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Wake / BC Ready for Snowed Out Game

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CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Not much has gone well for Boston College in the second half of the season. The Eagles are 2-12 since the calendar flipped to 2026.

They will attempt to end an eight-game losing streak when they face Wake Forest on Wednesday evening in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday before it was moved due to inclement weather.

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Boston College (9-18, 2-12 ACC) is at the bottom of the conference in several offensive categories, including scoring (67.7 points per game), field goal percentage (40.8) and 3-point field goals (30.3%). The Eagles shot 33.3% from the field (23 of 69) during Saturday’s 94-70 loss to SMU, getting outscored 54-34 after halftime.

“I thought their zone at the start of the second half stymied us,” Boston College head coach Earl Grant said. “We usually get excited when we see a zone, but we didn’t (against SMU). … We didn’t probe it good enough.”

Boston College’s Donald Hand Jr. (leg) did not play against SMU, missing his third straight contest. Hand has averaged 13.8 points, second on the team behind Fred Payne (15.4).

Wake Forest (14-13, 5-9) is coming off an 82-63 setback Saturday at Virginia Tech which snapped a three-game winning streak. Juke Harris led Wake Forest with 16 points in the loss. He has scored in double figures in all 27 games this season and is the No. 3 scorer in the ACC (21.1 points).

The Demon Deacons rank last among ACC teams in rebounding (32.8 per game).

“I thought we were doing a good job rebounding the ball on the glass,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “Then I think they got four offensive rebounds in the last three possessions of the first half. They kind of smelled blood in the water, and then they got 13 offensive rebounds. They had great balance and six guys in double figures in scoring. I thought they came up with the majority of the 50-50 balls that led to easy baskets.”

Eight of Boston College’s nine victories this season have come at home. Wake Forest is 2-5 on the road.

–Field Level Media

Jaylen Brown is Hearing MVP Talk

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PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – While the Phoenix Suns search for offense, the Boston Celtics are thriving behind Jaylen Brown, who belongs in the MVP conversation, according to one four-time MVP.

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“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” LeBron James said after Brown stuffed the stat sheet in the Celtics’ 111-89 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

“They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”

Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals against the Lakers, and he brings averages of 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists — all career highs — into a back-to-back against the host Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the third game of the Celtics’ four-game road trip.

The Suns, who have struggled to find offense in large part because of injuries to top scorers Devin Booker (24.7) and Dillon Brooks (20.9), have lost six of nine and enter after a 92-77 home loss to Portland on Sunday, their lowest point total since 2017 which was also a loss to the Blazers.

“We can’t get to the free throw line, can’t get to the rim,” Ott said. “Got to shoot jump shots. The way you shoot jump shots is to set screens. But we’re going to continue to find ways we want to play in transition. We want to get more shots up.”

Boston has won eight of nine and is a season-high 18 games above .500 in a season that was thought to be compromised by the loss of Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles.

Brown, who is fourth in the league in scoring, made his case in support of James’ praise.

“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” Brown said. “I play both ends on the court. Night to night, I’m available, which is hard to do.

“I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful.”

The Celtics have compensated for the loss of Tatum and 2024 title team members Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis with a career year from reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard and veteran Derrick White.

Pritchard scored 30 points against the Lakers and is 15 of 28 from distance in the last three games, all wins. He is averaging a career-high 17.6 points with increased playing time. White’s 17.0 scoring average is also a career high.

“The story’s not done,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said. “We haven’t done anything. All we’ve done is stick to the process of winning on both ends of the floor.”

–Field Level Media

Celtics Dominate LA Lakers

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LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, while his teammate Payton Pritchard added 30 points with eight assists and the visiting Celtics continued their February surge with a 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Boston’s Derrick White scored 12 points with eight assists as the Celtics’ defense held the Lakers to 39.1% from the floor, while improving to 8-1 since Jan. 30. Boston shot 48.2% while opening 2-0 on a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams.

Neemias Queta had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics

Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 20 for the Lakers, who lost for the third time in their past five games. Austin Reaves had 15 points as the Los Angeles star trio fell to 8-4 when all three were on the court this season.

James, the NBA’s all-time points leader, moved past the 43,000-point mark in his record 23rd season.

The Lakers were held to their second lowest scoring game of the season behind an 88-point effort in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 20.

The Celtics led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter and never allowed the Lakers to make a run in the fourth. Boston pushed the lead to 94-79 after a step-back jumper from Brown with 6:58 left.

Brown capped an 8-0 run on a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 102-81 lead with 4:11 remaining. Pritchard sealed the victory on a 3-pointer with 3:24 left for a 105-83 victory that prompted the Lakers to remove their starters the rest of the way.

