Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Josh Allen’s deep throw in overtime, and Bo Nix led the Broncos into position for Wil Lutz’s 24-yard field goal that sent Denver to the AFC championship game with a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills

DENVER — Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Josh Allen’s deep throw in overtime, and Bo Nix led the Broncos into position for Wil Lutz’s 24-yard field goal that sent Denver to the AFC championship game with a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

McMillian’s pick was Denver’s fifth takeaway of the game. He wrested the ball away from Brandin Cooks at the Broncos 20-yard line when a field goal would have won the game for Buffalo.

‘The Broncos (15-3) will face either New England or Houston for the AFC title next Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, where Denver has won 14 of its last 15 games.

The Bills (13-6) were flagged for pass interference twice on Denver’s final drive.

Former Broncos kicker Matt Prater nailed a 50-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in regulation, knotting it up at 30-all. That came after Nix’s 26-yard touchdown throw to Marvin Mims Jr. with 55 seconds left had given Denver a 30-27 lead.

Allen, who hadn’t turned the ball over in his previous six playoff appearances, threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles on strip-sacks by Nik Bonitto. P.J. Locke also picked off Allen, ending the QB’s streak of 204 consecutive completions in the postseason.

Bills: Inactive for the game were two defensive starters: S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) and LB Terrel Bernard (calf). … LB Dorian Williams (neck) got hurt covering the opening kickoff and was taken via ambulance to a hospital. … C Connor McGovern was cleared to return just before halftime after being evaluated for a concussion. … DT Ed Oliver, who just returned to the active roster, went out late in the third quarter with a knee injury. The seven-year veteran was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 28 with a left biceps tear that required surgery. He suffered meniscus damage while rehabbing and had another procedure on Dec. 29.

Broncos: WR Pat Bryant sustained a concussion on Denver’s initial drive after he caught three passes for 32 yards. … WR Troy Franklin pulled a hamstring in the second quarter.

The Bills head into another offseason wondering what it’ll take to get to the Super Bowl. This time, Allen didn’t have Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson in the way and still couldn’t get it done.

The Broncos host their first AFC championship in a decade, since the “No Fly Zone” defense that helped them win Super Bowl 50.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

ABUJA, Nigeria — British boxer Anthony Joshua has been released from hospital, Nigerian authorities said late Wednesday night.

The two-time former heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist was involved in a fatal road crash near Lagos on Monday which killed two of his close associates and team members.

Joshua had been under “observation” at Lagoon Hospital in Lagos while recovering from minor injuries, his promoter said Monday.

The Lagos state commissioner for information, Gbenga Omotoso, said in a statement on X that Joshua was discharged late Wednesday afternoon after being deemed clinically fit to recuperate from “home.”

“Anthony and his mother were at the funeral home in Lagos this afternoon to pay their final respects to his two departed friends as they were being prepared for repatriation scheduled for later this evening,” Omotosho said.

Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele were killed in the crash. Ghami was Joshua’s strength and conditioning coach while Ayodele was a trainer. Just hours before the crash, Joshua and Ayodele posted clips on social media playing table tennis together.

The accident has elicited growing concerns about road safety in Nigeria, where accidents are common.

The West African nation recorded 5,421 deaths in 9,570 road accidents in 2024, according to data by the country’s Federal Road Safety Corps. Its data showed 340 more people were killed in road accidents last year compared to 2023.

Joshua had recently won a bout against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Dec. 19, a fight he used to improve fitness in a bid to contest future top-flight boxing titles.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander walked off the court for the final time this season, collapsed into the arms of coach Mark Daigneault and finally smiled.

It was over.

The climb is complete. The rebuild is done. The Oklahoma City Thunder are champions.

The best team all season was the best team at the end, bringing the NBA title to Oklahoma City for the first time. Gilgeous-Alexander finished off his MVP season with 29 points and 12 assists, and the Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers — who lost Tyrese Haliburton to a serious leg injury in the opening minutes — 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

“It doesn’t feel real,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “So many hours. So many moments. So many emotions. So many nights of disbelief. So many nights of belief. It’s crazy to know that we’re all here, but this group worked for it. This group put in the hours and we deserve this.”

Jalen Williams scored 20 points and Chet Holmgren had 18 for the Thunder, who finished off a season for the ages. Oklahoma City won 84 games between the regular season and the playoffs, tying the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls for third most in any season.

Only Golden State (88 in 2016-17) and the Bulls (87 in 2015-16) won more.

It’s the second championship for the franchise. The Seattle SuperSonics won the NBA title in 1979; the team was moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. There’s nothing in the rafters in Oklahoma City to commemorate that title.

In October, a championship banner is finally coming. A Thunder banner.

The Pacers led 48-47 at the half even after losing Haliburton to what his father said was an Achilles tendon injury about seven minutes into the game. But they were outscored 34-20 in the third quarter as the Thunder built a 13-point lead and began to run away.

Bennedict Mathurin had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana, which still is waiting for its first NBA title. The Pacers — who were 10-15 after 25 games and were bidding to be the first team in NBA history to turn that bad of a start into a championship — had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the series, but they simply didn’t have enough in the end.

Home teams improved to 16-4 in NBA Finals Game 7s. And the Thunder became the seventh champion in the last seven seasons, a run of parity like none other in NBA history.

Pacers forward Pascal Siakam was part of the Toronto team that won in 2019, Thunder guard Alex Caruso was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won in the pandemic “bubble” in 2020, Milwaukee won in 2021, Golden State in 2022, Pacers forward Thomas Bryant and Denver prevailed in 2023, and Boston won last year’s title.

And now, the Thunder get their turn. The youngest team to win a title in nearly a half-century has reached the NBA mountaintop.

The Thunder are the ninth franchise to win a title in NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s 12 seasons leading the league. His predecessor, David Stern, saw eight franchises win titles in his 30 seasons as commissioner.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA