SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics pulled away down the stretch to beat the Sacramento Kings 120-106 on Thursday night.
Brown shot 11 of 25, including 1 for 9 from 3-point distance, but made six free throws and added four assists before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
The four-time All-Star has been on a scoring tear lately, pouring in 20 or more points in 12 of his last 15 games.
Payton Pritchard had 16 points and six assists as Boston improved to 3-1 on its five-game trip. Sam Hauser hit five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points. Anfernee Simons also scored 15.
DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento with 25 points. Dennis Schroder scored 18 and Keon Ellis added 16. The Kings (8-26) have lost four of five and nine of 11.
A game as good as the Sugar Bowl between Ole Miss and Georgiahad to have a wild ending. It ended up having three of them.
In one of the more confusing endings to a football game you will ever see, Ole Miss twice celebrated what it thought was the final play of a breakthrough win in the College Football Playoff, only to be told the game hadn't ended.
In both cases, the crew working the stage for the trophy ceremony had already moved it onto the field, then had to awkwardly remove it as the game played on.
The refs REALLY drew this one out 😭pic.twitter.com/oDdgVjvjLg
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)January 2, 2026
The sequence of events worked out like this.
After a frantic drive that saw Ole Miss reach the Georgia 30-yard line in less than a minute, Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro broke a 34-34 tie with a 47-yard field goal. That appeared to be the game-winner, but six seconds were still left on the clock, so Ole Miss had to kick the ball back to Georgia, opening the door for a miracle for the Bulldogs.
Instead, an attempt at a cross-field lateral resulted in the ball bouncing out of bounds, but not without first hitting the pylon. That made it a safety for Ole Miss, putting the Rebels up five points with one second left. Ole Miss had already been celebrating the win, with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss hugging teammates and several non-players and coaches already running onto the field.
The officials restored order and had Georgia make its free kick, which went 10 yards and then was recovered by Bulldogs running back Cash Jones. However, Ole Miss thought that the final second of the game had still passed and celebrated accordingly, giving head coach Pete Golding a Gatorade bath as the ESPN announcers pronounced the game over.
Nope. The officials ruled there was still one second left on the clock … and Georgia had the ball at its own 31-yard line. ESPN announcer Sean McDonough said the ending felt "excruciating" and asked rules expert Matt Austin, "Does common sense need to prevail here?"
Austin's response. "Well, yes, but we do have rules we have to follow."
And so Georgia got its last play, completing one forward pass and nine laterals before quarterback Gunner Stockton was slammed to the ground, 80 yards short of the end zone. The game was over, for real this time.
You can watch the whole thing play out below:
The official play-by-play of that final desperation play:
STOCKTON, Gunner pass short to the left complete for 4 yards to YOUNG, Colbie caught at the UGA35 and advanced to the UGA35 lateral to JONES, Cash for 1 yard to the UGA36 lateral to LUCKIE, Lawson for -3 yards to the UGA33 lateral to JONES, Cash for 5 yards to the UGA38 lateral to YOUNG, Colbie for -7 yards to the UGA31 lateral to YOUNG, Colbie for -5 yards to the UGA26 lateral to LUCKIE, Lawson for 7 yards to the UGA33 lateral to JONES, Cash for 13 yards to the UGA46 lateral to YOUNG, Colbie for -14 yards to the UGA32 lateral to LUCKIE, Lawson for 0 yards to the UGA32 lateral to BELL, Dillon for -11 yards to the UGA21 lateral to MADDOX, Adrian for -2 yards to the UGA19 (PERKINS, Suntarine;JONES, Andrew), clock 00:00.
This could have become even more chaotic, but the end result was what everyone expected after Carneiro made his kick.Ole Miss will advance to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff and face Miami.Georgia's season is over. Rebels head coach Pete Golding is $500,000 richer.So is former head coach Lane Kiffin.
And we saw firsthand just how far officials will go to end a game by the book.
PASADENA, Calif. — Finally, the team that was supposed to win did.
No. 1 Indiana shut down No. 9 Alabama and picked up a convincing 38-3 winat the Rose Bowl on Thursday afternoon. The Hoosiers, who are now a perfect 14-0 this season, will advance to the Peach Bowl next week to take on No. 5 Oregon in theCollege Football Playoffsemifinals.
Indiana is now the first team in the expanded playoff's history to win a postseason game after receiving a first-round bye. Entering Thursday's contest in Southern California, teams who had received a bye were a combined 0-6.