The Celtics took charge in the second quarter, turning a first-period tie into a 60-50 halftime lead on 52.4% shooting as Brown scored 13 points and Pritchard added 11. Doncic had 18 points in the first half for the Lakers, who shot 41.9% over the first two quarters.

Boston won the season series 2-0 that includes a 126-105 victory at home on Dec. 5. The Celtics are 6-2 against the Lakers since the 2022-23 season.

–Field Level Media

Golden Hour

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MILAN – (Wire Service Report) – USA forward Jack Hughes scored at 1:41 of overtime to lift the United States to a 2-1 victory against Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

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Hughes scored with a sweeping wrist shot from the inside edge of the left circle off a feed from defenseman Zach Werenski. The goal gave the Americans their first Olympic gold medal since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Matt Boldy scored on the first shot of the game for the U.S. and Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves.

Defenseman Cale Makar scored and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the Canadians, who were trying for their 10th Olympic gold medal. Canada was outshooting the U.S. 4-0 when Boldy split between Makar and Colorado Avalanche teammate Devon Toews at the Canadian blue line.

Toews had the best chance at snuffing out the play, but he whiffed on his clearing attempt. Boldy continued skating in on Binnington before sliding a backhand between his pads for a 1-0 lead at the six-minute mark of the first period.

Hellebuyck stopped Connor McDavid on a breakaway just before the midway point of the second period, and the Canadians failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play for 93 seconds.

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The penalty kill for the U.S. went 18-for-18 in the tournament.

The Canadians avoided trailing at the start of the third period for the third straight game when Makar received a pass from Toews above the right circle and fired a wrist shot into the net to tie it 1-1 at 18:16.

Canada outshot the U.S. 19-8 in the second period to take a 27-16 advantage into the third.

Hellebuyck continued to make a string of miraculous saves early in the third, reaching back with his stick to tip a shot by Toews and then stopping Macklin Celebrini twice on a breakaway.

Canada was leveled by a four-minute double-minor high-sticking on Sam Bennett at 13:26 of the third, but the U.S. couldn’t capitalize for the first three minutes. The rest of the power play was negated by a high-sticking penalty on Hughes.

Canada played its second straight game without star captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in the 4-3 overtime win against Czechia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Crosby scored the overtime winner for Canada in a 3-2 win against the U.S. in the gold medal game at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

–Field Level Media

USA Routs Slovakia; Canada is Up Next

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MILAN  – (Wire Service Report) – The United States made light work of Slovakia with a 6-2 victory on Friday to set up the eagerly awaited Olympic men’s ice hockey final with Canada. Team U.S. was on cruise control heading into the final period, up 5-0 through Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel and a double from Jack Hughes, before Brady Tkachuk scored between a pair of Slovakian consolation goals.

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NHL players returned to the Olympic Games following a 12-year absence and expectations had been high that the North American rivals would reap the benefits and face off in the decider.

The U.S. obliged with ease after Canada’s tense 3-2 semifinal win over defending champions Finland, and the sides will meet in Sunday’s gold-medal decider at Santagiulia Arena.

Slovakia will take on Finland in Saturday’s bronze-medal game at the same venue.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media and Digital Sports Desk

Canada’s Crosby Might Play vs. USA

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MILAN – (Wire Service Report) – Captain Sidney Crosby missed Canada’s semifinal victory over Finland on Friday but has a chance to play in Sunday’s gold-medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Crosby, who is nursing an apparent right leg injury, watched from the wings as Canada scored a late winner to overcome a two-goal deficit and down the Finns 3-2 in Friday’s early semifinal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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“We have 48 hours to decide that, but I will tell you he’s got a better chance of playing in the gold-medal game than he had playing in tonight’s game,” Cooper told reporters postgame Friday.

The United States faced Slovakia in Friday’s second semifinal. The losing team will oppose Finland in the bronze-medal game Saturday.

Connor McDavid served as captain in Crosby’s absence for the semifinal and assisted Nathan MacKinnon’s game-winning power-play goal with 36 seconds remaining.

Sam Reinhart tipped in an earlier power-play goal and defenseman Shea Theodore tied the score midway through the third, helping Canada remain perfect in the tournament.

“We’re putting our country through it. A lot of stressful mornings for everyone back home,” McDavid said in a postgame interview with CBC. “But you know what? It’s been fun. It’s a best-on-best tournament. I keep on saying that. We’re playing the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and they’re going at it and giving everything they have. The margins are razor thin.”

McDavid added he was “keeping the ‘C’ warm” for Crosby, who spoke to teammates in the locker room between periods. MacKinnon and Cale Makar were alternate captains against Finland.

Crosby was injured in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round as Canada rallied to defeat Czechia 4-3 in overtime.

“With what he’s done for the game, for our team, for all of Canada, we want to show up for him,” forward Brad Marchand said.

