MEDLEY, Fla. – Chelsea Gray and Angel Reese are a tough pair to guard in the pick-and-roll. They had no problem executing it down the stretch of their fourth Unrivaled win.

Gray scored the game-winning shot to finish with 26 points, Reese had 16 points and 15 rebounds for another double-double, and the Rose beat the Vinyl 61-55 in the first of two Unrivaled games Tuesday night.

Despite leading 13-2 after the first quarter, the Rose found itself trailing 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter. But, the Rose won the final frame and are now .500, improving to 4-4.

“We went down, and nobody really hung their head. None of them thought, ‘Oh man, this is over.’ They just went on a run, and it was always ‘we can get the next stop, and then we’re executing on offense,’ Rose coach Nola Henry said. “The only thing that matters is what’s right in front of you.”

Gray and Reese provided a steady diet of offense with their pick-and-roll actions. Reese was often under the basket, while Gray found space in the paint to take over the game. Brittney Sykes added 17 points in the Rose win.

“There was one play they found that was pretty successful for them,” Vinyl coach Teresa Weatherspoon said of the Gray-Reese connection. “What we did to even have ourselves back into the game, that’s something we can build off of.”

The Vinyl outscored the Rose 24-16 in the second quarter and 23-19 in the third quarter. But they ultimately fell flat in the final quarter, as the Rose took the game with a 13-6 advantage.

Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, while Dearica Hamby had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Vinyl in the loss.

Kayla McBride scored 30 points, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points and the game-winner in her first Unrivaled game on a player relief contract, and the Laces beat the Phantom 75-68 in the second game.

Unrivaled’s second half unofficially began Tuesday night. Four of the six teams will reach the playoff semifinals on March 16, and the final will be played on March 17.

Check out these highlights from Unrivaled’s games Tuesday night from USA TODAY Sports:

Unrivaled highlights

Unrivaled final score: Laces 75, Phantom 68

Kayla McBride scored 30 points, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points and the game-winner in her first Unrivaled game on a player relief contract, and the Laces beat the Phantom 75-68 in the second of two games Tuesday night.

Laney-Hamilton joined the league officially on Tuesday when she was named to the Laces’ roster. The Laces barely had five players active for the game.

Tiffany Hayes (concussion protocol), Kate Martin (left leg), Alyssa Thomas (right leg) and Jackie Young (left leg) did not play. The Laces also have Natisha Hiedeman and Kiki Jefferson signed to player-relief contracts due to injuries.

Sabrina Ionescu had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Satou Sabally scored 15 points and Brittney Griner had 14 points for the Phantom in the loss.

Unrivaled third quarter score: Laces 63, Phantom 59

Target winning score: 74

Kayla McBride had a steal and scored at the free throw line to finish the third quarter with 24 points, helping the Laces take a 63-59 lead into the fourth quarter. Satou Sabally has scored 15 points, while Sabrina Ionescu has 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Phantom.

The first team to reach 74 points will win.

Unrivaled halftime score: Laces 41, Phantom 37

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has 11 points in her first Unrivaled game, and Kayla McBride has 10 points with six rebounds for the Laces, up 41-37 at halftime against the Phantom.

Sabrina Ionescu came alive with 10 points in the second quarter, along with nine total rebounds for the Phantom.

Unrivaled first quarter score: Laces 19, Phantom 13

Kayla McBride scored six points, and all five Laces players scored in the first quarter to fuel a 19-13 lead over the Phantom.

The Phantom’s Katie Lou Samuelson scored five points, while Brittney Griner had four points and Sabrina Ionescu had five rebounds in the first quarter.

Unrivaled final score: Rose 61, Vinyl 55

Chelsea Gray scored 26 points, Angel Reese had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the Rose beat the Vinyl 61-55 in the first of two Unrivaled games on Tuesday night.

Gray scored the game-winning bucket, while Brittney Sykes added 17 points in the Rose win.

“We just needed a dub, and everybody contributed,” Gray said of the victory.

Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, while Dearica Hamby had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Vinyl in the loss.

Unrivaled third quarter score: Vinyl 49, Rose 48

Target winning score: 60

It’ll be a race to 60 points in the fourth quarter between the Vinyl and Rose.

