ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks signed former UNLV and Texas guard Donovan Williams to a two-way contract on Tuesday. Williams, 21, averaged 15.5 points in 26 games, including 19 starts, for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League this season. Williams was undrafted after averaging 12.7 points for UNLV in the 2021-22 season. He played two years at Texas before his transfer to UNLV.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — So much for the notion that Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys might not be up to the challenge of beating Tom Brady. Prescott played his best game in weeks, throwing for four touchdowns and running for another to answer critics of “America's Team” with a 31-14 rout of Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card playoff game on Monday night.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Elijah Hawkins had 15 points and Howard cruised to an 89-65 victory over Morehouse College on Monday night. Hawkins added seven rebounds and six assists for the Bison (10-10). Kobe Dickson had 12 points off the bench. Jordan Wood, Marcus Dockery and reserve Bryce Harris all scored 11.
ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored 12 of his 28 points in the final period as the Atlanta Hawks held off Miami's comeback attempt and beat the Heat 121-113 on Monday for their third straight win.
The Buffalo Bills blew a 17-point advantage before recovering to win Sunday. That narrow escape came less than 24 hours after the Jacksonville Jaguars overcame a 27-point deficit and pulled off one of the most stunning comeback victories in playoff history. No lead is safe and the drama abounds so far in the NFL playoffs. A loaded Sunday schedule saw the Bills escape with a 34-31 win over the Miami Dolphins, the New York Giants upset the Minnesota Vikings 31-24 and the Cincinnati Bengals hang on to beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-17 as wild-card weekend continued.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — First-year head coach Brian Daboll had his upstart team fully prepared. Daniel Jones played at a level well beyond his experience. The New York Giants came confidently into Minnesota's raucous stadium and beat the tight-finish masters at their own game. Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the Giants in a 31-24 wild-card round victory on Sunday that gave the Vikings their first loss in 12 one-score games this season.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — With safety Damar Hamlin, watching from home, Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen shrugged off a three-turnover outing by throwing two touchdown passes 3:11 apart in the third quarter, and rallying the team to a 34-31 win over the injury-depleted Miami Dolphins in an AFC wild-card matchup on Sunday. Cole Beasley scored the go-ahead touchdown with a 6-yard catch, and Gabe Davis extended the lead to 34-24 with a 23-yard TD reception in a game where Buffalo squandered an early 17-0 lead.
Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy were killed early Sunday in a car wreck, the school said, just hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second straight national championship with a parade and ceremony. Two other members of the football program were injured in the crash, which occurred in Athens, south of the Georgia campus.
TORONTO (AP) — Trae Young scored 29 points, Dejounte Murray had 27 and the Atlanta Hawks never trailed in a 114-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Collins tipped in a missed shot with less than a second left to give the Atlanta Hawks a 113-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Two Georgia players, tight end Darnell Washington and defensive back Kelee Ringo, are headed to the NFL draft after helping the Bulldogs win their second straight national title. Both made the expected announcements on their Instagram accounts. Washington is a massive tight end (6-foot-7, 270 pounds) who teamed with Brock Bowers to give Georgia a dominant 1-2 punch at the often-overlooked position.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Jimmye Laycock’s first thought during those initial chilling moments went to Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed on the field in Cincinnati last week. The former William & Mary coach’s second thought, upon seeing teary-eyed players’ reactions, then turned to Sean McDermott, the Bills coach and his former player. If anyone was capable of navigating a team through the rough, emotional waters, Laycock knew it was McDermott.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic received a warm and enthusiastic welcome in his return to Melbourne during an exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios on Friday. Djokovic was deported ahead of last year's Australian Open because of a visa issue relating to his refusal to say whether he had been vaccinated for COVID-19. But the nine-time Australian Open champion was allowed to return for this year's tournament beginning Monday because vaccination requirements have been dropped by the Australian government.
BOONE, N.C (AP) — Jalen Finch made a layup at the buzzer, Andrei Savrasov scored 21 points and Georgia Southern defeated Appalachian State 67-65 on Thursday night. Finch had the ball at the top of the arc, split two defenders and swooped in for a long layup off the glass as time expired. Savrasov also added 11 rebounds for the Eagles (11-7, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference). Finch scored 14 points while shooting 6 for 13, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc. Tyren Moore recorded 14 points and shot 4 for 11 (3 for 9 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line.
