The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid poured in 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers cruised to a 121-109 win over the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks. Embiid also hit three 3-pointers, and teammate Tobias Harris shot 5-for-7 from beyond the arc as Philadelphia nailed 21 of its 44 attempts from downtown. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points and 14 rebounds but shot just 8-for-27 as the Bucks lost for just the second time in their last 23 games.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 11 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers dealt the Lakers their fourth straight loss since a 27-3 start, 111-106. Leonard hit a 3 to cap a 7-0 run that tied it at 101 5:14 remaining. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers with 25 points, Anthony Davis added 24 and LeBron James had 23 with 10 assists and nine rebounds.

TORONTO (AP) — The Boston Celtics have ended the Toronto Raptors’ string of 34 straight home wins versus Atlantic Division teams, a league record for a single division. Jaylen Brown delivered 30 points and Kemba Walker added 22 as the Celtics dumped the Raptors, 118-102. Enes Kanter had 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics snapped an eight-game losing streak north of the border.

SAN FRANCISCO — The struggling Golden State Warriors looked like contenders by pulling away in the second half of a 116-104 stunner against the Houston Rockets. The Warriors trailed by four before holding the Rockets to 36 points after intermission. Guard Damion Lee was the catalyst for Golden State with team highs of 22 points and 15 rebounds. Draymond Green provided 16 of his 20 points in the second half and finished with 11 boards.

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets hosted a Christmas Day game for the first time in a quarter-century and saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end, 112-100 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Brandon Ingram scored 31 points and Derrick Favors grabbed 13 rebounds for New Orleans, which is 2-0 versus Denver this season and 7-23 against the rest of the league. Jrue Holiday had 20 points to help the Pelicans complete a 3-1 road trip.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Law enforcement officials have arrested a man charged with two-counts of criminal homicide and one-count of attempted criminal homicide, concluding a days-long search that kicked off following a fatal stabbing outside of a Tennessee bar. One of the victims who died was 22-year old Clay Beathard, the brother of San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback C.J. Beathard (a former QB for the Iowa Hawkeyes).

Nashville Metro Police announced on Wednesday that 23-year-old Michael Mosley was captured in Cheatham County. Mosley is accused in the Saturday attack at a Midtown Nashville bar that Clay Beathard and another man. One other person, since identified as a 21-year-old University of Tennessee student, suffered wounds to his arm and eye. The reward for information surrounding Mosley during the search had increased to $42,500 as of Wednesday.

The attack started as an argument over an “unwanted advancement” made by a man toward a woman at the bar, according to a statement by Nashville police. The woman was a friend of the victims, police said. Mosley previously was convicted of robbery, felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault. In the aggravated assault case, he was found to have stabbed a man and cut a woman in 2015. In the misdemeanor assault case, he was found to have squirted urine out of a shampoo bottle onto a jail employee on Christmas Day that year.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Ric Hanson.

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is reminding snowmobile and off-highway vehicle owners and users, to renew their registrations before January 1st, 2020. Registrations for snowmobiles and OHVs purchased during the 2019 registration cycle will expire on December 31, 2019. Any decal displayed on a machine with a “19” printed on it will no longer be valid for machines to be used on snowmobile trails, public ice, or the OHV parks. Any registration that is not renewed prior to January 1, 2020 will have a late penalty of $5.00 applied to the registration cost.

All permits, which include resident snowmobiles and nonresident snowmobiles and OHVs, also expire on December 31, 2019. There is no late penalty for a permit purchased after January 1 as they are issued for a calendar year. User permits are required for nonresident and resident snowmobiles used on public land or ice. Nonresident off road vehicles registered in their home state must display a user permit. Residents operating an off-highway vehicle do not need a user permit.

Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce came out of college with a bit of baggage after he was suspended for an entire season at Cincinnati. But he’s made the Chiefs look brilliant for taking a chance on him. Kelce already has become the first tight end in NFL history with four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, and with eight catches for 74 yards in last week’s 26-3 romp in Chicago, he became the first with back-to-back seasons of at least 1,200 yards. He’ll be headed to yet another Pro Bowl this season, unless the Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl instead.

