made one each as the Pelicans took a 77-75 lead.

Brown scored eight points and White and Payton Pritchard scored three each as Boston took a 91-86 lead going into the fourth.

Murphy scored 16 points to help New Orleans take a 34-31 lead at the end of the first quarter.

New Orleans led by five twice early in the second quarter, but Kornet made consecutive baskets to complete a 6-0 run and put Boston ahead by one point. The Pelicans regained the lead briefly, but Tatum made consecutive 3-pointers to start an 8-0 run that gave the Celtics a 47-42 lead.

New Orleans closed within one point twice, but White and Tatum each made a 3-pointer to help Boston extend the lead to nine. Murphy’s 3-pointer trimmed New Orleans’ deficit to 59-53 at halftime.

–Field Level Media

Jets Beat Bruins, 6-2

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BOSTON – Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele capped a two-goal effort with the eventual game-winner and Wakefield, R.I., native Parker Ford scored in his NHL debut as the visiting Jets beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 Thursday night.

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Scheifele’s second goal 35 seconds into the third period marked the 328th of his Winnipeg career, tying him with Ilya Kovalchuk for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise history.

Nikolaj Ehlers and Vladislav Namestnikov added a goal and an assist, Kyle Connor scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for Winnipeg, which is on a five-game win streak.

The Jets scored four third-period goals and found the back of the net on two of four power plays in the game (50 percent).

Elias Lindholm led the Bruins with a goal and an assist, while Brad Marchand also scored and added 14 penalty minutes.

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 21 shots in Boston’s second consecutive loss and third in a five-game span (2-3-0).

The Bruins climbed out of a 2-0 hole to tie the game when Lindholm buried a shorthanded goal off Pavel Zacha’s faceoff win 11 seconds into the third. Winnipeg never trailed after Scheifele took an Ehlers feed down the middle to provide an answer just 24 ticks later.

Ehlers was credited with the Jets’ insurance goal less than a minute later, poking the puck off Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei’s stick and into an open left side of Korpisalo’s net at 1:17.

Ford extended Winnipeg’s lead to 5-2 at 5:57. After Alex Iafallo settled down a Logan Stanley centering feed in the slot, the former Providence College captain cashed in with a wrister.

Connor scored an empty-net goal with 36.6 seconds remaining.

Namestnikov lifted the visitors to a 1-0 lead just 2:55 into the first, putting home a power-play goal from low on the left side. Cole Perfetti’s shot from the wing created a rebound that Nino Niederreiter sent to Namestnikov across the crease to bang into an open side of the net.

Minutes after a Josh Morrissey snipe past Korpisalo was called back due to offside, Scheifele doubled Winnipeg’s lead with a goal that counted, tipping in Neal Pionk’s point shot at the 11:31 mark.

Marchand scored his second goal on the man advantage in as many games to bring Boston within one at 15:34. The Bruins captain slid down from the top of the left circle and snapped a shot past Hellebuyck.

–Field Level Media

C’s Win with Porzingis’ Career Night

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BOSTON – Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-high 34 points and collected 11 rebounds to help Boston breeze to a 122-100 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Porzingis made 10 of his 18 field goal attempts, including 8 of 14 shots from behind the 3-point arc. His eight 3-pointers tied his career high.

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Porzingis had 26 points in the first half, when he made 6 of 8 shots from behind the 3-point arc.

Jaylen Brown added 28 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Celtics, who also received a 22-point performance from Derrick White. White made four 3-pointers.

The Bulls didn’t have leading scorer Zach LaVine, who is averaging 24.0 points per game. Chicago coach Billy Donovan said LaVine will miss multiple games to be with his wife to prepare for the birth of their third child.

Chicago guard Coby White returned from an ankle injury and scored 16 points in 31 minutes. It was White’s first game since Jan. 19.

Patrick Williams came off the bench and contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who were playing the first game of a three-game road trip. Chicago will play at Toronto on Friday and at Detroit on Sunday.

Sam Hauser (hip) and Al Horford (toe) didn’t dress for the Celtics, who avoided a third straight home loss.

