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Wednesday's Sports In Brief

| January 14, 2021 1:12 AM

NBA

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden is heading to Brooklyn, joining old teammate Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to give the Nets a potent trio featuring some of the NBA’s highest scorers.

The Nets agreed to acquire the three-time scoring champion from the Houston Rockets on Wednesday in a move Harden has sought for weeks, a person with knowledge of the situation said.

Harden is the centerpiece of a four-team deal that also involves Indiana and Cleveland, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade call with the NBA — which signs off on all deals — had not been completed.

At least four draft picks and additional pick swaps are also part of the deal, the person said. Other key players: Victor Oladipo goes from Indiana to Houston, and Caris LeVert goes from Brooklyn to Indiana, the person said. The Cavaliers will get Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Nets in the deal, a person familiar with the trade told the AP.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LeBron James scored 26 points and the Los Angeles Lakers routed the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-99 for their franchise-record seventh straight road victory to start the season.

Montrezl Harrell added 21 points, and Anthony Davis had 18 points and seven rebounds. The defending champion Lakers have won four straight to improve to an NBA-best 10-3. They surpassed the 1985-86 squad with the 7-0 road start.

But the road is different this season with mostly empty arenas.

BASEBALL

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball is suspending all political contributions in the wake of last week’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol by a mob loyal to President Donald Trump, joining a wave of major corporations rethinking their efforts to lobby Washington.

The National Football League said it will reconsider its donations but did not commit to suspending them.

Following the insurrection last week by Trump supporters while Congress attempted to certify the results of the presidential election, many companies have said they will avoid making donations to members of the House and Senate who voted to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Others, like MLB, have postponed political giving to both political parties altogether.

MLB was the first of the major professional sports leagues to say it would halt lobbying through its PAC in the wake of the deadly Capitol riots.

OLYMPICS

Five-time Olympic swimming medalist Klete Keller was charged with participating in a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol after video emerged that appeared to show him among those storming the building last week.

An FBI complaint filed in U.S. District Court, citing screenshots from the video, requested a warrant charging Keller with knowingly entering a restricted building to impede an official government function, disorderly conduct, and obstructing law officers during the frightening ordeal.

It wasn’t clear if he had been taken into custody.

Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6 while lawmakers met to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.

The 38-year-old Keller competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. He captured two golds and a silver as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay, as well as a pair of individual bronzes in the 400 free.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Mac McClung made a long jumper with 3 seconds left and No. 15 Texas Tech rallied to beat No. 4 Texas 79-77, ending the Longhorns’ perfect start in the Big 12.

Texas led almost the entire game and a blistering start against one of the top defensive teams in the country had the Longhorns in control before a sloppy finish and a flurry of late Texas Tech 3-pointers snatched the win for the Red Raiders.

McClung’s shot was originally ruled a 3-pointer before a video review.

Texas had a final chance, but Matt Coleman’s desperation 3-pointer never came close to the basket. Coleman also missed a shot in traffic for the lead with 17 seconds left.

McClung finished with 22 points.

NHL

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Raffl, James van Riemsdyk, Nolan Patrick and Joel Farabee all scored to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game of the NHL season.

Oskar Lindblom and Kevin Hayes scored 20 seconds apart in the third period for the Flyers.

Mark Jankowski and Sidney Crosby scored for the Penguins.

The Penguins and Flyers play again Friday in Philly as part of a packed, 56-game schedule necessitated by the pandemic.