Giants, veteran catcher Eric Haase reportedly agree to minor league contract originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants reportedly are bringing in some more catching depth for the 2026 MLB season.

San Francisco has agreed to a minor-league contract with veteran catcher Eric Haase, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Friday, citing a source.

The contract is worth $1.6 million if he makes the Giants roster and includes an invitation to spring training next month with an opt-out afterward, per Morosi’s report.

Source: Eric Haase is in agreement on a minor-league contract with the Giants that includes an invitation to @MLB spring training.

His salary is $1.6M plus incentives if he makes the team; he has an opt-out after spring training. @MLBNetwork

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 9, 2026

Haase, 33, is an eight-year MLB veteran who has spent time with the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers. Across 383 career games, he has incurred .228/.278/.396 splits with 48 home runs. His best season came with his hometown Detroit in 2022, when he slashed .254/.305/.443 with 14 home runs over 110 games.

The former seventh-round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft also offers some defensive versatility for San Francisco, as Haase has made 57 career appearances in the outfield. At catcher, Haase ranked third in MLB in caught stealing percentage in both 2021 and 2022, throwing out nearly a third of would-be base stealers.

Haase is set to compete with three catchers on the Giants’ current 40-man roster — Patrick Bailey, Jesús Rodríguez and Daniel Susac — for a spot on the Opening Day squad.

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Kevin Durant moved past the great Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA all-time scoring list but his 30 points could not guide the Houston Rockets to a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Durant, 37, has 31,435 points in his career and is now seventh on the all-time list. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers leads the way with 42,601.

The Trail Blazers triumphed 111-105 at Moda Center in Portland.

Chamberlain, who died in 1999, is the only player to score 100 points in an NBA game and was a two-time champion with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Lakers.

In 1962 he averaged a record 50.4 points a game, and was the leading NBA scorer when he retired in 1973.

“You see the numbers. You just can’t comprehend somebody putting up 50 a game with 25 rebounds,” Durant said before Friday’s game.

“You want to compete with that and try to match that as much as you can.

“It’s amazing just being in the top 10 with him, but to have the opportunity to pass him up, it’s pretty sweet.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by James and stole the ball from him on consecutive possessions in the final minute as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Lakers 105-101 in LA to claim a fifth win in seven games.

Stephen Curry finished with 27 points and a season-high 10 assists as the Golden State Warriors triumphed 137-103 at home against the Sacramento Kings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 21-point deficit in the second half to win 117-116 at the Memphis Grizzlies.

Top 10 NBA points scorers

1. LeBron James* – 42,601
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387
3. Karl Malone – 36,928
4. Kobe Bryant – 33,643
5. Michael Jordan – 32,292
6. Dirk Nowitzki – 31,560
7. Kevin Durant* – 31,435
8. Wilt Chamberlain – 31,419
9. Shaquille O’Neal – 28,596
10. James Harden* – 28, 563

*Current player

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Naturally, it involved Giannis Antetokounmpo doing something big.

With the game tied going into the final minute, the former MVP notched two stops against LeBron James to key a 105-101 Bucks win. It is the Lakers’ first single-digit loss of the season.

First, there was a block of the kind of lay-up usually automatic for James.

Then there was a poke that forced a turnover, allowing the Bucks to put the game out of reach.

Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 4 turnovers. 

It was a frustrating game overall for the Lakers, especially for Luka Dončić, who fouled out for the first time this season. He got his sixth foul in that final minute by not giving Kevin Porter Jr. space to land on a 3-pointer. Dončić, naturally, wasn’t happy with the call, and several others.

Dončić also had a highly inefficient night, shooting 8 for 25 for 24 points. He was 4 of 6 from 3-point range, meaning he went a bizarre 4 of 19 on 2-pointers. Ten of those misses came inside the paint. He described it as a “terrible day for me” to reporters after the game.

The loss lowers the Lakers’ record to 23-13, good for fifth in the Western Conference. They are now 8-8 since Dec. 1. The Bucks, meanwhile, improved to 17-21.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Naturally, it involved Giannis Antetokounmpo doing something big.

With the game tied going into the final minute, the former MVP notched two stops against LeBron James to key a 105-101 Bucks win. It is the Lakers’ first single-digit loss of the season.

First, there was a block of the kind of lay-up usually automatic for James.

Then there was a poke that forced a turnover, allowing the Bucks to put the game out of reach.

Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 4 turnovers. 

It was a frustrating game overall for the Lakers, especially for Luka Dončić, who fouled out for the first time this season. He got his sixth foul in that final minute by not giving Kevin Porter Jr. space to land on a 3-pointer. Dončić, naturally, wasn’t happy with the call, and several others.

Dončić also had a highly inefficient night, shooting 8 for 25 for 24 points. He was 4 of 6 from 3-point range, meaning he went a bizarre 4 of 19 on 2-pointers. Ten of those misses came inside the paint. He described it as a “terrible day for me” to reporters after the game.

The loss lowers the Lakers’ record to 23-13, good for fifth in the Western Conference. They are now 8-8 since Dec. 1. The Bucks, meanwhile, improved to 17-21.

The Lakers have two of the best clutch players in the NBA in LeBron James and Luka Doncic. They have been the best clutch team in the NBA because their stars have led the way in crunch time. They have won a league-leading 13 games in the clutch this season.

But when the game hung in the balance Friday night, when the Lakers needed James and Doncic to be clutch, neither was able to deliver, their inability to do so leading to L.A.’s 105-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Crypto.com Arena.

For as much as James did in keeping the Lakers in the game by scoring 13 of his 26 points in the final quarter and by nearly collecting a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds, it was his last-second turnover that doomed them to their first loss in a close game.

For as much as Doncic did in nearly producing a triple-double with 24 points, nine assists and nine rebounds, his poor shooting and foul trouble was costly in the end.

“I’d love to go undefeated in clutch games for a season, but you know, you can’t get too high, can’t get too low on stats like that,” James said. “You just play the game. And they made some plays. Big three by [Myles] Turner by our bench; obviously the free throws down the stretch by KP [Kevin Porter Jr.]. So, we had our chances.”

The score was tied at 101-101 after Jake LaRavia (13 points) drilled a three-pointer off a pass from Doncic with 1:22 left.

The Lakers never scored again. James missed a driving layup for the lead that was blocked by Giannis Antetokounmpo. Then Doncic fouled Porter on a three with 16.2 seconds left. It was Doncic’s sixth foul.

“We missed a couple of good shots down the stretch. Then I fouled [out]. I had six fouls. First time in a long time,” Doncic said. “So, that’s on me. I can’t foul at that point.”

Porter made two of three free throws for a 103-101 Bucks lead.

Doncic was asked about the foul.

“I don’t think he shoots like that,” Doncic said of Porter’s three-point form, which drew contact and a foul. “The referee said it was a foul. So, I guess it’s a foul.”

Still, the Lakers were down by only two and still had James on the court.

Read more:Luka Doncic has a triple-double, but LeBron-less Lakers lose to Spurs

But on his drive to the basket, James had the ball poked away by Antetokounmpo for a turnover with 1.5 seconds left.

“I turned the ball over. You definitely can’t do that at that point and time,” James said. “So, Giannis, he made a great play by getting his arm and tipping it from behind, but can’t turn the ball over — obviously.”

Doncic lamented his poor shooting, which was his worst at home this season.

He made his first two three-pointers but it was all downhill from there. He was eight for 25 from the field and had a plus-minus rating of minus-14.

“Obviously my shot didn’t go well today,” Doncic said. “You know, could get better shots. So, wish I could have executed better than that.”

The Lakers played their fourth game of the week, at times looking sluggish because of the workload.

It was the kind of night in which Doncic picked up his fifth foul with 2.1 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 in the second quarter, looking a bit slow.

So much — if not all — of the Lakers’ game plan was focused on trying to deal with the nearly unstoppable force that is Antetokounmpo. And much of that job went to Lakers center Deandre Ayton, who the Lakers felt was best equipped to handle the assignment because of his 7-foot size, length and strength.

But it also was going to take the Lakers as a group to slow down Antetokounmpo, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jarred Vanderbilt gave the Lakers a big effort with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench, and his usual tough defense.

Hachimura update

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his sixth consecutive game because of right calf soreness. Hachimura has been working out and there is some hope that he can play Monday night in Sacramento.

“He’s made a lot of progress just in terms of regaining strength and mobility in his calf and had a good workout today,” coach JJ Redick said. “There’s a lot of optimism that he’ll be available Monday, but we’ll see how the next few days go.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Knicks went down to the wire with the Phoenix Suns on Friday night but lost, 112-107.

