BASKETBALL
The Maine Celtics scored 44 points in the second quarter Tuesday night, beating the College Park Skyhawks 127-112 in a G League game at College Park, Georgia.
Maine won its third straight to improve to 20-12, good for sole possession of second place in the Eastern Division.
Jordan Walsh had five straight points to break a 36-36 tie early in the second quarter to spark a 27-8 run for Maine.
Jaden Springer came off the bench and had 26 points to lead five Maine players in double figures, Joe Wieskamp had 20, Walsh finished with 19, and Neemias Queta tossed in 18 and JD Davison chipped in with 13.
Miles Norris had 21 points to pace College Park (15-17), with Robert Baker adding 19 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Maine has two games remaining before the playoffs – Thursday at College Park and Saturday at Texas.
NBA: All-Star guard Trae Young will enter the next step in his rehabilitation from finger surgery, the Atlanta Hawks said, but it’s still not known when he can rejoin the lineup.
Young had a one-month follow-up examination to his Feb. 27 operation to repair a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger.
The team said he is making progress in his recovery and will begin small finger motion exercises this week. But there was no timetable for his return to the Hawks (32-39), who hold the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference with about three weeks to go in the regular season.
Young was averaging 26.4 points and 10.8 assists per game when he was injured in a Feb. 23 loss to Toronto. The Hawks are 8-7 since he went down, including a 120-118 victory Monday over NBA-leading Boston in which they rallied from a 30-point deficit.
• LeBron James didn’t play for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks because of an issue with his left ankle.
The Lakers issued an injury report that ruled James out with peroneal tendinopathy in his ankle.
During his pregame availability, Lakers Coach Darvin Ham declined to speculate on James’ potential status for Wednesday’s game at Memphis.
COLLEGES: Kentucky hired Kenny Brooks as women’s basketball coach after a successful tenure with Virginia Tech highlighted by the ACC regular season championship a year after winning the tournament title and reaching its first Final Four.
The school announced Brooks’ hiring hours after Virginia Tech said he would leave the program. Kentucky will introduce Brooks as its ninth coach on Thursday afternoon.
Brooks will follow Kyra Elzy at Kentucky. She was fired March 11 after consecutive losing seasons since winning the school’s first Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 1982.
TENNIS
MIAMI OPEN: Defending champion Daniil Medvedev won his 350th career match to move into the quarterfinals for a fourth straight year, beating Dominik Koepfer 7-6 (5), 6-0.
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz also advanced with ease in a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 23 seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Alcaraz will face No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Dimitrov beat No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to advance.
After a tight opening set, No. 3 seed Medvedev pulled away to win his ninth straight match in south Florida and continue his run at back-to-back titles.
Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, seeded No. 2, improved to 19-1 in matches this year with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Christopher O’Connell to reach the quarterfinals.
Also advancing was Tomas Machac, who reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Matteo Arnaldi.
On the women’s side, two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka defeated Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3 to make the semifinals.
SOCCER
U.S. WOMEN: Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario are returning to the U.S. national team for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup after lengthy absences because of injuries.
The 23-player roster announced for the event next month also includes 16-year old Lily Yohannes, a midfielder who plays for Dutch club Ajax.
The SheBelieves Cup, which includes the United States, Japan, Canada and Brazil, opens on April 6 in Atlanta. All four teams are ranked in the top 10 in the world and have qualified for this summer’s Olympics in France.
Swanson was the team’s leading scorer early last year when she tore the patellar tendon in her left knee during a friendly against Ireland in April. The injury kept her off the Women’s World Cup roster.
Macario tore her left ACL while playing for Lyon and has not played for the United States since 2022. She currently plays for Chelsea under Coach Emma Hayes, who will take over as the new U.S. coach when the Women’s Super League season ends.
MLS: Major League Soccer and its referees announced a seven-year labor contract, ending a 37-day lockout that led to the use of replacement officials.
The Professional Referee Organization and the Professional Soccer Referees Association said they had ratified an agreement reached last week that runs until Jan. 31, 2031.
The PSRA has about 260 members.
Replacement officials were used in the first five weeks of the season, drawing some criticism.
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