Potential No. 1 NFL draft pick Abdul Carter has a stress reaction in his right foot, tests revealed Wednesday, and the Penn State standout will need to decide soon whether to have surgery, agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN.

"There are mixed opinions on whether he needs surgery, and we will figure that out in the near future," Rosenhaus said Wednesday night in Indianapolis, site of this week's NFL's scouting combine.

According to Rosenhaus, Carter has two options:

One, he could have preemptive surgery, have a screw inserted in his right foot, and return to working out and running in about eight weeks.

Two, he could bypass the surgery, conduct his pro day at Penn State on March 28 and prove to NFL teams that he doesn't need a procedure.

Carter, his family and agents Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey spent Wednesday consulting with doctors to gather more information. A decision about what Carter will do is expected this week, Rosenhaus said.

"Either way, worst-case scenario, we don't expect this to impact where he is drafted," Rosenhaus said. "After visiting with teams this week, I believe he's going to be the No. 1 overall pick."

Carter already wasn't expected to work out at this week's combine, but that was because of a shoulder injury that he suffered against Boise State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in December.

The star pass rusher instead was scheduled to undergo medical exams and participate in interviews with teams in Indianapolis. Defensive linemen and linebackers were among the first players to arrive at the combine, and those players started their team interviews Monday, with medical exams scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and on-field workouts set for Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Carter met with reporters Wednesday morning and made his case for being picked No. 1 in April's draft.

"I feel like I'm the best player in the country and the best player should be picked first," he said. "It's the work I put in with my dad, who trained me, and all the sacrifices I made, I know I'm the best."

He was asked about his health overall, saying he's "probably about 90% right now," but nothing specifically about his foot came up during the session.

Carter is the No. 2-rated prospect on ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest big board, the No. 1 prospect in ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller's latest rankings and No. 2 in ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid's rankings.

DETROIT -- Malik Beasley scored 26 points, Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 11 assists and the Detroit Pistons beat the Boston Celtics 117-97 on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the NBA's hottest teams.

The Pistons (33-26) won their eighth straight and ended a 12-game losing streak against Boston, two nights after stopping a 10-game skid against the LA Clippers.

Detroit's eight-game run is tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the longest active streak in the NBA. The Pistons have won eight consecutive contests in a season for the first time since a 10-game streak from Jan. 23 to Feb. 13, 2008.

Boston (42-17) had won six straight and 10 of 11. The Celtics' 20-point loss was their second largest of the season, only one point shy of their largest.

Jayson Tatum scored 27 points for Boston, and Derrick White and Payton Pritchard each had 18. Tatum, White and Pritchard combined to shoot 14-of-22 from the floor in the first half, going 11-of-15 on 3-pointers.

It was the Celtics' 19th game this season with 20 or more made 3-pointers, tied with the 2022-23 Golden State Warriors for the most in a season in NBA history. Boston entered the day 17-1 in games in which it made 20-plus 3-pointers this season and 32-1 over the past two seasons.

Jalen Duren added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit. The Pistons had a 49-33 rebounding edge.

The Pistons led 90-79 going into the fourth, then scored the first eight points of the quarter to take a 19-point advantage.

Boston's winning streak against the Pistons dated to Feb. 16, 2022. It was its longest active streak against any opponent and tied the third-longest active win streak against a single opponent in the NBA.

Tied at 55 at halftime, Detroit took control by outscoring the Celtics 35-24 in the third quarter.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON -- Shaedon Sharpe has been one of the NBA's most gifted young dunk artists since he was selected seventh by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2022 NBA draft. But he reached a new level Wednesday night -- literally.

Sharpe's vicious one-handed slam over Justin Champagnie was immediately hailed as one of the best in the NBA this season. He called it the best of his career, and it was part of an all-around career night in Portland's 129-121 win over Washington Wizards.

"I just started like laughing, like, 'Wow, man. Poor kid up under him,'" Portland coach Chauncey Billups said of the slam. "That was pretty incredible."

Sharpe, 21, led Portland with a career-high 36 points, shot 13 of 26 from the floor and sank 7 of 10 free throws, including four in a row down the stretch.

And his signature moment originated with an alert defensive play when he swiped Champagnie's pass beyond the 3-point arc. Sharpe then took one dribble into the paint and launched so high into the air that even his teammates were in disbelief.

"I don't know where he got it from," Blazers forward Deni Avdija said. "I asked him on the bench, 'If I'm going to work as hard as I can, will I be able to jump like you?' I don't know, it's just genes."

Such was the force of his slam that Sharpe crashed briefly to the court after flushing the ball through the net.

"I seen the dude in the way," Sharpe explained, "so I just jumped and tried to dunk it. And it went in."

In 33 minutes, Sharpe also had eight rebounds -- one shy of another career high -- and five assists.

"His offense was incredible," Billups said. "I mean it really was. On all three levels he was incredible the entire time. I thought the defense was high-level as well. I really did. And his rebounding, he got some really, really big rebounds for us."

NEW YORK -- After the Philadelphia 76ers dropped their ninth straight game Wednesday night, a 110-105 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Paul George expounded on his recent decision to stop podcasting, saying it was about putting his full focus into "trying to get this team together."

