INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua have missed most of the season due to injury, and the Los Angeles Rams’ dismal record reflected it. When both star receivers came back for the same prime-time showcase, they provided exactly what Matthew Stafford and the Rams have been missing all year — and it was something the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t match. Kupp caught a touchdown pass and Nacua had 106 yards receiving in their returns to the lineup, and Stafford passed for 279 yards and four TDs in the Los Angeles Rams ' 30-20 victory over the Vikings on Thursday night. Demarcus Robinson caught two TD passes from Stafford for the Rams (3-4), who won back-to-back games for the first time this season with 386 yards from an offense that looked exponentially more dangerous with its top two receivers in uniform.
DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson chatted up Tony Romo during a break early in the fourth quarter, not long before being so wide open for a 3-pointer, he paused, dribbled once, paused again to line up the shot and made it. The Dallas debut was quite a bit better than the finale from Thompson’s 13 seasons with Golden State. Thompson set a franchise record in a debut with six 3-pointers and scored 22 points playing alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving for the first time Thursday night in the Mavericks’ 120-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the opener for both teams.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their New York teammates were showered with confetti as the Liberty celebrated winning the WNBA title in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the thousands who lined the streets on Thursday. The Liberty won the franchise’s first championship, defeating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. “(To) see how many people were in the crowd, smiling, celebrating the Liberty,” Ionescu said, “it really puts into perspective what it means to bring a championship to this city and how it really takes everyone.”
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh linebacker coach Ryan Manalac nicknamed his group “The Sharks” during training camp, an ode to their relentlessness and hunger. Manalac’s players have leaned into it. And on Thursday night, the 19th-ranked Panthers and “The Sharks’ in the middle of their defense sent a message to Syracuse and the rest of the ACC that Pitt’s unbeaten start is hardly a fluke. Rasheem Biles, Kyle Louis and Braylan Lovelace — linebackers all — returned first-half interceptions for touchdowns as the Panthers crushed Syracuse 41-13. “This ‘shark’ stuff is really a movement,” said Biles, whose 35-yard score just over two minutes in set the tone. “It’s really deep for us. ... It just shows how much work we put in, how good we are, ... it brings joy to us.” They’re not the only ones. The “Panther Pitt” student section at Acrisure Stadium is dotted with shark gear, including fans in full costume. They celebrated together after Lovelace’s 33-yard sprint to the end zone late in the second quarter put Pitt up 31-0.
THURSDAY SCORES
National Football League
LA Rams 30, Minnesota 20