Sports

LONDON — Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho is being investigated by UEFA over a failed drugs test after last month's Europa League game against Manchester United.

Although Sakho is not yet subject to a UEFA suspension, the club announced on Saturday that he will not play for the Europa League semifinalists while the investigation is under way.

Sakho scored one of the goals in Liverpool's 4-3 quarter-final victory last week over Borussia Dortmund to set up a semifinal meeting with Villarreal.

A fat-burning substance was detected in a drugs test taken after Liverpool's round of 16 game at Premier League rival United on March 17, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, with Sakho yet to ask for his backup sample to be tested.

Sakho has until Tuesday to respond to UEFA, whose website made no mention of the drugs investigation in its disciplinary section.

Liverpool was only informed by UEFA on Friday of the investigation. Discussions between the Fenway Sports Group ownership, led by John Henry, manager Juergen Klopp and Sakho led to the decision to remove the player from consideration for selection.

"A formal communication was received from UEFA stating that they are investigating a possible anti-doping rule violation by Mamadou Sakho," Liverpool said in a statement. "The player will respond to UEFA on the matter.”

"The player is currently not subject to any playing suspension. However, the club, in consultation with the player, has decided that while this process is followed the player will not be available for selection for matches."

Sakho was replaced in the team for Saturday's Premier League game against Newcastle by Kolo Toure, who was banned for six months by the English Football Association in 2011 while playing for Manchester City for taking banned water tablets to control his weight.

If Sakho received the same length ban as Toure it would rule him out of the June 10-July 11 European Championship on home soil in France. The sanction would be imposed by European football's governing body because the test was taken after a UEFA game.

That would be another potential blow for France coach Didier Deschamps, who will already be without star striker Karim Benzema — due to Benzema's involvement in a sex-tape scandal involving his France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.

Although Sakho is not guaranteed to start for France at Euro 2016, he would normally be a certainty to be named in Deschamps' squad on May 12 and would be fighting for a centre back place alongside either Rafael Varane or Laurent Koscielny.

With 28 caps, Sakho is an established squad member and popular among the players. Deschamps, who is known for his loyalty, will always be indebted to Sakho for his two goals in a 3-0 win against Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier in November 2013 — sending France to the World Cup.

LONDON — Three of the four managers leading their teams out at Wembley for this weekend’s FA Cup semifinals will do so knowing defeat could have serious ramifications for their short-term future.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has been dealing with so-called “must-win” games throughout a troubled season and Saturday’s clash with Everton falls into that category.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez, meanwhile, has fallen out of favour with a large section of the club’s fans who have seen no tangible progress this season.

Crystal Palace’s woeful form since Christmas has turned up the heat on Alan Pardew too, although a semifinal against Watford represents an opportunity for redemption.

Watford manager Quique Florez is perhaps the odd man out.

The Spaniard has made an impressive impact in his first season at the club who were promoted last season, guaranteeing survival with plenty to spare.

Dutchman Van Gaal has faced a ceaseless debate about his Old Trafford future after crashing out of the Champions League group stages and serving up some turgid football earlier in the season when United fell out of the title race.

He has soldiered on, however, and a silver lining is on the horizon with United favourites to lift the trophy for the first time since 2004 after beating West Ham United 2-1 in a quarter-final replay last week with their best display of the season.

Even if he does achieve that, there is no guarantee that he will see out the final season of his contract as a top-four finish in the Premier League was his first priority.

But having won trophies everywhere in his long coaching career, he would at least be able to hold his head high.

“I have said for the club it is much more important that we are finishing in the first four positions because the Champions League is the highest level,” he said.

“But a trophy is of course fantastic, especially the FA Cup, as it is a lot of years that we didn’t win it.

“There is a big arousal among the fans. It is nice to see they are hungry to get the FA Cup, but still we have to beat Everton first.”

Martinez won the FA Cup with modest Wigan Athletic in 2013 when they beat Manchester City in the final a few weeks before being relegated, securing his move to Everton.

But after finishing fifth in his first season, the club finished 11th last term and, despite a squad full of flair players, were 12th going into Wednesday’s derby with Liverpool.

“If we win the games, everything will be fine; if we lose, everything will be my fault,” Martinez said this week.

Pardew was part of the Palace side that reached the 1990 final and his return to the club as manager in January 2015 turned the club from relegation candidates to contenders for Europe midway through the current campaign.

