Mike Conley and Marc Gasol each scored 27 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 98-91 win against the Bulls on Wednesday night.Conley and Gasol scored 18 of the team’s 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies held off the Bulls, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.Memphis, which had lost five straight before winning Monday, earned its second straight win.The Bulls never led in the second half, but Nikola Mirotic had a pair of tying 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Both were answered by Gasol, his teammate on the Spanish national team.The Bulls were without Dwyane Wade down the stretch after he injured his right elbow with 8:34 remaining. He did not return.Rajon Rondo scored 17 points to lead the Bulls.

CHAMPAIGN—Malcolm Hill scored 25 points, Leron Black had a double-double and Jamall Walker picked up a win in his debut as the interim coach for Illinois, an 82-57 romp over short-handled Valparaiso in an opening game of the NIT on Tuesday night.Hill made 7 of 12 shots, including four 3-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws and became the fourth player to surpass 1,800 points for the Illini (19-14), who are seeded second in their bracket and are home against Boise State next. Black had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.Walker served as an assistant to head coach John Groce for five seasons until Croce was fired on Saturday.Tevonn Walker had 25 points for Valparaiso (24-9), which reached last year’s NIT title game. The Crusaders were without Horizon League player of the year Alec Peters, the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, who started all 134 games of his career before an injury sidelined him prior to the last regular season game.Hill and Black combined for 24 points and the Illini shot 53 percent, including 5 of 10 behind the arc, to lead 41-24 at the half. Valpo pulled within 15 early in the second half, but got no closer.

MONTREAL—Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford likes facing the Canadiens in Montreal.Crawford made 40 saves and the Hawks defeated the Canadiens 4-2 on Tuesday night to take the lead atop the Western Conference standings.

”Playing here in front of family and friends is always special,” said Crawford, who has never lost to the Habs in regulation time (7-0-2).Its just enjoy it. It’s always good.”

Crawford withstood a flurry of shots at the end of the first period to preserve the lead after Patrick Kane made it 1-0.Kane finished with a goal and two assists and is tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid with 76 points for tops in the NHL.In the second period, Crawford took Shea Weber’s slap shot off his mask from just a few feet out. The Blackhawks goalie was stunned but stayed in the game.

”I didn’t have any time to get out of the way,” said Crawford, who was coming off a season-best 42-save effort against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday. ”Hard shot. I tried to take the angle away. He smoked me there.”

Crawford was going for a shutout but was beaten twice in the third period. Paul Byron slapped a bouncing puck over his shoulder at 12:42 before Weber scored on a slap shot from the point at 16:32.

”It got a little tight there at the end, but big two points for us against a big team,” said Crawford, who faced 18 shots in the third. ”We were pretty good all game. We had a lot of chances.It’s a great win, especially in this building.”

Carey Price, who made 20 saves, became the third Montreal goaltender to reach the 500-game milestone.Only Patrick Roy (551) and Jacques Plante (556) have played more games between the pipes for Montreal.But playing the Blackhawks isn’t easy for the Canadiens, who haven’t beaten the Blackhawks since 2014 (0-6-1).Crawford has never conceded more than two goals in a game against Montreal – his highest save percentage against any opponent.

”Getting that first goal is just taking us too long,” said Byron, who has 19 goals on the season. ”We can’t wait until the end of the third period to get going. We’re all trying hard and doing the right thing. We just have to focus on getting one earlier.”

After Kane’s opener in the first, the Hawks got goals from Johnny Oduya, Artemi Panarin and Jonathan Toews, into the empty net.Montreal’s Alexei Emelin was at fault on the Blackhawks’ first three goals.Kane scored in the first period after Emelin couldn’t control the puck at center ice.In the second period, the Canadiens defenseman collided with his teammate just moments before Oduya made it 2-0.Emelin was again to blame for Hawks third goal when he inexplicably changed sides mid-rush, leaving Panarin all alone in front of the goal.With time on his side, Panarin roofed the puck on Price 47 seconds into the third period. Emelin finished the game with a minus-3 rating.

”The mistakes that we made, they capitalized on,” said Jeff Petry, who was on a defensive pairing with Emelin.

