US sports compact: Important victory for the Wagner brothers – Sturm suffered another defeat

Basketball world champion Franz Wagner has taken an important step with the Orlando Magic in the fight for the play-offs in the NBA. The team from Florida clearly won 118:100 against the top team New York Knicks without the ailing German center Isaiah Hartenstein.

Wagner scored 21 points and six assists, while his brother Moritz Wagner scored ten strong points in 13 minutes off the bench. Orlando, which was also able to rely on the strong Paolo Banchero and his 36 points, consolidated its midfield position in the Eastern Conference and is still within striking distance of sixth place, which guarantees direct play-off participation.

Qualifying for the post-season will be significantly more difficult for national team captain Dennis Schröder and his new team Brooklyn Nets. Just one day after the defeat at home against the Boston Celtics, the Nets also lost away against the record champions.

Schröder, who moved to Brooklyn from the Toronto Raptors the previous week, remained largely pale in the 86:136 pack and had four points and one assist. Brooklyn is stuck in eleventh place in the East.

Meanwhile, Maximilian Kleber remained unused in the Dallas Mavericks' 116:93 win against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs' top players Luka Doncic (27 points) and Kyrie Irving (34) achieved an undisputed victory against the team of the French super talent Victor Wembanyama, who scored 26 points.

Thanks to a strong final quarter, the Los Angeles Clippers celebrated a hard-fought 130-125 win against superstar Stephen Curry, who scored 42 points, and the Golden State Warriors. World champion Daniel Theis was on the bench but also did not play.

With an untypical result in ice hockey, Nico Sturm and the San Jose Sharks suffered their next bitter defeat in the NHL. The team for the runner-up world champion lost 0-1 against the strong Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. Sturm's two shots on goal also failed to find their target.

Morgan Barron scored the only goal, which the outstanding Sharks goalkeeper Kaapo Kähkönen could not prevent. San Jose, which had a disastrous start to the season, is still in last place in the Pacific Division.

First the bump, then the regret: NFL professional Travis Kelce from the Super Bowl winner Kansas City Chiefs has apologized for his heated confrontation with head coach Andy Reid. “It's definitely unacceptable and I wish I would have taken it back right away,” said the tight end in the joint podcast with his brother Jason: “I can't get so upset that I push the coach and throw him off balance.”

Kelce loudly attacked his coach in the first half of the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers (25:22 nV) after he was kept off the field during an important play. “When he tripped, I thought, 'Oh, shit,'” he said.

“It just came at a moment when we weren’t playing very well,” explained Kelce: “Sometimes these emotions leave me.” But there is no thick atmosphere between the “quarrels”. Pop star Taylor Swift's boyfriend spoke to his trainer and “we laughed about it.”

Reid had already downplayed the bump. “He was emotional,” the 65-year-old emphasized after his third Super Bowl victory with the Chiefs on Sunday: “But listen, I have five children. I know what it’s like.” He likes that Kelce “loves the game and wants to help his team win.”