The Houston Rockets nailed plenty of 3-pointers early and late, and the lull in between couldn’t prevent them from picking up a win they certainly needed.Eric Gordon and Chris Paul each had 24 points and nine assists, Gerald Green scored 22 and the Rockets beat the Bulls 116-107 on Monday night despite blowing a 21-point lead.Trevor Ariza added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, who had lost seven of nine.The fact that they’ve been without NBA scoring leader James Harden lately hasn’t made things easier. He missed his fourth straight game because of a strained hamstring.It helps when the freewheeling Rockets are connecting from long range. They made 20 of 54 3-pointers despite a big lull in the middle quarters, with Ariza draining six in the game and Green and Gordon each hitting four.The Rockets went 8 of 13 in the first quarter and 7 of 16 in the fourth. In between, they were 5 of 25.Clint Capela added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Houston won for the second time in four games without Harden.Bobby Portis led the Bulls with 22 points. Denzel Valentine and Kris Dunn each scored 19, but the Bulls lost for the fifth time in six games.

”I think we’re definitely improving,” Dunn said. ”The chemistry is there.”

Houston nearly put this one away early, going up by 21 late in the first quarter after Paul’s four-point play. But the Bulls got more physical and went ahead in the third.The Rockets regrouped, scoring eight straight to stretch a two-point lead to 10 late in the quarter. Back-to-back 3s by Green and Paul made it 87-76 going into the fourth.The Bulls had no update after forward Zach LaVine and his representatives met Monday with management, coaches and medical staff to set a date for his Bears debut. Vice president of basketball operations John Paxson figures to give one when he meets with the media on Tuesday.Acquired along with Dunn and Lauri Markkanen in the draft-night trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, Lavine appears ready to play for the first time since he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last February. The two-time slam dunk champion averaged 18.9 points in 47 games for the Timberwolves last season.Nikola Mirotic missed the game because of a stomach virus that’s been bothering him the past few days. Fred Hoiberg said Mirotic ”felt much better” prior to playing 23 minutes at Indiana on Saturday but took a bad turn after that game. He saw a doctor on Monday. … Hoiberg said G Cameron Payne, recovering from a broken right foot, is cleared to do ”pretty much everything except jumping.” Payne had surgery in September and has not played this season.

The first regulation win of Anton Forsberg’s career was a big one for the goaltender and the Blackhawks.Forsberg made 32 saves, Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat scored in the first period, and the Blackhawks beat the slumping Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Sunday.Brandon Saad and Jordan Oesterle also scored for the Blackhawks (20-15-6), which got its first home win since a 4-1 victory against Minnesota on Dec. 17. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to four games.Forsberg got his second win in just his 10th start of his first season with the Hawks. Forsberg had been the backup all year, but his role had come into question after Jeff Glass came up from the minors and played well with starter Corey Crawford sidelined by an upper-body injury.

”Obviously every goalie wants to play as much as possible, and I’m not any different there,” Forsberg said. ”I don’t think it’s any different now. I still want to play good, if (Crawford) is here or not. I’m trying to do my job as good as possible, same as before.”

Edmonton (18-22-3) has dropped six of seven, including a 5-1 loss at Dallas on Saturday. The Oilers have been outscored 20-3 in their last five games.

”It’s a humbling game,” forward Milan Lucic said. ”There are times we’re on Cloud 9 and times where we’re at the bottom of the barrel. I don’t think the last two games, probably more so yesterday than today, was a lack of effort. It’s just some minor mistakes that lead to big goals against.”

Darnell Nurse’s sharp-angled backhander trimmed the lead to 2-1 at 4:12 of the second. Jujhar Khaira got a look at the tying goal after Brent Seabrook’s turnover with about six minutes left in the period, but Forsberg smothered his shot.The Hawks top line of Vinnie Hinostroza, Toews and Saad then combined for a big play in the final seconds of the second. Hinostroza got the puck up to Toews, who muscled his way toward the net before shaking free for a shot that Saad deflected past Talbot at 19:50.Oesterle added his third of the season midway through the third. Talbot finished with 25 saves.

