ST. LOUIS—Vinnie Hinostroza scored a late tiebreaking goal and Patrick Kane broke out of a 10-game goal-scoring drought as the Blackhawks beat the St. Louis Blues 6-4 on Saturday night.Dennis Rasmussen, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Artemi Panarin also scored for the Blackhawks, who have won have four straight. Scott Darling made 23 saves to improve to 9-2-2.Patrik Berglund scored twice for the Blues, who had recorded at least one point in each of their last 14 home games. Alex Pietrangelo and Kyle Brodziak also scored for the Blues, who fell to 13-2-3 at home.Hjalmarsson started the comeback by scoring in the first minute of third period to tie the score at 4-4.Hinostroza converted with 4:25 left for his first game-winning goal of the season. Panarin added an empty netter.

Sanjay Lumpkin had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Bryant McIntosh had 13 points, and Northwestern survived a dismal second half for a 67-64 victory over Dayton on Saturday night.Scottie Lindsey and Nathan Taphorn added 11 points apiece as Northwestern (9-2) won its sixth straight. The game was the first of a doubleheader at the United Center as part of the State Farm Chicago Legends.Scoochie Smith had 18 points and Charles Cooke added 12 for Dayton (7-3), which had its five-game winning streak snapped.Northwestern, which led by as many as 24, took charge early and appeared headed for a laugher. The Wildcats raced to an 11-0 lead less than four minutes into the game as Dayton missed its first eight shots.Northwestern took a 40-17 halftime lead as Dayton made just 4 of 28 field-goal attempts, a 14.3 percent shooting percentage.Cooke, who averaged 20 points in the first nine games, was scoreless in the first half on 0-for-5 shooting in 16 minutes.The Flyers began the second half by making their first three shots and cut the deficit to 59-55 with 1:28 left on a 3-pointer by Smith. Northwestern had missed 10 straight field goals before McIntosh hit an 18-footer to make it 61-55 with a minute to play.The Wildcats hung on from there.Although the Flyers entered the game with a 31-13 record against Power 5 conferences over the last 10 years, they were outclassed early on before rallying in the second half. Had Dayton started the game with some of the fire it showed after halftime, the result might have been different.Northwestern: How the Wildcats perform during Big Ten play will ultimately determine whether they make their first trip to the NCAA Tournament in March, but they’ve put themselves in good position with a strong showing in the non-conference portion of the schedule – despite the limp to the finish line on Saturday. NU’s two losses were against teams currently ranked (Butler and Notre Dame) by a combined six points.The Wildcats wrap up the non-conference schedule with a pair of home games, IUPUI on Tuesday and Houston Baptist on Thursday.

Milton Doyle had 22 points and five steals and Loyola rallied in the final minute to force overtime and beat crosstown rival UIC 81-75 on Saturday.The win is the fifth straight win for the Ramblers and their fourth in a row over the Flames.Loyola trailed 68-65 with seven seconds left. However after UIC’s Tai Odiase missed a pair free throws to ice it, Donte Ingram drilled a 3 at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.After the Flames Marcus Ottey hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 73 with 1:30 left, Ingram and Ben Richardson scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Ramblers (10-2) the lead for good. UIC got back to 77-75, but two free throws apiece from Ingram and Doyle iced it.Ingram finished with 20 points and nine rebounds.Freshmen Godwin Boahen led the Flames (5-6) with 19 points and K.J. Santos added 14. Both are career highs.

ROSEMONT—Eli Cain hit seven 3-pointers – one shy of DePaul’s single-game record – and scored a career-high 31 points, Tre’Darius McCallum had his second-career double-double and DePaul cruised to a 109-61 win over Chicago State on Saturday.Cain made 11 of 15 from the field and had four assists, while McCallum made all three of his 3-point shots, scored a career-high 18 points and tied a career best with 12 rebounds. Freshman Devin Gage, who came in with four assists this season, had seven and nine points.It was DePaul’s highest scoring output since beating Chicago State 114-81 on Nov. 14, 2010.Chicago State (3-8) took its only lead on Joshua Batson’s jumper 11 seconds in. Cain answered with a 3-pointer, the first of four during a 22-0 run and DePaul (6-4) led 60-22 at halftime.The Blue Demons made 38 of 57 (66.7 percent) from the field, including 13 of 20 from 3-point range.Fred Sims Jr. had 19 points and Trayvon Palmer scored 10 with nine boards for Chicago State.

