Harrison Barnes' 364-game iron man streak ended for the weirdest reason

The NBA player who had the league's second-longest active games played streak saw that spell snapped over the weirdest reason.

San Antonio SpursforwardHarrison Barneshad played in 364 consecutive games, trailing onlyNew York KnicksforwardMikal Bridges' longest active streak of 616 games. But on Tuesday, March 3, ahead of San Antonio's game against thePhiladelphia 76ers, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson revealed that Barnes was a late addition to the injury report.

Per Johnson, Barnes woke up from a pregame nap with a sore left ankle.

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"He's with the medical staff now," Johnson told reporters prior to the game. "Hoping it's nothing serious, but I don't have much information."

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

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Barnes was initially listed as questionable, though he would go on to miss the game to snap his streak. The Spurs dominated Philadelphia, winning by 40 points,131-91. Eight different Spurs scored double figures and all but one of the 13 players who appeared in the game scored a point.

This marked the first time since Dec. 4, 2021 that Barnes missed a game, when he was a member of theSacramento Kings.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Nap injury halts Harrison Barnes' consecutive game streak

byMichael Cox

in

March 04, 2026

Harrison Barnes' 364-game iron man streak ended for the weirdest reason

The NBA player who had the league's second-longest active games played streak saw that spell snapped over the weirde...

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Suns beat the NBA-worst Kings 114-103 to sweep season series

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Green scored 20 points, Grayson Allen had 18 and the Phoenix Suns beat the NBA-worst Sacramento Kings 114-103 on Tuesday night to sweep the four-game season series.

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Seventh in the West at 35-26, the Suns won their second straight and got back Devin Booker after the star guard missed four games because of a right hip injury. He scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half.

Collin Gillespie scored 17 points — hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers — and had nine assists and six rebounds. Oso Ighodaro added 14 points and 14 rebounds. Phoenix is without Dillon Brooks because of a fractured left hand.

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The Suns used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to turn a 63-62 deficit into a 76-63 lead. Royce O'Neale capped the run with consecutive 3-pointers.

Maxime Raynaud had 22 points — on 10-of-12 shooting — and 10 rebounds for Sacramento in the opener of a five-game homestand. The Kings dropped to 14-49. They are 2-3 following a franchise-worst 16-game losing streak.

Precious Achiuwa added 18 points, DeMar DeRozan had 17 and Russell Westbrook 16. Kings forward Keegan Murray missed his third straight game because of ankle injury.

Phoenix led 59-55 at the half. Ighodaro had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the half, and Achiuwa had 16 points for Sacramento.

Up next

Suns: Host Chicago on Thursday night.Kings: Host New Orleans on Thursday night.___AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Suns: Host Chicago on Thursday night.

Kings: Host New Orleans on Thursday night.

AP NBA:https://apnews.com/hub/nba

byMichael Cox

in

March 04, 2026

Suns beat the NBA-worst Kings 114-103 to sweep season series

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Green scored 20 points, Grayson Allen had 18 and the Phoenix Suns beat the NBA-worst Sac...

Read More

Mick Cronin urges allowing schools to exceed the $20.5M revenue-sharing cap to retain players

LOS ANGELES (AP) — March Madness is looming. So iscollege basketball's transfer portal, and that worries Mick Cronin.

The Division I men's portal opens for a 15-day window on April 7, a day after a new national champion is crowned in Indianapolis. This shortest window for entry yet follows a rule change this year to better align with the end of the season.

"We should do everything we can to stop these kids from transferring too much because nobody is going to graduate," the UCLA coach said Tuesday night afterUCLA beat No. 9 Nebraska. "These kids aren't going to have the grades if they're transferring three or four times, so we got to do everything we can."

Cronin is advocating for schools to be able to exceed the roughly $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap per school that began this season in order to retain their players.

"I know there's people at the Big Ten office that are for it, that's why I bring it up," Cronin said. "I told them I would back them."

Most schools are doling out the biggest share of the revenue pie to football players and giving whatever's left to basketball players. Schools are allowed to share up to $20.5 million with their players, but there still exists an option to provide third-party deals outside the school-to-player payments for name, image and likeness.

"You should be able to go over the revenue share to be able to retain players," Cronin said. "Very few of these guys are going to be able to retire on (NIL money), so we need to encourage guys not to transfer."

The transfer portal allows any player to find a new school every offseason.Chad Baker-Mazarawas on his fifth school at age 26 before he parted ways with Southern California's program last weekend.