”We got beat in a number of areas, so that combined with the confidence level we have right now is very poor timing,” Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. ”That didn’t set us up for a lot of success in the third.”

The Blackhawks were coming off a disappointing 5-4 loss to expansion Vegas on Friday night, prompting coach Joel Quenneville to shuffle his lineup for the final game of the first half of the season. Defensemen Connor Murphy and Cody Franson were benched in favor of Michal Kempny and Jan Rutta, and John Hayden was a healthy scratch with Ryan Hartman returning from an upper-body injury.The Blackhawks got off to a slow start against the Golden Knights and then blew a 4-3 lead in the third period. They were much better in the first against the Oilers.Schmaltz jumped on a loose puck and slipped a backhand through Talbot’s legs for a 1-0 lead at 8:03, extending his goal streak to three straight games with his 10th of the season. The Hawks then caught a break when DeBrincat’s centering pass went off the right skate of Edmonton forward Mark Letestu and past Talbot for the rookie’s 14th goal at 9:29.

”It’s huge, especially after last game,” Saad said. ”We weren’t happy with the way we played. Moving on here today, we knew this was a big game against a good team. I think we played a pretty good 60 minutes.”

NOTES—Quenneville had no update on Crawford and C Artem Anisimov, who also is out with an injury. Neither player has skated since they were placed on injured reserve.

NEW YORK—Jeff Glass is starting to get comfortable in goal for the Blackhawks.Glass, the 32-year old rookie who bounced around the hockey world before finally reaching the NHL last month, made 23 saves to lead the Hawks to a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
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‘This is my chance right now,” Glass said after securing his second career NHL victory. ”We played a strong game as a unit, I just did my part. It was a lot of fun out there.”

Patrick Sharp broke a tie early in the third period as the Blackhawks concluded a six-game trip. Nick Schmaltz, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane also scored.

”Contributing offensively is to be expected from every line,” Sharp said. ”We’re more than capable of doing it but more than anything, I thought we played real stingy tonight and didn’t give up a whole lot so that was one of the keys tonight.”

Nick Holden and Mika Zibanejad scored for New York in the Rangers’ second regulation loss at home since Nov. 28.New York struggled to get through the neutral zone most of the evening and only converted one power play chance on six opportunities in their first game back since the Winter Classic at Citi Field.

”I saw one team playing hockey and the other chasing the whole night,” Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said. ”It’s really disappointing. We know we are coming off a big emotional win and a big stage but we’re almost at the halfway point of the season where we need to start playing with some consistency and we didn’t give ourselves a chance there. They were able to do whatever they wanted. We didn’t finish checks, slow them down, their speed. They had time and space and we left our goalie out to dry.”

Glass, a well-traveled hockey veteran has played on six Kontinental Hockey League teams and three American Hockey League teams before being called up on Dec. 27 when Corey Crawford was placed on injured reserve.

”I think Glasser came in and gave us a little jolt of personality and energy,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. ”After coming out of three tough games going into the break, coming out of it not the way you want to be playing on the road. We’ll go back home, we showed a lot better of an effort. I liked the response, the way we finished up the trip.”

Sharp, a three-time Cup winner with the Hawks, who returned this season after spending the previous two years in Dallas, scored at 2:24 of the third when his wrist shot sailed past goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s glove.

”I saw a lot of good things, a lot of the speed in the game,” Joel Quenneville said. ”We got to a lot of pucks first. We did a lot of good things, we were more disciplined than we’ve been in maybe any other game. We found a way to kill some big penalties.”

Hinostroza opened the scoring with 3:51 left in the first period. After an offensive zone faceoff win, Toews retrieved a loose puck in the corner and slipped a backhand pass to Hinostroza.The Rangers tied it two minutes later when Nick Holden fired a slap shot from the right point past Glass.The Hawks took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Nick Schmaltz converted a breakaway. Rangers defenseman, Marc Staal, inadvertently put the puck in his own net before knocking the net off the moorings.