Palace have stalled since, however, and Pardew hopes the FA Cup can re-ignite his squad.

“For us and Watford, one of us is going to hurt and one’s really going to come alive. So we really want to be that team that comes alive,” he said.

Shooting better than 55 per cent for the second consecutive game, the Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Hornets 115-103 in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Wednesday.

After a franchise play-off-best first half of shooting, the Heat held on in the second half to protect home-court advantage and go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, which continues with Game 3 on Saturday in Charlotte.

The Hornets cut an 18-point deficit in the third quarter to seven with under four minutes to play, but the Heat clamped down defensively and Dwyane Wade, who led Miami with 28 points and eight assists, hit two key baskets late.

Hassan Whiteside scored 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the field and Luol Deng had 16 points. They were two of five Heat players to finish in double figures as they shot 57.9 per cent from the floor.

Whiteside added 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Goran Dragic pitched in 18 points and Josh Richardson scored 15.

While the Heat were 9 of 16 from 3-point range, the Hornets hit just 1 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Kemba Walker had a game-high 29 points and Al Jefferson scored 25 on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor for the Hornets.

Countering the success of Walker and Jefferson, Marvin Williams missed all 10 of his shots from the floor to finish scoreless.

Nicolas Batum had nine points and seven rebounds but left early in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle and did not return.

Miami took a 72-60 lead into half-time thanks to shooting a franchise play-off-best 74.4 per cent from the field in the first half, including 7 of 10 on 3-pointers while converting its final 10 shots from the floor in the first half.

Dragic hit all three of his first-half 3-point attempts.

Jefferson, with 16 points in the second quarter, kept the Hornets in it with a flurry of baskets from the low post and mid-range, at one point converting eight of Charlotte’s last nine field goals made.

The Heat matched their Game 1 turnover total of six in the first quarter alone but shot 65 per cent from the field in the quarter as the teams were tied at 29 through one.

Cavaliers tie three-point record

LeBron James scored 27 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers tied an NBA play-off record with 20 3-pointers in a 107-90 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in Game 2 of an NBA Western Conference play-off series.

The Cavaliers lead the series 2-0 with Game 3 on Friday night at Detroit.

The Cavs struggled to put away the Pistons in Game 1 and struggled again until late in the third quarter.

They trailed by 10 points early and still were behind midway through the third quarter before a Kevin Love 3-pointer gave Cleveland the lead for good at 63-62.

Love’s basket started a flurry of five 3-pointers in the final 6:49 of the quarter.

J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer in the final minute of the third — his seventh of the game — extended the lead to 82-68 entering the fourth quarter and the Cavs coasted from there.

The 20 3-pointers were more than the Cavs made in any game during the regular season and made them the fourth team to hit 20 in a postseason game. The most recent was the Golden State Warriors last year.

Smith scored 21 points (all on 3-pointers) and Kyrie Irving had 22 points and four assists, including 13 in the first quarter. Love finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds after fighting early foul trouble.

Andre Drummond had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Pistons.

Reggie Jackson contributed 14 points and six assists, although he managed just one basket in the second half. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 13 points.

After Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy was fined $25,000 for complaining about the officiating during Game 1, the calls certainly seemed to favour the Pistons.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert tweeted at half-time about the free throw disparity. The Pistons shot 20 free throws in the first half compared with one for the Cavs.

Cleveland shot 14 in the game and the Pistons shot 32. The Cavs didn’t need free throws on a night they made 20 of 38 3-pointers.

Clippers roll

Chris Paul scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 102-81 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to take a 2-0 edge in their Western Conference quarter-final series on Wednesday.

J.J. Redick scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half for Los Angeles, while Blake Griffin added 12 points and nine rebounds. DeAndre Jordan collected 18 rebounds but scored only three points.

Damian Lillard and Mason Plumlee had 17 points apiece, and CJ McCollum chipped in 16 points for the Trail Blazers. Plumlee also had 10 rebounds. Maurice Harkless contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.

Game 3 is on Saturday in Portland.

Los Angeles posted double-digit leads throughout the contest, but each time Portland wiped them out until the final quarter, when the Clippers pulled away for their fifth consecutive decision over the Blazers.

A finger roll by Jamal Crawford, who finished with 11 points, capped an 11-2 run for a 78-63 edge with 8:03 left in the contest. The Clippers never allowed the lead to reach single digits again.