”We have to communicate, to know who’s going for the puck and who’s picking the net-front guy. The communication wasn’t there tonight.

”I’m definitely not happy with the outcome of the game.”

Artem Anisimov left the game in the first period with a left leg injury after Alexander Radulov fell on him. He did not return.

NOTES—Defenseman Brandon Davidson, acquired at the trade deadline, got his second start with Montreal, replacing Nathan Beaulieu on the blue line. . The Clarkson Cup-winning Canadiennes de Montreal (CWHL) were honored in a pregame ceremony….The Blackhawks travel to Ottawa and face the Senators on Thursday night.

CHARLOTTE—Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo had a season-high 20 in his return to the starting lineup and the Bulls beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-109 on Monday night to snap a season-high, five-game losing streak.Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler each had 23 points for the Bulls (32-35), who got a needed win to boost their hopes of earning the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.Mirotic, who didn’t play in the Bulls loss to Boston on Sunday, had five 3-pointers, while Rondo provided the spark for the Bulls in his first start since Dec. 30. Along with hitting a season-high three 3-pointers, he had six assists and seven rebounds.Jeremy Lamb scored 26 points filling in for Nic Batum (migraine), while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 22 and Kemba Walker 21 for the struggling Hornets. Marvin Williams had 13 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds.Looking to provide an early spark to his struggling offense, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg went with Rondo over Jerian Grant as the starting point guard. The move couldn’t have worked better, as the Bulls scored 36 points in the first quarter – two shy of their season high – after knocking down 8 of 13 3-pointers.Rondo had three of those 3-pointers and added three assists as the Bulls built a 12-point, first-quarter lead.The Hornets battled back from 16 points down to tie the game in the third quarter at 69 but could never take the lead. Every time Charlotte got close, Mirotic seemed to come up with a big basket.

NOTES—The Bulls made 11 of their first 19 3-pointers, but cooled off significantly after the middle of the second quarter, finishing 14 of 40 from beyond the arc. … Outscored the Hornets 18-2 on fast-break points. … Wade, Rondo and Butler were all 8 of 15 from the field…..Frank Kaminsky returned after missing the last five games with a sprained AC joint. … Carolina Panthers perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Luke Kuechly had a front row seat to the game along with Panthers coach Ron Rivera….The Bulls return home to face Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

CHAMPAIGN—A day after Illinois fired coach John Groce and three days after its NCAA tournament hopes vanished, the Illini accepted a bid to play in the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed.The Illini (18-14) will play No. 7 seed Valparaiso in the first round Tuesday at the State Farm Center. This marks the third time in the last four years Illinois has played in the NIT, going 1-2 in that span.Illinois had worked its way back into NCAA tournament consideration with a four-game winning streak late in the season, but a loss at Rutgers in the regular-season finale and a 20-point loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament dashed any hopes.Athletic director Josh Whitman said he decided Thursday to dismiss Groce, who had been in Champaign for five seasons, and Whitman announced the decision Saturday. Assistant coach Jamall Walker was promoted to interim head coach.Vaparaiso (24-8, 14-4) tied for first in the Horizon League in the regular season but lost potential NBA draft pick Alec Peters late in the season to a stress fracture in his right leg.The winner will advance to play No. 3 seed Utah or No. 6 Boise State.Illinois State was considered an NCAA tournament bubble team, but the Redbirds were left out despite a strong RPI and a win against Wichita State. They earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT and will face No. 8 UC Irvine on Wednesday at Redbird Arena in Normal.The other No. 1 seeds were California, Iowa and Syracuse.In an twist, Syracuse will face UNC Greensboro. During the ACC tournament in New York, Orange coach Jim Boeheim ripped that city as a former host site, saying, “There’s no value to playing in Greensboro. None.”

