NASSAU, Bahamas — The 24-year-old rising star put a nice ribbon on a three-win year in golf by posing with Tiger Woods at the trophy presentation Sunday in the Hero World Challenge.
It just wasn’t the winner anyone imagined.
Not even Viktor Hovland thought it was realistic he could rally from 6 shots behind Collin Morikawa, the steady hand who was poised to reach No. 1 in the world with a victory.
Instead, the Norwegian did the unthinkable in a final round at Albany that was pure chaos.
He looked up from a greenside bunker on the ninth hole and saw Morikawa sliding fast with a pair of double bogeys. Hovland seized on the opportunity with back-to-back eagles and closed with a pair of bogeys he could afford for a 6-under 66 and a 1-shot victory.
“I didn’t think a win was going to be very possible,” Hovland said. “But I know this course is tricky. You can make birdies, but it’s easy to make bogeys and doubles. If I put a good score up there, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Just about everything did.
On the same hole Hovland holed a bunker shot for eagle, Sam Burns went from a tie for the lead to a triple bogey when it took 5 shots to get up a slope from 15 yards away. Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson were penalized 2 shots for hitting shots off the 17th tee while playing the ninth hole. Scottie Scheffler was 7 shots behind, made a triple bogey on his fourth hole and still nearly won.
The biggest surprise was Morikawa — Hovland’s roommate for the week at Albany — who took a 5-shot lead into the final round and wasn’t even a serious factor over the final hour. Two double bogeys and a 41 on the front nine sent him to a 76.
“A little sad to see him not play his best today,” Hovland said. “He’s a great player and I expected him to just kind of roll away with the victory. But sometimes this sport is not that easy and I’m sure he’ll come back even stronger.”
Ultimately, this was about the other 24-year-old adding to his big year after wins in Germany on the European Tour and Mexico on the PGA Tour. His third win of the year against a 20-man elite field moved him to No. 7 in the world.
Morikawa, the Open champion and first American to be No. 1 on the European Tour and newly engaged as of Tuesday, looked like he would breeze to a fourth win of the year in the Bahamas.
But he missed three birdie chances from 10 feet or closer at the start of the round and then went sideways when his approach on No. 4 sailed into a big bush and led to double bogey, and the same thing happened — presumably with mud on the ball — at the par-5 sixth for another double bogey. A chunked wedge on the par-5 ninth led to bogey.
A victory would have made him the 25th player to reach No. 1 in the world since the ranking began in 1986. That position still belongs to U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who didn’t play this week.
Hovland was among five players who had at least a share of the lead at some point. That changed on the reachable par-4 14th.
In the group behind Burns, who made his triple bogey, Hovland had a lie so challenging in the bunker he thought about aiming away from the flag to make sure it stayed on the green.
“But I decided to just give it some extra speed, which has kind of been one of the things I’ve been struggling with around the greens,” he said. “If it’s a high-pressure situation, I tend to hit it soft instead of going for the open face and hit it hard. And I decided to do that there and it worked out.”
He followed with a 7-iron to 20 feet on the par-5 15th for eagle to stretch his lead, and he wasn’t done. Hovland’s next shot dropped next to the cup for a 3-foot birdie.
He finished at 18-under 270.
Scheffler narrowly missed a fifth straight birdie on the 18th hole. He shot 66 and finished 1 shot behind, ending a year in which he made a sterling Ryder Cup debut but still has yet to win on the PGA Tour.
Bryson DeChambeau finished his day with a triple bogey from the water. He was leading after 36 holes and finished in a tie for 14th in the 20-man field.
Spieth and Stenson were at the bottom of the pack all day, and they were assured of staying there when they walked back to where the ninth tee had been all week, not realizing that it was used as the tee for the par-3 17th hole and they should have been playing about 25 yards farther ahead. They had to replay the hole and add 2 shots to their score.
It was that kind of day, and the action never stopped until Woods — in a red shirt, of course — handed the trophy to the Norwegian. Hovland is the third straight international winner, following Henrik Stenson and Rahm.
Aruna Quadri has recorded his first victory at the ongoing World Table Tennis (WTT) Cup championship in Singapore.
Quadri, who is representing Nigeria at the Championship, defeated the world number eight player, Liang Jingkun of China to 3-1 (7–11, 11-1, 14-12,11-5) in round 16 of the men’s singles event to qualify for the quarter finals.
Quadri is the first African player to get to the quarter finals at the ongoing championship, rising to become the world number 13th player.
He ascribed his performance to hardwork and dedication.
“I kept fighting and I did not give up. I tried my best and it worked out for me in the end. I think my positive mindset also contributed to my performance.
“I am very happy and excited, I think I’m just so lucky in this match, everyone is so tired from the championships in Houston.
“I could see he was tired also, so I kept my cool, and it actually worked for me. “I put several balls to the table and he made a lot of errors,” he said.
