New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson returned to action against Minnesota on Tuesday night, scoring 22 points with six rebounds, four assists and three steals after missing 27 games with a left hamstring strain.

The crowd cheered when Williamson emerged from the tunnel for warmups before tipoff and again when he was announced as a starter.

Williamson, the first overall pick out of Duke in the 2019 NBA Draft, had played in just six of New Orleans’ previous 36 games this season, averaging 22.7 points, eight rebounds and 5.3 assists

Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said members of his family were among those in Southern California forced to evacuate their homes on Tuesday due to a wildfire that was being whipped by strong winds around Los Angeles.

The fire swept through a Los Angeles hillside where Redick lives alongside other celebrities, burning homes in Pacific Palisades and prompting evacuation orders for tens of thousands.

The Dolphins wide receiver indicated after Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets that he'd be open to move on to a new team next season.

"It was great playing here, but at the end of the day, bro, I got to do what's best for my career. I'm too much of a competitor to be just out there."

A wrist injury bothered Hill all season, even though he played all 17 games, coming up 41 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard receiving season.

Hill famously asked out of Kansas City, leading to the Chiefs to trade him to Miami prior to the 2022 season.

The Chiefs have won two Super Bowls since Hill left and are the No. 1 seed in this year's playoffs. The Dolphins officially were eliminated from the postseason on Sunday, and Hill is coming off his worst full-season statistics since his rookie year.

One year after anointing Jerod Mayo as the next leader of the Patriots, owner Robert Kraft finds himself in a place he hasn't occupied since the turn of the century.

He needs to find a new coach after Sunday's decision to fire Mayo, who had been Bill Belichick's heir apparent, after just one 4-13 season.

Kraft discussed what led to Mayo's firing during a Monday news conference, and judging by his comments to the assembled media, Kraft felt it wasn't an easy decision but a necessary one.

"This whole situation is on me. I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation," Kraft said.

Team USA is a back-to-back champion for the first time at the world junior hockey championship.

It took a major rally against Finland on Sunday in Ottawa to make it happen.

Outplayed in the first period and trailing 3-1 early in the second period, the USA took advantage of a Brandon Svoboda fluke goal that deflected off a Finnish player and a skilled goal off the rush by Cole Hutson to tie the game before the second intermission.

Teddy Stiga then scored on a breakaway at 8:04 of overtime for a 4-3 victory and a second consecutive gold medal at the under-20 tournament.

The mental health training program launched by the NHL Players' Association roughly a year ago is expanding to those in the minors in the American Hockey League and ECHL.

The NHLPA and Professional Hockey Players' Association announced Tuesday that the First Line initiative in conjunction with the Mental Health Commission of Canada now will be available to the PHPA's more than 1,000 players who have AHL or ECHL, rather than NHL, contracts.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher and first-round draft pick Brian Matusz has died at the age of 37.

The shock news was revealed by the league on Tuesday evening, and tributes immediately began pouring in for the ex-Orioles and Cubs star.

Matusz was drafted No 4 overall by the Orioles in 2008 and went on to play for the team for seven years.