Nikola Mirotic came in and started firing away. Lauri Markkanen took over in the second half.The sharp-shooting big men just overwhelmed the Indiana Pacers.Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points, Mirotic finished with 28 and the surging Bulls beat the Pacers 119-107 on Friday night for their third consecutive win.

”We just keep believing in each other and playing for each other,” Markkanen said.

Led by Mirotic and Markkanen, the Bulls made 18 of 39 3-point attempts in its 10th win in 12 games. Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis each scored 12 points, helping the Bulls to their seventh straight victory at home for their longest such streak since a seven-game run spanning two seasons in 2013.It was the first meeting between the teams since Indiana erased a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter of a 98-96 victory on Dec. 6. It was one of the low points so far this season for suddenly interesting Bulls (13-22), and they gained a measure of revenge by turning away another charge by the Pacers in the final period.

”Really since the last time we played Indiana on the road, when we had that devastating loss, our guys have really kind of found themselves, found each other,” coach Fred Hoiberg said.

Darren Collison scored 30 points for Indiana (19-17), which has dropped three in a row and four of six. Lance Stephenson had 18 points and nine rebounds, and Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points and nine boards.

”The effort was there sometimes, it just wasn’t there for a whole 48 minutes,” Collison said. ”We’ve got to do better, but we can’t keep saying that. At some point we’ve got to just go out there and do it.”

Stephenson started in place of Victor Oladipo, who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee and is doubtful for Sunday’s matchup with Minnesota. Oladipo, who is averaging a team-high 24.9 points in his first season with the Pacers, had an MRI that showed no structural damage.

”Basically what we’ve learned from that is that he needs some time,” coach Nate McMillan said. ”There’s some swelling.”

The Bulls also played without a key guard after Kris Dunn was scratched with left knee tendinitis. But Jerian Grant had 11 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds after he found out right before the game that he was in the starting lineup.

”I’ve started games before so it wasn’t too big of an adjustment,” Grant said. ”I was ready.”

The Bulls opened a 103-84 lead on David Nwaba’s layup with 7:46 left. Indiana then ripped off 11 of the next 14 points to close to 106-95 on Stephenson’s basket with 4:49 remaining.But Mirotic responded with a layup and Markkanen hit two free throws to run the Bulls’ lead back out to 15.

OKLAHOMA CITY—Even though he stepped out of bounds on the play, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s basket with 1.3 seconds left counted, and that’s all that mattered to the Milwaukee Bucks.Antetokounmpo scored 23 points – including what proved to be a questionable game-winning basket which he scored over Russell Westbrook- and the Bucks ended Oklahoma City’s six-game winning streak, beating the Thunder 97-95 on Friday night.Replays clearly showed Antetokounmpo stepped on the baseline on his drive. After a desperation heave by Westbrook fell short, Thunder coach Billy Donovan and several of his players pleaded for a review, but officials Derek Stafford, Ben Taylor and Leon Wood refused. Stafford later told a pool reporter that the play wasn’t reviewable.

”In any reviewable matter, there has to be a whistle called on the floor,” Stafford said. ”There was no whistle blown for the play, so we couldn’t review it.”

Donovan said the official told him they couldn’t’ review the play.Antetokounmpo said he hadn’t yet seen the replay and wasn’t aware that he’d stepped out of bounds.
”It was his ball to come up with a play for himself or make a play for someone else and we did the right thing,” Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd said of Antetokounmpo’s basket. ”I don’t understand the whole protest. I can only worry about the score and then them trying to put time on the clock, getting the guys prepared to have a last-second play.”

NORMAN—After another dazzling performance, Oklahoma point guard Trae Young declared it the ”best time to be a Sooner.”
He might be right.The freshman guard had 31 points and 12 assists to help 17th- ranked Oklahoma roll past Northwestern 104-78 on Friday night.Trae Young, the nation’s leader in scoring and assists, tied an NCAA record with 22 assists in a 105-68 victory over Northwestern State on Tuesday night. On Friday, he made 9 of 16 shots, including 8 of 13 3-point attempts, and became the first Oklahoma player since Stacey King in 1988-89 to post at least 10 straight games with 20 or more points.Christian James matched a career high with 19 points, all in the first half. Brady Manek and Jamuni McNeace each added 11 for the Sooners (10-1), who won their eighth straight since losing to Arkansas on Nov. 23.All signs looked good for the Sooners as they closed their pre-Big 12 schedule. They shot 61 percent from the field and scored at least 90 points for the eighth time in 11 games.

