Alec Burks’ Knicks benching was ‘basketball’ decision, not injury related
NY Post
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It was the shortest appearance of Alec Burks’ season, the shortest in more than five years for the guard.
Following two missed consecutive missed shots and a turnover early in the second quarter, the veteran guard was yanked after just 4:18 of Thursday’s win over the Trail Blazers.
He sat the entire second half — watching Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Miles McBride serve as the backcourt rotation.
Burks’ benching wasn’t about an injury, Tom Thibodeau confirmed.
“Just basketball,” the coach added, “basketball.”
The move wasn’t a surprise.
The luck of the schedule draw is again working against the Giants.
Brooklyn center Nic Claxton missed a second straight game due to a personal matter, though he is expected to rejoin the Nets on Monday.
PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 55 seconds left, and the Steelers beat the Ravens 26-24 on Sunday night when Baltimore’s Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard field goal as time expired, giving Pittsburgh the AFC North title.
DETROIT — The Knicks are returning to the site of the biggest shot of Jalen Brunson’s Knicks career, the place he silenced those profane chants from Detroit fans by sending Ausar Thompson stumbling out of the frame with a crossover.
Aaron Rodgers went through every emotion possible on his way back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when he was still with the Packers.
It didn’t take long after Adam Fox’s shoulder injury for his absence on the power play to — again — become glaring. The Rangers had just started to make strides with their first unit after struggling to start the year before Fox exited their Nov. 29 loss to the Lightning and didn’t return for a month.
The Yankees are taking another flier on a veteran to bolster their infield depth.
More like head-banned.
The Raiders clinched the first-overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft before they even took the field on Sunday.
Matt LaFleur might have work to do to keep his job.
Veteran quarterback Philip Rivers became one of the NFL’s feel-good stories of the year when he returned midseason for the Colts after a nearly five-year retirement.
As if Matthew Schaefer’s rocket-fueled rookie season needed another signature moment, here it came Saturday night. The 18-year-old spent all day feeling under the weather, then took a shot to the ribs in the third period that sent him to the tunnel, thinking he might’ve broken something.
Is there a better way to ring in the New Year than the annual Serby Says 2025 NFL Awards?