Sports

Denver back on top as Porter shines in Miami win

MIAMI, March 14, 2024 (AFP) – Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points as reigning NBA champions the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 100-88 on Wednesday to reclaim top spot in the Western Conference standings. A low-scoring clash between last year’s NBA Finals rivals saw Denver lead for most of the first half before the Heat edge ahead with a third-quarter rally, only for the Nuggets to regain their advantage. Denver pulled clear in the […]

Djokovic claws out win in return to Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, United States, March 10, 2024 (AFP) – Novak Djokovic struggled to a winning comeback at the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters five years after his last appearance, defeating Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday. World number one Djokovic, who had not played since losing an Australian Open semi-final to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in January, is chasing a sixth title at the desert venue in the season’s first Masters event. The 36-year-old Serb […]

NBA champion Nuggets to play Celtics in Abu Dhabi exhibitions

Reigning NBA champion Denver and the Boston Celtics, this year’s leading NBA regular-season club, will meet in pre-season games next October in Abu Dhabi, the league announced on Wednesday. The Celtics, 17-time NBA champions, will face the Nuggets on October 4 and 6 ahead of the start of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. “We’re excited to bring two of the best teams in the NBA to Abu Dhabi,” NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said. “There’s incredible […]

Lakers rout Thunder, Lillard’s 41 helps Bucks sink Clippers

D’Angelo Russell scored 26 points as the Los Angeles Lakers produced a dominant defensive display to upset the Oklahoma City Thunder 116-104 on Monday. Russell and Anthony Davis (24) combined for 50 points while LeBron James added 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in an ultimately comfortable win for the 17-time NBA champions. Oklahoma City went into the game as leaders of the Western Conference and they started smoothly, opening up a 12-point lead […]

Scientists develop mathematical model to optimise elite athletes’ performance

Scientists have developed a mathematical model that promises to optimise training for competitors in 400-metre and 1,500-metre athletics events, according to a study published Tuesday. The model is based on performance data gathered from elite athletes including Olympic 1,500 metres champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Dutch world indoor 400m world record holder Femke Bol and Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith at the 2022 European Championships in Munich. “We wanted to understand what was happening at the physiological […]

Lebron James becomes first NBA player with 40,000 points but Lakers lose

LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2024 (AFP) – LeBron James became the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career regular-season points on Saturday, the 39-year-old superstar scoring nine against defending champion Denver to achieve the milestone. But James called the historic effort “bittersweet” because it came in a losing cause as Nikola Jokic scored 35 points to rally the Nuggets late for a 124-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. “Being the first player to do […]

Lakers hold off Wizards in overtime, Nuggets edge Heat in NBA Finals rematch

The Los Angeles Lakers, fueled by 40 points from Anthony Davis and 31 from LeBron James, pulled off another NBA thriller on Thursday, beating the Washington Wizards 134-131 in overtime. One day after James reeled off 34 points — 19 of them in the fourth quarter — to key a come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers had to dig deep again against a Wizards team tied for the worst record in the […]

Knicks fall to Celtics despite Brunson’s valiant effort

By Pierce Hughes Eagle News Service NEW YORK (Eagle News) — Post All-star break, one would hope to witness a more tightly contested battle between the Eastern Conferences’ top tier teams. That wasn’t the case Saturday when the fourth place New York Knicks fell to the first place Boston Celtics, 116-102. The loss, however, was not without a valiant effort by team leader and first time All-Star Jalen Brunson. Brunson led all scorers with 34 […]

Celtics, Mavs stretch win streaks, triple-double milestone for Jokic

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks picked up where they left off when the NBA resumed following the All-Star break on Thursday as both notched their seventh straight NBA victories. Luka Doncic scored 41 points with nine rebounds and 11 assists and Kyrie Irving added 29 points for the Mavs in a 123-113 home victory over the Phoenix Suns. Derrick White scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum scored 25 to lead the Celtics, who used […]

Age barrier ends Pacquiao’s olympic hope; boxing icon bows out gracefully

MANILA, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – A “saddened and disappointed” Manny Pacquiao conceded Monday his Olympic boxing dream was over after the ring great was denied a berth at this year’s Paris games. The International Olympic Committee rejected a special request for Pacquiao to take part, the Philippine Olympic Committee announced Sunday. Pacquiao, 45, who hung up his gloves in 2021 before an unsuccessful presidential run, said he respected the decision of the IOC, which […]

Woods withdraws with ‘flu-like’ illness at Riviera, Cantlay leads

By Rebecca BRYAN LOS ANGELES, Feb 17, 2024 (AFP) – Ailing superstar Tiger Woods withdrew in the second round of the Genesis Invitational on Friday in the latest setback for the 15-time major champion. Woods’s longtime business partner Rob McNamara said Woods had felt “flu-like symptoms” on Thursday night and his condition worsened until he called it quits after hitting his tee shot at the seventh hole. “He had a little bit of a fever […]

Lue fined $35,000 over ref ‘cheating’ outburst

LOS ANGELES, Feb 16, 2024 (AFP) – Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has been fined $35,000 after accusing referees of “cheating” following his team’s win over the Golden State Warriors, the NBA said Friday. League official Joe Dumars said in a statement Lue had been fined for “public criticism of the officiating” and “questioning the integrity” of game officials in Wednesday’s 130-125 victory over the Warriors in San Francisco. Lue was ejected in […]