After a bit of a slow start — this was the first Rose Bowl in 26 years to have a scoreless opening quarter — things quickly spiraled out of control for the Crimson Tide. Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, after a bit of failed trickery, opted to go for it on a short fourth down deep in their own territory early in the second quarter. It backfired completely. They tried a short pass to convert the fourth down, which set up Indiana with incredible field position after it didn't work.
Just four plays later, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza found an open Charlie Becker in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. That put the Hoosiers up 10-0 at the time.
FERNANDO MENDOZA AND INDIANA FIND THE END ZONE FIRST 🎯(via@espn)pic.twitter.com/3CX3T4WUOQ
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports)January 1, 2026
Indiana's defense forced another turnover just before halftime, too, after Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson tried to scramble for a first down. He was hit hard by D'Angelo Ponds and lost the ball, which led to a 1-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. right before the break.
[Get more Hoosiers football news: Indiana team feed]
Indiana entered the locker room up by 17 points. Alabama, which trailed Oklahoma at halftime in the first round of the playoff, managed just 30 rushing yards and five first downs while averaging less than four yards per play in the opening 30 minutes of the game.
Whatever DeBoer said at halftime didn't work. Alabama came back and had to punt the ball away about 90 seconds into the third quarter. Mendoza then quickly led Indiana down the field and hit Elijah Sarratt for a 24-yard touchdown. That put the game out of reach not even halfway through the third period.
A DART FROM MENDOZA FOR THE TD 🔥pic.twitter.com/ivhddNF2OQ
— ESPN (@espn)January 1, 2026
DeBoer even tried to switch quarterbacks after that, but it didn't matter.Austin Mack came in to replace Simpson, who briefly went into the injury tent, and actually led Alabama on its first scoring drive of the game. He got them into scoring position on a few deep passes, and set up an easy field goal to avoid the shutout.
But Indiana, of course, kept piling on. Kaelon Black capped a six-play drive with a 25-yard touchdown run right away, and then Mendoza got them back into scoring position on their next drive to set up an 18-yard touchdown run from Roman Hemby.
ROMAN HEMBY TDpic.twitter.com/PuGyQ2fO71
— NFL Paint (@NFLPaint)January 1, 2026
From there, the Hoosiers were on cruise control for the rest of the game.
The playoff win was the first in Indiana school history. The Hoosiers also made the playoff last season in Curt Cignetti's first year with the team, but fell to Notre Dame in the opening round. Indiana is now an incredible 24-2 under Cignetti's reign. The Hoosiers' 14 wins this season marks a school record, which was set last year, and this is now the first time in program history that they've had back-to-back seasons with double digit wins.
Indiana will now take on Oregon next week in Georgia. TheDucks rolled past Texas Tech 23-0 in their quarterfinals matchup at the Orange Bowlearlier on Thursday. The winner of that contest will advance to the national championship game, a place Oregon hasn't been to in over a decade. Indiana hasn't even come close.
But now, with a playoff win finally under their belts, the Hoosiers have more than proven themselves as a real threat to win it all in just a few weeks.
Featured
Yahoo Sports Staff
Indiana wins to advance to CFP semifinals
The Hoosiers complete the 38-3 blowout of Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Next up for Indiana: No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9 with a spot in the championship game on the line.
INDIANA DOMINATES ALABAMA 38-3 TO WIN THE ROSE BOWL 🌹
The Hoosiers hand the Crimson Tide its worse playoff loss in program history 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mCbyXuIdbr
The Hoosiers are listed at -4 against Oregon in the CFP semifinals. They were 7-point favorite against Alabama.
Nick Bromberg
It's been nearly 30 years since Alabama lost by 30 points
Alabama's last 30-point loss came in the 1998 Music City Bowl in a 38-7 defeat to Virginia Tech.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Alabama turnover on downs
The Crimson Tide drove inside the Indiana 30 but Austin Mack takes a sack on 4th-and-4 to end the threat. Indiana takes over with under 6 minutes to play and the backups will take it home from here.
Ryan Young
Alabama fans are out
There is a steady stream of Alabama fans pouring out of the Rose Bowl now. With Indiana up 38-3, it's hard to blame them.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Another Indiana TD
Roman Hemby hits an 18-yard touchdown run and now this has become a complete beatdown. Indiana just outclassing the Tide.
This is going to be oft-repeated over the next nine months, but it's been jarring to see how Alabama has been bossed by both Georgia and Indiana over the last month. How do Alabama and Kalen DeBoer fix this for 2026 and beyond?