Here are the takeaways…

— Back in the starting lineup for the second straight game, Miles McBride got things started for New York with a three-pointer to kick things off and then got the assist on Jalen Brunson‘s first bucket of the night, another three-ball that gave the Knicks a 6-2 lead. Dillon Brooks responded right away with one from way downtown, though, which started a 10-0 run by the Suns that gave them a six-point edge. Brooks hit two more threes in the quarter and led all scorers with 11 points after 12 minutes.

— Besides McBride and Brunson, New York didn’t get much help offensively with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Mitchell Robinson only combining for six points in the first quarter as the Knicks were outscored 28-23 entering the second.

— The offense opened up for New York in the second quarter with help from the bench, especially Jordan Clarkson, who scored seven straight points early in the quarter to tie the game at 32. He had 12 in the quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns scored his first points of the game with a triple midway through the second quarter that gave the Knicks their first lead since early in the first. 

— After that, both teams traded baskets with neither team able to get out to more than a three-point lead. In fact, during the first half, there were nine ties and 11 lead changes, with most of that coming during the final six minutes of the second quarter. At the break, the Suns were up 62-60.

— Following a quiet half, Towns took it up a notch out of the break. After making one of two free throws out of the gates, KAT drained a deep three to counter a similarly long three-pointer from Royce O’Neal, although Brooks got the crowd back into it with his fourth three of the game. 

— Nevertheless, it was the Brunson and Towns show for the Knicks in the third quarter, with both players combining for 20 points in the first six minutes and keeping New York in the game. During that stretch, no other Knick got on the board and with nobody helping Brunson and Towns, Phoenix would go on a 14-0 run to take their biggest lead of the night and keeping New York scoreless for five minutes. 

— McBride finally broke the spell with just under a minute to play in the quarter by hitting a three and KAT ended the quarter by completing a three-point play to get the Knicks to within eight with one quarter remaining.

— In the fourth, Anunoby’s three with 7:47 left got his team to within four points, but Devin Booker‘s three-point play cancelled that out. A minute later, Anunoby hit another three. 

— The final frame was a defensive slog with every basket difficult to come by. Still, New York was able to overcome that 14-0 run earlier in the game by chipping away and tied the game at 101 after Anunoby’s two made free throws with 3:04 left. That would be the closest the Knicks would come, though, from pulling out a win as the Suns ended the game on an 11-6 run and went 6-for-6 on free throws in the final minutes.

— With a chance to cut his team’s deficit to one after getting fouled on a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left, Anunoby instead missed two of three from the line to keep New York down three. Brooks ended his fantastic night by hitting both free throws at the end to seal the game. He finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

— Noticeably absent in crunch time was Brunson, who made just one basket in the fourth quarter, which came with nine minutes left. He also had a crucial turnover late in the game — one of four on the night for the point guard. The Knicks as a team had 17 turnovers compared to eight by Phoenix. Brunson finished with 27 points on 9-for-19 shooting (5-for-10 from deep).

Game MVP: Dillon Brooks

Although Booker led all scorers with 31 points, Brooks had his hand in everything from beginning to end and gave the Knicks fits all night.

Highlights

Deuce 👌 pic.twitter.com/7x8GrFcJQb

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

OG drives in for the jam pic.twitter.com/n6vhFK2GOV

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

Mitch throws down the reverse oop! pic.twitter.com/tCs75iP1WJ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

Jalen 👌 pic.twitter.com/9ROWvDeNSd

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) January 10, 2026

What’s next

The Knicks’ West Coast road trip continues with a battle against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday at 6 p.m.

In the final 3 1/2 minutes of Friday night’s game in Memphis, the Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 14-2, completing a 21-point second-half comeback without reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and standout center Chet Holmgren.

Granted the Grizzlies were missing star point guard Ja Morant — who is currently sidelined due to a right calf contusion and is reportedly on the trading block — but they still were in the driver’s seat at home against a Thunder team that’s looked more vulnerable over the past month.

In fact, with Oklahoma City’s 117-116 triumph over Memphis, head coach Mark Daigneault’s squad improved to just 8-6 in its past 14 games after starting the season 24-1.

The Thunder (32-7) still have the Grizzlies (16-22) figured out. Oklahoma City has won 16 straight games against Memphis, including a sweep in the first round of last year’s playoffs and all three of the teams’ matchups this season. First, the Thunder rallied from 19 points down on Nov. 9, and now they’ve pulled off an even more improbable come-from-behind victory over the Grizzlies.