EVANSTON—Northwestern earned its first NCAA Tournament berth Sunday, picked as the 8-seed in the West Region. When the Wildcats heard their name called on the CBS Sports Selection Show, fans and players went absolutely insane with excitement at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats will face No. 9 seed Vanderbilt on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Here are the facts, and boy do they bear repeating: Northwestern’s last winning Big Ten record came in 1968. Before 2015-16, Northwestern had never won 20 games in a regular season; it had never broken the 20-win threshold, period. The first NCAA tournament was held in 1939 in Evanston, Illinois. The NCAA tournament has included at least 64 teams for 32 years. Northwestern was the only power conference team in college basketball history — the only one — never to make the NCAA tournament.It is almost impossible to fathom the epochal end these 2016-17 Wildcats represent. Compare them to the Cubs if you like, but then imagine if the Cubs went 100 years without once making the playoffs. That’s what we’re talking about here. That’s how winning 21 games in the regular season, finishing 10-8 in the Big Ten, and sliding into the back half of a 68-team NCAA tournament field makes you legendary. And don’t get it twisted: Whatever happens later this week, Chris Collins and his players are already legends.

BOSTON—This was a disgrace as thge Bulls litterly stunk out the joint at TG Garden! Worst outing of a miserable season! Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points as it circled TD Garden, leading the Boston Celtics over the Bulls 100-80 Sunday and sending the the visitors to their season-high fifth straight loss.The Celtics rushed to a 13-0 lead, shutting out the Bulls until Dwyane Wade’s jumper nearly six minutes into the game.Thomas, the team’s leading scorer at 29.2 points per game, played only 24 minutes and sat the entire final quarter. He had some fun with the fans in the closing minutes of the blowout, taking part with teammate Jae Crowder in the crowd’s cheer.Avery Bradley had 17 points and Marcus Smart and Al Horford both added 12, and no Boston starter played more than 32 minutes.Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine paced the Bulls with 13 points apiece. Wade scored only eight points and Jimmy Butler had five.

Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin scored on the Blackhawks first two shots, Corey Crawford made 42 saves and the Hawks defeated Minnesota 4-2 on Sunday to pull within a point of the Central Division-leading Wild.Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marian Hossa also scored for the Blackhawks, who ended a two-game slide and won for the 13th time in their last 16. Kane’s goal was his team-leading 30th and 10th in eight games.Eric Staal scored his 22nd goal and Mikael Granlund got his 23rd for Minnesota, which has dropped three of four. Minnesota outshot the Blackhawks 44-22 for a season high allowed by the Blackhawks.Minnesota goaltender Devan Dubnyk, looking for his career-high 37th win, was relieved by Darcy Kuemper less than five minutes into the game after allowing those early goals.Dubnyk replaced Kuemper for the third period of the Wild’s previous game, a 7-4 win at Florida on Friday night.The Blackhawks finished 3-1 against Minnesota in the regular season. The Blackhawks and Wild have met in the postseason three times – in 2013, 2014 and 2015 – and the Hawks won all three series and twice went on to win the Stanley Cup.Set up by Panarin, Kane opened the scoring just 51 seconds in from the edge of the right circle on a shot that deflected off defenseman Marco Scandella.Panarin made it 2-0 at 4:38 on a rising one-timer from the slot that sailed over Dubnyk’s blocker. That prompted coach Bruce Boudreau to summon Kuemper.Crawford was sharp in the second period, stopping all 20 shots he faced. Meanwhile, van Riemsdyk scored at 5:28 during a delayed penalty to increase the Hawks lead to 3-1.Minnesota’s Ryan White pulled down Jordin Tootoo along the left boards. Play continued and Marcus Kruger stepped in and fed the loose puck to van Riemsdyk, who had streaked to the edge of the crease.

NOTES—Minnesota C Martin Hanzal missed the game with an illness. Wild C Jordan Schroeder moved back in the lineup after being scratched in four straight. … Blackhawks veteran defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya were back in the lineup and paired together after getting a night off in a 4-2 loss at Detroit on Friday….The game started at 11:30 a.m. and was played before a season-high United Center crowd of 22,147. … Tomas Jurco was a healthy scratch for the first time since being acquired from Detroit on Feb. 24. … The Blackhawks signed 22-year-old F John Hayden, 22, one of their top prospects after he concluded his senior year at Yale…..The Blackhawks are at Montreal on Tuesday to start a three-game Canadian trip that also takes them to Ottawa and Toronto.