”I feel good about where we are at, but yet we got to keep working at it,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. ”We know how tough every night is going to be (in the Big 12). To be where we are right now is the guys playing with confidence, and that’s what you want, is guys playing with a high level of confidence and feeling good about what they are doing.”

Dererk Pardon had 17 points and nine rebounds for Northwestern (9-5), which had won four straight.The Sooners jumped to a 7-0 lead and forced NU to call a timeout 72 seconds into the game.It didn’t get much better for the Wildcats. Young got Sooners fans out of their seats with a lob to James for a dunk that gave the Sooners a 41-22 lead.Young hit a deep 3 in the final seconds of the first half to give the Sooners a 68-38 lead. He had 25 points and 10 assists before the break.Oklahoma made 14 of 20 3-point attempts in the first half.

”You have to put a lot of the attention on Trae because he’s so good, and the way those guys shoot, it’s hard,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. ”The spacing on the floor, they run good actions. Offensively, they’re a tremendous team.”
Kruger said it was a special first-half performance.
”That’s pretty rare of course,” Kruger said. ”You don’t plan on scoring 68 for sure. I liked the movement. They just took what came to them and they made good extra passes. They made shots. Trae and Christian that first half were unbelievable. Everybody stepped in and made good shots. A lot of confidence.”

Collins was reduced to trying to win the second half. Northwestern outscored the Sooners 40-36 after the break.

”It’s tough,” he said. ”At that point, you’re talking about pride more than anything. You’re down by 30, they’ve scored almost 70 points. You’re just trying to find your own pride in that second half. You have to come out and continue to compete and not roll over.”

: The Wildcats had no answer for Young, but no one has found one yet. Northwestern shot a respectable 45 percent and still got blown out.The Sooners entered the game leading the nation in scoring and upped their average.

CLEVELAND—Once Isaiah Thomas slipped on his jersey and headband those familiar, warm feelings washed over him.His agonizing wait is almost over.After seven months away, countless days of rehab and wonder if he would play again, Thomas was again on an NBA court Thursday night. And although he only took part in the pregame layup lane, it was more than enough.

”It was everything,” he said. ”I felt like a basketball player again.”

Thomas dressed for the first time since coming to Cleveland in a trade and cheered from the bench on as LeBron James scored 34 points to lead the Cavaliers to their 12th straight home game, 115-112 over the Bulls.Kevin Love added 27 to help the Cavs improve to 19-2 since Nov. 11.But the biggest development for Cleveland was Thomas, who moved even closer to making his debut with the Cavs after injuring his right hip in the playoffs last May while with Boston. Earlier in the day, Thomas scrimmaged with the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ G-League affiliate, before coming to Quicken Loans Arena. Thomas then put on his uniform, joined his teammates in their pregame prayer and took the floor for a warmup he won’t forget.

”It just felt like I was a rookie again, like my first game,” Thomas said. ”I haven’t been in an arena like that where you’re warming up, you’re with teammates, that’s so new right now. I’ve been down since May so just being out there put a smile on my face.”

Thomas won’t play in Cleveland’s next game – a Christmas Day marquee matchup with Golden State – but the Cavs won’t be without the All-Star point guard much longer. Thomas said his workout with Canton went well, and he’ll wait for Cleveland’s medical staff to clear him to play in a game.Thomas said facing the Warriors was never his goal.

”No, that was a target for my kids,” he said. ”So they mad, but I’m fine with it. I have no rhythm, so there is no way I can play in an actual game right now and be very effective like I’m used to being. Slowly that will come back and I’ll get a feel for it. I also gotta get in some shape. That was probably the toughest part today, the going up and down constantly, being a little winded.”