Having lost the first game 7-11 to trail 1-0 on the game, Aruna began the second set on a high note, winning 11 straight points to swiftly even the game 11-1 for 1-1.
Unlike his Chinese opponent who had the technical support of his coach, Quadri had no technical support in his corner. He, however, drew motivation from the support he got from Nigerian fans and others from around the world.
“This win is for all my fans and everyone back home in Nigeria and Africa.
“I always believed that If I was selected to be here that meant I had what was needed to play.
“I was not under any kind of pressure, I just wanted to play my game and be myself,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian will face Brazil’s Hugo Calderano in quarterfinal, after the Brazilian defeated China’s Lin Gaoyuan 3-0 in round of 16.
Jake Paul confirms Tommy Fury has pulled out of December fight
The 22-year-old today announced he was pulling out of his highly anticipated fight with YouTuber Paul. The pair were due to settle a long-running online feud in Tampa, Florida on December 18, before Fury announced he was struggling with a bacterial chest infection and a broken rib. The boxer, who is the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson, said he was “absolutely heartbroken” to be pulling out through fitness issues, and was hoping for a rescheduled date next year.
In the meantime, Paul announced he would instead face MMA star Tyron Woodley, who he beat by split decision in August.
The Fury family are notoriously outspoken, and the build-up to Fury and Paul’s fight had been fraught with tension.
Comments by Tyson, talking up the toughness of his younger brother, have been circulating on social media since Fury pulled out of the bout.
Speaking to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions channel, in a clip re-shared by Paul, Tyson said: “Tommy could have his worst night ever and still beat Jake Paul.
Tyson was made to eat his words after his brother’s withdrawal (Image: Getty)
Fury withdrew from the lucrative bout due to a broken rib and a severe chest infection (Image: Getty)
“He could probably turn up with broken ribs, a broken left hand, two left feet, his clothes on back-to-front and with the flu and still beat Jake Paul.
“That’s how confident I am in him beating Jake Paul.”
Fury had been training with Tyson and his trainer SugarHill Steward for the Paul fight.
The lucrative bout had come under much criticism with both Paul and Fury having novice records.
Paul announced he would instead face MMA star Tyron Woodley (Image: Getty)
The UK boxer, who has just seven professional victories in his career, had previously said that he only took the fight to make money and that a victory would have given him “no credit in the boxing world”.
Fury, who also had little amateur pedigree with just 12 fights before he turned pro, propelled to stardom on the reality TV series Love Island and has since established a perfect record in the paid ranks.
Paul has a professional record of four wins, against social media celebrity AnEsonGib, former NBA star Nate Robinson and MMA fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
In a statement released today, Fury said: “I am absolutely heartbroken that I have been forced to withdraw from my fight with Jake Paul due to a bacterial chest infection and broken rib.
Fury propelled to fame after appearing on Love Island (Image: Getty)
“The beginning of my camp was going so incredibly and I never expected anything to come in my way from victory on December 18.
“I can’t express how disappointed I am and I really do hope we can get this fight rescheduled in the new year, I want this fight to still happen more than anything.
“I’m now regretfully putting my focus on recovery and a further reschedule date.”
Paul confirmed on social media that Fury had pulled out of the fight before the specifics of the British boxer’s injuries were revealed.
Paul unleashed a foul-mouthed attack at Fury (Image: Getty)
The social media star then unleashed a foul-mouthed attack on the boxer, labelling him the sport’s “biggest b****”.
Paul said: “It is official, Tommy Fury is boxing’s biggest b****.
“He has pulled out of the fight, the Furys have pulled out of the fight due to a medical condition.
“Who knows what the f*** is going on in that camp ‒ I think he has a bad case of puss-itis.”
Paul added: “I’ve fought with a broken nose, I’ve fought sick, get the f*** over it, this is boxing.
“It’s official, he was scared. I think the pressure got to him, the s*** talk got to him.”
The German Football Association (DFB) on Monday opened an investigation into explosive remarks made by England midfielder Jude Bellingham about the referee after Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich.
The 18-year-old Bellingham claimed costly decisions by referee Felix Zwayer in Saturday’s game were to be expected given he was implicated in the worst match-fixing scandal in German history.
Bellingham will be asked to explain his comments to the DFB’s disciplinary committee, which will then decide what action to take.
He was furious that Zwayer had not awarded a penalty to his side in the second half, before giving one to Bayern which allowed Robert Lewandowski to score the winner in the top of the table clash.
“You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. If you give a referee who has match-fixed before the biggest game in Germany, what do you expect?” Bellingham told Norwegian channel Viaplay.
He was referring to Zwayer’s alleged role as a 23-year-old linesman in the scandal involving referee Robert Hoyzer.
The latter confessed to taking Croatian mafia money in return for affecting the outcome of German Cup and lower-division matches including awarding penalties for fictitious offences.
