Sports News Roundup: NBA roundup: Bulls rally past Blazers; Pacers clip Rockets behind Malcolm Brogdon’s 35 points and more

Brogdon eclipsed his career high of 33 points, set two games earlier against the New York Knicks, on a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds left that extended the Indy lead to six points. Gordon Hayward leads Hornets past Hawks Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 44 points as the visiting Charlotte Hornets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

NBA roundup: Bulls rally past Blazers

Coby White led seven players in double figures with 21 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls, despite using just nine players, used superior depth to overtake the Portland Trail Blazers 111-108 on Tuesday night to snap a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. Wendell Carter Jr. broke a late tie with two free throws, Otto Porter Jr. nailed a midrange jumper and White connected from just inside the arc in a six-point Bulls flurry that produced a 106-100 lead with 2:08 to play, and the visitors held on from there to record their first win over the Trail Blazers since Nov. 15, 2016.

Pacers clip Rockets behind Malcolm Brogdon's 35 points

Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 35 points and Myles Turner recorded eight blocked shots as the Indiana Pacers held on for a 114-107 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at Indianapolis. Brogdon eclipsed his career high of 33 points, set two games earlier against the New York Knicks, on a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds left that extended the Indy lead to six points. The Brogdon free throws followed the final block of the game from Turner, who turned away David Nwaba at the rim with 38.2 seconds remaining.

Gordon Hayward leads Hornets past Hawks

Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 44 points as the visiting Charlotte Hornets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-94 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Hayward was 15-for-25 from the field and 4-for-9 on 3-pointers. Hayward broke his previous career high of 39 he last accomplished against Cleveland on Nov. 5, 2019.

Celtics stun Heat on last-second putback

Rookie guard Payton Pritchard scored on a put-back with two-tenths of a second left to give the Boston Celtics a 107-105 win over the host Miami Heat on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-2 Pritchard followed up on a missed drive by Marcus Smart.

Olympics-Japan postpones torch exhibitions over COVID-19 fears

Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced on Thursday that upcoming exhibitions of the Tokyo Olympics torch around the Japanese capital have been postponed "to reduce the flow of people and the further spread of COVID-19." The torch had been on display in certain municipalities at the end of last year and the exhibitions were due to restart on Thursday but as a state of emergency for Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures will begin on Friday, the government chose to postpone all displays until the end of the month.

James looking at buying stake in Atlanta WNBA franchise

LeBron James has said he is looking at forming an ownership group for the WNBA's Atlanta Dream after Kelly Loeffler, who has not indicated she even wants to sell her share in the team, lost her U.S. Senate race in Georgia. Republican Loeffler lost her reelection campaign to Democrat Raphael Warnock on Tuesday after months of activism from WNBA players who objected to her stance on social justice issues and called for her removal from the ownership team.

Top 25 roundup: Mississippi State takes down No. 13 Missouri

D.J. Stewart Jr. scored 24 points as Mississippi State toppled No. 13 Missouri 78-63 on Tuesday night in Southeastern Conference action at Starkville, Miss. The Bulldogs (7-4, 2-1 SEC) trailed by 12 points at halftime, but they outscored the Tigers 51-24 in the second half and pulled away at the free-throw line. Iverson Molinar scored 20 points for Mississippi State and Tulo Smith had 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Austin Rivers powers Knicks past Jazz

Austin Rivers scored 14 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter for the New York Knicks, who continued their resurgence by overcoming an 18-point second quarter deficit to beat the visiting Utah Jazz, 112-100 on Wednesday. The comeback win was the second straight for the Knicks, who trailed by 15 points in the third quarter Monday before beating the Atlanta Hawks, 113-108. It is the first time New York has overcome 15-point deficits in back-to-back wins since victories over the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets Nov. 5-7, 2017.

NBA plays on with 'heavy heart' after U.S. Capitol violence, Blake decision

The NBA went ahead with its slate of games on Wednesday even as players said they were disturbed by images of chaos at the U.S. Capitol and the decision not to bring charges against a Wisconsin police officer for an August shooting. Hundreds of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday in a bid to overturn his election defeat, forcing Congress to postpone a session that would have certified President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Thunder pull out last-minute win over Pelicans

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points and George Hill made two free throws with 12.1 seconds remaining to lift the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 111-110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Darius Bazley had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Muscala scored 18 and Hill finished with 13.