US sports compact: Texans in the playoffs – ban against scandal professional Green lifted

The NBA has lifted the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green's suspension after 12 games. The league announced this in a statement. The forward was suspended indefinitely for “repeated unsportsmanlike conduct” after hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on December 12th.

“Green demonstrated his willingness to conform his behavior to the standards of an NBA player,” the league said in a statement. In addition, the 33-year-old took part in regular meetings with the Warriors, representatives of the league and the players' union. It is still unclear when the four-time NBA champion will return to the floor.

Before the derailment against Nurkic, Green had already been suspended for five games in the current NBA season for a chokehold on Frenchman Rudy Gobert in November.

The four-time all-star was regularly noticed by gaffes throughout his career.

Thanks to rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans are returning to the play-offs of the US football league NFL for the first time since 2019. In the decisive game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Stroud managed to score 23:19, and Stroud kept his nerve in the most important performance of his professional career to date: 20 of his 26 passes arrived, the 22-year-old threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns and had no interceptions.

Houston has secured its place in the knockout round to take part in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas (February 11th), and the Texans could also win the division in the AFC South – although the Jacksonville Jaguars would have to be German on Sunday evening Wasting time with the Tennessee Titans. The Colts lost their play-off chances with the loss to Houston.

The Pittsburgh Steelers kept their chances alive, winning 17:10 against the already qualified Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers now need help: They will be in the finals if the Buffalo Bills lose to the Miami Dolphins or Jacksonville doesn't win in Tennessee. The Ravens were already established as the best team in the AFC and rested star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Ice hockey star Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers have won the seventh game in a row in the North American professional league NHL. In the German duel with Tim Stützle and the Ottawa Senators, the Oilers won 3-1 (0-0, 1-0, 2-1) on Saturday (local time) and, after a false start with a change of coach, they now have 20 wins 36 games getting closer and closer to the playoff ranks. Stützle and the Senators, on the other hand, are bottom of the table in the East.

Zach Hyman scored three times for the Draisaitl team. The Canadian scored the first two goals (39th/43rd minute) and made the final score 3-1 shortly before the end (58th). Ottawa shortened the score to 1:2 (56th) through Parker Kelly.

JJ Peterka and the Buffalo Sabers won their second win in a row with a 3-1 (1-0, 0-0, 2-1) win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, with 17 wins after 40 matches, the German striker's team remains well behind the playoff places.

Without Nico Sturm, who has been injured for almost a month, the San Jose Sharks lost 1:4 (0:1, 0:1, 1:2) to the Toronto Maple Leafs and are still the NHL team with the lowest points.

A brilliant basketball professional Isaiah Hartenstein led the New York Knicks to their fourth win in a row in the North American professional league NBA. The German center scored eight points in the 121:105 (63:43) win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday (local time) and excelled with 19 rebounds, 17 of which were under his own basket. Julius Randle with 39 points and James Brunson, who had 33 points, had an even better record for the team from the Big Apple. With 21 wins, the Knicks are on course for the playoffs.

48 points and 17 rebounds from top star Giannis Antetokounmpo were not enough for the Milwaukee Bucks: The Greek's team lost to the Houston Rockets 108:112 (43:59). Despite their third loss in the last four games, the Bucks are still the second-best team in the East.