Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matches Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring streak

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🚨 Headlines

🏀 Tickets punched: Troy (Sun Belt) and Furman (SoCon) won their conference tournaments to secure automatic bids to the men’s NCAA tournament; James Madison (Sun Belt), Fairfield (MAAC) and UConn (Big East) punched tickets on the women’s side.

⚽️ Lifetime bans: Former Columbus Crew teammates Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah received lifetime bans from MLS after an investigation found that they “engaged in extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams.”

🎾 Upsets at Indian Wells: Alex Michelsen (over No. 7 Taylor Fritz), Rinky Hijikata (over No. 10 Alexander Bublik), No. 27 Cameron Norrie (over No. 6 Alex de Minaur), Sonal Kartal (over No. 15 Madison Keys) and Kateřina Siniaková (over No. 8 Mirra Andreeva) all took down higher seeds on Monday to reach the Round of 16.

🏀 AP polls: Duke (29-2), Arizona (29-2), Michigan (29-2) and Florida (25-6) are the top four teams in the final men’s AP poll of the regular season. The top four in the women’s poll? UConn (33-0), UCLA (31-1), Texas (31-3) and South Carolina (31-3).

⚾️ Luzardo extension: The Phillies inked LHP Jesús Luzardo to a five-year, $135 million extension to ensure one of the best rotations in baseball stays together as long as possible. Luzardo, Zack Wheeler and Christopher Sánchez are now all signed through at least 2027.

🏀 SGA is unstoppable

On the night he tied Wilt Chamberlain’s 63-year-old scoring record, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets in an instant classic. Oh, and he also had a career-high 15 assists. With no turnovers. And finished one rebound shy of a triple-double (35-9-15). Is that good?

What are we witnessing? In the short term, probably this season’s MVP, which would make SGA a rare back-to-back winner. But zoom out and you realize we aren’t just watching an MVP-level basketball player… we’re watching one of the most unstoppable scorers the sport has ever seen.

The game-winner. (Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images)

By the numbers: When your name starts appearing alongside Chamberlain, LeBron James and Michael Jordan, you’re keeping some pretty serious company.

SGA has now scored 20+ points in 126 consecutive games, tying Chamberlain for the longest streak in NBA history.*
He joined James as the only players since 1977-78 to record 35 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers in a game.
He’s on pace to become the first player since Jordan to average 30+ points per game in four straight seasons.

What they’re saying: “I don’t know that people know how hard it is to do that [score 20+ points in 126 straight games],” said Jokić, who had his usual triple-double (32-14-13**) in defeat. “He’s a special player.”

*The next-longest streaks: Chamberlain again (92 consecutive games with 20+ points), Oscar Robertson (79 games), Jordan and Kevin Durant (72 games).

**Dueling MVPs: SGA and Jokić are just the second pair of MVPs to each record 30 points and 10 assists in the same game. The other pair? Giannis Antetokounmpo and Russell Westbrook in 2021.

🏈 NFL free agency: Top players on the move

NFL free agency hit the ground running on Monday, with 15 of our Top 25 free agents — including eight of the top 10 — landing new deals at the outset of the legal tampering period.

How it works: During the two-day window that began on Monday afternoon, unrestricted free agents can negotiate with teams and reach verbal contract agreements. But nothing can be signed and made official until the league year begins on Wednesday at 4pm ET.

Who’s off the board?

OL Tyler Linderbaum (No. 2 on our list): The Raiders are giving the three-time Pro Bowler a three-year, $81 million deal that makes the former Raven the league’s highest-paid center.
LB Devin Lloyd (5): The 2022 first-rounder is heading to the Panthers on a three-year, $45 million deal following his breakout All-Pro season in Jacksonville.
QB Malik Willis (6): Miami has its new signal-caller, giving Willis a three-year, $67.5 million contract after he impressed last season in Green Bay as Jordan Love’s injury replacement.
DE Jaelan Phillips (7): The Panthers agreed to a four-year, $120 million contract with the sixth-year edge rusher who split his time last season between the Dolphins and Eagles.
OLB Odafe Oweh (8): The Commanders are giving the 2021 first-rounder a four-year, $100 million contract after he split last season between the Ravens and Chargers.
WR Mike Evans (13): The future Hall of Famer is taking his talents to San Francisco on a three-year, $60.4 million deal. The end of an era in Tampa Bay.
CB Jamel Dean (15): Speaking of longtime Buccaneers, Dean agreed to a three-year, $36.75 million deal with the Steelers.
G Isaac Seumalo (18): The veteran offensive lineman and 2024 Pro Bowler is heading to the Cardinals on a three-year, $31.5 million deal.
DE Boye Mafe (22): A key member of Seattle’s fearsome “Dark Side” defense is heading to the Bengals on a three-year, $60 million deal.
S Bryan Cook (23): Another solid defensive pickup for the Bengals, who are giving the former Chief a three-year, $42.5 million contract.
TE Isaiah Likely (24): After being stuck behind Mark Andrews in Baltimore, Likely is heading to the Giants on a three-year, $40 million deal.