In the third quarter, the Blazers got down by as much as 12 after a basket by Paul less than three minutes into the period.

However, an 11-2 surge pulled the Trail Blazers within 59-56 after a McCollum jumper with 4:58 left in the third.

The teams played pretty much even the rest of the quarter, with the Clippers taking a 67-61 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Clippers led by as much as 15 in the second quarter before the Trail Blazers rallied and closed the gap to 47-43 at the break.

Portland was able to wipe out the deficit despite shooting only 34 per cent in the first half, including 38.1 per cent in the second quarter.

Los Angeles shot 42.2 per cent in the first half and 47.8 per cent in the second quarter.

Both clubs struggled in the third quarter, with the Blazers making only 25 per cent of their shots to 37.5 per cent for the Clippers.

For the game, the Clippers hit 46 per cent of their shots to 34.1 per cent for the Blazers.

The Clippers’ bench also outscored the Blazers’ reserves 43-10.

Atlanta and San Antonio took imposing 2-0 leads in their opening-round play-off series with emphatic victories over Boston and Memphis on Tuesday.

The Hawks held the Celtics to the lowest-scoring first quarter in the play-offs since the NBA went to the shot clock, building a 21-point lead and holding on despite an ugly shooting performance of their own for an 89-72 victory and a strong hold on their Eastern Conference series.

Al Horford and Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 17 points apiece, but this game was essentially decided in the first 12 minutes.

The Hawks started 9 of 13 from the field, knocking down six from beyond the 3-point arc. Korver made four from long range, a big turnaround from a 1-of-10 performance in Game 1 that didn’t include any 3s. Atlanta led 24-3 just 6 1-2 minutes into the game.

Even after failing to score the rest of the period, the Hawks still led 24-7 heading to the second.

Shaking off a dismal performance in the play-off opener, Korver swished four 3-pointers in the opening minutes to propel Atlanta to a stunning 21-point lead before many fans had settled into their seats Tuesday night. There wasn’t much doubt after that.

“We all have pride, right?” said Korver, who went 1 of 10 on Saturday and missed all seven of his 3-point attempts. “I wanted to come out and play better the second game.”

As good as Korver and the Hawks were in the early going, this one will be remembered more for the Celtics’ grisly start.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Boston’s Jae Crowder, looking a bit shell-shocked after scoring just two points on 1-of-9 shooting, “but we’ve got to change something”.

Crowder had plenty of company in his shooting misery.

Boston star Isaiah Thomas was held to 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting, going 1 of 6 beyond the arc. Marcus Smart stepped in for the injured Avery Bradley and went 1 of 11, also making just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. The Celtics finished at 32 per cent overall (28 of 88), 5 of 28 from long range.

Game 3 is Friday night in Boston.

San Antonio were even more impressive than the Hawks in beating the Grizzlies 94-68. Patty Mills had 16 points, Kawhi Leonard added 13 and San Antonio never trailed in sweeping the first two games.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 10 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes. Aldridge sat out the entire fourth quarter along with Leonard and Tony Parker while Tim Duncan and Danny Green made brief appearances.

If history and Memphis’ current state are any indication, the Grizzlies’ prospects don’t look good heading into a home game Friday night.

San Antonio’s suffocating defence held Memphis to franchise lows in total points and points in a quarter.

Tony Allen led Memphis with 12 points and Zach Randolph had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

AMMAN — Jordan Motorsport has unveiled a quality line-up of drivers for the Jordan Rally, the third round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship from May 5-7, according to a statement from the Jordan Rally Media Service.

The current crop of contenders are all confirmed, with 11-time regional driving champion Nasser Al Attiyah leading the line and out to prove that he has plenty left in the tank after more than a decade of domination.

The Qatari Skoda driver will be joined in Jordan by several compatriots, including second seed Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Suwaidi and Rashed Al Nuami.

Jordan’s charge will be led by 2014 national champion Husam Salem, who finished third last year, and reigning national champion Khaled Juma.

There will also be drivers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and Turkey along with co-drivers from France, Ireland, Poland, Cyprus and Finland to bring a truly international flavour to the event.

“We are looking forward to hosting a top class rally,” Jordan Motorsport CEO Othman Nassif and chairman of the Organising Committee was quoted as saying in the statement. “Nasser will undoubtedly start as favourite but it will be interesting to see how close the other regional and local drivers can push him.”

