Sports News Roundup: Pacers clip Rockets behind Malcolm Brogdon’s 35 points; Kings open long homestand with win over Bulls and more

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.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

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.

Kings open long homestand with win over Bulls

Richaun Holmes scored 24 points and Marvin Bagley III added 21 as the Sacramento Kings showed how good it felt to be home by ending a three-game losing streak with a 128-124 victory Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls. Harrison Barnes added 20 for the Kings, who dropped all three games on a just-completed road trip. The victory came in the opener of a seven-game homestand.

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.

Tennis-Barty returns to action after 11 months for Australian Open warmup

World number one Ash Barty will return to competitive tennis after a lengthy hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic when she headlines two WTA tournaments in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, organisers said on Thursday. The 24-year-old Queenslander has not played a match since February, opting not to defend her French Open title and also skipping the U.S. Open in New York as the novel coronavirus wreaked havoc on global sport.

NBA roundup: Last-second put-back lifts Celtics past Heat

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.

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.

Clippers get by Warriors on road

Patrick Beverley and Nicolas Batum combined for three consecutive 3-pointers in a late flurry Wednesday night that propelled the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a 108-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The Pacific Division rivals will meet in a rematch Friday night, also on the Warriors' home floor.

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.