Hoyzer was jailed and Zwayer was suspended for six months for keeping silent though he knew what the referee was doing and for accepting 300 euros ($340).
No definitive link between the match-fixing and Zwayer has ever been established and he has always said he was innocent.
Dortmund said Sunday they would stand by Bellingham.
“What he said isn’t wrong, even if he didn’t have to say it. You have to put it down to the emotions of an 18-year-old. Jude didn’t insult anyone, he stated a fact,” Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Kicker magazine.
Bellingham was not alone in questioning Zwayer’s decisions in a heated match.
Dortmund coach Marco Rose was shown a red card after arguing with Zwayer over his awarding of the penalty 12 minutes from time.
It was war in Jeddah, Formula 1 style, between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, an already bitter feud worsened on a night of controversy and high drama.
Now that the dust has settled we can count the costs; the numbers show that Red Bull lost this one badly with Max Verstappen in second place and Sergio Perez scoring a DNF after crashing out on the restart.
They took a pounding in the F1 Constructors’ Championship with Mercedes increasing their lead from five points before last night’s race to 28 points.
At the same time, Verstappen’s eight-point lead in the F1 Drivers’ Title race is now ‘zero’ however the fact that he has won nine races, one more than his rival means he leads the championship with one to go, which also means Max has to finish ahead of Lewis at the finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to be champion or neither he nor Lewis make it to the finish line, whereby the Dutch ace will take it.
This immediately triggers comparisons of a similarly bitter feud between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost when, at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, as the lights went out the Brazilian drove deliberately into Prost on entering Turn 1 at Suzuka, sending the Ferrari into the dust and out of the race with the McLaren in tow. That was ugly.
Such a scenario to decide this year’s title race between Hamilton and Verstappen is not what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants in this feud between a driver who does not care to crash on his crusade to be called F1 World Champion for the first time against the other, who needs to avoid crashing at all costs, if he wants to claim an unprecedented eighth F1 title.
Wolff: May the best man win and if it’s Max at the end, I have peace with that but it just needs to be a fair race
Speaking after a race that carried on into early Monday morning thanks to Race Stewards having a word with both title contenders, Wolff told reporters in Jeddah: “It’s more the driving that needs to be assessed and looked at, It’s hard, very hard, maybe ‘over the line’ hard.
“We just want to have a clean championship, may the best man win and if it’s Max at the end, I have peace with that but it just needs to be a fair race.”
Neither driver was squeaky clean on the night, while Valtteri Bottas blatantly holding up Verstappen, when the first opportunity to pit arose under the safety car, would not have gone down well with the Bulls.
Whatever the case, Hamilton had the ammo to win this race, evident once he got past and sailed to victory by eleven seconds. If it was not on lap 42, it would certainly have been a few laps later in the 50 lap race.
It was Brazil and Qatar all over again for Hamilton’s incredible 103rd Grand Prix victory. He has now won F1 races on 31 different circuits, with Jeddah Corniche Circuit now added to that list.
Only time will tell if the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix delivers a worthy Champion or a scoundrel
Wolff was full of praise for Lewis: “I think he deserved it, he could have been out a few times with a broken front wing. I don’t want to now have dirty laundry here but that wasn’t… that was spectacular, but not a good race.”
Of the fact that Verstappen will win it if there is a DNF for both, Wolff said: “He has more wins, so I think that is still an advantage but I’m not saying anything that has consequences. I think it’s just important to have a great, great race for the end of the season, two fantastic drivers racing each other.”
Prost and Senna were two fantastic drivers racing each other, but sometimes when the needle is white-hot, the visor shuts and the red mist descends.
Only time will tell if the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix delivers a worthy Champion or a scoundrel. Watch this space on 12 December, on what should be a fine evening over the splendid Yas Marina Circuit.
They both start the week at a league-best 19-4, but which of them takes the top spot in our NBA Power Rankings? The Christmas Day rubber match is shaping up to be one of the best games of the season, but can the Suns and Warriors hold off Donovan Mitchell and the surging Utah Jazz?
And speaking of surging Western Conference teams, Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Memphis Grizzlies to a 73-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, setting the record for the largest margin of victory in NBA history. The Grizzlies are on a four-game win streak and have climbed to No. 4 in the West.
In the Eastern Conference, Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls have won three straight games to climb back near the top of the standings, just half a game behind the Brooklyn Nets for the top seed.