Rhyne Howard leads all scorers with 24 points, and Dearica Hamby has 16 points with nine rebounds as the Vinyl leads 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

Chelsea Gray has 17 points, while Angel Reese has 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Rose.

Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 29, Vinyl 26

The Vinyl have turned it around, outscoring the Rose 24-16 in the second quarter, but still trail heading into halftime.

Rhyne Howard has 15 points for the Vinyl to lead all scorers, while Chelsea Gray has 11 points and Brittney Sykes has 10 points for the Rose.

Unrivaled first quarter score: Rose 13, Vinyl 2

Chelsea Gray has nine of the Rose’s 13 points, while the Vinyl shot 1 of 20 from the field in the first quarter. Even though the Rose lead, both teams combined to shoot 6 of 36 in the first quarter. Angel Reese already has six rebounds, while Azurá Stevens has five for the Rose.

How to watch Unrivaled games Tuesday night on TV

Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.

Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV

How to live stream Unrivaled games on Tuesday night

Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.

Unrivaled standings

Here are the Unrivaled standings heading into the second half of the season:

Lunar Owls (8-0)
Laces (4-3)
Rose (3-4)
Vinyl (3-4)
Phantom (2-5)
Mist (2-6)

Rose (3-4) vs. Vinyl (3-4) preview

The Rose hope to extend a two-game winning streak, while the Vinyl hope to break a four-game skid in tonight’s game.

Chelsea Gray leads Unrivaled with 44 assists, while Reese is first in offensive rebounds (3.1) and fourth in total rebounds per game (9.6) for the Rose. Kahleah Copper won’t be available for the Rose due to a right leg injury.

Dearica Hamby is Unrivaled’s third-leading scorer (21.2 points) and the fourth-leading rebounder (10.4), while Rhyne Howard (13.2 points) and Arike Ogunbowale (13.0) round out the Vinyl’s starting lineup.

Phantom (2-5) vs. Laces (4-3) preview

The Laces hope to have five players active for tonight’s game. Tiffany Hayes (concussion protocol), Kate Martin (left leg), Alyssa Thomas (right leg) are out for tonight’s game.

Kayla McBride is second in Unrivaled with 24.7 points, but questionable to play due to a left leg injury. Jackie Young is also questionable with a left leg injury. Stefanie Dolson is healthy and available.

The Laces have Natisha Hiedeman, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Kiki Jefferson signed to player-relief contracts. If McBride or Young play, Jefferson would not be eligible to play.

The Phantom hopes to snap a two-game skid behind its stars Ionescu, Brittney Griner and Satou Sabally. Ionescu had a breakout game for the Phantom on Jan. 31, where she had 38 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the club’s last win against the Rose.

Napheesa Collier wins Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament

Napheesa Collier of the Lunar Owls won Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament, taking home $200,000 after eliminating Aaliyah Edwards in the final. Collier’s Lunar Owls teammates each received $10,000 for her victory.

Edwards earned $50,000 as a runner-up, while Arike Ogunbowale and Azurá Stevens each earned $25,000 as semifinalists.

What is Unrivaled?

Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in the 3-on-3, full court games.

Where is Unrivaled playing games?

Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Florida, which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.

Unrivaled team names and rosters

Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (relief player contract), Kiki Jefferson (relief player contract).
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.

Unrivaled rules to know 

Unrivaled games start with three seven-minute quarters, and games end when the target winning score is reached in the fourth quarter. The target winning score is 11 points higher than the highest team’s score after the third quarter, known as the Elam Ending. 
Players also take just one free throw after being fouled: A free throw equals two or three points depending on the shooting foul. 
How long is the Unrivaled court size? It is 72 feet long by 49.2 feet wide. NBA and WNBA courts are 94 feet long and 50 feet wide. 

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spring training has just begun, with opening day still a month away, but players and executives echo the phrase no one in the industry wants to hear:

Work stoppage.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t expire until Dec. 1, 2026, with two full seasons still to be played, but you can’t stroll into a spring training camp without hearing about it.

Many team owners already are campaigning for a salary cap, blaming the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets with payrolls exceeding $300 million, convincing their fans they can’t compete with the huge payroll disparity.