DeMar DeRozan had 35 points, Delon Wright set career highs with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and the Raptors beat the Bulls 124-115 on Wednesday night.DeRozan came up big again after scoring a franchise-record 52 points in a win over Milwaukee on New Year’s Day. He was particularly good in the third quarter this time, scoring 18 points after being held to nine in the first half. DeRozan also shot 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and converted all 10 free throws.Wright had his first career double-double and hit four 3s to lead a big effort by the bench. He scored 12 in the second quarter and eight more points in the fourth to help Toronto pull away for its ninth win in 11 games.Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry scored 16 apiece for Toronto. Fred VanVleet, from nearby Rockford, added 13 points, and the Raptors’ reserves outscored the Bulls 54-39.Justin Holiday led the Home team with 26 points, and Lauri Markkanen added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic scored 20, but the Bulls dropped their third straight.The Bulls looked sharp early on, with a 10-point lead after the first quarter. But they couldn’t sustain their edge on defense and were impatient on offense – particularly the second unit.

ROSEMONT—Glynn Watson Jr. knew he needed to step up after two quiet games and give Nebraska a lift.This will do.Watson scored 19 points and Nebraska took control down the stretch to beat Northwestern 70-55 on Tuesday night.

”It’s just on me,” Watson said. ”I’ve got to get focused.”

Held to a total of three points over the previous two games against UT San Antonio and Delaware State, he sure was locked in for this one. Watson also had six rebounds and six assists.James Palmer Jr. added 18 points, 15 in the second half, and Isaac Copeland scored 13.The Cornhuskers (11-5, 2-1 Big Ten) blocked 14 shots, one shy of their record, on the way to their fourth straight win.Dererk Pardon had 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for Northwestern (10-6, 1-2). But the Wildcats shot just 29 percent from the field (19 of 65) and were 6 of 21 on 3-pointers.It didn’t help that star guard Bryant McIntosh watched from the sideline after exiting Saturday’s win over Brown with a left knee injury. He is day to day after an MRI showed no major structural damage.

”If you take our main creator out, we become a team that has to really score off our offense,” coach Chris Collins said. ”Because that’s not a strength of what a lot of our guys do. They’re good players, but when you have a guy like Bryant, he can break you down (off the dribble) he can play in pick-and-roll and obviously that’s a big element of what we do. But you have to play with what you have. I’m not making excuses. That’s part of the game.”

Nebraska coach Tim Miles acknowledged McIntosh’s absence allowed his team to take some more chances on defense, to be more disruptive. And they certainly were able to fluster the Wildcats. Then again, Northwestern also missed its share of open shots, particularly on the perimeter.Despite all that, the Wildcats led by seven early in the second half. Nebraska then took control and ended a four-game losing streak to Northwestern.The Cornhuskers are starting to build some momentum after back-to-back losses to Creighton and Kansas.Northwestern: The Wildcats continue to struggle to find consistency coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance.The Cornhuskers went on a 16-5 run to go up 41-36. Law cut it to 41-40 with a basket and two free throws, but the Cornhuskers pulled away after that.

Anton Gill made a 4-point play with just under eight minutes left, and Collins said, ”They got a lot of energy from that.”

Isaac Copeland got fouled on a put-back and hit the free throw to complete the 3-point play, making it 54-45 with 6:13 remaining. And James Palmer nailed a 3 to make it 59-49 with 3:32 left.

Jessie Govan scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and Marcus Derrickson added 24 points as Georgetown fought off DePaul 90-81 to get its first Big East win of the season on Tuesday night.

Govan had nine of his 17 second-half points in the final 4:45, including four free throws in the final seconds to seal the win. He made 8-of-12 field-goal attempts and was 9 of 12 from the line.