ATLANTA (AP) — Kieffer Punter had 16 points in Troy's 65-53 win over Georgia State on Thursday night. Punter was 6 of 13 shooting (3 for 6 from distance) for the Trojans (12-6, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference). Zay Williams added 12 points while finishing 6 of 8 from the floor, and he also had five rebounds and three blocks. Darius McNeill was 3 of 7 shooting and 4 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 10 points.
KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Terrell Burden scored 20 points to help Kennesaw State defeat Jacksonville 81-68 on Thursday night. Burden shot 6 for 9 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free throw line for the Owls (12-6, 4-1 Atlantic Sun Conference). Chris Youngblood scored 17 points, shooting 6 for 7, including 5 for 6 from beyond the arc. Demond Robinson recorded 15 points and shot 6 of 10 from the field and 3 for 5 from the line.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Harvick received the same answer nearly every time he asked another athlete how they decided to retire: Harvick would just know it was time. The driver thrust onto the global stage when he was named Dale Earnhardt's replacement just days after Earnhardt's fatal 2001 crash will make this 23rd season his last in NASCAR. The 2014 Cup champion heads into his final year tied for ninth on NASCAR's all-time wins list with 60 career victories, 13 consecutive playoff appearances and he's one of the final active drivers from the sport's halcyon days.
ATLANTA (AP) — Jrue Holiday scored 27 points, Brook Lopez had 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Atlanta Hawks 114-105 on Wednesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo added seven points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, and Bobby Portis II had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Milwaukee has won four of five. “We’re resilient," Holiday said. “We don’t like to lose. I think close games like that — not that we enjoy those moments — but we do think they’re teaching moments where can kind of close out games and use all that and everything we did tonight in the future.''
MACON, Ga. (AP) — Marcus Foster scored 25 points as Furman beat Mercer 84-66 on Wednesday night. Foster had seven rebounds for the Paladins (13-5, 4-1 Southern Conference). Mike Bothwell scored 17 points while shooting 7 of 12 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line. Jalen Slawson recorded 15 points and was 6 of 9 shooting and 2 of 3 from the free throw line.
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Terry Roberts scored 16 points, Braelen Bridges had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Georgia beat Mississippi State 58-50 on Wednesday night to extend its home winning streak to 10 games. Georgia (12-4, 2-1 SEC) has doubled its Southeastern Conference win total from last season when the Bulldogs lost 17 games in conference. Georgia guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim secured a key rebound after Mississippi State nearly tied it at 48-all on a 3-pointer with 1:30 to play. Abdur-Rahim was fouled on the rebound and made two free throws to extend Georgia’s lead to 50-45.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills safety Damar Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital on Wednesday, more than a week after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a game at Cincinnati, after his doctors said they completed a series of tests. A news release from the Bills quoted Dr. Jamie Nadler as saying: “We have completed a series of tests and evaluation and in consultation with the team physicians, we are confident that Damar can be safely discharged.” Nadler said Hamlin will continue his rehabilitation with the Bills.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Dane Goodwin scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Nate Laszewski made a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left in overtime to get Notre Dame past Georgia Tech 73-72 on Tuesday night. Kyle Sturdivant scored five points in the extra period for Georgia Tech, but he missed a 3 and Javon Franklin a jumper inside in the final five seconds. Goodwin and Trey Wertz each made 3-pointers for the Fighting Irish in the extra period.
Kirby Smart has spent the past 16 years coaching at the top two powerhouses of this era in college football, so he already knew the question on everybody's mind the morning after his Georgia Bulldogs won their second straight College Football Playoff championship game. “I really don’t want to talk about three,” Smart said Tuesday in a Los Angeles hotel ballroom shortly before the Bulldogs flew home.
Stetson Bennett has a new world of doubters to disprove. After winning a second consecutive national championship at Georgia, the 25-year-old quarterback is now facing questions about his NFL draft qualifications. Bennett (5-11, 190) is seen as undersized and lacking elite arm strength —the same questions he faced when he walked on at Georgia in 2017. After leaving for junior college and returning to win back-to-back titles, including Monday night's 65-7 rout of Texas Christian University, Bennett is being excluded from the list of top quarterback prospects in the April NFL draft.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — When Georgia cornerback Javon Bullard left Texas Christian University wide receiver Derius Davis all alone for a 60-yard catch in the first quarter, it seemed as if the Bulldogs’ secondary was in for another long night. Instead, led by Bullard’s standout performance that earned him defensive most valuable player honors, the defensive backs for Georgia smothered quarterback Max Duggan, wide receiver Quentin Johnston and the Horned Frog's high-octane passing game on Monday night.