The Jordan Rally gets under way with a special spectator event on the afternoon of May 5, followed by two days of exhilarating action on some of the best routes in the rallying world.

AMMAN — It’s now up to the upcoming two rounds of the 64th Jordan Professional League to determine the champion in a season that has witnessed inconsistency at both ends of the standings.

Wihdat lead Faisali by only two points and both still have a chance to be crowned champ. Wihdat need to win their upcoming two matches. If they fail and Faisali score two wins the latter will be crowned champ. If Wihdat draw in a match, there might be a need for a title-deciding match.

Ahli have lost the chance for the title, but are still in contention for runner-up. The team is now eyeing their May 6 Jordan Cup final which will bring the veteran club to the forefront of competitions.

The two leading teams lost important points last week: Wihdat, who went down 3-1 to That Ras, next have a tough match against Ramtha, who beat Ahli 2-0. Faisali will play Hussein Irbid after a 1-1 draw with Kufrsoum stopped them in their tracks last week.

Ahli are now third and next have an easy match against already relegated Asala. Shabab Urdun, who beat Hussein 1-0, next play Baqa’a, who scored a 21-1 win over Asala and are trying to move away from the relegation zone.

Jazira, who were held 0-0 by Sarih and are fifth, next play That Ras, who are eightth.

Faisali and Wihdat are also gearing up to resume Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup next week. Wihdat are third in Group A after a 0-0 with Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr. The Jordanian champs earlier held the Turkemen team 1-1 in leg 1, lost an away match against Lebanon’s Al Ahd 3-2 after their opening 2-0 win over Bahrain’s Hidd.

In Group B, Faisali are second after they beat Lebanon’s Tripoli 3-1. They were earlier held 1-1 with Tripoli beat Iraq’s Naft Al Wasat 2-1 after their opening 0-0 draw with Turkmenistan’s Istiklol Dushanbe.  

So far this season, Jordan Cup titleholders Faisali beat league titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to win the 33rd Super Cup. Apart from conceding the Super Cup, and elimination from the Jordan Cup, Wihdat now have the league title left for grabs. Wihdat have been league champ for the past two consecutive years while Faisali finished at a disappointing 7th place as runner-up and third places went to Jazira and Ramtha. Ahli are the surprise team of the league this season. After relegation to Division 1 in 2004 for the first time in their history, they but were back among the Pro League clubs in 2014, and finished 5th in 2015. They have now made it to the Jordan Cup final against Shabab Urdun slated for May 5.

Standings
(Previous position in parenthesis)

LONDON — If Premier League titles were decided by statistics alone then Tottenham Hotspur would already have one hand on the trophy rather than playing catch-up to Leicester City.

Mauricio Pochettino's side lead the charts in pretty much every department apart from the all important points column where they trail Leicester by five with four games to play.

Monday's 4-0 demolition of Stoke City away from home saw striker Harry Kane move two goals clear of Leicester's Jamie Vardy in the race to win the coveted Golden Boot with 24.

As former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports, however, it is Tottenham's teamwork which has given them a chance of reeling in Leicester.

They have scored the most goals (64) in the Premier League and conceded the fewest (25).

Spurs also lead the way in shots on target (234), chances created (449) and goals from set pieces (17) while they have restricted opposing attacks to 102 attempts on target all season, again the best in the league.

Their goal difference (+39) is 11 better than the next best, which is Manchester City's.

Midfielder Dele Alli's seven assists for Kane this season makes that route to goal the most lethal in the division, ahead of the six assists Arsenal's Mesut Ozil has supplied for Olivier Giroud and the five Riyad Mahrez has set up for Vardy.

"The best thing I can say about Spurs is that they are a team," said Carragher. "Kane and Alli are superstars, two fantastic players, but this Spurs team is a team."

Carragher reckons former Southampton manager Pochettino should be praised for developing another exciting young side.

"When you pick a man of the match for Spurs it could be five or six players, everyone is playing well," he said.

"The main person who deserves credit for that is the manager, what he has created at Spurs is absolutely fantastic."

Tottenham's playmaker Christian Eriksen has also stepped up his game and his sublime assists for two goals on Monday means only Ozil has created more goals this season.

At 12.2km the Denmark international also covers more distance per game than any other midfielder in the top flight.

All this has been achieved by Spurs with the average age of just 24 in the starting XI — the youngest in the top flight.