Dwyane Wade had three steals and two blocks in the fourth quarter for Cleveland, which improved to 3-0 against the Bulls this season

DALLAS–Ken Hitchcock’s 800th career win came against one of only two NHL coaches with more.Tyler Seguin scored two goals in the second period, Ben Bishop earned his 22nd career shutout and the Dallas Stars beat the Blackhawks 4-0 on Thursday night to help Hitchcock reach another milestone.After the game, he was quickly congratulated by Hawk counterpart Joel Quenneville, who ranks second on the career list with 868 coaching wins.”Congratulations from Joel means more than anything,” Hitchcock said. ”We’ve had so much mutual respect from each other and helped each other along the way when we were both kind of in the down and outs. Coming from him, it means more than the number.”

Bishop made 24 saves for his third shutout of the season. Jamie Benn scored the only goal of the first period, and Antoine Roussel scored barely a minute into the second before Seguin’s two goals made it 4-0.

”(Hitchcock) has coached so many games, you want to do good for him,” Roussel said, ”and you want to pick up as many things as you can from him. The details and the preparation from the game make us better.”

Dallas had lost its previous three games and the Hawks arrived with a five-game winning streak, but the Stars improved to 3-0 against the Blackhawks this season. Dallas moved two points ahead of Chicago in the Central Division.
”The other two were closer. It’s tough to lose in overtime or shootout, but tonight we just got embarrassed,” Brandon Saad said. ”These divisional games are huge.”
Corey Crawford stopped 18 shots. He won all five games during the Blackhawks’ streak, allowing only seven goals. Crawford hadn’t lost in regulation since Nov. 12.The Blackhawks dominated early. They had the best scoring chance at 11:44 of the first period when Connor Murphy’s wrist shot hit Bishop in the chest. On the rebound, the puck sat in the paint with an easy chance for Patrick Kane, but his tap-in hit the right post.

”Get some posts and some big blocks by the guys, especially, we were up 4-0 on the power play and we had four or five blocks,” Bishop said.

Quenneville viewed Benn’s goal at 17:11 of the first period as a turning point.

”We had a couple of really good looks in the first period. It really hurt us, two posts in the first period that could have put us in a better spot. I thought we lost a lot of gas when they did score,” he said.

The Stars blocked 29 shots. Dan Hamhuis led the team with five blocks and had two assists.

Marin Maric scored 22 points in 24 minutes off the bench and Max Strus scored 21, 16 in the first half, to lead DePaul over Miami (Ohio) 83-66 on Thursday night.Maric, who scored 16 points in the second half, hit 6 of 8 shots and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, while Strus made four 3-pointers. Eli Cain added 19 points, 15 in the second half, and Tre’Darius McCallum had 10 points and eight rebounds.The Blue Demons (7-5) bounced back from a two-point loss to Northwestern that ended a five-game winning streak.Nike Sibande scored 17 points, Darrian Ringo 15 and Jake Wright 12 for the RedHawks (7-5), who gave up 29 points off 25 turnovers.DePaul led by 17 with 11:17 left before Miami cut it to eight with 6 1/2 minutes to go. But Maric scored five points in a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 18.DePaul trailed by five midway through the first half but went on a 14-0 run that included eight points from Strus and five from Maric and led by nine at halftime.

Patrick Kane is finally on a roll, and so are the Blackhawks.Kane scored two slick goals, Corey Crawford made 27 saves and the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 Sunday night for their season-high fifth straight win.Kane, who has seven points in his last four games, connected on a one-timer and a breakaway to give him 14 goals this season and four in the last three games. The flashy forward’s 298th and 299th career goals moved him into fifth place in team history, ahead of Dennis Hull.

”That’s obviously my job, so that’s what I have to do,” Kane said, ”but more than that, you want to improve on your game, on your craft, every day.”

That craft is creating offense, and the 29-year-old star seems like he’s back in form.

