Report: Rockets Target Tyus Jones — and more

Despite a down season averaging 3.1 points and 2.6 assists, Jones is seen as a reliable floor general who could provide the Rockets with the ball-handling and defensive stability they lack. His release from the Dallas Mavericks makes him a free agent, and analysts believe he would be a major boost for Houston's playoff push.

BOSTON -- The Philadelphia 76ers invaded the TD Garden on Sunday night looking to pick up a win over the rival Boston Celtics, but they would have to do so without Joel Embiid who missed the first of three guaranteed games he will miss due to a right oblique strain. Without the services of the big fella, it was going to be a challenge to get it done in Boston.

The Sixers did jump out to a 10-point lead in the first half, but the Celtics found their rhythm on the offensive end and built a 12-point halftime lead. The lead ballooned to as large as 16 as Boston defeated the Sixers 114-98. The Celtics won the rebounding battle 58-37 on the night to get the job done.

Tyrese Maxey had 33 points and six assists for Philadelphia while VJ Edgecombe had 23 points and five rebounds. The Sixers also received 10 points and 12 rebounds from Andre Drummond, 14 points and eight rebounds from Dominick Barlow, and Adem Bona added five and four rebounds.

Here are the player grades following the loss:

Tyrese Maxey: B-minus

The All-Star guard was certainly aggressive in this one. He put his head down and attacked the basket in order to give Philadelphia a presence on that end of the floor and he made the right decisions. He would take the opportunities to shoot when presented to him and he made the right plays with his passing as well. The issue for Maxey was his inability to get anything going with his shot. He struggled to find a rhythm all night as he missed some looks he normally makes. He shot only 4-for-18 in the first half as Philadelphia struggled early. He was able to get something going after halftime, but it just wasn’t close enough to what the Sixers need from him with Embiid sidelined. There were some good moments in the second half, but Philadelphia will need more going forward.

VJ Edgecombe: B-plus

The Celtics paid a lot of attention to the rookie. The last time Edgecombe was in the TD Garden, he scored 34 points in his NBA debut and led Philadelphia to an upset win on opening night. Boston seemed determined to not allow that to happen again as it swarmed him every time he touched the ball. With that being said, Edgecombe knocked down some tough shots in the third quarter to keep Philadelphia in the game after the Celtics had built a lead. One has to give credit to the rookie as he continues to grow in this league and take steps forward as a player. The 3s he was making in this contest were impressive when considering the coverage the Celtics used against him.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: D-plus

It was a tough night for Oubre as he missed some open bunnies in the paint. When considering the struggles from Maxey in this one, the Sixers needed another scorer on the perimeter, but Oubre couldn’t find a rhythm.

Dominick Barlow: B

The big man contributed in several ways for Philadelphia. He had a tough finish through contact off an offensive rebound, played tough defense on Celtics star Jaylen Brown, and knocked down a jumper. When the Sixers get this type of production from Barlow, it makes life easier for everybody on the floor. He battled on both ends of the floor and gave Philadelphia a yeoman’s effort in this one.

Andre Drummond: D-plus

It was a tough defensive night for Drummond as he struggled against Celtics big man Neemias Queta early and often. Boston’s big man had a double-double in the first half and gobbled up seven offensive rebounds in the first half alone to give the Celtics an advantage. Drummond was able to score around the basket and knock down a couple of corner 3s, but the defensive issues were a big problem in this one.

Quentin Grimes: D

The initial stint for Grimes was a tough one. He missed a couple of early looks as he received some open ones within the offense, but was unable to convert. He did come up with some assists to help contribute, but the Sixers needed his offense in this one. He knocked down a 3 in the second half, but wasn’t able to contribute much else and there were other plays he could have made in this one.

Adem Bona: B

The big man entered the contest and wreaked havoc on both ends of the floor. He was terrific on the glass as he came up with some big plays to give the Sixers a spark. He had a lot of success against Celtics big men Queta and Nikola Vucevic in the early going. If one wants to criticize Bona in this one, it was his fouling, per usual, but he had a really solid night.

Trendon Watford: C

The Sixers received some early offense from Watford. He put his head down and got into the paint which led to some opportunities at the basket. Outside of that initial burst, Watford didn’t produce much as Philadelphia was unable to get much of anything going from the bench unit overall.

Cam Payne: Incomplete

Payne helped run some offense in his initial stint as he had an assist in his first 4-minute on the floor. he didn’t contribute much with his shot in this one, but the Sixers will take his ball-handling. With that being said, he didn’t get any burn after that initial run.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Player grades: Joel Embiid-less Sixers fall to Celtics on the road

Mar. 1---- Copy Link — Facebook — LinkedIn — Share on X MORGANTOWN—West Virginia University's club Division I hockey team completed a historic weekend, capturing the CHMA championship for the first time since 2014, after Friday night's 7-3 comeback victory over Robert Morris, at the newly opened Hope Gas Ice Pavilion inside Mylan Park.

A packed crowd of students and community members filled the 1, 200-seat arena, creating a postseason atmosphere that carried through the weekend.

These photos capture the defining moments of that momentum shift—hard edge work across the full NHL-size surface, physical battles in tight space, and the eruption along the Mountaineers bench as the comeback took shape. The energy inside the Pavilion reflected more than a single victory ; it marked the resurgence of a program that has now returned to the top of the conference for the first time in over a decade.

WVU Hockey has punched their tickets to nationals in St. Louis next month.

NEW YORK -- The Brooklyn Nets are now on a eight-game losing streak after Sunday's 106-102 loss to James Harden and the Cleveland Cavaliers, a streak that began prior to the All-Star break. While Brooklyn lost another game amidst a brutal schedule coming out of the game, head coach Jordi Fernandez took the time to praise his players for competing at the necessary intensity.

"We competed and that was our main goal, give ourselves a chance. I'm proud of the way we played," Fernandez said after Sunday's loss to the Cavaliers. While the Nets lost, the end result was that Brooklyn didn't trail by more than 11 points, a massive improvement compared to some of their recent games, such as Friday's 148-111 loss at the Boston Celtics where the Nets trailed by as many as 41 points.

"We played like a basketball team, and I'm proud of the group," Fernandez continued before noting that the goal moving forward is to prepare with the goal of winning now that the team is playing hard. "Tomorrow, [go] watch some film, clean up some stuff that we could have done better. Right now, it's night and day compared to what we went through."

In Sunday's loss to Cleveland, the Nets had to deal with some adversity of their own with center Nic Claxton (thumb) and rookie guard Egor Demin (left plantar fascia) being ruled out for the game. However, the Cavaliers weren't playing at full strength either as guard Donovan Mitchell did not play in the matchup as he continues to nurse a groin injury, but Brooklyn played like none of that mattered.

Not only did this game not stay in blowout territory for long, but the Nets also built as much as a seven-point lead as they found a way to make the Cavaliers entirely dependent on Harden and his greatness as he finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. At the end of the game, Fernandez is trying to take one step at a time with his group and on Sunday, his guys finally responded by playing as hard as he knows they can.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets' Jordi Fernandez applauds competitiveness in loss to Cavaliers