AP Sports SummaryBrief at 12:05 a.m. EST

Tatum scores 40, Celtics beat Lakers 111-101 after James leaves late with groin injury BOSTON (AP) Jayson Tatum had 40 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Boston Celtics held off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 111-101.

Jaylen Brown added 31 points as the Celtics earned their fourth straight victory.

With LeBron James in the locker room with a strained groin, the Lakers cut a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit to single digits.

But Tatum and Brown scored Bostons final 12 points to preserve the win.

The loss stopped Los Angeles' win streak at eight games.

Doncic had 34 points and eight rebounds in his first game in Boston since he and the Dallas Mavericks Game 5 loss to the Celtics in last seasons NBA Finals.

James finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy released after Texas district attorney declines to pursue charges AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Xavier Worthy was released Saturday after a district attorney in Texas declined to pursue charges against the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver following an arrest in which he had been accused of felony domestic violence.

Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick told the Austin American-Statesman his office had spoken with witnesses and was not accepting the case.

Dick also said Worthy and his lawyers were fully cooperating with the investigation.

In a statement, Worthys attorneys said their client was innocent of the charge against him.

Williamson County includes parts of Austin, where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.

No.

6 St.

John's preps for March Madness with Pitino's 'favorite win of the season by far' MILWAUKEE (AP) St.

Johns coach Rick Pitino wanted his Red Storm to close the regular season with the kind of challenge they could expect to face in the NCAA Tournament.

They got all that and then some Saturday.

And they responded by producing perhaps their most thrilling victory in a season full of memorable moments.

Zuby Ejiofor hit a game-winning shot to beat the overtime buzzer as the sixth-ranked Red Storm beat No.

20 Marquette 86-84 for their sixth straight victory.

Not a bad way to head into March Madness.

Bubble watch: Georgia is in position to end 10-year NCAA Tournament drought after beating Vanderbilt ATHENS, Ga.

(AP) Georgia may have ended its 10-year NCAA Tournament drought by beating Vanderbilt 79-68.

In one of several games on Saturday involving teams perceived to be on the NCAA bubble, the Bulldogs improved to 20-11 overall and may have ended any remaining doubt about their hopes to make the NCAA field for the first time since 2015.

In another Southeastern Conference game with NCAA implications, Arkansas edged No.

25 Mississippi State 93-92.

Also, Wake Forest improved its fading NCAA hopes by beating Georgia Tech 69-43.

Indiana beat Ohio State 66-60 in a Big Ten matchup of two bubble teams.

Duke's Maliq Brown stood out at UNC.

It showed his importance to the No.

2 Blue Devils' title hopes CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

(AP) Maliq Brown stepped up in No.

2 Duke's win at rival North Carolina that clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

The Syracuse transfer had missed nearly three weeks with a shoulder injury.

His return proved vital in Duke's decisive second-half surge.

That included the versatile defender helping lock down on UNC's offense.

Brown also provided a pair of 3-pointers as Duke took control.

The game illustrated Brown's importance to the No.

2 Blue Devils' hopes of winning a national title.

Collin Morikawa birdies final hole for a 1-shot lead at Bay Hill ORLANDO, Fla.

(AP) Collin Morikawa wound up on top after the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

He made a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole at tough Bay Hill for a 67.

That gives him a one-shot lead over Russell Henley going into the final round, with Corey Conners of Canada another shot behind.

Even without a lot of wind, Bay Hill was tough as ever with its baked-out conditions.

Putts kept sliding by the hole.

Pars were welcome.

Shane Lowry went from a two-shot lead to trailing by six shots after a 76.

Scottie Scheffler was eight shots behind.

Warriors star Stephen Curry reaches 25,000 career points SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Stephen Curry became the 26th player in NBA history to score 25,000 career points, reaching the milestone during the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors 115-110 win against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Curry yelled while running back through the hallway to the locker room following a quick return to the court postgame.

Curry, who turns 37 next Friday, surpassed 25,000 with a 3-pointer at the 8:32 mark of the third quarter then received a warm ovation when recognized during a timeout with 5:42 to go.

He finished with 32 points pushing his total to 25,017 on 8-for-22 shooting and converted all 12 of his free throws.

No.

2 USC, No.

4 UCLA ready to square off in Round 3 with another Big Ten championship on the line INDIANAPOLIS (AP) UCLA center Lauren Betts and her teammates used a five-day break to dissect their flaws, make a few fixes and recommit themselves to beating No.

2 Southern California.

If they got a chance, that is.

Now its all set.

The leagues top two regular-season teams and Los Angeles rivals will meet in yet another winner-takes-all contest Sunday in what could be one of the top womens basketball games of the season.

Brad Marchand plays for the Florida Panthers.

It's a move that the Panthers never saw coming Aleksander Barkov looked across the Florida Panthers locker room on Saturday morning and noticed a new addition.

A nameplate over a locker bearing the name Brad Marchand.

A guy who always played like he hated Florida will soon be in uniform for Florida, after a stunning trade at the NHLs deadline Friday brought Marchand who was captain of the Boston Bruins to the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers.

Marchand played 64 games against the Panthers including postseasons, fifth-most of all active players.

Is winning the F1 title in 2025 a trap? A looming rules reset could punish this year's contenders LONDON (AP) Could winning the Formula 1 title in 2025 actually hurt a team? Thats the dilemma facing F1s team principals as sweeping regulation changes for 2026 threaten to upend the competitive order.

An F1 title fight can often come down to developing and refining a car throughout the year.

The problem is that teams that start 2025 poorly could choose to abandon development work on the current car and focus all energy on next year, which brings sweeping changes to cars and engines alike.

That could bring big gains for years to come.

Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week.

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