”I know his game’s been getting better lately,” coach Joel Quenneville said. ”He’s getting hot. He’s getting the puck a lot. … With his game with the puck, he’s just so hard to defend.”

Ryan Hartman also scored, snapping a 17-game drought dating to Oct. 28. Tommy Wingels added a short-handed empty-netter as the Blackhawks followed up on a 5-1 win at Winnipeg on Thursday with another strong effort against a Central Division rival.

”I think everyone in here knows we can do it,” Crawford said. ”We’ve got a dangerous offense and our D are playing great. It’s been fun hockey.”

Matt Dumba scored at 5:56 of the third, spoiling Crawford’s shutout bid on a screened shot from the right point. The Wild dropped their second straight after a four-game winning streak.Alex Stalock made 42 saves his third straight start in place of Minnesota No. 1 goalie Devan Dubnyk, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury. He helped keep the Wild, who snuffed all six power-plays, close in this one.

”There’s a big difference between two goals and three goals,” Stalock said. ”One more big save it’s a whole different game.”

Dumba, a defenseman, has scored Minnesota’s last three goals to increase his total to six. He scored twice in the Wild’s 3-2 loss at home to Edmonton on Saturday.The Wild have scored just seven goals in their last four games.

”The guys are getting great chances and not getting results,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”I think they’re getting frustrated.”

The Wild outshot the Blackhawks 13-9 in the first and had the better chances, but Kane connected at 10:56 for the only goal of the period. Completing a rush and give-and-go with Nick Schmaltz, Kane ripped in a one-timer from the right circle as Stalock slid across the crease.Crawford came up with several sharp saves to preserve the lead, including a close-in stop on Charlie Coyle with 10 seconds left in the first.The Blackhawks dominated in the second, outshooting Minnesota 22-6. After Stalock stopped several prime chances,  the Hawwks took 2-0 lead on Kane’s second goal, capping a breakaway with 4:24 left.Hartman made it 3-0 at 1:41 of third as he picked up the puck along the left boards, plowed to the net and beat Stalock with a high shot on the stick side.Dumba cut it to 3-1 just over 4 minutes later when his drive from the blue line sailed through traffic and over Crawford’s right shoulder.Wingels backhanded in an long empty-netter to complete the scoring with 4 minutes left – and Stalock pulled for an extra attacker during a Minnesota power play.

NOTES—Jan Rutta missed his second game and D Cody Franson missed his fourth, both with injuries. … Slumping LW Richard Panik was a healthy scratch for the third straight game.

DETROIT—Matthew Stafford struck a balance between making plays and avoiding mistakes to keep the Detroit Lions in the playoff picture.Stafford threw two touchdown passes and didn’t have a turnover, helping Detroit beat the Bears 20-10 on Saturday night.

”It’s just trying to be as calculated as you can with those chances that you’re going to take,” he said. ”And, understanding the game situation.”

Detroit (8-6) has won two straight and needs to close the regular season with two more wins to keep its postseason hopes alive.

”We’ve got to win to stay in,” said tight end Eric Ebron, who caught Stafford’s second TD pass. ”If we win, we will hopefully make it to the playoffs. If not, then we get booted.”

Whether the Bears (4-10) win another game this season or not, they may end up giving coach John Fox the boot.The Bears have lost six of seven, sealing a third season with double-digit losses in three years under its embattled coach.Stafford threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TJ Jones to put Detroit up 13-0 with 6:10 left in the first half after Fox chose to punt on fourth-and-1 from the Bear 45.

”We were thinking about field position,” Fox said. ”It’s not a no-lose situation because if we don’t make it, they’ve got the ball at our 45. Like I said, you could go for it, but you have to know that it can come back and bite you.”

Stafford was 25 of 33 for 237 yards and didn’t throw an interception for the first time since Week 11. His 8-yard pass to Ebron gave Detroit a 20-3 lead early in the third quarter after Darius Slay’s first of two interceptions .Mitchell Trubisky had season highs in completions (31), attempts (46), yards passing (314) and interceptions (three) including one to safety Quandre Diggs in the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

”We have complete confidence in Mitch,” Fox said. ”And, we know that he’s going to have better days.”

