AP

Willis Reed, who dramatically emerged from the locker room minutes before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals to spark the New York Knicks to their first championship and create one of sports’ most enduring examples of playing through pain, has died. He was 80. Reed died Tuesday, according to the National Basketball Retired Players Association, which confirmed it through his family. Reed had been in poor health recently and was unable to travel to New York when the Knicks honored the 50th anniversary of their 1973 NBA championship team last month. Nicknamed “The Captain,” Reed was the undersized center and emotional leader on the Knicks’ two NBA championship teams.

Philadelphia’s All-Star had 36 points and 18 rebounds and played the final 4:12 after a charging call for his sixth foul was overturned, leading the 76ers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Ivan Barbashev scored two goals, Pavel Dorofeyev, Teddy Blueger and Jonathan Marchessault also scored to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

AP

The Philadelphia Flyers have fired general manager Chuck Fletcher and promoted franchise great Danny Briere to the interim job. Fletcher was fired a week after he failed to make any major moves at the trade deadline. The Flyers made the playoffs once in his 4 1/2 years on the job and are 24-30-11 this season. Fletcher also was president of hockey operations. The Flyers said they will separate the general manager and president roles.