Derrickson was 6 of 15 from the field, but made all 10 of his free-throw attempts. Jahvon Blair added 15 points for Georgetown (11-3, 1-2), which started the season 10-1. The Hoyas opened conference play with losses to Butler and Marquette.The Blue Demons made four more field goals than Georgetown, but the Hoyas outscored DePaul 31-14 from the free-throw line.The Hoyas were up 54-44 when Max Strus, who finished with 19 points, scored seven straight DePaul points to start a 16-7 run, capped by Marin Maric’s dunk, as the Blue Demons closed to 61-60 with 9:44 left. The Hoyas answered by scoring 11 points in a row to pull ahead 72-60.Maric and Tre’Darius McCallum had 18 points apiece for DePaul (7-8, 0-3).

If C.J. McCollum finds a shot he likes, he won’t hesitate to take it.McCollum proved it Monday night when he scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime, including the tiebreaking basket with 56.5 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the  Bulls 124-120.Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 24 points and Evan Turner also had his season best with 22 for Portland, which was without leading scorer Damian Lilliard for a fifth straight game.Kris Dunn scored 22 points and Nikola Mirotic had 18 points off the bench for the Bulls, who blew a late lead for a second straight game. The Bulls lost for only the fourth time in 14 games since Mirotic returned to the lineup.Though he missed his first seven shots, McCollum was pivotal as Portland rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. McCollum scored the final four points in regulation to tie the score at 112 and answered after Lauri Markannen, who finished with 19 points, made a jumper from the corner that tied it at 120 with 1:14 left in overtime.McCollum then made his short floater and added a pair of late free throws.

LAKE FOREST—No shock in that John Fox was officially dismissed as Bears Head Coach by GM Ryan Pace.As the Bears try to recover from a decade of poor drafting by building a new foundation that’ll allow them to finally compete again in the crowded NFC North, they’ve decided to pace themselves on their march toward relevancy. Despite posting a 14-34 record in his three seasons as the Bears’ general manager and despite firing his first coaching hire, John Fox, earlier on Monday, Ryan Pace landed a contract extension that’ll keep him in Chicago through 2021.Pace will get his chance to see his plan through.Fox of course also had a 14-34 Coaching record, second worst winning percentage in Bears history, only to Abe Gibron.

“He’s earned the opportunity to see his plan to fruition,” Bears team president Ted Phillips told reporters a day after the Bears wrapped up a 5-11 season.

Pace isn’t losing any power either. He confirmed that he will be allowed to make the final decision on the Bears’ next coaching hire. Eagles QB coach John DeFilippo, Vikings OC Pat Shurmur, Panthers DC Steve Wilks emerge in the Bears’ Head Coaching search.Fox was never good with the media, and in fact walked out on his postgame media session in Minneapolis after two consecutive questions about his job security. He and Lovie Smith had THAT in common.

ORLANDO—Notre Dame receiver Miles Boykin lived up to Brian Kelly’s expectations.The Fighting Irish’s head coach told the junior during a practice leading up to Monday’s Citrus Bowl game against LSU that Boykin was going to win the MVP trophy.Boykin made not only one of the top plays of this bowl season but one of the more memorable catches in Notre Dame bowl history. He made a dynamic one-handed grab and raced down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown with 1:28 remaining to give the 14th-ranked Fighting Irish a 21-17 victory over No. 16 LSU.The win by Notre Dame (10-3) is its first in a New Year’s Day bowl since the 1994 Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M and snaps a nine-game skid in January postseason games.

”He looked at me like I had two heads. But I felt like he had a chance,” said Kelly about his prediction. ”He’s got the ability, if we could get him the football. And Ian got him the football and Miles made a great individual play and, lo and behold, I’ve got the MVP sitting next to me.”

Boykin had only nine catches for 151 yards and a TD coming into the game, but he got his first start after starters Chase Claypool (shoulder injury) and Kevin Stephenson (suspension) were ruled out.Boykin showed off his wide-catch radius on what proved to be the game-winning play. On first-and-10 from the Irish 45, Ian Book lofted a pass up the right sideline that Boykin was able to snag with his right hand at the LSU 33, eluding corner Donte Jackson. Boykin then broke a tackle attempt by Donte Jackson at the LSU 26 before finding a clear path to the end zone.

