The Cleveland Cavaliers narrowly took down the Brooklyn Nets. Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

LOSER – Playing down to your opponent

I understand that Sunday afternoon games can lead to weird outcomes. But, seriously? A dog fight with the Brooklyn Nets?

It’s one thing when multiple key players are in street clothes. I was willing to take the moral victory against Milwaukee and Detroit. But this Cavalier squad is simply too talented to struggle against the Nets. Especially when James Harden, albeit playing with a broken finger, is back on the floor.

I don’t want to take too much away from Brooklyn. They executed their gameplan and played superb defense for most of the game. It’s just that Cleveland has enough tools in their box to overcome anything the Nets could throw at it. Not being able to counter something as redundant as trapping Harden is a huge disappointment for the Cavs.

Much of this comes down to energy and focus. Two issues that have plagued the Cavaliers at their worst this season. I’m not going to crush them for a Sunday game in March. But these things will need to be cleaned up as we enter the home stretch of the season.

WINNER – The James Harden Whistle

This was a nice change of pace.

Harden recently ended a game with zero free-throw attempts for just the fifth time since 2021. Naturally, we began to wonder if that was a sign of trouble. Could Harden’s favorable calls be neutralized by being in the Wine and Gold?

That wasn’t the case in Brooklyn.

While some of the officiating was questionable, Harden earned 12 free throw attempts. He missed four of them, which was out of character, but maybe he’s just getting used to actually taking them again. Let’s hope his free-throw rate starts to normalize moving forward.

Harden finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. It wasn’t a perfect game, but the Cavs needed his creation tonight.

WINNER – Evan Mobley

The Cavs have a few things on their to-do list before the season ends. Integrating Harden and the other newcomers is at the top of the list. But getting Mobley into a consistent groove might be the most important task.

Mobley’s had a bumpy season. He struggled early, then began to put things together before suffering multiple calf strains. These setbacks have muddied what was otherwise looking like a return to form for Mobley.

We’ve seen him dominant off the dribble in specific games. He’s remarkably light on his feet for a seven-footer, and his explosive leaping ability allows him to finish over anyone when he’s playing with aggression. Getting that assertive version of Mobley has always been the challenge.

Tonight was a small glimpse of that. Mobley had success scoring in the paint against Brooklyn, punishing mismatches and filling the gaps for easy buckets. His 6-12 shooting was complemented by 10 free throw attempts, a sign that he’s putting his head down and drawing contact by being aggressive.

Mobley also collected 13 rebounds, including the game-sealing offensive board.

The Cavs will want to build on this performance and keep Mobley as a focal point of their offense moving into the final stretch of the regular season.

WINNER – Keon Ellis

Five blocks and three steals speak for themselves. That type of defensive production is hard to find, and I remain perplexed that the Sacramento Kings couldn’t see the value in it.

Ellis is fitting in perfectly with the Cavs. You can’t overstate how useful it is to have a point-of-attack deterrent at your disposal. Unleashing chaos on the opponent is what Ellis does in his sleep. He shrinks the floor with his rangy athleticism and superb instincts. Today was just another example of how talented he is as a defender.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Sara Hjalmarsson and Laura Messier scored in a 57-second span in the first period, Raygan Kirk made 25 saves and the Toronto Sceptres beat the Vancouver Goldeneyes 2-1 on Sunday.

Hjalmarsson opened the scoring at 7:10, taking a pass from Claire Dalton and firing a shot from the low hash mark. Messier quickly doubled the lead with her first PWHL goal, with Dalton getting her second assist.

Toronto improved to 6-1-3-8, following its 5-2 victory in Seattle on Friday night in its return from the Olympic break.

Izzy Daniel scored for the Goldeneyes (5-1-2-9) at 9:07 of the third. Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 22 shots for Vancouver.

Up next

Sceptres: Host Montreal on Tuesday night.

Goldeneyes: Host Boston on Tuesday, March 10.

___

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Michael Misa scored 1:40 into overtime, and the San Jose Sharks topped the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Sunday for their second straight win.

Misa scored for the second straight game when he drove down the slot before beating Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. It was the fourth goal of the season for the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s NHL draft.

Will Smith also scored for San Jose, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 27 shots. The Sharks had lost five in a row before Saturday’s 5-4 victory over Edmonton.

Morgan Barron scored for Winnipeg, and Hellebuyck finished with 31 saves. The Jets lost for fourth time in five games.

Barron put Winnipeg in front when he beat Nedeljkovic from the left circle 2:44 into the first. It was Barron’s first goal since Dec. 21 and No. 8 on the season.

Smith tied it at 1 with his 18th goal 1:47 into the third. Macklin Celebrini picked up his team-high 54th assist on the play.

Hellebuyck and the Jets lost their second straight in overtime after falling 5-4 at Anaheim on Friday night in the goalie’s first game since backstopping the United States to Olympic gold.

