Jan 18, 2021 3 min read

In the NBA

LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points, DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and 11 assists and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 125-104 on Monday.

Rudy Gay and Patty Mills came off the bench for 21 points apiece as the Spurs reserves outscored Portland backups 59-24. Reserve center Jakob Poeltl added 11 points and seven rebounds, six of which came on the offensive glass.

• Ja Morant had 17 points and 10 assists and took a key charge late as the Memphis Grizzlies won their fifth straight, beating the Phoenix Suns, 108-104.

Morant assisted on Grayson Allen’s 3-pointer with 1:06 left to give Memphis a 101-98 lead, then scored on a drive with 30.8 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Morant took a charge against Chris Paul to help maintain the Memphis lead.

• Clint Capela had 23 points and 15 rebounds, De’Andre Hunter scored 25 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-97.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers are moving on from troubled and talented forward Kevin Porter Jr., a person familiar with his standing with the team told the Associated Press on Monday.

The Cavs will either trade or release Porter, who has not played for them this season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Porter reportedly became angry when he learned the Cavs had moved his locker for newly acquired forward Taurean Prince, who came over in the four-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the week.

Wrestling

In a match that saw only two weight classes contested, Washington defeated Keystone Oaks 30-12 Monday night.

The Little Prexies won both contested bouts via fall, by Maddox Kehn (138) and Mike Ewing (172).

In college basketball

St. John’s came into Connecticut looking for a confidence-building, perhaps season-defining win and got it.

Posh Alexander scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures and the Red Storm came from behind to upset No. 23 UConn 74-70 on Monday in the first meeting of the rivals since February 2013.

Marcellus Earlington scored 15 points and Julian Champagnie, the Big East’s leading scorer, had 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

Fields opts for draft

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is forgoing his senior season to enter the NFL draft, while Buckeyes wide receiver Chris Olave is returning for his senior year.

The teammates announced their decisions Monday on Twitter.

Fields, expected to be a first-round pick, said in his lengthy Twitter post that his path to OSU was not direct, but that he couldn’t “have asked for a better final destination.” He went on to thank his family, coaches, support staff and teammates.

In the NHL

Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots for his 29th career shutout, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored with 4:09 remaining, and the New York Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 in their home opener Monday.

• Alexandre Texier and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored 1:16 apart early in the third period to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a two-goal lead and they held on to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Monday.

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored late in the second period and Joonas Korpisalo finished with 35 saves in the Blue Jackets’ first win of the season.