Sports News Roundup: Tennis-No writing off Djokovic yet even as young guns gain ground; Chess-Eight-year-old becomes youngest to beat grandmaster and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Pelicans, Rockets start 'sprint' to playoff contention

The New Orleans Pelicans were on a hot streak going into the All-Star break, while it was a completely different story for the Houston Rockets. New Orleans will attempt to keep visiting Houston scuffling on Thursday night when the teams return from their week-long hiatus.

Jayson Tatum has sights set on big picture as Celtics brace for Bulls

With the NBA All-Star Game returning to the Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference format, Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were able to giddily team up. Tatum and Brown combined for 56 points as the East coasted to a 211-186 victory, and now the duo will return to the court for the top team in the league when Boston faces the host Chicago Bulls on Thursday night to open the second half of the season.

Out to halt 3-game slide, healthy Nuggets face lowly Wizards

The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions but had only one player named to the All-Star Game -- two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. Some consider it a slight, but the glass-half-full view is that the rest of the team got a week off to rest and heal. Denver took advantage as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray are listed as probable to return to the lineup when the Nuggets host the reeling Washington Wizards on Thursday night to open the second half of the season.

Chiefs DE Charles Omenihu undergoes surgery to repair ACL tear

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu underwent right knee surgery to repair the torn ACL he sustained in the AFC Championship Game victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 28. Omenihu reportedly underwent the surgery on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

ATP roundup: Karen Khachanov advances in Doha

Second-seeded Karen Khachanov recorded a 6-4, 7-5 win over Fabian Marozsan on Wednesday in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. Khachanov, of Russia, fired six aces and benefited from three double faults by his opponent to dispatch the Italian in 88 minutes.

Coco Gauff rallies to reach quarterfinal round in Dubai

No. 3 seed Coco Gauff came back from a set down to defeat Czech Karolina Pliskova 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates. Gauff's victory snapped the 11-match winning streak of Pliskova, a former World No. 1. Two weeks ago, Pliskova won at Cluj-Napoca for her first title since 2020 and has risen from No. 78 to No. 36 in the rankings.

Tennis-No writing off Djokovic yet even as young guns gain ground

For any other player but Novak Djokovic, a below-par Australian Open at the age of 36 would have had pundits brushing up his tennis obituary. Djokovic, of course, is no ordinary player. Yes, the Serbian fell short of winning a 25th major at Melbourne Park last month but those same pundits have learned the hard way over the last 15 years that you write off Djokovic at your peril.

Chess-Eight-year-old becomes youngest to beat grandmaster

An eight-year-old became the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess on Sunday when Ashwath Kaushik beat Poland's Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Indian-born Ashwath, who lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Stopa to break the record set a month earlier by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia when he beat grandmaster Milko Popchev, according to the Chess.com website.

Panthers F Ryan Lomberg fined $2K for elbowing

Florida Panthers winger Ryan Lomberg was fined $2,083.83, the maximum allowable under the collective bargaining agreement, for elbowing Ottawa Senators defenseman Jakob Chychrun during Tuesday night's game. Lomberg was not penalized for the incident, which happened early in the third period of the Panthers' 3-2 overtime victory.

Suns, Mavericks rolling into key matchup at Dallas

Two teams looking to separate themselves in the jam-packed Western Conference playoff picture meet Thursday when the Dallas Mavericks host the Phoenix Suns in their first game following the All-Star break. With less than two months remaining in the regular season, the fifth-place Suns hold just a one-game advantage in the Western Conference standings on the seventh-place Mavericks, with each squad hoping to avoid the play-in tournament for seeds 7-10.

(With inputs from agencies.)