Boston was 18 of 44 from 3-point range (40.9 percent). Chicago was 37 of 92 from the field (40.2) and 15 of 49 (30.6 percent) from 3.

The Celtics scored the game’s first 10 points and led 26-23 after one quarter. Boston scored 41 points in the second quarter to build a 67-51 halftime lead and was up 96-76 after three quarters.

Boston’s lead peaked at 24 points late in the third quarter. Chicago failed to get closer than 16 points in the fourth.

Boston has won three of the four games between the teams this season.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Tops Mavs in Finals Redux

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DALLAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick White added 23 to lead the visiting Celtics to a 122-107 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.

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Tatum and White each made four 3-pointers, while the Celtics were 20 of 52 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range as a team in the victory.

All five Boston starters scored at least 17 points. Jaylen Brown tossed in 22, Kristaps Porzingis finished with 18 and Jrue Holiday had 17. Holiday was 5 of 10 from 3-point range.

Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for the Mavericks, who have lost six of their last eight games. Quentin Grimes scored 20 points off the bench for Dallas, and Daniel Gafford had 19 points and 15 rebounds.

It was the first meeting between the teams since they faced each other in the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston has won five straight against Dallas during the regular season and won four of five games in the Finals last season.

Dallas led 16-6 just four minutes into the game and had a 29-25 advantage after one quarter. The Celtics built a 15-point lead in the second quarter, but the Mavericks scored the final five points in the half to trail 59-49. Boston had no turnovers in the first half.

The Mavericks scored the first six points of the second half to make it 59-55, but the Celtics owned the rest of the quarter. Boston led 93-68 following a Sam Hauser 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining in the third.

The Celtics made eight 3-pointers in the third and had a 96-76 lead heading into the fourth.

White scored 16 points in the third, when he was 6 of 9 from the floor. It was the most points he scored in a quarter this season.

Dallas was within 11 points after a Grimes layup with 3:44 to play but failed to get any closer.

The teams will meet again Feb. 6 in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Deal GS Worst Loss in 40 Years

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SAN FRANCISCO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum led six Boston players in double figures with a game-high 22 points on Monday as the Celtics steamrolled the Golden State Warriors 125-85 as part of the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day slate.

Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 18 points and Jaylen Brown scored 17 for Boston, which for the fourth straight season dropped the season-series opener to Golden State before getting even – and then some – in the rematch.

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Golden State had not lost by 40 at home since Jan. 15, 1985.

The 40-point margin was similar to the 140-88 pounding the Celtics dealt the Warriors last March after Golden State had won 132-126 in overtime three months earlier. This time around, the Warriors surprised the defending champs on their home floor with a 118-112 win on Nov. 6.

Tatum also found time for a game-high nine rebounds to go along with seven assists and two steals. Payton Pritchard paired his game-high nine assists with 14 points.

Sam Hauser added 11 points and Jrue Holiday tallied 10 for the Celtics, who have alternated wins and losses in their last nine games. Derrick White had three of Boston’s nine blocks to complement eight points, five rebounds and five assists.

Boston dominated the rematch on both ends of the court.

Led by Brown, who was 8-for-14 from the floor, and Holiday, who made two of his three 3-point attempts, the Celtics shot 53.3 percent overall and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, making 20 of 48.

The Warriors, meanwhile, were held to 34.8 percent shooting overall and 26.4 percent from deep, connecting on just 14 of 53 tries. Andrew Wiggins especially struggled for Golden State, missing all four of his 3-point tries and finishing just 1-of-11 from the floor in a four-point effort.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 18 points but was just 4-of-12 from 3-point range.

Moses Moody added 13 points for Golden State, which was missing Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Kyle Anderson due to injury.

Moody also posted six rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Kevon Looney snatched a team-high seven rebounds for the Warriors.