NEW YORK (AP) — For the fourth consecutive week, the Baltimore Ravens are the unanimous choice as the top team in the AP Pro32 poll. The New Orleans Saints remained No. 2. The San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers each moved up a spot respectively to round out the top five. The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots moved up one spot to No. 6.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Second-ranked Ohio State meets No. 22 West Virginia as one of two games on the week’s AP Top 25 schedule matching a pair of ranked teams. The Buckeyes have already beaten Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky in nonconference play so far. They rank in the top 10 of KenPom’s national offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. The schedule also includes an instate rivalry game between No. 3 Louisville and No. 19 Kentucky. Gonzaga is off this week after becoming the sixth different team to reach No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll this season.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources are investigating two separate hunting incidents. One happened in Warren County on December 22nd, at around 10:30-a.m.. Authorities say Austin Pontier, of St. Charles, was shot by a member of his hunting party while participating in a deer drive south of St. Charles. Pontier was taken to a local hospital and treated and released. His wound was non-life threatening.

The second incident happened Dec. 21st in Marion County. The DNR says at around 9-a.m., Andrew Strahl, of Des Moines, shot at deer as they crossed a road. While shooting, he hit a house north of Pleasantville in rural Marion County. DNR conservation officers are continuing to investigate both hunting incidents at this time.

For the second time this season, Northwest Missouri State junior forward Ryan Hawkins has been named the MIAA men’s basketball athlete of the week.

Hawkins (Atlantic, Iowa) averaged 28.5 points per game and shot 70.6 percent from the field in leading Northwest to a pair of home non-conference victories. Hawkins went 24-of-34 from the field and 8-of-13 from three-point range in the two contests. Hawkins went for 32 points against Central Methodist and then followed that up with 25 points against Truman State.

Hawkins shot 13-of-15 from the field (including 5-of-6 from 3-point range) and tallied five steals against Central Methodist. Hawkins drained 11-of-19 field goals and 3-of-7 three-pointers to go along with seven rebounds and four assists vs. Truman State.

Hawkins leads the MIAA in scoring (24.3 points per game), field goal percentage (.582), three-point field goal percentage (.457) and total steals (25).

The No. 2-ranked Bearcats (10-1 overall, 1-1 MIAA) will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 1:30 p.m. against Simpson College at Bearcat Arena. Fans can gain free admission with a canned food donation for the January 1 contest.

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Curt Flood set off the free-agent revolution 50 years ago Tuesday with a 128-word, two-paragraph letter to baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. St. Louis had traded the All-Star center fielder to Philadelphia. Flood refused to accept the Cardinals’ right to deal him and challenged the reserve clause in the first shot of a labor war that would consume the sport for more than a quarter-century. He lost, but the union won free agency in a 1975 arbitration decision. Baseball’s average major league salary has risen from just under $25,000 at the time of Flood’s letter to just over $4 million.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Second-ranked Ohio State meets No. 22 West Virginia as one of two games on the week’s AP Top 25 schedule matching a pair of ranked teams. The Buckeyes have already beaten Villanova, North Carolina and Kentucky in nonconference play so far. They rank in the top 10 of KenPom’s national offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. The schedule also includes an instate rivalry game between No. 3 Louisville and No. 19 Kentucky. Gonzaga is off this week after becoming the sixth different team to reach No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll this season.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — It’s getting more and more difficult for Wichita State to play the no-respect card this season. The Shockers were the first team outside the Top 25 in the new poll released Monday, and could soon be crashing the party with games coming up against Abilene Christian and East Carolina. But the game on everybody’s radar is the matchup in early January with No. 9 Memphis, a game that could help shape the rest of the American Athletic Conference race.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs were so dominant in all phases of their 26-3 victory over the Chicago Bears on a cold Sunday night at Soldier Field that it was hard for coach Andy Reid to highlight everyone in his post-game news conference. Patrick Mahomes was dynamic and the Kansas City offense was humming. Terrell Suggs joined a defense that has allowed six points total the past two weeks. Even the special teams were solid with Harrison Butker hitting a career-long 56-yard field goal.