BASKETBALL
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving will have arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder and miss the rest of the season.
The Nets made the announcement Thursday before playing the Philadelphia 76ers in their first game after the All-Star break.
Coach Kenny Atkinson said earlier this week that the point guard was still having trouble with the shoulder that sidelined him for 26 games earlier this season and wouldn’t play Thursday.
Irving said pain in the shoulder initially worsened after a game on Nov. 4 and he played for about a week before sitting out for nearly two months.
He was limited to just 20 games after signing with the Nets in July.
• Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jake Layman was finally cleared to return to practice, with his absence at 39 straight games and counting because of a sprained left toe.
Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, however, does not have that clearance. Nor has there been clarity yet revealed by the Timberwolves about how long his sprained left wrist will keep him out.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 16 rebounds as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks routed the Detroit Pistons 126-106.
• Trae Young had a career-high 50 points and the Atlanta Hawks scored the last 10 points of the game to beat the visiting Miami Heat, 129-124.
TENNIS
INJURY: Roger Federer will miss the French Open and no fewer than three other tournaments while he is sidelined for at least four months after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
It’s only the second operation for the 38-year-old Federer – the other was on his left knee in 2016 – and one that is certain to raise questions about his future in tennis.
DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Top-seeded Simona Halep came from a set down for the second day in a row to beat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semifinals.
Halep will next face Amerian qualifier Jennifer Brady, who upset former No. 1 Garbine Muguruza 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to reach her third career WTA semifinal.
In the other semifinal, Elena Rybakina will play Petra Martic.
WTA: A tennis tournament scheduled for next month in China was canceled by the women’s professional tour because of concerns over a deadly viral outbreak.
The WTA announced it was calling off the Xi’an Open “due to the coronavirus outbreak.”
The hard-court event was supposed to be held April 13-19, with 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams. There would have been $115,000 in prize money at stake.
OPEN 13: Top-seeded Daniil Medvedev overcame a poor start to beat Jannik Sinner 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 and reach the quarterfinals at Marseille, France.
The U.S. Open runner-up, who lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open last month, dropped his serve twice but broke the 18-year-old Italian’s serve four times at the indoor tournament in Marseille.
The fifth-ranked Medvedev, who had seven aces, next faces French veteran Gilles Simon – who won their two previous meetings. Simon advanced with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win against Aljaz Bedene.
Fourth-seeded Denis Shapovalov hit 17 aces in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win against hard-hitting Marin Cilic. The 20-year-old Canadian next plays Alexander Bublik.
COLLEGES
PITT: The football and men’s basketball programs have been placed on probation for three years by the NCAA for a series of level II violations between 2015 and 2018.
Former men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings was given a three-year show-cause order by the NCAA as part of the punishment. The NCAA found that Stallings – who coached at Pitt from 2016-2018 – allowed three noncoaches to perform coaching duties, meaning the school went over its allotment of practices. The NCAA also found that Stallings developed an alert system to make sure the noncoaches would not be caught on the practice floor. Stallings also ordered personnel to delete practice video to prevent the illegal practices from being discovered by the school administration.
Any school that hires Stallings, who was fired in March 2018 after going 24-41 in two seasons at Pitt, during the three-year order must have him sit out 30 percent of the team’s games during his first season on the job. Stallings is currently out of coaching. Dan Cage, who was the director of basketball operations during the 2016-17 season, was also given a three-year show-cause order. The NCAA penalized Cage for refusing to participate in an enforcement interview about his involvement in coaching activities as a noncoaching staff member.
The NCAA also found that football coach Pat Narduzzi was present at the team’s practice facility when “three former quality control staff members performed coaching duties, resulting in the program exceeding the allowable number of permissible coaches.” Narduzzi must sit out two days of practice next August.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Luka Garza scored 24 points, and No. 20 Iowa got strong contributions from its bench in a 85-76 win over No. 25 Ohio State at Iowa City, Iowa.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Jazmine Jones scored 18 points, Dana Evans added 14 points and No. 5 Louisville won its third straight game with a 58-47 victory over Georgia Tech at Atlanta.
• Aliyah Boston had 13 points, nine rebounds and five blocks as No. 1 South Carolina held off visiting LSU 63-48 for its 20th straight victory.
BASEBALL: Mike Khoury had three hits, including a grand slam and a two-run double, in leading Brandeis to a 15-1 win against Bates at Winter Haven, Florida.
The game was shortened to seven innings pursuant to the 10-run rule.
Isaac Fossas added three hits and four RBI for the Judges (4-0).
Christian Beal led off the top of the first for Bates (1-3) with a double, followed by Zach Avila’s RBI single.
SOCCER
HALL OF FAME: Former U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo is among the first-time eligible players on the ballot for the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.
Solo, dismissed from the team following the 2016 Olympics, joins fellow U.S. national team members Brad Davis, Whitney Engen, Herculez Gomez and Clarence Goodson among 14 players first-time eligible players on the 42-person ballot.
GOLF
PGA: Kyle Stanley shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead in the Puerto Rico Open.
Stanley had nine birdies and a bogey in windy afternoon conditions.
Peter Uihlein, Josh Teater, Emiliano Grillo, Chris Couch, Henrik Norlander and Rhein Gibson shot 66, and 2013 winner Scott Brown, Martin Laird, Jay McLuen, MJ Daffue, Wes Roach and Julian Etulain followed at 67.
WORLD GOLF: Rory McIlroy ripped a 4-iron from 275 yards into the thin air to 15 feet for eagle on his second hole, made five more birdies and opened the Mexico Championship with a 6-under 65 for a two-shot lead at Mexico City.
Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson were at 67.
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