The Celtics led 54-39 at halftime before taking control in the third quarter. Tatum scored 12 points in the third as Boston hit 16 of 24 shots, including eight threes, to open up a 34-point lead entering the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Win in Matinee at Garden

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Charlie Coyle scored the tying and winning goals in the third period as part of a three-point effort, helping the Bruins surge past the visiting San Jose Sharks 6-3 on Monday afternoon.

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Coyle was the beneficiary of Matthew Poitras’ primary assists on both late-game goals, including the deciding tally at 14:11

David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm each registered a goal and an assist, while Vinni Lettieri also scored for Boston, which is 3-0-1 in its last four games.

Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves.

Rookie Will Smith, a native of nearby Lexington, Mass., led the Sharks with a goal and an assist in his first NHL game in Boston.

Barclay Goodrow and Fabian Zetterlund also scored and Yaroslav Askarov stopped 27 shots for San Jose, which has lost three in a row and six of seven.

Performing well with new linemate Marchand, Coyle took a Poitras feed off the rush and banked the go-ahead goal off Askarov’s pads. The game-tying goal came several minutes earlier at 8:22 when Poitras fed Coyle a backhand pass, who sniped a shot past Askarov from the slot.

Marchand and Lindholm iced the game with empty-netters in the final 1:15.

The Sharks had scored twice in the second period to turn around a 2-1 deficit, with Smith bringing them back even at 8:52. The local native capitalized on a neutral-zone turnover by placing a perfect glove-side wrist shot off a give-and-go with Mikael Granlund.

Smith’s goal was his seventh and the 25th goal by Sharks rookies this season, the most in the NHL.

A successful penalty kill helped vault San Jose to its first lead when Zetterlund scored with 4:42 left before the second intermission. After Smith’s shot was blocked, Zetterlund picked up the puck, skated down the wing and buried his own rebound after a net drive.

Boston’s opening goal came as Vinni Lettieri tipped Jordan Oesterle’s shot from the right point five-hole on Askarov at 9:21 of the first. It was his second tally in as many games.

Goodrow evened the score for San Jose at 13:16, charging down the middle of the ice to snap home Nico Sturm’s centering pass from behind the end line.

The Bruins’ power play converted for the fourth time in as many games at 7:02 of the second. Pavel Zacha circled the cage and fed Pastrnak for a one-time goal from close range just below the right circle for a 2-1 Boston lead.

–Field Level Media

Surging Hawks Top Celtics in OT

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Atlanta’s Trae Young had 28 points and 11 assists to help the visiting Hawks extend their winning streak to three games by defeating the Boston Celtics 119-115 in overtime on Saturday.

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Dyson Daniels added 23 points for the Hawks, who won despite shooting 9-for-37 from 3-point range and committing 18 turnovers. Atlanta received 19 points and 13 rebounds from Onyeka Okongwu and 14 points and 13 boards from Jalen Johnson.

Young, Johnson and De’Andre Hunter (16 points) all returned after missing time because of injuries.

Boston trailed by three in overtime when Jayson Tatum missed a 3-point attempt with 6.6 seconds to play. Tatum had 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 24 points but went 9-for-27 from the floor. Derrick White added 21 points and eight rebounds.

Red Sox Ink Duran

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BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox announced a one-year deal with outfielder Jarren Duran on Friday, avoiding arbitration.

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Durran, 28, will earn $3.75 million in 2025 and has an $8 million club option for 2026 with a $100,000 buyout, according to MLB.com.

He can earn up to an additional $150,000 in performance bonuses in 2025.

FanSided reported that the option includes escalators based on the 2025 MVP voting, including $2 million for a top-10 finish (he finished eighth in 2024) and $4 million if he wins the award.

Durran led the majors in triples (14), doubles (48), plate appearances (735) and at-bats (671) in 2024, batting .285 with 21 homers, 75 RBIs and 34 stolen bases in 160 games.

He also was named to the American League All-Star team for the first time. He won MVP honors at the All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas, after hitting a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fifth inning of the AL’s 5-3 win.

A seventh-round pick by Boston in 2018, Durran made his MLB debut in 2021 and has batted .272 with 34 homers, 142 RBIs and 67 steals in 353 games.

–Field Level Media