Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career.

Ovechkin scored his second goal of the Washington Capitals’ game Friday night against the Chicago Blackhawks on the power play with 13:46 left in the third period. And he did so with Gretzky in attendance for the first time during this chase.

Earlier, he got his 893rd to move one away from tying and two from breaking Gretzky’s mark that long seemed unapproachable. The 39-year-old Russian superstar is now one away from breaking it with 10:56 to go in the game and six left to play this season.

Golf

Harman leads at TExas Open >> Brian Harman found the range with his iron shots and converted eight birdie putts Friday, none outside 12 feet, for a 6-under 66 that gave him a four-shot lead over Keith Mitchell going into the weekend at the Valero Texas Open.

Harman has his first 36-hole lead since Bay Hill a year ago, and this is the largest lead he’s had at the midway point since he led by five at Hoylake in 2023 when he won the British Open.

Mitchell, who needs a victory to get into the Masters next week, had an up-and-down day that added to an even-par 72.

Men’s basketball

Duke’s Flagg wins player of the year >> Freshman Cooper Flagg was named The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year, becoming only the fourth freshman to win the award in its 64-year history.

The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, won a two-man race with Auburn star Johni Broome. Both players were unanimous first-team AP All-Americans with teams at the Final Four, and they were the only two to receive player-of-the-year votes, Flagging 41 of the 61.

Flagg joins Duke’s Zion Williamson (2019), Kentucky’s Anthony Davis (2012) and Texas star Kevin Durant (2007) as freshman winners.

Auburn and St. John’s coaches share honors >> Bruce Pearl has turned Auburn into a basketball school and may have his best team yet. Rick Pitino has done what he does best at St. John’s, ushering in a quick turnaround.

Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of The Associated Press men’s college basketball coach of the year award.

Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville’s Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke’s Jon Scheyer got five. Dennis Gates (Missouri) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) each received three and Drake’s Ben McCollum and UC San Diego’s Eric Olen each got one vote.

NBA

Celtics break 3 point record in season >> The Boston Celtics broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season against the Phoenix Suns.

They set the mark, surpassing Golden State’s total from two seasons ago, when Payton Pritchard hit a left-wing shot 3:40 into the second quarter for No. 1,364.

Kristaps Porzingis tied the mark when he up-faked a defender, dribbled to his left a few feet before hitting one from the top with 9:37 left in the second quarter.

Grizzies Morant fined $75,000 >> Ja Morant showed off an imaginary gun. The NBA hit back with a real fine.

A day after Morant again used his aiming-a-gun gesture to celebrate making 3-pointers, the Grizzlies’ star was fined $75,000 by the league Friday. It’s the second time this week that Morant — who was suspended twice in 2023 for incidents with actual weapons — heard from the league about mimicking the act of using a gun during a game.

Women’s basketball

USC’s Watkins wins player of the year >> JuJu Watkins, the sensational sophomore who led Southern California to its best season in nearly 40 years, was honored as The Associated Press women’s basketball Player of the Year.

Watkins, whose Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title for their first conference crown in 31 years, received 29 votes from the 31-member national media panel that votes on the AP Top 25 each week. Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo got the other two. Both were first-team AP All-Americans.

Watkins became just the fourth player to win the award in her sophomore year, joining Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris (2007) and UConn stars Maya Moore (2009) and Breanna Stewart (2014). The AP started giving out the award in 1995 and Watkins is the first Trojans player to win it.

NFL

WR Jones announces retirement >> Julio Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and the leading receiver in Atlanta Falcons history, announced his retirement.

Jones, 36, did not play in 2024 after playing in 11 games, including four starts, and catching 11 passes for 74 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 with Philadelphia.

Jones played for Atlanta from 2011-2021, setting franchise records with 848 catches for 12,896 yards. He had 60 touchdown catches with the Falcons and was a two-time first-team All-Pro. He earned three second-team All-Pro honors.

WNBA

Delle-Donne retires >> Seven-time WNBA All-Star Elena Delle Donne, a two-time league MVP and a key part of Washington’s 2019 championship, is retiring after 11 seasons.

The second overall pick in 2013 by Chicago, Delle Donne spent a dozen years as one of the faces of the WNBA. She played the last six seasons of her career in Washington — she opted out of 2020 because of health concerns — and turned down a contract in February 2024 to step away from basketball.

She averaged 19.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in 241 regular-season games. She also played in 40 playoffs games, where she averaged 17.9 points, 6.1 boards and 2.3 assists.

Soccer

De Bruyne set to leave Man City >> Kevin De Bruyne says he will leave Manchester City — confirming these are his “final months” with the Premier League champion.

De Bruyne joined City from Wolfsburg for around $71 million in 2015 and has gone on to win every major honor with the club, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.

In all he has helped City win 16 major trophies — including the Club World Cup — and established himself as one of the all-time Premier League greats.

With 118 assists in the Premier League, De Bruyne is second behind Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, who provided 162, on the all-time list.

UEFA fines Mbappe >> Real Madrid stars Kylian Mbappé and Antonio Rüdiger were fined by UEFA on Friday but escaped bans from the Champions League quarterfinals over “indecent” post-game celebrations in the previous round.

Mbappé and Rüdiger were both given a suspended one-game ban for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct,” UEFA said, but those are subject to a one-year probationary period.