Trubisky threw a 9-yard TD pass to Benny Cunningham to make it 20-10 with 2:32 left. After Fox chose not to try an onside kick, the Bears got the ball back 25 seconds later on their 6 and moved the ball to the Detroit 25 before Slay’s second interception ended their comeback hopes.

Lions receiver Marin Jones had three catches for 85 yards, including a 58-yard catch in which he raced across the field and leaped in front of safety Eddie Jackson to set up the TD pass to TJ Jones.

”When I saw him out of the corner of my eye, I didn’t think he was as close as he was,” Jackson said. ”By the time I jumped, he was on to me already.”

Marvin Jones has single-season, career-high 18 catches of 20-plus yards this season.The Bears ran for just 43 yards on 15 carries after having a season-high 232 yards rushing in last week’s 33-7 win at Cincinnati, forcing them to throw a lot with Trubisky.

Northwestern reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history last season and won memorable games along the way.Yet coach Chris Collins described his team’s 62-60 win over DePaul on Saturday as one of his more gratifying victories based on obstacles the Wildcats had to overcome.Vic Law, already battling an illness, missed nearly half the game due to a head injury. The Wildcats battled foul problems, and Bryant McIntosh shot 2 for 17.

”This was one of my proudest wins during my tenure at Northwestern,” Collins said. ”There was a lot going against us today. First and foremost was DePaul’s play.”

Scottie Lindsey scored 25 points and made two big baskets in the final 1:36 to rally Northwestern.Law added nine points for the Wildcats (8-4), who have won three straight.Max Strus scored a career-high 33 for the Blue Demons (6-5), who saw their five-game win streak snapped.Strus was voted the Waldo Fisher-Frank McGrath Award winner as the game’s MVP by the Media.The Wildcats overcame 18 turnovers and 40 percent shooting from the field after winning their first two games of the week by a combined 99 points over Chicago State and Valparaiso.NU took its first lead since 16-14 on Isiah Brown’s 3-pointer with 12:04 left for a 44-43 edge. Lindsey’s 3 extended the Wildcats’ lead to 51-47 during a 20-8 run.Strus hit a 3 to pull DePaul within a point with 3:44 remaining. Jordan Ash scored after a turnover to stretch the Wildcats’ lead to 57-54.Lindsey nailed a jumper with 1:36 left and a 3 for a five-point edge with 55 seconds remaining.
”My team needed me to hit shots and close the game, so that’s what I did,” Lindsey said.

Strus made three free throws with 35 seconds left to pull DePaul within two before Northwestern turned the ball over. Eli Cain – who shot 1 for 10 – missed a driving layup at the buzzer for the Blue Demons.
”We wanted to get the ball in (Strus’) hands,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. ”For reasons, I’ve got to look at the film whether he was open or not open, whatever the case may be, he didn’t get it.”

Strus set his previous career high of 24 on Dec. 9 against UIC.

”He’s in such good shape. He just runs,” Collins said of Strus, comparing his spirit to former Duke player J.J. Redick.

The Blue Demons made just 9 of 24 free throws (37.5 percent).

”They just don’t tell the whole story of the game,” Leitao said.
The Wildcats are playing four area teams (including Chicago State, Valpo and Lewis) in nine days before hitting the road to play Oklahoma on Dec. 22. The Blue Demons have already faced three Big Ten teams this season, losing 82-73 to Illinois and 73-51 to No. 2 Michigan State. DePaul begins Big East play against top-ranked Villanova on Dec. 27.Collins said Law was ”doing fine” and conscious after suffering a head injury one minute into the second half.Collins admired DePaul’s new, 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena. Attendance was 7,001.

”It’s a great atmosphere,” he said. ”It gets me excited for our future, what we’ve got coming next year, gets me a little jealous.”

NU’s Welsh-Ryan Arena is undergoing a $110 million renovation.DePaul leads the all-time series 20-13, but Northwestern is 10-7 against the Blue Demons since 1987.