Yahoo Sports Staff
End of 3rd
Indiana's offense is on the move again. It'll have a first-and-10 at the Alabama 42 to open the 4th quarter. The Hoosiers are on the cusp of putting this one on ice.
Ryan Young
Dixieland Delight is playing here at the Rose Bowl, and a huge chorus of boos is overpowering everything.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Alabama on the board
We won't have a second straight playoff shutout today. Alabama hits a 28-yard field goal for its first points.
Indiana 24, Alabama 3
Yahoo Sports Staff
New QB makes a big play
Right off the bat, new Alabama QB Austin Mack completes a 34-yard strike to Germie Bernard.
Alabama appears to be benching QB Ty Simpson here midway through the third quarter. With how things have gone so far, it's hard to blame them. Simpson was also reportedly grimacing every time he threw the ball after taking a big hit in the first half, so that may have also been a factor.
Austin Mack is in the game now.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Touchdown Indiana!
Fernando Mendoza tosses his third TD of the game, this time for 24 yards to Elijah Sarratt. Perfect start to the half for the Hoosiers.
So much for that needed spark. Alabama fails to get a first down to open the second half and punts it away.
Ryan Young
It didn't have the same impact, but we still got the B-2 Stealth Bomber flyover here at the Rose Bowl to start the second half. That, and plenty of other pregame festivities, were canceled due to rain.
DALLAS (AP) — Tyrese Maxey had 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Joel Embiid scored 22 points and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Dallas Mavericks 123-108 on Thursday night.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, the one-and-done player from Baylor playing 100 miles from his college campus for the first time, scored 23 points two nights afterhitting a 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 139-136 overtime victoryat Memphis.
Oft-injured Anthony Davis returned for Dallas after missing two games with a sore adductor muscle. The 10-time All-Star finished with 13 points and eight rebounds as the Mavs matched their season worst with a fourth consecutive loss.
Rookie No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg scored 12 points for the Mavericks, who were led by Max Christie's 18 points.
Former Maverick Quentin Grimes, part of a different trade last season soon after the infamous swap of Luka Doncic for Davis between Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers, had 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The 76ers were up six when Grimes had a steal and dunk to trigger his 11-point fourth quarter, when he made all three of his 3-point attempts and had one of his blocks.
Paul George scored 14 points, starting and ending a 17-2 run that gave Philadelphia a 44-37 lead in the second quarter.
The Mavericks shot 65% in the first, taking a 33-27 lead before shooting 38% the rest of the way. Davis and Flagg combined to go 11 of 28 from the field.
Maxey was 14 of 24 with a mix of long-range shooting and deft driving in another strong road performance against his hometown team. Edgecombe finished 9 of 14 as the Sixers shot 53%.
76ers: At the New York Knicks on Saturday to finish a five-game trip.
NEW YORK (AP) — Dylan Guenther had his first career hat trick and added an assist and the Utah Mammoth topped the New York Islanders 7-2 on Thursday.
Nick Schmaltz scored twice and added an assist, Clayton Keller and Mikhail Sergachev each had a goal and two assists, while Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton each had two assists. Karel Vejmelka returned from a two-game absence and finished with 20 saves as the Mammoth snapped a two-game skid.
Cal Ritchie and Matthew Schaefer scored for New York, and Max Shabanov had two assists. David Rittich made nine saves on 14 shots, but was replaced by Marcus Hogberg 5:41 into the third period.
Guenther scored his second goal of the game when he buried a backhand feed from Crouse to give Utah a 2-1 lead midway through the second period. He also opened the scoring just 36 seconds into the middle period.
The Islanders briefly tied it 1-1 early in the second period when Ritchie fired a wrist shot over the glove of Vejmelka.
Schmaltz beat Rittich with less than four minutes remaining in the second period to extend Utah's lead to two goals.
Mammoth forward Alex Kerfoot took a four-minute high-sticking penalty late in the second, but the Islanders didn't capitalize on the ensuing power play.
Sergachev and Keller scored in the first six minutes of the third period to stretch Utah's lead to 5-1 and prompt the Islanders to change goaltenders.
Guenther completed the hat trick and scored his 20th goal of the season by sliding the puck between the legs of Hogberg with less than seven minutes remaining.
Schaefer scored a power-play goal midway through the third period for his 10th of the season.
Mammoth: visit the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Islanders: host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
