NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg is back from a two-game absence for his first pro game at Madison Square Garden, while Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart returned Monday for a Knicks team that has struggled without them.
Flagg sat out both victories over Utah in a two-game series after spraining his left ankle last Wednesday against Denver. He worked out before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day game before the Mavericks said the No. 1 pick in the draft was available to play.
Brunson missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle and the Knicks dropped them both. They have lost the last four times they played without their All-Star point guard.
Hart recently missed eight games after spraining his ankle on Christmas. He returned to play in three before sitting out a loss to Phoenix on Saturday because of soreness. The Knicks were just 3-6 in those games without him.
Injuries have been one of the reasons behind the Knicks' 2-8 stretch coming into the game. Coach Mike Brown said when he was preparing for the game that it felt like the first time he had his full roster available all season. He was interested in playing a group together Monday and was surprised when an analytics staffer told him he hadn't been able to put those five players on the court at the same time.
“I said, ‘Hey, what does this group look like analytically, offensively and defensively,’ and he said, ‘You haven’t played that combination together,’” Brown said.
But, he noted, the Knicks were winning despite their absences earlier in the season.
“Any time you’re missing anybody it’s tough, but I’ve said this before, that’s why we have 16 guys,” Brown said. “I will say at the beginning of the season when we were missing guys we found a way to get it done and if we’re missing guys in the future we have to continue to try to find a way to get it done.”
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New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody during the first half of an NBA basketball game in San Francisco, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
New York Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson, left, and injured Jalen Brunson react on the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Injured Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg watches from the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in Dallas, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jannik Sinner dropped just three games and spent little over an hour on Rod Laver Arena to get his bid for an Australian Open three-peat started.
The No. 2-ranked Sinner was leading 6-2, 6-1 when Hugo Gaston suddenly retired from their match Tuesday night with an undisclosed injury.
“I saw that he was not serving with a very high pace in the second set,” Sinner said, but “it’s not the way you want to win the match.”
It was an anti-climatic way to finish his first competitive match on the center court at Melbourne Park since his victory 12 months ago over Alexander Zverev to clinch back-to-back Australian titles.
He's aiming to become the fourth player to win three consecutive men's titles at the Australian Open.
Madison Keys had a tougher start to her title defense, struggling early against the offbeat style of Oleksandra Oliynykova before advancing 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Ninth-seeded Keys, playing in her 50th Grand Slam tournament, trailed 4-0 before she rallied to force a tiebreaker against the Ukrainian.
“Obviously I was very nervous at the start,” Keys said. “As nervous as I was . . . I’m really glad to be back, and that I got through that match.”
Oliynykova kept her opponent off-stride with her unorthodox shot-making and strong defense. “A little bit more of like an unconventional style,” Keys said. “I feel like that made things a little extra tricky at the start. I felt like at the end of the tiebreaker I really kind of found my game and then was able to carry that into the second set.”
Oliynykova gained a lot of attention with her unique body art and ink, and a printed message for Ukraine on a T-shirt she wore in her post-match news conference.
Two seeded women’s players were ousted in straight sets early on Day 3, with Janice Tjen upsetting No. 22 Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, and Tereza Valentova beating Australia's Maya Joint.
Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens was beaten in the first round by Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7), 6-2. Stephens, who had to qualify this year, won the U.S. Open in 2017.
In a match between left-handers, Ben Shelton, a semifinalist a year ago in Australia, overcame Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) to reach the second round.
The No. 8 seed said it was one of the toughest first-round matches he could have faced, with Humbert ranked No. 33. Humbert had the highest ranking of the unseeded players.
“I thought I stayed really calm today,” Shelton said. “On a court like this, playing Ugo in the first round is a tough draw. I felt I found some of my better tennis late in the match.”
He'll next face Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny, who ended the 20th and final Australian Open campaign for 39-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils.
Fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti advanced when Raphael Collignon retired in the fourth set. The score was 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 3-2 when the Belgian player quit because of cramping and dizziness.
Also advancing were Eliot Spizzirri, who beat rising star Joao Fonseca, the 19-year-old Brazilian, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, No. 15 Karen Khachanov and Sebastian Baez, who outlasted Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.
Jannik Sinner of Italy serves to Hugo Gaston of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic plays a forehand return to Sloane Stephens of the U.S. during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Sloane Stephens of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Ben Shelton of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Ugo Humbert of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Leylah Fernandez of Canada plays a forehand return to Janice Tjen of Indonesia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine plays a backhand return to Madison Keys of the U.S. during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Madison Keys of the U.S. serves to Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Madison Keys, right, of the U.S. is congratulated by Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine following their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Madison Keys of the U.S. waves after defeating Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