Our experts break down where these surging teams rank among each other.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Stephen Curry and the Warriors caught a glimpse of the first team all season that appears to be playing on their level: Phoenix. The Suns have the same kind of deep and talented roster that has made these two teams the early favorites in the Western Conference. After dropping Tuesday’s game to Chris Paul & Co., the Warriors responded by snapping the Suns’ 18-game winning streak on Friday. They ran out of gas in a surprising loss to the Spurs on Saturday — capping a 19-for-69 week from the field for Curry. — Friedell
Without Devin Booker (left hamstring injury), the Suns’ franchise-record 18-game winning streak came to an end Friday night against the Warriors. The Suns had beaten Golden State last Tuesday to finish November with a 16-0 mark, becoming the seventh team in NBA history to go 16-0 or better in a calendar month. The 18-game streak was also a career best for coach Monty Williams as a coach or a player. His previous best was a 17-game winning streak as a player with San Antonio (1996). Williams and the Suns get a chance to start another winning streak Monday against the Spurs. — Lopez
It continues to be a weird season in Brooklyn. The Nets remain atop the Eastern Conference but have now gone a combined 1-6 against teams currently in the top eight in the NBA standings, including losses to Chicago, Miami, Phoenix and Golden State at Barclays. Against the rest of the league, the Nets are 15-1. — Bontemps
This week: @DAL, @HOU, @ATL, @DET
4. Chicago Bulls 2021-22 record: 16-8 Previous ranking: 7
The Bulls made an early-season statement with a sweep at Staples Center on back-to-back nights, and their performance in New York to sweep the Knicks and Nets last week was a worthy follow-up. Chicago has continued rolling, despite playing a bit short-handed recently. Coby White and Javonte Green have entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and Alex Caruso was limited to just eight minutes Saturday because of a hamstring injury. — Collier
Just when the Bucks started rolling, their roster took another hit with Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting out back-to-back games with a right calf injury. Milwaukee is hopeful this will be a short-term ailment for Antetokounmpo, who is registering another season at an MVP level. He’s averaging 27.6 points and 11.8 rebounds per game to go along with a career-high 6.0 assists and 1.7 blocks. — Collier
This week: CLE, @MIA, @HOU, @NY
6. Utah Jazz 2021-22 record: 16-7 Previous ranking: 6
Utah has by far the NBA’s best offense — 116.2 points per 100 possessions, 3.7 more than the second-ranked Warriors — and Donovan Mitchell is in the midst of his best groove of the season. He has averaged 30 points on 56.3% shooting during the Jazz’s four-game winning streak, the first time this season he has hit more than half of his shots from the floor in four consecutive games. Mitchell has scored 30-plus in the past three games, matching his total of 30-point performances in the first 20 games. — MacMahon
Miami was dealt a tough blow with the news that Bam Adebayo will miss time after having right thumb surgery. Jimmy Butler is still dealing with a tailbone contusion, as well. The Heat need to get healthy for an intriguing three-game home stretch this week, which includes matchups against the Grizzlies, Bucks and Bulls. — Friedell
The Wizards’ defense has shown slippage in recent losses. Last week, Washington surrendered 116 points in both the 17-point loss to San Antonio and the 15-point loss to the Cavs. Worse, Washington trailed by as many as 36 to Cleveland. The Wizards started a brutal 10-game stretch on Sunday in Toronto in which they will play nine games on the road. We’ll find out more about what the Wizards are made of during this road trip. — Youngmisuk
Philadelphia has dealt with more COVID-19 absences than any team so far this season, including losing superstar center Joel Embiid for nine games. But now Embiid is back, and the 76ers have a chance to build some consistency and momentum as the world continues to wait for a potential Ben Simmons trade to materialize. — Bontemps
The Grizzlies have led their past four games wire-to-wire, the first team to have such a streak in the 25 seasons since play-by-play data has been tracked, according to Elias Sports Bureau data. That’s a rather impressive response to losing star guard Ja Morant to a knee injury — fortunately for weeks, not months. “Everyone’s done a great job of standing up to the challenge and believing in each other,” said backup point guard Tyus Jones, who has 30 assists and only four turnovers during the winning streak. — MacMahon
This week: @MIA, DAL, LAL, HOU
11. Boston Celtics 2021-22 record: 13-11 Previous ranking: 17
Boston emerged from the first few days of its brutal December with a pair of victories over Philadelphia and Portland and a strong performance in a close loss at Utah. Now comes a back-to-back in Los Angeles, followed by a game in Phoenix to round out this five-game West swing. — Bontemps
This week: @LAL, @LAC, @PHX
12. Atlanta Hawks 2021-22 record: 12-12 Previous ranking: 13
The Hawks won eight of their first nine games inside State Farm Arena. Their past three home games, however, have not gone their way, with losses to the Knicks, Sixers and then a 130-127 loss to the COVID-19-depleted Hornets on Sunday. Against Charlotte, Trae Young did have 25 points and 15 assists — his 11th 25-point, 15-assist game since he debuted in 2018, the most of any player in the league since then. — Lopez