Players are blaming the owners, saying that everyone should act like the Dodgers and Mets and do everything they possibly can to win a World Series championship.

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Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, hears it too, as he begins talking to all 30 teams beginning Tuesday with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians.

“When the commissioner suggests openly that the expectation is a work stoppage and that a lockout is the new norm or should be considered as much,’ Clark told USA TODAY Sports, “that’s going to lend itself to some conversation even though we’re a year and a half, two years away from the expiration of the agreement.

“We’ll continue to talk about it openly too. It’ll be in an environment where the game seems to be moving forward positively, while the other side keeps interjecting negativity into the conversation. But we’ll navigate it accordingly.’

It’s perfectly clear that no matter how much rhetoric there is about a salary cap over the years, the union has never altered its stance.

“I’ll say this, the league has been interested in a salary cap for decades,’ Clark said at the union’s office before the Players Trust Playmakers Classic event Tuesday.

“And our position has been the same for decades.’

Instead of moaning and groaning about the Dodgers’ $390 million payroll, or Mets owner Steve Cohen signing Juan Soto for a record $765 million, perhaps, Clark suggests, it’s time to emulate them.

“I have a dream,’ Clark said, “that starting the year all 30 teams would be committed to be the last team standing.’

Yet, the reality is that 22 of the 30 teams have lowered payroll this season, with only five free agents receiving contracts of at least five years. While there has been nearly $3.2 billion spent in free agency, pleasing the union, eight teams have accounted for about 75% of the spending. There are 14 teams that have spent less than $45 million in an industry that generated a record $12.1 billion last year.

“It’s interesting that more questions aren’t being asked of those teams,’ Clark said of the teams that lowered their payroll. “We’re in a climate where there have been releases highlighting how well the industry is doing, and that the revenue in the industry is growing at all-time highs, and yet we’ve got two-thirds of the league that seems to be sitting on its hands.’

Clark also points out that owners claiming poverty seem to have money for other investments.

“Hypothetically speaking, it’s an interesting dynamic when a club says it doesn’t have any money,’ Clark said, “but it’s otherwise investing hundreds of millions in properties around the ballpark. And then leveraging the value it creates for the club to take more money to do more more with that property, all while running a professional ballclub. …

“I always find it fascinating when clubs talk about their finances and do so against the backdrop of an industry that’s growing as quickly as this one. That’s an interesting dynamic.’

There’s something amiss when 19 teams have spent less than the Athletics, who broke club-records in the free-agent market only because they were forced to raise their payroll as a revenue-sharing recipient. The union can file a grievance if revenue-sharing recipients don’t have a payroll of at least 150% of what they receive in assistance to improve their performance.

“It was good to see a team involved in improving itself and accessing the free agent market to do so,’ Clark said. “It will be exciting when all 30 teams are looking to be the last team standing.’

Clark is not suggesting that all teams have to spend money like the Dodgers or the Mets, but believes there’s no reason why all 30 teams can’t have the same desire to win. Money doesn’t guarantee a championship, with only four of the highest-spending teams winning the World Series in the past 25 years, but it can certainly provide hope.

“It’s amazing, when you talk to a player, he’s going to challenge whoever is assumed to be at the mountaintop,’ Clark said. “Fans are too, except they want to see their teams put themselves in the best position to challenge, and that’s simply not happening.

“It’s a concern, it has been a concern in the past, and it’s a concern now.’

Instead of calling the Dodgers the new “Evil Empire,’ perhaps they should be the model franchise for all to emulate.

Instead of complaining about the Dodgers and their $1 billion in deferred contracts, there’s no reason why other teams can’t follow suit. You don’t have to be a big-market team to defer contracts. Everyone has the right.

“We want to make sure that the clubs and the players have as much flexibility to sign they deals they want to sign,’ Clark said, “and the [clubs] to get the players that they want to sign.

“That flexibility has been there for a long time. Some clubs have been taking advantage of it. Some have not. The Dodgers have started taking advantage of it more. But there’s no reason other clubs can’t do it too.

“There’s flexibility there. It’s there for a reason despite the fact that the league has been interesting in trying to remove it.’

