Sharpe scores 25 and Trail Blazers win 4th straight, 121-102 over Nets

NEW YORK (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe scored 25 points, Dalano Banton had 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers cruised to a 121-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

Toumani Camara had 19 points, Anfernee Simons chipped in 14, and Donovan Clingan finished with 12 for the Trail Blazers, who extended their winning streak to four games.

Cam Thomas scored 16 points in 21 minutes in his return to the Brooklyn lineup after missing 24 games due to a left hamstring strain.

Nic Claxton and Killian Hayes each had 16 points for the Nets, who have lost their last three games.

Portland led by 21 points in the early minutes of the third quarter before the Nets cut the lead to nine heading into the final period.

Thomas fed Claxton for an alley-oop dunk to make it 96-84 with 10:20 to play in the fourth quarter before the Trail Blazers put the game out of reach with a 13-4 run capped by seven straight points from Banton.

Trail Blazers: Seven players scored in double figures. Scoot Henderson had 12 points off the bench. Jabari Walker did not make the cut — he finished with five.

Nets: Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez kept mum about the amount of minutes that Thomas would play in his first game back since Jan. 2 at Milwaukee. “Excited to push him to whatever his body is now ready for,” Fernandez said.

Portland — playing its third game of a seven-game road trip — led 33-25 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back thanks to Sharpe, who scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting.

Portland lost the rebound battle, 45-36, but had 32 assists to Brooklyn’s 20.

Brooklyn visits Detroit on Saturday night while Portland continues its road trip at Cleveland on Sunday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Brooklyn Nets' Trendon Watford (9) defends Portland Trail Blazers' Jabari Walker (34) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Brooklyn Nets' Tyrese Martin (13) defends Portland Trail Blazers' Toumani Camara (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Portland Trail Blazers' Jabari Walker (34) fights for control of the ball with Brooklyn Nets' Day'Ron Sharpe (20) Cam Thomas (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Portland Trail Blazers' Donovan Clingan (23) protects the ball from Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Brooklyn Nets' Keon Johnson (45) looks to pass during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Portland Trail Blazers' Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots over Brooklyn Nets' Killian Hayes (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Portland Trail Blazers' Shaedon Sharpe (17) drives past Brooklyn Nets' Reece Beekman (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)