Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Top 25 roundup: No. 4 San Diego St. downs UNLV to go 21-0

Malachi Flynn scored 21 points and Trey Pulliam added a career-high 18 points as unbeaten and fourth-ranked San Diego State broke the school and Mountain West record for best start to a season with a 71-67 victory over UNLV on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas. The 21-0 start broke the previous record set by the Kawhi Leonard-led 2010-11 San Diego State squad that went on to finish 34-3 and advance to the Sweet 16 where it lost to eventual national champion UConn 74-67. The 2013-14 Aztecs squad also had a 20-game winning streak en route to a Sweet 16 loss to Arizona. Leishman cards 65 to win at Torrey Pines as Rahm falters

Australian Marc Leishman won the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Sunday when the death of basketball great Kobe Bryant cast a shadow over the final round. Several of the players competing at Torrey Pines knew Bryant well, notably Tiger Woods. Obituary: Bryant, a transcendent star who never took a night off

Kobe Bryant became one of the greatest players in basketball, a transcendent star who went straight from high school to the game's biggest stage and brought "Showtime" back to the Los Angeles Lakers for two glittering decades. But Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Sunday at the age of 41, was not initially rated by National Basketball Association (NBA) scouts as a can't-miss prospect. Chen claims fourth straight U.S. title

Twice world champion Nathan Chen, worried about his stamina after a recent flu, responded with a sparkling free skate to become the first American to win four consecutive national titles in 32 years in Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday. The 20-year-old, with the sell-out crowd cheerfully applauding his quad-led performance to music from the Rocketman soundtrack, scored an impressive 216.04 points after dominating Saturday's short program. Thiem sails past Monfils into maiden Melbourne quarters

Fifth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria kept his flawless record intact against Gael Monfils with a trouble-free 6-2 6-4 6-4 victory on Monday to reach his maiden quarter-final at the Australian Open. Twice French Open finalist Thiem came into the fourth-round clash against the 10th seed having won all five of the matches they have previously played and did not face a single breakpoint against the Frenchman on the Rod Laver Arena. Counter-punching Halep beats Mertens to reach quarters

Simona Halep had to be at her counter-punching best to fight off another determined second-set comeback bid from Elise Mertens on Monday as the Romanian world number three advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Halep, a beaten finalist at Melbourne Park two years ago, moved on with a 6-4 6-4 victory that sets up a meeting with Estonia's 28th-seed Anett Kontaveit in the last eight. NBA roundup: Pelicans get first win with Zion

Zion Williamson had his first double-double as an NBA player, and the New Orleans Pelicans won for the first time with him in the lineup, 123-108 over the visiting Boston Celtics on Sunday. Williams, the top pick in the 2019 NBA draft, had 21 points and 11 rebounds in his third game after his debut following preseason knee surgery. Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 25 points, and Derrick Favors added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lonzo Ball had a career-high 15 assists to go with eight points. Woods plays final round at Torrey Pines unaware of friend Bryant's death

Tiger Woods played the final round at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego on Sunday unaware his good friend Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. The news broke while Woods was in the early part of his round, and though it spread around Torrey Pines quickly, caddie Joe LaCava refrained from telling his boss during the round. Super Bowl week off to subdued start after Bryant death

Super Bowl week got off to a subdued start as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers arrived in Miami on Sunday still digesting the news that Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter crash. What was supposed to be the kickoff to a week-long party turned somber as the NFL and players from both teams learned that Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in the crash. Former NBA star Kobe Bryant and daughter among 9 killed in helicopter crash near Los Angeles

Kobe Bryant, one of the NBA's all-time greatest players whose international stardom transcended basketball, was killed at age 41 on Sunday in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others on board, officials said. Bryant rocketed to fame as an 18-year-old rookie and played 20 years for the Los Angeles Lakers - 18 of them as an all-star - winning five NBA championships. His death sent shockwaves through the National Basketball Association, which he helped propel to global prominence, and stunned fans around the world.