”Ian put it in place where only I could reach it,” said Boykin, who finished with three receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. ”It was a great pass and I was just lucky enough to pull it down on one hand. I’ve got pretty big hands.”

LSU coach Ed Orgeron said that Boykin made a great grab but lamented his defense’s other struggles on the play.

”We had our best cover guy on him (Jackson) but he’s a big receiver,” he said after the Tigers finished the season 9-4. ”We had two guys on him and missed the tackle. That’s what I’m mostly disappointed with.”

Book entered the game in the second quarter after Brandon Wimbush struggled moving the offense. The sophomore was 14 of 19 for 164 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.Book’s first touchdown came early in the fourth quarter. With Notre Dame trailing 14-6, he found Michael Young in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score. Josh Adams then scored on a two-point conversion to tie it.

”It was an awesome opportunity, such a surreal moment that last play with Miles,” Book said. ”We knew it was going to be a close game. We just had to stay composed and do what we have been doing since January.”

The game lacked drama the first three quarters. It was scoreless until four seconds remained in the first half when a Justin Yoon 46-yard field goal gave Notre Dame a 3-0 halftime lead.LSU’s Danny Etling was 19 of 33 for 229 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns to Derrius Guice. Guice, who was the MVP of last year’s game, had 98 yards on 21 carries. Kelly joins Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz as the only Fighting Irish coaches to have three double-digit win seasons at the school.

MINNEAPOLIS—The Minnesota Vikings and their dominant defense can finally rest.They’ve made a convincing case they’re a strong contender for the Super Bowl that happens to be on their home turf.Latavius Murray rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns , and the Vikings held the Bears to 86 total yards through three quarters on their way to wrapping up a first-round bye for the playoffs with a 23-10 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

”We wanted to finish this season off right,” Murray said.

Stefon Diggs caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown from Case Keenum for the Vikings (13-3), who reached 13 wins for only the second time in the history of the 57-year-old franchise after holding a second straight opponent without an offensive touchdown.

”You respect everybody who played the game and came before us,” Diggs said, ”but all those wins that we’ve had in the past, even today, they don’t matter anymore because it all could end.”

As long as this defense that entered the final regular-season game with the fewest points and yards allowed in the NFL this season is intact, the Vikings will be all the more likely to stick around.

”We’ve got a lot of good players. They understand the system and what their responsibility is, and they play very, very hard,” coach Mike Zimmer said. ”They’ve got this little edge about them right now, that they don’t want to give an inch.”

Mitchell Trubisky finished his rookie season with a turnover-free game, completing 20 of 36 passes for 178 yards. He failed, however, to guide the Bears (5-11) across the goal line despite 11 plays from the 10-yard line or closer in the fourth quarter.

”I just got more comfortable as the weeks went on,” Trubisky said. ”Just to play my game, be a leader on this team and help the offense grow and get better, but we’ve got to find a way to have a chance to win at the end of games.”

Trubisky also took a safety in the second quarter on an intentional grounding call when Danielle Hunter and Linval Joseph closed in on a sack in the end zone and he side-armed a throw between the two pass rushers.

”He just tossed it as if he was scared or something,” Hunter said.

Well, could you blame him?
”Nah!” Hunter said.Keenum said 13-3 had ”a nice ring to it.” The Vikings finished 12-2 four times with a 14-game schedule (in 1969, 1970, 1973 and 1975), but the only other time they’ve topped 12 victories was their 15-1 record in 1998.

”This place is crazy hard for teams to come in and play, especially with our defense. So I’m excited. I think this place is going to be rocking,” Keenum said.

In what could have been the final game for coach John Fox, who’s 14-34 in three seasons, the Bears didn’t cross midfield until the fourth quarter and totaled only 30 yards rushing. They were penalized 10 times for 116 yards and went 1 for 14 on third and fourth down conversions.Fox refused to address his status, leaving the podium in less than two minutes after a terse postgame news conference. The Bears are 1-5 against each of their three NFC North foes under Fox.