Alli, 20, typifies the energy in the Tottenham ranks.

This time last year he was playing for MK Dons in the third tier of English football but Pochettino's faith in the youngster has been vindicated in spectacular fashion, so much so that he will be a key figure for England at Euro 2016.

Shaun Livingston, subbing for injured Stephen Curry, began and ended a key fourth-quarter spurt with baskets Monday night as the Golden State Warriors won a second straight from the Houston Rockets in their best-of-seven series, 115-106.

Golden State, now 2-0 in the postseason after a record-setting, 73-win regular season, was able to win without Curry, who injured his right ankle late in the second quarter of the Warriors’ blowout win in Game 1 on Saturday. He had been listed as questionable for Game 2.

The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, who scored 24 points in just 20 minutes in Game 1, was declared out shortly after cutting short a pregame warmup that was designed to test the ankle.

Curry sustained the injury while pivoting late in the second quarter Saturday, and he played less than three minutes in the second half before being benched for the remainder of the Warriors’ 104-78 win.

His status for Game 3, which is scheduled for Thursday night in Houston, is unknown.

Livingston started in Curry’s place and complemented guard Klay Thompson’s 34 points with 16 of his own. He also found time for six assists in 29 minutes.

Livingston’s two biggest hoops came in an 11-1 flurry in the fourth quarter after the Rockets, trying to put Saturday’s 26-point debacle behind them, clung within 88-85 with 9:51 to play.

Livingston began the key run with a jumper, after which the Warriors made seven consecutive free throws, including five by Thompson.

Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff got nailed with a technical foul along the way, accounting for one of Thompson’s foul shots.

Livingston then capped the burst with a fastbreak hoop that created the Warriors’ biggest lead of the game to that point, 99-85, with 6:48 left.

Golden State were never threatened the rest of the way, beating Houston for a sixth consecutive meeting and the 14th time in their past 15 matchups.

Thompson, hitting three 3-pointers and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line, led all scorers.

Draymond Green recorded a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double, and backup Andre Iguodala dropped in four 3-pointers en route to 18 points for the Warriors, who shot 49.4 per cent from the field and hit eight of their 23 3-point attempts.

Green, who earlier in the day found out he finished in second place in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year balloting, also had a team-high eight assists, and centre Andrew Bogut helped out with 10 points (on 5-for-6 shooting) and seven rebounds.

James Harden led the Rockets with 28 points, 13 coming from the line on 15 free throws. However, he shot just 7-for-19 from the field, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range. Harden also had 11 assists.

Dwight Howard posted a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Rockets, who bettered Golden State in 3-pointers, making 10 of 25, but fell well short from shorter range, finishing at 44.3 per cent overall.

Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry added 13 points apiece for the Rockets, who also will host Game 4 of the series on Sunday.

Down by as many as 11 points in the first half, the Rockets got seven third-quarter points from Harden and rallied within three late in the period.

An interior hoop by Warriors reserve guard Leandro Barbosa extended the lead back to 88-79 in the first minute of the fourth quarter. But as occurred all night, the Rockets wouldn’t go away.

Harden hit a tough jumper and Terry added a hoop and two free throws to make it a three-point game.

However, each then missed interior attempts that could have gotten Houston within one, and the Warriors followed with Livingston’s hoops and a parade to the free-throw line, finally pushing the visitors an arm’s length away.

The Rockets managed to stay within striking distance at halftime, down 66-58, despite getting just four total field goals from Harden and Howard.

Harden did have 12 free throws, accounting for three-quarters of his team-high 16 points.

The Warriors countered with seven 3-pointers from Thompson and Iguodala. Thompson had three in six attempts on his way to 20 first-half points; Iguodala had 12 of his 14 points on four 3-pointers in six tries.

Defence carried San Antonio to the second best record in the NBA this season, but it’s likely to be the Spurs’ ability to get the most out of their offensive opportunities that will be the key for a push for a sixth championship since 1999.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points as the San Antonio Spurs dominated the middle two quarters and romped past the Memphis Grizzlies 106-74 on Sunday in Game 1 of the two teams’ Western Conference quarterfinal play-off series.

San Antonio outscored the Grizzlies 24-6 over the final 8:04 of the third period, turning a contentious game into a runaway, and led 81-51 with a quarter to play. The fourth quarter was left to mostly the reserves, with Game 2 in the series to be played on Tuesday in San Antonio with 8:30pm CDT tip-off.