INDIANAPOLIS—Caleb Swanigan had 26 points and 10 rebounds, Vincent Edwards finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 15 Purdue escaped with an 86-81 victory over No. 21 Notre Dame on Saturday, the Boilermakers’ first win in the Crossroads Classic since it began six years ago.Swanigan’s three-point play at the end of a 13-2 run gave the Boilermakers a 70-67 lead with 9:41 to play.The Boilermakers (9-2) opened the second half with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to four and then went on a 10-0 run midway through the half to take a lead.The Fighting Irish (9-2) blew a 16-point lead against Indiana in the Crossroads Classic a year ago and lost that game 80-73.Bonzie Colson had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Matt Farrell finished with 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds for Notre Dame, which has lost two straight.Purdue struggled to make baskets in the first half while Notre Dame jumped ahead and led by as many as 17 points when Martinas Geben made two free throws to put the Fighting Irish ahead 48-31 with 1:45 remaining in the first half.Notre Dame led 52-38 at halftime.After slipping into the AP Top 25 two weeks ago, the Fighting Irish have lost two straight. Notre Dame lost to top-ranked Villanova a week ago.The Boilermakers needed this win after their only two losses this season came against ranked opponents – No. 11 Louisville on Nov. 30 and No. 1 Villanova in the second game of the season. The victory over Notre Dame was the first against a ranked team.Notre Dame will look to get back on track at home against Colgate on Monday……Purdue will take the momentum into a home game against Western Illinois on Monday.

The Bulls continue to stink it up, and more athletic teams are exposing them.A day later, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks ran right by the Bulls again.Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and the Bucks routed the Bulls 95-69 on Friday night for a sweep of their home-and-home series.It was a nearly identical copy of Milwaukee’s 108-97 win Thursday night, except there was no closing push by the Bulls this time. Led by Antetokounmpo, the younger and more athletic Bucks had six players score in double figures and shot 46 percent from the field, compared to 30 percent for the weary Bulls.

”We talked about it: We would like to duplicate what we did in Milwaukee,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. ”I thought our guys came out with that same intent to share the ball, move guys around. I think rebounding the ball and our defense put us in position to win a game on the road against a very talented team.”

Antetokounmpo also had three steals and blocked a shot. His streak of 30-point games ended at two, but he watched the last couple of minutes from the bench with Milwaukee in complete control.The 22-year-old Antetokounmpo is averaging 27.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in his last four games.Greg Monroe added 14 points and 12 rebounds, and fellow reserve Mirza Teletovic finished with 13 points. The Bucks (13-12) had dropped four of five before the pair of wins against the Bulls (13-13), who lost for the sixth time in eight games in the opener of a three-game homestand. Nikola Mirotic did not play for the second straight night after he missed the pregame walkthrough, and Taj Gibson exited in the third quarter with a bruised right hip.

”Where they exposed us last night, they got us again early tonight with rebounding, points off turnovers and not getting back and building a wall defensively,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. ”A couple of times not getting back and not getting matched up. It’s as simple as that.”

Dwyane Wade scored 12 points for the Bulls, booed off the floor as the final seconds ticked off. Jimmy Butler was held to seven on 3-for-14 shooting.

”I think I’ve got to play better, but that’s what tomorrow’s for, getting in the gym and figuring it out,” Butler said.

Antetokounmpo scored 10 points to help Milwaukee to a 34-15 lead after one quarter, and he was only getting started. He had a rim-rocking dunk for a 53-31 advantage with 2:17 left in the first half, and Jabari Parker followed with a drive right by Doug McDermott for an easy layup.Antetokounmpo added a pretty lob to John Henson for a dunk in the third, and then shook the basket again on another vicious slam in the fourth, drawing a technical for hanging on the rim.irotic said he forgot about the walkthrough, and he apologized to his teammates and Hoiberg.Mirotic was fined for the unexcused absence, and said it had nothing to do with not playing Thursday night.

”No, I’m not that kind of guy. Even if things are not like how I would like them to be, I’m very professional,” he said. ”It’s not my first year here. Those guys respect me and I respect them. I would never do that, something like that.”

Parker, a Chicago native, had 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting. … F Michael Beasley missed his second straight game with a left foot sprain. … The Bucks had dropped their last five games at the United Center.The 69 points were a season low. … G Michael Carter-Williams got the cast off his injured left wrist and said he is hoping to practice next week. ”It feels pretty good,” he said. ”I still have to do some strengthening and things like that. Nothing is guaranteed, but that’s what I’m going for.” … Bobby Portis had 10 points and eight rebounds. He was the only Bulls player besides Wade to score in double figures.The Bucks host LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the opener of another home-and-home on Tuesday night. The Bucks then visit Cleveland on Wednesday night.The Bulls host the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. The Bulls lost 102-91 at Detroit on Dec. 6.

BROOKLYN—The Blackhawks have been very good at winning one-goal games this season.Richard Panik scored the tiebreaking goal with 6:13 left in the third period to lift the Hawks over the New York Islanders 5-4 on Thursday night.Scott Darling made 28 saves as the Blackhawks (20-8-4) rallied from an early 2-0 deficit and improved to 13-4-4 in one-goal games.