Charlotte has been hit hard by health and safety protocols, as LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Mason Plumlee and Jalen McDaniels all missed Sunday’s game and will be out in the short term. The good news for the Hornets is that Miles Bridges is still active and offered another reminder on Sunday of just how much he continues to improve. Bridges racked up 32 points while helping the Hornets snap a three-game losing skid with a win over the Hawks. Charlotte has three more games this week and has to hope Bridges can help carry the offense for now. — Friedell
Dallas has dropped seven of nine games since Luka Doncic sprained his left knee and ankle. The Mavs are 2-3 in the games that Doncic has played in that span, including blowout home losses to the Cavaliers and Pelicans. His frustration has been problematic, as coach Jason Kidd noted that Doncic’s constant complaining to the referees often results in poor transition defense. Soreness in that ankle sidelined Doncic again Saturday night, and Kristaps Porzingis has missed the past two games because of a knee contusion. — MacMahon
There are no moral victories in the NBA, but it certainly says a lot about the Cavs’ growth this season that they can look at Sunday’s 109-108 loss to the Utah Jazz as a game they would have won had they not gone 0-for-4 in the final 90 seconds. It was a wildly successful week for the Cavs regardless, as Cleveland went 3-0 on a road trip through Dallas, Washington and Miami before the close loss to Utah. — McMenamin
This week: @MIL, CHI, @MIN, SAC
16. LA Clippers 2021-22 record: 12-12 Previous ranking: 11
If it weren’t for a feel-good and clutch win over the Lakers, the Clippers’ past week would’ve been a low point. They lost twice to the Kings, including in Sacramento for the first time in 16 games. And they were blown out at home by the Pelicans and flame-throwing Jonas Valanciunas, who hit seven 3s and had 39 points and 15 rebounds. The Clippers have lost seven of their past 10 games, with their wins coming against the Pistons, Lakers and the Luka Doncic-less Mavericks at home. Ty Lue’s team is getting healthier with Marcus Morris Sr. back, and perhaps Nic Batum could be nearing a return from health and safety protocols. — Youngmisuk
The Nuggets’ fears were confirmed when Michael Porter Jr. underwent lumbar spine surgery last week and will be out indefinitely. The Nuggets, however, still have the reigning MVP. Denver lost six straight, but Nikola Jokic returned from injury and helped Denver beat the Heat again in Miami. And while the banged-up Nuggets lost in Orlando, Florida, Jokic delivered an MVP-like performance in his lone trip to Madison Square Garden, dropping 32 points and 11 rebounds in a win over the Knicks. Jokic will have to keep this up to keep Denver afloat in the West standings and hope that Jamal Murray can return this season. — Youngmisuk
There’s no getting around the fact that it has been a frustrating season for the Lakers thus far, but here’s a reason for optimism: Anthony Davis has scored 25 points or more in four of L.A.’s past seven games, as he’s showing signs of being ready to shoulder the offensive responsibility night in, night out as a recipient of LeBron James‘ and Russell Westbrook‘s feeds. — McMenamin
The Timberwolves have a grueling schedule in December — they will face just one opponent (Denver Nuggets) with a record not currently above .500. Minnesota has boasted a top-five defense in the NBA so far this season, which it will be counting on to keep it afloat through this stretch. — Collier
This week: ATL, UTAH, CLE, @POR
20. New York Knicks 2021-22 record: 11-12 Previous ranking: 14
After a blowout loss to the Nuggets — New York’s third loss in a row and fourth in its past five games — the Knicks talked about trying to find themselves moving forward. One way to do that? Start guarding people again. Dropping from fourth last season in defense to 19th this season is the reason New York has gone from a playoff team to one currently sitting outside of the play-in mix. — Bontemps
It wasn’t the best week for rookie coach Chauncey Billups. Besides seeing general manager Neil Olshey — the man who hired him — fired, the Blazers were blown out in three of four games. Damian Lillard has missed three straight games and CJ McCollum bruised some ribs, though he is probable to play on Monday. Portland has lost five of the past six, but even more alarming is that it suffered its past four defeats by 15, 22, 31 and 28 points, respectively. — Youngmisuk
This week: LAC, @GS, MIN
22. Toronto Raptors 2021-22 record: 11-13 Previous ranking: 23
Toronto has the league’s best offensive rebound percentage, per NBA.com advanced stats, and the league’s third-worst defensive rebound percentage. Any Raptors fan who has watched Toronto struggle to close out defensive possessions with a board will have predicted the latter number, one that is a reflection of the lack of interior size Toronto is playing with on a nightly basis. — Bontemps
San Antonio pushed its win streak to four on Saturday night in a win over Golden State, where they became the first team all season to hold at least a 20-point lead over the Warriors. Dejounte Murray averaged 22.3 points, 10 rebounds and 8.5 assists on the win streak and ran his streak of double-doubles to six games and has done so in a variety of ways — one triple-double, two points-rebounds double-doubles and three points-assists double-doubles. — Lopez