Up next

Both teams are at home on Tuesday night. The Jets face the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Sharks take on the Montreal Canadiens.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhla

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Tayvon Gray scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time to help New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Sunday.

Hannes Wolf scored in the 36th minute to give NYCFC (1-0-1) a 1-0 lead.

Olwethu Makhanya was shown his second yellow card in the second minute of stoppage time and the Union played a man down the rest of the way.

Agustin Ojeda, from the left corner of the 18-yard box, flicked an arcing cross to the back post where Gray skipped a header back inside the front post to cap the scoring.

Wolf, who had a career-high 11 goals in 2025, scored his first of the season to give NYCFC a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. On the counter-attack, Nicolás Fernández had his shot from the left corner of the 6-yard box parried by goalkeeper Andre Blake, but Wolf slammed home the first-touch putback.

The Union’s Stas Korzeniowski drew a penalty, conceded by Thiago Martins, and Indiana Vassilev converted from the spot to make it 1-1 in the 89th.

Blake finished with eight saves for Philadelphia (0-2-0), which won the 2025 Supporter’s Shield.

Matt Freese had three saves, which included a kick-stop of a shot by Agustín Anello in the 60th minute and a diving parry that denied Nathan Harriel in the 81st.

Ojeda cut back to evade Union defender Frankie Westfield, but his shot from the center of the area banged off the right post.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Record 6-4. Change on 2025: +1.5. 5-inning record: 2-7-1.

Another day, another come from behind victory. This one was at least slightly earlier. Arizona trailed 6-2 in the middle of the fifth, but put up a four-spot there to level the game. They then added three more the next time they were up to make the fourth time they have taken the lead in the sixth inning or later. This helped them come back from a shaky outing by Michael Soroka. He allowed two hits and a run in the first, before the wheels fell off with one out in the second. Five consecutive Guardians reached, on a homer, triple and three walks, before Soroka was lifted. His final line: three runs on four hits and three walks in just 1.2 innings, with one strikeout.

The rest of the pitching was pretty good, save a three-run fifth charged to Kohl Drake, who allowed three hits and two walks in his 1.2 innings, with one K. There were scoreless frames, of varying quality, from Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, Shawn Dubin, Drey Jameson and Spencer Giesting (the last ended the game on an ABS reversed strike three – ABS was 2-1 today). Jameson was the only one of those to face the minimum. The offense was on point, with 15 hits and five walks. Three of those were by Ryan Waldschmidt, who is hitting .316 with a .982 OPS. Kristian Robinson also had three hits, and Pavin Smith haters are in shambles, his two hits – off lefties, with exit velos > 107 mph – taking his average to .294, and a .941 OPS.

Ildemaro Vargas also had a pair of knocks (.412 BA) and Jordan Lawlar drew two walks. He has six of those, twice as many as any other Arizona hitter, and tied for the lead across all of spring training. All told, the Diamondbacks now have a collective .887 OPS in spring, behind only the Rockies (.893), who seem to be under the impression Scottsdale is a suburb of Denver. However, that is propelled by the late-inning comebacks noted, so it’s fair to imagine we are probably not facing the opposition’s best pitchers. After the sixth inning, Arizona is hitting .333/.421/.627 for an OPS of 1.048 – 148 points better than anyone else.

Day off for the D-backs tomorrow, before an interesting exhibition game at Salt River Fields on Tuesday, with the opposition being Team Mexico.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-102. It shouldn’t have been this close, but a win is a win.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

James Harden

22 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 turnovers

Harden will be playing through a broken finger on his non-dominant hand for the foreseeable future. If these are the results, we can’t complain too much.

I don’t think this was Harden’s sharpest game. He turned it over five times and maybe held onto the ball longer than he should have. Still, he was the engine to the offense and helped get them across the finish line on an otherwise sloppy day.

Grade: B

Jarrett Allen

20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

February is over. March is here. And Jarrett Allen is still balling.

These games are becoming too regular. Cleveland is 11-2 this season when Allen scores 20+ points. He shot 7-12 from the floor tonight.

Grade: A-

Evan Mobley

17 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block

Mobley’s starting to settle back into a groove. He was strong off the bounce in this game and has put together two quality performances in a row. His offensive rebound late in the game sealed the deal.

Grade: A–

Jaylon Tyson

9 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 turnovers

Tyson can be hard to grade sometimes. He struggled to generate offense when Harden was being trapped (3-7 shooting and 3 turnovers). But when the game called on him, he nailed a huge three-pointer in the fourth quarter.

Grade: C+

Dennis Schroder

12 points, 5 assists, 1 rebound

Schroder’s playing through a sprained ankle, but you wouldn’t be able to tell watching him. He’s still lightning quick, dashing into the paint, and he converted a ridiculous layup high off the glass in this one.