WASHINGTON—Going up against Wisconsin’s defense is a challenge under almost any circumstance. When the opposition is playing its third game in three days, it’s a mismatch.And so it was Saturday, when the Badgers harassed and hounded weary Northwestern in a 76-48 victory that thrust No. 24 Wisconsin into the Big Ten Tournament championship game for the third time in five years.Nigel Hayes scored 18 points and Ethan Happ added 16 for the second-seeded Badgers. They never trailed in their third straight victory — second in the tournament — following a run of five losses in six games.Wisconsin (25-8) will vie for its fourth Big Ten title Sunday against No. 8 seed Michigan, which will be playing its fourth game in four days. It will be the seventh championship game appearance for the Badgers, trailing only the eight by Ohio State.Northwestern (23-11) was playing for the second time in less than 24 hours, and it showed. Coming off wins over Rutgers and No. 3 seed Maryland, the Wildcats missed 20 of 27 shots in the first half, had only one assist and trailed 38-21.Their poor shooting could be attributed in part to the Wisconsin defense, which allowed a Big Ten-low 61.5 points per game. It was the 18th time in 33 games the Badgers yielded 60 points or fewer.Scottie Lindsey scored 16 points for Northwestern, which went 18 for 52 (35 percent) from the floor, was outrebounded 37-27 and didn’t get its second assist until the 8-minute mark of the second half.

“They guarded us pretty well,” said guard Bryant McIntosh, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, who went 4 for 12 and finished with eight points. “They took a lot of our stuff away, pushed us out on the floor.”

NU brought none of the momentum from the Maryland game into this one, missing its first seven shots and falling behind 15-3 with seven minutes elapsed.It was 19-13 before Wisconsin’s Zak Showalter popped a pair of 3-pointers to start a 15-6 spurt that widened the gap to 15 points.After what the Wildcats had already gone through this week, they simply didn’t have the strength to make a comeback.

“It’s about energy. It’s about effort. We didn’t have enough of either,” McIntosh said. “Didn’t even deserve to be on the floor with them at some points.”

The second half was much like the first. After Northwestern closed to 48-33, D’Mitrik Trice and Vitto Brown each nailed a pair of 3-pointers in a 16-4 run that made it 64-37 with 7:44 remaining.A complete performance like this would seem to indicate that Wisconsin is peaking at just the right time.

“We finally came together, both offensively and defensively, and we’re playing better team defense as a whole,” starting guard Bronson Koenig said.

Wisconsin was the far fresher team, which is why the teams compete so hard during the regular season to receive the double-bye that comes with a top-four finish.

“Their legs were a little sore, their feet a little slower tonight,” Showalter said about the Wildcats.

The Badgers hope to see a ragged Michigan team, too. The Wolverines beat Illinois, No. 13 Purdue and Minnesota after their plane skidded off the runway earlier in the week and delayed their arrival in D.C…..Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus was in attendance for the third time in three days, though she had little to cheer about. Her son, seldom-used sophomore Charlie Hall, plays for Northwestern but didn’t get in the game….This loss takes nothing away from what the Wildcats have accomplished this season, setting a school record for wins and beating 25th-ranked Maryland to earn a berth in the Big Ten semifinals….The Badgers have clearly righted themselves after that horrid stretch at the end of the regular season in which lost to Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa in succession….Northwestern, the school that hosted the first NCAA Tournament in 1939 but still hasn’t played in one should put an end to that dubious distinction.

WASHINGTON—Making itself right at home on a court that was anything but neutral, Northwestern roared into the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 72-64 upset of No. 25 Maryland on Friday night, disappointing an enthusiastic – and biased – crowd.Scottie Lindsey and Vic Law each scored 17 points for the Wildcats (23-10), who took control with a 20-2 run in the second half that all but silenced an arena that earlier produced the loudest cheers of the first Big Ten Tournament held in the nation’s capital.Having already defeated Rutgers and No. 3 seed Maryland, Northwestern on Saturday will face second-seed Wisconsin, a 70-60 winner over Indiana.Though this was technically considered to be a neutral court, Maryland (24-8) enjoyed many of the benefits of playing at home following a double bye to start the tournament.No matter what, the Cats have sewed up their first ever Men’s NCAA hoops birth.