Who’s left? The top remaining free agents include DE Trey Hendrickson (1), QB Kirk Cousins (12), WR Tyreek Hill (14), OLB K’Lavon Chaisson (16), OT Rasheed Walker (17), WR Jauan Jennings (19), WR Romeo Doubs (20), QB Aaron Rodgers (21) and QB Kyler Murray (25).

More NFL transactions… Travis Kelce is returning to the Chiefs for a 14th season … Tua Tagovailoa will sign a one-year deal with the Falcons … WR Michael Pittman Jr. was traded from the Colts to the Steelers and given a three-year, $59M extension … S Minkah Fitzpatrick was traded from the Dolphins to the Jets and given a three-year, $40M extension … DE Rashan Gary was traded from the Packers to the Cowboys.

Live updates: Each team’s notable departures, signings and trades

⚾️ WBC: Where it stands

Team USA held on for a 5-3 win over Mexico behind a stellar start from Paul Skenes and home runs from Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony, improving to 3-0 ahead of tonight’s game vs. 2-0 Italy (9pm ET, FS1).

Scoreboard:

Pool A: Puerto Rico beat Cuba, 4-1, to clinch a berth in the quarterfinals. Now it’s a race between Cuba and Canada for Pool A’s other spot.
Pool C: Korea beat Australia, 7-2, to advance via tiebreaker. One fewer run scored and the Aussies would’ve advanced instead.
Pool D: The D.R. and Venezuela stayed perfect and will play for the top spot in Pool D tomorrow. The winner faces Korea, the loser gets Japan.

Highlight of the night: Bobby Witt Jr. shows why he’s the best shortstop on the planet.

📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, March 10

🏀 NBA on NBC

The Spurs host the Celtics in the first leg of tonight’s doubleheader (8pm ET), followed by Timberwolves at Lakers in the nightcap (11pm).

Title favorites: Boston (+600) and San Antonio (+650) have the second- and third-best odds to win the NBA Finals, behind only the defending champion Thunder (+145). Minnesota (+3000) and Los Angeles (+10000), meanwhile, are the first two teams off the graphic above.

⚾️ World Baseball Classic

Team USA (3-0) plays its group stage finale tonight against Italy (9pm, FS1), which is 2-0 and still very much alive for the knockouts. Mets rookie Nolan McLean, the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball, gets the start for the Americans.

Elsewhere: Puerto Rico vs. Canada in San Juan (7pm, Tubi) is the only other game today with knockout round implications. The hosts are already through to the next round, while Canada is battling with Cuba for the other spot in Pool A.

⚽️ Champions League

The Round of 16 kicks off today with four first-leg matches in Turkey, England, Italy and Spain.

Full slate: Galatasaray vs. Liverpool (1:45pm, Paramount+); Newcastle United vs. Barcelona (4pm, Paramount+); Atalanta vs. Bayern Munich (4pm, CBSSN); Atlético Madrid vs. Tottenham (4pm, Paramount+).

More to watch:

🏀 NCAAM: Monmouth vs. Hofstra (7pm, CBSSN); Detroit Mercy vs. Wright State (7pm, ESPN); No. 12 Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara (9pm, ESPN); Siena vs. Merrimack (9pm, ESPN2) … CAA, Horizon, WCC and MAAC championships.
🏀 NCAAW: Youngstown State vs. Green Bay (12pm, ESPN2); Oregon State vs. Gonzaga (4pm, ESPN2); Air Force vs. Colorado State (9:30pm, CBSSN) … Horizon, WCC and MWC championships.
🏒 NHL: Islanders at Blues (7:30pm, TNT); Oilers at Avalanche (10pm, TNT) … Some late night Connor McDavid vs. Nathan MacKinnon action? Yes, please.
🎾 Tennis: Indian Wells (2pm, Tennis) … Round of 16 action for Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Amanda Anisimova, Aryna Sabalenka and more.

Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events happening in your city. Get tickets now!

⛳️ Golf trivia

The famous “island green” awaits this week at TPC Sawgrass, which will host the 52nd edition of The Players Championship.

Question: Which hole has the island green?

A) 17th

B) 16th

C) 18th

D) 9th

Answer at the bottom.

📸 Photo finish

USA sled hockey is off to a dominant start at the Paralympics, winning their first two games by a combined score of 27-1.

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Trivia answer: 17th hole

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