National Sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Beltrán fielded a question about the impact of his role in the Houston Astros’ cheating scandal as deftly as he grabbed so many balls hit to him in center field.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) — Players struggled with cramp and injuries on the second day of the Australian Open on Monday, headlined by the retirement of seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime while his compatriot Marina Stakusic needed a wheelchair to leave the court.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) — Madison Keys launched her Australian Open title defense with a 7-6(6) 6-1 win over Ukrainian Grand Slam debutant Oleksandra Oliynykova to reach the second round at Melbourne Park on Tuesday.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) — Novak Djokovic began his hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the Australian Open first round on Monday, the Serb easing pre-tournament concerns about his fitness with a sparkling display.

(Reuters) — Dillon Brooks scored 27 points, hitting a season-high six 3-pointers, and the Phoenix Suns led most of the way in their 126-117 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Monday night in New York.

(Reuters) — James Harden had 36 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers won their sixth straight game with a 110-106 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday afternoon.

CHICAGO (AP) — Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams survived an incredible throw by Caleb Williams that forced overtime, beating the Chicago Bears 20-17 on Sunday night to advance to the NFC championship game.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Mike Vrabel returned to New England on a mission to have the franchise playing again in meaningful games in January — as he did so often as a player.

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Broncos wrangled their biggest win in a decade from Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills but suffered an enormous loss in the process.

(Reuters) — Another milestone for Klay Thompson and another romp for the Dallas Mavericks, who downed the visiting Utah Jazz 138-120 Saturday afternoon.