”We’ve got great leadership and we don’t change the way we play,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”We’ve been fortunate scoring big goals and getting great goaltending. The guys play the right way and the top guys lead the charge.”

Artemi Panarin scored twice on the power play for the Blackhawks, who lead the Western Conference with 44 points. Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa each had a goal.Panik’s eighth of the season gave the Hawks their fourth victory in five games and eighth in the last 10 meetings with the Islanders.

”It was a really good pass. I tried to shoot it and I’m glad it went in,” Panik said.

Andrew Ladd, Casey Cizikas, Ryan Strome and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders, last in the Eastern Conference with 27 points.New York went 0 for 2 on the power play while the Hawks were 3 for 3.

”We made some plays but we need a little more discipline,” said Strome, who has three goals in 26 games this season. ”We have to be better on the power play. We had opportunities to change the game and we couldn’t do it.”

Lee scored his ninth goal of the season, and eighth in the last 11 games, to break a 3-all tie 22 seconds into the second. That followed a wild first period in which each team scored three times.Panarin tied it 4-all with his second goal of the game at 19:41 of the second. He fired his 13th of the season past goalie Thomas Greiss with Josh Bailey serving an interference penalty.Ladd and Cizikas scored early for the Islanders before the Blackhawks roared back with goals by Panarin, Anisimov and Hossa in a span of just more than 4 minutes.Strome tied it at 3 with his goal at 15:20 of the first.In the first meeting between the teams since opening weekend last season, the Islanders came out with purpose after disheartening losses to Columbus and Washington.Ladd, the former Blackhawk, scored his fourth of the season at 2:14, whipping the puck past Darling. Alan Quine and Jason Chimera assisted. It was the ninth time in the last 10 games the Islanders scored first.Cizikas made it 2-0 at 3:48, backhanding a rebound of a shot by Nikolay Kulemin past Darling for his fourth this season.Panarin cut the deficit in half at 9:47. Panarin, who won the Calder Trophy last season as the NHL’s top rookie, one-timed a laser shot off a pass from Brent Seabrook past Greiss.Anisimov, who scored the winning goal in the Hawks 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday, tied the game at 2 on the power play at 13:03 of the first.

”We got some goals on the power play which really helped us,” Panik said.

Anisimov’s 14th of the season finished a perfect tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Patrick Kane and Panarin.

”All our goals were the result of nice passes, good finishes and some highlight plays,” said Quenneville, who has coached the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles since 2010. ”You have to like all the goals.”

Hossa, the 38-year-old winger, scored his team-leading 16th at 14:08 after a giveaway by Bailey in front of Greiss. Ryan Hartman and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews had assists.Strome tied it with his third goal when his shot from the point glanced off a Blackhawks defender before eluding Darling, making his seventh straight start in place of Corey Crawford, who had an appendectomy on Dec. 3.

NOTES—The Blackhawks played in Brooklyn for the first time since a 3-2 overtime win in October 2015, the NHL opener at Barclays Center. The teams played the next night in the United Center and the Blackhawks won 5-1. … It was the sixth time this season the Islanders (11-13-5) entered the third period tied and came away without a point. … Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck, who signed a five-year contract extension last week, played his 600th NHL game. … The Hawks are 13-0-1 when Hossa scores….The Blackhawks finish this 3 game road swing Saturday night at St. Louis.

MILWAUKEE—Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and Parker added 28 in leading Milwaukee to a 108-97 victory over the Bulls.Milwaukee led the entire game and held a 24-point advantage early in the fourth quarter but had to hold on to snap a three-game losing streak, its longest of the season.Antetokounmpo has totaled 88 points and 35 rebounds in his last three games, and Parker has reached at least 27 points in four of his past five.

”If we’re just being judged on points, then they’re playing really well,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. ”But it’s not all about points. Unfortunately, that’s all you guys write about. It’s a team game, but it comes down to winning and doing your job. Both of those guys did their jobs tonight.”

The Bulls lost for the fifth time in seven games and dropped its third straight on the road despite 21 points from Jimmy Butler and 20 from Dwyane Wade. The Bulls also got 19 points from Taj Gibson in the opener of a home-and-home between the teams on back-to-back nights.The Bucks went up 95-71 on a dunk by Antetokounmpo with 10:01 remaining. The Bulls cut the deficit in half by scoring the next 12 points, with 10 of them coming from Wade. His two free throws trimmed the margin to 95-83 with 7:14 to go.Milwaukee led by at least eight the rest of the way, marking just the second time this season the Bucks never trailed in a game.

”I think everybody did a great job keeping the lead,” Antetokounmpo said. ”It’s hard to keep a lead for 24 minutes, for a half. It’s hard sometimes.”

