Desbiens, Poulin lead Victoire to 2-1 shootout win over Sceptres in Halifax

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Ann-Renée Desbiens made 35 saves and Marie-Philip Poulin scored in the shootout to help the Montreal Victoire beat the Toronto Sceptres in the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s first-ever game in Halifax on Wednesday night.

Poulin buried the lone goal in a 10-round shootout, and Desbiens stopped all five Sceptres attempts as a sold-out crowd of 10,438 inside Scotiabank Centre cheered equally for Toronto and Montreal.

Maya Labad scored in regulation for Montreal, and Anna Kjellbin scored for Toronto.

Sceptres goalie Raygan Kirk stopped 30 shots.

It marked the first of 16 neutral-site matchups — and the first of two in Halifax — this season on the PWHL’s Takeover Tour.

The league returns to the home of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads on Jan. 11 when the Ottawa Charge face the Boston Fleet.

Kjellbin opened the scoring at 3:26 in the first period to give the Sceptres an early lead. Labad tied it up at 12:16.

Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull almost scored the winner off her own rebound in the final seconds in regulation, but she was unable to put it past Desbiens.

Sceptres forward Emma Maltais appeared to win the game on a breakaway in overtime, but Toronto defender Renata Fast was called for interference on Montreal’s Jessica DiGirolamo moments before her shot crossed the goal line.

Victoire: Visit Vancouver on Saturday.

Sceptres: Visit New York on Sunday.

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

Montreal Victoire's Marie-Philip Poulin (29) scores on Toronto Sceptres goaltender Raygan Kirk (1) during a shootout in PWHL Takeover Tour game in Halifax, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Emma Woods (67) celebrates a goal against Montreal Victoire goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens (35) scores a goal during the first period of a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Halifax, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire's Kaitlin Willoughby (19) celebrates her goal on Toronto Sceptres goaltender Raygan Kirk (1) during the first period of a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Halifax, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Sceptres' Anna Kjellbin (71) celebrates her goal against the Montreal Victoire with Allie Munroe (12) during the first period of a PWHL Takeover Tour game in Halifax, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

Montreal Victoire players celebrate their shootout win over the Toronto Sceptres in PWHL Takeover Tour game in Halifax, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press via AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey scored 23 points as part of his sixth triple-double this season, Coby White added 25 and the hot-shooting Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-111 on Wednesday night.

Giddey had 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He also matched a career high with five 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and nine rebounds in the opener of the home-and-home series.

The Bulls shot 56.2% overall and made 14 of 36 3-pointers on the way to a rather convincing win after losing eight of nine. They led by 15 in the third quarter and went on a run in the fourth to break the game back open on the way to a rare win over Cleveland. They had dropped 12 of 13 against the Cavaliers.

Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 32 points, but the Cavaliers fell to 15-13 with their seventh loss in 10 games, the latest troubling performance for a team considered a favorite in the Eastern Conference. They didn’t sustain their 13th loss last season until March 19.

Jaylon Tyson scored 21. Darius Garland added 15 points and six assists

The Bulls led 106-97 midway through the fourth when Vucevic nailed a 3 to spark an 11-3 run. He also had a layup and a tip-in during that stretch. Giddey broke for a layup, and White added two free throws to make it 117-100 with 4:59 remaining.

Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu missed his third consecutive game because of a sprained right thumb. The Chicago product is fourth on the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game.

“Rest is probably going to be the best thing, but he's probably not going to have time to rest it for it to be fully healed,” coach Billy Donovan said.

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

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White, left, is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson speaks during a time out during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, left, talks to guard Josh Giddey (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bulls guard Coby White takes a free throw during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)