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Giannis savors beating Knicks after season sweep

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Giannis savors beating Knicks after season sweep


  • Jamal CollierOct 29, 2025, 01:43 AM ET

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      Jamal Collier is an NBA reporter at ESPN. Collier covers the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and the Midwest region of the NBA, including stories such as Minnesota’s iconic jersey swap between Anthony Edwards and Justin Jefferson. He has been at ESPN since Sept. 2021 and previously covered the Bulls for the Chicago Tribune. You can reach out to Jamal on Twitter @JamalCollier or via email Jamal.Collier@espn.com.

MILWAUKEE — Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo acknowledged Tuesday’s 121-111 victory over the New York Knicks carried some extra significance, but only because the Knicks swept the Bucks in last season’s series.

Indeed, New York went 3-0 against Milwaukee in 2024-25, winning those games by an average margin of 22 points, which was on Antetokounmpo’s mind entering this game.

“They were way better than us last year, and we didn’t make it tough for them,” Antetokounmpo said after scoring 37 points, grabbing 8 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists. “It was very easy in my opinion. And as the leader of this team, I remember. I don’t forget things. And I try to, from early at shootaround, set the tone for the team and try to remind them, last year, they swept us.”

Milwaukee’s struggles extended to each of the top teams in the Eastern Conference a season ago, going 0-9 against the top three seeds in the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics and the Knicks.

But the Bucks set a different tone on Tuesday, rallying from down 14 points in the first half for a comeback victory.

Antetokounmpo led the charge with a huge third quarter, during which he scored 14 points and dished out four assists as the Bucks outscored the Knicks 35-20. After one sequence midway through the third, Antetokounmpo blocked a layup attempt from Mikal Bridges then flushed a dunk on the other end of the floor. As Antetokounmpo walked up the court, he pointed to himself and motioned to the crowd.

“This is my city. I love when it’s tough,” Antetokounmpo recalled saying. “I thrive when it’s tough. When you make it tough, I thrive.”

Antetokounmpo, who became the first player in league history with at least 30 points on 60% shooting or better in each of his first four games of a season, would add he didn’t have any deeper meaning beyond the message and that it was just in the heat of the moment.

Antetokounmpo has been connected to the Knicks after a report over the summer from ESPN’s Shams Charania that Antetokounmpo considered New York the lone destination he would have wanted to play outside of Milwaukee. The two sides engaged in brief trade conversations that never gained traction.

Yet Antetokounmpo did not want to get into offseason speculation much on Tuesday, saying his focus was on basketball and the Bucks’ next game against the visiting Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

“What matters right now is we have a game in two days against Golden State,” he said. “Try to stay locked in and get two in a row.”



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2 suspects arrested in killing of Ecuador defender

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December 20, 2025

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2 suspects arrested in killing of Ecuador defender


Dec 19, 2025, 04:25 PM ET

Ecuadorian police have arrested two suspects in the killing of soccer player Mario Pineida, who was shot in an attack this week that also killed his partner and wounded his mother, underscoring the rising violence in the Andean nation.

The 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national soccer team player was shot and killed on Wednesday. Latin American soccer clubs and fans have since mourned his death.

Ecuador’s prosecutor’s office said on Friday on X that suspects Cristian P.G. and Jimnery P.B appeared before a judge, who then ordered their so-called preventive arrests, based on the judge’s understanding that there’s enough evidence against them as well as a risk of them fleeing from justice.

Police said the shooting attack took place in Samanes, a northern neighborhood of the coastal city of Guayaquil, some 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of the capital, Quito.

Security camera footage from the scene shows Pineida and his partner leaving a butcher shop and then being shot by two men, one wearing a motorcycle helmet and the other a cap. Local authorities have not released the name of Pineida’s partner.

Pineida played eight games for Ecuador but was not part of the team qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. His last game for Ecuador was at the 2021 Copa América, as a late substitute in a group-stage game against Brazil. He also played in the 2017 edition.

In November, a 16-year-old soccer player of Independiente del Valle died from a stray bullet, also in Guayaquil. Two months earlier, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, both players of Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan González, of 22 de Junio died from gunshot wounds.



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Oregon, Ole Miss and other uniforms from the first round of the College Football Playoff

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December 19, 2025

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Oregon, Ole Miss and other uniforms from the first round of the College Football Playoff


The College Football Playoff is as big a stage as you’ll find in the sport — a stage on which eight teams will be performing across four games Friday and Saturday as part of the competition’s first round.

Fittingly, participating teams will bring their A-game in the uniform department, with the national spotlight settling on their program for the weekend. Oregon — unsurprisingly given its seemingly unending closet of thread combinations — is setting the bar with a strong green look. Oklahoma is rocking their iconic crimson jerseys. Other programs are putting their best foot forward with icy white combinations or spiced-up traditional home uniforms with CFP bling.

Here’s what every team will be wearing in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Oregon

Oklahoma





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Feds seek private money to upgrade tennis center that hosts DC Open

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December 19, 2025

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Mark Ein, the investor who runs the DC Open, has long sought upgrades to the tennis center.



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