"It was more so just to focus on here," said George, who had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 42 minutes against the Knicks, a game that saw Philadelphia rally from 19 down to take the lead late before falling short. "I haven't been the healthiest, so it's just been putting a ton of work towards getting my body as healthy as possible, and to keep focus of obviously being here and trying to turn things around here and the full focus is trying to get this team together.

"But we got to give ourselves a chance. Take it one game at a time, but we got to give ourselves a chance to see what we can do down the stretch."

Wednesday was a far different showing than Monday's absolute beatdown at the hands of the Chicago Bulls in Philadelphia, where the 76ers trailed by as many as 50 points and weren't competitive from the opening tip.

After that game, George -- who put out his last episode of "Podcast P with Paul George" earlier that morning -- said the 76ers have "shown no sign of a team that will compete. We just don't have the habits a champion, or playoff contending team, would have.

"To be honest, right now it's a little far-fetched."

While the 76ers' defeat Wednesday night extended their losing streak beyond three weeks, the performance was at least was a step in the right direction.

And for George -- who had his best game in a month -- it came after his podcast announcement, which he said he had been thinking about for some time.

"It was something that was kind of racking in my head a little bit just because of [being] new to the city, being acclimated to Philadelphia," George said. "It just came to the point where it was like, 'All right, this is the time to kind of take a step back for a second.'"

With the Brooklyn Nets losing across town to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 76ers remain ensconced in the sixth spot in the NBA's draft lottery, and 2 games back of the Bulls for the 10th and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.

If Philadelphia's pick lands in the top six in June's NBA draft, the 76ers will keep it, the result of a trade in 2020 with the Thunder. If it lands anywhere from 7-30, it will go to Oklahoma City instead.

Throughout this season, the focus for the 76ers has been on making a run and getting their big three of George, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid all on the court. Now, though, it is unlikely all three will play together again this season.

Embiid was out for a second straight game Wednesday and continues to confer with doctors -- along with the 76ers -- after undergoing imaging Monday on his troublesome left knee.

An update on his status, and whether he will be shut down for the season, is expected in the coming days.

George, meanwhile, has admitted to playing through injuries, while Maxey is dealing with a right finger injury he suffered during Saturday's loss to the Nets that has impacted his ballhandling and shooting.

"It's hurting," said Maxey, who had 30 points and 5 assists against the Knicks but shot 12-for-32 from the floor, including missing all 10 of his 3-point attempts. "But I'll be fine."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout hit his first homer of spring training on Wednesday, a solo shot over the left-field wall as the Los Angeles Angels star tries to bounce back from several injury-filled seasons.

The 33-year-old went deep in the third inning off Cincinnati Reds reliever Bryan Shaw. Trout was the designated hitter and plans to play a majority of his games in right field, moving from center in an attempt to preserve his health.

"It felt good," Trout said. "Just having some good at-bats, seeing pitches and got a good result."

Trout played just 29 games last season and had surgery on May 3 to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

He missed all but 36 games of the 2021 season with a strained right calf, and was out between July 12 and Aug. 19 in 2022 because of an injury to his upper back and ribcage. Trout broke the hamate bone in his left hand when he fouled off a pitch on July 3, 2023, missing all but one game after July 3.

Trout's last MVP season came in 2019 when he hit .291 with 45 homers and 104 RBI. He has a .299 career average with 378 homers over 14 seasons with the Angels.

Trout said his transition to right field has gone well. He's played one game at the position so far this spring training and said he's scheduled to be in right again later this week.

"Looking forward to it, getting some reads off the bat," Trout said. "It's different visuals you've got to work on and then you've got different angles on the line at different stadiums. It'll be an adjustment but I'm enjoying it."

TAMPA, Fla. -- St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado made the three-hour, cross-state drive to play in an exhibition game Wednesday against the New York Yankees, among the teams that may be open to acquiring him in a trade.

He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and disputed the notion the game was a "showcase" of himself to a potential suitor.

"I didn't come here for that," Arenado told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "Day 3 of spring training. That wouldn't be a good day to showcase myself. I'm not ready for that."

Arenado, on the trade market because of declining production and a contract that will pay him $74 million over the next three seasons, said he was given the option to skip the trip but wanted see friends DJ LeMahieu and Paul Goldschmidt, both Yankees infielders, and an athletic trainer he knows in the area.

He said he wanted to get three at-bats, which kept him in the game for seven innings -- another February rarity for a veteran. Arenado struck out on three pitches, lined out to second and whiffed on a 1-2 count.

"My body is ready for it," he said. "I'm ready for nine. My timing [at the plate] is not."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will make his first spring training appearance of the year Friday night against his old team, the Angels.

Ohtani, 30, will be the designated hitter. Roberts has not given a timetable for Ohtani's return to the pitcher's mound other than to say he hopes it would be "sooner than later." Roberts has ruled Ohtani out for the March 18-19 season-opening series in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs.

Ohtani injured his left shoulder sliding into second base during the World Series, when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games. He did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers, while recovering from surgery to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.

Playing exclusively as a batter, he hit 54 home runs with 59 stolen bases -- the first person in the major league 50/50 club -- and won his third unanimous MVP award.

As a pitcher, Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA, including a 10-5 record and 3.14 ERA in 2023 before he was injured that August.