“It just takes a little while,” said the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, who had seven points and 11 rebounds. “Once we got it going, then some shots started falling. That’s when we were able to extend the lead. Defensively, we were pretty solid the whole way through.”

Tony Parker and Patty Mills scored 15 points each for the Spurs and Kevin Martin added 10 points, all in the fourth quarter. San Antonio hit on 42 of its 81 shots (52 per cent), outrebounded the Grizzlies 44-35 and had nine blocked shots to Memphis’ three.

Vince Carter led the Grizzlies with 16 points while Lance Stephenson hit for 14 points, all but two in the second half. Memphis, who have now lost all five games they played against the Spurs this season, were held to a season low in points, shot just 39 per cent and went to the free-throw line only six times.

“Defence is the focus of our programme and I thought in the second half we did that pretty good,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Our offense really bogged down in the first half — we didn’t move the ball and it was a lot of one on one.

“Against the Grizzlies, who are tough, physical and aggressive, the ball has to move other than dribble,” Popovich added. “It’s got to be passed and people have to move.”

Both teams played a ragged first quarter as there were nearly as many bodies pushed to the floor as baskets made while each squad tried to establish a physical presence. The Spurs led 22-13 after 12 minutes of play despite shooting just 35 per cent from the floor. Memphis hit on just 5 of its 22 field-goal attempts with the ageless Carter, making just his fourth start of the season, scoring the Grizzlies’ first seven points.

Two baskets by Carter cut the Spurs’ lead to 26-22 four minutes into the second quarter and gave the Grizzlies some momentum. But a Leonard steal and dunk followed by another dunk by Leonard off an assist by Mills on the ensuing possession propelled San Antonio on a 7-2 run and created some breathing room at 33-24.

Parker reeled off five straight points on back-to-back drives and a free throw in the final minute of the quarter to push the Spurs’ lead to 48-37 at half-time. Aldridge had 13 points in the half and Leonard added 12 for the Spurs while Carter led the Grizzlies with 11 points in 12 minutes of court time.

“When you are turning the ball over and not getting shots, a five-point lead can turn into a 20-point lead in the blink of an eye,” Carter said. “That’s what happened tonight, and it rattled us a little bit. San Antonio takes pride in the way they close out quarters — you are aware of what they are going to try to do when you play against them — and that was the difference.”

The Spurs rolled out to a 61-45 lead five minutes into the third quarter behind Duncan, who roared through the lane for a left-handed finger roll and then took the ball away from Zach Randolph at the defensive end, starting a fast break that resulted in a driving layup for Parker.

Duncan’s play on both ends of the floor seemed to lift the Spurs, who found another gear over the second half of the third quarter and kept their foot on the accelerator.

“We have got to close quarters better,” Memphis coach David Joerger said. “San Antonio went 10-2 at the end of the first quarter, 9-0 at the end of the second and 24-6 at the end of the third to go up 30 [points]. San Antonio executed well offensively and our lack of offensive execution hurt our defense. We get mixed up, jumbled up and don’t get back very well in transition. Those are things hopefully we will get better at.”

AMMAN — Taekwondo star Ahmad Abu Ghaush has secured his qualification to this summer’s Olympic Games to become the second Jordanian guaranteed a place at Rio de Janeiro, according to the Jordan Olympics Committee News Service.

The 20-year-old beat Thailand’s Sila Peertheb 12-1 in the semifinal to book his place as the two finalists qualify. He then crushed Mongolia’s Temuujin Purevjav 14-2 to win the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament’s gold medal.

Jordan Olympic Committee Secretary General Lana Al Jaghbeer, was one of the first to congratulate him with a message from HRH Prince Feisal, JOC president, who also congratulated the Jordan Taekwondo Federation.

Abu Ghaush joined boxer Hussein Ishaiash in the team. He won his place for Rio earlier this month. While it was celebrations for Abu Ghaush, it was heartbreak for three of his teammates who lost in the semifinals.

Julyana Al Sadeq lost 2-0 to Uzbekistan’s Nigora Tursunkulova, while Anas Al Adarbi came painfully close, losing his match by just one point to Nikita Rafalovic of Uzbekistan 5-4. Teammate Bana Daraghmi lost in the last four to eventual gold medallist Huang Huai-Hsuan of Taiwan.