LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Croatia’s Bojan Bogdanovic scored 31 points as the Utah Jazz won their ninth straight game with a 127-116 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday. Frenchman Rudy Gobert finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, one of a half-dozen players who finished in double figures for Utah, which improved to 27-12 on the season. The Jazz tightened up their defense in the second half to knock the Wizards off […]
Sports
LeBron leaps Doncic, Giannis into NBA All-Star vote lead
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Five-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James leaped over Slovenian guard Luka Doncic and reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead early fan voting totals for the NBA All-Star Game released Thursday. Los Angeles Lakers star James was more than 53,000 votes behind Dallas star Doncic for the top spot in last week’s first early voting results announcement by the league. But new totals show James with 3,359,871 votes […]
NBA fines ‘reckless’ Portis after flagrant foul on Caldwell-Pope
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York Knicks forward Bobby Portis was fined $25,000 Wednesday for a nasty foul on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope that saw Portis ejected from the Lakers’ win over the Knicks on Tuesday. The fine announced by Kiki VanDeWeghe, executive vice president of basketball operations, was for “recklessly making contact above the shoulders of an airborne shooter.” Caldwell-Pope was driving for a basket in the second quarter, with the Lakers up by […]
Aussie NBA stars donate to bushfire relief effort
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Nine Australian NBA stars have partnered with the league and the National Basketball Players Association Foundation to donate $750,000 towards relief and recovery efforts for Australia’s bushfire disaster, the NBA said Tuesday. “We are heartbroken over the devastation these fires are causing all across our homeland,” the players said in a joint statement. “Our thoughts are with our families, friends and all of the people of Australia. We hope […]
Nets guard Irving says he hopes to avoid shoulder surgery
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Kyrie Irving said the right shoulder injury that has disrupted his debut season with the Brooklyn Nets might need surgery, but he still hopes to avoid it. Irving, who hasn’t played an NBA game since November 14, told reporters on Saturday that he had received a cortisone injection on December 24 as part of his continuing recovery, but the effects can be variable. “You either continue to get cortisone […]
Australian Open delay valid if smoke haze worsens: Djokovic
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Novak Djokovic said Australian Open organizers should consider delaying the first Grand Slam of the year if haze from bush-fires raging around the country threatens players’ health. The opening major of 2020 is due to start at Melbourne Park on January 20 and the city was blanketed by smoke from blazes burning to the east on Saturday, compromising air quality. Djokovic, president of the ATP players council, said in the early […]
Red-hot Porter pushes Nuggets past Pacers, Heat beat Raptors
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Rookie Michael Porter Jr. put on a shooting clinic on Thursday, scoring a career-high 25 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 124-116 NBA victory over the Indiana Pacers. Porter came off the bench and connected on 11 of 12 shots from the field — a 91.7 percent success rate — as the Nuggets shook off a slow start and rebounded from a New Year’s Eve loss to […]
Kyrgios to donate $140 for each ace to help bushfire relief
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Nick Kyrgios has pledged Aus $200 (US$140) for each ace he serves across the Australian summer of tennis to support victims of bushfires raging around the country, with the ATP Cup Friday also promising help. The temperamental Australian, a controversial figure in the sport with a bad boy reputation, has been at the forefront of rallying support among players to help. “I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires. […]
Pelicans rookie Williamson returns to practice
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Number one draft pick Zion Williamson could make his NBA debut soon after taking part in full practice with the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time since having knee surgery in October. “If it was up to me, I would have been out there two weeks ago,” Williamson said after returning to practice on Thursday. “It was just good to get back out there.” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry […]
Doncic edges Giannis for early NBA All-Star voting lead
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Dallas’ Slovenian guard Luka Doncic edged reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee for the overall lead in early NBA All-Star Game voting results released on Thursday. Doncic, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, topped all players with 1,073,957 fan votes with “Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo trailing by only 599 votes and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James third on 1,020,851. Fans have 50 percent of the […]
Greek star Tsitsipas ready for the top
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — With wins over the big three of world tennis already under his belt in 2019, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas said Thursday he believed he had the ammunition to take the world number one ranking. Tsitsipas became the youngest player to beat Rafael Nadal on clay and the youngest to record wins over Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic during a stellar 2019 which saw him rise to world number five. […]
Magic beat Wizards to end four-game losing streak
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — DJ Augustin and Nikola Vucevic combined for 45 points as the Orlando Magic snapped a four-game losing skid with a 122-101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. The Magic, who have the league’s worst offense, grabbed the lead halfway through the second quarter for a four-point advantage at the half, 62-58. They built on that in the second half to put the game away. Augustin finished with a […]





