Sports News Roundup: NBA roundup: Luka Doncic (41) guides Mavs past Suns; Gymnastics-Olympic champion Douglas delays return due to COVID and more

James sat out with a sore left ankle, which helped stall a Lakers team that had won its last three games before the All-Star break by running up an average of 134 points. Nuggets wallop Wizards behind Nikola Jokic's triple-double Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the scuffling Washington Wizards 130-110 on Thursday night.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Kris Letang's two goals fuel Penguins' win over Habs

Kris Letang scored twice Thursday as the Pittsburgh Penguins put up four unanswered goals to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Drew O'Connor added a goal and an assist, Bryan Rust had a goal and Erik Karlsson had two assists for the Penguins, who were 0-1-1 in their previous two games and had lost five of six (1-4-1).

Brazil's Dani Alves gets 4-1/2 years for rape in Spain, will appeal

Brazilian footballer Dani Alves was convicted of raping a woman in the restroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison on Thursday, which he will appeal. The top court in Spain's Catalonia region also ordered Alves, who has been jailed on remand for over a year and repeatedly changed his story, to pay 150,000 euros ($163,000) to the victim.

Stephen Curry, Warriors outdistance short-handed Lakers

Stephen Curry continued his hot long-range shooting with six 3-pointers and 32 points as the Warriors took advantage of the absence of LeBron James to thrash the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 128-110 on Thursday night in San Francisco. James sat out with a sore left ankle, which helped stall a Lakers team that had won its last three games before the All-Star break by running up an average of 134 points.

Nuggets wallop Wizards behind Nikola Jokic's triple-double

Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists, Michael Porter Jr. finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the scuffling Washington Wizards 130-110 on Thursday night. Jokic, who made all 10 of his field goal attempts, has recorded at least one triple-double against every NBA team he has faced, joining Russell Westbrook and LeBron James as the only players to accomplish the feat. Jokic has 16 triple-doubles this season and 121 for his career.

ATP roundup: Jakub Mensik advances to semis in Doha

Unseeded Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic recorded a 6-4, 7-6 (6) upset over top-seeded Andrey Rublev on Thursday to advance to the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. Mensik, 18, reached his maiden tour-level semifinal after firing 10 aces to dispatch the Russian in 98 minutes. The victory over the World No. 5 marked Mensik's first Top 5 win in his career. He is the youngest player to accomplish that feat since Carlos Alcarez of Spain toppled Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the U.S. Open in 2021.

Erik van Rooyen rides front-nine 29 to lead at Mexico Open

Erik van Rooyen shot an 8-under-par 63 to take the first-round lead at the Mexico Open at Vidanta on Thursday in Vallarta, Mexico. Scorching the front nine with an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole and birdies on Nos. 3, 4, 7 and 9, van Rooyen went out in 29. The South African mixed in an eagle, a birdie and a bogey with his six pars on the back nine.

Soccer-Argentina switch friendlies to US after China cancels matches amid Messi fallout

Argentina will play two matches in the United States next month after Chinese sporting authorities cancelled friendlies featuring the World Cup champions amid a backlash against Lionel Messi's failure to play in an Inter Miami match in Hong Kong. Argentina's FA said on Thursday Lionel Scaloni's side will face El Salvador at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on March 22 before taking on Nigeria at the Coliseum in Los Angeles on March 26.

Gymnastics-Olympic champion Douglas delays return due to COVID

Three-times Olympic gold medallist Gabby Douglas has been forced to delay her return to competition ahead of this year's Paris Games after testing positive for COVID-19, the American gymnast said. The 2012 Olympics all-around individual and team champion has not competed since the 2016 Rio Games, taking time away to focus on her mental health. The 28-year-old returned to training last year hoping to make the squad for Paris.

NBA roundup: Luka Doncic (41) guides Mavs past Suns

Luka Doncic scored a game-high 41 points to help lead the Dallas Mavericks post a 123-113 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Doncic added 11 assists and nine rebounds. Kyrie Irving added 29 points for Dallas, which extended its winning streak to seven.

Celtics handle Bulls for seventh consecutive win

Derrick White scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum followed with 25 to help the visiting Boston Celtics top the Chicago Bulls 129-112 on Thursday for their season-high seventh straight victory. In their first game back from the All-Star break, the league-best Celtics shot 54.2 percent, including 48.9 percent from long range.

(With inputs from agencies.)