Indiana has lost four consecutive games, capped off by a home loss to a Miami Heat team missing two of its All-Stars. Some frustration appeared to boil over during that game when Domantas Sabonis and Caris LeVert got into a heated discussion on the bench during a timeout. — Collier
Sacramento is 2-0 against the LA Clippers this season and 8-14 against everybody else. The Kings swept a two-game series against the Clips this week, with Sacramento’s defense holding Reggie Jackson to 5-for-15 shooting in the first win and Paul George to 5-for-21 in the second. Too bad the Kings don’t get the Clippers on the schedule again until the second-to-last game of the season on April 9. — McMenamin
Raise your hand if you expected the Rockets to have the NBA’s longest active winning streak right now. Houston has reeled off six wins in a row, a run that came on the heels of a 15-game losing streak, the league’s longest this season. Eric Gordon, one of the last links to the Rockets’ recently deconstructed playoff team, has been outstanding during the streak, averaging 16.3 points, .493/.457/.833 shooting splits and 4.2 assists per game. — MacMahon
The Pelicans’ bench was one of the worst in the league to start the season, but coach Willie Green inserting Willy Hernangomez into the rotation has stabilized that unit. In the past eight games, Hernangomez is averaging 11.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game. In that same time frame, the Pelicans are averaging 44.3 points off the bench — the third-best mark in the league in that stretch. — Lopez
Orlando snapped a seven-game losing skid with a Wednesday win over the Nuggets. Second-year guard Cole Anthony continues his solid play, combining for 50 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds over the past two contests. The Magic have four straight on the road to complete a tough West Coast swing — including a matchup with Stephen Curry and the Warriors on Monday night. — Friedell
The Thunder have lost eight in a row. Last week consisted of a couple of losses to the Rockets — outcomes that could be critical in lottery odds — and a record-breaking 73-point rout at the hands of the Grizzlies. OKC opens this week with a big one on the road, playing the Pistons, one of only two teams in the league with fewer wins. — MacMahon
This week: @DET, @TOR, LAL, DAL
30. Detroit Pistons 2021-22 record: 4-18 Previous ranking: 27
The Pistons, who have lost eight games in a row, are second in the NBA in scoring off the bench, a stat that won’t inspire much confidence in Detroit considering its starting lineup is full of young players — Cade Cunningham, Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes — the team hopes will play a big role in the future. — Collier
TORONTO – Defence has long been a cornerstone of the Toronto Raptors’ success, but a solid defensive effort had been inexplicably missing of late.
But playing smothering defence from the opening tip on Sunday, the Raptors roared to a 102-90 victory over the Washington Wizards for their second consecutive win.
Pascal Siakam scored 17 of his 31 points in a key second quarter, while Chris Boucher had 14 points to lead an excellent performance by the bench.
Asked why the defence has been so noticeably better the past two games, Boucher said, laughing: “That’s all we do at practice.
“The last few practices that we had — after we lost a game, I think we just didn’t show up, I think against Boston, and Memphis too — since then all we do is defence.”
Story continues below advertisement
Scottie Barnes had 11 points for the Raptors (11-13), who exacted revenge for their loss to Washington on opening night. Precious Achiuwa had 10 points and a team-high 14 rebounds, while Fred VanVleet finished with 10 points in Toronto’s fourth win in their last 11 games.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Washington (14-10) with 26 points.
The Raptors’ bench, which has been a weak spot this season, provided a big spark, outscoring Washington’s bench 34-28.
“I thought that group that started set the tone, but I also thought the guys who came off the bench brought the same kind of energy and maybe even a little more,” coach Nick Nurse said. “That’s kind of what we’re hoping for it to look like. It was a good, all-around team effort defensively.”
Nurse called rookie Dalano Banton’s performance “awesome.” He praised Boucher, who had a rough start to the season and found himself all but out of Nurse’s rotation. On Sunday, Banton found a cutting Boucher several times for baskets.
Related Videos
Toronto Raptors season preview: Scottie Barnes, Dalano Banton among new faces
Story continues below advertisement
Boucher credited his improvement watching film and meditation.
“A lot of people are upset with my play, which I understand, but I do a lot of mental work into figuring out what it is, eventually you find it, eventually you know what you have to do,” the Montreal native said. “I’m realizing what role I have here, take what I can get and do the best with it.”
Boucher said he does “a lot of meditation,” but only started doing it pre-game at the suggestion of Raptors therapist Ray Chow.
“Ray told me he felt like when I was playing there’s so much going on in my mind,” Boucher said. “So, gave me a little meditation today, and that kinda really helped out. Going into the game flowing, and knowing that I’m able to do certain stuff and be confident with it.”
The Wizards, who beat Toronto on opening night to spoil the Raptors’ first game in Toronto in 600 days, arrived on Sunday in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and looking to bounce back from a 15-point loss to Cleveland two nights earlier.