Grade: B–

Sam Merrill

15 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists

It felt like Merill couldn’t miss tonight. He sank 4-of-6 three-point attempts and finished as a +20.

Grade: A

Keon Ellis

4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks, 3 steals

Ellis returned from a broken finger and didn’t miss a beat. He was disruptive as ever, deflecting passes and ruining Brooklyn’s possessions. Eight stocks is absurd stuff.

Grade: A+

Craig Porter Jr.

3 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

Every time Porter hits a three-pointer, I wonder why he doesn’t shoot them with more confidence. His hesitant trigger can make it difficult to keep him on the floor. Playing him at power forward makes it borderline impossible.

Grade: D

Thomas Bryant

4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal

Bryant wasn’t as impactful tonight. Still, he’s a steady presence off the bench.

Grade: B

William Schmidt turned down millions of dollars from Major League Baseball heading into the 2024 draft, but if he keeps pitching like he has of late, he’ll almost certainly recoup that money when he does decide to go pro.

Thanks to a career-best 7.1 shutout innings, Schmidt pitched LSU (11-1) to a tight 3-0 win over Dartmouth Sunday afternoon at The Box. Jaden Noot was credited with his first save of the season after Mavrick Rizy couldn’t quite get to the finish line in his relief appearance.

As has been the case all weekend long, the LSU bats were cold. Things got off to a promising start when Jake Brown launched his fifth home run of the season in the first inning, but the Tigers would only manage three more hits the rest of the way.

Round Trip For JB 🚀@JakeBrown_14 | SECN + pic.twitter.com/faYMcirrmq

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 1, 2026

You really need to tip your cap to Dartmouth starter Eddie Albert, who aside from that one pitch to Brown was every bit as good as Schmidt. Albert’s final line was seven innings, two runs—one earned—with three hits and one walk eight strikeouts.

One run may has well have been 100 runs with the way Schmidt was pitching today: 7.1 innings, 4 hits, 9 strikeouts and, most importantly, no walks. Schmidt pitched four perfect innings before giving up a leadoff single in the fifth.

“William was outstanding today and he’s getting better as we go,” Jay Johnson said after the game. “I’m really proud of how he’s developing, how he’s competing; he’s throwing strikes and leading the team to wins three Sundays in a row. I don’t think any other team in the country can run out that kind of pitcher on a Sunday.”

If Schmidt was LSU’s best player today, then their second best player was, to quote Ed Orgeron, Mr. Ray Baker aka “The Sun.” Dartmouth outfielders lost a couple of fly balls in the fourth inning, and LSU used the miscues to score its second run. The run was set up by Steven Milam getting two bases off a ball that bounced out of Dartmouth centerfielder Nico Banez’s glove, and then he came home thanks to left fielder Chris Miller losing a ball. Though for whatever reason, Milam was credited with a double but Dardar’s play was considered a two-base error. Sure, why not.

LSU’s third run also came by way of a Dartmouth error. Derek Curiel reached on an error and then came all the way home from first off of a Jake Brown eighth-inning double.

Schmidt got into the eighth inning for the first time in his career and his fast ball was still sitting 94 MPH. His day ended, however, when he plunked Dartmouth first basemen Milo Suarez and was lifted for Dax Dathe. Dathe, however, was yanked after just two pitches, the second of which hit Dartmouth shortstop Alejandro Puig. Johnson then went to Mavrick Rizy and Rizy got two massive strikeouts to end the threat.

Fired Up As He Should Be 🔥@MavrickRizy | SECN + pic.twitter.com/Ax60aowZQL

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 1, 2026

Rizy was well on his way to earning his first career save, but couldn’t get that 27th out. Rizy issued a one-out walk to catcher AJ DeMastrie, threw a couple of wild pitches that allowed DeMastrie to reach third, and made matters worse with a four-pitch walk to Chris Miller that brought the tying run to the plate.

Johnson turned to Jaden Noot, who got a swinging K on a full count to end the game and give the Tigers its 11th win of the season.

Tigers win! Tigers win! pic.twitter.com/P23uwV2OvW

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 1, 2026

William Schmidt came to LSU with all the potential in the world and he’s starting to realize it these past two outings. Between today against Dartmouth and last weekend’s start against UCF, Schmidt has thrown a combined 12.1 innings, allowed just seven hits and has an absurd 16 strikeouts against just one walk and zero runs allowed. The Tigers have a potential first round pick pitching on Sundays and he’s only getting better. Life for LSU Baseball fans is pretty sweet under Jay Johnson’s watch.

LSU will wrap up its four-day round-robin series with its second game against Northeastern tomorrow night (6:30 P.M.) and that game may be streamed online via SEC Network+. Hopefully LSU remembers to bring its bats tomorrow night.

MESA, Arizona —