Thursday Morning Sports Update-03/04/2021

pistons-raptors-basketball
pistons-raptors-basketball

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 129, Toronto Raptors 105
Indiana Pacers 114, Cleveland Cavaliers 111
Chicago Bulls 128, New Orleans Pelicans 124

Pistons 129, Raptors 105 – Ellington, backups help Pistons beat depleted Raptors
Wayne Ellington scored 25 points and the Detroit Pistons beat the virus-depleted Toronto Raptors 129-105 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak. Ellington was 8 of 11 from 3-point range and the Pistons were 20 for 41 overall from long range. Detroit’s backup had 56 points, with Rodney McGruder and Saben Lee each finishing with 20. Norman Powell had 36 points for Toronto, and Kyle Lowry added 21 points. The Raptors played without Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby, three of their top four scorers, and reserves Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Coach Nick Nurse and most of his staff also were held out.

Pacers 114, Cavaliers 111 – McConnell sets steals mark, Pacers rally past Cavs 114-111
T.J. McConnell set an NBA record with nine steals in the first half and posted his second career triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists and a franchise-best 10 steals, leading the Indiana Pacers to a 114-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. McConnell also went 8 of 8 from the field in 36 minutes off the bench as Indiana rallied from a 19-point deficit in the third quarter and ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak. The NBA record of 11 steals in a game is shared by New Jersey’s Kendall Gill on April 3, 1999, against Miami and San Antonio’s Larry Kenon on Dec. 26, 1976, at Kansas City. Collin Sexton collected 32 points, 10 assists and three steals and Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who committed 26 turnovers.

Bulls 128, Pelicans 124 – LaVine’s 36 points lift Bulls past Pelicans 128-124
Zach LaVine capped a 36-point performance with a driving layup and four free throws during the final minute and the Chicago Bulls held off a late rally to beat the mercurial New Orleans Pelicans 128-124. Coby White scored 25 for the Bulls, who led by as many as 19 and were still up 18 in the fourth quarter before the Pelicans’ late surge pulled them as close as 117-113 on Jaxson Hayes alley-oop dunk with 1:49 left. Zion Williamson scored 28 but missed two late free throws. Brandon Ingram scored 21 points for New Orleans.

Tonight
Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks, 7:30 p.m.
Denver Nuggets at Indiana Pacers, 8:00 p.m.

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
NC State 80, Notre Dame 69

NC State 80, Notre Dame 69 – N.C. State wins fifth straight, beats Notre Dame 80-69
Cam Hayes scored a career-best 20 points, Dereon Seabron had career highs with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and North Carolina State beat Notre Dame 80-69. N.C. State (13-9, 9-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won five straight, its longest ACC win streak since the 2003-04 season. Prentiss Hubb scored 14 points for the Fighting Irish (9-14, 6-11). The Wolfpack built a 40-32 halftime advantage, opened the second half on a 16-7 run and led by double-digits for nearly the rest of the way.

Tonight
Michigan State at (2) Michigan, 7:00 p.m.     
MSU Broadcast Superhits 103.7 Cosy-FM 6:00
U of M Broadcast News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM 6:30

NCAAWBB – Women’s College Basketball
Yesterday
Toledo 82, Western Michigan 73
Northern Illinois 75, Eastern Michigan 66
Central Michigan 87, Ball State 81 – 2OT

Tonight
Clemson at Notre Dame, 8:30 p.m.

NHL – National Hockey League
Tonight
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 p.m.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:00 p.m.

MLB – Spring Training
Yesterday
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Detroit Tigers 2 – F/7
Kansas City Royals 6, Chicago White Sox 5 – F/6
Seattle Mariners 8, Chicago Cubs 8 – TIE – F/9

Today
Toronto Blue Jays at Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at San Francisco Giants, 3:05 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:05 p.m.

MLB – Yankees manager Aaron Boone gets pacemaker, takes leave
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has taken a leave of absence from the team to get a pacemaker and intends to return to work in a few days. The Yankees say the procedure was performed Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and went as expected. Boone remained hospitalized overnight. The 47-year-old Boone is entering his fourth season as Yankees manager and had open-heart surgery in 2009. The team started the exhibition season Sunday and was scheduled to play its fourth game on Wednesday night against Toronto in Tampa. Bench coach Carlos Mendoza took over as acting manager.

MLB – Cubs signed Sogard to minor league deal
A person familiar with the situation says infielder Eric Sogard and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to a minor league contract, pending a physical. The 34-year-old hit .209 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 43 games for Milwaukee last season.

NFL – Bears re-sign exclusive rights free agent OL Alex Bars
The Chicago Bears have re-signed offensive lineman Alex Bars as well as four other exclusive rights free agents. Bars joined the Bears in 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame and played sparingly as a rookie. But he helped solidify the line in the second half of last season. The Bears also re-signed tight end J.P. Holtz, running back Ryan Nall and linebackers James Vaughters and Josh Woods.

Golf – Detectives look at SUV’s ‘black box’ from Tiger Woods crash
Detectives are looking at data from the “black box” of Tiger Woods’ SUV to get a clearer picture of what occurred during the Southern California rollover crash last week that seriously injured the golf star.  The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department says that traffic investigators executed a search warrant to retrieve the data from the device from the Genesis SUV that Woods was driving. Deputy Trina Schrader says there was no immediate information regarding what was found in the black box.  Woods suffered a serious leg injury when the SUV he was driving went off a Los Angeles County road and rolled over on a downhill stretch.

AHL – American Hockey League savings
Last Night
Grand Rapids Griffins 9, Rockford IceHogs 4

MHSAA – High School Sports
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Coloma 80, Eau Claire 53
Watervliet 58, Hartford 30
Otsego 53, Dowagiac 45
Paw Paw 59, Sturgis 54
Plainwell 55, Edwardsburg 49
Vicksburg 54, Allegan 51
Schoolcraft 61, Delton-Kellogg 27

Girls Basketball
Benton Harbor 48, River Valley 30
Fennville 44, Eau Claire 7
Otsego 65, Dowagiac 19
Paw Paw 28, Sturgis 18
Plainwell 43, Edwardsburg 41
Vicksburg 36, Allegan 23
Mendon 34, Quincy 26
Colon 50, White Pigeon 24
Schoolcraft 59, Delton-Kellogg 16

Boys Wrestling
SMAC Quad at St. Joseph

  • St. Joseph 67, Battle Creek Central 12
  • St. Joseph 64, Mattawan 6
  • Lakeshore 69, Battle Creek Central 3
  • Lakeshore 78, Mattawan 6

Tonight
Boys Basketball
St. Joseph at Battle Creek Lakeview, 7:15 p.m.
Lakeshore at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 5:45 p.m.
Buchanan at Berrien Springs, 7:00 p.m.
South Haven at Bloomingdale, 7:00 p.m.
Howardsville Christian at Kalamazoo Phoenix, 6:00 p.m.
Marcellus at Lawrence, 7:00 p.m.
Gobles at Galesburg-Augusta, 7:00 p.m.
Comstock at Mendon, 5:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Kalamazoo Central, 7:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at Portage Norther, Canceled

Girls Basketball
Howardsville Christian at Buchanan, 6:00 p.m.
Comstock at New Buffalo, 6:00 p.m.
Hartford at South Haven, 6:00 p.m.