It’s too early for dialogue between MLB and the union for the next CBA. The two sides aren’t expected to even begin talking about minor issues until January 2026. But that day is approaching, and already it has become a burning topic.

“I try to be a glass half-full guy,’ Clark said.

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The silence from the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL on Justin Tucker is, sadly, not at all surprising.

It’s now 16 female massage therapists who’ve said the star kicker was sexually inappropriate with them during massages, and the details reported by The Baltimore Banner are disturbingly similar. Tucker intentionally exposed himself during massages booked outside the team, the women said. In some cases, therapists said he brushed his erect penis against them. At least four therapists told the Banner they found what appeared to be ejaculate on the sheet after Tucker left.

Several of the women provided corroboration of their experiences, and two spas told the Banner they had banned Tucker because of his inappropriate behavior.

Yet all the Ravens will say is that they’re “aware” of the allegations against Tucker, long one of their most high-profile players, as well as his denial of them. The NFL says it is reviewing the matter under its personal conduct policy, with no timeline for a decision.

“We take any allegations of this nature seriously and will continue to monitor the situation,” the Ravens said.

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How many more women need to come forward before the Ravens or the NFL take action? 15? 30? 100? What happened to that “zero tolerance” policy coach John Harbaugh so proudly noted when he was asked about the last NFL player to sexually abuse massage therapists?

“I respect what (owner) Steve Bisciotti has created here … really almost 10 years ago. We’re kind of zero tolerance,” Harbaugh said in August 2022 in response to Deshaun Watson’s suspension.

“You’ve got to know the truth, you’ve got to try to understand the circumstances,” Harbaugh added. “But we’ve stayed away from that particular situation. When we draft players, when we sign them as free agents. We just haven’t dealt with it. That’s Steve’s decision, and I’m glad we have that policy.”

Baltimore has that policy because of the abysmal way it handled Ray Rice punching his then-fiancee, Janay, in a casino elevator, knocking her unconscious, an incident that laid bare the disdain the NFL has for women.

Don’t let the league’s cheerleading for girls playing flag football or its Super Bowl ads starring self-confident, empowered young women fool you. Don’t be duped by the pink backpacks and Raven-themed thongs and bralettes Baltimore is pushing at its team store.

More than 10 years after Ray Rice, any ‘changes’ the NFL has implemented is lip service at best. The NFL still sees women solely as commodities, their only worth as consumers and to pump up its participation numbers. The Ravens still don’t see abuse of women as a disqualifier.

If a player, especially one as popular as Tucker, harms women, oh well.

Tucker insists he “did not act inappropriately,” and characterized the Banner’s reporting as “desperate, tabloid fodder.” But just as in Watson’s case, it is the sheer volume of women that is so damning. This is not one or two women complaining (though even that would be too many). It is 16, most of whom did not know each other or work together.

Also, just as in Watson’s case, it has to be asked why a professional athlete, whose body is his livelihood, would go to so many different massage therapists without knowing if they’re good or bad, competent or inept. Especially when every NFL team employs or contracts their own.  

It does not matter that these incidents allegedly occurred years ago, between Tucker’s rookie season in 2012 and 2016, or that Tucker has built a seemingly pristine reputation in his 13 years in Baltimore. Degrading a woman is wrong no matter when it happens or who’s doing it, and the lack of urgency from the Ravens and the NFL is telling.

The NFL has proven it can move quickly when it feels a player has tarnished its precious shield. The league is also notorious for its lack of loyalty when players get old and less productive. Yet almost three weeks after the Banner published its first story, the Ravens are still holding on to a 35-year-old kicker who just had the worst season of his career.

Tucker might be a future Hall of Fame kicker. He might also be a sexual predator. That the NFL and the Ravens can’t recognize which of those matters more is not a surprise. They’ve never cared about women and they never will.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

Team USA is dealing with a slew of injuries before playing Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday at TD Garden in Boston.

The Americans lost to Sweden 2-1 on Monday and played with a depleted lineup as forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews sat out and forward Brady Tkachuk was injured in the first period, returned from the dressing room for one shift and didn’t return for the second period.

Team USA coach Mike Sullivan told reporters Tuesday he expects those three to be available for Thursday’s game.