Toronto was fresh off a four-point win over Milwaukee on Friday, holding on to win with one of the best defensive efforts this season.
Their momentum carried into Sunday as the Raptors built a 25-point first-half lead, smothering the Wizards on the defensive end. Siakam shot a perfect 7-for-7 in a second quarter that saw the Raptors pour in 40 points, a season-high for a quarter.
Story continues below advertisement
“We don’t have a seven-footer out there, but we have guys that can do multiple things and are great on defence,” Siakam said. “We’ve just got to bring the effort every single night.”
Leading 84-68 to start the fourth, the Wizards sliced the difference to 12 points midway through the quarter, but Washington wouldn’t threaten again, and when Achiuwa got his hands on an offensive rebound and drove to the hoop for a dunk, swinging from the rim to the roar of the capacity Scotiabank Arena crowd of 19,800, the Raptors were back up by 16 points with 4:15 to play.
With a game Monday at Indiana, the Wizards threw in the figurative towel and emptied the bench with about three minutes to play. Nurse did the same with 1:30 to play and the game well in hand. It was the first time the Raptors have won back-to-back games since a five-game winning streak Oct. 27 to Nov. 3.
The Raptors — who have three games to go on this season-high seven-game homestand — remain without the frontcourt presence of OG Anunoby, who sat out his ninth consecutive game with a hip injury, and Khem Birch, who missed his fifth straight and ninth this season with knee swelling. There’s no timeline for the return of either player.
The pesky Raptors held Washington to just a dozen points in the first quarter. On the offensive end, six players scored, Gary Trent Jr. had a pair of three-pointers, and Toronto committed zero turnovers for a 23-12 advantage to start the second.
Story continues below advertisement
Siakam couldn’t miss in the second, and his three-pointer with 4:59 to play had the Raptors up by 25 points. Toronto took a 63-42 advantage into the halftime break.
The Raptors sputtered in the third. They had trouble containing Caldwell-Pope, who scored 10 in the quarter, and allowed the Wizards to creep back to within 12 points.
The night marked the eighth annual Giants of Africa game in celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance.
The Raptors host struggling Oklahoma City on Wednesday. On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies demolished the Thunder 152-79, shattering the NBA record for the largest margin of victory.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2021.
Anthony Yarde will be out for revenge tonight when he gets his chance to rematch Lyndon Arthur. It’s a fight that was not received well by British boxing fans given the nature of the first bout, which was won clearly by Arthur on the scorecards.
The Mancunian outfoxed his London rival, utilising his jab in a clash that lacked fireworks.
But that hasn’t been the case in the build-up to this fight, as trainers Pat Barrett and Tunde Ajayi clashed at the press conference that confirmed the rematch was on.
Arthur feels aggrieved Frank Warren hasn’t landed him a world title shot on the back of his win with stablemate Callum Johnson now set to face Joe Smith Jr in January in New York for the WBO light-heavyweight title.
The unbeaten 30-year-old Commonwealth champion was hoping Yarde would at least come to Manchester for the rematch but instead, he was told he would have to come back to London.
Yarde knows he is approaching do-or-die territory having now lost twice in his career to Arthur and Sergey Kovalev when he challenged for the world title in 2019.
Whoever wins this bout is on track to earn a shot at world honours in 2022.
Then over in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning, Devin Haney goes to war with JoJo Diaz as he defends his WBC lightweight world title at the MGM Grand.
After George Kambosos Jr’s stunning upset of Teofimo Lopez last week in New York, a potential blockbuster undisputed fight awaits Haney in the new year, providing he can get the job done.
Haney has already made it clear he would be willing to go to Down Under for the bout but Diaz is by no means an easy opponent having lost just once in 34 pro bouts.
Here’s all the important details…
Schedules
London
Lyndon Arthur vs Anthony Yarde 2
Hamzah Sheeraz vs Bradley Skeete
Sonny Liston Ali vs Lee Hallet
Umar Khan vs Luke Merrifield
Masood Abdulah vs Paul Holt
Charles Frankham vs Lee Glover
Karol Itauma vs Tamas Laska
George Fox vs Kamil Sokolowski
Dennis McCann vs Juan Jose Jurado
Sam Noakes vs Shaun Cooper
Las Vegas
Devin Haney vs Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr – WBC lightweight title
Montana Love vs Carlos Diaz
Jessica McCaskill vs Kandi Wyatt
Filip Hrgovic vs Emir Ahmatovic
Live Streams and Fight Times
Yarde vs Arthur 2 will be shown on BT Sport 1, meaning it is also accessible via the app or Sky Go, providing you are a BT Sport customer.
The main event is scheduled to get underway around 10pm.
You can then watch Haney vs Diaz on DAZN via the app.
If you are not a DAZN subscriber, you can sign up for £7.99 a month.
