Update on the latest sports

NBA-SCHEDULE

Raptors get 12th straight win

UNDATED (AP) — The Toronto Raptors have broken their team record for consecutive victories.

Serge Ibaka (ih-BAH’-kah) added 30 points, including a huge three-pointer in the dying seconds of the Raptors’12th straight win, 119-118 over the Pacers. Kyle Lowry poured in 32 points for Toronto, which trailed by 19 in the third quarter before getting within four by the end of the period.

Pascal Siakam (see-A’-kam) had 25 points to help the Raptors keep their 1 ½-game lead in the NBA’s Atlantic Division.

Checking out Wednesday’s other NBA action:

— The Celtics earned their fifth straight win as Jayson Tatum contributed 16 of his 33 points in the second half of a 116-110 victory against the Magic. Gordon Hayward added 23 points and Jaylen Brown finished with 18 for Boston.

— Caris LeVert (leh-VURT’) provided 23 points and the Nets gave D’Angelo Russell a bruising welcome back to Brooklyn with a 129-88 rout of the Warriors. Golden State fell behind 20-4, missing 20 of their 22 3-point attempts in the first half and trailing by as many as 44.

— Andre Drummond had 31 points and 19 rebounds to help the Pistons deal the Suns their fourth consecutive loss, 116-108. Reggie Jackson added 25 points and Christian Wood had 21 for Detroit.

NBA-FOUR-TEAM TRADE

AP sources: Covington, Capela on move in 4-team trade

UNDATED (AP) — Twelve players and at least three draft picks are part of a four-team trade that was hammered out on the eve of the NBA trade deadline.

Two people with the situation say Robert Covington is going to the Houston Rockets and Clint Capela is going to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the complicated trade. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not received league approval.

Covington and Jordan Bell will join the Rockets from Minnesota, while Capela and Nene are leaving the Rockets for the Hawks. The Timberwolves will add soon-to-be restricted free agents Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez (WAHN’-choh hur-nahn-GOH’-mehz) from Denver, and the Nuggets get Shabazz Napier from Minnesota plus a first-round pick from Houston.

But wait, there’s more.

Jarred Vanderbilt is leaving Denver for Minnesota, and the Nuggets are getting Keita Bates-Diop (DEE’-ahp) and Noah Vonleh (VAHN’-lay) from the Timberwolves as well as Evan Turner from the Hawks. The injured Gerald Green also goes to Denver from Houston to help make the math work and is likely to be waived once the deal is final. Atlanta will also have to make another move to finalize the trade since it must first clear a roster spot. ESPN reported Wednesday that the Hawks would waive Chandler Parsons to clear the necessary space.

In other NBA movements:

— A person familiar with the negotiations says Andre Iguodala (ihg-ah-DAH’-lah) is headed to Miami after the Heat and Grizzlies agreed on his long-awaited trade. The person says Iguodala agreed to a two-year extension as part of the deal with the second of those years being a team option. The person also said Miami and Memphis were still working out complete terms of what the Heat are giving up in the deal, and that a third team may still be involved.

T25 MEN’S BASKETBALL

Butler tops Villanova on buzzer beater

UNDATED (AP) — It began with a leaky roof and ended with a rainbow 3-pointer.

Kamar Baldwin capped his 17-point performance by nailing buzzer-beating trey that gave 19th-ranked Butler a 79-76 victory over No. 10 Villanova. The basket bailed out the Bulldogs after they squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes.

Sean McDermott scored 21 points and Bryce Golden added a career high 18 points to help the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats for the first time in their last six meetings.

The game was delayed for nearly 15 minutes in the first half when the roof of 92-year-old Hinkle Fieldhouse sprung a leak. Maintenance workers got the water stopped and the floor dried before the Bulldogs improved to 18-5.

The Wildcats are 17-5.

In other top-25 men’s basketball finals:

— Oscar Tshiebwe (SHEEB’-way) had 16 points and 10 rebounds as No. 13 West Virginia breezed to a 76-61 victory over Iowa State. Chase Harler added 14 points, while Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Derek Culver scored 12 apiece for the 18-4 Mountaineers.

— Evan Boudreaux scored a season-high 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting and had a team-high eight rebounds as Purdue blasted No. 17 Iowa, 104-68. Jahaad (jah-HAHD’) Proctor, Matt Haarms (hahrmz) and Sasha Stefanovic each scored 15 points for the Boilermakers, who shot a season-high 63% and reached the century mark in scoring for the first time this season.

— Providence beat a ranked team for the second straight game as A.J. Reeves set season highs with 22 points and six 3-pointers in the Friars’ 73-56 thumping of No. 21 Creighton. Providence outscored the Bluejays, 41-20 on 49% shooting, including 12 of 20 from beyond the arc.

MLB-NEWS

Yanks’ Paxton out until at least May

UNDATED (AP) — The New York Yankees have announced some bad news concerning their starting rotation.

Left-hander James Paxton has had back surgery for a herniated disk and is expected to be sidelined until May or June. The Yankees estimated Paxton’s approximate timeline to pitch in a major league game as three-to-four months.

The injury weakens a Yankees rotation already missing right-hander Domingo Germán, who must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Germán is eligible to return June 5, barring any postponements.