Defenseman Charlie McAvoy is also on the shelf. The Boston Bruins on Tuesday announced that McAvoy was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital to undergo testing related to an ‘upper-body injury’ and will not play in the championship game on Thursday.

Charlie McAvoy injury

McAvoy, a 27-year-old defenseman, was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday night to undergo testing related to an upper-body injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off and was being evaluated on Tuesday, the Bruins announced.

The team, which also announced that McAvoy will not play in Thursday’s championship game, said it will provide further updates on McAvoy’s condition and status as they become available.

Sullivan said Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes is coming to Boston ahead of the final.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY by email that ​Hughes can play ‘only in the event Team USA has an injury emergency prior to (the) game on Thursday that leaves them at below six healthy defensemen.’

Hughes, last year’s Norris Trophy winner, was named to the original team but was ruled out because of a pretournament injury. He has 59 points, matching the total of the USA’s top-scoring defenseman, Zach Werenski.

In 2022, McAvoy underwent a left shoulder arthroscopic stabilization procedure, which put him out for six months. He has also had numerous upper body injuries during his eight-year NHL career.

McAvoy is married to Sullivan’s daughter, Kiley, and the two welcomed a son last month. Sullivan is the Penguins head coach.

“We’re hopeful we’re going to get some of these guys back. I would anticipate we would. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out here over the next day or so,’ Sullivan said Monday night. ‘Obviously, there will be contingency planning in the event that we need people.’

McAvoy has seven goals and 16 assists this season for Boston.

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Harlow, 30, and her NBA star beau Kyle Kuzma, 29, revealed in an exclusive interview with Vogue, published Tuesday, that they got engaged during a romantic trip to Turks and Caicos. Disguised as a getaway for the long weekend, Kuzma chartered a private plane filled with roses, balloons, Champagne and chocolate to jet them off to the Caribbean islands.

‘We’re over the moon,’ Harlow told Vogue.

There, the 6-foot-9 Milwaukee Bucks newcomer ‘threw me off the scent’ by choosing Feb. 13 for his proposal. Harlow gushed to Vogue. ‘I was just like, ‘This is so cute for Valentine’s Day, oh my gosh!”

The Cay Skin founder started to have her suspicions when Kuzma started reading her a poem he’d written but tried to not have any expectations. That is, until he read his final line: ‘Will you be my wife?’

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Vogue noted Harlow gave an immediate yes before her newly minted fiance could propose with the 8.5-carat oval-cut engagement ring he’d spent three months custom designing.

Of the design, which features two baguette stones on the side, Kuzma said: ‘I never really asked her what type of ring she liked or anything. I just wanted to draw a picture of what I felt resembled her — something that was elegant, but very timeless and simplistic at the same time.’

To top it all off, both their families were there to celebrate the couple’s milestone.

A DJ played Jagged Edge’s ‘Let’s Get Married’ as the happy couple arrived at their villa, and everyone enjoyed a surf and turf dinner on the beach. A fireworks show was the cherry on top for Kuzma and Harlow’s engagement story.

Just a week earlier, Harlow had a prime role in opening Christian Siriano’s fall/winter 2025 runway show at New York Fashion Week. She took the lead as the first model to kick off the show, donning a black minidress with red draping in the skirt and off the shoulder, USA TODAY’s Anika Reed reported from the star-studded event. The star-studded front row featured the likes of Katie Holmes, Whoopi Goldberg, Laverne Cox, Danielle Brooks and Julianne Hough.

She also closed out the show with Siriano muse Coco Rocha, with the two holding hands for the grand finale.

Kyle Kuzma ‘slid in the DMs’ twice to get Winnie Harlow’s attention

Kuzma and Harlow first connected ‘at the top of quarantine’ in 2020, when the NBA forward messaged Harlow on Instagram. It was actually his second time reaching out to the model, because Harlow never saw his first message from a year prior.

‘He shot his shot, you know? He slid in the DMs,’ Harlow explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021. ‘That was cute. I was like, ‘Oh hey, how has quarantine been? We kind of just started talking from there.’

‘After a month of being on FaceTime for 24 hours every single day for a month, he was like, ‘You’ve got to come to LA.’ And I’ve been in LA every since,’ she added.