Main event is expected to get underway around 4am GMT.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Phoenix Suns‘ franchise record 18-game winning streak is over. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors made sure of that by knocking off the Suns 118-96 on Friday night at Chase Center.
Still, as the streak came to an end, Suns coach Monty Williams expressed pride in the way his group carried itself over the past month of the season.
“I think every win is special,” Williams said after the loss, which brought the Suns’ record to 19-4, second-best in the NBA behind the Warriors. “To me, it was the collective focus that we’ve had throughout this season, not just the streak. It’s only been 23 games, right? So there’s a lot of basketball to be played, but when we were 1-3 or whatever it was, there was no panic or ‘What are we doing?’ We just kind of hung in there and simplified some things and played good basketball.
“And I still think we’re playing good basketball. We arguably played the best team in the league tonight, them or us. We’re not quite sure who it is. It’s good to be in that category.”
As usual, it was Curry who set the tone for the now 19-3 Warriors, finishing with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists to exact some revenge for a poor performance in Tuesday’s loss in which he went just 4-for-21 from the field and had a tough time shaking Suns guard Mikal Bridges.
Curry also drilled six 3-pointers, leaving him just 28 away from passing Hall of Famer Ray Allen at the top of the all-time 3-point list. He admitted that it was nice to snap the Suns’ streak after the way Phoenix took out the Warriors on Tuesday.
“Yes, because we lost to them already,” Curry said. “You don’t want them to come into your building and keep that streak going. Obviously, it doesn’t mean much but just our 19th win, but it is nice to protect your home court. Something’s got to give, and we’ve had a really good home record and nice streak going ourselves in this building, so we’d rather keep ours going than let theirs live.”
Aside from Curry’s usual brilliance and 19 points from starting swingman Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors picked up a huge lift from a bench that racked up 51 points. Juan Toscano-Anderson had 17 points, providing several big highlights, including a second-quarter dunk over Suns center JaVale McGee that left the crowd roaring as replays played on the video board. Gary Payton II chipped in 19 points and five rebounds.
Playing without star guard Devin Booker (hamstring) and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Suns never found the kind of rhythm on either end of the floor that helped define their winning streak. Center Deandre Ayton finished with a team-high 23 points, but the Suns faded down the stretch against a Warriors group that was hungry to prove they could end the streak and played strong defense throughout the night. Reserve guard Cameron Payne finished just 3-for-17 from the field.
The Suns and Warriors won’t see each other again until Christmas Day in Phoenix, a showdown that might have not only Booker back, but former All-Star Klay Thompson, who continues to do a little bit more in practice for the Warriors after being out for two and a half years while recovering from separate ACL and Achilles injuries.
“The winning streak was a lot of fun,” Suns guard Chris Paul said. “It’s been a long time since we felt a loss. But hell, let’s start a new one.”
Firmly on the front foot until the last corner of Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying when Max Verstappen’s Red Bull slapped the wall, denying him a certain pole position start and on the back foot yet again.
It was the kind of error that had ‘Max’ written all over it, well ahead after the first two sectors of his final flying lap, instead of banking what he had, which was pole position, he went for the kill, and denied himself,
He will start third, gifting the top spot start to his title rival Lewis Hamilton.
While lamenting playing second fiddle to Mercedes’s front-row lockout on Saturday, team boss Christian Horner is predicting anything can happen tonight during Jeddah’s first Grand Prix.
The fine margins of this years contest coupled to the harsh reality of F1, instead of Verstappen’s mega-effort going down as “the lap of the year” it might well go down as the mistake of the year.
The heat on that eight-point lead over Hamilton, in the championship race, has ramoed up substantially with two rounds remaining and this has turned it up another notch
The result obviously concerns Horner who has seen Verstappen’s lead of 19 points, before Brazil, slashed to eight points with two races to go. Mercedes clearly have had the momentum but last night under floodlights, the Red Bull shone and appeared to have the answers until Verstappen was too heavy-footed.
At the end of the day, Horner said in the team report: “It’s a great shame as it was a mighty, mighty lap and he was pulling something very special out of the bag.
“Max will be frustrated I am sure as he knows what a good lap it was, but he just needs to put it behind him now. He’s still P3 on the grid and he just needs to have a good start, as anything can happen in this race.”
Verstappen will start from third, directly behind Hamilton in pole and in front of Sergio Perez lining up fifth in the other Red Bull while the Mercedes duo lock-out the front row; add Charles Leclerc lining-up his Ferrari in fourth to spice things up at the sharp end.
Horner added: “Unfortunately, we are on the back foot now. Grid position on any street circuit is crucial and it’s going to be very hard to overtake here.
“It’s all going to be about strategy and Checo could have a major part to play in the race,” predicted Horner whose team trail Mercedes by five points in the 2021 F1 constructors’ standings.
Anyone else have the EXACT same reactions as @alo_oficial in the closing moments of qualifying? 👀
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
