Sports

NBA fines 76ers’ Nurse, Oubre for ref abuse after missed foul

NEW YORK, March 29, 2024 (AFP) – Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and guard Kelly Oubre Jr. were each fined $50,000 by the NBA on Friday for heated complaints after a missed call in a frustrating loss. The incidents came after the intense final seconds of Philadelphia’s 108-107 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. Oubre was driving to the basket when Paul George of the Clippers blocked his path and they […]

NBA bans Utah’s Dunn for two games and Houston’s Smith one

Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn was suspended two games and Houston forward Jabari Smith Jr. was banned for one game by the NBA on Sunday after they fought during a game. The altercation took place five seconds into the second quarter of Houston’s 147-119 home victory over Utah on Saturday. Dunn was suspended for initiating an altercation and throwing a punch at Smith, who received a one-game fighting ban. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=730150799247290 Both players were issued technical […]

Lillard ‘phenomenal’ as Bucks bounce back against Nets

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2024 (AFP) – Damian Lillard scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and came up with two late steals as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from a loss to NBA leaders Boston with a 115-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday. Lillard added 12 assists and Milwaukee’s two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a two-game injury absence to score 21 points with nine rebounds […]

Ex-NBA star Jeremy Lin banned for five games in Taiwan over WADA breach

TAIPEI, March 20, 2024 (AFP) – Former NBA champion Jeremy Lin has been banned for five games for violating anti-doping rules over blood treatment for an injury, Taiwan’s P. League+ said. The 35-year-old guard, who won the NBA crown with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, was also fined NT$150,000 ($5,000). Lin burst to global fame with the New York Knicks in 2012 when he led them to a seven-game win streak, sparking a cultural phenomenon […]

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 […]