Basketball

NEW YORK (AP) — The Knicks have regained control of New York's NBA basketball rivalry. They even won in Brooklyn again.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Sam Merrill set career highs with 27 points and eight 3-pointers off the bench, Caris LeVert scored 23 points, and the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Utah Jazz 124-116 on Wednesday night.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Buddy Hield scored 25 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 13 assists and the Indiana Pacers snapped a four-game losing streak, routing the Charlotte Hornets 144-113 on Wednesday night behind 61% shooting.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former NBA G League player allegedly admitted to fatally strangling a woman whose remains were found earlier this month near Las Vegas, according to court records obtained Wednesday.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers shooting guard Donovan Mitchell will not play against his former team, the Utah Jazz, as a result of an illness on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Simmons won't return to the Brooklyn Nets until at least January because of a pinched nerve in his lower back. The Nets said Wednesday that Simmons, who sustained his latest back injury Nov.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The McCombs family has purchased a share of the San Antonio Spurs, returning after 30 years to the organization their patriarch helped establish and once owned.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic rebranded their arena as Kia Center on Wednesday, a change that ends the building’s 13-year run of being known as Amway Center.

Washington Wizards (4-22, 14th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (7-19, 14th in the Western Conference) Portland, Oregon; Thursday, 10 p.m.

Boston Celtics (20-6, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Sacramento Kings (16-9, fourth in the Western Conference) Sacramento, California; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE : Kings -2; over/under is 235.