With six points in four appearances, Crosby is Canada’s fourth-leading scorer in Milan, trailing McDavid (13 points), Macklin Celebrini (10) and MacKinnon (seven).

One of the NHL’s most decorated players, the 38-year-old Crosby has 1,746 career points in 1,408 games over 21 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and led Canada to Olympic gold at Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

–Field Level Media

Canada to Go for the Gold

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MILAN –  (Wire Service Report) – NHL All-Star Nathan MacKinnon capped Canada’s extraordinary fightback to beat defending champions Finland 3-2 in a men’s Olympic ice hockey semifinal, firing in the kill shot with 35.2 seconds left on the clock in another nerve-searing game on Friday.

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The NHL’s leading goal-scorer, MacKinnon made magic happen at Santagiulia Arena with just one second left on a power play after Canada clawed its way back from a two-goal deficit in the second period.

Forward Sam Reinhart scored to spark the comeback, while defenseman Shea Theodore got the third-period equalizer for Canada.

Canada will face the United States for the gold, as the USA was significant winners over Slovakia on Friday. Finland will play in Saturday’s bronze-medal game. The gold-medal game is set for Sunday.

‘IT’S A CHESS MATCH’

The favored Canadians, with their roster packed with top-flight National Hockey League talent, had looked nearly untouchable early in the tournament, but have been made to work in their last two games. Canada needed an overtime nail-biter to get past the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Their charismatic captain and former Olympic hero Sidney Crosby left that game injured and Canada were lacking some of their usual firepower as he sat out Friday’s game.

Canada had just three shots on goal through the first half of the opening period, and Finland got the chance it was waiting for when Sam Bennett was sent to the penalty box for goalie interference.

Mikko Rantanen scored three seconds into the power play and Finland piled on more pain early in the second period, when Erik Haula sent in a short-handed goal with a backhand shot.

“The start of the game, everybody’s so excited to play, and so amped up, so much adrenaline, it’s just kind of natural, you get a little bit of a feel out process,” said Canada forward Brad Marchand. “Some of these teams you haven’t played before. It’s kind of a chess match.”

The Canadians moved the right pieces around on the next power play, with defenseman Cale Makar blasting the puck through traffic toward the net, where Reinhart deflected it in to trim the lead. Theodore rocketed in a slapshot from the point to tie it midway through the third.

The Canadian joy overflowed with MacKinnon’s mighty shot in the waning moments of the game off an assist from Connor McDavid to avoid overtime. But the fans were made to hold their breath as officials weighed a challenge from the Finland bench for offside that ultimately proved unsuccessful.

The win kept alive North American fans’ hopes for a gold-medal showdown between the two preeminent ice hockey powerhouse nations, with the NHL allowing their players to compete at the Games for the first time since 2014.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Keller Wins Gold, Flies Like an Eagle

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MILAN – United States’ defender Megan Keller, of Boston College,  took an outlet pass to the net and beat Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens for the gold-medal winning goal at 4:07 into overtime to give Team USA a 2-1 come-from-behind victory on Thursday.

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The 3-on-3 overtime ending capped a tense finish of another epic game for the in women’s hockey finale between the neighboring North American countries.

US Captain Hilary Knight scored her 15th career Olympic goal to force overtime for the United States in the final, which featured overtime between the two countries for the third time in the past four Winter Games.

Knight knotted the score at 1 with 2:04 remaining on the goal that made her the USA women’s hockey leader in Olympic goals. Off of a face-off win, Knight caught a blue-line pass standing with her back to the goal just in front of the net and tipped it past Desbiens.

Canada took a 1-0 lead on Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal in the second period with an assist from Laura Stacey.

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–Field Level Media

USA Women’s Hockey Takes the Gold

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MILAN – (Wire Service Report) -United States women’s ice hockey tasted revenge sweeter than maple syrup as they came from behind to beat defending champions Canada 2-1 to win gold in an overtime thriller at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday.

Former Boston College skater Megan Keller netted the winner to dethrone their archrivals in an instant classic, sealing a spine-tingling affair and bringing a roar of American joy that echoed throughout Santagiulia Arena.

The U.S. looked headed for more disappointment after losing to their hated foes four years ago, as they were kept off the scoreboard and trailing late in the third period.

But captain Hilary Knight played the hero one more time in her fifth Olympics, tying it to take the tight-checking Games decider to three-on-three sudden death hockey, where Keller went around defender Claire Thompson and slipped the puck past Canadian goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to clinch a third Olympic gold for the U.S. women.

The game gave fans yet another classic chapter in the sport’s greatest rivalry, and the packed stands offered dueling chants of “Canada!” and “USA!” from puck drop.

ROOK-TO-KNIGHT SENDS GAME TO OT

The Americans were the favorites after handing Canada their first-ever Olympic shutout 5-0 in the group stage, but fears of a one-sided final were soon dispelled as Desbiens put on a lights-out performance through the first period.