Whereas Jalen Williams was still recovering from his wrist surgeries when that November meeting took place, the Thunder wing was in the lineup against Memphis this time around. 

[Subscribe to Yahoo Sports NBA on YouTube].

Williams led Oklahoma City with a season-high 26 points and his first double-double of the 2025-26 campaign. He collected 10 assists to go with his five rebounds and was one of three Thunder players to turn in 20-point games. 

The others were second-year guard Ajay Mitchell and veteran wing Kenrich Williams. Mitchell poured in 23 points and Williams chipped in 21 off the bench, in part thanks to his 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kenrich Williams hit a go-ahead 3 from the left wing to pull Oklahoma City ahead 115-114 with 1:07 remaining. The Thunder, who came into the night leading the NBA in defensive rating, put a bow on their head-turning win with two key stops.

Lu Dort stole a pass from Grizzlies two-time All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., who then immediately fouled Dort, resulting in a pair of Thunder free throws.

Memphis center Jock Landale turned an offensive rebound into a second-chance hook shot that made it a one-point game again.

On the Grizzlies’ final possession, Thunder guard Alex Caruso put the clamps on rookie guard Cedric Coward.

With no timeouts left, seemingly nowhere to go with the ball and the clock ticking after he had already picked up his dribble, last year’s No. 11 overall pick pivoted repeatedly before putting up a shot Caruso got a piece of.

Jaren Jackson Jr. paced the Grizzlies with 23 points. Cam Spencer delivered 11 assists. And GG Jackson added 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench.

Memphis committed 17 turnovers and went nearly three minutes of game time without a point late in the fourth quarter.

In the final 3 1/2 minutes of Friday night’s game in Memphis, the Oklahoma City Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 14-2, completing a 21-point second-half comeback without reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and standout center Chet Holmgren.

Granted the Grizzlies were missing star point guard Ja Morant — who is currently sidelined due to a right calf contusion and is reportedly on the trading block — but they still were in the driver’s seat at home against a Thunder team that’s looked more vulnerable over the past month.

In fact, with Oklahoma City’s 117-116 triumph over Memphis, head coach Mark Daigneault’s squad improved to just 8-6 in its past 14 games after starting the season 24-1.

The Thunder (32-7) still have the Grizzlies (16-22) figured out. Oklahoma City has won 16 straight games against Memphis, including a sweep in the first round of last year’s playoffs and all three of the teams’ matchups this season. First, the Thunder rallied from 19 points down on Nov. 9, and now they’ve pulled off an even more improbable come-from-behind victory over the Grizzlies.

Whereas Jalen Williams was still recovering from his wrist surgeries when that November meeting took place, the Thunder wing was in the lineup against Memphis this time around. 

[Subscribe to Yahoo Sports NBA on YouTube].

Williams led Oklahoma City with a season-high 26 points and his first double-double of the 2025-26 campaign. He collected 10 assists to go with his five rebounds and was one of three Thunder players to turn in 20-point games. 

The others were second-year guard Ajay Mitchell and veteran wing Kenrich Williams. Mitchell poured in 23 points and Williams chipped in 21 off the bench, in part thanks to his 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.

Kenrich Williams hit a go-ahead 3 from the left wing to pull Oklahoma City ahead 115-114 with 1:07 remaining. The Thunder, who came into the night leading the NBA in defensive rating, put a bow on their head-turning win with two key stops.

Lu Dort stole a pass from Grizzlies two-time All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., who then immediately fouled Dort, resulting in a pair of Thunder free throws.

Memphis center Jock Landale turned an offensive rebound into a second-chance hook shot that made it a one-point game again.

On the Grizzlies’ final possession, Thunder guard Alex Caruso put the clamps on rookie guard Cedric Coward.

With no timeouts left, seemingly nowhere to go with the ball and the clock ticking after he had already picked up his dribble, last year’s No. 11 overall pick pivoted repeatedly before putting up a shot Caruso got a piece of.

Jaren Jackson Jr. paced the Grizzlies with 23 points. Cam Spencer delivered 11 assists. And GG Jackson added 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting off the bench.

Memphis committed 17 turnovers and went nearly three minutes of game time without a point late in the fourth quarter.