NBA – Bulls G Ball to have knee surgery, sidelined 6-8 weeks

The Chicago Bulls say guard Lonzo Ball will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to be out six to eight weeks. Ball has missed three games since a 42-point loss to Golden State last week. Coach Billy Donovan said Wednesday the team had switched up his treatment, hoping he would avoid surgery, after he didn’t respond well to the initial regimen. Ball had the same knee scoped in 2018 when he was with the Lakers.

NBA – National Basketball Association

Last Night

Indiana Pacers 121, Golden State Warriors 117 – OT

Pacers 121, Warriors 117 – OT – Undermanned Pacers stun Curry, Warriors 121-117 in overtime

Keifer Sykes hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:41 left in overtime and a layup the next possession, Chris Duarte scored 27 points, and the undermanned Indiana Pacers beat Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors 121-117. Golden State got one more chance with 6.4 seconds left after a jump ball and Klay Thompson checked in but couldn’t get a shot off. Curry scored 39 but none in overtime, missing a 3 from the top of the arc with 16.5 seconds left in the extra session.

Tonight

Chicago Bulls at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:00 p.m.

Detroit Pistons at Utah Jazz, 9:00 p.m.

NFL – National Football League – Divisional Round

Saturday

Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans, 4:30 p.m.

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers, 8:15 p.m.

Sunday

Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3:00 p.m.

Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs, 6:30 p.m.

NFL – Bears interview Leftwich, McKenzie for coach, GM positions

The Chicago Bears interviewed Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and longtime NFL executive Reggie McKenzie for their coach and general manager jobs. Tampa Bay has set franchise records for points and touchdowns in each of Leftwich’s three seasons as offensive coordinator. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last season after Tom Brady arrived from New England. McKenzie was a senior personnel executive with the Miami Dolphins the past three seasons. He spent 18 years in Green Bay’s front office and had a hand in two Super Bowl championships. He was the Packers’ director of football operations from 2008 to 2011 and was the Oakland Raiders’ general manager from 2012 to 2018.

Cowboys' Prescott fined $25,000 for comments about officials

The NFL has fined Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott $25,000 for comments condoning fans throwing objects at officials after a wild-card loss to San Francisco. The fine comes after Prescott apologized in a series of tweets. When told after the game that fans were throwing objects at officials, Prescott said, “Credit to them then.” He initially called it “sad” because he was told the objects were being thrown at Dallas players. The Cowboys blamed officials for the club running out of time trying to set up for a final play in the 23-17 loss to the 49ers.

NHL – National Hockey League

Tonight

Dallas Stars at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m.

Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks, 8:30 p.m.

NCAA – NCAA ratifies new constitution, paving way to restructuring

NCAA member schools have ratified a new, pared-down constitution. It clears the way for a decentralized approach to governing college sports that will hand more power to schools and conferences. The NCAA’s three divisions will now be empowered to govern themselves. College sports leaders hope that will reduce legal exposure for the NCAA after a resounding rebuke from the Supreme Court last year. For Division II and III, there will be little change. But there could be a massive overhaul in Division I, which has hundreds of big schools and millions of dollars tied closely to football and basketball.