By Tiffany Williams –
Overtime decided two NFL divisional playoff games Saturday night, while blowouts and last-second drama defined a packed weekend across the NFL, NBA and NHL.
In the AFC divisional playoffs, the Denver Broncos outlasted the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in overtime Saturday night behind 283 yards passing from Josh Allen. James Cook III rushed for 117 yards, while Marvin Mims Jr. led all receivers with 93 yards as the Broncos advanced. In the NFC divisional round, the Seattle Seahawks dominated the San Francisco 49ers 41-6, holding Brock Purdy to 140 passing yards. Kenneth Walker III ran for 116 yards, and Cooper Kupp finished with 60 receiving yards.
Sunday’s AFC divisional matchup saw the New England Patriots defeat the Houston Texans 28-16. C.J. Stroud threw for 212 yards, Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 70 yards, and Kayshon Boutte led receivers with 75 yards.
In the NFC divisional playoffs, the Los Angeles Rams edged the Chicago Bears 20-17 in overtime. Matthew Stafford threw for 258 yards, Kyren Williams rushed for 87, and Colston Loveland had 56 receiving yards.
Saturday’s NBA slate featured several lopsided results and high-scoring performances. The Dallas Mavericks beat ths Utah Jazz 138-120 as Klay Thompson scored 23 points, while Keyonte George led Utah with 29.
The Boston Celtics routed the Atlanta Hawks 132-106 behind 41 points from Jaylen Brown. The Detroit Pistons crushed the Indiana Pacers 121-78 with Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points, while Jarace Walker led the Pacers with 13.
The Phoenix Suns held off the New York Knicks 106-99 as Devin Booker scored 27 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 in the loss. The Miami Heat edged the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-120 behind 30 points from Bam Adebayo, despite 39 from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-123 as Victor Wembanyama scored 39 points, while Anthony Edwards poured in 55 for the Timberwolves. The Golden State Warriors defeated the Charlotte Hornets 136-116 with De’Anthony Melton scoring 24 points.
The Denver Nuggets topped the Washington Wizards 121-115 behind 42 from Jamal Murray. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 132-116 as Shaedon Sharpe and Marcus Smart each scored 25 points.
Sunday in the NBA, the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Orlando Magic 126-109 with Ja Morant scoring 24 points. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Brooklyn Nets 124-102 behind 24 from Coby White. The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-110 as Jabari Smith Jr. scored 32 points.
Charlotte routed Denver 110-87 behind 23 from Brandon Miller. Portland beat Sacramento 117-110 with Deni Avdija scoring 30 points. The Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors 110-93 as Deandre Ayton scored 25 points.
In the NHL on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild edged the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 in overtime as Quinn Hughes led the way and Filip Gustavsson earned the win before a crowd of 19,070. The New York Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 behind Mika Zibanejad.
The Calgary Flames defeated the New York Islanders 4-2 as Dustin Wolf picked up the win. The expansion Utah Mammoth beat the Seattle Kraken 6-3 with Karel Vejmelka in goal. The Montreal Canadiens topped the Ottawa Senators 6-5 in overtime as Cole Caufield starred. The Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 4-1 behind Andrei Svechnikov. The Columbus Blue Jackets edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in a shootout with Elvis Merzlikins earning the victory.
The Florida Panthers beat the Washington Capitola 5-2. The Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 in overtime. The Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. The Edmonton Oilers shut out the Vancouver Canucks 6-0. The Vegas Golden Knights routed thecNashville Predators 7-2. The Anaheim Ducks beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime.
Sunday’s NHL action saw the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Dallas Stars 4-1 as Andrei Vasilevskiy starred in goal. The Detroit Red Wings edged Ottawa 4-3 in overtime behind Alex DeBrincat. Edmonton shut out the St. Louis Blues 5-0 as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins led the offense.