Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. NBA roundup: Wolves top Nets, finally break home funk

Shabazz Napier scored eight of his season-high 24 points in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a nine-game home losing streak with a 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Minneapolis. Rookie Jarrett Culver added a career-high 21 points for the Wolves, who made 7 of 10 shots in overtime and shot 40.4 percent overall. Keita Bates-Diop added 15 points, and Robert Covington contributed 14. Top 25 basketball roundup: No. 10 Villanova tops Xavier in Big East opener

Collin Gillespie scored 24 points and No. 10 Villanova held off Xavier to win 68-62 Monday at Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, Pa., in the Big East opener for both teams. Jermaine Samuels added 14 points and eight rebounds while Justin Moore had 13 points for the Wildcats, who won their sixth in a row and improved to 10-2 overall. Naji Marshall led Xavier with 19 points while Tyrique Jones added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Scruggs had 12 points and six assists. Celtics bounce back, hand Hornets sixth straight loss

Jayson Tatum scored 24 points, Kemba Walker added 22 points and seven assists, and the visiting Boston Celtics handed the Charlotte Hornets their sixth consecutive loss, 109-92 on Tuesday at Spectrum Center. Coming in off a lopsided loss to reigning NBA champion Toronto, Boston ratcheted up its defensive intensity early. The Celtics limited the Hornets to just 18 first-quarter points and 43 for the first half. Pacers hand Embiid-less 76ers third straight loss

Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to carry the host Indiana Pacers past the Philadelphia 76ers 115-97 on Tuesday in Indianapolis. T.J. Warren added 21 points, Myles Turner contributed 14 and Jeremy Lamb had 13 for the Pacers, who improved to 15-3 at home and snapped a two-game losing streak. 49ers say remarkable turnaround is just the beginning

The San Francisco 49ers, who one year ago posted a dismal 4-12 record, completed a stunning turnaround on Sunday, defeating the Seattle Seahawks to end the NFL season with the NFC's top seed and a surge of momentum heading into the playoffs. Despite the extraordinary about-face, the NFC West champion 49ers (13-3) said they have bigger goals in mind. Patriots face tough path with first wildcard game in a decade

With an 11th-straight AFC East title, the league's top-ranked defense and a future hall-of-fame quarterback, the New England Patriots would appear - at least on paper - as fearsome as ever. But Sunday's humiliating 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins, sending them to their first Wild Card weekend in a decade, underscores the inconsistency of a team that have struggled to fend off claims their time is finally up. Sharapova to return next month as Brisbane wildcard

Former world number one Maria Sharapova will return to tournament action at the Brisbane International next month after being awarded a wildcard to play in the Australian Open warm-up. The 32-year-old Russian, who last played a competitive match in the first round of the U.S. Open in August, has dropped to 133rd in the world after a season in which a long-standing shoulder injury restricted her to eight tournaments. Washington hires head coach Rivera to lead franchise out of slump: report

The Washington Redskins hired Ron Rivera as their new head coach, the NFL Network reported on Tuesday, replacing interim leader Bill Callahan, who took over after Jay Gruden was cut loose in October. Rivera previously presided over the NFL's Carolina Panthers, leading the team to a franchise-best 15-win and one-loss record in the 2015 season before losing in the Super Bowl to the Denver Broncos. Browns part ways with general manager Dorsey

The Cleveland Browns parted ways with general manager John Dorsey on Tuesday after failing to come to an agreement on a restructuring of the front office. The decision to move on from Dorsey after two years comes two days after the Browns fired first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens. Olympics: North Korea pulls out of women's 2020 soccer qualifiers in South

North Korea has withdrawn its women's soccer team from the final round of 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers being staged in South Korea in February, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said. The AFC said on Tuesday the North had sent a letter informing it of its withdrawal from the tournament and that global governing body FIFA was also aware of the decision.