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Cameron Johnson’s first season as an NBA starter was off to a promising start until he suffered a frustrating injury on Nov. 4, days after his best game of the season. Johnson expects that the long road back from a torn meniscus in his right knee will end Thursday when the struggling Phoenix Suns play at home against the Brooklyn Nets at 10 p.m. on TNT.
Since transferring to Texas Tech, Kerwin Walton hasn’t had many chances to show what he can do. But he took advantage of his opportunity on Tuesday night. Playing 22 minutes, the most in a Big 12 Conference game, Walton scored 12 points and four 3-pointers, both season-highs, at home against No. 21 Baylor. The bad news is that the Red Raiders (10–8, 0–6 Big 12) lost 81–74 for their sixth consecutive defeat.
It was good to have the Carmichael Arena atmosphere back Sunday to how it should be for every game. The atmosphere with a sellout crowd was more like the heyday of the Sylvia Hatchell era, when Tar Heels fans came out in force for big games and were a factor. It was the first sellout since Hatchell’s No. 15 Tar Heels lost 74–67 to No. 12 Duke in overtime on Jan. 25, 2015.
By R.L. Bynum North Carolina jumped up five spots to No. 17 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s poll … More
On the night that Nassir Little returned after missing 22 games over six weeks, Harrison Barnes and the high-scoring Sacramento Kings just kept rolling. Barnes scored 29 points and four 3-pointers to lead the Kings to their fourth consecutive victory, 132–119 at San Antonio on Sunday night. It was the second consecutive game and third in the last four that Barnes has scored at least 27 points and at least three 3-pointers.
For the final time this season, a Carolina men’s basketball game will air on regional sports networks. That means that it could be a challenge for some fans who can’t make it to the Smith Center on Tuesday night to watch the 7 o’clock game against Boston College. Your regional sports network depends on where you live, with the possibilities including Bally Sports regional networks, MASN, NESN, Yes Network or Marquee Sports Network.
Dawson Garcia tied his career-high in a big Minnesota win last week at Ohio State. Garcia collected 28 points and nine rebounds Thursday as the Gophers knocked off the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, 70–67, matching the 28 points he scored in his freshman season for Marquette in a road game against Villanova on Feb. 10, 2021.
CHAPEL HILL — With determination and grit, Destiny Adams wasn’t about to let No. 11 N.C. State escape a raucous, sellout Carmichael Arena with a victory.
Adams scored eight points, all in the fourth quarter — including a pair of 3-pointers and a physical inside bucket — as No. 22 North Carolina knocked off No. 11 N.C. State 56–47 in front of a high-energy crowd of 6,319.
Reggie Bullock has traditionally played better in his NBA career after the new year, and that trend kicked in Saturday night when he and teammate Theo Pinson both had their best games of the season. Bullock hit a career-high eight 3-pointers (on 10 shots) and scored a season-high 24 points for a season-high 21.3 game score in the Dallas Mavericks’ 136–119 loss at Portland on Saturday night in his best game in more than four years. Pinson collected 11 points, three 3-pointers, three assists and a 10.1 game score, all season-highs.
Armando Bacot looked a little gimpy at times, but he was a warrior as always, and played through a left-ankle injury. It was just the boost North Carolina needed as he led a decisive first-half run that gave the Tar Heels control on their way to an 80–59 victory Saturday at Denny Crum Court in Louisville, Ky. The breakout performance for UNC (12–6, 4–3 ACC) on both ends of the court, though, was from 6–5 sophomore D’Marco Dunn, who collected 14 points, two 3-pointers, five rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes, all career-highs, while playing excellent defense on El Ellis, Louisville’s leading scorer.
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