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"If you're on your third school, they're not going to pay for you to come back when you're 25. You only went here for a year," Cronin said. "They're all going to be left in the dust."

Teams attempt to combat the transfer frenzy by having recruits sign multiyear NIL deals, but even then there are workarounds.

Cronin has worked the portal effectively in recent years, adding Donovan Dent and Johnny Juzang. But he also lost Aday Mara to Michigan, Dylan Andrews to Boise State and Berke Buyuktuncel to Nebraska.

"Berke's had a great year for them. I love Berke," he said. "He's found a great fit, he's in a great system for him."

Cronin said he receives calls from former players looking for help finding jobs.

"Guys need jobs when they're 27 and they're done playing in Europe," he said. "They have no resume because they've been playing basketball."

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

byMichael Cox

in

March 04, 2026

Mick Cronin urges allowing schools to exceed the $20.5M revenue-sharing cap to retain players

LOS ANGELES (AP) — March Madness is looming. So iscollege basketball's transfer portal, and that worries Mick Cronin...

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Cale Makar, Parker Kelly lead Avalanche past Ducks 5-1 for a SoCal sweep

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cale Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon secured his fourth consecutive 100-point season with a third-period assist, and the NHL-leadingColorado Avalanchesnapped the Anaheim Ducks' five-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory Tuesday night.

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Parker Kelly scored two goals and Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves for the Avs, who have won three straight and four of five since the Olympic break. Martin Necas got his 27th goal and Gabriel Landeskog also scored to completeColorado's back-to-back sweepof the Southern California clubs.

Cutter Gauthier scored his 29th goal and Lukas Dostal stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, whose eight-game home winning streak since Jan. 2 also ended.

Anaheim would have moved into first place in the Pacific Division with a point, but the loss kept Vegas one point ahead. The Ducks are in a playoff race down the stretch for the first time since 2018.

After two fruitless Ducks power plays in the opening minutes, Makar put the Avs ahead from the slot with his 18th goal.

Necas added his seventh power-play goal of the season 2 1/2 minutes later, beating his Czech Olympic teammate with a high shot. The goal was just the second on the power play in the last 12 games for the Avalanche, who inexplicably have the NHL's worst man-advantage unit despite their overall excellence.

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Gauthier hammered home a one-timer early in the second after a superb cross-ice pass from Jackson LaCombe, but Kelly got his 14th goal later in the period.

Landeskog then scored a goal in his second straight game, connecting early in the third on a one-timer from MacKinnon, who got his 59th assist to go with his NHL-leading 41 goals.

Up next

Avalanche: At Dallas on Friday night.

Ducks: Host New York Islanders on Wednesday night.

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

byMichael Cox

in

March 03, 2026

Cale Makar, Parker Kelly lead Avalanche past Ducks 5-1 for a SoCal sweep

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cale Makar had a goal and two assists, Nathan MacKinnon secured his fourth consecutive 100-point ...

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Big payday ahead for RB Kenneth Walker III thanks in part to a soft RB NFL Draft class?

While it's hard to label a Super Bowl MVP landing a lucrative deal in free agency a shocker, there was definitive buzz in the agent and executive ranks that Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III will end up getting a deal that puts him in the top three or four highest-paid at his position, with an annual average value that could reach $13 to $14 million per season.

That's a number solidly north of the $9 to $10 million window that some were predicting prior to the Seahawks' Super Bowl-winning run, and still north of the $12 million average that some agents were slotting him at heading into the combine.

The Seahawks aren't expected to use the franchise tag on Walker before Tuesday's deadline, paving the way for the running back to hit the free-agent market,ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Why the change of free agency fortunes for Walker? There are two main reasons.

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First, during the week of the scouting combine, New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey was very suggestive that the team would use the franchise tag on Breece Hall if they couldn't get a deal done by the tag deadline. TheJets reportedly followed through on Tuesday, tagging Hall.

That was at least a surprise, taking the best running back aside from Walker out of the free-agent pool.

The second development in Walker's favor was the running back class being generally soft in this draft and disappointing with a lot of players at the position sitting out portions of workouts at the combine. While there were certainly some combine bright spots, Walker entered this week a winner, now being far and away the best free-agent option at his position and still having several years of prime left ahead of him.

byMichael Cox

in

March 03, 2026

Big payday ahead for RB Kenneth Walker III thanks in part to a soft RB NFL Draft class?

While it's hard to label a Super Bowl MVP landing a lucrative deal in free agency a shocker, there was definitive bu...

Read More