The Bucks’ biggest lead of the night was 27 on a dunk by Tony Snell that made it 58-31 with 3:40 left in the second quarter.The advantage was 64-45 at halftime, as Antetokounmpo (20), Parker (17) and Mirza Teletovic (10) combined to outscore the Bulls by two points. Milwaukee shot 80 percent (8 for 10) from 3-point range while the Bulls were 1 for 9 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.

”They were too comfortable early,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. ”We didn’t want to give them dare shots, we wanted to keep them out of the paint, and they were hitting them.”

Rajan Rondo returned to the starting lineup after missing Tuesday’s game against Minnesota because of a right ankle sprain. … Butler has 79 points in his last three games and has scored at least 20 in 18 of his last 19 outings. … The Bulls lost at Milwaukee for just the fifth time in the last 15 games.There was a moment of silence following the death of longtime TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager, and Milwaukee players wore Sager Strong T-shirts during pregame warmups that resembled the outfit he wore at the recent ESPYs. Even mascot Bango donned a funky blue sport coat and plaid pants in Sager’s honor. … Michael Beasley missed his first game of the season with a left foot sprain.Milwaukee improved to 12-12, making the Central Division the only one in the NBA with every team at .500 or better.Not only does Milwaukee play the Bulls on consecutive nights, the Bucks also play back-to-back games against Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then against Washington on Dec. 23 and Dec. 26. ”Scouting reports are easy,” quipped Kidd.Milwaukee traded Michael Carter-Williams to the Bulls for Tony Snell on Oct. 17. Carter-Williams has missed the last 22 games for the Bulls with knee and wrist injuries, while Snell has started all but two games for the Bucks.

AFC GAMES: Pitt over CIN, KC over Tenn. HOU over Jax, BUFF over Cleve, E.Eng over DENV, Oak over SD
NFC GAMES: ATL over S.Fran, ARIZ over N.Orl
IN-CONF: BALT over Phil
THUR NIGHT: SEAT over L.A.Rams,
SAT NIGHT: Mia over NY Jets
SUN NIGHT: DAL over T.Bay
MON NIGHT: WASH over Car
NFC NORTH: MINN over Ind, Det over NYG, G.Bay over BEARS
ALL CAPS are HOME TEAMS

EVANSTON—Perhaps prematurely looking ahead to its marquee weekend, Northwestern nearly stumbled into a crushing midweek upset.The Wildcats needed several clutch baskets late Wednesday night to overcome a second-half deficit and defeat Chicago State 68-64.Vic Law led Northwestern (8-2) with 18 points, Sanjay Lumpkin had 11 rebounds and the Wildcats edged the Cougars for their fifth straight victory.

”Every time we started to get a little momentum, they came right back at us,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said. ”Every time we threw a punch, they came with a counterpunch.”

Fred Sims Jr. and Trayvon Palmer led Chicago State (3-7) with 22 and 18 points, respectively. They sparked a 20-6 run that left the Cougars ahead 52-50 with 8:06 remaining.Northwestern, which led by 14 at one point, jumped back ahead 54-52 with 6:07 remaining on Bryant McIntosh’s jumper, giving the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.The win capped a perfect five-game homestand for the Wildcats, whose next game will be at the United Center as part of the State Farm Chicago Legends. Illinois, BYU and Dayton are the other participants.

”I don’t want to say we disrespected them because we didn’t,” Collins said when asked whether his team overlooked the Cougars. ”We prepared. But was our energy the same as it’s been in other games? I think we had some critical breakdowns tonight.”

Anthony Eaves’ 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining moved Chicago State within three, but Northwestern scored on its next possession to secure the victory.

”When you play a seasoned team, they’re going to find a way to win,” Chicago State head coach Tracy Dildy said. ”And we just haven’t gotten there. When they needed a basket, they got that basket.”

The Cougars converted a season-best 13 3-pointers, and outrebounded Northwestern 40-33.McIntosh finished with 14 points and seven assists, and Scottie Lindsey scored 13.Northwestern is 11-0 all-time against Chicago State. The Wildcats set a season-high with 27 3-point attempts.NU, which ranked among the Big Ten’s leaders with a plus-2.4 turnover margin entering the night, held a 12-0 halftime advantage in that category, but was minus-4 in the second half.Lumpkin achieved several landmarks in Wednesday’s game, starting both his 100th career game at Northwestern and recording his 500th career rebound.Dildy, in his seventh year as head coach of the Cougars, remains tied with Bob Hallberg for the most Division-I wins at Chicago State. His record with the Cougars is 49-152.

NOTES—The Cougars are in the midst of a 12-game road swing that will take them through the calendar year. The Cougars, who will not return home until Jan. 5, are 1-5 through six games of the trip….The Wildcats finished their season-long homestand unblemished. The Wildcats, who do not open Big Ten play until Dec. 27 at Penn State, have won their last 19 nonconference home games….Chicago State faces DePaul at Allstate Arena on Saturday…..Northwestern will face Dayton in the United Center on Saturday.