The U.S. had a prime chance to break the impasse with a power play at the start of the second. Instead, the crafty Canadian squad flexed its muscle as Laura Stacey gathered the puck in the neutral zone, charged forward and sent it across for Kristin O’Neill, who made a nifty backhand move to score the short-handed goal.

Behind for the first time in the tournament, the U.S. could not find a way past Desbiens until they pulled their goalie for an extra skater with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Knight redirected a shot from Olympic rookie Laila Edwards for their desperation first goal, breaking the all-time U.S. women’s goals record at the Winter Olympics in the process.

“She’s been a part of every historic moment since she’s been a part of this team. For her to get that goal was obviously most important for our team but also just a huge honor for her to break that record,” said Kelly Pannek, Knight’s teammate on their 2018 gold medal-winning group.

“It’s something we all want for her.”

This was the third time in the last four Games that the two sides have battled into overtime in an Olympic final, and the crowd held its breath before Keller finished off the Canadians with just over four minutes gone in overtime.

“Everything happened fast,” Desbiens said of the score that just squeaked over the line. “I’ll see that one for a long time.”

U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel also proved up to the test, ultimately turning aside 30 of 31 shots the Canadians sent her way.

With their coach John Wroblewski weeping tears of joy behind the bench, the American team erupted in celebration, and the Canadian side could only stand by grimly ahead of the medal ceremony, as fans danced to Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.”

It marked the once-dominant Canadians’ eighth successive loss to the Americans.

RED, WHITE AND THE BLUE

The Canadians had long had the upper hand on the United States, with five Olympic golds. But cracks in the ice beneath their feet were beginning to show before they even stepped into the rink in Milan.

The United States won the world championship last year before sweeping the Canadians in the four-game Rivalry Series in November and December, leaving Canada fans with a queasy feeling just weeks before the Games were set to begin.

As American youth triumphed over Canadian experience on Thursday, U.S. fans can allow themselves to dream of more hardware to come, with several collegiate players on the team having yet to reach the professional ranks.

The U.S. was playing in its seventh Olympic championship game, having missed just one since the women were added to the program in 1998.

Switzerland took the bronze medal earlier on Thursday with a 2-1 overtime win over Sweden.

–Reuters, Special to Field Level Media and Digital Sports Desk

 

Celtics vs. Porzingis, But No Steph

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SAN FRANCISCO – (Wire Service Report) – Former Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis could make his debut with the Golden State Warriors when they host Boston on Thursday night.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he’s hoping two-time MVP Stephen Curry will also be on the court. Curry, who leads Golden State with 27.2 points per game, has missed the last five games because of a sore knee.

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Porzingis was acquired by the Warriors from Atlanta at the trade deadline but hasn’t played since Jan. 7 due to issues with his left Achilles tendon. He said at the time of the trade that Thursday’s game was his target date for returning to the court.

“I look forward to really having a surprisingly good post All-Star break,” he said.

Porzingis has played in 17 games this season (12 starts). He’s averaging 17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per contest.

Porzingis played for Boston last season, but was limited to 42 games with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. The Celtics traded him to the Hawks in July. He did not play against Boston while with Atlanta.

“He’s an easy fit,” Kerr said. “You don’t have to change a whole lot. The biggest difference I guess that he provides is post-ups. He’s a pretty good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, the elbows, even the low block, he can score in those spots. That was one of the things we did today, we worked on our spacing.”

Kerr said he wanted to watch Porzingis in a scrimmage Wednesday before deciding whether he will play Thursday night.

“Kristaps has been here the last handful of days and practiced today with the team,” Kerr said. “Looked good. He’s feeling good. We won’t make a determination until after (Wednesday). When we practice (Wednesday) afternoon we’ll get up and down the floor and scrimmage, which we didn’t do (Tuesday). We did more skill work and went over some things.”

The Warriors, who lost four of their last six games before the All-Star break, occupy eighth place in the Western Conference standings. Boston will enter Thursday’s game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference, 5 1/2 games behind Detroit.

Speculation has ramped up regarding the possibility of injured forward Jayson Tatum suiting up for the Celtics in the second half of the season. Tatum, who is recovering from a torn Achilles, began practicing with some of his teammates this week. He had surgery in May.

“He looked like Jayson Tatum, I’ll say that much,” Ron Harper Jr. said. “We’re really excited for the potential of him coming back. We don’t know for sure if he’s going to come back. We’re just really excited to see him progress during his rehab.”

Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and a career-high 6.0 assists per game in 2024-25. The six-time All-Star has averaged 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists during his 585-game NBA career.

Thursday night’s matchup will be the first of two for these teams this season and should feature plenty of perimeter scoring. The Warriors lead the NBA in made 3-point field goals (897), while Boston is third (831).

–Field Level Media