In other baseball news:

— The Braves have defeated Shane Greene in the first salary arbitration case this year. The reliever will be paid $6.25 million instead of his request for $6.75 million. The 31-year-old right-hander was a first-time All-Star last year before finishing the season with a 2.30 ERA, 64 strikeouts and 17 walks over 62 2/3 innings for the Tigers and Atlanta.

— The Reds and right-hander Pedro Strop (strohp) have finalized a one-year package worth $1,825,000, their first offseason move to upgrade the bullpen. A hamstring injury limited him to 50 appearances last season, when he went 2-5 with a 4.97 ERA, 10 saves and six blown saves.

— Ubaldo Jiménez (oo-BAHL’-doh hih-MEH’-nehz) is reuniting with the Rockies, who have given him a non-roster invitation to spring training. He tossed Colorado’s only no-hitter on April 7, 2010, in Atlanta before finishing the season with a team-record 19 victories and a 2.88 ERA. The 36-year-old Jiménez hasn’t pitched in the majors since Sept. 22, 2017, with Baltimore.

— The Cubs have invited former closer Brandon Morrow to spring training after buying out his contract last November. Morrow hasn’t pitched since July 2018 because of a bone bruise that required surgery. He had 22 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 35 games when he was shut down in the summer of 2018.

— The Phillies have signed infielder Logan Forsythe and right-handers Anthony Swarzak, Blake Parker and Trevor Kelley to minor league contracts with invitations to major league spring training.

— Major League Baseball is returning to the Dominican Republic for the first time in 20 years. The Minnesota Twins and the Detroit Tigers will play a spring training game in Santo Domingo on March 7. MLB has never played a regular-season game in the Dominican Republic.

NFL-CHIEFS-SUPER BOWL PARADE

Chiefs get warm reception in chilly parade

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans braved sub-freezing wind chills on Wednesday to celebrate the team’s first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.

Fans lined the 2-mile parade route to thank their football heroes for bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Kansas City and ending a Super Bowl drought that began after the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV in 1970.

Quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes (mah-HOHMZ) struggled with a strained voice but said the championship fulfilled two goals he set when he became the team’s starter. Óne was to bring the Lamar Hunt Trophy back to Kansas City as AFC champs, and the second was to win a Super Bowl for head coach Andy Reid. The Hunt Trophy is named after the original owner of the Chiefs.

NFL-NEWS

Browns introduce new GM

UNDATED (AP) — The Cleveland Browns have introduced Andrew Berry as their new general manager.

The 32-year-old Berry is believed to be the youngest GM in NFL history, and he’s the second current African-American GM in the NFL. He joked he didn’t receive an upgraded parking space upon his return to Cleveland, where he was vice president of player personnel from 2016-18 under GM Sashi Brown.

Berry spent last season in the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office.

Meanwhile, the rival Steelers have given their general manager a contract extension. Kevin Colbert is now signed through the 2021 draft after considering retirement.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-SIGNING DAY

SEC enjoys recruiting bonanza

UNDATED (AP) — The SEC has dominated the recruiting landscape even more than usual this year.

The conference had six of the nation’s top eight classes as the remaining unsigned football prospects finalized their college plans Wednesday. That’s according to composite rankings of recruiting sites compiled by 247Sports.

The rankings included No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Auburn and No. 8 Florida. Only Clemson at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 5 broke things up.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL-COLORADO-UNRETIRED JERSEYS

Buffaloes unretire 3 jerseys

UNDATED (AP) — The University of Colorado will bring three hallowed football numbers out of retirement at the growing requests from recruits.

Byron “Whizzer” White’s No. 24, Joe Romig’s No. 67 and Bobby Anderson’s No. 11 will all be worn again. Romig and Anderson approved the decision, as did the family of White. The former Supreme Court justice tied in 2002.

Those three players will still be honored through a patch that will appear on the jersey.

NHL-SCHEDULE

Rangers top Leafs

NEW YORK (AP) — Desperate to stay in the Stanley Cup playoff hunt, the New York Rangers picked up a victory against a contender.

Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad (MEE’-kuh zih-BAN’-eh-jad) scored second seconds apart late in the first period to ignite the Rangers in a 5-3 victory over the Maple Leafs. Kreider and Zibanejad each had a goal and an assist, while teammate Pavel Buchnevich (booch-NEH’-vihch) had a goal and two assists.

Rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin (shehs-TUR’-kihn) made 26 saves to win for the fourth time in five starts this season.

US OPEN-MICKELSON

Mickelson says he won’t accept US Open exemption

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Phil Mickelson is still not exempt for the U.S. Open and says he won’t accept a special invitation.

The U.S. Open is the one major keeping Mickelson from the career Grand Slam and no other major has given him more grief. He has had a record six runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, most recently at Merion in 2013.

Mickelson is No. 72 in the world. He can avoid qualifying by getting into the top 60 on May 18 following the PGA Championship or once the final ranking before the U.S. Open is held on June 15.

KOBE BRYANT-ITALY

Italian team retires Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 in tribute

RIETI, Italy (AP) — The first Italian basketball team that Kobe Bryant’s father played for has retired the Lakers superstar’s jersey to the rafters in a pregame ceremony Wednesday.

NPC Rieti hoisted a gold Lakers’ jersey with Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 to the ceiling of the arena as a recording of his lineup introduction from his NBA playing days was played. Rieti was where Joe Bryant made his Italian basketball debut in 1984, when Kobe was 6 years old.